By TR Robertson
July 4th for 2026 will soon be back in full swing filled with celebrations, barbeques, trips to the beach or parks, fireworks, lots of traditional foods and much more. There is a lot of trivia associated with our Independence Day and everything surrounding it. Here are some fun trivia and facts to dwell on as you celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.
• Only 2 people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 – John Hancock and Charles Thompson.
• Most signers of the Declaration signed on August 2, 1776.
• John Adams wanted to celebrate American independence from Britain on July 2nd , but Congress did not accept Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration until July 4th.
• 3 of the first 5 Presidents of the United States died on July 4th – John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe.
• Calvin Coolidge – 30th President of the U.S. was born on July 4th.
• Denmark, England, Norway, Portugal and Sweden celebrate July 4th because of the number of immigrants traveling to the U.S. in the 1900’s.
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July 4th became a legal federal holiday in 1938.
• The Philippines gained independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946.
• Some say hot dogs are more American than apple pie.
• Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest, held on July 4th, is said to have begun in 1916 because of an argument between 4 immigrants over patriotism and to prove how patriotic they were they ate as many hot dogs as they could.
• Joey Chestnut won the Famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2025 for the 17th time by eating 70.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
• Sports cartoonist T.A. “Tad” Dorgan is said to have come up with the name “hot dog” in the early 1900’s in a cartoon he drew for a newspaper because he couldn’t spell dachshund.
• Harry Magley, a catering manager for the NYC Polo Grounds, is said to have invented the hot dog in a bun and had workers yell out “Get your red hots” to sell them.
• Another story is about Charles Feltman, a Coney Island vendor, caming up with the concept of putting a hot dog between bread in 1867.
• Others say Austrian Ignatz Fischmann was the inventor of the bun for the hot dog.
• Another story says German immigrant Anton Feuchtwanger came up with the bun idea while selling hot snacks at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1893.
• In 1913 the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce forbade vendors from using the term “hot dog” fearing the public might think dog meat was in the sausage.
• Hot dogs are an American version of the German “frankfurter”.
• Pinks in Los Angeles claim they invented the chili dog in 1939.
• Other hot dog creations include the Chicago Dog with pickle relish, peppers and tomatoes, The Seattle Dog has cream cheese the Southern Dog comes with coleslaw and minced chili piled on. New York is said to have come up with the all-beef dog.
• One food tradition in New England says to eat salmon on July 4th with green peas.
• For authenticity you should also offer turtle soup with the meal.
• There appears to be a small message on the back of the original Declaration of Independence.
• The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the 1st paper to print the Declaration of Independence.
• Thomas Jefferson is said to have held the 1st celebration for the 4th at the White House. Others say it was John Adams.
• In 1777, Congress chose fireworks to celebrate the 1st anniversary by shooting off fireworks in Philadelphia then ringing bells and starting bonfires.
• New York Yankees pitcher Dave Righetti threw a no hitter against the Boston Red Sox on July 4, 1983, the first no hitter in 27 years.
• The Yankee Doodle song, the state anthem of Connecticut, is a British song that makes fun of early backwoods Americans.
• The stars on the original American flag were put in a circle to signify all colonies being equal.
• The design of the American flag has been modified 26 times since its creation in 1777.
• Frances Hopkinson, not Betsy Ross, designed the first U.S. flag and U.S. Seal.
• The 50-star flag was inspired by high school student Robert Heft of Lancaster, Ohio, who sent his design to President Dwight Eisenhower.
• Apple pie comes from Europe, but the hamburger is an American recipe said to have originated in New Haven, Ct. by Louis Lassen.
• In 1778, General George Washington celebrated the 4th with a double ration of rum for his soldiers.
• The National Anthem is set to the tune of an old British drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven”. The lyrics come from a poem, “Defense of Fort McHenry”, written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. It became our National Anthem on March 3, 1931.
• Ben Franklin proposed the wild turkey as our National Bird but was overruled by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, choosing instead the Bald Eagle.
• $200 million in fireworks will be imported from China to shoot off on the 4th.
• Uncle Sam comes from a U.S. stamp that was put on packaged products by Samuel Wilson in the 1800’s on goods sent to U.S. soldiers, he would say the packages came from Uncle Sam.
I am sure there is much more trivia and facts surrounding the 4th and all the symbols and events associated with this American holiday. At any rate, have a safe 4th of July, do not eat and drink too much, but always remember the real reason we celebrate this holiday. Happy 4th of July.
