4 July 1776
Waning Gibbous, 85% lit
American independence declared
The Declaration of Independence was adopted under a waning gibbous moon, the same phase, almost to the day, as Revere's ride the year before.
Both fell in the same part of the lunar cycle by coincidence, fifteen months apart. The Moon does not care about calendars, which is exactly why matching one to a date is a useful trick for checking whether an account is true.
- Date
- 4 July 1776
- Moon computed for
- 21:00 local time, UTC−5:01
- Phase
- Waning Gibbous
- Illuminated
- 85%
Source: U.S. National Archives