July 4 in History

July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, leaving 180 days until the year’s end.

In this post, we revisit historical events reflecting the day’s rich and diverse impact on history and society.

July 4, 2008: Hundreds of soldiers who had served as United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Liberia went on a rampage in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. They protested against military authorities’ decision not to pay their allowances.

July 4, 2007: In the southern region of Nigeria, armed men abducted five foreigners on the same day the leading militant group announced the termination of a truce with the government.

July 4, 1994: Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, is seized by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, marking the end of the genocide in the city.

The Rwandan genocide, occurring between April 7 and July 19, 1994, during the Rwandan Civil War, saw mass killings of Tutsi minority ethnic group members, along with moderate Hutu and Twa, by Hutu militias. While the Rwandan Constitution cites over 1 million deaths, scholarly estimates range from 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi fatalities.

July 4, 1976: Israeli army commandos executed a successful hostage rescue operation at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. They liberated 102 hostages from an Air France flight hijacked by members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Ugandan President Idi Amin supports the hijackers.

During the operation, Lt. Col Yonatan Netanyahu, commander of the 100-strong commando unit and older brother of future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was killed. Seven hijackers and 45 Ugandan soldiers at the airport also perish, with up to 30 Ugandan aircraft destroyed. Three hostages die during the rescue, and a fourth, hospitalized in Uganda, is later killed on Amin’s orders.

In retaliation for Kenya’s assistance to Israel, Amin orders the killing of 245 Kenyans residing in Uganda.

July 4, 1954: Food rationing in Great Britain concludes with the removal of restrictions on meat sales and purchases. This ends 14 years of rationing that began early in World War II and continued nearly a decade after the war.

To manage severe shortages, the Ministry of Food had established a rationing system. People had to register at specific shops and use ration books with coupons to buy most rationed items. Shopkeepers were supplied with enough food for their registered customers.

July 4, 1951: William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor, a type of bipolar junction transistor (BJT) that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers.

July 4, 1947: The “Indian Independence Bill” was introduced in the British House of Commons. This bill proposed the independence of the Provinces of British India, leading to the creation of two sovereign nations: India and Pakistan.

July 4, 1946: The Republic of the Philippines declared its independence, with Manuel Roxas becoming its first president.

The name “Philippines” derives from Philip II, the King of Spain during the 16th-century colonization of the islands.

July 4, 1941: During World War II, the Great Choral Synagogue in German-occupied Riga was set on fire, with 300 Jews trapped in the basement.

July 4, 1940: Italian forces invade Sudan from Eritrea during World War II. They successfully push back British forces and advance towards the railroad town of Kassala.

July 4, 1910: African American boxer Jack Johnson achieved victory over James Jackson Jeffries, who was widely seen as the “Great White Hope” at the time. This bout, known as the “Fight of the Century,” triggered jubilant celebrations among African Americans nationwide. However, these celebrations occasionally escalated into violent confrontations with white communities, resulting in more than 20 deaths across the country.

July 4, 1884: The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States by France in Paris.

July 4, 1879: During the Anglo-Zulu War, British forces captured and destroyed the Zululand capital of Ulundi. This marked the end of the war and caused King Cetshwayo of Zulu Kingdom to flee.

July 4, 1862: Lewis Carroll told Alice Liddell a story that would later become *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland* and its sequels.

July 4, 1830: During a crucial battle of the French invasion of the Ottoman Empire’s province of Algiers, French artillery initiates an assault on the Bordj Moulay Hassan fortress. A prolonged cannonade ensues, with the fort returning fire. By 10 a.m., half of the fort’s original 2,000 Moorish defenders are killed, their cannons destroyed. The remaining defenders use their remaining gunpowder to detonate the fort before escaping.

July 4, 1776: The United States announced its independence from Great Britain. The founding document of the nation, appropriately called the Declaration of Independence, explains how the 13 colonies should no longer be under England’s colonial control.

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