See what makes July 4 special at Famous Daily.
History, birthdays, holiday, and a quote!
What happened on July 4
- July 4, 0836 "Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples"
- July 4, 0993 Saint Ulrich of Augsburg canonized.
- July 4, 1054 "A supernova is observed by the Chinese, the Arabs and possibly Amerindians near the star Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula."
- July 4, 1054 Brightest known super-nova (Crab Nebula) starts shining (23 days)
- July 4, 1120 Jordan II of Capua anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death
- July 4, 1187 "The Crusades: Battle of Hattin - Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem."
- July 4, 1253 Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
- July 4, 1359 Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forl surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
- July 4, 1627 "Thomas Middleton Elizabethan dramatist, dies (birth date unknown)"
- July 4, 1636 "City of Providence, Rhode Island form"
- July 4, 1653 Barebones Parliment goes into session in England
- July 4, 1712 11 slaves are executed in New York for starting an uprising that killed 9 Caucasians
- July 4, 1776 American Independence Day . The United States Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress declaring itself free of British rule. Signed in Philadelphia.
- July 4, 1776 "The 13 colonies in America met in Philadelphia to sign their Declaration of Independence, declaring themselves free of British rule and taxation."
- July 4, 1777 "John Paul Jones hoists first Stars and Stripes flag on Ranger at Portsmouth, NH."
- July 4, 1789 "Nootka Sound BC, Estaban Jose Martinez 1742-1798 seizes British ship Argonaut and others for infringing Spanish sovereignty; on Spanish warship Princesa."
- July 4, 1789 The first US tariff act
- July 4, 1801 First Presidential Review of U.S. Marine Band and Marines at the White House.
- July 4, 1802 "At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens."
- July 4, 1802 "US Military Academy officially opens (West Point, NY)"
- July 4, 1810 The French occupy Amsterdam.
- July 4, 1817 "At Rome, New York, United States, construction on the Erie Canal begins."
- July 4, 1817 Construction on Erie Canal begins
- July 4, 1819 William Herschel makes last telescopic observation of 1819 comet
- July 4, 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."
- July 4, 1826 "John Adams & Thomas Jefferson 2nd & 3rd presidents, die"
- July 4, 1826 "John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, respectively, died on this day, the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence."
- July 4, 1827 Slavery abolished in NY
- July 4, 1829 "Cornerstone laid for first US mint (Chestnut & Juniper St, Phila)"
- July 4, 1831 "James Monroe 5th president, dies"
- July 4, 1831 U.S. concludes indemnity treaty with France.
- July 4, 1832 """America"" first sung publicly"
- July 4, 1836 Wisconsin Territory formed
- July 4, 1837 "Grand Junction Railway, world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool."
- July 4, 1838 The Iowa Territory is organized.
- July 4, 1840 "The Cunard Line's 700 ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic crossing with a scheduled end."
- July 4, 1842 First test of electrically operated underwater torpedo sinks gunboat Boxer
- July 4, 1845 "Near Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau embarks on a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond (see Walden)."
- July 4, 1845 Texas Congress votes for annexation to US
- July 4, 1845 Thoreau moves into his shack on Walden Pond
- July 4, 1848 "Francois Rene de Chateaubriand French novelist/politician, dies"
- July 4, 1855 "In Brooklyn, New York, the first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems titled Leaves of Grass is published."
- July 4, 1859 Austro-Sardinian War: The Battle of Magenta.
- July 4, 1862 Lewis Carroll creates Alice in Wonderland for Alice P Liddell
- July 4, 1862 Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
- July 4, 1863 "Boise, Idaho founded (now capital of Idaho)"
- July 4, 1863 "Confederates surrender of Vicksburg, MS, gives Union control of Mississippi River."
- July 4, 1863 "Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces"
- July 4, 1865 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is published.
- July 4, 1865 "The first edition of ""Alice in Wonderland"" is published"
- July 4, 1866 "Firecracker thrown in wood starts fire destroying much of Portland, Me"
- July 4, 1873 Aquarium opens in Woodward Gardens
- July 4, 1874 Social Democratic Workmen's Party of North America formed
- July 4, 1875 White Democrats kill several blacks in terrorist attacks in Vicksburg
- July 4, 1876 The first public exhibition of electric light in SF
- July 4, 1881 Brooker T Washington establishes Tuskegee Institute
- July 4, 1881 "In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens."
- July 4, 1882 Telegraph Hill Observatory opens in SF
- July 4, 1883 "Buffalo Bill Cody presents first wild west show, North Platte, Nebr"
- July 4, 1884 Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris
- July 4, 1886 "First scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia."
- July 4, 1886 "The first scheduled transcontinental passenger train reaches Pt Moody, BC"
- July 4, 1887 "Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi."
- July 4, 1888 "The first organized rodeo competition held, Prescott, Ariz"
- July 4, 1889 Washington state constitutional convention holds first meeting
- July 4, 1892 "Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4."
- July 4, 1894 Elwood Haynes successfully tests one of first US autos at 6 MPH
- July 4, 1894 Republic of Hawaii established
- July 4, 1894 The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
- July 4, 1898 "French liner ""La Bourgogne"" collides with bark ""Cromartyshire"", 560 die"
- July 4, 1898 "Sable Island, Nova Scotia, the French ship La Bourgogne collides with British ship the Cromartyshire; 560 persons drown."
- July 4, 1898 US flag hoisted over Wake Island (Spanish-American War)
- July 4, 1902 "President Roosevelt officially ends the ""great insurrection"" in the Philippines July 4 and commends U.S. troops for upholding America's ""lawful sovereignty"""
- July 4, 1903 "Pacific Cable (SF, Hawaii, Guam, Phil) opens, Pres TR sends message"
- July 4, 1910 African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States.
- July 4, 1910 "Jack Johnson KOs James Jeffries in 15 rounds, ending come-back try"
- July 4, 1911 Ty Cobb goes 0 for 4 & ends a 40 game hit streak
- July 4, 1914 "The first US motorcycle race (300 miles, Dodge City Ks)"
- July 4, 1917 Engineers at Langley Field in Virginia called an airplane flying several miles away
- July 4, 1918 "Altar dedicated at full-scale replica of Stonehenge at Maryhill, Wa"
- July 4, 1918 "Battle of Hamel, France"
- July 4, 1918 Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
- July 4, 1918 Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
- July 4, 1919 Jack Dempsey beats Jess Willard in Cuba for heavyweight championship
- July 4, 1925 44 die when the Dreyfus Hotel in Boston collapses
- July 4, 1933 Work begins on Oakland Bay Bridge
- July 4, 1934 "Chaim Nachman Bialik zionist poet, dies"
- July 4, 1934 Joe Louis wins his first professional boxing match.
- July 4, 1934 Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.
- July 4, 1938 "Suzanne Lenglen 6 time Wimbeldon champ, dies at 39 of anemia"
- July 4, 1939 "Fort Ross, NWT the overnight temperature at Fort Ross drops to -12.2 C; one of the lowest July temperatures ever recorded in Canada."
- July 4, 1939 "Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with 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."
- July 4, 1939 "Yankees retire first uniform (Lou Gehrig #4), first Old Timers Day"
- July 4, 1941 "Howard Florey & Norman Heatley meet for the first time, 11 days later they successfully recreate pencillin"
- July 4, 1941 "Mass murder of Polish scientists and writers, committed by Nazi Germans in the captured Polish city of Lww."
- July 4, 1942 The first American bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe (WW II)
- July 4, 1946 "After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule, the Philippines is granted full independence by the United States."
- July 4, 1946 Philippines gains independence from US
- July 4, 1947 """Indian Independence Bill"" is presented before British House of Commons, suggesting bifurcation of British India into two sovereign countries - India and Pakistan."
- July 4, 1950 First broadcast by Radio Free Europe.
- July 4, 1950 Truman signs public law 600 (Puerto Ricans write own consitution)
- July 4, 1954 West Germany beats Hungary 3-2 for soccer's 5th World Cup in Bern
- July 4, 1956 Independence National Historical Park established in Philadelphia
- July 4, 1956 "US most intense rain fall (1.23"" in 1 minute) at Unionville Maryland"
- July 4, 1957 "Judy Tyler actress (Princess-Howdy Doody), dies at 24 in car crash"
- July 4, 1959 America's new 49-star flag honoring Alaska statehood unfurled
- July 4, 1959 "Cayman Islands separated from Jamaica, made a crown colony"
- July 4, 1959 "With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."
- July 4, 1960 "Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act)."
- July 4, 1960 Mickey Mantle hits career homer # 300
- July 4, 1962 Island Records begins
- July 4, 1962 "Rex Bell cowboy (Cowboys & Injuns), dies at 56"
- July 4, 1963 "Grant Richards actor (Doug-Doorway to Danger), dies at 48"
- July 4, 1966 LBJ signs Freedom of Information Act
- July 4, 1967 Freedom of Information Act goes into effect
- July 4, 1968 Two teens are killed at Lake Herman Road in California. They were the first (known) victims of the Zodiac Killer.
- July 4, 1969 """Give Peace a Chance"" by Plastic Ono Band is released in the UK"
- July 4, 1969 "140,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zep & Janis Joplin"
- July 4, 1969 Ann Jones defeats Billie Jean King for Wimbeldon Ladies championship
- July 4, 1970 100 injured in race rioting in Asbury Park NJ
- July 4, 1970 "Chartered Dan-Air Comet crashes into mountains north of Barcelona, Spain killing 112 vacationing Britons"
- July 4, 1970 "Harold Vanderbilt America Cup winner (1930, 34, 37), dies at 85"
- July 4, 1970 "Popular syndicated radio show, ""American Top 40"", hosted by Casey Kasem, debuts."
- July 4, 1973 A Liberian tanker collides with a grain-carrier in the St. Lawrence River at Trois-Pistoles.
- July 4, 1974 "Off Newfoundland, nearly 250 large icebergs are counted along the eastern shores off Newfoundland."
- July 4, 1975 "Bundy victim (?) Nancy Baird disappears from Layton, Utah"
- July 4, 1976 "Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists."
- July 4, 1977 Cubs use fielder Larry Bittner as a pitcher
- July 4, 1977 Nigel Harrison replaces Gary Valentine as bassist of Blondie
- July 4, 1978 Memphis firefighters halt 3-day strike under a court order
- July 4, 1979 "In Eastern China a 5.4 quake was centered about 225 kilometers southwest of Shanghai in the Liyang area. At least 41 people were reported killed, more than 2,000 were injured"
- July 4, 1982 4th Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 4 lands at Edwards AFB
- July 4, 1982 Iranian diplomats kidnapping (1982):Four Iranian diplomats kidnapped by Lebanese militia in Lebanon.
- July 4, 1982 Jimmy Connors beats John McEnroe for his last Wimbeldon championship
- July 4, 1985 Tinker Bell's nightly flight begins
- July 4, 1987 Discovery moves to Launch Pad 39B for STS-26 mission
- July 4, 1987 "In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (aka the ""Butcher of Lyon"") is convicted of crimes against humanity and is sentenced to life imprisonment."
- July 4, 1987 Martina Navratilova wins 6th straight Wimbeldon defeats Steffi Graf
- July 4, 1987 "Nazi Klaus Barbie, ""Butcher of Lyon"" convicted by a French court"
- July 4, 1987 Number one hit on UK music charts - Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin
- July 4, 1988 Steffan Edberg beats Boris Becker for Wimbeldon crown
- July 4, 1989 Federal PC cabinet minister Bernard Valcourt injured while motorcycling; later charged with impaired driving and dropped from the cabinet.
- July 4, 1990 "2 Live Crew release ""Banned in the USA"" the lyrics quote Star Spangled Banner & Gettysburg Address"
- July 4, 1991 "In Timor two events measuring 6.5 about 2.5 seconds apart. Twenty-three people killed, 181 injured, at least 5,400 left homeless"
- July 4, 1992 "USS George Washington (CVN-73), a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy is commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia."
- July 4, 1993 Sumitomo Chemical's resin plant in Nihama explodes killing one and injuring three workers.
- July 4, 1997 NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
- July 4, 1997 "Web surfers viewed the first-ever photos of the surface of Mars, transmitted by the Sojourner, a roving robot deposited by the Mars Pathfinder, an unmanned spacecraft"
- July 4, 2005 The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
- July 4, 2006 "North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile, and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan."
- July 4, 2007 "Zaca Fire Starts in Santa Barbara, California becomes second largest fire in California history."
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