Just Plain Fun
This Day in History – July 4, 2011
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1054 Brightest known super-nova (Crab Nebula) starts shining (23 days) 1636 City of Providence, Rhode Island form 1776 Declaration of Independence-US gains independence from Britain 1789 1st US tariff act 1802 US Military Academy officially opens (West Point, NY) 1817 Construction on Erie Canal begins 1819 William Herschel makes last telescopic observation of 1819 comet 1827 Slavery abolished in NY 1829 Cornerstone laid for 1st US mint (Chestnut & Juniper St, Philadelphia) 1832 “America” 1st sung publicly 1836 Wisconsin Territory formed 1845 Texas Congress votes for annexation to US 1845 Thoreau moves into his shack on Walden Pond 1862 Lewis Carroll creates Alice in Wonderland for Alice P Liddell 1863 Boise, Idaho founded (now capital of Idaho) 1863 Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces 1865 1st edition of “Alice in Wonderland” is published 1874 Social Democratic Workmen’s Party of North America formed 1875 White Democrats kill several blacks in terrorist attacks in Vicksburg 1876 1st public exhibition of electric light in SF 1881 Booker T Washington establishes Tuskegee Institute 1883 Buffalo Bill Cody presents 1st wild west show, North Platte, Nebraska 1884 1st US bullfight held (Dodge City Ks) 1884 Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris 1886 1st scheduled transcontinental passenger train reaches Pt Moody, BC 1888 1st organized rodeo competition held, Prescott, Ariz 1889 Washington state constitutional convention holds 1st meeting 1894 Elwood Haynes successfully tests one of 1st US autos at 6 MPH 1894 Republic of Hawaii established 1898 US flag hoisted over Wake Island (Spanish-American War) 1903 Pacific Cable (San Francisco, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines) opens, Pres Theodore Roosevelt sends message 1905 Philadelphia A’s beat Boston Red Sox 4-2 in 20 inning game 1914 1st US motorcycle race (300 miles, Dodge City Kansas) 1918 Altar dedicated at full-scale replica of Stonehenge at Maryhill, Washington 1939 Yankees retire 1st uniform (Lou Gehrig #4), 1st Old Timers Day 1941 Howard Florey & Norman Heatley meet for the 1st time, 11 days later they successfully recreate penicillin 1942 1st American bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe (WW II) 1946 Philippines gains independence from US 1950 Truman signs public law 600 (Puerto Ricans write own constitution) 1956 Independence National Historical Park established in Philadelphia 1956 US most intense rain fall (1.23″ in 1 minute) at Unionville Maryland 1959 America’s new 49-star flag honoring Alaska statehood unfurled 1959 Cayman Islands separated from Jamaica, made a crown colony 1960 America’s new 50-star flag honoring Hawaiian statehood unfurled 1960 Mickey Mantle hits career homer # 300 1962 Island Records begins 1966 LBJ signs Freedom of Information Act 1967 Freedom of Information Act goes into effect 1969 “Give Peace a Chance” by Plastic Ono Band is released in the UK 1969 140,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zeppelin & Janis Joplin 1973 In audience with Italian cyclists, Pope Paul VI praises athletes who “offer the magnificent show of a healthy, strong, generous youth” 1975 Bundy victim Nancy Baird disappears from Layton, Utah 1976 Raid on Entebbe-Israel rescues 229 Air France passengers 1978 Memphis firefighters halt 3-day strike under a court order 1985 Tinker Bell’s nightly flight begins 1990 2 Live Crew release “Banned in the USA” the lyrics quote Star Spangled Banner & Gettysburg Address]]]]> ]]>
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