Today in History, July 4

It is July 4^th. We all know that this is America's birthday, the day that our country declared its independence from England, but what else happened on this day in history?

On July 4^th, 1826, the 50^th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, two of America's founding fathers died. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, our country's second and third presidents, respectively, died on this day in 1826. Just five years later, James Monroe, the fifth president, died on July 4^th, 1831.

In the literary world, July 4^th is known for at least two famous publications. The first edition of Walt Whitman's frequently revised "Leaves of Grass" was published on July 4^th, 1855. The first volume contained 12 poems, which were rewritten and added to over the years. On July 4^th, 1862 author Lewis Carroll created "Alice in Wonderland" for Alice P. Liddell. Three years later on July 4^th, 1865, the first edition of "Alice in Wonderland" was released.

On July 4^th, 1863, Confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg during the Civil War.

The entertainment sector has seen its share of momentous events that happened on the 4^th of July. On this day in 1832, "America" was first sung in public and in1883 Buffalo Bill Cody presented his first Wild West Show in North Platte, NE. In 1961, four years after the death of her beloved "Bogie", actress Lauren Bacall married actor Jason Robards. July 4^th 1969 was the day that 140,000 people attended the Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin.

Sporting events are no stranger to happenings on the 4^th either. In 1905, a 20 inning baseball game was played with the Philadelphia A's eventually beating the Boston Red Sox 4-2. The first U.S. motorcycle race was held on this day in 1914. It was 300 miles long. Baseball saw two significant events in 1939. Red Sox player Jim Tabor hits two grand slams in one game. It was the same day that the Yankees retired their first jersey, Lou Gehrig's #4. In 1960, the New York Yankees' Mickey Mantle hit his 300^th career homer. And on July 4^th 1984 NASCAR driver Richard Petty won his 200^th race at the Firecracker 400 in Daytona Beach, FL.

Famous people born on July 4^th include Yankee Doodle Dandy George M. Cohan, mobster Meyer Lansky, propagandist Tokyo Rose, advice columnists and twin sisters Abigail Van Buren and Ann Landers, actress Eva Marie Saint, playwright Neil Simon, R & B singer Bill Withers, newscaster Geraldo Rivera, and singer John Waite.