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

In a ceremony held in Paris on July 4, 1884, the completed
Statue of Liberty was formally presented to the United
States ambassador as a commemoration of the friendship
between France and the U.S.

The idea for the statue was born in 1865, when the French
historian and abolitionist Édouard de Laboulaye proposed
a monument to commemorate the upcoming centennial of
U.S. independence (1876), the perseverance of American
democracy and the liberation of the nation’s slaves.

By 1870, sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi had come up
with sketches of a giant figure of a robed woman holding
a torch—possibly based on a statue he had previously
proposed for the opening of the Suez Canal.

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Starting Monday, July 7, drivers can
expect some road closures as construction work begins to
restore the Thompson Elk statue.

Road closures will be on SW Main Street between SW 3rd and
SW 4th Avenues and is expected to last through the winter of
2025, according to the Portland Water Bureau.

Westbound traffic from the Hawthorne Bridge will follow traffic
signs and flaggers around the closure area. Detour routes will
change as work progresses.

The Regional Arts and Culture Council removed the bronze elk
statue from its perch and salvaged the remaining undamaged
stonework in July 2020, after fires set in its base posed a risk
of toppling the structure.

Thompson Fountain and County Court House in 1906.

The fountain with its statue was donated to the city of Portland in
1900 for display in Downtown Portland‘s Plaza Blocks.

(FOX NEWS) – Michael Madsen, best known for his roles in
Quentin Tarantino’s films "Reservoir Dogs," "Kill Bill: Vol. 2,
" "The Hateful Eight" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,"
has died.

The actor suffered a cardiac arrest and was found unresponsive
in his Malibu home earlier this morning. 

1992

July 3, 1863: On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg,
Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last attempt at breaking
the Union line ended in disastrous failure, bringing the most
decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end.

Robert E. Lee by Pompeo Coppini – University of Texas
at Austin, Austin, Texas.