On July 9, 1850, President Zachary Taylor died just 16 months after taking office. His sudden death ended the presidency of a career soldier who had won national fame on the battlefield, then faced one of the most dangerous political crises in the nation’s history.
Staff Sergeant Esther McGowin Blake raised her right hand in the very first minute women were allowed to join the US Air Force on July 8, 1948. Her enlistment did not make the Air Force equal overnight, but it marked a clear first step toward a permanent place for women in the nation’s newest military branch.
On July 7, 1942, the United States issued its first stamp with foreign characters as part of the design. The stamp honored China’s fight against Japan and used a small design detail to show a larger wartime friendship.
On July 6, 1777, British forces re-took Fort Ticonderoga, two years after Americans had captured it in a surprise attack. The victory seemed important at first, but it soon became one step in a campaign that ended in disaster for Britain at Saratoga.
David Glasgow Farragut was born in Campbell’s Station (now Farragut), Tennessee, on July 5, 1801. A Civil War naval commander, the rank of admiral was created specifically for him.
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. One of America’s founding documents, it explained why the 13 colonies were at war with Great Britain and that they declared themselves to be independent sovereign states no longer under British rule.
The Olympic Mountains are not especially tall. Mount Olympus, the park’s highest peak, rises 7,980 feet. But the range stands close to the Pacific Ocean, and that location shapes nearly everything in the park. Moist air from the ocean moves inland and is pushed upward by the mountains. As the air cools, it drops rain in the valleys and snow on the peaks.
On June 19, 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation creating the National Archives. The archives houses billions of historic documents, photographs, maps, videos, and more.
On June 2, 1886, President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the White House, making him the only US president to be married in the executive mansion.
On July 9, 1863, Confederate forces surrendered Port Hudson, Louisiana, ending a 48-day siege. The longest siege in American history, the victory returned control of the Mississippi River to the Union.
On July 9, 1944, American troops claimed victory after a three-week battle on Saipan. Having broken through the Japanese defenses, this enabled the US to launch strategic bombing campaigns.
Pedro Francisco, also known as the “Virginia Giant,” the “Giant of the Revolution,” and the “Virginia Hercules,” was born on July 9, 1760, in Porto Judeu, Terceira, Portugal. A hero of the Revolutionary War, many of his exploits were larger than life.
On July 9, 1755, George Washington distinguished himself as a leader at the Battle of Braddock’s Field, also known as the Battle of the Monongahela.
Love history?
Subscribe to get This Day in History stories straight to your inbox every day!