With July 4th upon us every citizen should know what the holiday is about. On July 4, 1776 our United States Congress unveiled The Declaration of Independence.
This document was written and signed to show the world we were no longer under British rule. Since that time Americans celebrate each 4th of July as this country’s Independence Day.
I was curious as to what other important events took place on July 4th after 1776. My research uncovered the following:
1802 – West Point military academy was opened.
1827 – Slavery was abolished in New York.
1862 – Charles Dodgson created Alice in Wonderland for friend Alice Liddell on a family boat trip.
1881 – Booker T. Washington started Tuskegee Institute.
1866 – An errantly tossed firecracker was responsible for torching half of Portland, Maine.
1939 – The Boston Red Sox Jim Tabor hit two grand slam homeruns in one game.
1959 – A 49 star flag honoring Alaska statehood was unfurled.
1960 – Mickey Mantle hit homerun number 300.
1982 – Jimmy Connors beat John McEnroe at the 96th Wimbledon tennis championship.
1990 – Wrestler Brutus Beefcake was injured while parasailing.
2015 – Matt ‘Megatoad’ Stonie defeated eight-time champ Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut in a hotdog eating contest.
2016 – Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut captured the hotdog eating title by defeating Matt ‘Megatoad’ Stonie.
2018 – Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut wins the hotdog eating contest once again.
I’m not sure what significant milestone will be added to the list this coming Thursday, but let’s pray it’s a good one and not tragic.
If you’re like me you’ll be watching to see if Matt ‘Megatoad’ Stonie can dethrone Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut, regaining the hotdog eating title for 2019.
Hopefully there’ll be trained medical personnel standing by with stomach pumps, just in case competitors overdo it!
Have a safe 4th of July!
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