Tuesday Ten: Fascinating Fourth Facts

I really debated which way to go with this week's Tuesday Ten; I thought about doing a blog on the time line of events leading up to the Signing of the Declaration of Independence; and I considered doing some Fourth of July trivia. Neither one really fit into the Victorian era, both were interesting but the one about the Declaration of Independence didn't really fit for a Tuesday Ten (though it may show up on my personal blog one day this week). As for the other .... do we really care how many hot dogs are consumed every year on the Fourth??

Ever the indecisive one, I scrapped both ideas and came up with this instead. *G*

1781 – The first official celebration of the Fourth occurred in Massachusetts.

1801 – The first public Fourth of July reception at the White House occurred.

1804 – The first Fourth of July celebration west of the Mississippi occurred at Independence Creek and was celebrated by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

1805 – Boston has its first fireworks display.

1866 – General George G. Meade watches 10,000 war veterans parade in Philadelphia. In an editorial, the Nashville Banner urges its citizens not to celebrate the Fourth.

1876 – Centennial celebrations occurred throughout the United States, many of them three-day affairs celebrated from July 3-5

1884 – formal presentation of the Statue of Liberty takes place in Paris

1887 – The first Fourth of July celebration in Yellowstone National Park takes place.

1912 – The new national flag with 48 stars is formally and officially endowed.

1926 – The 150^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is celebrated throughout the nation.

1960 –the American flag with 50 stars is flown for the first time after Hawaii is given statehood.

1976 – the nation’s Bicentennial is celebrated.