Forget the fireworks — this Independence Day, the weather is stealing the show.
As a blistering heat dome sends temperatures soaring toward triple digits across the Northeast, many Americans may be wondering: What was the weather like on July 4, 1776?
Turns out the Founding Fathers had it easy. Philadelphia enjoyed what would now be considered near-perfect summer weather, according to Fox Weather.
It was 68 degrees Fahrenheit at daybreak, climbing to 72.25 by 9 a.m., topped off by a delightfully breezy 76 degrees around 1 p.m., then eased back to 73.5 in the evening.
Thomas Jefferson, who went on to become the third US president in 1801, was something of an 18th-century weather geek and religiously recorded the temps each day.
On July 4 — the day the Continental Congress adopted the final wording of the Declaration of Independence, severing ties with Britain’s King George III in an act of rebellion that would create the independent United States of America — Jefferson had a little extra time to run some errands.
He use it to step out of the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) and buy himself a brand-new thermometer from Philadelphia apothecary and bookseller John Sparhawk for three pounds and 15 shillings (roughly $600 in today’s currency), according to CNN.
Jefferson kept a scrupulous log of each and every shilling he spent.
His meticulous bookkeeping showed that on the very same day he also picked up seven pairs of women’s gloves (for wife Martha and the ladies back home in Monticello, Va.) and donated one shilling and six pence to charity.
“It’s a mundane day, except it’s a revolutionary one,” Andrew Davenport, vice president of research at Jefferson’s estate, Monticello, told CNN. “It’s a reminder for us that even during the most frenetic times in our history, that daily business still needs to be attended to.”
The five men from the original 13 colonies chosen to draft a statement of independence included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman.
Jefferson wrote most of the history-making document between June 11 and 28, before fellow committee members John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston polished the final working copy.
Congress adopted the document on July 4, printers rolled off copies the next day and on Aug. 2, delegates formally signed the Declaration under another pleasant summer sky, when temperatures peaked around 80 degrees.
Jefferson recorded a few more expenditures during his time in Philly. On July 6, after drafting a document that would guide the future of America — he bought himself a couple beers.
