What happened on August 7? There are more than 254 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 August 7
August 7 is the 220th day of the year 2024. There are 146 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 32nd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Dry Branch, Georgia 31020 sunrise occured at 06:51 AM and sunset occured at 08:28 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Leo. The modern birthstone for this month is Peridot while the mystical birthstone is Diamond.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 175 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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August 7: A Day In History
The Northern Hemisphere is considered to be halfway through its summer and the Southern Hemisphere half way through its winter on this day.
Historical Events For August 7
- 322 BCBattle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon.
- 461Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in north-west Italy following his arrest and deposition by the magister militum Ricimer .
- 626The Avar and Slav armies leave the siege of Constantinople.
- 936Coronation of King Otto I of Germany.
- 1420Construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore begins in Florence.
- 1427The Visconti of Milan’s fleet is destroyed by the Venetians on the Po River.
- 1461The Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor.
- 1679The brigantine Le Griffon, commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the south-eastern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America.
- 1714The Battle of Gangut: the first important victory of the Russian Navy.
- 1782George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart.
- 1789The United States War Department is established.
- 1791United States troops destroy the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua near the site of present-day Logansport, Indiana in the Northwest Indian War.
- 1794U.S. President George Washington invokes the Militia Law of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania.
- 1819Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá.
- 1879The opening of the Poor Man’s Palace in Manchester.
- 1890Anna Månsdotter becomes the last woman in Sweden to be executed, for the 1889 Yngsjö murder.
- 1909Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York City to San Francisco.
- 1927The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.
- 1930The last confirmed lynching of blacks in the Northern United States occurs in Marion, Indiana. Two men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, are killed.
- 1933The Simele massacre: The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
- 1938The Holocaust: The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.
- 1940World War II: Alsace Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich.
- 1942World War II: the Battle of Guadalcanal begins – United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.
- 1944IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
- 1947The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).
- 1947Thor Heyerdahl’s balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7000 km journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
- 1955Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, sells its first transistor radios in Japan.
- 1959Explorer program: Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1959The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the “sheaves of wheat” design, and was minted until 2008.
- 1960Côte d'Ivoire becomes independent.
- 1964Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world’s oldest tree, is cut down.
- 1964Vietnam War: the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving US President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
- 1965The infamous first party between Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters and motorcycle gang the Hells Angels takes place at Kesey’s estate in La Honda, California introducing psychedelics to the gang world and forever linking the hippie movement to the Hell’s Angels.
- 1966Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.
- 1967Vietnam War: the People’s Republic of China agrees to give North Vietnam an undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant.
- 1970California judge Harold Haley is taken hostage in his courtroom and killed during in an effort to free George Jackson from police custody.
- 1974Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center 1368 ft in the air.
- 1976Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars.
- 1978U.S. President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been negligently disposed of.
- 1979Several tornadoes struck the city of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada and the surrounding communities.
- 1981The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
- 1985Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan’s first astronauts.
- 1989U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
- 1998The United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya kill approximately 212 people.
- 1999The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades the neighbouring Russian Republic of Dagestan.
- 2007Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron’s record by hitting his 756th home run.
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Who Were Born On August 7?
- 317Constantius II, Roman emperor (d. 361)
- 1282Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (d. 1316)
- 1533Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga, Basque soldier and poet (d. 1595)
- 1560Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and serial killer (d. 1614)
- 1574Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, English writer (d. 1649)
- 1598Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (d. 1672)
- 1726James Bowdoin, American Revolutionary leader and politician (d. 1790)
- 1734Maria Anna Josepha of Bavaria, consort of Baden-Baden (d. 1776)
- 1742Nathanael Greene, American Revolutionary general (d. 1786)
- 1751Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (d. 1820)
- 1779Carl Ritter, German geographer (d. 1859)
- 1779Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (d. 1842)
- 1783Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (d. 1810)
- 1844Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist (d. 1911)
- 1860Alan Leo, British astrologer (d. 1917)
- 1862Victoria of Baden, Queen of Sweden (d. 1931)
- 1867Emil Nolde, German painter (d. 1956)
- 1868Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian mathematician (d. 1931)
- 1876Mata Hari, Dutch spy (d. 1917)
- 1877Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (d. 1949)
- 1879Johannes Kotze, South African cricketer (d. 1931)
- 1884Billie Burke, American actress (d. 1970)
- 1901Ann Harding, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1903Louis Leakey, British archaeologist (d. 1972)
- 1904Ralph Bunche, American diplomat, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1971)
- 1907Albert Kotin, American abstract painter (d. 1980)
- 1911István Bibó, Hungarian lawyer and politician (d. 1979)
- 1911Nicholas Ray, American director and scenarist (d. 1979)
- 1913George Van Eps, American guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1918Gordon Zahn, American sociologist and pacifist (d. 2007)
- 1921Manitas de Plata, French guitarist
- 1925Felice Bryant, American country songwriter and singer (d. 2003)
- 1925M. S. Swaminathan, Indian scientist
- 1926Géza Kádas, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1979)
- 1926Stan Freberg, American voice comedian
- 1927Art Houtteman, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- 1927Carl Switzer, American child actor (d. 1959)
- 1927Edwin W. Edwards, American politician
- 1928James Randi, Canadian-American magician
- 1928Romeo Muller, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1929Don Larsen, American baseball player
- 1931Charles E. Rice, American legal scholar and author
- 1932Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian athlete (d. 1973)
- 1932Edward Hardwicke, British actor (d. 2011)
- 1932Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist
- 1933Eddie Firmani, South African football player and coach
- 1934Sándor Simó, Hungarian film producer, director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1936Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American saxophonist (d. 1977)
- 1937Don Wilson, England cricketer
- 1937Zoltán Berczik, Hungarian table tennis player (d. 2011)
- 1939Anjanette Comer, American actress
- 1940Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian politician
- 1942B.J. Thomas, American singer
- 1942Caetano Veloso, Brazilian musician
- 1942Carlos Monzón, Argentine boxer
- 1942Garrison Keillor, American writer and radio host
- 1942Tobin Bell, American actor
- 1943Alain Corneau, French film director {d. 2010}
- 1943Lana Cantrell, Australian-American singer and entertainment lawyer
- 1944David Rasche, American actor
- 1944John Glover, American actor
- 1944Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
- 1945Alan Page, American football player and Minnesota Supreme Court justice
- 1946Ed Seykota, American commodities and futures trader
- 1947Franciscus Henri, Dutch-born Australian entertainer
- 1948Greg Chappell, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1948Marty Appel, American public relations executive and author
- 1949Walid Jumblatt, Lebanese political leader
- 1950Alan Keyes, American diplomat and political activist
- 1951Joachim Thiel, German footballer
- 1952Alexei Sayle, British comedian
- 1953Anne Fadiman, American writer; daughter of Clifton Fadiman
- 1954Jonathan Pollard, Israeli spy
- 1955Diane Downs, American convicted murderer
- 1955Greg Nickels, American politician
- 1955Gregoris Valtinos, Greek actor and director
- 1955Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
- 1955Wayne Knight, American actor
- 1957Alexander Dityatin, Soviet gymnast
- 1957Caroline Aaron, American actress
- 1958Alberto Salazar, American distance runner
- 1958Bruce Dickinson, English singer (Iron Maiden)
- 1958Russell Baze, Canadian-born American horse racing jockey
- 1959Ali Shah, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1960David Duchovny, American actor
- 1960Jacquie O'Sullivan, British singer (Bananarama)
- 1961Brian Conley, English comedian
- 1961Yelena Davydova, Soviet gymnast
- 1962Alain Robert,French urban climber
- 1962Alison Brown,banjo player and guitarist
- 1962Bruno Pelletier, Québécois singer
- 1963Harold Perrineau Jr., American actor
- 1963Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (d. 1963)
- 1964John Birmingham, Australian author
- 1964Michael Weishan, American TV host
- 1966Jimmy Wales, American internet entrepreneur
- 1966Kristin Hersh, American singer and guitarist (Throwing Muses)
- 1967Jason Grimsley, American baseball player
- 1968Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot) (d. 1998)
- 1969Paul Lambert, Scottish Footballer and Manager
- 1970Eric Namesnik, American swimmer (d. 2006)
- 1971Dominic Cork, England cricketer
- 1971Rachel York, American actress and singer
- 1971Sydney Penny, American actress
- 1972Greg Serano, American actor
- 1973Danny Graves, American baseball player
- 1973Kevin Muscat, Australian footballer
- 1973Zane Lowe, New Zealander DJ/ Radio and Television presenter
- 1974Andrejs Štolcers, Latvian footballer
- 1974Chico Benymon, American actor
- 1974Michael Shannon, American actor
- 1974Sek Loso, Thai Singer
- 1975Charlize Theron, South African actress
- 1975David Hicks, Australian alleged terrorist
- 1975Edgar Rentería, Colombian baseball player
- 1975Gaahl (Kristian Eivind Espedal), Norwegian musician
- 1975Hans Matheson, Scottish Actor
- 1975Koray Candemir, Turkish singer
- 1975Vanessa Stacey, New Zealand actress
- 1976Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos, Greek footballer
- 1976Shane Lechler, American football player
- 1977Charlotte Ronson, British fashion designer
- 1977Samantha Ronson, British DJ
- 1978Alexandre Aja, French director
- 1978Cirroc Lofton, American actor
- 1978Jamey Jasta, American singer (Hatebreed)
- 1978Mark McCammon, Barbadian football player
- 1978Shirley Yeung, Hong Kong actress
- 1978Vanness Wu, Taiwanese singer
- 1979Birgit Zotz, Austrian writer and anthropologist
- 1979Eric Johnson, American actor
- 1979Wendy van der Plank, English actress
- 1980Anomie Belle, American musician
- 1980Aurélie Claudel, French model
- 1980Tácio, Brazilian footballer
- 1982Marco Melandri, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1982Vasileios Spanoulis, Greek basketball player
- 1982Yana Klochkova, Ukrainian swimmer
- 1983Andriy Hryvko, Ukrainian cyclist
- 1983Christian Chavez, Mexican singer and actor (RBD)
- 1983Tina O'Brien, British actress
- 1984Stratos Perperoglou, Greek basketball player
- 1986Nancy Sumari, Tanzanian Beauty Queen and Model, (Miss World 2005)
- 1986Paul Biedermann, German swimmer
- 1986Valter Birsa, Slovenian footballer
- 1987Mustapha Dumbuya, English footballer
- 1987Rouven Sattelmaier, German footballer
- 1987Ryan Lavarnway, American baseball player (Boston Red Sox)
- 1987Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
- 1988Beanie Wells, American football player
- 1988Melody Oliveria, American internet blogger
- 1989DeMar DeRozan, American basketball player
- 1990Helen Flanagan, English actress
- 1990Josh Franceschi, English singer-songwriter
- 1993Zaur Sizo, Russian footballer
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Who Died On August 7?
- 461Majorian, Roman Emperor (b. 420)
- 479Emperor Yūryaku of Japan
- 1106Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1050)
- 1485Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, Scottish prince
- 1613Thomas Fleming, English judge (b. 1544)
- 1616Vincenzo Scamozzi, Italian architect (b. 1548)
- 1635Friedrich von Spee, German writer (b. 1591)
- 1639Martin van den Hove, Dutch scientist (b. 1605)
- 1661Jin Shengtan, Chinese editor, writer and critic (b. 1608)
- 1817Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, French industrialist (b. 1739)
- 1834Joseph Marie Jacquard, French weaver and inventor (b. 1752)
- 1848Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (b. 1779)
- 1855Mariano Arista, President of Mexico (b. 1802)
- 1864Li Xiucheng, Chinese General in the Taiping Rebellion.(b. 1823)
- 1893Alfredo Catalani, Italian musician (b. 1854)
- 1912François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (b. 1841)
- 1917Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, first pilot to land his aircraft on a moving ship. (b. 1891)
- 1938Constantin Stanislavski, Russian/Soviet theatre practitioner (b. 1863)
- 1941Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1861)
- 1953Abner Powell, American baseball player (b. 1860)
- 1957Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (b. 1892)
- 1960Luis Ángel Firpo, Argentine Boxer (b. 1894)
- 1969Joseph Kosma, French composer (Autumn Leaves) (b. 1905)
- 1969Joseph Kosma, Hungarian-French composer (b. 1905)
- 1970Harold Haley, American judge (b. 1904)
- 1970Jonathan Jackson, instigator of the Marin County Civic Center shootout and brother of Black Panther George Jackson (b. 1953)
- 1972Aspasia Manos, wife of king Alexander of Greece (b. 1896)
- 1972Joi Lansing, American model and actress (b. 1929)
- 1973Jack Gregory, Former Australian cricketer (b. 1895)
- 1974Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (b. 1925)
- 1974Sylvio Mantha, professional ice hockey player (b. 1902)
- 1984Esther Phillips, American singer (b. 1935)
- 1985Grayson Hall, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1987Camille Chamoun, Lebanese President (b. 1900)
- 1989Mickey Leland, American politician, United States Congressman from Texas (b. 1944)
- 1991Billy T. James, New Zealand comedian, (b. 1944)
- 1992John Anderson, American actor (b. 1922)
- 1994Larry Martyn, comedy actor (b. 1934)
- 1995Brigid Brophy, British author (b. 1929)
- 1999Brion James, American actor (b. 1945)
- 2003Mickey McDermott, baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2004Colin Bibby, English ornithologist (b. 1948)
- 2004Red Adair, American oil field firefighter (b. 1915)
- 2005Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor (b. 1938)
- 2006Mary Anderson Bain, American New Deal politician (b. 1911)
- 2007Angus Tait, New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman (b. 1919)
- 2007Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director and producer. (b. 1917)
- 2007Hal Fishman, Los Angeles based local news anchor. (b. 1931)
- 2008Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A. (b. 1957)
- 2008Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent/manager and producer (b. 1931)
- 2009Louis E. Saavedra, American Mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico (b. 1933)
- 2009Mike Seeger, American folk musician (b. 1933)
- 2010Roberto Cantoral, Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1935)
- 2011Nancy Wake, British war agent (b. 1912)
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