4th of July: predictions and 10 unusual facts

Three US presidents have died on July 4

As we said before, no less than three US Presidents have died on the 4th of July. James Monroe died in 1831 of heart failure and tuberculosis, while both the second and third presidents of the United States not only died on Independence Day, they died on the same Independence Day.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4th, 1826, the United States’ fiftieth anniversary. On top of that, President Zachary Taylor died on the 9th of July 1850, but most reports state that he died of food poisoning from the cherries and milk which he had consumed on the 4th of July. The 4th of July is kind of a curse to US Presidents.

We also found that in 1891, on the 4th of July, Hannibal Hamlin became the only Vice President of the United States to die on Independence Day.

Philippines gained their own independence from the US on July 4

“The Treaty of Manila” of 1946 was signed on the 4th of July, ending the US sovereignty of the country and formally establishing the independence of the Republic of the Philippines.

New York City abolishes slavery

New York once had the second largest slave population in the United States. The slaves were not freed until July 4, 1827.

Alice in Wonderland is conceived

According to the information we gathered, on July 4, 1862, a mathematics lecturer named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – who went by the pen name Lewis Carroll – set out on a rowboat excursion on the River Isis. He was joined by the three young daughters of Dean Henry Liddell. The girls begged for him to tell them a story as they floated down the river. Dodgson obliged, spinning the youngest, Alice Liddell, into the story. Thus, Alice in Wonderland was born. The book was published on November 26, 1865.

The Statue of Liberty is presented to the United States in Paris

Since its arrival in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty has stood as a welcoming symbol for immigrants who come to America seeking a new life. But of course, this beacon of freedom hasn’t always been there. In fact, the statue didn’t make its first full appearance in the Big Apple until June 17, 1885.

The significance of the 4th of July to the statue goes back even further. It was on July 4, 1884, that the Statue of Liberty was presented by the Franco American Union to the U.S. ambassador in France. Then it was taken apart and shipped to the US.

July 4th happens twice

The year 1892 was a leap year, and so it had 366 days instead of the typical 365. However, Western Samoa made a change to its time zone that year, thus shifting where the country fell with regard to the International Date Line. As a result, in 1892, Western Samoa had two July 4ths back-to-back, for a total of 367 calendar days that year.

Other countries celebrate the 4th of July only to attract American tourists

Did you know other countries celebrate the 4th of July only to attract American tourists? Denmark, England, Norway and Sweden are some of them. They celebrate the 4th of July because many of their citizens moved to the US or simply to attract American tourists.

The idea of nuclear reactor is patented

Leó Szilárd, an influential nuclear physicist, first developed the idea of nuclear chain reaction in 1933.

Then, in 1934, he took things a step further and patented the idea for a nuclear reactor on July 4th. Szilárd worked on the Manhattan Project, putting this exact science into action.

The American flag receives its 50th star

Though Hawaii was officially named a state in August of 1959, the 50th star did not appear on the American flag until it was ceremoniously added on July 4th, 1960.

The God particle is announced

The existence of the particle known as the Higgs boson was theorized in the ’60s, but on July 4, 2012, the discovery of a new particle was announced. It was also called “The God particle”.