August 7 is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 146 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
Up to 1900
1901 – 2000
- 1909 - Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to make a transcontinental car journey, reaching San Francisco, California after setting off from New York City on June 9.
- 1927 – Peace Bridge opens, between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.
- 1930 - The last confirmed lynchings of African Americans in the Northern United States take place in Marion, Indiana.
- 1933 - Simele Massacre: Iraqi government forces slaughter over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele.
- 1942 – World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal begins - US Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with a landing on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
- 1944 – IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
- 1947 – Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day 7,000 km (4,300 mile) journey across the Pacific Ocean proving that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
- 1953 – Ohio admitted to the union, retroactive to 1803 (this is disputed by some).
- 1959 – Explorer program: The United States launches Explorer 6 from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1960 – Côte d'Ivoire becomes independent.
- 1964 – Vietnam War: The United States Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving US President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
- 1964 - Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the oldest tree in the world, is cut down.
- 1965 – Singapore is expelled and separated from the Federation of Malaysia.
- 1967 – Vietnam War: The People's Republic of China agrees to give North Vietnam and undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant.
- 1971 - Apollo 15 returns to Earth after a mission to the Moon.
- 1972 - Idi Amin gives all Asian people in Uganda 90 days to leave.
- 1974 – French tight-rope walker Philippe Petit crosses from one tower to the other at New York's World Trade Center.
- 1976 – Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars.
- 1978 – United States President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal.
- 1981 – The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
- 1983 - The first World Athletics Championships begin in Helsinki, Finland.
- 1985 – Takao Doi, Mamoru Mori, and Chiaki Mukai are chosen as Japan's first astronauts.
- 1987 – American swimmer Lynne Cox crosses the so-called 'Ice Curtain' between Alaska (US), and the Soviet Union's far east.
- 1989 – US Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX), and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
- 1990 – At 12:34:56 (both AM and PM) the time and date by British reckoning was 12:34:56 7/8/90.
- 1990 - César Gaviria becomes President of Colombia.
- 1994 - Ernesto Samper becomes President of Colombia.
- 1997 – Fine Air Flight 101, a cargo flight from Miami to Santo Domingo crashes onto NW 72nd Ave near Miami International Airport, killing five people.
- 1998 - Andrés Pastrana Arango becomes President of Colombia.
- 1998 – 1998 U.S. embassy bombings: Bombing of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya kills 224 people and injures over 4,500.
- 1999 - Southern Russia: Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades nearby Dagestan.
- 2000 - US Presidential candidate Al Gore chooses Joe Lieberman as his running mate.
- 2000 - Saturn's moon Ymir is discovered.
From 2001
Births
Up to 1800
- 317 – Constantius II, Roman Emperor (d. 361)
- 594 - Empress Kogyoku of Japan (d. 661)
- 1400 – Guillaume Dufay, French composer (d. 1474) (some sources give August 5, 1397 birthdate)
- 1533 – Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga, Basque soldier and poet (d. 1595)
- 1574 - Robert Dudley, English writer (d. 1649)
- 1598 – Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (d. 1672)
- 1649 - Archduke Charles Joseph of Austria (d. 1664)
- 1726 - James Bowdoin, 2nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1790)
- 1734 - Duchess Maria Anna Josepha of Bavaria (d. 1776)
- 1742 - Nathanael Greene, American revolutionary general (d. 1786)
- 1751 – Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (d. 1820)
- 1779 – Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (d. 1842)
- 1779 – Carl Ritter, German geographer (d. 1859)
- 1783 – Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (d. 1810)
- 1783 - John Heathcoat, English inventor (d. 1861)
1801 – 1900
- 1804 - Johan Nicolai Madvig, Danish classical philologist and politician (d. 1886)
- 1811 - Elias Loomis, American mathematician, astronomer and meteorologist (d. 1889)
- 1819 - Ion Emanuel Florescu, Romanian general and politician (d. 1893)
- 1862 – Victoria of Baden, Queen of Sweden (d. 1931)
- 1863 - Scipione Riva-Ricci, Italian physician (d. 1937)
- 1867 – Emil Nolde, German painter (d. 1956)
- 1868 - Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian mathematician (d. 1931)
- 1870 - Gustav Krupp, German industrialist and war criminal (d. 1950)
- 1872 - Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, Dutch politician (d. 1957)
- 1876 – Mata Hari, Dutch dancer and spy (d. 1917)
- 1876 - John August Anderson, American astronomer (d. 1959)
- 1877 – Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (d. 1949)
- 1883 - Joachim Ringelnatz, German writer and painter (d. 1934)
- 1884 - Billie Burke, American actress (d. 1970)
- 1890 - Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, American activist (d. 1964)
- 1896 - Alberto Demicheli, Uruguayan politician (d. 1980)
- 1900 - Alan Helffrich, American athlete (d. 1994)
1901 – 1950
- 1901 - Ann Harding, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1903 – Louis Leakey, British-Kenyan archaeologist (d. 1972)
- 1904 – Ralph Bunche, American diplomat (d. 1971)
- 1906 – Nelson Goodman, American philosopher (d. 1998)
- 1907 - Albert Kotin, American abstract painter (d. 1980)
- 1910 - Freddie Slack, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1965)
- 1911 - Nicholas Ray, American movie director and writer (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Vo Chi Cong, President of Vietnam (d. 2011)
- 1916 – Kermit Love, American puppeteer (d. 2008)
- 1918 - Poni Adams, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1921 - Manitas de Plata, French flamenco guitarist (d. 2014)
- 1924 - Kenneth Kendall, English journalist (d. 2012)
- 1925 - M. S. Swaminathan, Indian scientist
- 1925 – Armand Razafindratandra, Malagasy cardinal (d. 2010)
- 1926 - Stan Freberg, American actor, comedian and author (d. 2015)
- 1927 - Edwin Edwards, 50th Governor of Louisiana
- 1927 - George Busbee, American politician, Governor of the State of Georgia (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Rocky Bridges, American baseball player (d. 2015)
- 1928 - Betsy Byars, American author
- 1929 - Don Larsen, American baseball player
- 1932 – Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian runner (d. 1973)
- 1932 – Edward Hardwicke, British actor (d. 2011)
- 1932 - Rien Poortvliet, Dutch painter (d. 1995)
- 1933 - Eddie Firmani, South African footballer and coach
- 1933 - Elinor Ostrom, American economist (d. 2012)
- 1937 - Magic Slim, American blues musician (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian politician, former Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Sigfried Held, German footballer
- 1942 – B.J. Thomas, American singer
- 1942 - Caetano Veloso, Brazilian musician
- 1943 – Alain Corneau, French movie director (d. 2010)
- 1944 - Robert Mueller, American FBI director
- 1945 - Kenny Ireland, Scottish actor (d. 2014)
- 1945 - Alan Page, American football player and judge
- 1946 - John C. Mather, American physicist
- 1948 - Greg Chappell, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1948 - Antonis Vardis, Greek composer and singer (d. 2014)
- 1949 - Tim Renwick, British musician
- 1949 - Walid Junblatt, Lebanese political leader
- 1950 - Kessai Note, former President of the Marshall Islands
- 1950 - Dave Wottle, American athlete
1951 – 1975
- 1955 - Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
- 1955 - Greg Nickels, American politician, 51st Mayor of Seattle
- 1955 - Diana Downs, American murderess
- 1956 - Kent Rominger, American astronaut
- 1957 - Alexander Dityatin, Soviet gymnast
- 1957 - Caroline Aaron, American actress
- 1958 – Bruce Dickinson, British singer (Iron Maiden)
- 1958 – Alberto Salazar, American runner
- 1960 – Jacquie O'Sullivan, British singer (Bananarama)
- 1960 – David Duchovny, American actor
- 1961 - Yelena Davydova, Soviet-Russian gymnast
- 1961 - Brian Conley, English actor and singer
- 1962 - Alain Robert, French daredevil
- 1962 - Alison Brown, American musician, songwriter and producer
- 1962 - Bruno Pelletier, Canadian singer
- 1962 - Doon Mackichan, British comedienne and actress
- 1963 - Harold Perrineau, American actor
- 1966 – Jimmy Wales, American founder of Wikipedia
- 1966 - Shobna Gulati, English actress
- 1966 - David Cairns, Scottish politician (d. 2011)
- 1969 – Paul Lambert, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1971 – Rachel York, American actress and singer
- 1973 - Kevin Muscat, Australian footballer
- 1973 – Zane Lowe, New Zealand disc jockey and television presenter
- 1974 - Michael Shannon, American actor
- 1975 – Charlize Theron, South African actress
- 1975 - Edgar Renteria, Colombian baseball player
- 1975 - Gaahl, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- 1975 - Koray Candemir, Turkish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and actor
- 1975 - David Hicks, Australian alleged terrorist
From 1976
- 1976 - Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos, Greek footballer
- 1977 - Charlotte Ronson, English fashion designer
- 1977 - Samantha Ronson, English DJ and songwriter
- 1978 - Mark McCammon, Barbadian footballer
- 1979 - Eric Johnson, American actor
- 1980 - Seiichiro Maki, Japanese footballer
- 1980 - Shane Orio, Belizean footballer
- 1982 - Yana Klochkova, Ukrainian swimmer
- 1982 – Marco Melandri, Italian cyclist
- 1982 - Abbie Cornish, American actress
- 1983 - Brit Marling, American writer, producer, director and actress
- 1986 – Paul Biedermann, German swimmer
- 1986 – Valter Birsa, Slovenian footballer
- 1986 – Nancy Sumari, Tanzanian beauty queen
- 1987 – Sidney Crosby, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 - Melody Oliveria, American blogger
- 1990 - Helen Flanagan, English actress
- 1991 - Mitchell te Vrede, Dutch footballer
- 1996 - Liam James, Canadian actor
Deaths
Up to 1900
- 461 – Majorian, Roman Emperor (assassinated) (b. 420)
- 479 - Emperor Yuryaku of Japan
- 1106 – Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1050)
- 1485 - Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (b. 1454)
- 1616 - Vincenzo Scamozzi, Italian architect (b. 1548)
- 1635 – Friedrich von Spee, German writer (b. 1591)
- 1661 - Jin Shengtan, Chinese editor, writer and critic (b. 1608)
- 1809 - Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., Governor of Connecticut (b. 1740)
- 1817 – Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, French industrialist (b. 1739)
- 1821 - Caroline of Brunswick, Queen of the United Kingdom (b. 1768)
- 1834 – Joseph Marie Jacquard, inventor of the Jacquard loom (b. 1752)
- 1848 – Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (b. 1779)
- 1855 – Mariano Arista, President of Mexico (b. 1802)
- 1864 - Li Xiucheng, Chinese general (b. 1823)
- 1893 - Alfredo Catalani, Italian musician (b. 1854)
- 1900 - Wilhelm Liebknecht, German political activist (b. 1826)
1901 – 2000
- 1908 - Antonio Starabba, Italian politician (b. 1839)
- 1912 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (born 1841)
- 1917 - Edwin Harris Dunning, South African-English pilot and commander (b. 1891)
- 1938 - Constantin Stanislavski, Russian theatre practitioner (b. 1863)
- 1941 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer and poet (b. 1861)
- 1945 - Yi Wu, Korean prince (b. 1912)
- 1948 - Charles Bryant, American actor and movie director (b. 1879)
- 1957 – Oliver Hardy, American radio and movie comedian, and actor (born 1892)
- 1969 - Joseph Kosma, French composer (b. 1905)
- 1972 – Asposia Manos, wife of King Alexander of Greece (b. 1896)
- 1972 - Joi Lansing, American model, actress and singer (b. 1929)
- 1974 - Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (b. 1925)
- 1981 - Gunnar Uusi, Estonian chess player (b. 1931)
- 1987 – Camille Chamoun, Lebanese President (b. 1900)
- 1989 - Mickey Leland, American politician (b. 1944)
- 1994 - Larry Martin, English actor (b. 1934)
- 1995 – Brigid Brophy, British writer (b. 1929)
- 1999 – Brion James, American actor (b. 1945)
From 2001
- 2004 – Red Adair, American oil well firefighter (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American news anchor (b. 1938)
- 2007 - Angus Tait, New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman (b. 1929)
- 2008 - Andrea Pininfarina, Italian engineer (b. 1957)
- 2010 – Bruno Cremer, French actor (b. 1929)
- 2011 – Hugh Carey, former Governor of New York (b. 1919)
- 2011 - Mark Hatfield, former Governor of Oregon (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Harri Holkeri, 57th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1937)
- 2011 – Nancy Wake, New Zealand-born spy (b. 1912)
- 2014 - Denys Williams, British-Barbadian judge, acting Governor-General of Barbados (b. 1929)
- 2014 - Cristina Deutekom, Dutch opera singer (b. 1931)
- 2014 - Perry Moss, American football coach (b. 1926)
- 2014 - Claude Bertrand, Canadian neurosurgeon (b. 1917)
- 2015 - Frances Oldham Kelsey, Canadian physician (b. 1914)
- 2015 - Manuel Contreras, Chilean general, convicted of crimes against humanity (b. 1929)
- 2015 - Terrence Evans, American actor (b. 1934)
- 2016 - Gustavo Bueno, Spanish philosopher (b. 1924)
- 2016 - Bryan Clauson, American racing driver (b. 1989)
Observances
August 7 Facts for Kids. Homework Help -
Kiddle Encyclopedia.
