1776

The Declaration of Independence, adopted this day in 1776 by the Second Continental Congress, called for the American colonies to secede from Great Britain, a proclamation now commemorated by a U.S. national holiday.

1785

James Hutton, geologist, publicly reads an abstract of his theory of uniformitarianism for the first time at the meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

1802

The United States Military Academy opened in West Point, New York.

1803

The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people by President Thomas Jefferson.

1804

American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose greatest works, including the novel The Scarlet Letter (1850), are marked by profound psychological and moral insight, was born in Salem, Massachusetts.

1826

Former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who were once fellow Patriots and then adversaries, die on the same day within five hours of each other.

1838

Huskar Colliery Mining Disaster in Silkstone England: mining pit floods drown 26 children, leads to 1842 ‘Mines and Collieries Act’ bans women and children working underground.

1865

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published, though the first print run was soon recalled because of quality issues; a new first edition was released in November.

1884

The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States by the French in Paris.

1905

Baseball Hall of Fame pitchers Rube Waddell (A’s) and Cy Young (Boston) matchup in 20-inning classic; Philadelphia win, 4-2.

1919

Jack Dempsey beats champion Jess Willard, retired in 3rd round in Toledo, Ohio for world heavyweight championship.

1934

Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.

1939

On an appreciation day in his honour, American baseball player Lou Gehrig, who had been forced to retire months earlier due to ALS, gave a memorable speech in which he claimed to be “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

1946

The Republic of the Philippines was proclaimed an independent country, with Manuel Roxas as its first president.

1961

Walt Disney is one of the two main speakers on the Independence Day in The Rebuild Hills at Skørping in Denmark.

1964

Beachboys’ “I Get Around” reaches #1.

1966

Beatles attacked in the Philippines after (unintentionally) insulting Imelda Marcos.

1969

140,000 attend 2-day Atlanta Pop Festival in Byron, Georgia; performers include: Janis Joplin; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Chicago; Led Zeppelin; Delaney and Bonnie; Creedence Clearwater Revival, Canned Heat; Joe Cocker; Chuck Berry; Spirit; and Johnny Winter.

1976

British punk rock band the Clash gave their first public performance, opening for the Sex Pistols in a pub in Sheffield, England.

1989

14 year old actress Drew Barrymore, attempts suicide.

1997

Pathfinder lands on Mars.

2012

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN announced that they had detected an interesting signal that was likely from a Higgs boson.

2017

North Korea tests first successful intercontinental ballistic missile into Sea of Japan