December 7

December 7 is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 24 days remaining until the end of the year.

2024 Calendar

Events

Up to 1900

43 BC - Roman writer, lawyer and statesman Cicero is assassinated.
574 - Roman Emperor Justin II retires.
1703 - The Great Storm of 1703 in Great Britain makes landfall.
1724 – religious troubles were followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.
1732 – The Royal Opera House opens in London.
1776 - Glibert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette arranges to enter the American military as a general.
1787 – Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the US Constitution.
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
1869 - American outlaw Jesse James commits his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, Missouri.

1901 – 1950

1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
1941 – World War II: Canada declares war on Finland, Hungary, Romania, and Japan.
1941 – The Japanese attack the Hawaiian city of Pearl Harbor during World War II. 2,403 people are killed, 188 planes are destroyed, and 8 US ships are damaged or destroyed.
1946 - A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, kills 119 people.
1949 – Chinese Civil War: The government of Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei.

1951 – 2000

1962 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.
1970 - West German Chancellor Willy Brandt makes a gesture of reconciliation towards the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, known as the "Kniefall", as he falls to his knees in front of the city's memorial.
1972 - First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos escapes an assassination attempt.
1972 - Apollo 17 launches, as the last mission to-date to fly to the Moon; On this mission, the famous "Blue Marble" photograph of the Earth is taken.
1975 – Indonesia invades East Timor.
1983 - An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxing down the runway at Madrid-Barajas Airport, killing 93 people.
1987 - Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 people on board.
1987 - The Alianza Lima air disaster occurs.
1988 – In Armenia an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale kills nearly 25,000, injures 15,000 and leaves 400,000 people homeless.
1988 – Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist.
1995 - The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter.
1999 – The RIAA files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client, on charges of copyright infringement.

From 2001

2003 – The newly formed Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognised.
2006 - A tornado strikes Kensal Green, Northwest London.
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.
2015 - Then-US Presidential candidate Donald Trump calls for Muslims to be banned from entering the United States.
2016 - An earthquake in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, kills around 100 people.
2016 - All 47 people on board die when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashes near Islamabad.
2017 - Australia legalises same-sex marriage.

Births

Up to 1900

521 - Columba, Irish missionary, monk and saint (d. 597)
903 - Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Persian astronomer and author (d. 986)
1302 - Azzone Visconti, Italian ruler (d. 1339)
1546 – Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (d. 1567)
1561 - Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese daimyo (d. 1625)
1598 – Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian artist (d. 1680)
1627 - Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau (d. 1667)
1637 – Bernardo Pasquini, Italian composer (d. 1710)
1643 - Giovanni Battista Falda, Italian architect and engraver (d. 1678)
1724 - Louise of Great Britain (d. 1751)
1784 - Allan Cunningham, Scottish author and poet (d. 1842)
1801 – Johann Nestroy, Austrian dramatist and actor (d. 1862)
1810 – Theodor Schwann, German biologist (d. 1882)
1823 – Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (d. 1891)
1830 - Luigi Cremona, Italian mathematician (d. 1903)
1838 - Thomas Bent, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of Victoria (d. 1909)
1847 - Deacon White, American baseball player and manager (d. 1939)
1860 – Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1947)
1863 – Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer (d. 1945)
1863 - Felix Calonder, Swiss politician (d. 1952)
1863 - Richard Warren Sears, American businessman (d. 1914)
1873 - Willa Cather, American writer (d. 1947)
1879 - Rudolf Friml, Czech-American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
1884 - John Carpenter, American sprinter (d. 1933)
1885 - Mason Phelps, American golfer (d. 1945)
1887 - Ernst Toch, Austrian-American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
1888 - Hamilton Fish III, American captain and politician (d. 1991)
1889 - Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher, dramatist and critic (d. 1973)
1891 – Fay Bainter, American actress (d. 1968)
1900 - Christian Matras, Faroese poet (d. 1988)

1901 – 1950

1905 – Gerard Kuiper, Dutch astronomer (d. 1973)
1908 - Slim Bryant, American musician (d. 2010)
1909 - Nikola Vapcarov, Macedonian poet from Bulgaria (d. 1942)
1910 - Duncan McNaughton, Canadian high jumper (d. 1998)
1910 - Louis Prima, American singer-songwriter, trumpeter and actor (d. 1978)
1910 - Vere Bird, 1st Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda (d. 1999)
1910 – Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian bandleader (d. 2011)
1912 - Daniel Jones, Welsh composer (d. 1993)
1915 – Eli Wallach, American actor (d. 2014)
1918 - Max Merkel, Austrian footballer (d. 2006)
1920 – Manuel Pereira da Silva, Portuguese sculptor (d. 2003)
1920 - Tatamkulu Afrika, South African poet and author (d. 2002)
1920 - Fiorenzo Magni, Italian cyclist (d. 2012)
1920 - Walter Nowotny, Austrian-German soldier and pilot (d. 1944)
1924 - Jovanka Broz, First Lady of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
1924 – Mario Soares, former President of Portugal (d. 2017)
1928 – Noam Chomsky, American linguist, philosopher and political writer
1930 - Christopher Nicole, English author
1932 - Ellen Burstyn, American actress
1933 - Krsto Papic, Croatian actor (d. 2013)
1935 - Armando Manzanero, Mexican musician, singer and composer
1940 - Stan Boardman, English comedian and actor
1942 - Harry Chapin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
1943 – Sue Johnston, English actress
1947 - Johnny Bench, American baseball player and sportscaster
1947 - Tony Thomas, American screenwriter and producer
1947 - Garry Unger, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1947 - Anne Fine, British author
1948 - Gary Morris, American singer and actor

1951 – 1975

1952 – Susan Collins, American senator
1952 - Georges Corraface, French actor and producer
1954 - Mike Nolan, Irish singer
1955 - Priscilla Barnes, American actress and producer
1955 - John Watkins, Australian educator and politician
1956 – Larry Bird, American basketball player
1956 - Anna Soubry, English politician
1956 - Iveta Radicova, former Prime Minister of Slovakia
1958 - Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta
1959 - Barbara Wilshere, British actress
1960 - Craig Scanlon, English guitarist and songwriter
1962 - Alain Blondel, French decathlete
1962 - Grecia Colmenares, Venezuelan-Argentine actress
1962 - Imad Mughniyah, Lebanese resistance leader and freedom fighter
1963 - Theo Snelders, Dutch footballer and coach
1964 – Ilse Aigner, German politician
1965 - Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer
1965 - Jeffrey Wright, American actor and director
1969 - Andrea Claudio Galluzzo, Italian historian and archaeologist
1971 - Chasey Lain, American pornographic actress
1972 – Hermann Maier, Austrian skier
1972 - Tammy Lynn Sytch, American wrestler and manager
1973 - Damien Rice, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
1973 – Terrell Owens, American football player
1974 - Nicole Appleton, Canadian singer and actress

From 1976

1977 – Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse)
1977 - Luke Donald, English golfer
1979 - Jennifer Carpenter, American actress
1979 – Sara Bareilles, American singer
1980 – Clemens Fritz, German footballer
1980 – John Terry, English footballer
1984 – Robert Kubica, the first Polish Formula One racing driver
1984 - Aaron Gray, American basketball player
1984 - Marko Vujin, Serbian handball player
1985 - Dean Ambrose, American wrestler
1987 – Aaron Carter, American singer
1988 - Emily Browning, Australian actress
1988 - Andrew Goudelock, American basketball player
1989 - Nicholas Hoult, English actor
1989 - Caleb Landry Jones, American actor
1989 - Alessandro Marchi, Italian footballer
1990 - Yasiel Puig, Cuban baseball player
1990 - David Goffin, Belgian tennis player
1990 – Urszula Radwanska, Polish tennis player
1991 - Dori Sakurada, Japanese actor, singer and dancer
1993 - Jasmine Villegas, American actress
1994 - Yuzuru Hanyu, Japanese figure skater
2003 – Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, Dutch royal

Deaths

Up to 1900

43 BC – Cicero, Roman politician and writer (b. 106 BC)
283 - Pope Eutychian
983 – Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 955)
1254 - Pope Innocent IV (b. 1195)
1279 - Boleslaw V the Chaste, Polish prince (b. 1226)
1295 - Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (b. 1243)
1649 - Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (b. 1606)
1683 - Algernon Shirley, English philosopher and politician (b. 1623)
1723 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (b. 1677)
1772 - Martín Sarmiento, Spanish monk, missionary, scholar and author (b. 1695)
1793 - Joseph Bara, French soldier and drummer (b. 1779)
1817 – William Bligh, British naval officer and Governor of New South Wales (b. 1754)
1879 – Jon Sigurdsson, Icelandic independence campaigner (b. 1811)
1894 – Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and entrepreneur (b. 1805)
1899 - Juan Luna, Filipino painter and sculptor (b. 1857)

1901 – 2000

1902 - Thomas Nast, German-American cartoonist (b. 1840)
1906 - Elie Ducommun, Swiss educator and journalist (b. 1833)
1913 - Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian cardinal (b. 1828)
1917 - Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1826)
1938 - Anna Marie Hahn, German-American murderer (b. 1906)
1947 - Tristan Bernard, French author and playwright (b. 1866)
1947 – Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat and educator (b. 1862)
1970 - Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist, sculptor and author (b. 1883)
1975 - Thornton Wilder, American author and playwright (b. 1897)
1978 - Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist (b. 1886)
1985 – Robert Graves, English poet (b. 1895)
1990 – Joan Bennett, American actress (b. 1910)
1993 – Félix Houphouët-Boigny, 1st President of Ivory Coast (b. 1905)
1993 – Wolfgang Paul, German physicist (b. 1913)
1994 - J. C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1939)
1997 – Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b. 1942)
1998 – Martin Rodbell, American scientist (b. 1925)

From 2001

2005 - Lucy d'Abreu, Indian-born supercentenarian (b. 1892)
2006 - Jeane Kirkpatrick, American diplomat (b. 1926)
2010 - Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and author (b. 1949)
2011 – Harry Morgan, American actor (b. 1915)
2011 - Jerry Robinson, American comic artist (b. 1922)
2012 - Marty Reisman, American table tennis player and author (b. 1930)
2013 - Edouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
2014 - Khalil Ullah Khan, Bangladeshi actor (b. 1934)
2014 - Mango, Italian singer, songwriter and musician (b. 1954)
2014 - Ken Weatherwax, American actor (b. 1955)
2015 - Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor and producer (b. 1945)
2015 - Shirley Stelfox, English actress (b. 1941)
2015 - Martin E. Brooks, American actor (b. 1925)
2016 - Greg Lake, English musician (b. 1947)
2017 - Fred J. Doocy, American politician and banker (b. 1913)
2017 - Ivan Korsak, Ukrainian writer and journalist (b. 1946)
2017 - Philippe Maystadt, Belgian politician (b. 1948)
2017 - Roland Taylor, American basketball player (b. 1946)
2018 - Belisario Betancur, Colombian politician, President of Colombia (b. 1923)
2018 - Shmuel Flatto-Sharon, French-Israeli politician (b. 1930)
2018 - Luigi Radice, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
2019 - Berkley Bedell, American politician and businessman (b. 1921)
2019 - Reinhard Bonnke, German evangelist (b. 1940)
2019 - Bump Elliott, American football player (b. 1925)
2019 - Giuseppe Frigo, Italian politician and lawyer (b. 1935)
2019 - Herbert Joos, German jazz trumpeter (b. 1940)
2019 - Ali Mufuruki, Tanzanian businessman (b. 1958)

Holidays and observances

Saint Ambrose Feast Day
United States – Pearl Harbor Day
Colombia – Día de las Velitas (Day of the Candles): Festivity
India – The Armed Forces Flag Day
Armenia - Spitak Remembrance Day
International Civil Aviation Day