Today in History: July 4, Declaration of Independence adopted in Philadelphia
This image shows an 1876 engraving titled “Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776" made available by the Library of Congress. On that day, the Continental Congress formally endorsed the Declaration of Independence. Celebrations began within days: parades and public readings, bonfires and candles and the firing of 13 musket rounds, one for each of the original states. Nearly a century passed before the country officially named its founding a holiday. ( J. Trumbull, W.L. Ormsby via AP)
Today in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
On this date:
In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, New York.
In 1817, construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome, New York.
In 1826, 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died.
In 1831, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, died in New York City at age 73.
In 1855, the first edition of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” was published.
In 1863, the Civil War Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, ended as a Confederate garrison surrendered to Union forces.
In 1910, in what was billed as “The Fight of the Century,” Black world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defeated white former champ “Gentleman” Jim Jeffries in Reno, Nevada; race riots across the country following the fight killed more than 20 people.
In 1912, the 48-star American flag, recognizing New Mexico and Arizona statehood, was adopted.
New York Yankees’ Lou Gehrig, the “Iron Horse,” wipes away a tear while speaking during a sold-out tribute at Yankee Stadium July 4, 1939. Gehrig’s record breaking career was cut short by neuromuscular disease. (AP Photo/Murray Becker)
New York Yankees’ Lou Gehrig, the “Iron Horse,” wipes away a tear while speaking during a sold-out tribute at Yankee Stadium July 4, 1939. Gehrig’s record breaking career was cut short by neuromuscular disease. (AP Photo/Murray Becker)
In 1939, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees delivered his famous farewell speech in which he called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
In 1946, the United States and the Philippines signed the Treaty of Manila, recognizing Philippine independence from the US.
In 1960, the current 50-star version of the US flag was adopted.
In 1976, America celebrated its bicentennial with daylong festivities; President Gerald R. Ford made stops in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Independence Hall in Philadelphia and New York, where more than 200 ships paraded up the Hudson River in Operation Sail.
James Rhoads of the National Archives prepares to cut a Bicentennial birthday cake in Washington Sunday, July 4, 1976 as thousands look on. Standing next to Rhoads is actor Glenn Taylor, dressed in colonial costumes, who read the Declaration of Independence during the ceremony. (AP Photo)
James Rhoads of the National Archives prepares to cut a Bicentennial birthday cake in Washington Sunday, July 4, 1976 as thousands look on. Standing next to Rhoads is actor Glenn Taylor, dressed in colonial costumes, who read the Declaration of Independence during the ceremony. (AP Photo)
In 1987, Klaus Barbie, the former Gestapo chief known as the “Butcher of Lyon,” was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison (he died in September 1991).
In 1995, the space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir parted after spending five days in orbit docked together.
In 2012, scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva cheered the apparent end of a decades-long quest for a new subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, or “God particle.”
In 2013, the Statue of Liberty reopened on the Fourth of July, eight months after Superstorm Sandy shuttered the national symbol of freedom.
Click here to see who was born on July 4.