July 4th

Fun Facts About July 4th

• Three U.S. presidents died on July 4: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both in 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and James Monroe in 1831.
• Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872. He was the 30th U.S. President and famous for his quiet demeanor, earning him the knickname "Silent Cal".
• Contrary to lore, the Liberty Bell did not ring on July 4, 1776. But it probably rang on July 8 when the Declaration of Independence was first publicly read. As for the famous crack, that probably happened in the 1840s.
• Hot dogs are strongly associated with July 4th celebrations. And for good reason: Americans eat about 150 million hot dogs on Independence Day, enough to stretch from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles and back again.
• Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest began in 1916 on Coney Island. It's still held every July 4th. As of 2025, the men's record stands at 76 hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes.
• While the United States declared independence on July 4, 1776, it was not officially a country on that day. That only came after it was formally recognized as a sovereign nation with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 which ended the Revolutionary War.
• New York City's (Macy's) is the nation's largest firworks display. It features over 120,000 bursts and 30,000 aerial shells launched from barges on the East River or Brooklyn Bridge. Nashville is also known for launching a massive quantity of fireworks, including 40,000 pounds of explosives, 1,000 flares, and 200 miles of wire to connect and synchronize the pyrotechnic devices with a live performance by the Nashville Symphony.