July 4, 2023
QUOTE
When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.
There is no justification for taking away individuals’ freedom in the guise of public safety.
Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.
When the people are afraid of the government, that’s tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that’s liberty.
--Thomas Jefferson
BIRTHDAYS
1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, Novelist and short story writer
1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general
1910 – Gloria Stuart, Actress
1927 – Neil Simon, Playwright and screenwriter
1930 – George Steinbrenner, Businessman
IN MEMORY
1826 – John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States
1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States
1831 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States
1995 – Eva Gabor, Actress and singer
1995 – Bob Ross, Painter and television host
IN ON THIS DAY
1054 – A supernova is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
1776 –The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
1802 –West Point, the United States Military Academy opens.
1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die on the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives,” not knowing that Jefferson had died hours earlier.
1863 – Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to U.S. forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege.
1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”, then announces his retirement from major league baseball.