US / lists 7 Other Things That Happened on the 4th of July Happy birthday, Hotmail! By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff Posted Jul 4, 2017 4:11 AM CDT Copied In this Sept. 4, 1947 file photo, an eastbound tanker, in foreground, prepares to pass a westbound one, background, after being released from a lock in the Erie Canal, in New York. (AP Photo, File) If you don't feel like celebrating Independence Day this year, Ranker has a list of more than 30 other things that also happened on July 4. A sampling: Slavery was abolished in New York. The children born to slaves in the state were freed on July 4 in 1799; by July 4, 1827, all slaves in the state were freed. The Philippines gained independence from the US. The Treaty of Manila was signed between the US and the Philippines on July 4 in 1946. Hotmail was born. On July 4, 1996, with the announcement, "Happy Independence Day. In return, we are going to give you a great new way to get email. It’s called Hotmail. Be free from your internet service provider!" Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass. The first edition came out on July 4, 1855. Construction began on the Erie Canal. Construction began on the nearly 400-mile water route on July 4 in 1817 in Rome, New York. The Republic of Hawaii was born. On July 4, 1894; just four years later it was annexed by the US. The US got the Statue of Liberty. France gave it as a gift on July 4 in 1884. Click for the complete list. (More lists stories.) Report an error