February 7
is the 38th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar. There are 327 days remaining (328 in
leap years).
*
457 -
Leo I becomes emperor of the
Byzantine Empire.
*
1074 - Battle of Montesarchio wherein the
prince of Benevento,
Pandulf IV, is killed battling the encroaching
Normans.
*
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 -
Napoleonic Wars:
Battle of Eylau -
Napoléon's
French Empire begins fighting against
Russian and
Prussian forces of the
Fourth Coalition at 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.
*
1856 - The
colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of
legislation (the Electoral Act 1856) anywhere in the world providing for
elections by way of a
secret ballot.
[ Terry Newman, 'Tasmania and the Secret Ballot' (2003), 49(1) Aust J Pol & Hist 93 [1], accessed February 27, 2006]*
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.
*
1894 - The
Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the
Western Federation of Miners, begins in
Cripple Creek, Colorado.
*
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.
*
1914 -
Charlie Chaplin first appears as "
The Tramp", as his first film
Kid Auto Races at Venice is released at
Keystone Studios.
*
1942 - In
Drakulici,
Banja Luka,
Croatian
Nazis kill 2,300
Serbian civilians, among them 551 children.
*
1944 -
World War II: In
Anzio,
Italy German forces launch a counteroffensive.
*
1948 - Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff and was succeeded by Gen.
Omar Bradley.
*
1962 - The
United States Government bans all
Cuban imports and exports.
*
1964 -
The Beatles arrive on their first visit to the
United States.
*
1967 - A fire at a restaurant in
Montgomery,
Alabama kills 25 people.
*
1969 - The original Hetch Hetchy
Moccasin Powerhouse is removed from service.
*
1971 - Women gain the right to vote in
Switzerland.
*
1974 -
Grenada becomes independent from the
United Kingdom.
*
1976 - Future
Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler of the
Toronto Maple Leafs scores six goals and records four assists in an 11-4 victory over the
Boston Bruins, setting a
NHL record with 10 points in one game.
*
1977 -
Soyuz programme:
Soyuz 24 launched.
*
1979 -
Pluto moves inside
Neptune's orbit for the first time since either planet was known to science.
*
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).
*
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.
*
1995 -
Ramzi Yousef, the alleged mastermind of the
1993 World Trade Center bombing, was arrested in
Islamabad, Pakistan.
*
1999 -
Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King 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 -
Pioneer program: Last unsuccessful contact attempt with
Pioneer 10.
*
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)
*
1877 -
Godfrey Harold Hardy, English mathematician (d.
1947)
*
1883 -
Eubie Blake, American musician and composer (d.
1983)
*
1885 -
Sinclair Lewis, American writer,
Nobel Prize Laureate (d.
1951)
* 1885 -
Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (d.
1953)
*
1889 -
Harry Nyquist, important contributor to
information theory (d.
1976)
*
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 -
Oleg Antonov, Soviet aircraft designer (d.
1984)
* 1906 -
Puyi, Emperor of China (d.
1967)
*
1907 -
Yevgeniy Abalakov, famous
Soviet mountaineer (d.
1948)
*
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)
*
1918 -
Markey Robinson, Northern Irish painter (d.
1999)
*
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, American astronaut
*
1933 -
John Anderton, English footballer
*
1934 -
Earl King, American musician (d.
2003)
* 1934 -
Eddie Fenech Adami, President of Malta
*
1938 -
S. Ramachandran Pillai, Indian communist leader
*
1943 -
Gareth Hunt, English actor
*
1945 -
Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player
* 1945 -
Pete Postlethwaite, English actor
*
1949 -
Paulo César Carpegiani, Brazilian footballer and coach
*
1951 -
Benny Ayala, Baseball player
*
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
*
1956 -
Emo Philips, American comedian
*
1957 -
Carney Lansford, American baseball player
*
1960 -
James Spader, American actor
*
1962 -
Garth Brooks, American singer
* 1962 -
Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian
* 1962 -
David Bryan, American musician (
Bon Jovi)
*
1965 -
Jason Gedrick, American actor
* 1965 -
Chris Rock, American comedian and actor
*
1968 -
Peter Bondra, Ukrainian-born hockey player
* 1968 -
Sully Erna, American singer (
Godsmack)
*
1972 -
Alex Bassi, American Race Car Driver
*
1974-
Steve Nash, Canadian basketball player
* 1974 -
J Dilla, also known as Jay-Dee, American hip-hop producer (d.
2006)
*
1975 -
Wes Borland, American guitarist (
Limp Bizkit)
*
1978 -
Ashton Kutcher, American actor
* 1978 -
Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian international footballer
* 1978 -
Endy Chávez, Baseball player
*
1985 -
Tina Majorino, American actress
* 1985 -
Clara Bryant, American actress
*
1988 -
Ai Kago, Japanese singer (
W (Double You),
Morning Musume, and
MiniMoni)
*
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)
*
1839 -
Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet (b.
1799)
*
1873 -
Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish writer (b.
1814)
*
1878 -
Pope Pius IX (b.
1792)
*
1897 -
Galileo Ferraris, Italian physicist (b.
1847)
*
1898 -
John Reily Knox, Founder of Beta Theta Pi (b.
1820)
*
1919 -
William Halford, American naval officer and
Medal of Honor recipient
*
1920 -
Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander (b.
1874)
*
1937 -
Elihu Root, American statesman and diplomat,
Nobel Prize Laureate (b.
1845)
*
1938 -
Harvey Firestone, American manufacturer (b.
1868)
*
1939 -
Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter (b.
1886)
*
1942 -
Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator (b.
1876)
*
1960 -
Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist (b.
1903)
*
1963 -
Learco Guerra, Italian cyclist (b.
1902)
*
1968 -
Nick Adams, American actor (b.
1931)
*
1973 -
Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b.
1892)
*
1979 -
Josef Mengele, Nazi war criminal (b.
1911)
*
1980 -
Secondo Campini, Italian jet pioneer (b.
1904)
*
1985 -
Matt Monro, English singer (b.
1932)
*
1986 -
Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegalese historian (b.
1923)
*
1990 -
Jimmy Van Heusen, American songwriter (b.
1913)
*
1992 -
Buzz Sawyer, Wrestler
*
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 -
José Silva, author of
Silva Method and the Silva UltraMind ESP System (b.
1914)
* 1999 -
Bobby Troup, American musician and actor (b.
1918)
*
2000 -
Big Pun, Puerto Rican rapper (b.
1971)
* 2000 -
Doug Henning, Canadian magician (b.
1947)
*
2001 -
Dale Evans, American actress and singer (b.
1912)
* 2001 -
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author and aviator (b.
1906)
*
2002 -
Elisa Bridges, American model (b.
1973)
*
2003 -
Augusto Monterroso, Guatemalan author (b.
1921)
* 2003 -
John Reading, Mayor of Oakland, California (b.
1917)
*
2004 -
John Hench, American animator (b.
1908)
*
2006 - Princess
Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (b.
1914)
*
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).
Liturgical feasts
*
Saints Paul Miki and his 25 companians (d. Nagasaki, 1597)
*Blessed
Eugenia Smet (d.1871)
*
On this day in Canada*
NY Times: On this day*
BBC: On This DayFebruary 6 -
February 8 -
January 7 -
March 7 --
listing of all days
