John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe all died on July 4.

Adams, Jefferson & Monroe

Since 1777, the Fourth of July has been celebrated as the day the United States of America formally broke from Great Britain and became an independent nation. It’s a pretty stunning coincidence, then, that the day of the nation’s birth is also marked by the deaths of three separate Founding Fathers and early U.S. Presidents: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe. More unlikely still, Adams and Jefferson died just hours apart on the exact same day: July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American independence.

The fact that America’s second, third, and fifth Presidents all died on the same day has sparked a certain degree of speculation. In eulogies for Jefferson, mourners suggested he had willed himself to survive through illness until reaching the significant 50th anniversary milestone of the nation’s independence. (According to various people who were with him when he died, on the night of July 3 Jefferson said, “Is it the Fourth?” or a similar phrase.) Statesman Daniel Webster suggested divine intervention had played a role in the timing, to signal to the world that the United States was favored by heavenly providence. Others have offered a more sinister theory: that doctors deliberately prolonged Jefferson’s life until July Fourth and even had a hand in determining Adams’ final day, making sure that it fell on the historically significant date. Whatever the explanation, the coincidence has become woven into the history and mythology of the birth of the United States.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

John Adams’ last words were “Thomas Jefferson survives.”

Throughout their political careers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were close political colleagues, and sometimes fierce rivals. The two men met at the Continental Congress in 1775 and worked together on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Their shared commitment to American independence sparked a close friendship, but that friendship was tested by the different visions the two men had for the future of the United States. Jefferson was an ardent defender of states’ rights, while Adams believed that the nation should be led by a strong central government. This fundamental disagreement in their politics led to a falling out, and after Jefferson defeated Adams in the presidential election of 1800, the two founding fathers didn’t speak to each other for 11 years. The tension lasted for the rest of their lives, though they were able to rekindle their friendship and begin speaking again. When Adams died on July 4, 1826, his last words were reported to be, “Thomas Jefferson survives.” Ironically, though Adams didn’t know it, Jefferson had died just hours earlier that same day.