1776 – Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Great Britain.
1796 – 1st Independence Day celebration is held.
1831 – “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee}”, with lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith, has 1st public performance at Park Street in Boston.
1884 – Statue of Liberty presented to the United States in Paris.
1910 – Congress passes the Mann-Elkins Act, an important piece of railroad reform legislation.
1919 – Jack Dempsey beats champion Jess Willard, retired in 3rd round in Toledo, Ohio, for world heavyweight championship.
1931 – 1st fireworks are held at Cleveland Stadium.
1939 – Lou Gehrig is first Major League Baseball player to have his number (4) retired on his “Appreciation Day” at Yankee Stadium, makes the iconic “Luckiest man” speech.
1941 – Howard Florey and Norman Heatley meet for 1st time, 11 days later they successfully recreate penicillin.
1944 – 1st Japanese kamikaze attack, US fleet near Iwo Jima.
1950 – The first broadcast by Radio Free Europe.
1956 – US most intense rainfall (1.23″ in 1 minute) at Unionville, Maryland.
1959 – America’s new 49-star flag honoring Alaska statehood unfurled.
1960 – America’s new 50-star flag honoring Hawaiian statehood unfurled.
1982 – 4th NASA Space Shuttle Mission; Columbia 4 (STS-4) lands at Edwards Air Force Base.
1993 – Pizza Hut blimp deflated and landed safely on West 56th street in New York City.
2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. (This was largely a symbolic event, actual construction would not start for several weeks)
2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after 8 years, due to security reasons following the World Trade Center attacks.
2019 – President Donald Trump holds a “Salute to American” Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C., controversial for its emphasis on the military and presence of tanks.
2022 – Minnesota Twins turn first 8-5 triple play in Major League Baseball history as center fielder Byron Buxton makes a catch and third baseman Gio Urshela tags one runner out on the basepath and doubles-off another runner by tagging second base against White Sox in Chicago.
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