What are the important events that happened on July 4? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

July 4: Facts & Myths About This Day

July 4 is the 185^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 180 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is June 21, 2025 – a Friday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 486,552 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectaoctacontapentagon’ day.

Cancer is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Ruby is the modern birthstone for this month. Ruby is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 228 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,578 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

July 4: This Day In History

The Aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurs around this date.

July 4 Historical Events

• 1569 –
  The King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund II Augustus finally sign the document of union between Poland and Lithuania, creating new country known as Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• 1802 –
  At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens.
• 1879 –
  Anglo-Zulu War: the Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burnt to the ground, thus, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
• 1886 –
  The first scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia.
• 1918 –
  Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
• 1946 –
  After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
• 1950 –
  The first broadcast by Radio Free Europe.
• 1982 –
  Iranian diplomats kidnapping (1982): four Iranian diplomats are kidnapped by Lebanese militia in Lebanon.
• 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 8 years, due to security reasons following the World Trade Center attacks.

Who were born on July 4?

• 1799 –
  King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (d. 1859)
• 1910 –
  Gloria Stuart, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1930 –
  George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
• 1948 –
  Jeremy Spencer, English musician
• 1968 –
  Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and impressionist
• 1981 –
  Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player
• 1983 –
  Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer
• 1984 –
  Akanishi Jin, Japanese singer
• 1990 –
  Backer Aloenouvo, Togolese football player
• 1990 –
  Rishadi Fauzi, Indonesian soccer player

Who died on July 4?

• 1648 –
  Antoine Daniel, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1601)
• 1881 –
  Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish statesman (b. 1806)
• 1901 –
  Johannes Schmidt, German linguist (b. 1843)
• 1902 –
  Swami Vivekananda, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1863)
• 1922 –
  Lothar von Richthofen, German pilot (b. 1894)
• 1926 –
  Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian Saint (b. 1901)
• 1948 –
  Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian writer (b. 1882)
• 1976 –
  Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet (b. 1895)
• 1997 –
  Charles Kuralt, American television presenter (b. 1934)
• 2004 –
  Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (b. 1920)