TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – JULY 4 2019
1712 12 slaves are executed for starting an uprising in New York that killed nine whites.
1776 The amended Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas Jefferson, is approved and signed by John Hancock–President of the Continental Congress–and Charles Thomson, Congress secretary. The state of New York abstains from signing.
1803 The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people by President Thomas Jefferson
1817 Construction begins on the Erie Canal, to connect Lake Erie and the Hudson River.
1836 Wisconsin Territory formed
1845 Henry David Thoreau begins his 26-month stay at Walden Pond.
1862 Charles Dodgson first tells the story of Alice’s adventures down the rabbit hole during a picnic along the Thames.
1884 The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States in Paris.
1894 After seizing power, Judge Stanford B. Dole declares Hawaii a republic.
1895 The poem America the Beautiful is first published.
1910 Race riots break out all over the United States after African American Jack Johnson knocks out Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match.
1934 Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb
1941 Howard Florey & Norman Heatley meet for the 1st time, 11 days later they successfully recreate pencillin
1946 The United States grants the Philippine Islands their independence.
1960 The 50-star flag makes its debut in Philadelphia.
1966 Freedom of Information Act in the US is signed into law
1976 Israeli commandos rescue 100 hostages held by pro-Palestinian hijackers at Entebbe airport in Uganda.
1987 Klaus Barbie, the former Gestapo chief known as the “Butcher of Lyon,” was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison.
1997 The U.S. Pathfinder probe landed on Mars.
2012 Discovery of Higgs boson particle is announced by scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
2017 North Korea tests first successful intercontinental ballistic missile into Sea of Japan
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
