On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, New York.

In 1826, 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died.

In 1831, the fifth U.S. president, James Monroe, died in New York City at age 73.

In 1855, the first edition of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” was published.

In 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.”

In 1946, the United States and the Philippines signed the Treaty of Manila, recognizing Philippine independence from the U.S.