February 7

Events Pre-1600 457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. 1285 – A synod at Blachernae convened by anti-Unionist Greek clergy condemns the former pro-Unionist patriarch John XI of Constantinople. 1301 – Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales. 1313 – King Thihathu founds the Pinya Kingdom as the de jure successor state of the Pagan Kingdom. 1365 – Albert III of Mecklenburg (King Albert of Sweden) grants city rights to Ulvila (). 1497 – In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a "Bonfire of the vanities".

1601–1900 1756 – Guaraní War: The leader of the Guaraní rebels, Sepé Tiaraju, is killed in a skirmish with Spanish and Portuguese troops. 1783 – American Revolutionary War: French and Spanish forces lift the Great Siege of Gibraltar. 1795 – The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified. 1807 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon finds Bennigsen's Russian forces taking a stand at Eylau. After bitter fighting, the French take the town, but the Russians resume the battle the next day. 1812 – The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri. 1813 – In the action of 7 February 1813 near the Îles de Los, the frigates Aréthuse and Amelia batter each other, but neither can gain the upper hand. 1819 – Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking it over, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar. 1842 – Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien. 1854 – A law is approved to found the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Lectures started October 16, 1855. 1863 – sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189. 1894 – The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States. 1898 – Dreyfus affair: Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse...! 1900 – Second Boer War: British troops fail in their third attempt to lift the Siege of Ladysmith. 1900 – A Chinese immigrant in San Francisco falls ill to bubonic plague in the first plague epidemic in the continental United States.

1901–present 1904 – The Great Baltimore Fire begins in Baltimore, Maryland; it destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours. 1940 – The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres. 1943 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy forces complete the evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in the Guadalcanal campaign. 1944 – World War II: In Anzio, Italy, German forces launch a counteroffensive during the Allied Operation Shingle. 1951 – Korean War: More than 700 suspected communist sympathizers are massacred by South Korean forces. 1962 – The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports. 1964 – The Beatles land in the United States for the first time, at the newly renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport. 1966 – The Great Fire of Iloilo breaks out in a lumber yard in Iznart Street and burns for almost half a day destroying nearly three-quarters of the City Proper area and Php 50 million pesos in total properties' damage. 1974 – Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1979 – Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered. 1981 – A plane crash at Pushkin Airport kills 50 people, including 16 members of the Pacific Fleet. 1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission: astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). 1986 – Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation. 1990 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power. 1991 – Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in. 1991 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street in London, the headquarters of the British government. 1992 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union. 1995 – Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan. 1999 – Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein. 2001 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-98, carrying the Destiny laboratory module to the International Space Station. 2009 – Bushfires in Victoria leave 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history. 2012 – President Mohamed Nasheed of the Republic of Maldives resigns, after 23 days of anti-governmental protests calling for the release of the Chief Judge unlawfully arrested by the military. 2013 – The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995. 2014 – Scientists announce that the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, date back to more than 800,000 years ago, making them the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa. 2016 – North Korea launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into outer space violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world. 2021 – The 2021 Uttarakhand flood begins. 2024 – Pakistan election offices are hit by twin bombings, killing at least 24 people a day before general elections.

Births Pre-1600 574 – Prince Shōtoku of Japan (died 622) 1102 – Empress Matilda, Holy Roman Empress and claimant to the English throne (probable; (died 1167) 1449 – Adriana of Nassau-Siegen, German countess (died 1477) 1478 – Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (died 1535) 1487 – Queen Dangyeong, Korean royal consort (died 1557) 1500 – João de Castro, viceroy of Portuguese India (died 1548)

1601–1900 1612 – Thomas Killigrew, English playwright and manager (died 1683) 1622 – Vittoria della Rovere, Italian noble (died 1694) 1693 – Empress Anna of Russia (died 1740) 1722 – Azar Bigdeli, Iranian anthologist and poet (died 1781) 1726 – Margaret Fownes-Luttrell, English painter (died 1766) 1741 – Henry Fuseli, Swiss-English painter and academic (died 1825) 1758 – Benedikt Schack, Czech tenor and composer (died 1826) 1796 – Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (baptism date; (died 1874) 1802 – Louisa Jane Hall, American poet, essayist, and literary critic (died 1892) 1804 – John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded Deere & Company (died 1886) 1812 – Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (died 1870) 1825 – Karl Möbius, German zoologist and ecologist (died 1908) 1834 – Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe, French architect (died 1895) 1837 – James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (died 1915) 1864 – Arthur Collins, American baritone singer (died 1933) 1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (died 1957) 1870 – Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish psychologist and therapist (died 1937) 1871 – Wilhelm Stenhammar, Swedish pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1927) 1873 – Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder and businessman, designed the RMS Titanic (died 1912) 1875 – Erkki Melartin, Finnish composer (died 1937) 1877 – G. H. Hardy, English mathematician and geneticist (died 1947) 1878 – Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Russian-American pianist and conductor (died 1936) 1885 – Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1951) 1885 – Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (died 1953) 1887 – Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (died 1983) 1887 – Peter Arshinov, Russian anarchist revolutionary (disappeared 1940) 1889 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish-American engineer and theorist (died 1976) 1893 – Joseph Algernon Pearce, Canadian astrophysicist and astronomer (died 1988) 1893 – Nicanor Abelardo, Filipino pianist, composer and teacher (died 1934) 1895 – Anita Stewart, American actress (died 1961)

1901–present 1901 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (died 1989) 1904 – Ernest E. Debs, American politician (died 2002) 1905 – Paul Nizan, French philosopher and author (died 1940) 1905 – Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1983) 1906 – Oleg Antonov, Soviet engineer, founded the Antonov Design Bureau (died 1984) 1906 – Puyi, Chinese emperor (died 1967) 1908 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (died 1983) 1908 – Manmath Nath Gupta, Indian journalist and author (died 2000) 1909 – Hélder Câmara, Brazilian archbishop (died 1999) 1909 – Amedeo Guillet, Italian soldier (died 2010) 1912 – Russell Drysdale, English-Australian painter (died 1981) 1912 – Roberta McCain, American socialite and oil heiress (died 2020) 1915 – Teoctist Arăpașu, Romanian patriarch (died 2007) 1915 – Eddie Bracken, American actor and singer (died 2002) 1916 – Frank Hyde, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (died 2007) 1919 – Desmond Doss, American army corporal and combat medic, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2006) 1919 – Jock Mahoney, American actor and stuntman (died 1989) 1920 – Oscar Brand, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and author (died 2016) 1920 – An Wang, Chinese-American engineer and businessman, founded Wang Laboratories (died 1990) 1921 – Athol Rowan, South African cricketer (died 1998) 1922 – Hattie Jacques, English actress (died 1980) 1923 – Dora Bryan, English actress and restaurateur (died 2014) 1925 – Hans Schmidt, Canadian wrestler (died 2012) 1926 – Konstantin Feoktistov, Russian engineer and astronaut (died 2009) 1927 – Juliette Gréco, French singer and actress (died 2020) 1927 – Vladimir Kuts, Ukrainian-Russian runner and coach (died 1975) 1927 – Lalo Ríos, Mexican actor (died 1973)Frank Javier Garcia Berumen. Brown Celluloid: Latino/A Film Icons and Images in the Hollywood. Volume 1, 2003. Page 355. 1928 – Lincoln D. Faurer, American general (died 2014) 1929 – Jim Langley, English international footballer and manager (died 2007) 1932 – Gay Talese, American journalist and memoirist 1932 – Alfred Worden, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 2020) 1933 – K. N. Choksy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, Sri Lankan Minister of Finance (died 2015) 1934 – Eddie Fenech Adami, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Malta 1934 – King Curtis, American saxophonist and producer (died 1971) 1934 – Earl King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2003) 1935 – Cliff Jones, Welsh international footballer 1935 – Herb Kohl, American businessman and politician (died 2023) 1935 – Jörg Schneider, Swiss actor and author (died 2015) 1936 – Jas Gawronski, Italian journalist and politician 1937 – Peter Jay, English economist, journalist, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (died 2024) 1937 – Juan Pizarro, Puerto Rican baseball player (died 2021) 1940 – Tony Tan, Singaporean academic and politician, 7th President of Singapore 1942 – Gareth Hunt, English actor (died 2007) 1943 – Eric Foner, American historian, author, and academic 1945 – Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player and journalist 1946 – Héctor Babenco, Argentinian-Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2016) 1946 – Gérard Jean-Juste, Haitian priest and activist (died 2009) 1946 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (died 2011) 1946 – Cepillín, Mexican clown (died 2021) 1949 – Jacques Duchesneau, Canadian police officer and politician