7. Wall Street Suicides
The crash brought the Roaring Twenties to a screeching halt. Source: Pure History
Supposedly, the Wall Street crash of 1929 was so bad that numerous bankers, brokers and others working in the financial district suddenly found themselves penniless. Out of desperation, they all started jumping out of windows.
This is more or less a myth. The suicide rate for New York in the months following the crash went down which, actually, is quite common after a tragic event. Several prominent figures did commit suicide during that time, but it wasn’t by jumping out windows. In fact, between October 1929 when the crash happened and the end of the year, only two such suicides were recorded on Wall Street.
8. Signing the Declaration of Independence
Samuel Adams, one of the Founding Fathers, wanted Independence Day on July 2nd.
Source: Bill Of Rights Institute
Every year, Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, the day the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. But this is politics – nothing gets solved in just one day. July 4th 1776 is actually the date when the declaration was ratified.
The process actually started on July 1st when the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. The next few days were spent going over the original draft of the declaration written by Thomas Jefferson. Eventually, the declaration was signed on August 2nd…mostly. Five delegates actually signed at a later date and two never signed at all.
