What Happened in July?

The U.S. Marine Corps, initially established on November 10, 1775, as the Continental Marines and disbanded after the Revolutionary War is formally re-established under President John Adams. Marines saw action in the quasi-war with France, landed in Santo Domingo, and took part in many operations against the Barbary pirates along the shores of Tripoli. The birth date of the United States Marine Corps is celebrated as November 10, 1975 More

After capturing Alexandria and crossing the desert, Napoleon Bonaparte and his French troops defeat the infantry and cavalry of the Mamluks, the soldiers of the Ottoman Turks, in a decisive victory at the Battle of the Pyramids, (also known as the Battle of Embabeh). The victory opened the doors to the conquest of Cairo. More

The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta, providing a key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. The large inscribed stone fragment was uncovered by the French officer Pierre François Xavier Bouchard on a tributary of the Nile near the Mediterranean coast east of Alexandria where Napoleon’s forces were constructing fortifications. More

The Louisiana Purchase is announced in the United States.

Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shoots his long-time political antagonist Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, a leading Federalist and the chief architect of America’s political economy, died the following day. More

Shawnee Chief Tecumseh calls on all Native peoples to unite and resist the growing loss land to the white settlers. proposing that if united, the various tribes had enough strength to stop the white settlers. More

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, declares Independence from Spain. Colombia is located  primarily located in South America with insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Peru and Ecuador to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest.

Venezuela declares its independence from Spain.

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, declares its independence from Spain. Argentina is located in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of 2,780,085 km², making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. Argentina's capital is Buenos Aires and has a 2023 reported population of 45.5 Million people. 

Peru, officially The Republic of Peru, declares its independence from Spain. Peru is a country in western South America. It is bordered to the north by Ecuador and Colombia, to the east by Brazil, to the southeast by Bolivia, to the south by Chile, and to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru has a population of over 32 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima Peru's with a metropolitan population exceeding 11 Million people.  Expand +

American geographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft officially identifies Lake Itasca in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota as the source of the Mississippi River.  Expand +

Enslaved Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad, led by Joseph Cinque revolt  against the Spanish officers and crew who were their captors and gained control of the ship near the coast of Cuba. They were being transported to a sugar plantation at Puerto Principe, Cuba after been captured In February of 1839 by Portuguese slave hunters from Sierra Leone.  Expand +

The Act of Union to merge Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single entity, called the Province of Canada, was passed by the British Parliament on July 23, 1840, with the effective date of February 10, 1841.  Expand +

Pioneer Day. Completing a treacherous thousand-mile exodus, an ill and exhausted Brigham Young and fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) arrived in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Valley. The Mormon, as they were commonly known, viewed their pioneer arrival as the founding of a Mormon homeland. hence Pioneer Day. More

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, declares its independence. Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5.5 million. More

The Seneca Falls Convention, widely recognized as the first women's rights convention in the United States begins in Seneca Falls, New York. Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and several Quaker women, it aimed to discuss the social, civil, and religious conditions and rights of women. The convention is credited with launching the women's rights movement and the fight for woman suffrage. Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass were among those who played key roles in the convention. More

Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and a former slave, delivers his powerful speech, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?", in Rochester, New York, at an event organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Sewing Society. Douglass used the occasion to remind all of the continuing enslavement of millions of people and poignantly articulated the stark contrast between the ideals of liberty and the reality of bondage for enslaved people.

American Commodore Matthew Perry arrives with four warships at the Tokyo Bay harbor, seeking to re-establish trade relations with Japan. Perry was not the first westerner to visit the islands. Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch traders engaged in regular trade with Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries, but attempts by the Europeans to convert the Japanese to Christianity and unfair trading practices led Japan to expel most foreigners in 1639.  Expand +

The Battle of Gettysburg takes place in Pennsylvania. The loss ended Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s ambitious second quest to invade the North and bring the Civil War to a swift end. With more than 50,000 estimated casualties, the three-day engagement was the bloodiest single battle of the conflict. More

Kit Carson begins his campaign against the Navajo that resulted in their removal from the Four Corners area to southeastern New Mexico. More