July 4 facts for kids

July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 180 days remain until the end of the year. July 4th is a special day in history, marked by many important events and the births and deaths of famous people. It's also a day of celebration for several countries. Let's explore some of the key moments that have happened on this date throughout history.

Events in History

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 362 BC – The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, won a battle against the Spartans at Mantinea.
• 414 – Young Emperor Theodosius II, who was only 13, gave power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria. She became a powerful ruler, acting as a regent and even calling herself empress of the Eastern Roman Empire.
• 836 – The Pactum Sicardi, a peace agreement between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, was signed.
• 993 – Ulrich of Augsburg was recognized as a saint.
• 1054 – A very bright supernova (an exploding star), now known as SN 1054, was seen by people in China, Arab lands, and possibly by Native Americans. It was so bright that it could be seen during the day for several months! What's left of it today is the famous Crab Nebula.
• 1187 – During the Crusades, a major battle called the Battle of Hattin took place. Saladin defeated Guy of Lusignan, who was the King of Jerusalem.
• 1333 – In Japan, during the Genkō War, forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo took over Tōshō-ji during the Siege of Kamakura. This event led to the end of the Kamakura shogunate, a period when military leaders ruled Japan.
• 1456 – The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) began as part of the wars between the Ottoman Empire and Hungary.
• 1534 – Christian III was chosen as the King of Denmark and Norway.
• 1584 – Explorers Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrived at Roanoke Island in North America.

17th to 19th Centuries

• 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières was founded in New France, which is now Quebec, Canada.
• 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster was signed. In this treaty, the Iroquois people gave up lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies.
• 1776 – The United States Declaration of Independence was officially adopted by the Second Continental Congress. This was a huge step in the American Revolution, declaring the American colonies free from British rule.
• 1778 – During the American Revolutionary War, American forces led by George Rogers Clark captured Kaskaskia.
• 1802 – The United States Military Academy, a famous military school, opened at West Point, New York.
• 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase was announced to the American people. This was a massive land deal where the United States bought a huge area of land from France.
• 1817 – Construction began on the Erie Canal in Rome, New York. This canal would become a very important waterway for trade and travel.
• 1818 – The US Flag Act of 1818 came into effect. It set the design of the American flag to have 13 stripes and a star for each state. New stars would be added on July 4th after a new state joined the country.
• 1827 – Slavery was ended in the State of New York.
• 1831 – Samuel Francis Smith wrote the famous song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" for July 4th celebrations in Boston.
• 1832 – John Neal gave the first public speech in the U.S. to support the rights of women.
• 1832 – Durham University was officially started by an Act of Parliament. It was the first new university recognized in England in over 600 years.
• 1837 – The Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opened between Birmingham and Liverpool in England.
• 1845 – Henry David Thoreau moved into a small cabin by Walden Pond. His book Walden, about his time there, became very important for the environmental movement.
• 1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman's famous book of poems, Leaves of Grass, was published in Brooklyn.
• 1862 – Lewis Carroll told Alice Liddell a story that later became the beloved book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
• 1863 – During the American Civil War, Vicksburg, Mississippi surrendered to U.S. forces led by Ulysses S. Grant after a long 47-day Siege of Vicksburg.
• 1863 – Also during the Civil War, Union forces pushed back a Confederate army at the Battle of Helena in Arkansas.
• 1863 – The Army of Northern Virginia began to leave the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg. This marked the end of the Confederate invasion of U.S. territory.
• 1879 – In the Anglo-Zulu War, British troops captured and burned the Zululand capital of Ulundi, ending the war.
• 1881 – The Tuskegee Institute opened in Alabama, providing education for African Americans.
• 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway's first scheduled train arrived in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after a six-day journey from Montreal.
• 1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii was declared by Sanford B. Dole.
• 1898 – The ship SS La Bourgogne sank off the coast of Sable Island after hitting another ship, leading to the loss of 549 lives.

20th and 21st Centuries

• 1903 – The Philippine–American War officially ended.
• 1911 – A huge heat wave hit the northeastern United States, causing many deaths and breaking temperature records.
• 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson spoke to American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
• 1918 – Mehmed V passed away, and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI became the new ruler.
• 1918 – During World War I, the Battle of Hamel took place. Australian soldiers successfully attacked German positions on the Western Front.
• 1927 – The Lockheed Vega airplane made its first flight.
• 1939 – Baseball legend Lou Gehrig, who had a serious illness, told fans at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he announced his retirement.
• 1942 – During World War II, the long Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ended when the city fell to Axis forces.
• 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Kursk, one of the largest battles in history and the biggest tank battle, began.
• 1943 – A Royal Air Force bomber crashed near Gibraltar, killing sixteen people, including general Władysław Sikorski, the Polish Prime Minister in exile.
• 1946 – The Philippines gained full independence from the United States after 381 years of colonial rule.
• 1947 – The "Indian Independence Bill" was presented in the British House of Commons, proposing to divide British India into two independent countries: India and Pakistan.
• 1950 – During the Cold War, Radio Free Europe began its first broadcasts.
• 1951 – William Shockley announced the invention of the junction transistor, a key component in electronics.
• 1954 – Rationing of food and goods finally ended in the United Kingdom after World War II.
• 1960 – The 50-star flag of the United States was first shown in Philadelphia, after Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state.
• 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act into law. This act allows people to request information from the government.
• 1976 – Israeli commandos carried out the Entebbe raid in Uganda, rescuing passengers and crew from an Air France jetliner that had been taken over by hijackers.
• 1997 – NASA's Pathfinder space probe successfully landed on the surface of Mars.
• 1998 – Japan launched the Nozomi probe to Mars, becoming another nation to explore space.
• 2001 – Vladivostock Air Flight 352 crashed while approaching Irkutsk Airport, killing all 145 people on board.
• 2004 – The first stone of the Freedom Tower was laid at the World Trade Center site in New York City.
• 2004 – The Greek national football team won the UEFA Euro 2004 Final, becoming European Champions for the first time.
• 2005 – The Deep Impact spacecraft sent a part of itself to hit the comet Tempel 1 to study its insides.
• 2006 – The space shuttle Discovery launched STS-121 to the International Space Station. This was the only time a shuttle launched on the United States' Independence Day.
• 2009 – The Statue of Liberty's crown reopened to the public after being closed for eight years due to security concerns.
• 2012 – Scientists at CERN announced the discovery of particles that match the description of the Higgs boson, a fundamental particle in physics.
• 2015 – Chile won its first major international football title by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.

Famous Births

Born Before 1900

• 1095 – Usama ibn Munqidh, a Muslim poet and author.
• 1477 – Johannes Aventinus, a Bavarian historian.
• 1546 – Murad III, an Ottoman sultan.
• 1790 – George Everest, a Welsh geographer and surveyor, after whom Mount Everest is named.
• 1799 – Oscar I of Sweden, a king of Sweden and Norway.
• 1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, a famous American novelist who wrote The Scarlet Letter.
• 1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian general and politician who played a key role in uniting Italy.
• 1826 – Stephen Foster, an American songwriter known for songs like "Oh! Susanna."
• 1845 – Thomas John Barnardo, an Irish helper of children who founded homes for poor children.
• 1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, an American astronomer who discovered a way to measure distances in space.
• 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States.
• 1883 – Rube Goldberg, an American cartoonist known for drawing complex machines that do simple tasks.
• 1895 – Irving Caesar, an American songwriter who wrote many popular songs.
• 1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, a British actress, singer, and dancer.
• 1898 – Gertrude Weaver, an American supercentenarian who lived to be 116 years old.

Born After 1900

• 1902 – George Murphy, an American actor and politician.
• 1910 – Gloria Stuart, an American actress, famous for playing Old Rose in Titanic.
• 1911 – Mitch Miller, an American singer and producer.
• 1918 – Eppie Lederer and Pauline Phillips, American journalists who created the famous advice columns "Ann Landers" and "Dear Abby."
• 1924 – Eva Marie Saint, an American actress who won an Oscar.
• 1926 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, a famous Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach.
• 1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, an Italian actress and photographer.
• 1927 – Neil Simon, a very successful American playwright and screenwriter.
• 1930 – George Steinbrenner, an American businessman who owned the New York Yankees baseball team.
• 1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway, the current Queen of Norway.
• 1938 – Bill Withers, an American singer-songwriter known for hits like "Lean on Me."
• 1942 – Prince Michael of Kent, a member of the British royal family.
• 1943 – Geraldo Rivera, an American journalist and author.
• 1946 – Michael Milken, an American businessman and philanthropist.
• 1952 – Álvaro Uribe, a former President of Colombia.
• 1959 – Victoria Abril, a Spanish actress and singer.
• 1961 – Richard Garriott, an English-American video game designer, creator of the Ultima series.
• 1962 – Pam Shriver, an American tennis player.
• 1973 – Gackt, a Japanese musician, singer, and actor.
• 1995 – Post Malone, an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.

Notable Deaths

Died Before 1900

• 973 – Ulrich of Augsburg, a German bishop and saint.
• 1187 – Raynald of Châtillon, a French knight during the Crusades.
• 1336 – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, a queen and saint.
• 1541 – Pedro de Alvarado, a Spanish general and explorer.
• 1546 – Hayreddin Barbarossa, a famous Ottoman admiral.
• 1623 – William Byrd, an English composer.
• 1761 – Samuel Richardson, an English author.
• 1826 – John Adams, the 2nd President of the United States.
• 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States. It's a remarkable coincidence that both Adams and Jefferson, who were key figures in American independence, died on the same day, July 4th, 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
• 1831 – James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States. Another U.S. President who died on July 4th!
• 1848 – François-René de Chateaubriand, a French historian and politician.
• 1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, the 15th Vice President of the United States.

Died After 1900

• 1902 – Vivekananda, an Indian monk and saint.
• 1905 – Élisée Reclus, a French geographer and author.
• 1910 – Melville Fuller, a Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1916 – Alan Seeger, an American soldier and poet.
• 1934 – Marie Curie, a famous French-Polish physicist and chemist. She won two Nobel Prizes for her work on radioactivity.
• 1938 – Suzanne Lenglen, a French tennis player who won many championships.
• 1943 – Władysław Sikorski, the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile during World War II.
• 1963 – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, a New Zealand general and politician.
• 1970 – Barnett Newman, an American painter.
• 1976 – Yonatan Netanyahu, an Israeli colonel.
• 1992 – Astor Piazzolla, an Argentinian musician and composer.
• 1995 – Eva Gabor, a Hungarian-American actress.
• 1995 – Bob Ross, an American painter and television host, famous for his show "The Joy of Painting."
• 1997 – Charles Kuralt, an American journalist.
• 2003 – Barry White, an American singer-songwriter, known for his deep voice.
• 2008 – Jesse Helms, an American politician.
• 2016 – Abbas Kiarostami, an Iranian film director and screenwriter.
• 2022 – Kazuki Takahashi, a Japanese manga artist, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Andrew of Crete
  • Bertha of Artois
  • Blessed Catherine Jarrige
  • Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
  • Elizabeth of Aragon (or of Portugal)
  • Oda of Canterbury
  • Ulrich of Augsburg
  • July 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• The first evening of Dree Festival, celebrated until July 7 (Apatani people, Arunachal Pradesh, India)
• Independence Day (United States)
• Liberation Day (Northern Mariana Islands)
• Liberation Day (Rwanda)
• Republic Day (Philippines)

See also

In Spanish: 4 de julio para niños