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 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 Elberon, Virginia 23846 sunrise will occur at 07:06 AM and sunset will occur at 04:51 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).
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Historical Events For December 7
- 43 BCMarcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated.
- 1696Connecticut Route 108, third oldest highway in Connecticut, is laid out to Trumbull.
- 1724Tumult of Thorn – religious unrest is followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.
- 1732The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London.
- 1776Marquis de Lafayette arranges to enter the American military as a major general.
- 1787Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1862US Civil War: Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
- 1869American outlaw Jesse James commits his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, Missouri.
- 1917World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1930W1XAV 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.
- 1936Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
- 1941World 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).
- 1946A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
- 1949Chinese Civil War: The government of Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei.
- 1962Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality’s constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.
- 1963Instant replay makes its debut during an Army–Navy game.
- 1965Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras simultaneously revoke mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054.
- 1970The first ever general election on the basis of direct adult franchise is held in Pakistan for 313 National Assembly seats.
- 1971Pakistan 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.
- 1972Apollo 17, the last Apollo moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.
- 1975Indonesia invades East Timor.
- 1982In Texas, Charles Brooks, Jr. becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.
- 1983An 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.
- 1987Pacific 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.
- 1988Spitak Earthquake: In Armenia an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale kills nearly 25,000, injures 15,000 and leaves 400,000 homeless.
- 1988Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist.
- 1989Sugar 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.
- 1993The Long Island Rail Road massacre: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.
- 1994Norfolk Southern ends its steam excursion program. This is the last time that Norfolk and Western 611 is under steam.
- 1995The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.
- 1999The Recording Industry Association of America files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client alleging copyright infringement.
- 2003The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
- 2005Ante Gotovina, a Croatian army general accused of war crimes, is captured in the Playa de las Américas, Tenerife by the Spanish police.
- 2005Rigoberto 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.
- 2006A tornado strikes Kensal Green, North West London, seriously damaging about 150 properties.
- 2007The 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.
- 2008The first NFL game is played in Canada at Rogers Centre in Toronto as the Buffalo Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 16–3.
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Who Were Born On December 7?
- 521Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland (d. 597)
- 903Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi, Persian astronomer (d. 986)
- 1302Azzone Visconti lord of Milan (d. 1339)
- 1545Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (d. 1567)
- 1561Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese politician (d. 1625)
- 1598Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian artist (d. 1680)
- 1637Bernardo Pasquini, Italian composer (d. 1710)
- 1724Louise of Great Britain, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1751)
- 1764Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno, French marshal (d. 1841)
- 1784Allan Cunningham, British poet (d. 1842)
- 1792Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Dutch literator (d. 1857)
- 1801Johann Nestroy, Austrian dramatist and actor (d. 1862)
- 1803Maria Josepha of Saxony, queen consort of Spain (d. 1829)
- 1810Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist (d. 1894)
- 1810Theodor Schwann, German physiologist (d. 1882)
- 1823Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (d. 1891)
- 1838Sir Thomas Bent, Premier of Victoria (d. 1909)
- 1860Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1947)
- 1862Paul Adam, French novelist (d. 1920)
- 1863Felix Calonder, Swiss politician (d. 1952)
- 1863Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer (d. 1945)
- 1863Richard Sears, American department store founder (d. 1914)
- 1873Willa Cather, American novelist (d. 1947)
- 1879Rudolf Friml, American composer (d. 1972)
- 1887Ernst Toch, Austrian composer (d. 1964)
- 1888Hamilton Fish III, American politician (d. 1991)
- 1888Joyce Cary, Irish author (d. 1957)
- 1891Fay Bainter, Academy Award-winning American actress (d. 1968)
- 1903Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (d. 1987)
- 1904Konstantin Sokolsky, Russian singer (d. 1991)
- 1905Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-born American astronomer (d. 1973)
- 1907Fred Rose, Canadian communist politician (d. 1983)
- 1909Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1942)
- 1910Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian musician (d. 2011)
- 1910Louis Prima, American musician (d. 1978)
- 1912Daniel Jones, British composer (d. 1993)
- 1913Kersti Merilaas, Estonian author, poet (d. 1986)
- 1915Eli Wallach, American actor
- 1915Leigh Brackett, American screenwriter (d. 1978)
- 1916Jean Carignan, French Canadian fiddler (d. 1988)
- 1916Yekaterina Budanova, Soviet pilot, one of only two female flying aces (d. 1943)
- 1919Lis Løwert, Danish actress (d. 2009)
- 1920Fiorenzo Magni, Italian cyclist
- 1920Tatamkulu Afrika, South African poet and writer (d. 2002)
- 1920Walter Nowotny, Austrian fighter pilot (d. 1944)
- 1921Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader
- 1923Ted Knight, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1924John Love, Zimbabwean Formula One driver (d. 2005)
- 1924Mário Soares, former (17th) President of Portugal
- 1925Hernando da Silva Ramos, Brazilian racing driver
- 1927Helen Watts, British contralto (d. 2009)
- 1928Noam Chomsky, American linguist and political writer
- 1930Christopher Nicole, British writer
- 1930Hal Smith, American baseball player
- 1932Ellen Burstyn, American actress
- 1932Paul Caponigro, American photographer
- 1937Thad Cochran, American politician, senator from Mississippi
- 1940Gerry Cheevers, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1940Stan Boardman, English comedian
- 1941Melba Pattillo Beals, American journalist and writer
- 1942Alex Johnson, American baseball player
- 1942Harry Chapin, American singer and songwriter (d. 1981)
- 1942Peter Tomarken, American game show host (d. 2006)
- 1943Bernard C. Parks, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
- 1943Göran Lennmarker, Swedish politician
- 1943Nicholas Katz, American mathematician
- 1944Daniel Chorzempa, American organist
- 1944Jamiel Chagra, American drug trafficker
- 1944Miroslav Macek, Czech politician
- 1945Marion Rung, Finnish singer
- 1947Garry Unger, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1947Johnny Bench, American baseball player
- 1947Tony Thomas, American TV and film producer
- 1948Gary Morris, American singer and actor
- 1948Mads Vinding, Danish bassist
- 1949Tom Waits, American singer, composer, and actor
- 1952Eckhard Märzke, East German footballer
- 1952Georges Corraface, Greek actor, president of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival
- 1952Susan Collins, American politician
- 1954Mark Hofmann, American forger and bomber
- 1954Mary Fallin, American politician
- 1954Mike Nolan, Irish singer (Bucks Fizz)
- 1955Chuck Loeb, Contemporary Jazz guitarist
- 1955John Watkins, Australian politician
- 1955Priscilla Barnes, American actress
- 1956Larry Bird, American basketball player
- 1957Tom Winsor, British lawyer and economic regulator
- 1958Rick Rude, American professional wrestler (d. 1999)
- 1958Tim Butler, English musician (The Psychedelic Furs)
- 1960Craig Scanlon, English guitarist (The Fall)
- 1961Lisa Fischer, American R&B singer
- 1961Mario Miethig, German footballer
- 1962Grecia Colmenares, Venezuelan actress
- 1963Theo Snelders, former Dutch footballer
- 1964Peter Laviolette, head coach Philadelphia Flyers
- 1964Roberta Close, Brazilian model
- 1965Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer
- 1965Dorien de Vries, Dutch windsurfer
- 1965Jeffrey Wright, American actor
- 1966C. Thomas Howell, American actor
- 1966Shinichi Itoh, Japanese motorcycle racer
- 1967Tino Martinez, American baseball player
- 1968Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1969Andrea Claudio Galluzzo, Italian writer and journalist
- 1969Patrice O'Neal, American stand-up comedian and actor (d. 2011)
- 1970Carmen Campuzano, Mexican actress and fashion model
- 1971Chasey Lain, American pornographic actress
- 1971Vladimir Akopian, Armenian chess player
- 1972Hermann Maier, Austrian skier
- 1972Tammy Lynn Sytch, American professional wrestler
- 1973Charles Carl Roberts, American spree killer (d. 2006)
- 1973Damien Rice, Irish musician
- 1973Fabien Pelous, French international rugby player
- 1973Terrell Owens, American football player
- 1974Kang Full, South Korean webcomic artist
- 1974Nicole Appleton, Canadian-born singer
- 1975Jamie Clapham, English footballer
- 1976Alan Faneca, American football player
- 1976Brent Johnson, Canadian football player
- 1976Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976Ivan Franceschini, Italian fottballer
- 1976Vanessa Lorenzo, Spanish fashion model
- 1977Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse)
- 1977Eric Chavez, American baseball player
- 1978Chad Dukes, Radio Personality
- 1978Frankie J, Mexican-born American singer
- 1978Kon Artis, American rapper
- 1978Shiri Appleby, American actress
- 1979Ayako Fujitani, Japanese actress
- 1979Derek Ramsay, Filipino actor and model
- 1979Jennifer Carpenter, American actress
- 1979Lampros Choutos, Greek footballer
- 1979Sara Bareilles, American singer
- 1980John Terry, English footballer
- 1982Chrispa, Greek singer
- 1982Jack Huston, English actor
- 1983Fausto Carmona, Dominican baseball player
- 1984Aaron Gray, American basketball player
- 1984Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer
- 1984Milan Michalek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1984Robert Kubica, the first Polish Formula One racing driver
- 1986Jonathan Gill, English singer (JLS)
- 1987Aaron Carter, American singer and actor
- 1987Thomas Fiss, American singer (Varsity Fanclub)
- 1988Asia Ray Smith, American actress
- 1988Emily Browning, Australian actress
- 1988Nathan Adrian, American swimmer
- 1989Alessandro Marchi, Italian footballer
- 1989Nicholas Hoult, English actor
- 1990Urszula Radwańska, Polish tennis player
- 1991Dori Sakurada, Japanese actor
- 1992Michael Barron, English footballer/dancer
- 1993Jasmine Villegas, American R&B and pop singer
- 2003Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands
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Who Died On December 7?
- 43 BCCicero, Roman politician and author (b. 106 BC)
- 283Pope Eutychian
- 983Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 955)
- 1254Pope Innocent IV
- 1279King Boleslaus V of Poland (b. 1226)
- 1295Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1243)
- 1498Alexander Hegius von Heek, German humanist (b. 1433)
- 1562Adrian Willaert, Flemish composer
- 1649Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1606)
- 1672Richard Bellingham, English colonial magistrate (b. 1592)
- 1683Algernon Sydney, English politician (b. 1623)
- 1683John Oldham, English poet (b. 1653)
- 1723Jan Santini Aichel, Bohemian architect (b. 1677)
- 1725Florent Carton Dancourt, French dramatist and actor (b. 1661)
- 1775Charles Saunders, British admiral
- 1793Joseph Bara, French revolutionary (b. 1780)
- 1815Michel Ney, French marshall (b. 1769)
- 1817William Bligh, British admiral and HMS Bounty figure (b. 1745)
- 1842Thomas Hamilton, Scottish writer (b. 1789)
- 1874Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (b. 1815)
- 1879Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic independence movement figure (b. 1811)
- 1894Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and entrepreneur (Suez Canal) (b. 1805)
- 1902Thomas Nast, German-born American cartoonist (b. 1840)
- 1906Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1833)
- 1913Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian religious figure (b. 1828)
- 1917Léon Minkus, German-born Czech composer and violinist (b. 1826)
- 1938Anna Marie Hahn, German-born American serial killer (b. 1906)
- 1941Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Franklin Van Valkenburgh, American US Navy Captain (b. 1888)
- 1941Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Herbert C. Jones, American US Navy Ensign, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1918)
- 1941Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Isaac C. Kidd, American US Navy Rear Admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1884)
- 1941Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Mervyn S. Bennion, American US Navy Captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1887)
- 1941Among the 2,400 dead from the attack on Pearl Harbor: Thomas J. Reeves, American US Navy radioman, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1895)
- 1946Sada Yacco, Japanese stage actress (b. 1871)
- 1947Nicholas Murray Butler, American university president, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1862)
- 1947Tristan Bernard, French playwright and novelist (b. 1866)
- 1956Huntley Gordon, Canadian actor (b. 1887)
- 1960Clara Haskil, Swiss pianist (b. 1895)
- 1969Eric Portman, English actor (b. 1903)
- 1969Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (b. 1897)
- 1970Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist (b. 1883)
- 1975Thornton Wilder, American playwright (b. 1897)
- 1977Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-born American engineer (b. 1906)
- 1978Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist (b. 1886)
- 1980Darby Crash, American punk-rock musician (b. 1958)
- 1981Ava Helen Pauling, American human rights activist (b. 1903)
- 1982Will Lee, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1983Fanny Cano, Mexican actress (b. 1944)
- 1984Charles Ray Hatcher, American serial killer (b. 1929)
- 1984Lee Roy Yarbrough, American race car driver (b. 1938)
- 1985Potter Stewart, American jurist (b. 1915)
- 1985Robert Graves, British author (b. 1895)
- 1989William Calhoun, American professional wrestler (b. 1934)
- 1990Jean Duceppe, French-Canadian actor (b. 1923)
- 1990Jean Paul Lemieux, French-Canadian artist (b. 1904)
- 1990Joan Bennett, American actress (b. 1910)
- 1993Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivoirian politician (b. 1905)
- 1993Wolfgang Paul, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
- 1994J.C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1939)
- 1997Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b. 1942)
- 1998John Addison, British composer (b. 1920)
- 1998Martin Rodbell, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1925)
- 2000Vladimir Gotovac, Croatian poet and politician (b. 1930)
- 2003Azie Taylor Morton, Treasurer of the United States (b. 1936)
- 2003Carl F. H. Henry American theologian and publisher (b. 1913)
- 2004Frederick Fennell, American conductor (b. 1914)
- 2004Jay Van Andel, American entrepreneur (b. 1924)
- 2004Jerry Scoggins, American singer (b. 1913)
- 2005Bud Carson, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2005Lucy d'Abreu, Scottish supercentenarian (b. 1892)
- 2005Rigoberto Alpizar, Costa Rica-born American airline passenger (b. 1961)
- 2006Jay McShann, American musician (b. 1910)
- 2006Jeane Kirkpatrick, American diplomat (b. 1926)
- 2008Herbert Hutner, American banker and attorney (b. 1908)
- 2008Marky Cielo, Filipino-Igorot dancer and actor (b. 1988)
- 2009Mark Ritts, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2010Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and wife of John Edwards (b. 1949)
- 2010Gus Mercurio, American-born Australian actor (b. 1928)
- 2011Harry Morgan, American actor (b. 1915)
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