Portal:United States/Anniversaries/July/July 4
Appearance
Today is Independence Day in the United States.
- 1776 – The Second Continental Congress declares itself free of British rule with the publishing of the Declaration of Independence (pictured).
- 1802 – At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens.
- 1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, is born.
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, tells a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he announces his retirement from major league baseball.
- 1966 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into law.
On this day for the United States
January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December
July 4:
<< | July | >> | ||||
S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
1 | 2 | |||||
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
31 |
Events
- 1754 – Lt–Col. George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers.
- 1776 – American Independence Day: The United States Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress declaring itself free of British rule.
- 1802 – At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens.
- 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
- 1817 – At Rome, New York, United States, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
- 1826 – Former American presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die, fifty years to the day after the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence.
- 1827 – New York State.
- 1838 – The Iowa Territory is organized.
- 1845 – Near Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau embarks on a two–year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond (see Walden).
- 1855 – In poems titled Leaves of Grassis published.
- 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg – Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. 150 miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate Army is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
- 1881 – In Tuskegee Instituteopens.
- 1894 – The short–lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
- 1910 – race riots across the United States.
- 1927 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
- 1939 – Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, tells a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he announces his retirement from major league baseball.
- 1946 – After 381 years of near–continuous colonial rule, the Philippines is granted full independence by the United States.
- 1959 – With the admission of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1960 – Due to the post–Independence Day admission of Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniaalmost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).
- 1966 – United States law. The act goes into effect the next year.
- 1968 – Two teens are killed at Lake Herman Road in California. They were the first (known) victims of the Zodiac Killer.
- 1992 – .
- 1997 – NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
- 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. (This was largely a symbolic event; actual construction would not start for several weeks.)
- 2005 – The .
- 2006 – Space Shuttle program: STS-121 Mission – Space Shuttle Discovery launches at 18:37:55 UTC.
- 2007 – Zaca Fire Starts in Santa Barbara, California becomes second largest fire in California history.