Today in History

1712		12 slaves are executed for starting a uprising in New York that killed nine whites.
1776		The amended Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas Jefferson, is approved and signed by John Hancock–President of the Continental Congress–and Charles Thomson, Congress secretary. The state of New York abstains from signing.
1817		Construction begins on the Erie Canal, to connect Lake Erie and the Hudson River.
1826		Two of America's founding fathers–Thomas Jefferson and John Adams–die.
1831		The fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, dies at the age of 73.
1845		Henry David Thoreau begins his 26-month stay at Walden Pond.
1855		Walt Whitman publishes the first edition of Leaves of Grass at his own expense.
1861		Union and Confederate forces skirmish at Harpers Ferry.
1862		Charles Dodgson first tells the story of Alice's adventures down the rabbit hole during a picnic along the Thames.
1863		The Confederate town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant.
1881		Billy the Kid is shot dead in New Mexico.
1894		After seizing power, Judge Stanford B. Dole declares Hawaii a republic.
1895		The poem America the Beautiful is first published.
1901		William H. Taft becomes the American governor of the Philippines.
1910		Race riots break out all over the United States after African American Jack Johnson knocks out Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match.
1931		Novelist James Joyce and Nora Barnacle are married in London after being together for 26 years.
1934		Boxer Joe Louis wins his first professional fight.
1946		The United States grants the Philippine Islands their independence.
1960		The 50-star flag makes its debut in Philadelphia.
1976		An Israeli raid at Entebbe airport in Uganda rescues 105 hostages.