In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, the Continental
Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which
proclaims the independence of the United States of America
from Great Britain and its king.

The Assembly Room in Independence Hall in Philadelphia,
where the Second Continental Congress adopted the
Declaration of Independence.

John Hancock
(January 23, 1737 – October 8, 1793)

Draft of the Declaration of Independence being presented
to Congress.  

On this day in history, July 3, 1962, Tom Cruise — who would
go on to become one of Hollywood’s most iconic leading men
— was born.

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born in Syracuse, New York,
and his acting career emerged in the 1980s. 

The state of Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890. 

Katharine Lee Bates (1859 – 1929) a poet and professor at
Wellesley College, is best known as the author of "America
the Beautiful," which she wrote after a trip to the summer
of Pike’s Peak in 1893.