The Crack: The bell first cracked during a test ringing. After cracking, the bell was recast twice in 1753 in Philadelphia by John Pass and John Stow (the old bell was broken up and melted down, more copper was added to the metal alloy to make it less brittle, and the bell was re-cast).
The restored bell was probably rung at the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia (on July 8, 1776). It rang to announce many important events in early American history, including Presidential elections and deaths.
The bell cracked again on July 8, 1835, while being rung at the funeral of John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The crack's dimensions are 24.5 inches long by 1/2 inch wide.
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