George Rappleyea

(1894-1966)

American engineer

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George Washington Rappleyea (July 4, 1894 – August 29, 1966), an American metallurgical engineer and the manager of the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company in Dayton, Tennessee. He held this position in the summer of 1925 when he became the chief architect of the Scopes Trial. During a meeting at Robinson's Drug Store it was Rappleyea who convinced a group of Dayton businessmen to sponsor a test case of the Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in the state's schools. Rappleyea is held responsible for convincing John T. Scopes to be the defendant in the famous "Monkey" Trial. (Note: The name is often spelled "Rappalyea" but the spelling "Rappleyea" is what appears in L. Sprague de Camp's book The Great Monkey Trial and the author interviewed Rappleyea before his death.)