Today in History:
As the summer sun shines bright and the scent of barbecue fills the air, Americans across the country come together to celebrate the 4th of July—our nation’s Independence Day. This cherished holiday marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, when the United States declared its freedom from British rule.
Today, the 4th of July is a time for reflection, gratitude, and celebration. Families and friends gather for picnics, parades, and fireworks displays that light up the night sky in red, white, and blue. It’s a day to honor the values of liberty, democracy, and unity that define our nation.
Whether you’re enjoying a backyard cookout, watching a local parade, or simply spending time with loved ones, I hope your Independence Day is filled with joy, pride, and a renewed appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy.
Happy 4th of July!
Also of interest on July 4th
- 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 – The United States Military Academy opens at West Point, New York.
- 1818 – US Flag Act of 1818 goes into effect creating a 13 stripe flag with a star for each state. New stars would be added on July 4 after a new state had been admitted.
- 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.
- 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
- 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway’s first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
- 1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
- 1927 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
- 1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”, then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
- 1951 – William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.
- 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, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)).
- 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
- 1982 – Space Shuttle program: Columbia lands at Edwards Air Force Base at the end of the program’s final test flight, STS-4. President Ronald Reagan declares the Space Shuttle to be operational.
- 1997 – NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
- 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
- 2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
- 2006 – Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program’s history to occur on the United States’ Independence Day.
- 2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
- 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
Births on This Day
- 1753 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (died 1809)
- 1790 – George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (died 1866)
- 1816 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club whisky (died 1899)
- 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (died 1933)
- 1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (died 1968)
- 1918 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (died 2013)
- 1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter (died 2018)
- 1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – John Waite, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
- 1961 – Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series
- 1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1981 – Will Smith, American football player (died 2016)
- 1982 – Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality
- 1995 – Post Malone, American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer
Deaths on This Day
- 1826 – John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (born 1735)
- 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (born 1743)
- 1831 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (born 1758)
- 1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, American lawyer and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (born 1809)
- 1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1867)
- 1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (born 1919)
- 1995 – Bob Ross, American painter and television host (born 1942)
- 2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (born 1944)
- 2009 – Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (born 1931)
- 2013 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (born 1960)
- 2017 – John Blackwell, American R&B, funk, and jazz drummer (born 1973)
- 2022 – Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese manga artist (born 1961)
Holidays Today
July 4 | Holidays, Birthdays, Events
The Funnies:
AI Contribution of the Day:
Gemini
Quote of the Day:
Comic of the Day:
Wrong Hands | Cartoons by John Atkinson. ©John Atkinson, Wrong Hands
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
What I am listening to today:
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Happy Treason Day, you ungrateful colonials!
Whenever I hear about Comic Sans, it always reminds me of Silent Hill Ranch from Silent Hill 2… HD.
Inspirobot does have a point today. Ever wasted an opportunity and ended up kicking yourself for it afterwards?
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Incidentally, I found this really interesting:
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Happy Independence Day for those who celebrate. 
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Happy Independence Day to all my liberated friends!
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Should have shared this yesterday. .
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Hahahaha, haven’t seen that one before
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It’s cool. We get Christmas off. 
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No, that is also excellent
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Everyone took the memes and images I was going to post. Enjoy the day off those of us in the U.S.
@Panda-Marie @chrisdavis8 @gurugabe1 @HulkSmash
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Let Americans get excited by their ‘1’ day a year holiday (I assume 2 if Thanksgiving)…Even aside the 8 bank holidays a year we get in the UK (one of the lowest in Europe) we still get 25days paid leave. Thats ‘paid’ leave - oh and bank holidays are paid too. So there is that.
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On how many of those days is it raining and/or overcast? 
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That depends where you go on holiday to…
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The whole point of a ‘holiday’ if you choose to actually go away is you pick somewere it isn’t overcast.
I am not travelling due to the issues around medical but in the days I have taken off so far its sunny and warm mostly, my next time off is late July and high probability it will be sunny and warm. If you take it in December - sure its likely to be cold and overcast…but you can always go abroad into Europe for better conditions as many do.
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Or just sleep in, in a nice soft bed that isn’t at a hotel…enjoy all the comforts of the home you spend so many hours to afford but rarely get to use (unless you work from home).
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