On This Day - July 4th About This Page:

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1776 - The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain and its king. The declaration came 442 days after the first volleys of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts and marked an ideological expansion of the conflict that would eventually encourage France's intervention on behalf of the Patriots.

With the other colonies watching intently, Massachusetts led the resistance to the British, forming a shadow revolutionary government and establishing militias to resist the increasing British military presence across the colony. In April 1775, Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, ordered British troops to march to Concord, Massachusetts, where a Patriot arsenal was known to be located. On April 19, 1775, the British regulars encountered a group of American militiamen at Lexington, and the first shots of the American Revolution were fired.

The Declaration of Independence was largely the work of Virginian Thomas Jefferson. In justifying American independence, Jefferson drew generously from the political philosophy of John Locke, an advocate of natural rights, and from the work of other English theorists. The first section features the famous lines, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The second part presents a long list of grievances that provided the rationale for rebellion.

In 1783 - with the signing of the Treaty of Paris with Britain, the United States formally became a free and independent nation.

1802 - The U.S. Military Academy officially opened at West Point, N.Y.

1803 - The Louisiana Purchase was announced in newspapers. The property was purchased, by the U.S. from France, was for $15 million (or 3 cents an acre).

1804 - Lewis and Clark celebrate July 4

Staging the first-ever Fourth of July celebration west of the Mississippi River, Lewis and Clark fire the expedition cannon and order an extra ration of whiskey for the men. They distributed an extra ration of whiskey to the men, and the explorers settled back to enjoy the peaceful Kansas night. In his final journal entry of the day, Clark wondered at the existence of, "So magnificent a Senerey in a Contry thus Situated far removed from the Sivilised world to be enjoyed by nothing but the Buffalo Elk Deer & Bear in which it abounds & Savage Indians."

1817 - Construction began on the Erie Canal, to connect Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

1826 - Former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, respectively, die on this day, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Both men had been central in the drafting of the historic document; Jefferson had authored it, and Adams, who was known as the "colossus of the debate," served on the drafting committee and had argued eloquently for the declaration's passage.

By remarkable coincidence, Jefferson and Adams died on the same day, Independence Day in 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

1831 - James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, died in New York City.

1832 - The song "America" was sung in public for the first time at the Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts.

1845 - American writer Henry David Thoreau began his two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts.

1855 - First edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass is published.

On this day, Walt Whitman's first edition of the self-published Leaves of Grass is printed, containing a dozen poems. He revised the book many times, constantly adding and rewriting poems. The second edition, in 1856, included his "Sundown Poem," later called "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," one of his most beloved pieces. Whitman sometimes took long ferry and coach rides as an excuse to talk with people, and was also fond of long walks and cultural events in Manhattan.

1865 - 1st edition of "Alice in Wonderland" is published.

1872 - Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, was born in Plymouth, Vermont.

1884 - Statue of Liberty presented to U.S. in Paris.

1939 - Baseball player Lou Gehrig bid a tearful farewell at Yankee Stadium in New York, telling fans, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."

1946 - The Philippines became independent.

1954 - A sensationalized murder trial inspires The Fugitive.

Marilyn Sheppard is beaten to death inside her suburban home in Cleveland, Ohio. Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, claimed to have returned home to find a man with bushy hair fleeing the scene. The authorities, who uncovered the fact that Dr. Sheppard had been having an affair, did not believe his story and charged him with killing his pregnant wife.

Creating a national sensation, the media invaded the courtroom and printed daily stories premised on Sheppard's guilt. The jurors, who were not sequestered, found Sheppard guilty. Arguing that the circumstances of the trial had unfairly influenced the jury, Sheppard appealed to the Supreme Court and got his conviction overturned in 1966. Yet, despite the fact that Sheppard had no previous criminal record, many still believed that he was responsible for his wife's murder.

Sheppard's case provided the loose inspiration for the hit television show The Fugitive, in which the lead character, Richard Kimble, is falsely accused of killing his wife, escapes from prison, and pursues the one-armed man he claimed to have seen fleeing the murder scene.

In 1998, DNA tests on physical evidence found at Sheppard's house revealed that there had indeed been another man at the murder scene. Sheppard's son, who had pursued the case long after his father's death in order to vindicate his reputation, sued the state for wrongful imprisonment in 2000, but his case was rejected.

1959 - America's 49-star flag, honoring Alaskan statehood, was officially unfurled.

1960 - America's 50-star flag, honoring Hawaiian statehood, was officially unfurled.

1966 - In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos pulls the Beatles' police protection after his wife claims the band snubbed her by not attending one of her parties. Later, an angry mob attacks the Fab Four.

1969 - "Give Peace a Chance" by Plastic Ono Band is released in the UK.

1970 - Casey Kasem hosted radio’s "American Top 40" for the first time.

1976 - America celebrated its bicentennial; in New York, more than 200 ships paraded up the Hudson River in Operation Sail.

1980 - The Beach Boys gave a free outdoor performance to an estimated 500,000 people in Washington.

1982 - Ozzy Osbourne married his manager, Sharon Arden.

***DISNEY ALERT*** ***DISNEY ALERT*** ***DISNEY ALERT***
1985 - Tinker Bell's nightly flight begins.

1995 - The Ramones released "Adios Amigos."

1999 - Spice Girl Victoria Adams - better known as Posh Spice - wed English soccer hero David Beckham at a 15th-century Irish castle in a ceremony shielded from the prying eyes of the press and fans. Adams wore a $160,000 gold-and-diamond coronet, UK's "The Sunday Times" reported, saying it outdid the tiara that Queen Elizabeth II lent to her newest daughter-in-law, the former Sophie Rhys-Jones. She married Prince Edward the previous month. Strict security surrounded the wedding, and a long white tent shielded guests and the couple from journalists.

2003 - Barry White, the Walrus of Love who made the '70s sexier with hits like "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," dies of kidney failure. He was 58.

Birthdays:

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Writer 1804
Louis B. Mayer, 1885 Russian-born American movie executive
Mitch Miller, Band Conductor 1911
Ann Landers, Columnist 1918
Abigail Van Buren, Columnist 1918
Leona Helmsley 1920
Eva Marie Saint, Actress 1924
Neil Simon, Playwright 1927
Gina Lollobrigida, Actress 1928
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner 1930
Bill Withers, Singer 1938
Ralph Johnson (Earth, Wind and Fire) 1952
John Waite, Singer 1955
Kirk Pengilly (INXS) 1958
Matt Malley (Counting Crows) 1963