As we move toward July 4th and the 250th Anniversary of our nation’s founding, historical oddities are worth revisiting, not least the unusual fact that – in 1826, on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our nation’s second and third presidents both died.
On July 4, 1826, Thomas Jefferson – who drafted the Declaration – reposed at his home in Virginia, sometime around noon, at the age of 83. The same day, hours later, not knowing Jefferson had died, John Adams died at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, at the age of 90.
Both men were there at the birth, and both left together on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Estranged for 11 years, both showed how to put differences aside. They made peace in later years, and the same year they died, Jefferson wrote to Adams on March 23, and Adams to Jefferson on April 17.
Often not remembered are others who died on this historic day, including our fifth president, James Monroe, who died on July 4, 1825, at the age of 73. Last of the original founders and our first five presidents to die was James Madison, who lived to June 28, 1826, six days shy of July 4 – dying at age 86.
Interestingly, other well-known Americans to pull chalks on “Independence Day” include Paul Joseph Revere, Union General and grandson of American Revolutionary Paul Revere, and Abraham Lincoln’s first term vice president, Maine’s Hannibal Hamlin, who died July 4, 1891, at home in Maine, age 81.
On the other end, the 30th American President, Calvin Coolidge, was born on July 4, 1872, along with the New England author of The Scarlett Letter and House of Seven Gables, Nathanial Hawthorne, born July 4, 1864.
All these American icons aside, the coming 40 days will be filled with excitement, as the Nation ramps up to celebrate the 250th Anniversary. The “Semiquincentenial” is being coordinated by groups across the nation, and chiefly by “America250.org.”
For more on how to make the most of it – whether in your hometown, state capital, or Washington DC – information abounds at america250.org, and the day and lead up provides a great chance to read to, talk with, and educate kids about our nation’s “exceptionalism,” what a miracle we were given on July 4, 1776.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
