Today in History: July 4th, the Declaration of Independence is adopted in Philadelphia
Today is Tuesday, July 4th, the 185th day of the year 2023. There are 180 days left in the year. It is Independence Day.
Today’s Key Moments in History:
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.
on this date:
In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, New York.
In 1826, 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, both former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died.
In 1831, James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, died in New York City at the age of 73.
In 1863, the Civil War siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, ended with a Confederate garrison surrendering to Union forces.
In 1910, in what was called “The Fight of the Century”, black world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defeated white former champion “Gentleman” Jim Jeffries in Reno, Nevada.
In 1912, the 48-star US flag was adopted upon New Mexico’s statehood.
In 1939, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees gave his famous farewell speech in which he called himself “the luckiest man on earth”.
In 1976, America celebrated its bicentennial with day-long festivities; President Gerald R. Ford stopped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and New York, where more than 200 ships paraded on the Hudson River in Operation Sail.
In 1987, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie, known as the “Butcher of Lyon”, was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment (he died in September 1991).
In 1995, the space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir separated after spending five days in orbit together.
In 2009, Serena Williams defeated her older sister Venus 7–6(3), 6–2 to claim her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship.
In 2016, NASA received a radio signal from the solar-powered Juno spacecraft that confirmed it was orbiting the planet Jupiter after a journey of nearly five years and 1.8 billion miles.
Ten years ago: Adly Mansour, Egypt’s interim president, was sworn in following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist leader who was ousted by the military after just one year in office. Eight months after Superstorm Sandy closed the national symbol of liberty, the Statue of Liberty reopened on the Fourth of July. Bernadette Nolan, 52, a member of the singing sister act Nolan who hit the world with “I’m in the Mood for Dancing” in 1979, has died in Surrey, England.
Five years ago: British police said two Britons who fell seriously ill in the town of Amesbury were exposed to nerve agent Novichok, the same material used months earlier to poison a former Russian spy in the nearby area it was done. Protests against US immigration policy caused the Statue of Liberty to be evacuated on July 4, with one group hoisting a banner from the pedestal and a woman holding off police for hours after climbing onto the base.
One year ago: A gunman perched on a rooftop opened fire at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing seven and wounding more than 20 as hundreds of marchers, parents on strollers and children on bicycles passed by Ran away because of fear. The US said it has concluded that the bullet that killed senior Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was most likely fired from an Israeli base. But he added that the bullet was too badly damaged that a complete determination could not be reached, and that there was “no reason to believe” that it had been intentionally aimed.
Today’s Birthday: Actor Eva Marie Saint is 99. Actor Ed Bernard is 84. Actor Carolyn Grimes is 83. R&B singer Annette Beard (Martha and the Vandellas) is 80. Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera is 80. Vietnam War veteran and peace activist Ron Kovic R&B musician Ralph Johnson (Earth, Wind & Fire) is 72. Rock musician Domingo Ortiz (Widespread Panic) is 71. Singer Jon Waite is 71. Rock musician Kirk Pengilly (INXS) is 65. International Tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver is 61. Christian rock singer Michael Sweet is 60. Actor-playwright-screenwriter Tracy Letts is 58. Actor Al Madrigal is 52. Actor Jenika Bergere is 49 years old. Actor-singer John Lloyd Young is 48. Singer Stephen “Ste” McNeely ( BBMak ) is 45. Actor Becky Newton is 45. Actor Mo McRae is 41. TV personality Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is 41. R&B singer Melanie Fiona is 40 years old. Malia Obama is 25 years old.