Historical Events on July 4

  • 1776: The Second Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence during the American Revolution.
  • 1778: Kaskasia is captured by American forces led by George Clark during the American Revolutionary War.
  • 1802: The U.S Military Academy at West Point, New York opens its doors on this date.
  • 1803: The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the U.S public.
  • 1817: Construction on the Erie Canal starts in Rome, New York.
  • 1826: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both die on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S Declaration of Independence.
  • 1827: In New York State, slavery is officially abolished.
  • 1831: “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” is written by Samuel Francis Smith for the Boston 4th of July festivities.
  • 1838: The Iowa Territory is officially organized.
  • 1862: Lewis Carroll tells Alice Lidell a story. This story would grown into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
  • 1863: At the end of the Siege of Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Grant takes Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • 1863: The Confederate Army is drove back at the Battle of Helena in Arkansas.
  • 1863: After losing the Battle of Gettysburg, the Army of Northern Virginia pulls from the battlefield. This concludes the invasion of the North by the South.
  • 1892: In the city of San Diego in California, the first double-decked street car goes into service.
  • 1894: Sanford B. Dole proclaims the Republic of Hawaii.
  • 1941: Polish writers, artists and scientists are murdered by the Nazis in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
  • 1941: The Great Choral Synagogue in Riga is burned to the ground during World War II. Three hundred Jews were locked in the basement at the time.

Famous Birthdays on July 4

  • American lawyer and 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge is born in 1872.
  • American General Ulysses S. Grant III is born in 1881.
  • American sculptor, engineer and cartoonist, Rube Goldberg is born in 1883.