Below is a set of thoughts about July 4. Yes, lots of horrible and questionable things have happened on this day (#onthisday). The list below is my selection of what I hope are more positive events (using the Wikipedia page for July 4 as the starting point, and then subtracting many, many selections). The list that remains is dedicated to Philipp! I have added some additional headings in ALL CAPS and bold text to highlight entries that I think are worth further investigation.
Pre-1600
- 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
- 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
- 993 – Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
- 1054 – A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
1601–1900
- CANADIAN HISTORY: 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
- 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
- 1774 – Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament’s Coercive Acts.
- 1776 – American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
- 1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.
- 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
- 1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
- WEIRD AMERICAN HISTORY: 1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die on the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives,” not knowing that Jefferson had died hours earlier.
- IMPORTANT AMERICAN HISTORY: 1827 – Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
- 1831 – Samuel Francis Smith writes “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
- 1845 – Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau’s account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.
- 1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman‘s book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn.
- 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
- CANADIAN HISTORY: 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway‘s first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
1901–present
- 1918 – Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
- 1947 – The “Indian Independence Bill” is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
- 1976 – Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
- 1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon”) is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
- 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
- 1997 – NASA‘s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
- 2004 – FUSSBALL: Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.
- 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
- 2015 – FUSSBALL: Chile claims its first title in international football by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1477 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (d. 1534)
1601–1900
- 1694 – MUSIC: Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (d. 1772)
- 1715 – Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet and academic (d. 1769)
- 1719 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright (d. 1797)
- 1753 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (d. 1809)
- 1804 – AMERICAN HISTORY: Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1864)
- 1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (d. 1882)
- 1816 – CANADIAN HISTORY: Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club whisky (d. 1899)
- 1826 – Stephen Foster, American songwriter and composer (d. 1864)
- 1847 – AMERICAN HISTORY: James Anthony Bailey, American circus ringmaster, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1906)
- 1886 – CANADIAN HISTORY: Tom Longboat, Canadian runner and soldier (d. 1949)[10]
- 1895 – MUSIC: Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (d. 1996)
1901–present
- 1902 – AMERICAN HISTORY: Meyer Lansky, American gangster (d. 1983)
- 1905 – AMERICAN HISTORY: Lionel Trilling, American critic, essayist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1975)
- 1910 – IMPORTANT SCHOLAR: Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (d. 2003)
- 1918 – **AMERICAN HISTORY**: Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Norm Drucker, American basketball player and referee (d. 2015)
- 1920 – AMERICAN HISTORY: Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (d. 2007)
- 1920 – FUSSBALL: Fritz Wilde, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
- 1921 – Gérard Debreu, French economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
- 1926 – FUSSBALL: Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and photographer
- 1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2018)[15]
- 1928 – FUSSBALL: Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer and politician (d. 2021)
- 1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
- 1937 – IMPORTANT SCHOLAR: Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and academic
- 1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian
- 1938 – Steven Rose, English biologist and academic
- 1938 – MUSIC: Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2020)
- 1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Conny Bauer, German trombonist
- 1943 – Adam Hart-Davis, English historian, author, and photographer
- 1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author[17]
- 1943 – Fred Wesley, American jazz and funk trombonist[18]
- 1943 – Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
- 1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Ralph Johnson, American R&B drummer and percussionist
- 1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
- 1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager
- 1966 – FUNNY: Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter
- 1966 – FUSSBALL: Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer
- 1973 – Gackt, Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor
- 1973 – FUSSBALL: Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager
- 1978 – FUSSBALL: Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
- 1979 – FUSSBALL: Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer
- 1980 – FUSSBALL: Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer
- 1981 – FUSSBALL: Dedé, Angolan footballer
- 1981 – FUSSBALL: Christoph Preuß, German footballer
- 1983 – FUSSBALL: Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1984 – FUSSBALL: Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer
- 1985 – FUSSBALL: Kane Tenace, Australian footballer
- 1985 – FUSSBALL: Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – FUSSBALL: Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer
- 1986 – FUSSBALL: Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer
- 1986 – Terrance Knighton, American football player
- 1989 – FUSSBALL: Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner footballer
- 1990 – FUSSBALL: Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer
- 1990 – FUSSBALL: Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer
- 1990 – FUSSBALL: Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer
- 1992 – FUSSBALL: Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer
- 1992 – FUSSBALL: Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer
- 1993 – FUSSBALL: Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer
- 1995 – MUSIC: Post Malone, American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer [24]
- 1999 – MUSIC: Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician [25]
- 2003 – MUSIC: Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer[26]
Deaths
1601–1900
- 1623 – MUSIC: William Byrd, English composer (b. c. 1540)
- 1644 – Brian Twyne, English academic, antiquarian and archivist (b. 1581)
- 1648 – CANADIAN HISTORY: Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint, one of the eight Canadian Martyrs (b. 1601)
- 1826 – ** John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)[27]
- 1826 – ** Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
- 1831 – ** James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (b. 1758)
- 1848 – François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician (b. 1768)
- 1886 – CANADIAN HISTORY: Poundmaker, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1797)