From all of us here at Burger Law, we wish you and your family a happy and healthy Fourth of July!
With this holiday in mind, we would love to share some fun facts about this holiday, that we just love. Did you know that:
- The Declaration of Independence was in fact signed on August 10, 1776, not July 4th.
- The intended date for Independence Day was not July 4th, it was July 2nd.
- Copies of the Declaration, known as the “Dunlop broadsides”, were distributed to spread news of the Declaration and an original issue of these is on display at Washington University Law School.
- The Declaration has only left Washington D.C. two times in all of American history. The first, during the War of 1812, and again during the Second World War, where it was stored in Fort Knox.
- Three US presidents have died on Independence Day. The first two, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration’s passage. The other president, James Monroe, died five years after Jefferson and Adams on July 4, 1831.
- There was a 44-year difference between the oldest and the youngest signer of the Declaration. The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin at 70 years old.
- The signers of the declaration came from a diverse set of professions, with 24 lawyers, 11 merchants, and 9 farmers.
- Every year, on the Fourth of July, the Liberty Bell is tapped (not rung) 13 times in honor of the original 13 colonies.
Happy Independence Day, we hope these facts make this holiday as fun as it is for us!