The 1876 Centennial Exposition was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Officially called the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, the fair opened on May 10, 1876, in Fairmount Park. It closed on November 10 after displaying industrial products, machinery, art, agricultural goods, and scientific innovations.
The exposition included Memorial Hall and Machinery Hall among its major buildings. Exhibits associated with the fair included the telephone, sewing machine, and typewriter, although many technologies had complicated development histories rather than a single inventor or debut.
Philadelphia was chosen because of its central role in the founding era and its connection with the Declaration of Independence. The city later hosted the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition, making it especially prominent in the sequence of American anniversary celebrations leading toward America250.