7 Other Things That Happened on the 4th of July

If you don't feel like celebrating Independence Day this year, Ranker has a list of more than 30 other things that also happened on July 4. A sampling:

• Slavery was abolished in New York. The children born to slaves in the state were freed on July 4 in 1799; by July 4, 1827, all slaves in the state were freed.
• The Philippines gained independence from the US. The Treaty of Manila was signed between the US and the Philippines on July 4 in 1946.
• Hotmail was born. On July 4, 1996, with the announcement, "Happy Independence Day. In return, we are going to give you a great new way to get email. It’s called Hotmail. Be free from your internet service provider!"

• Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass. The first edition came out on July 4, 1855.
• Construction began on the Erie Canal. Construction began on the nearly 400-mile water route on July 4 in 1817 in Rome, New York.
• The Republic of Hawaii was born. On July 4, 1894; just four years later it was annexed by the US.
• The US got the Statue of Liberty. France gave it as a gift on July 4 in 1884.

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