Fun Facts : Fourth of July

Tomorrow marks 237 years since the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and officially declared the United States of America to be an independent nation.  Here's a few interesting facts about our national holiday.

• Fireworks were first authorized by Congress for Fourth of July celebrations in 1777.
• The American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) estimates that 14,000 fireworks displays light up the sky on July 4th.
• Nineteenth-century Independence Days featured noisy artillery salutes, as explosives left over from various wars were fired all day during the Fourth of July. The practice faded as cannons aged and fell into disrepair.
• The Fourth of July was not declared a federal holiday until 1941.
• In July of 1776 the number of people estimated to live in the newly independent United States was 2.5 million.  Today the estimated population is 316.2 million.
• The only person to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4th was also its first signer: John Hancock.
• US Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams passed away on July 4th. The even more amazing coincidence is that both died on the same day in the same year of 1826 by a difference of five hours with Jefferson passing first at age 82 and Adams at age 90.  The fifth U.S. president, James Monroe, also died on July 4, but in 1831.
• The Liberty Bell was rung not on July 4, 1776, but on July 8, 1776, to celebrate the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
• The tablet held by in the Statue of Liberty’s left hand bears the date July 4, 1776, but the statue itself was presented to the U.S. by France on July 4, 1884.

Sources:  www.nationalgeographic.com www.census.gov www.britannica.com

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The Library will be closed for Fourth of July!  We will be back open on Friday.