"July 4th: Significant Historical Events"
On a cool, drizzly summer afternoon in 1862, along the banks of the River Isis near Oxford, Charles Dodgson, an Oxford mathematician, told a captivating story to entertain the dean's three daughters. Little did they know that the tale of Alice in Wonderland, featuring a heroine named Alice reminiscent of Alice Liddell, would soon become a beloved piece of English literature.
Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, had a knack for weaving whimsical and fantastical worlds, and the story of Alice in Wonderland was no exception. So enchanted was Alice Liddell by the tale that she begged Dodgson to write it down, and he obliged, creating the manuscript titled "Alice's Adventures Under Ground."
The handwritten manuscript bore a heartfelt dedication: "A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer's Day." Before it was presented to Alice Liddell, Dodgson showed the manuscript to other friends, who thought it was brilliant.
On 4 November 1864, more than two years after he started work on it, Dodgson presented Alice Liddell with a beautifully illustrated handwritten manuscript. The story was later published in print under the title "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" almost exactly a year later.
The story of Alice in Wonderland is not just a piece of English literature but also a significant part of history, as it was inspired on the same day as several other notable events. On 4 July 1802, the United States Military Academy at West Point was established, and in 1818, the Flag Act was signed, creating the U.S. flag design. In 1827, New York abolished slavery, and in 1865, Lewis Carroll's classic novel was published.
July 4 is not only America’s Independence Day but also a date with diverse historical significance across political, scientific, cultural, and social domains. From the founding of the United States in 1776 to the discovery of the Higgs boson particle in 2012, July 4 has been marked by significant events in history.
References: [1] History.com Editors. (2010). July 4th: A Timeline of American Independence. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/july-4th-a-timeline-of-american-independence [2] BBC. (2015). Alice in Wonderland: The Story Behind the Story. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150703-alice-in-wonderland-the-story-behind-the-story [3] Britannica, T. E. (2021). Alice in Wonderland. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alice-in-Wonderland [4] National Park Service. (n.d.). July 4th. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/holidays/july4th/index.htm
Sports were not the subject of Dodgson's storytelling on that significant summer day in 1862, as he delved into the whimsical world of Alice in Wonderland instead. The story later captured the attention of Alice Liddell and sparked the creation of the manuscript "Alice's Adventures Under Ground", a far cry from the realm of sports.
