Did you know
In 1966, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
July 4 in History
1966 — U
S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
July 4 spans 91 recorded events across recorded history, from 362 BC to 2025. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
91 events
362 BC – 2025
Today in history
More major events on July 4
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1827 Slavery is abolished in the State of New York. Source
- 1776 American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress, formally announcing and explaining separation from the Kingdom of Great Britain and the creation of the United States. Source
- 1855 The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn. Source
Did you know
§ 552, is the United States federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased or uncirculated information and documents controlled by the U.S. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
The act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures, and includes nine exemptions that define categories of information not subject to disclosure. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
government agencies' functions more transparent so that the American public could more easily identify problems in government functioning and put pressure on Congress, agency officials, and the president to address them. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
The FOIA has been changed by both the legislative and executive branches. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeat the Spartans.
Battle during the Boeotian War
The Battle of Mantinea was fought on 4 July 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians, Argives, Messenians, Thessalians, Euboeans and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans. The battle was to determine which of the two alliances would dominate Greece. However, the death of Epaminondas and his intended successors would cost Thebes the military leadership and initiative to maintain Theban supremacy in the region. Similarly, the Spartans were weakened by yet another defeat and loss of troops. Epaminondas's death coupled with the impact on the Spartans of yet another defeat weakened both alliances, and paved the way for Macedonian conquest led by Philip II of Macedon.
-362
Marcus Licinius Crassus is granted a triumph for his victory in Thrace.
Roman general, consul in 30 BC
Marcus Licinius Crassus, grandson of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus, was a Roman consul in the year 30 BC as the colleague of Octavian. He was best known for his successful campaigns in Macedonia and Thrace in 29–27 BC, for which he was denied customary military honors by Augustus.
-26
Aelia Pulcheria takes a vow of chastity and is proclaimed Augusta, thus becoming the regent of the Byzantine Empire for her 13-year-old brother Theodosius II after the death of the previous regent, praefect Anthemius.
Byzantine empress from 450 to 453
Aelia Pulcheria was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother, the emperor Theodosius II, during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her death in 453.
414
Heraclonas and David, sons of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, are proclaimed augustus and caesar respectively, possibly due to the bad health of their elder brother Heraclius Constantine.
Byzantine emperor in 641
Heraclius, known by the diminutive Heraclonas or Heracleonas, and sometimes enumerated as Heraclius II, was briefly Byzantine emperor in 641.
638
Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
836 treaty between Naples and Benevento
The Pactum Sicardi was a treaty signed on 4 July 836 between the Greek Duchy of Naples, including its satellite city-states of Sorrento and Amalfi, represented by Bishop John IV and Duke Andrew II, and the Lombard Prince of Benevento, Sicard. The treaty was an armistice ending a war between the Greek states and Benevento, during which the Byzantine Empire had not intervened on behalf of its subjects. It was supposed to last five years between the Lombard prince and the Neapolitans. It was a temporary armistice and was distinguished from other treaties such as Pactum Warmundi, which established temporary alliances.
836
Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
Bishop of Augsburg from 923 to 973
Ulrich of Augsburg, sometimes spelled Uodalric or Odalrici, was Prince-Bishop of Augsburg in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the first saint to be canonised not by a local authority but by a pope.
993
A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly indigenous American observers near the star Zeta Tauri.
For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
SN 1054, the Crab Supernova, is a supernova that was first observed on c. 10 July [O.S. c. 4 July] 1054, and remained visible until c. 12 April [O.S. c. 6 April] 1056.α
1054
Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death.
12th-century Italian nobleman
Jordan II was the third son of Prince Jordan I of Capua and Princess Gaitelgrima, a daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno. He was, from at least May 1109, the lord of Nocera, and, after June 1120, Prince of Capua. The date and place of his birth are unknown, but it must have been later than 1080. He was married, before 1113, to Gaitelgrima, daughter of Sergius, Prince of Sorrento, a union which allowed him to extend his influence down the Amalfi coast from his castle at Nocera.
1120
The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
Religious wars of the High Middle Ages
The Crusades were a series of military campaigns launched by the papacy between 1095 and 1291 against Muslim rulers for the recovery and defence of the Holy Land, as part of a wider crusading movement. The First Crusade was proclaimed by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in November 1095—a call to arms for Christians to reconquer Jerusalem from the Muslims, with promises of spiritual reward. By this time, the papacy's position as head of the Catholic Church had strengthened, and earlier conflicts with secular rulers and wars on the frontiers of Western Christendom had prepared it for the direction of armed force in religious causes. The successes of the First Crusade led to the establishment of four Crusader states in the Levant, where their defence required further expeditions from Catholic Europe. The organisation of such large-scale campaigns demanded complex religious, social, and economic institutions, including crusade indulgences, military orders, and the taxation of clerical income. Over time, the crusading movement expanded to include campaigns against pagans, Christian dissidents, and other enemies of the papacy, promoted with similar spiritual rewards and continuing into the 18th century.
1187
Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
Count of Hainaut from 1246 to 1257
John of Avesnes was the count of Hainaut from 1246 to his death.
1253
Genkō War: Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo seize Tōshō-ji during the Siege of Kamakura.
Hōjō Takatoki and other members of the Hōjō clan commit suicide, ending the rule of the Kamakura shogunate.
The Genkō War , also known as the Genkō Incident , was a civil war fought in Japan between the Emperor Go-Daigo and the Kamakura Shogunate from 1331 to 1333. The Genkō War was named after Genkō, the Japanese era corresponding to the period of 1331 to 1334 when the war occurred.
1333
Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
14th-century Italian nobleman
Francesco II Ordelaffi, also known as Cecco II, was a lord of Forlì, the son of Sinibaldo Ordelaffi and Orestina Calboli, and the grandson of Teobaldo I Ordelaffi.
1359
Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.
Ottoman-Hungary wars, 1366–1526
The Hungarian–Ottoman wars were a series of battles between the Ottoman Empire and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Following the Byzantine Civil War, the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli, and the inconclusive Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the Ottoman Empire was poised to conquer the entirety of the Balkans, and eventually came to encompass almost the entirety of present-day Hungary.
1456
Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
1534 election of Christian III as King of Denmark
The election of Christian III as king of Denmark on 4 July 1534 was a landmark event for all of Denmark, and also had an effect on Norway's future relation with Denmark. It took place in St. Søren's Church in the town of Rye in eastern Jutland, where the Jutlandic nobility elected Prince Christian, son of King Frederick I and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, as king. This brought about the Count's Feud and later also led to the implementation of the Protestant Reformation in Denmark in 1536 and Norway in 1537.
1534
Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island.
16/17th-century English captain and explorer of North America
Philip Amadas (1550–1618) was a naval commander and explorer in Elizabethan England. Little is known from his early life, but he grew up within a wealthy merchant family in southwestern England. Amadas was instrumental in the early years of the English colonisation of North America. He served alongside Arthur Barlowe in the 1584 exploratory voyage to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Leaving on 27 April 1584, he captained the Bark Ralegh with Simon Fernandes as his master and pilot on the voyage. Fernandes is best known for his controversial decision to maroon the colonists of the infamous "Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island in 1587. The voyage of 1584 determined Roanoke Island as the location for the future colonies under the leadership of Sir Walter Raleigh. For his role in the Roanoke voyages of 1584 and 1585, Amadas was nominated Admiral of Virginia by Raleigh in 1585. When he returned to England to report their findings, the Queen named the country after herself, Virginia.
1584
The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Russian War, after which Polish troops entered Moscow.
1610 battle of the Polish-Muscovite War
The Battle of Klushino, or the Battle of Kłuszyn, was fought on 4 July 1610, between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia during the Polish–Russian War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occurred near the village of Klushino near Smolensk. In the battle the outnumbered Polish-Lithuanian force secured a decisive victory over Russia, due to the tactical competence of hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski and the military prowess of Polish hussars, the elite of the army of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The battle is remembered as one of the greatest triumphs of the Polish cavalry and an example of excellence and supremacy of the Polish military at the time.
1610
The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
City in Quebec, Canada
Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour. It is part of the densely populated Quebec City–Windsor Corridor and is approximately halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. Trois-Rivières is the economic and cultural hub of the Mauricie region. The settlement was founded by French colonists on July 4, 1634, as the second permanent settlement in New France, after Quebec City in 1608.
1634
The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, is signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Native American land cessions, 1682–1797
The Six Nations land cessions were a series of land cessions by the Haudenosaunee and Lenape to Europeans during the late 17th and 18th centuries. They ceded large amounts of land, including both recently conquered territories acquired from other indigenous peoples in the Beaver Wars, and their own ancestral lands to the Thirteen Colonies and the United States. The land ceded covered, partially or in the entire, the U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and North Carolina.
1744
Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament's Coercive Acts.
1774 declaration of protest against the Intolerable Acts in Orangetown, colonial New York
The Orangetown Resolutions were adopted on July 4, 1774, exactly two years prior to the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. The resolutions were part of a widespread movement of town and county protests of the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament in 1774.
1774
American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress, formally announcing and explaining separation from the Kingdom of Great Britain and the creation of the United States.
Founding of the United States
The American Revolution (1765–1789) was a political movement in the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain. It began as a rebellion and turned into a revolution eventually creating the sovereign United States, which was the outcome of the associated American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The Second Continental Congress, as the provisional government, established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief in 1775. The following year, the Congress passed the Lee Resolution on July 2nd and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Throughout most of the war, the outcome appeared uncertain, but a 1781 victory by Washington and the Continental Army in the Siege of Yorktown led King George III and the Fox–North coalition in government to negotiate the cessation of colonial rule and the acknowledgment of American sovereignty, which was formalized in the Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783. The Constitution took effect in 1789 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
1776
American Revolutionary War: U.S.
forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war, but Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war. In 1783, in the Treaty of Paris, the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.
1778
The United States Military Academy opens at West Point, New York.
U.S. Army federal service academy in West Point, New York
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York, that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded in 1802, and it is the oldest of the five American service academies. The Army has occupied the site since establishing a fort there in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, as it sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City.
1802
The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the public.
1803 acquisition of region of Middle America land by the U.S. from France
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River's drainage basin west of the river. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile ($7/km2), the United States nominally acquired a total of 828,000 sq mi of land now in the Central United States. However, France only controlled a small fraction of this area, most of which was inhabited by Native Americans; effectively, for the majority of the area, the United States bought the preemptive right to obtain Indian lands by treaty or by conquest, to the exclusion of other colonial powers.
1803
In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
City in New York, United States
Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lies in the "Leatherstocking Country" made famous by James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, set in frontier days before the American Revolutionary War. Rome is in New York's 21st congressional district.
1817
U.S.
Flag Act of 1818 goes into effect creating a 13-stripe flag with a star for each state. New stars are to be added on the July 4 following the admission of each new state to the Union.
The Flag Acts are three laws that sought to define the design of the flag of the United States. All the submitted suggestions were remarkably short, the shortest being a sentence of 31 words, and the longest being a title and two sentences of 117 words.
1818
Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Slavery was found throughout European colonization in the Americas. From 1526, during the early colonial period, it was practiced in what became Britain's colonies, including the Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States. Under the law, children were born into slavery, and an enslaved person was treated as property that could be bought, sold, or given away. Slavery persisted in about half of the U.S. states until its abolition in 1865. Issues involving slavery seeped into every aspect of national politics, economics, and social customs. In the decades after Reconstruction ended in 1877, many of slavery's economic and social functions continued through segregation, sharecropping, and convict leasing. Involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime remains legal.
1827
Samuel Francis Smith writes "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
Protestant Christian Minister Patriotic hymn writer
Samuel Francis Smith was an American Baptist minister, journalist, and author. He is best known for having written the lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", which he entitled "America".
1831
John Neal delivers the first public lecture in the U.S.
to advocate the rights of women.
John Neal was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1810s and 1870s in the United States and Great Britain, championing American literary nationalism and regionalism in their earliest stages. Neal advanced the development of American art, fought for women's rights, advocated the end of slavery and racial prejudice, and helped establish the American gymnastics movement.
1832
Durham University established by Act of Parliament; the first recognized university to be founded in England since Cambridge over 600 years earlier.
Collegiate university in Durham, England
The University of Durham, which operates under the trading name of Durham University, is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to open in England for more than 600 years, after Oxford and Cambridge, and is thus is a candidate for the third-oldest university in England. As a collegiate university, its main functions are divided between the academic departments of the university and its 17 colleges. In general, the departments perform research and provide teaching to students, while the colleges are responsible for their domestic arrangements and welfare.
1832
Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
Former railway company in England
The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846. The line built by the company, which opened in 1837, linked the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to Birmingham via Warrington, Crewe, Stafford and Wolverhampton. This was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction. It terminated at Curzon Street Station in Birmingham, which it shared with the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR), whose adjacent platforms gave an interchange with full connectivity between Liverpool, Manchester and London.
1837
The Iowa Territory is organized.
Territory of the U.S. between 1838–1846
Iowa Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remainder of the territory would have no organized territorial government until the Minnesota Territory was organized on March 3, 1849.
1838
Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.
Thoreau's account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.
Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience", an argument in favor of citizen disobedience against an unjust state.
1845
The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn.
American poet, essayist and journalist (1819–1892)
Walter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incorporated both transcendentalism and realism in his writings and is often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described by some as obscene for its overt sensuality.
1855
Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
British author and scholar (1832–1898)
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer, and reluctant Anglican deacon. His most notable works are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871), some of the most important examples of Victorian literature. He was noted for his facility with word play, logic, and fantasy. His poems Jabberwocky (1871) and The Hunting of the Snark (1876) are classified in the genre of literary nonsense. Some of Alice's nonsensical wonderland logic reflects his published work on mathematical logic.
1862
American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: The Confederate army in Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Union forces under Ulysses S.
Grant after 47 days of siege, contributing to the Union capture of the Mississippi River.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States. The South saw slavery as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war ended with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.
1863
American Civil War: Union forces repulse a Confederate army at the Battle of Helena in Arkansas.
The battle thwarts a Rebel attempt to relieve pressure on the besieged city of Vicksburg, and paves the way for the Union capture of Little Rock.
The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, near Helena, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. Union troops captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. Over 7,500 Confederate troops led by Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes attempted to capture Helena in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on the Confederate army besieged in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Helena was defended by about 4,100 Union troops led by Major General Benjamin Prentiss, manning one fort and four batteries of artillery.
1863
American Civil War: Retreat from Gettysburg: The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E.
Lee withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signaling an end to his last invasion of the North.
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia began its Retreat from Gettysburg on July 4, 1863. Following General Robert E. Lee's failure to defeat the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg, he ordered a retreat through Maryland and over the Potomac River to relative safety in Virginia.
1863
Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
British colonial war in 1879
The Anglo-Zulu War, or simply the Zulu War, was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Isandlwana and the British defence at Rorke's Drift.
1879
In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
U.S. state
Alabama is a state in the Southeastern and Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area, and the 24th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states.
1881
The Canadian Pacific Railway's first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
Class I railway in Canada and the United States
The Canadian Pacific Railway, also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, known until 2023 as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.
1886
The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
Country in South Asia
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.
1887
Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a leap year with 367 days.
Island country in the Pacific Ocean
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands, two smaller, inhabited islands, and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands. Samoa is located 64 km west of American Samoa, 889 km northeast of Tonga, 1,152 km northeast of Fiji, 483 km east of Wallis and Futuna, 1,151 km southeast of Tuvalu, 519 km south of Tokelau, 4,190 km southwest of Hawaii, and 610 km northwest of Niue. The capital and largest city is Apia.
1892
The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B.
Dole.
The Republic of Hawaii was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaiʻi between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United States as an unincorporated and unorganized territory. In 1893, the Committee of Public Safety overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani, the monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, after she rejected the 1887 Bayonet Constitution. The Committee of Public Safety intended for Hawaii to be annexed by the United States; however, President Grover Cleveland, a Democrat opposed to imperialism, refused. A new constitution was subsequently written while Hawaii was being prepared for annexation.
1894
En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks with the loss of 549 lives, one of the worst maritime disasters in history.
City in Normandy, France
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the English Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very close to the Prime Meridian. Le Havre is the busiest port on the northern French Coast and largest container port in France. it is the second largest city in the Normandy region of France with total population of the greater Le Havre conurbation being smaller than that of Rouen.It is also the second largest subprefecture in France, after only Reims. The name Le Havre means 'the harbour' or 'the port'. Its inhabitants are known as havrais or havraises.
1898
William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines.
President of the United States from 1909 to 1913
William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices.
1901
The Philippine–American War is officially concluded.
Armed Philippine-American conflict (1899–1902)
The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Filipino–American War, Philippine Insurrection, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged in early 1899 following the United States' annexation of the former Spanish colony of the Philippine Islands under the terms of the December 1898 Treaty of Paris following the Spanish–American War. Philippine nationalists had proclaimed independence in June 1898 and constituted the First Philippine Republic in January 1899. The United States did not recognize either event as legitimate, and tensions escalated until fighting commenced on February 4, 1899, in the Battle of Manila.
1903
The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round.
Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured.
The Johnson–Jeffries riots were a series of race riots that occurred throughout the United States after African-American boxer Jack Johnson defeated white boxer James J. Jeffries in a boxing match termed the "Fight of the Century". Johnson became the first black World Heavyweight champion in 1908. This success made him unpopular with the predominantly white American boxing audiences. Jeffries, a former heavyweight champion, came out of retirement to fight Johnson and was nicknamed the "Great White Hope". After Johnson defeated Jeffries on July 4, 1910, many white people became enraged and began attacking black people who were celebrating Johnson's victory.
1910
A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
1911 severe heat wave in the northeastern United States
The 1911 Eastern North America heat wave was an 11-day severe heat wave that killed at least 380 people, though estimates have put the death toll as high as 2,000 people. The heat wave began on July 4 and did not cease until July 15. In Nashua, New Hampshire, the temperature peaked at 106 °F (41 °C). In New York City, 158 people and 600 horses died.
1911
President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
Head of state and government of the US
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
1913
The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
Heir to the Austrian throne (1863–1914)
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
1914
Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918
Mehmed V Reşâd was the penultimate sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a constitutional monarch. He had little influence over government affairs and his ministries showed little regard for the Ottoman constitution. The first half of his reign was marked by increasingly polarizing politics, and the second half by war and domination of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and the Three Pashas.
1918
World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major theatres of war included Europe and the Middle East, and well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, World War I resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths, including in mass war crimes against civilians and genocides. The conflict saw important developments in weaponry, including the first large-scale use of machine guns, artillery, aircraft, chemical weapons, and tanks, and was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.
1918
First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
Utility transport aircraft by Lockheed
The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to its high speed and long range. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in one, and Wiley Post used his to prove the existence of the jet stream after flying around the world twice.
1927
Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth", then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
American baseball player (1903–1941)
Henry Louis Gehrig was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him the nickname "the Iron Horse", and he is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Gehrig was an All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown winner once, an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player twice and a member of six World Series champion teams. He had a career .340 batting average, .632 slugging average, and a .447 on-base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in (RBIs). He is also one of 21 players to hit four home runs in a single game. In 1939, Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired by a team when his number 4 was retired by the Yankees.
1939
Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occupation of Poland in World War II, included the genocide of millions of Polish people, especially the systematic extermination of Jewish Poles. These mass killings were enacted by the Nazis with further plans that were justified by their racial theories, which regarded Poles and other Slavs, and especially Jews, as racially inferior Untermenschen.
1941
World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German-occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1941
World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.
Nazi German offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II
The siege of Sevastopol, also known as the defence of Sevastopol or the Battle for Sevastopol, was a military engagement that took place on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The campaign was fought by the Axis powers of Germany and Romania against the Soviet Union for control of Sevastopol, a port in Crimea on the Black Sea. On 22 June 1941, the Axis invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, with Axis land forces reaching the Crimean peninsula in the autumn of 1941 and overrunning most of the area. The only objective not in Axis hands was Sevastopol. Several attempts were made to secure the city in October and November 1941. A major attack was planned for late November, but heavy rains delayed it until 17 December 1941. Under the command of Erich von Manstein, Axis forces were unable to capture Sevastopol during this first operation. Soviet forces launched an amphibious landing on the Crimean peninsula at Kerch in December 1941 to relieve the siege and force the Axis to divert forces to defend their gains. The operation saved Sevastopol for the time being, but the bridgehead in eastern Crimea was eliminated in May 1942.
1942
World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world's largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka.
1943 tank battle in the Soviet Union
The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in a Soviet victory. The Battle of Kursk is the single largest battle in the history of warfare. It ranks only behind the Battle of Stalingrad several months earlier as the most often-cited turning point in the European theatre of the war. It was one of the costliest battles of the Second World War, the single deadliest armoured battle in history, and the largest tank battle in history. The opening day of the battle, 5 July, was the single costliest day in the history of aerial warfare in terms of aircraft shot down. The battle was further marked by fierce house-to-house fighting and hand-to-hand combat.
1943
World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.
British Overseas Territory in Iberia
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 6.8 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. Gibraltar is home to around 34,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.
1943
The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.
1946 outbreak of anti-Jewish violence in Kielce, Poland
The Kielce pogrom was an outbreak of anti-Jewish violence that took place on 4 July 1946 in the city of Kielce, Poland. Polish soldiers, police officers, and civilians attacked a building at 7 Planty Street that housed around 150–160 Jewish Holocaust survivors, killing 42 Jews and wounding more than 40. The violence was sparked by a false accusation of child kidnapping, a revival of the antisemitic blood libel myth. Despite the rapid collapse of the kidnapping claim, rumors were circulated by state forces, prompting the gathering of a hostile crowd and the subsequent assault on the building and its inhabitants. Several Jews not residing at Planty Street were also killed elsewhere in the city that day, and at least two Jews were later murdered in transit through Kielce's train station.
1946
After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
Archipelagic country in Southeast Asia
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands, with a total area of about 300,000 square kilometers, which are broadly categorized in three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. With a population of over 114 million, it is the world's twelfth-most-populous country.
1946
The "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
Lower house of the UK Parliament
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs), who are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.
1947
Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
1947–1991 geopolitical rivalry between US and USSR
The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars. In addition to the struggle for ideological and economic influence and an arms race in both conventional and nuclear weapons, the Cold War was expressed through technological rivalries such as the Space Race, espionage, propaganda campaigns, embargoes, and sports diplomacy.
1950
Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N.
Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czechoslovakia, was the Czechoslovak state from 1948 until 1989, when the country was under communist rule, and was regarded as a satellite state in the Soviet sphere of interest.
1951
William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.
American physicist (1910–1989)
William Bradford Shockley was an American physicist. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointly awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect."
1951
Food rationing in Great Britain ends, with the lifting of restrictions on sale and purchase of meat, 14 years after it began early in World War II, and nearly a decade after the war's end.
Government-controlled distribution of scarce goods in the United Kingdom
Rationing was introduced temporarily by the British government several times during the 20th century, during and immediately after a war.
1954
The 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia following the admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S.
state over ten months prior (August 21, 1959), in accordance with the Flag Acts.
The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag form a constellation, representing the 50 U.S. states united, while the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that won independence in the American Revolutionary War.
1960
On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor.
The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.
K-19 was the first submarine of the Project 658 class, the first generation of Soviet nuclear submarines equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles, specifically the R-13 SLBM. The boat was hastily built by the Soviets in response to United States' developments in nuclear submarines as part of the arms race. Before it was launched, 10 civilian workers and a sailor died due to accidents and fires. After K-19 was commissioned, the boat had multiple breakdowns and accidents, several of which threatened to sink the submarine.
1961
Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago sign the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago establishing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
It replaces the Caribbean Free Trade Association as another step towards Caribbean regional integration.
Barbados is an island nation in the Caribbean located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and is the southern and easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American and Caribbean plates. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.
1973
Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
Combined military forces of Israel
The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus. The IDF is headed by the chief of the general staff, who is subordinate to the defense minister.
1976
The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit.
Revolutionary group based in Seattle, Washington (1975–1978)
The George Jackson Brigade, or GJB, was a militant group founded in the mid-1970s, based in Seattle, Washington, and named after George Jackson, a dissident prisoner and Black Panther member shot and killed during an escape attempt at San Quentin Prison in 1971. The group combined veterans of the women's liberation movement, LGBTQ activists, and Black prisoners.
1977
Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown.
Unsolved kidnapping incident during the Lebanese Civil War
Three Iranian diplomats as well as a reporter for Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) were abducted in Lebanon on 4 July 1982. None of them have been seen since. The missing individuals are Ahmad Motevaselian, military attaché for Iran's embassy in Beirut; Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, chargé d'affaires at the embassy; Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, an embassy employee; and Kazem Akhavan, IRNA photojournalist. Motevaselian was also an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member in command of an Iranian expeditionary force in Lebanon.
1982
Space Shuttle program: Columbia lands at Edwards Air Force Base at the end of the program's final test flight, STS-4.
President Ronald Reagan declares the Space Shuttle to be operational.
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was carried over from the 1969 plan for the Space Transportation System (STS) of reusable spacecraft. Only the shuttle and supporting rockets were funded for development; a proposed nuclear lunar shuttle in the plan was canceled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.
1982
Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
Mass murder campaign in Rwanda
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the Tutsi genocide, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were systematically killed by Hutu militias. While the Rwandan Constitution states that over 1 million people were killed, most scholarly estimates suggest between 500,000 and 662,000 Tutsi died. The genocide was marked by extreme violence, with victims often murdered by neighbours, and widespread sexual violence, with between 250,000 and 500,000 cases of rape.
1994
NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
American space and aeronautics agency
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science. Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the US space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS), and the ongoing multi-national Artemis program.
1997
Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
Failed Japanese orbiter mission to Mars (1998–2003)
Nozomi was a Japanese Mars orbiter that failed to reach Mars due to electrical failure. It was constructed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, University of Tokyo and launched on July 4, 1998, at 03:12 JST with an on-orbit dry mass of 258 kg and 282 kg of propellant. The Nozomi mission was terminated on December 31, 2003.
1998
Vladivostok Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board.
2001 aviation accident
Vladivostok Air Flight 352 was a scheduled passenger flight from Yekaterinburg, Russia to Vladivostok via Irkutsk. On 4 July 2001, the aircraft operating the flight, a Tupolev Tu-154M with tail number RA-85845, lost control, stalled, and crashed while approaching Irkutsk Airport. All 136 passengers and 9 flight crew members aboard perished, making it the third deadliest aircraft crash over Russian territory to date after Aeroflot Flight 3352 and Aeroflot Flight 217.
2001
A Boeing 707 crashes near Bangui M'Poko International Airport in Bangui, Central African Republic, killing 28.
Four-engined single-aisle airliner family
The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial 707-120 first flew on December 20, 1957. Launch customer Pan Am began regular service with the 707 on October 26, 1958.
With versions produced until 1979, the 707 is a swept wing quadjet with podded engines. Its larger fuselage cross-section allowed six-abreast economy seating, retained in the later 720, 727, and 737 models.
2002
The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
Skyscraper in Manhattan, New York
One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. It is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.
2004
Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.
Men's association football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in men's international football matches, and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece is one of only ten national teams to have been crowned UEFA European Champions.
2004
The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
NASA space probe launched in 2005
Deep Impact was a NASA space probe launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on January 12, 2005. It was designed to study the interior composition of the comet Tempel 1 (9P/Tempel), by releasing an impactor into the comet. At 05:52 UTC on July 4, 2005, the Impactor successfully collided with the comet's nucleus. The impact excavated debris from the interior of the nucleus, forming an impact crater. Photographs taken by the spacecraft showed the comet to be more dusty and less icy than had been expected. The impact generated an unexpectedly large and bright dust cloud, obscuring the view of the impact crater.
2005
Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station.
The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program's history to occur on the United States' Independence Day.
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was carried over from the 1969 plan for the Space Transportation System (STS) of reusable spacecraft. Only the shuttle and supporting rockets were funded for development; a proposed nuclear lunar shuttle in the plan was canceled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.
2006
A bomb explodes at a concert in Minsk's Independence Square, injuring 50 people.
Terrorist attack in Minsk, Belarus
The 2008 Minsk bombing took place just after midnight on 4 July 2008, in Minsk, Belarus and wounded 54 people. The explosion happened near the Hero City monument at a concert to celebrate Belarus' independence. The concert had been attended by Belarus' President, Alexander Lukashenko, who was not hurt and who officials said was not the target.
2008
The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
Colossal sculpture in New York Harbor
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture of a robed and crowned woman on Liberty Island, part of New York City, in New York Harbor. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and its metal framework built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.
2009
The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.
Terrorist attacks in Datu Piang, Jolo, Cotabato, and Iligan in Mindanao, Philippines
The Mindanao bombings was a series of seemingly unrelated bomb attacks that took place on July 4, 5, and 7, 2009 in the towns of Datu Piang and Jolo, and the cities of Cotabato and Iligan in Mindanao, Philippines. The bombings killed 8 people and injured at least 66. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has blamed several militant organizations active in Mindanao, such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Abu Sayyaf, and Jemaah Islamiyah.
2009
The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
Elementary particle involved with rest mass
The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. In the Standard Model, the Higgs particle is a massive scalar boson that couples to particles whose mass arises from their interactions with the Higgs field, has zero spin, even (positive) parity, no electric charge, and no color charge. It is also very unstable, decaying into other particles almost immediately upon generation.
2012
Chile claims its first title in international football by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América final.
Men's association football team
The Chile national football team, nicknamed La Roja, represents Chile in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile, which was established in 1895. Chile has appeared in nine World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup where they finished in third place, the highest position the country has ever achieved in the World Cup.
2015
The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, wins a landslide majority in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, ending 14 years of Conservative government.
Political party in the United Kingdom
The Labour Party, commonly Labour, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It sits on the centre-left of the left–right political spectrum, and has historically been an alliance of democratic socialists, social democrats and trade unionists. It has been the governing party since the 2024 general election. Andy Burnham became Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2026, succeeding Keir Starmer, who had been elected party leader in 2020 and led Labour into government. There have been twelve Labour governments and eight Labour prime ministers. The party meets annually during Autumn for the Labour Party Conference, during which delegates from local parties and trade unions vote on party policy, and senior figures address the audience from the Conference platform.
2024
A devastating flood strikes the Texas Hill Country, killing at least 108 people.
Natural disaster in Texas, U.S.
On July 4, 2025, destructive and deadly flooding took place in the Hill Country region of the U.S. state of Texas. During the flooding, water levels along the Guadalupe River rose rapidly. As a result, 136 people were killed and 3 remain missing, with 117 of deaths occurring in Kerr County. The flooding was caused by a mesoscale convective vortex with enhanced tropical moisture.
2025
The Oasis Live '25 tour begins in Principality Stadium, Cardiff, ending a 16-year hiatus.
2025 concert tour by Oasis
The Oasis Live '25 Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band Oasis. It began on 4 July 2025 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and concluded on 23 November at Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil. The tour marked Oasis's first live appearances since they split in August 2009. Their reunion and the tour were announced on 27 August 2024, two days before the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Definitely Maybe. Initially, seventeen dates across five cities in the United Kingdom and Ireland were announced, including five dates each at Wembley Stadium in London and Heaton Park in Manchester. Three extra dates were announced on 29 August 2024. Further dates were added and the band eventually performed 41 concerts in 14 countries. The announcement of the tour prompted six of Oasis's releases to re-enter the UK charts, including "Live Forever", which reached a new peak position of #8.
2025