On what date was the United States Semiquincentennial celebrated in 2026?

The United States Semiquincentennial was celebrated on July 4, 2026.

The date marks 250 years since the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. July 4 is observed annually in the United States as Independence Day, so it provided the natural date for the nation’s 250th-anniversary commemoration.

The word “semiquincentennial” refers to a 250th anniversary. The 2026 observance followed the United States Bicentennial in 1976, which marked 200 years, and preceded the planned Tricentennial in 2076, which will mark 300 years. The anniversary is therefore part of a sequence of large national commemorations tied to the Declaration of Independence.

A common mix-up is confusing July 4 with the date on which the Declaration was physically signed. The anniversary date commemorates its adoption and public political meaning, while the surviving parchment was signed later, primarily on August 2, 1776.