Fourth of July Trivia

On July 4, the United States of America will be celebrating her Independence Day. Non-Americans, like myself, might find the following facts interesting:

Independence Day, or what is popular known as "Fourth of July" is a holiday commemorating the formal adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence. It was signed in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776 although the signing was not completed until August.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams made minor changes.

The holiday was first observed on July 8, 1776 in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was first read aloud.

The Liberty Bell was rung before it was read to the people of Philadelphia.

The Declaration of Independence stated that the thirteen colonies were free from Britain.

The Preamble stated that all men are created equal and that they have unalienable rights which include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Although the original handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence does not exist anymore, the first copy made of the original is on display, along with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, at the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, D.C.

The first and largest signature on the Declaration of Independence belongs to John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress.