This Day in History

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 10 1752 Benjamin Franklin flies kite during thunderstorm On June 10, 1752, Benjamin Franklin was said to have flown a kite during a thunderstorm to collect ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar, enabling him to demonstrate the connection between lightning and electricity. Franklin became interested in electricity in the mid-1740s, a time when much was still unknown ... read more Africa 1980 Nelson Mandela writes from prison American Revolution 1775 John Adams proposes a Continental Army Art, Literature, and Film History 1881 Tolstoy disguises himself as a peasant and leaves on a pilgrimage 1928 "Where the Wild Things Are" author Maurice Sendak is born 2007 Last episode of "The Sopranos" airs Cold War 1953 Eisenhower rejects calls for U.S. isolationism Colonial America 1692 First Salem witch hanging Crime 2002 Doughnut truck thief arrested Great Depression 1935 Alcoholics Anonymous founded Sports 1944 Joe Nuxhall makes MLB debut at 15 Vietnam War 1968 General Westmoreland gives farewell press conference in Saigon World War II 1940 Norway surrenders to Germany 1940 Italy declares war on France and Great Britain

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 11 1963 University of Alabama desegregated Facing federalized Alabama National Guard troops, Alabama Governor George Wallace ends his blockade of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and allows two African American students to enroll on June 11, 1963... read more American Revolution 1776 Congress appoints Committee of Five to draft the Declaration of Independence Art, Literature, and Film History 1949 Hank Williams, Sr., makes his Grand Ole Opry debut 1979 John Wayne dies 1982 "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" released China 1989 China issues warrant for Tiananmen dissident sheltering in U.S. embassy Exploration 1788 Russian explorer Izmailov arrives at Yakutat Bay, Alaska Great Britain 1509 Henry VIII marries his first wife, Catherine of Aragon Middle East 1967 Six-Day War ends Sports 1955 Race car at Le Mans crashes into spectators, killing 82 Vietnam War 1963 Buddhist immolates himself in protest World War II 1944 D-Day landing forces converge

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 12 1987 President Reagan challenges Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall" On June 12, 1987, in one of his most famous Cold War speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down" the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the repressive Communist era in a divided Germany. In 1945, following Germany's defeat in World War II, the nation's capital, ... read more 19th Century 1898 Philippine independence declared 21st Century 2016 Terrorist gunman attacks Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida 2017 Otto Warmbier returns from North Korean prison in a coma COLD WAR 1982 One million people demonstrate in New York City against nuclear weapons Black History 1963 Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is assassinated Crime 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman murdered Holocaust 1942 Anne Frank receives a diary India 1975 Indira Gandhi convicted of election fraud Sports 1920 Big Red sets record at Belmont Stakes U.S. Presidents 1924 George Herbert Walker Bush is born 1944 John F. Kennedy receives medals

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 13 1966 The Miranda rights are established On June 13, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Miranda v. Arizona, establishing the principle that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before interrogation. Now considered standard police procedure, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, an... read more American Revolution 1777 Lafayette arrives in South Carolina to serve alongside General Washington Ancient Middle East 323 B.C. Alexander the Great dies Art, Literature, and Film History 1962 Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita" released Black History 1967 Thurgood Marshall appointed to Supreme Court Crime 2006 Jurors begin deliberations in Susan Polk trial Middle Ages 1381 Peasant army marches into London Space Exploration 1983 Pioneer 10 departs solar system U.S. Presidents 1807 Thomas Jefferson subpoenaed in Aaron Burr's treason trial Vietnam War 1971 The New York Times publishes the "Pentagon Papers" Westward Expansion 1805 Meriwether Lewis reaches the Great Falls

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 14 1777 Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopts a resolution stating that "the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white" and that "the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." The national flag, which became known... read more 19th Century 1846 California's Bear Flag Revolt begins Art, Literature, and Film History 1811 Writer and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe is born Crime 1985 TWA flight 847 is hijacked by terrorists 2017 Five people shot, including Republican congressman, at charity baseball game Exploration 1789 Bounty mutiny survivors reach Timor Great Britain 2017 Grenfell Tower fire kills 72 in London Inventions & Science 1951 UNIVAC, the first commercially produced digital computer, is dedicated Latin America 1982 Falklands War ends U.S. Presidents 1922 Warren G. Harding becomes the first president to be heard on the radio Vietnam War 1968 Dr. Spock convicted for aiding draft resisters World War I 1917 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson gives Flag Day address World War II 1940 Germany invades Paris

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 15 1215 King John puts his seal on Magna Carta Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John puts his royal seal on Magna Carta, or "the Great Charter." The document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of... read more 19th Century 1846 U.S.-Canadian border established American Revolution 1776 Delaware declares independence Art, Literature, and Film History 1300 Dante is named prior of Florence Black History 1877 First African American graduate of West Point Civil War 1863 President Lincoln calls for help in protecting Washington, D.C. 1864 Battle of Petersburg begins Cold War 1946 The United States presents the Baruch Plan Crime 2005 Police search Van der Sloot home in Holloway disappearance Early 20th Century U.S. 1904 Fire on riverboat leaves more than 1,000 dead Exploration 1910 Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition begins U.S. Presidents 1775 George Washington assigned to lead the Continental Army Vietnam War 1964 President Johnson decides against asking Congress for authority to wage war World War I 1917 U.S. Congress passes Espionage Act World War II 1943 The "Blobel Commando" begins its cover-up of atrocities

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 16 1884 First roller coaster in America opens On June 16, 1884, the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride. The new entertainment was an instant success and by the... read more Art, Literature, and Film History 1943 Charlie Chaplin marries Oona O'Neill 1965 Bob Dylan records "Like A Rolling Stone" Civil War 1862 Union thwarted at the Battle of Secessionville Cold War 1961 Russian ballet star Rudolf Nureyev defects from USSR 1977 Leonid Brezhnev is elected Soviet president Crime 1999 SLA member captured after more than 20 years Inventions & Science 1903 Ford Motor Company incorporated Space Exploration 1963 Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space U.S. Presidents 1858 Lincoln warns that America is becoming a "house divided"

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 17 1885 Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor On June 17, 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 cases. The copper and iron statue, which was reassemb... read more American Revolution 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill begins Cold War 1953 Soviets crush antigovernment riots in East Berlin Crime 2015 Charleston church shooting Exploration 1579 Sir Francis Drake claims California for England Inventions & Science 1994 O.J. Simpson leads L.A. police on a low-speed chase Native American History 1876 Native Americans score victory at the Battle of the Rosebud Vietnam War 1972 Watergate burglars arrested World War II 1940 France to surrender to Nazis 1940 British and Allied troops continue the evacuation of France, as Churchill reassures his countrymen 1943 FDR's secretary of war stifles Truman's inquiry into suspicious defense plant

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 18 1812 War of 1812 begins The day after the Senate followed the House of Representatives in voting to declare war against Great Britain, President James Madison signs the declaration into law—and the War of 1812 begins. The American war declaration, opposed by a sizable minority in Congress, had been called in response to th... read more 1970s 1972 Jet crashes after takeoff at Heathrow, killing 118 people American Revolution 1778 British abandon Philadelphia Art, Literature, and Film History 1967 The Monterey Pop Festival reaches its climax Cold War 1979 Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT-II nuclear treaty Crime 1984 A radio host is gunned down for his controversial views France 1815 Napoleon defeated at Waterloo NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY 1934 Indian Reorganization Act is signed into law Sports 1960 Arnold Palmer wins U.S. Open U.S. Presidents 1798 President John Adams oversees passage of first of Alien and Sedition Acts Women's History 1983 Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space World War II 1940 Hitler and Mussolini meet in Munich

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 19 1865 Abolition of slavery announced in Texas on "Juneteenth" In what is now known as Juneteenth, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrive in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War is over and slavery in the United States is abolished. A mix of June and 19th, Juneteenth has become a day to commemorate the end of slavery in America... read more 19th Century 1867 Emperor of Mexico executed 21st Century 2014 Felipe VI becomes king of Spain after Juan Carlos I abdicates 2006 Construction on Global Seed Vault begins Art, Literature, and Film History 1905 First nickelodeon opens 1971 Carole King has her first #1 hit as a performer 2013 James Gandolfini, TV's Tony Soprano, dies at 51 Civil War 1864 USS Kearsarge sinks CSS Alabama Cold War 1953 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT 1968 “Solidarity Day” rally at Resurrection City Crime 1892 A bloody fingerprint elicits a mother's evil tale in Argentina 1982 Vincent Chin is murdered Inventions & Science 2005 Controversy at U.S. Grand Prix U.S. Politics 1856 First Republican national convention ends Westward Expansion 1868 Father De Smet talks peace with Sitting Bull World War I 1917 Britain's King George V changes royal surname World War II 1944 United States scores major victory against Japanese in Battle of the Philippine Sea

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 20 1975 "Jaws" released in theaters On June 20, 1975, Jaws, a film directed by Steven Spielberg that made countless viewers afraid to go into the water, opens in theaters. The story of a great white shark that terrorizes a New England resort town became an instant blockbuster and the highest-grossing film in movie history until it was... read more American Revolution 1782 Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States Art, Literature, and Film History 1981 Stars on 45 single reaches the top of the pop charts China 1900 Boxer Rebellion begins in China Civil War 1863 West Virginia enters the Union Cold War 1963 United States and Soviet Union agree to establish a nuclear "hot line" Crime 1947 Bugsy Siegel, organized crime leader, is killed France 1789 Third Estate makes Tennis Court Oath Inventions & Science 1941 Ford signs first contract with autoworkers' union Westward Expansion 1875 Mountain man Joe Meek dies World War I 1919 German cabinet resigns over Versailles deadlock

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 21 1788 U.S. Constitution ratified New Hampshire becomes the ninth and last necessary state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land. By 1786, defects in the post-Revolutionary War Articles of Confederation were apparent, such as the lack of central authority over foreign and do... read more 19th Century 1813 French defeated in Spain, ending the Peninsular War American Revolution 1779 Spain declares war against Great Britain Art, Literature, and Film History 1920 Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks mobbed by crowds 1956 Arthur Miller refuses to name communists 1965 "Mr. Tambourine Man" is released, and the folk-rock revolution is on Crime 1964 The KKK kills three civil rights activists 1982 John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, found not guilty Mexico 1916 U.S. General John J. Pershing attacked by Mexican troops Natural Disasters & Environment 1990 Earthquake devastates Iran U.S. Presidents 1810 Zachary Taylor and Richard Nixon marry their future first ladies Westward Expansion 1876 General Santa Anna dies in Mexico City World War II 1942 Allies surrender at Tobruk, Libya

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 22 1944 FDR signs G.I. Bill On June 22, 1944, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the G.I. Bill, an unprecedented act of legislation designed to compensate returning members of the armed services—known as G.I.s—for their efforts in World War II. As the last of its sweeping New Deal reforms, Roosevelt's admin... read more American Revolution 1775 Congress issues Continental currency Art, Literature, and Film History 1950 Bernstein, Copland, Seeger and others are named as Communists 2001 Blockbuster hit movie "The Fast and the Furious" released Civil War 1864 General Lee strikes back at Petersburg Crime 1611 Henry Hudson set adrift by mutineers 2011 Notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger is arrested Slavery 1783 Zong slave ship trial World War I 1898 Author Erich Maria Remarque born World War II 1941 Germany launches Operation Barbarossa—the invasion of Russia 1945 Battle of Okinawa ends

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 23 1972 Title IX enacted On June 23, 1972, Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 is enacted into law. Title IX prohibits federally funded educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex. It begins: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded... read more 21st Century 2013 Wallenda makes Grand Canyon crossing on high wire 2018 Thai soccer team becomes trapped in cave Africa 1956 Gamal Abdel Nasser elected president of Egypt Art, Literature, and Film History 1989 Tim Burton's "Batman" released Crime 1934 Even without the corpse, a murderer is uncovered 1992 Mafia boss John Gotti, aka “Teflon Don,” sentenced to life U.S. Presidents 1972 H.R. Haldeman encourages Nixon to ward off FBI World War II 1940 Hitler takes a tour of Paris

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 24 1997 U.S. Air Force reports on Roswell On June 24, 1997, U.S. Air Force officials release a 231-page report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier. Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, beg... read more 21st CENTURY 2021 98 people die in Surfside condo collapse 1980s 1982 1982 garment workers' strike begins in New York City's Chinatown Art, Literature, and Film History 1997 Disney pulls Insane Clown Posse album on release day 2005 Tom Cruise raises eyebrows in "Today" show interview Cold War 1948 Soviets blockade West Berlin Colonial America 1675 King Philip's War begins Crime 1973 UpStairs Lounge arson attack 1993 Mail bomb injures Yale professor France 1812 Napoleon's Grande Armee invades Russia U.S. Presidents 1953 Jacqueline Bouvier and Senator John F. Kennedy announce engagement Vietnam War 1970 Senate repeals Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Westward Expansion 1864 Colorado governor orders Native Americans to Sand Creek reservation

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 25 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn On June 25, 1876, Native American forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat the U.S. Army troops of General George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn near southern Montana's Little Bighorn River. Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, leaders of the Sioux tribe on ... read more 1950s 1950 Korean War begins 1990s 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. airmen GAY RIGHTS 1978 First rainbow Pride flag premieres at San Francisco parade Art, Literature, and Film History 1988 Teenager Debbie Gibson earns a #1 hit with "Foolish Beat" 2009 "King of Pop" Michael Jackson dies at age 50 Civil War 1864 Union begins tunneling toward Rebels at Petersburg Crime 1910 Congress passes Mann Act, aimed at curbing sex trafficking Inventions & Science 1956 Last Packard—the classic American luxury car—produced Sports 1950 U.S. World Cup team wins unlikely victory over England Vietnam War 1965 Viet Cong blow up a floating restaurant Women's History 1993 Kim Campbell becomes Canada's first female prime minister World War I 1915 Germans release statement on use of poison gas at Ypres World War II 1942 Eisenhower takes command

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 26 1948 U.S. begins Berlin Airlift On June 26, 1948, U.S. and British pilots begin delivering food and supplies by airplane to Berlin after the city is isolated by a Soviet Union blockade. When World War II ended in 1945, defeated Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation. The city of Berlin, t... read more 1950s 1959 St. Lawrence Seaway opened 1990s 1993 President Clinton punishes Iraq for plot to kill George H.W. Bush 21st Century 2003 Former U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond dies Ancient Americas 1541 Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of the Incas, assassinated Art, Literature, and Film History 1975 Sonny and Cher's divorce becomes final Civil War 1862 Rebels strike Union at the Battle of Mechanicsville Crime 1957 A serial killer preys upon a woman out for a drive Gay Rights 2013 Lawrence v. Texas is decided 2015 Same-sex marriage is made legal nationwide with Obergefell v. Hodges decision Inventions & Science 1956 Congress approves Federal Highway Act Natural Disasters & Environment 1807 Lightning strikes gunpowder factory in Luxembourg, killing hundreds U.S. Presidents 1844 President John Tyler weds his second wife 1963 John F. Kennedy claims solidarity with the people of Berlin World War I 1917 First U.S. troops arrive in France World War II 1945 U.N. Charter signed

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 27 1950 President Truman orders U.S. forces to Korea On June 27, 1950, President Harry S. Truman announces that he is ordering U.S. air and naval forces to South Korea to aid the democratic nation in repulsing an invasion by communist North Korea. The United States was undertaking the major military operation, he explained, to enforce a United Nations... read more 19th Century 1829 English scientist James Smithson establishes the Smithsonian Institution 1844 Religious founder Joseph Smith killed by mob Africa 1976 Ebola breaks out in Sudan Art, Literature, and Film History 1922 First Newbery Medal for children's literature awarded to Hendrik Willem van Loon 1939 Famous scene from "Gone with the Wind" filmed Black History 2015 Activist Bree Newsome removes Confederate flag from South Carolina State House Inventions & Science 1985 Route 66 decertified, highway signs removed World War II 1940 Germans employ Enigma coding machine for the first time

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 28 1969 The Stonewall Riots begin in NYC’s Greenwich Village Sometime after midnight on June 28, 1969, in what is now regarded by many as history's first major protest on behalf of equal rights for LGBTQ people, a police raid of the Stonewall Inn—a popular gay club located on New York City's Christopher Street—turns violent as ... read more 21st Century 2007 Bald Eagle removed from list of threatened species American Revolution 1836 Former President James Madison dies Crime 1975 A teenage girl's boyfriend murders her parents Inventions & Science 1953 Workers assemble first Corvette in Flint, Michigan 2006 DaimlerChrysler announces Smart's arrival in United States Natural Disasters & Environment 1992 Two big quakes rock California Reformation 1519 Charles I of Spain elected Holy Roman emperor Sports 1997 Mike Tyson bites ear Vietnam War 1965 U.S. forces launch first offensive 1972 Nixon announces draftees will not go to Vietnam World War I 1914 Austria's Archduke Ferdinand assassinated 1919 John Maynard Keynes predicts economic chaos World War II 1940 Britain recognizes General Charles de Gaulle as the leader of the Free French

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 29 1995 U.S. space shuttle docks with Russian space station On June 29, 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth. This historic moment of cooperation between former rival space programs was also the 100th human space mission in American history. At the ti... read more American Revolution 1776 South Carolina's Edward Rutledge opposes independence Art, Literature, and Film History 1613 The Globe Theatre burns down 1967 The Rolling Stones fight the law, and the law wins 1967 Actress Jayne Mansfield dies in car crash 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival begins 2003 Academy Award-winning actress Katharine Hepburn dies at age 96 Crime 2001 Boston doctor found guilty of killing wife Latin America 1974 Isabel Perón takes office as Argentine president Sports 1958 Pelé leads Brazil to first World Cup title U.S. Government 1972 Supreme Court strikes down death penalty World War II 1941 Germans advance in USSR 1941 Germans capture Lvov—and slaughter ensues

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY June 30 1520 Spanish retreat from Aztec capital June 30, 1520: Faced with an Aztec revolt against their rule, forces under the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan at heavy cost. Known to the Spanish as La Noche Triste, or “the Night of Sadness,” many soldiers drowned in Lake Texcoco... read more 19th Century 1859 Daredevil crosses Niagara Falls on tightrope Art, Literature, and Film History 1936 “Gone With the Wind” published 1989 "Do the Right Thing" released in theaters Cold War 1974 Soviet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from U.S.S.R. Crime 1981 A first-time offender ends up on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List Space Exploration 1971 Soviet cosmonauts perish in reentry disaster Westward Expansion 1876 Wounded soldiers evacuated from the Little Big Horn by steamboat World War II 1934 Hitler purges members of his own Nazi party in Night of the Long Knives

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 1 1997 Hong Kong returned to China At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverts back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherw... read more 19th Century 1867 Canada Day 1898 The Battle of San Juan Hill Art, Literature, and Film History 1979 The first Sony Walkman goes on sale 1984 PG-13 rating debuts Civil War 1863 The Battle of Gettysburg begins Cold War 1947 "Mr. X" article on Soviet Union appears in Foreign Affairs Crime 2003 Kobe Bryant accuser goes to police Inventions & Science 2005 Last Ford Thunderbird produced World War I 1916 Battle of the Somme begins World War II 1942 The Battle of El Alamein begins

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 2 1964 President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act On July 2, 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House. In the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The 10 ye... read more American Revolution 1776 Continental Congress votes for independence from Britain Art, Literature, and Film History 1977 "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From 'Rocky')" is the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts 1992 Stephen Hawking breaks British bestseller records 1997 "Men in Black" premieres in theaters Civil War 1863 Fighting continues at the Battle of Gettysburg Cold War 1947 Soviet Union rejects Marshall Plan assistance Crime 1881 President James A. Garfield shot Exploration 1937 Amelia Earhart disappears Native American History 1809 Chief Tecumseh urges Native Americans to unite against white settlers Slavery 1839 Mutiny on the Amistad World War I 1917 Greece declares war on Central Powers World War II 1944 American bombers deluge Budapest, in more ways than one

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 3 1863 Battle of Gettysburg ends On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's last attempt at breaking the Union line ends in disastrous failure, bringing the most decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end. In June 1863, following his masterful victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville... read more 1980s 1988 U.S. warship downs Iranian passenger jet American Revolution 1775 George Washington takes command of Continental Army Art, Literature, and Film History 1969 Brian Jones and Jim Morrison die, two years apart to the day Crime 1989 A mother is arrested and accused of killing her four children Middle East 1990 Pilgrim stampede kills 1,400 19th CENTURY 1887 Gunfighter Clay Allison killed U.S. Presidents 1958 President Eisenhower initiates federal flood-control program Westward Expansion 1890 Idaho becomes 43rd state World War I 1918 Mohammed V, sultan of Turkey, dies

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 4 1776 Continental Congress adopts 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 a... read more 19th Century 1884 France gives the Statue of Liberty to the United States Art, Literature, and Film History 1855 First edition of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" is published Civil War 1863 Confederates surrender at Vicksburg Crime 1954 A sensationalized murder trial inspires "The Fugitive" Natural Disasters & Environment 1911 Heat wave strikes Northeast, killing hundreds Space Exploration 1997 Pathfinder lands on Mars GAY RIGHTS 1965 LGBTQ activists hold the first Annual Reminder demonstration in Philadelphia U.S. Presidents 1826 Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die