4th of July Fun Facts

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Thomas Jefferson)

Here in the United States, we celebrate our nation’s independence from England on the 4th of July.

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In honor of that, here are 11 interesting facts (at least to me they are interesting) …

1. Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, but the actual vote took place two days earlier on July 2nd.
2. In July of 1776, an estimated 2.5 million people lived in the newly independent nation. Today, nearly 350 million people live in the U.S.
3. Three U.S. presidents have died on July 4th. James Monroe died in 1831 and just 5 years before that, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson passed away on July 4th, 1826.
4. Additionally, Calvin Coolidge, the 30th U.S. President, was born on July 4, 1872.
5. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday.
6. In 1941, the holiday was expanded to grant a paid holiday to all federal employees.
7. Eight of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were born in Britain.
8. John Hancock has the largest signature on the Declaration of Independence.
9. At 70 years of age, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Lynch, Jr was the youngest at 27 years of age.
10. The 50th star was added to the American flag on July 4, 1960. It symbolized Hawaii’s admission as the U.S.’s 50th state.
11. The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is a staple each year on July 4th at Nathan’s Famous’ original (and best-known) restaurant in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.  Kobayashi put it on the map from a main stream standpoint doubling the world record in 2001 when he ate 50 dogs. That would be the first of six straight wins for him. On the women’s side, Miki Sudo is the record holder with 48.5 hot dogs eaten and captured her ninth title last year. But the name that has become synonymous with the hot dog eating contest is Joey Chestnut. He is a 16-time winner and holds the world record for eating 76 hot dogs (with buns, I might add). He ate those 76 hot dogs in just 10 minutes back in 2021.

Jamy Bechler is the author of seven books including “The Captain” and “The Bus Trip”, host of the “Success is a Choice Podcast”, professional speaker, and trains organizations on creating championship cultures. He previously spent 20 years as a college basketball coach and administrator.  TheLeadershipPlaybook.com is Bechler’s online program that helps athletes become better teammates and more positive leaders while strengthening a team’s culture. As a certified John Maxwell leadership coach, Bechler has worked with businesses and teams, including the NBA. Follow him on Twitter at @CoachBechler. To connect with him via email or find out about his services, please contact speaking@CoachBechler.com. You can also subscribe to his insights on success and leadership by visiting JamyBechler.com/newsletter.