The Declaration of Independence was first read publicly in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776, during the events behind America250.
The reading took place four days after the Second Continental Congress adopted the document. Colonel John Nixon is traditionally identified as the person who read the Declaration to a crowd gathered outside the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall.
Philadelphia’s bells rang in celebration, and the Liberty Bell is widely believed to have been among them. However, no contemporary account specifically proves that the Liberty Bell rang on that occasion. The famous story that it rang on July 4 is a later legend and conflicts with the timing of the first public readings.
The bell had been cast in 1752 and recast twice in Philadelphia before becoming a national symbol of liberty. Its well-known crack developed later, after decades of use.