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The History Channel

• On July 9, 1777, New York elects Brigadier Gen. George Clinton as the first governor of the independent state of New York. Clinton would go on to become New York’s longest-serving governor, as well as the longest-serving governor in the United States, holding the post until 1795.
• On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry, representing the U.S. government, sails into Tokyo Bay, Japan. The Japanese accepted letters from President Millard Fillmore, making the United States the first Western nation in two centuries to establish relations with Japan.