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
- 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1301 - Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first English 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.
- 1807 - Napoléon's French Empire begin fighting against Russian and Prussian forces of the Fourth Coalition at the Battle of Eylau in Eylau, Poland.
- 1812 - The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri.
- 1842 - Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien
- 1863 - HMS ''Orpheus'' sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189.
- 1882 - The last heavyweight boxing championship bare-knuckle fight takes place in Mississippi City, Mississippi.
- 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.
- 1940 - Walt Disney's ''Pinocchio'', an animated feature based on the Carlo Collodi's story ''Pinocchio'' was first released.
- 1944 - World War II: In Anzio, Italy Nazi forces launch a counteroffensive.
- 1962 - The United States Government bans all Cuban imports and exports.
- 1964 - The Beatles arrive on their first visit to the United States.
- 1966 - Paul Williams creates the rock music magazine ''Crawdaddy!''.
- 1967 - A fire at a restaurant in Montgomery, Alabama kills 25 people.
- 1971 - Women gain the right to vote in Switzerland.
- 1974 - Grenada becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1976 - Darryl Sittler sets NHL record with 10 points in one game.
- 1977 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24.
- 1979 - Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either planet was known to science.
- 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 - Twenty-eight 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.
- 1991 - The IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.
- 1992 - The European Union is formed.
- 1998 - The 1998 Winter Olympic Games open in Nagano, Japan.
- 1999 - Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the ruler of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.
- 2000 - Bahria University is established through the Presidential Ordinance No. V of 2000 of Government of Pakistan.
- 2003 - Last contact with Pioneer 10.
- 2005- Star Wars: Empire at War officially becomes available in the U.S.
Births
- 1102 - Empress Matilda, Princess of England and wife of Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1169)
- 1478 - Sir Thomas More, English statesman, humanist, and author (d. 1535)
- 1693 - Empress Anna of Russia (d. 1740)
- 1812 - Charles Dickens, English novelist (d. 1870)
- 1842 - Alexandre Ribot, French statesman (d. 1923)
- 1867 - Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (d. 1957)
- 1870 - Alfred Adler, Austrian psychologist (d. 1937)
- 1883 - Eubie Blake, American musician and composer (d. 1983)
- 1885 - Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
- 1895 - Anita Stewart, American film actress (d. 1961)
- 1898 - Dock Boggs, American musician (d. 1971)
- 1905 - Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983)
- 1905 - Paul Nizan, French author (d. 1940)
- 1906 - Puyi, Emperor of China (d. 1967)
- 1908 - Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (d. 1983)
- 1914 - Ramón Mercader, Spanish assassin of Leon Trotsky (d. 1978)
- 1915 - Eddie Bracken, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1920 - An Wang, Chinese-born computer pioneer (d. 1990)
- 1922 - Hattie Jacques, English actress (d. 1980)
- 1926 - Konstantin Feoktistov, cosmonaut
- 1927 - Juliette Greco, French singer and actor
- 1927 - Vladimir Kuts, Russian runner
- 1932 - Gay Talese, American author
- 1932 - Al Worden, astronaut
- 1934 - Earl King, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1943 - Gareth Hunt, English actor
- 1945 - Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player
- 1945 - Pete Postlethwaite, English actor
- 1949 - Paulo César Carpegiani, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1953 - Dan Quisenberry, baseball player (d. 1998)
- 1954 - Dieter Bohlen German composer
- 1955 - Rolf Benirschke, American football player
- 1955 - Mario Coutinho Brazilian physician
- 1955 - Miguel Ferrer, American actor
- 1960 - James Spader, American actor
- 1962 - Garth Brooks, American singer
- 1962 - Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian
- 1965 - Jason Gedrick, American actor
- 1967 - Chris Rock, American comedian and actor
- 1968 - Peter Bondra, Ukrainian-born hockey player
- 1968 - Sully Erna, American singer (Godsmack)
- 1974 - Steve Nash, Canadian basketball player
- 1975 - Wes Borland, American guitarist (Limp Bizkit)
- 1978 - Ashton Kutcher, American actor
- 1984 - Jonathan "Trueborn" Smith, American vocalist (Binswitch)
- 1985 - Tina Majorino, American actress
- 1988 - Ai Kago, Japanese singer (W (Double You), Morning Musume, and MiniMoni)
Deaths
- 1045 - Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (b. 1009)
- 1317 - Robert, Count of Clermont, French founder of the House of Bourbon (b. 1256)
- 1560 - Bartolommeo Bandinelli, Italian sculptor (b. 1493)
- 1626 - William V, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1548)
- 1642 - William Bedell, English clergyman (b. 1571)
- 1652 - Gregorio Allegri, Italian composer (b. 1582)
- 1690 - William Morice, English royalist statesman
- 1693 - Paul Pellisson, French writer (b. 1624)
- 1736 - Stephen Gray, English astronomer and scientist (b. 1666)
- 1779 - William Boyce, English composer (b. 1711)
- 1799 - Qianlong, Emperor of China (b. 1711)
- 1801 - Daniel Chodowiecki, Polish painter (b. 1726)
- 1823 - Ann Radcliffe, English novelist (b. 1764)
- 1837 - King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (b. 1778)
- 1873 - Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish writer (b. 1814)
- 1878 - Pope Pius IX (b. 1792)
- 1920 - Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander (b. 1874)
- 1937 - Elihu Root, American statesman and diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1845)
- 1938 - Harvey Firestone, American manufacturer (b. 1868)
- 1968 - Nick Adams, American actor (b. 1931)
- 1971 - Dock Boggs, American musician (b. 1898)
- 1979 - Josef Mengele, Nazi war criminal (b. 1911)
- 1980 - Secondo Campini, Italian jet pioneer (b. 1904)
- 1985 - Matt Monro, English singer (b. 1932)
- 1990 - Jimmy Van Heusen, American songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1993 - Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1994 - Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer (b. 1913)
- 1994 - Stephen Milligan, British journalist and politician (b. 1948)
- 1996 - Phillip Davidson, US Army general (b. 1915)
- 1998 - Lawrence Sanders, American author (b. 1920)
- 1999 - King Hussein of Jordan (b. 1935)
- 1999 - Bobby Troup, American musician and actor (b. 1918)
- 2000 - Doug Henning, Canadian magician (b. 1947)
- 2000 - Big Pun, Puerto Rican singer (b. 1971)
- 2001 - Dale Evans, American actress and singer (b. 1912)
- 2001 - Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author and aviator (b. 1906)
- 2003 - Augusto Monterroso, Guatemalan author (b. 1921)
- 2003 - John Reading, Mayor of Oakland, California (b. 1917)
- 2004 - John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
Holidays and observances
- Independence Day in Grenada (1974)
- Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Mulk (Dominion) - First day of the 18th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
- Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo, Japan (2005)