On this day, July 4

1776 The Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. 1826 Composer Stephen Collins Foster was born at 3600 Penn Ave.

1902 A crowd estimated at between 75,000 and 100,000 assembled on Flagstaff Hill to hear a Fourth of July oration by President Theodore Roosevelt.

1939 Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees delivered his famous farewell speech in which he called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

1985 Judge Henry Ellenbogen, 85, died in

Miami. He served on the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court bench for 39 years and in the U.S. House of Representatives for five years.

2013 Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour, was sworn in following the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist leader overthrown by the military after just a year in office.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology). — Compiled by Rick Nowlin

Today’s birthdays: Actress Eva Marie Saint, 96. Actress Gina Lollobrigida, 93.

Singer Annette Beard (Martha and the Vandellas), 77. Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera, 77. Vietnam War veteran and peace activist Ron Kovic, 74. Rhythm and blues musician Ralph Johnson (Earth, Wind and Fire), 69. International Tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver, 58. Malia Obama, 22.

Thought for today: “Intellectually, I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.”