The United States as a nation has been collecting Fourth of July trivia for over two hundred years, because after all, it's our national birthday of sorts. And there is a fantastic array of Fourth of July trivia as a result, with many coincidences in the lives of famous people and events from the somber to the silly, tying us together by our common familiarity with what is probably the most famous date in our nation's history.
THE FIRST JULY 4TH
The most important facts are the details of the first Fourth of July in 1776, which is celebrated because it was a ratification of the declaration through the second continental congress (the declaration was PASSED on July 2). Though the date is now celebrated with fireworks, which often connote famous warfare or battles in other such national celebrations, the events of July 4 were quite bland for something that is often celebrated today by people wearing cans of beer in their hats.
The Declaration of Independence is short for what was called the "Unanimous Declaration" of the colonies as free and independent states. The statement agreed upon was that "all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved."
One interesting fact that most people don't know about these days: Few people actually know why the United States are called UNITED, they assume it is more esoteric: it is because they were so "united" in declaring their independence on this date.
John Hancock was the only person to sign on July 4, and the rest signed on August 2, which probably explains the size disparity. He used different ink which is also thikest at first, and the scale wasn't available to tell him that the sise of his writing was too large. The first actual celebration of the declaration was held on July 8, 1776, when the Declaration was read aloud.
THE CELEBRATION OF JULY 4TH OVER THE YEARS
In 1777, the one-year anniversary was marked by its first celebration that was in many ways much like today's, except with a much more real sense that it was a celebration of the country having recently become free. There were even fireworks and parades way back then; every one knew it was a pretty big deal! There was a thirteen gun salute to represent (you guessed it) the ratification by the the thirteen colonies. In 1778 General Washington was leading his troops through the thick of battle. They all celebrated with a likely much-needed double ration of rum. Things were obviously different back then: In 1779, July Fourth fell on a Sunday and so it was celebrated on a Monday.
Actually the celebration IS beginning to get moved around a lot more now, but for different reasons - federal employees want to make sure they get an official day off of work so if it falls on a weekend the official date of the holiday is before or after. The history of its status as a holiday in that respect has been rather gradual even though the festivities began right away. 1791 saw the first official use of "Independence Day." In 1870 the day was recognized as an unpaid holiday for federal workers. It wasn't until 1941, probably due to patriotic fervor because of World War II, that it was given the status of a paid federal holiday.
The most recent change to the character of July 4Th celebration is that many of the significant events pay homage to do with the terrorist attacks of September 11Th. In 2002, chimes rang out from Macy's in NYC in memory of the deceased. On 2004 on July Fourth the cornerstone was laid for the new Freedom Tower.
FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR NATION'S BIRTHDAY
I have always joked that my husband that is a little bit "off" in many ways - his birthday being one. He was born on the THIRD of July. If you sing that piece of trivia to the tune of "He's a Yankee Doodle Dandy," it's a funny way to tease my Yankee Doodle sweetheart, at least once a year or so.
There is only a one in 365 chance of being born on a particular day, and my guess is that when it comes to being born on the Fourth of July like Yankee Doodle himself, the chances are probably smaller still. That's because obstetricians aren't any different than anyone else when it comes to wanting the day off to go fishing, so they probably try to get it over with early or gamble that the mom will be able to wait.
But there are some notables that have managed the singular feat nevertheless. Politicians born on that date include Calvin Coolidge, The United States' thirtieth president, who was born in Plymouth, Vermont on July 4, 1872. It is not statistically surprising that because the United States has had less than four dozen presidents a date that comes only once every thirty dozen days wouldn't be common enough to be the birthday of more than one or two Presidents. It may be that with more common practice of induction of labor, future U.S. presidents may have this birthday more often, as moms who see great things for their children may try to pick this day on purpose if they can.
There are a few notable media figures in the United States that share this national birthday. The Dear Abbey sisters, Ann Landers and Abigail van Buren, were born July 4Th, 1918 in Sioux Falls, Iowa. Geraldo Rivera, who everyone loved to hate before they forgot to do either one, was born in 1943. A few authors include Nathaniel Hawthorne (who wrote The Scarlet Letter), born in 1804 and comedic playwright Neil Simon, famous for The Odd Couple and Lost in Yonkers.
There are many Hollywood figures, actors and musicians born on July 4Th, of which the following would be by no means representative. These include movie executive and film studio icon Louis B. Mayer, John Waite, popular rock singer and member of 'The Babys,' and Eva Marie Saint, famous for her role in the Hitchcock thriller North by Northwest.
Rube Goldberg was a famous cartoonist who designed comical assembly-line type machines (a long series of events that would culminate into a boot on a stick that would kick someone in the rear end, end, etc.)
A FEW FAMOUS DEATHS
Two U.S. Presidents, namely John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, (the second and third) died on the Fourth, in 1826. John Adams on his death bed exclaimed, "And yet, Thomas Jefferson lives!" Unfortunately it wasn't true, as Jefferson had just very soon before that passed away on the nation's 50Th birthday. Thomas Jefferson saw the significance and as he was old and ailing, he wanting to die that day to show his patriotism. Really pushing the odds, James Monroe died on July Fourth, five years later in 1831.
MISCELLANEOUS FOURTH OF JULY TRIVIA
*One in four Americans say they went to a Fourth of July cookout the previous year. One in three said they saw fireworks.
*Germany actually buys more fireworks per person than any other country. The United States bought about 130 million dollars worth last year, the bulk of which came from China.
*China also makes most of the flags that the United States purchases. The number of flags purchased jumped up significantly in 2001 and is still above the level that was purchased in 2000. Japan actually bought more U.S. flags per person in 2000.
*Foreigners are sill "Coming to America." Of the current number of foreign-born residents, a third are U.S. Citizens. Eight states have foreign-born populations of over a million. Of the total, around half of them are from Latin America, about a quarter are from Asia, fifteen percent from Europe and the rest divided among remaining countries.
*The largest number of tourists to the U.S. come from Japan. The second-largest number come from the United Kingdom. The UK is our sixth-largest trading partner, the other five being countries in North and South America.
*Many of these facts and many others are available in a book entitled "Fourth of July Encyclopedia" by author Author James R. Heintze.
CONCLUSION:
Facts like these can be fascinating, because they can say to us all that there is much more to learn about an event that we think we all know in and out. Many more celebrate the date without much interest in the facts behind the celebration. Perhaps in teaching our children a few of these thing among the festivities their holidays will be even more meaningful to them as they grouw to establish their own traditions.