Fourth of July Countdown
Independence Day commemorates July 4, 1776, when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Fireworks, parades and cookouts have marked the date ever since, this countdown is to July 4th, 2026, ticking down live.
How many days until Independence Day?
Independence Day is on Saturday, July 4, 2026, which is 2 days away. The live countdown above ticks down to the exact moment, to the second.
The day America declared itself
Independence was actually voted on July 2; the Declaration's final text was adopted July 4, which became the date on the document and in the national memory. John Adams predicted celebrations with 'pomp and parade… bonfires and illuminations', he just expected them two days earlier.
A strange coincidence
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the Declaration's author and its fiercest advocate, both died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after its adoption. James Monroe died on July 4 five years later.
Quick facts
- The Declaration was adopted July 4, 1776
- Most signers actually signed on August 2, 1776
- Jefferson and Adams both died on July 4, 1826
- Americans set off some 280 million pounds of fireworks each year