Go Fourth and Meet Your Maker

John Adams died on this day in 1826, at the age of 91.

Adams was our first Vice-President. He and Thomas Jefferson were correspondents for a quarter-century. Adams resolved to live until the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence -- July 4, 1826. That morning he was awakened by his servant, who inquired if he knew what day it was.

"Oh, yes," Adams replied, "it is the glorious fourth of July. God bless it. God bless you all."

He then lapsed into unconsciousness. Later that afternoon, he awakened briefly. "Thomas Jefferson still survives," he said before dying.

Jefferson had died earlier that day. His last words:

“Is it the Fourth? I resign my spirit to God, my daughter, and my country.” 

(Trivia: Another U. S. President died on July 4th -- James Monroe, July 4, 1831. Also, Pres. Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872.)

The great American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804. He wrote:

"We sometimes congratulate ourselves at the moment of waking from a troubled dream; it may be so the moment after death."

Speaking of presidents: from the sublime to the ridiculous