1776 – American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress (duh).

1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general, grandson of President Grant is born (d. 1968).

1886 – The people of France offer the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States.

1892 – Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year it had 367 days, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4. Yeah, double the Independence.

1902 – Meyer Lansky, Belarusian-American gangster is born (d. 1983).

1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.

1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo, which is considered what started World War I.

1934 – Leo Szilard patented the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.

1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer was born.

1941 – Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.

1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author is born.

1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence.

1950 – Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.

1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer was born.

1973 – Gackt, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor is born.

1973 – Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager was also born.

1982 – Hannah Harper, American porn actress and director is born.

1982 – Michael Sorrentino, American model and celebrity was born.

1997 – NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.

2004 - The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.

2009 – The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure.