February 7
February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 327 days remaining, 328 in leap years.
Events:
- 1301 - Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first Prince of Wales
- 1550 - Julius III becomes Pope
- 1613 - Mikhail Romanov becomes Tsar of Russia
- 1795 - The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed
- 1882 - In Mississippi City the last heavyweight boxing championship bareknuckle fight takes place.
- 1898 - Emile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse
- 1900 - The British Labour Party is formed
- 1904 - A fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.
- 1943 - World War II: In the United States it is announced that shoe rationing will go into effect in two days.
- 1944 - World War II: In Anzio, Italy Nazi forces launch a counteroffensive.
- 1945 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila
- 1962 - The United States Government bans all US-related Cuban imports and exports.
- 1964 - The Beatles arrived on their first visit to the United States
- 1971 - Women gain the right to vote in Switzerland
- 1974 - Grenada becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1977 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24.
- 1984 - Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk.
- 1985 - "New York, New York" becomes the official city anthem of New York City.
- 1986 - 28 years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.
- 1990 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly of power
- 1991 - Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.
- 1992 - The European Union is formed
- 1998 - The 1998 Winter Olympic Games open in Nagano, Japan
Births:
- 1478 - Sir Thomas More, statesman and humanist, author of Utopia (+ 1535)
- 1812 - Charles Dickens, novelist (+ 1870)
- 1834 - Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, chemist and inventor of the Periodic table of the chemical elements
- 1867 - Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie (+ 1957)
- 1883 - Eubie Blake, musician, composer (+ 1983)
- 1885 - Sinclair Lewis, author (+ 1951)
- 1904 - Ernst Ginsberg, actor and film director (+ 1964)
- 1905 - Paul Nizan, author (+ 1940)
- 1908 - Buster Crabbe, Olympic Games swimming gold medalist, actor
- 1910 - Max Bense, philosopher (+ 1990)
- 1920 - An Wang, computer pioneer (+ 1990)
- 1922 - Hattie Jacques, actress (+ 1980)
- 1927 - Juliette Greco, singer and actor
- 1932 - Gay Talese, author
- 1943 - Gareth Hunt. actor
- 1945 - Pete Postlethwaite, actor
- 1953 - Lige Curry, musician (P Funk)
- 1962 - Garth Brooks, country music star
- 1962 - Eddie Izzard, actor, comic
- 1967 - Chris Rock, comedian, actor
- 1978 - Ashton Kutcher, actor
Deaths:
- 1837 - King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
- 1873 - Sheridan Le Fanu, writer
- 1938 - Harvey Firestone, manufacturer
- 1979 - Josef Mengele, Nazi war criminal
- 1993 - Lillian Gish, actress
- 1998 - Lawrence Sanders, author
- 1999 - King Hussein of Jordan
- 1999 - Bobby Troup, musician, actor
- 2000 - Big Pun, singer
- 2000 - Doug Henning, magician
- 2001 - Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author, aviator
- 2001 - Dale Evans, actress, singer
Holidays and observances:
See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
February 6 - February 8 - January 7 - March 7 - more historical anniversaries