For the record - July 10, 2011

Declaration of Independence: A story about the Declaration of Independence on the Kids’ Reading Room page in the July 3 Comics II section said that Congress adopted the Declaration on July 2, 1776, and signed it two days later. Congress declared independence on July 2, 1776, and adopted the Declaration two days later; signing didn’t begin until Aug. 2 that year. In addition, the article said that when Thomas Jefferson was drafting the Declaration in June, the words he wrote for the opening were, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another….” Those are the opening words in the Declaration that Congress adopted, but they are not what Jefferson wrote in his first draft. He wrote, “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to advance from that subordination in which they have hitherto remained….”

Food TV: In the Calendar section elsewhere in this edition, a photo caption accompanying an article about food TV shows identifies a restaurateur as King Phojanakang. His last name is Phojanakong. The error was discovered after the section went to press.

In Rotation: The In Rotation column in the Arts & Books section elsewhere in this edition appears without a byline. The column was written by Randall Roberts. The error was discovered after the section went to press.

Herman Cain: An article in the July 8 Section A about Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain referred to Marshalltown, Iowa, as Marshallville.

Clarence Thomas: A July 3 article in Section A on the 20th anniversary of Justice Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the Supreme Court said that justices heard oral arguments in the case of a Louisiana prisoner two months after Thomas was sworn in. It should have said one month.