The Fourth of July is venerated in the United States as the date that the original thirteen British colonies gave birth to a fledgling new republic. Designated a national holiday by an act of Congress on June 28th, 1870, it has been observed as the most popular non-religious holiday on the calendar with parades, picnics, and tons of hamburgers and hotdogs, every year since.
But there is a strange relationship between that date and the founding fathers that defies the odds. Consider the following:
There are 204 unique individuals who are recognized as “founding fathers.” Of these 204 men, five of them make up the first five Presidents of the United States; George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.
Of these five founding fathers, three of them – John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe – died on the Fourth of July. James Monroe died on July 4, 1831. Remarkably, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, our nation’s 50th anniversary, within hours of each other.
This strange occurrence was not lost on the local and national newspapers of the time. The New York Evening Post wrote on July 5, 1831, after the death of Monroe, that the passing of the three presidents on the same date was a “coincidence that has no parallel.”
Since Monroe’s death, no other president has died on the Fourth of July, but one President has been born on that date – the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge in 1872.