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.

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

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

December 7

Events

Up to 1900

1901 – 1950

1951 – 2000

From 2001

Births

Up to 1900

1901 – 1950

1951 – 1975

From 1976

Deaths

Up to 1900

1901 – 2000

From 2001

Holidays and observances