With a little bit of digging and research, I managed to unearth a considerable number of other auspicious events that also took place on July 4^th.

Take, for instance, the incredible number of well-known people who were born on July 4^th through the years. 

• Stephen Foster, composer of “Oh! Susanna” and “Swanee River” was born on that date in 1826.
• Impresario James Anthony Bailey (one half of the Barnum & Bailey Circus partnership) was born in Detroit on that date in 1847.
• The twenty-ninth President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge (1923-29), was also born on July 4^th in 1872. 
• And in 1885 on July 4^th, Louis B. Mayer, motion picture executive with the famous MGM, was born in Minsk, Russia.
• On July 4^th, 1900, well-loved jazz musician, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, was born in New Orleans.
• Twin advice columnists, Abigail Van Buren and Ann Landers, were also born on July 4^th, in 1918.
• Two famous actresses shared a July 4^th birthday— Eva Marie Saint (1924) and Gina Lollobrigida (1927).
• The playwright, Neil Simon, was also born on July 4^th in 1927.

I couldn’t find quite so many deaths that occurred on July 4^th but three of note were all Presidents of the United States. 

In 1826, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents, both died on that date, and in 1831, the fifth president, James Monroe, also died on July 4^th.

Did you also know that in 1862, Lewis Carroll first created Alice in Wonderland for Alice P. Liddel on July 4^th that year, and three years later in 1865, the very first edition of “Alice in Wonderland” was published?

In 1884, the Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States in Paris on July 4^th, and in 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was established, also on July 4^th.  In 1959, America’s new 49-star flag honoring Alaska statehood was unfurled on July 4^th.  The Freedom of Information Act went into effect on July 4^th, 1967.

On July 4^th, 1969, Ann Jones defeated Billy Jean King for the Wimbledon Ladies’ Championship and in 1982 Jimmy Connors beat John McEnroe for his last Wimbledon Championship on July 4^th.  On that same day in 1987, Martina Navratilova won her 6^th straight Wimbledon championship defeating Steffi Graf.

In the United States July 4^th is always celebrated with fireworks and picnics as Independence Day (1776), but in the Bahamas it was once celebrated as the Queen’s Birthday and in Tonga as the King’s.  In the Cayman Islands, it is known as Constitution Day: in Lesotho it is called Family Day: and in Zambia it is Heroes Day or Unity Day.

It was amazing to discover how many events of note have taken place on this important date in history.

Let’s hope that July 4^th this year brings a more peaceful and united time for our neighbors to the south and for the world.