5 Awful Events That Happened on July 4th
July 4th, its a day of celebration, at least it is for Americans. It is the day America claimed it's independence from Great Britain, in 1776. There are also other places and nationalities that celebrate July 4th. Like Rwanda, which celebrates it's Liberation Day on July 4th, or the Philippines, which celebrates their Republic Day on the fourth. July 4th is even a city holiday for Portugal in celebration of their patron saint Elizabeth of Portugal, who is known there as Rainha Santa Isabel. Yet, this day isn't always a cause for celebration, some truly awful things have occurred on our much celebrated July fourth.
Here is a list of 5 Awful Events That Happened on July 4th!
#5 Electrocuted Children
Unfortunately, with all the wild partying, accidents are bound to happen. Tragically, they usually happen to unattended children. When we add bodies of water, lots of electricity, fireworks, small children, and a ton alcohol, a recipe for inevitable disaster is created. That's exactly what occurred on July 4th of 2012, for two small children from Tennessee. Friends, Noah Winstead and Nathan Lynham, were playing of a docked houseboat when they jumped into the lake and were electrocuted from an unknown electric charge, likely caused by faulty wiring in the houseboat. Severely shocked by the electric charge, Noah died at the scene. Nathan was taken to the closest hospital, but unfortunately died later of his injuries.
Seven people, who were celebrating Independence Day on a nearby houseboat, were also electrocuted while trying to aid the children, but they suffered no permanent damage. People on board a neighboring houseboat heard the children's screams and found the two boys unconscious in the water, with their life jackets still on. A witness, Betty Hamilton, stated, "People jumped into the water. My son and brother helped get the one little boy out. They gave him CPR and everything. I was comforting the parents the best I could."
In a separate incident that same day, Alexandra Anderson, 13, and her 8-year-old brother Braydon were killed by an unknown source of electricity in the Missouri Lake. Horrifyingly, again on that fateful July 4th of 2012, three children from Marshallstown, Iowa, were drowned fishing in a lake with their parents. Let this be a reminder to all to be safe on this July 4th, and keep an eye on the kiddos, because not all dangers are immediately apparent and visible to the eye.
#4 Boy is run over by parade float driven by his father..
On July 4th of 2013, an 8-year-old-boy from Edmond, Oklahoma died after his father accidentally ran over him with a parade float. The young boy was riding on the martial arts group's float at Liberty Fest in Edmond, before he climbed down from the float. A section of the float -a decorated flat bed trailer- struck the boy and killed him on impact. The father, not realizing the boy had jumped down, continued to drive forward and sadly ran over the child. A freak accident, most agreed, so the father wasn't criminally charged.
#3 Leo Szilard
On July 4th, 1934, Leo Szilard, patented the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb. Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-American physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reactor in 1933, and patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermil, and cemented the deaths of millions. Szilard wrote the proposal for the Manhattan Project, which was approved by Albert Einstein himself. Szilard was the first to come up with the idea for an electron microscope and the idea for the cylotron, a particle accelerator, but Szilard didn't built or patent those ideas and as a result he received no credit. Ironically, several scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for work they did on two of his inventions. It could be said that the day that nuclear technology's conception became a reality, should be a day to celebrate. It could be argued that it was essentially the birth of modern technology. Yet, no one can argue the tragedy in the enormous amount of innocent lives lost after Szilard obtained his patent on July 4th, 1934. Which eventually set into motion the creation, and the production of the atomic bomb.
#2 Long Island Boat Tragedy
Similar to what happened in Marshall town, and on the very same 4th of July in 2012, three more children lost their lives in a boating accident. A 12-year-old boy David Aureliano, his 11-year-old cousin, Harlie Treanor, and friend, 8-year-old Victoria Gaines, all died as result of the tragic capsizing of their boat, in Long Island. Nobody can say for certain what caused the 34-foot boat to capsize, possibly weather conditions or mechanical malfunctioning, but 17 adults and 10 children were on the vessel, three of which lost their lives. Lisa Gaines, Vicoria Gaines's mother, was quoted saying, "Victoria was in the cabin because we felt it was the safest place," said Gaines, whose 12-year-old son, Ryan, also went on the outing to watch a fireworks display. "She was playing cards with Harlie, and Ryan and I were on the deck on a bench behind the operator of the boat." When asked if she thought the boat was crowded, Gaines replied, "I really didn't see all of them at one time. I didn't know exactly how many were on."
#1 Massacre of Lviv Professors
On July 4th, 1941, twenty-five Polish academics, and their guests and families, all lost their lives in the city of Lviv, Ukraine. They were killed by Nazi German occupation forces, the Nazis hoped to prevent anti-Nazi activity and to weaken the resolve of the Polish resistance movement. The Polish resistance movement is the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe. The above picture shows the unveiling of a new monument, to commemorate their place of execution, on July 3rd, 2011.
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