What anniversary did Philadelphia’s 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition commemorate?

Philadelphia’s 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition commemorated the United States’ 150th anniversary.

The exposition marked a century and a half since the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was held in Philadelphia, the city where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration, and followed the earlier Centennial Exposition of 1876.

“Sesquicentennial” means a 150th anniversary. The word is built from “sesqui,” meaning one and a half, and “centennial,” meaning a hundred-year anniversary. It is therefore different from “semiquincentennial,” the term for 250 years.

The 1926 exposition included exhibitions, entertainment, architecture, and commemorative ceremonies. Its history gives America250 a useful predecessor: Philadelphia hosted major national observances for the 100th and 150th anniversaries, while the 200th anniversary in 1976 was celebrated nationwide rather than through one comparable exposition.