1776

The Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

1802

The United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, New York.

1910

In what was billed as “The Fight of the Century,” Black world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defeated white former champ “Gentleman” Jim Jeffries in Reno, Nevada.

1939

Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees delivered his famous farewell speech in which he called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”