A couple fun Fourth of July facts:
The first official 4th of July celebration was in 1777 in Philadelphia. Warships along the docks fired a 13 gun salute in honor of the 13 states. The soldiers that were in the area at the time paraded through the streets.
Not all members of the Continental Congress supported a formal Declaration of Independence, but those who did were passionate about it. One representative rode 80 miles by horseback to reach Philadelphia and break a tie in support of independence.
The first two versions of the Liberty Bell were defective and had to be melted down and recast. The third version rang every Fourth of July from 1778 to 1835, when, according to tradition, it cracked as it was being tolled for the death of Chief Justice John Marshall.
The American national anthem, the "Star-Spangled Banner," is set to the tune of an English drinking song ("To Anacreon in Heaven").
The term fireworks didn’t come about until 1777 when the first Fourth of July celebration took place. Before that, they were simply called “rockets.” Because they were more visual than anything, they called them “fireworks.” Later on, the ones that were made for noise (and not beauty) were called “Fire Crackers.” And in 1880 “sparklers” were created.
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