On this day, July 4 ...

1776: The Declaration of Independence is adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Also on this day:

1802: The United States Military Academy officially opens at West Point, New York.

1817: Ground is broken for the Erie Canal in Rome, N.Y. The middle section of the waterway takes three years to complete; the entire canal would be finished in 1825.

Ground is broken for the Erie Canal in Rome, N.Y. The middle section of the waterway takes three years to complete; the entire canal would be finished in 1825. 1826: Fifty years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both die.

1910: In what is billed as "The Fight of the Century," black world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defeats white former champ James J. Jeffries in Reno, Nev.