Associated Press

On July 5, 1687, Isaac Newton first published his Principia Mathematica, a work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.

In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.

In 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act.

In 1940, during World War II, Britain and the Vichy government in France broke off diplomatic relations.

In 1946, the modern bikini, designed by Frenchman Louis Reard, was first modeled in Paris.

In 1994, Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos as an online marketplace for books.