July 4
In Philadelphia, Pa., the Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain and its king. The declaration came 442 days after the first volleys of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts and marked an ideological expansion of the conflict that eventually encouraged France’s intervention on behalf of the colonial Patriots. – 1776.
Record temperatures are set in the northeastern United States when a deadly heat wave hits the area that would go on to kill 380 individuals. In Nashua, N.H.. The mercury peaked at 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Other high-temperature records were set all over New England during an 11-day period. – 1911.
July 5
In the East End of London, revivalist preacher William Booth and his wife, Catherine, establish the Christian Mission, later known as the Salvation Army. Determined to wage war against the evils of poverty and religious indifference with military efficiency, Booth modeled his Methodist sect after the British army, labeling uniformed ministers as officers and new members as recruits. – 1865.
Dolly, the sheep, is the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell and is born at the Roslin Institute in Scotland. – 1996.
July 6
In Hartford, Conn., a fire breaks out under the big top of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, to kill 167 individuals and injure 682. The cause of the fire was unknown, but it spread at incredible speed, racing up the canvas of the circus tent. Within 10 minutes it was over, and some 100 children and 60 adults were dead. – 1944.
In Annapolis, Md., the United States Naval Academy admits women for the first time in its history with the induction of 81 female midshipmen. In May 1980, Elizabeth Anne Rowe became the first woman member of the class to graduate. Four years later, Kristine Holderied became the first female midshipman to graduate at the top of her class. – 1976.
An explosion rips through an oil rig in the North Sea, about 120 miles off the northeast coast of Scotland and kills 167 of 225 workers. It was the worst offshore oil-rig disaster in history. – 1988.
July 7
Mary Harris “Mother” Jones begins “The March of the Mill Children”, when, accompanied part of the way by children. She walked from Philadelphia to president Theodore Roosevelt’s home on Long Island, N.Y. to protest the plight of child laborers. One of her demands: Reduce the children’s work week to 55 hours. – 1903.
Construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men worked ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest man-made structures in the world. – 1930.
On the morning of July 7, 2005, bombs are detonated in three crowded London subways and one bus during the peak of the city’s rush hour. The synchronized suicide bombings, which are thought to be the work of al-Qaida, kills 56, including the bombers, and injures another 700. It is the largest attack on Great Britain since World War II. No warning was given. – 2005.
July 8
Paris, the capital city of France, officially celebrates turning 2,000 years old. In fact, a few more candles technically would have been required on the birthday cake, because the City of Lights was most likely founded around 250 B.C.E.. – 1951.
In Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell rings out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, by Colonel John Nixon. – 1776.
July 9
Two trains collide outside of Nashville, Tenn. and kill 101 and injure more than 100. Despite the high death toll, the story was mainly ignored by the national press most likely because the vast majority of the casualties were African Americans. – 1918.
July 10
A powerful explosion rips through the Rolling Mill coal mine in Johnstown, Pa. and kills 112 miners, 83 of whom were immigrants from Poland and Slovakia. – 1902.
In Dayton, Tenn., the so-called Monkey Trial begins with John Thomas Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law. Within a few days hordes of spectators and reporters had descended on Dayton and preachers set up tents along the city’s main street. – 1925.
The Germans begin the first in a long series of bombing raids against Great Britain, called the Battle of Britain, which lasts three-and-a-half months. – 1940.