Congress actually declared and announced to the nation their independence from England on the 2nd of July (the papers were signed on the 4th). But a year later no one remembered the anniversary until the 3rd, a day late, and the celebration only occurred a day after that, on the 4th, and from then on the 4th is what everyone came to know and love. The 4th is also special in that it is the only date of death shared by more than one president, and the eeriness lies deeper within this coincidence.

The only two signers of the declaration, 2nd president John Adams and 3rd president Thomas Jefferson, died on the fourth of July, in the same year, only hours apart, exactly fifty years to the day of the signing. And James Monroe, another founding father and 5th president of the United States, died on the 4th eight years later. All three men died of natural causes.