What happened on December 7? There are more than 267 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

Interesting Facts & Myths About December 7

December 7 In HistoryDecember 7 is the 342nd day of the year 2024. There are 24 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 49th week of the year 2024.

On this day in East Greenwich, Rhode Island 02818 sunrise will occur at 06:58 AM and sunset will occur at 04:17 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Sagittarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 53 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).

Birthday curiousity Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the March 30 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For December 7

  • 43 BC
    Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated.
  • 1696
    Connecticut Route 108, third oldest highway in Connecticut, is laid out to Trumbull.
  • 1724
    Tumult of Thorn – religious unrest is followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.
  • 1732
    The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London.
  • 1776
    Marquis de Lafayette arranges to enter the American military as a major general.
  • 1787
    Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  • 1862
    US Civil War: Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
  • 1869
    American outlaw Jesse James commits his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, Missouri.
  • 1917
    World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
  • 1930
    W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts broadcasts video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The broadcast also includes the first television commercial in the United States, an advertisement for I.J. Fox Furriers, who sponsored the radio show.
  • 1936
    Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
  • 1941
    World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor – The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, causing a declaration of war upon Japan by the United States. Japan also invades Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines at the same time (December 8 in Asia).
  • 1946
    A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
  • 1949
    Chinese Civil War: The government of Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei.
  • 1962
    Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality’s constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.
  • 1963
    Instant replay makes its debut during an Army–Navy game.
  • 1965
    Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras simultaneously revoke mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054.
  • 1970
    The first ever general election on the basis of direct adult franchise is held in Pakistan for 313 National Assembly seats.
  • 1971
    Pakistan President Yahya Khan announces the formation of a Coalition Government at Centre with Nurul Amin as Prime Minister and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as Vice-Prime Minister.
  • 1972
    Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.
  • 1975
    Indonesia invades East Timor.
  • 1982
    In Texas, Charles Brooks, Jr. becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.
  • 1983
    An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid Barajas International Airport, killing 93 people.
  • 1987
    Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
  • 1988
    Spitak Earthquake: In Armenia an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale kills nearly 25,000, injures 15,000 and leaves 400,000 homeless.
  • 1988
    Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist.
  • 1989
    Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran complete their trilogy of boxing fights nine years after their first two fights, at the opening of the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada; Leonard retains his WBC world Super Middleweight title by a 12 round unanimous decision.
  • 1993
    The Long Island Rail Road massacre: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.
  • 1994
    Norfolk Southern ends its steam excursion program. This is the last time that Norfolk and Western 611 is under steam.
  • 1995
    The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.
  • 1999
    The Recording Industry Association of America files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client alleging copyright infringement.
  • 2003
    The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
  • 2005
    Ante Gotovina, a Croatian army general accused of war crimes, is captured in the Playa de las Américas, Tenerife by the Spanish police.
  • 2005
    Rigoberto Alpizar, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 924 who allegedly claimed to have a bomb, is shot and killed by a team of U.S. federal air marshals at Miami International Airport.
  • 2006
    A tornado strikes Kensal Green, North West London, seriously damaging about 150 properties.
  • 2007
    The Hebei Spirit oil spill begins in South Korea after a crane barge that had broken free from a tug collides with the Very Large Crude Carrier, Hebei Spirit.
  • 2008
    The first NFL game is played in Canada at Rogers Centre in Toronto as the Buffalo Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 16–3.

Who Were Born On December 7?

  • 521
    Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland (d. 597)
  • 903
    Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi, Persian astronomer (d. 986)
  • 1302
    Azzone Visconti lord of Milan (d. 1339)
  • 1545
    Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (d. 1567)
  • 1561
    Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese politician (d. 1625)
  • 1598
    Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian artist (d. 1680)
  • 1637
    Bernardo Pasquini, Italian composer (d. 1710)
  • 1724
    Louise of Great Britain, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1751)
  • 1764
    Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno, French marshal (d. 1841)
  • 1784
    Allan Cunningham, British poet (d. 1842)
  • 1792
    Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Dutch literator (d. 1857)
  • 1801
    Johann Nestroy, Austrian dramatist and actor (d. 1862)
  • 1803
    Maria Josepha of Saxony, queen consort of Spain (d. 1829)
  • 1810
    Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist (d. 1894)
  • 1810
    Theodor Schwann, German physiologist (d. 1882)
  • 1823
    Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (d. 1891)
  • 1838
    Sir Thomas Bent, Premier of Victoria (d. 1909)
  • 1860
    Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1947)
  • 1862
    Paul Adam, French novelist (d. 1920)
  • 1863
    Felix Calonder, Swiss politician (d. 1952)
  • 1863
    Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer (d. 1945)
  • 1863
    Richard Sears, American department store founder (d. 1914)
  • 1873
    Willa Cather, American novelist (d. 1947)
  • 1879
    Rudolf Friml, American composer (d. 1972)
  • 1887
    Ernst Toch, Austrian composer (d. 1964)
  • 1888
    Hamilton Fish III, American politician (d. 1991)
  • 1888
    Joyce Cary, Irish author (d. 1957)
  • 1891
    Fay Bainter, Academy Award-winning American actress (d. 1968)
  • 1903
    Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (d. 1987)
  • 1904
    Konstantin Sokolsky, Russian singer (d. 1991)
  • 1905
    Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-born American astronomer (d. 1973)
  • 1907
    Fred Rose, Canadian communist politician (d. 1983)
  • 1909
    Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1942)
  • 1910
    Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian musician (d. 2011)
  • 1910
    Louis Prima, American musician (d. 1978)
  • 1912
    Daniel Jones, British composer (d. 1993)
  • 1913
    Kersti Merilaas, Estonian author, poet (d. 1986)
  • 1915
    Eli Wallach, American actor
  • 1915
    Leigh Brackett, American screenwriter (d. 1978)
  • 1916
    Jean Carignan, French Canadian fiddler (d. 1988)
  • 1916
    Yekaterina Budanova, Soviet pilot, one of only two female flying aces (d. 1943)
  • 1919
    Lis Løwert, Danish actress (d. 2009)
  • 1920
    Fiorenzo Magni, Italian cyclist
  • 1920
    Tatamkulu Afrika, South African poet and writer (d. 2002)
  • 1920
    Walter Nowotny, Austrian fighter pilot (d. 1944)
  • 1921
    Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader
  • 1923
    Ted Knight, American actor (d. 1986)
  • 1924
    John Love, Zimbabwean Formula One driver (d. 2005)
  • 1924
    Mário Soares, former (17th) President of Portugal
  • 1925
    Hernando da Silva Ramos, Brazilian racing driver
  • 1927
    Helen Watts, British contralto (d. 2009)
  • 1928
    Noam Chomsky, American linguist and political writer
  • 1930
    Christopher Nicole, British writer
  • 1930
    Hal Smith, American baseball player
  • 1932
    Ellen Burstyn, American actress
  • 1932
    Paul Caponigro, American photographer
  • 1937
    Thad Cochran, American politician, senator from Mississippi
  • 1940
    Gerry Cheevers, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1940
    Stan Boardman, English comedian
  • 1941
    Melba Pattillo Beals, American journalist and writer
  • 1942
    Alex Johnson, American baseball player
  • 1942
    Harry Chapin, American singer and songwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1942
    Peter Tomarken, American game show host (d. 2006)
  • 1943
    Bernard C. Parks, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
  • 1943
    Göran Lennmarker, Swedish politician
  • 1943
    Nicholas Katz, American mathematician
  • 1944
    Daniel Chorzempa, American organist
  • 1944
    Jamiel Chagra, American drug trafficker
  • 1944
    Miroslav Macek, Czech politician
  • 1945
    Marion Rung, Finnish singer
  • 1947
    Garry Unger, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1947
    Johnny Bench, American baseball player
  • 1947
    Tony Thomas, American TV and film producer
  • 1948
    Gary Morris, American singer and actor
  • 1948
    Mads Vinding, Danish bassist
  • 1949
    Tom Waits, American singer, composer, and actor
  • 1952
    Eckhard Märzke, East German footballer
  • 1952
    Georges Corraface, Greek actor, president of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival
  • 1952
    Susan Collins, American politician
  • 1954
    Mark Hofmann, American forger and bomber
  • 1954
    Mary Fallin, American politician
  • 1954
    Mike Nolan, Irish singer (Bucks Fizz)
  • 1955
    Chuck Loeb, Contemporary Jazz guitarist
  • 1955
    John Watkins, Australian politician
  • 1955
    Priscilla Barnes, American actress
  • 1956
    Larry Bird, American basketball player
  • 1957
    Tom Winsor, British lawyer and economic regulator
  • 1958
    Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (d. 1999)
  • 1958
    Tim Butler, English musician (The Psychedelic Furs)
  • 1960
    Craig Scanlon, English guitarist (The Fall)
  • 1961
    Lisa Fischer, American R&B singer
  • 1961
    Mario Miethig, German footballer
  • 1962
    Grecia Colmenares, Venezuelan actress
  • 1963
    Theo Snelders, former Dutch footballer
  • 1964
    Peter Laviolette, head coach Philadelphia Flyers
  • 1964
    Roberta Close, Brazilian model
  • 1965
    Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer
  • 1965
    Dorien de Vries, Dutch windsurfer
  • 1965
    Jeffrey Wright, American actor
  • 1966
    C. Thomas Howell, American actor
  • 1966
    Shinichi Itoh, Japanese motorcycle racer
  • 1967
    Tino Martinez, American baseball player
  • 1968
    Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league footballer
  • 1969
    Andrea Claudio Galluzzo, Italian writer and journalist
  • 1969
    Patrice O'Neal, American stand-up comedian and actor (d. 2011)
  • 1970
    Carmen Campuzano, Mexican actress and fashion model
  • 1971
    Chasey Lain, American pornographic actress
  • 1971
    Vladimir Akopian, Armenian chess player
  • 1972
    Hermann Maier, Austrian skier
  • 1972
    Tammy Lynn Sytch, American professional wrestler
  • 1973
    Charles Carl Roberts, American spree killer (d. 2006)
  • 1973
    Damien Rice, Irish musician
  • 1973
    Fabien Pelous, French international rugby player
  • 1973
    Terrell Owens, American football player
  • 1974
    Kang Full, South Korean webcomic artist
  • 1974
    Nicole Appleton, Canadian-born singer
  • 1975
    Jamie Clapham, English footballer
  • 1976
    Alan Faneca, American football player
  • 1976
    Brent Johnson, Canadian football player
  • 1976
    Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1976
    Ivan Franceschini, Italian fottballer
  • 1976
    Vanessa Lorenzo, Spanish fashion model
  • 1977
    Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse)
  • 1977
    Eric Chavez, American baseball player
  • 1978
    Chad Dukes, Radio Personality
  • 1978
    Frankie J, Mexican-born American singer
  • 1978
    Kon Artis, American rapper
  • 1978
    Shiri Appleby, American actress
  • 1979
    Ayako Fujitani, Japanese actress
  • 1979
    Derek Ramsay, Filipino actor and model
  • 1979
    Jennifer Carpenter, American actress
  • 1979
    Lampros Choutos, Greek footballer
  • 1979
    Sara Bareilles, American singer
  • 1980
    John Terry, English footballer
  • 1982
    Chrispa, Greek singer
  • 1982
    Jack Huston, English actor
  • 1983
    Fausto Carmona, Dominican baseball player
  • 1984
    Aaron Gray, American basketball player
  • 1984
    Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer
  • 1984
    Milan Michalek, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1984
    Robert Kubica, the first Polish Formula One racing driver
  • 1986
    Jonathan Gill, English singer (JLS)
  • 1987
    Aaron Carter, American singer and actor
  • 1987
    Thomas Fiss, American singer (Varsity Fanclub)
  • 1988
    Asia Ray Smith, American actress
  • 1988
    Emily Browning, Australian actress
  • 1988
    Nathan Adrian, American swimmer
  • 1989
    Alessandro Marchi, Italian footballer
  • 1989
    Nicholas Hoult, English actor
  • 1990
    Urszula Radwańska, Polish tennis player
  • 1991
    Dori Sakurada, Japanese actor
  • 1992
    Michael Barron, English footballer/dancer
  • 1993
    Jasmine Villegas, American R&B and pop singer
  • 2003
    Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands

Who Died On December 7?

  • 43 BC
    Cicero, Roman politician and author (b. 106 BC)
  • 283
    Pope Eutychian
  • 983
    Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 955)
  • 1254
    Pope Innocent IV
  • 1279
    King Boleslaus V of Poland (b. 1226)
  • 1295
    Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1243)
  • 1498
    Alexander Hegius von Heek, German humanist (b. 1433)
  • 1562
    Adrian Willaert, Flemish composer
  • 1649
    Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1606)
  • 1672
    Richard Bellingham, English colonial magistrate (b. 1592)
  • 1683
    Algernon Sydney, English politician (b. 1623)
  • 1683
    John Oldham, English poet (b. 1653)
  • 1723
    Jan Santini Aichel, Bohemian architect (b. 1677)
  • 1725
    Florent Carton Dancourt, French dramatist and actor (b. 1661)
  • 1775
    Charles Saunders, British admiral
  • 1793
    Joseph Bara, French revolutionary (b. 1780)
  • 1815
    Michel Ney, French marshall (b. 1769)
  • 1817
    William Bligh, British admiral and HMS Bounty figure (b. 1745)
  • 1842
    Thomas Hamilton, Scottish writer (b. 1789)
  • 1874
    Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (b. 1815)
  • 1879
    Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic independence movement figure (b. 1811)
  • 1894
    Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and entrepreneur (Suez Canal) (b. 1805)
  • 1902
    Thomas Nast, German-born American cartoonist (b. 1840)
  • 1906
    Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1833)
  • 1913
    Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian religious figure (b. 1828)
  • 1917
    Léon Minkus, German-born Czech composer and violinist (b. 1826)
  • 1938
    Anna Marie Hahn, German-born American serial killer (b. 1906)
  • 1941
    Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Franklin Van Valkenburgh, American US Navy Captain (b. 1888)
  • 1941
    Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Herbert C. Jones, American US Navy Ensign, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1918)
  • 1941
    Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Isaac C. Kidd, American US Navy Rear Admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1884)
  • 1941
    Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Mervyn S. Bennion, American US Navy Captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1887)
  • 1941
    Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Thomas J. Reeves, American US Navy radioman, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1895)
  • 1946
    Sada Yacco, Japanese stage actress (b. 1871)
  • 1947
    Nicholas Murray Butler, American university president, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1862)
  • 1947
    Tristan Bernard, French playwright and novelist (b. 1866)
  • 1956
    Huntley Gordon, Canadian actor (b. 1887)
  • 1960
    Clara Haskil, Swiss pianist (b. 1895)
  • 1969
    Eric Portman, English actor (b. 1903)
  • 1969
    Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (b. 1897)
  • 1970
    Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist (b. 1883)
  • 1975
    Thornton Wilder, American playwright (b. 1897)
  • 1977
    Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-born American engineer (b. 1906)
  • 1978
    Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist (b. 1886)
  • 1980
    Darby Crash, American punk-rock musician (b. 1958)
  • 1981
    Ava Helen Pauling, American human rights activist (b. 1903)
  • 1982
    Will Lee, American actor (b. 1908)
  • 1983
    Fanny Cano, Mexican actress (b. 1944)
  • 1984
    Charles Ray Hatcher, American serial killer (b. 1929)
  • 1984
    Lee Roy Yarbrough, American race car driver (b. 1938)
  • 1985
    Potter Stewart, American jurist (b. 1915)
  • 1985
    Robert Graves, British author (b. 1895)
  • 1989
    William Calhoun, American professional wrestler (b. 1934)
  • 1990
    Jean Duceppe, French-Canadian actor (b. 1923)
  • 1990
    Jean Paul Lemieux, French-Canadian artist (b. 1904)
  • 1990
    Joan Bennett, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 1993
    Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivoirian politician (b. 1905)
  • 1993
    Wolfgang Paul, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
  • 1994
    J.C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1939)
  • 1997
    Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b. 1942)
  • 1998
    John Addison, British composer (b. 1920)
  • 1998
    Martin Rodbell, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1925)
  • 2000
    Vladimir Gotovac, Croatian poet and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2003
    Azie Taylor Morton, Treasurer of the United States (b. 1936)
  • 2003
    Carl F. H. Henry American theologian and publisher (b. 1913)
  • 2004
    Frederick Fennell, American conductor (b. 1914)
  • 2004
    Jay Van Andel, American entrepreneur (b. 1924)
  • 2004
    Jerry Scoggins, American singer (b. 1913)
  • 2005
    Bud Carson, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2005
    Lucy d'Abreu, Scottish supercentenarian (b. 1892)
  • 2005
    Rigoberto Alpizar, Costa Rica-born American airline passenger (b. 1961)
  • 2006
    Jay McShann, American musician (b. 1910)
  • 2006
    Jeane Kirkpatrick, American diplomat (b. 1926)
  • 2008
    Herbert Hutner, American banker and attorney (b. 1908)
  • 2008
    Marky Cielo, Filipino-Igorot dancer and actor (b. 1988)
  • 2009
    Mark Ritts, American actor (b. 1946)
  • 2010
    Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and wife of John Edwards (b. 1949)
  • 2010
    Gus Mercurio, American-born Australian actor (b. 1928)
  • 2011
    Harry Morgan, American actor (b. 1915)

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