December 7 facts for kids

December 7th is a special day in history, filled with many important events, births, and even some sad moments. People around the world celebrate different holidays and remember significant happenings on this date. Let's explore some of the interesting things that have happened on December 7th throughout the years!

Historical Events on December 7

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 43 BC – A famous Roman speaker and politician named Marcus Tullius Cicero died.
• 574 – The Byzantine Emperor Justin II adopted his general Tiberius and made him a Caesar, which was a very important title, like a co-ruler.
• 927 – The ruler of Adharbayjan, Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj, was defeated and captured by the Qarmatians near Kufa.

Events from 1601 to 1900

• 1703 – The Great Storm of 1703, a huge windstorm, hit Great Britain. Winds were super strong, and many people were affected.
• 1724 – In Toruń, Poland, there was some religious trouble. This led to the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor by Polish authorities.
• 1732 – The Royal Opera House opened its doors in Covent Garden, London, England. It's still a famous place for performances today!
• 1776 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobleman, decided to join the American military as a major general. He helped the Americans in their fight for independence.
• 1787 – Delaware became the very first state to approve the United States Constitution. This was a big step in forming the USA.
• 1837 – The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, the only battle of the Upper Canada Rebellion, happened in Toronto. The rebels were quickly defeated.
• 1842 – The New York Philharmonic orchestra, founded by Ureli Corelli Hill, held its very first concert.

Events from 1901 to Today

• 1904 – Important tests began between two warships, HMS Spiteful and HMS Peterel. Spiteful was the first warship to run only on fuel oil. These tests showed that oil was better than coal for ships, changing how the Royal Navy powered its fleet.
• 1917 – During World War I, the United States officially declared war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1922 – The Parliament of Northern Ireland voted to stay part of the United Kingdom instead of joining Southern Ireland.
• 1930 – In Boston, Massachusetts, a TV station called W1XAV showed video from a radio show. This telecast also included the first ever television advertisement in the United States!
• 1932 – The famous German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein was given a special visa to enter America.
• 1936 – Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton made history by scoring centuries (100 runs) in four Test games in a row.
• 1941 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This event led to the United States entering World War II.
• 1942 – World War II: British commandos carried out Operation Frankton, a daring raid on ships in Bordeaux harbour.
• 1944 – A strong earthquake off the coast of Japan caused a huge tsunami that tragically killed 1,223 people.
• 1946 – A terrible fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia killed 119 people. It was the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
• 1949 – During the Chinese Civil War, the Government of the Republic of China moved its capital from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan.
• 1962 – Prince Rainier III of Monaco updated the country's constitution, giving some of his power to other councils.
• 1963 – Instant replay was used for the first time during a football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. This changed how sports are watched!
• 1965 – Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I officially ended the mutual excommunications that had been in place between the Catholic and Orthodox churches since 1054.
• 1971 – The Battle of Sylhet was fought between the Pakistani military and the Indian Army.
• 1972 – Apollo 17, the very last Apollo Moon mission, was launched. The astronauts on this mission took the famous photograph known as The Blue Marble as they left Earth.
• 1982 – In Texas, Charles Brooks Jr. became the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal injection.
• 1983 – Two airplanes collided in thick fog at Madrid–Barajas Airport, killing 93 people.
• 1987 – Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashed near Paso Robles, California, tragically killing all 43 people on board.
• 1988 – A powerful earthquake in Armenia caused widespread destruction, killing many thousands of people and injuring many more.
• 1995 – The Galileo spacecraft finally reached Jupiter, more than six years after it was launched.
• 2003 – The Conservative Party of Canada was officially formed after two other political parties merged.
• 2015 – The Japanese space probe Akatsuki successfully entered orbit around Venus, five years after its first attempt.
• 2016 – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661, a domestic passenger flight, crashed near Havelian, killing all 47 people on board.

People Born on December 7

Births Before 1600

• 521 – Columba, an Irish missionary and saint.
• 903 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, a Persian astronomer and writer.
• 967 – Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr, a Persian Sufi poet.
• 1532 – Louis I, a German nobleman and politician.
• 1545 – Henry Stuart, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.
• 1598 – Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a famous Italian sculptor and painter.

Births from 1601 to 1900

• 1637 – Bernardo Pasquini, an Italian organist and composer.
• 1732 – John Littlejohn, an American sheriff and preacher.
• 1764 – Claude Victor-Perrin, a French general and politician.
• 1784 – Allan Cunningham, a Scottish author and poet.
• 1810 – Theodor Schwann, a German physiologist and biologist.
• 1823 – Leopold Kronecker, a Polish-German mathematician.
• 1860 – Joseph Cook, an English-born Australian politician who became the 6th Prime Minister of Australia.
• 1863 – Pietro Mascagni, a famous Italian composer and conductor.
• 1863 – Richard Warren Sears, an American businessman who helped start the company Sears.
• 1873 – Willa Cather, an American novelist and short story writer.
• 1878 – Akiko Yosano, a Japanese author, poet, and early feminist.
• 1887 – Ernst Toch, an Austrian-American composer.
• 1888 – Joyce Cary, an Irish novelist.
• 1893 – Fay Bainter, an American actress.

Births from 1901 to Today

• 1904 – Clarence Nash, the American voice actor who was the original voice of Donald Duck!
• 1905 – Gerard Kuiper, a Dutch-American astronomer.
• 1910 – Louis Prima, an American singer-songwriter and trumpet player.
• 1915 – Eli Wallach, a well-known American actor.
• 1920 – Fiorenzo Magni, an Italian cyclist.
• 1924 – Mário Soares, a Portuguese historian and politician who became the 17th President of Portugal.
• 1928 – Noam Chomsky, a famous American linguist and philosopher.
• 1932 – Ellen Burstyn, a celebrated American actress.
• 1942 – Harry Chapin, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1947 – Johnny Bench, a famous American baseball player.
• 1949 – Tom Waits, an American singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1952 – Susan Collins, an American politician.
• 1956 – Larry Bird, a legendary American basketball player and coach.
• 1958 – Rick Rude, an American wrestler.
• 1965 – Jeffrey Wright, an American actor.
• 1966 – C. Thomas Howell, an American actor.
• 1972 – Hermann Maier, an Austrian skier.
• 1973 – Terrell Owens, a famous American football player.
• 1974 – Nicole Appleton, a Canadian singer and actress.
• 1977 – Luke Donald, an English golfer.
• 1977 – Dominic Howard, the English drummer for the band Muse.
• 1979 – Sara Bareilles, an American singer-songwriter and pianist.
• 1979 – Jennifer Carpenter, an American actress.
• 1980 – John Terry, a well-known English footballer.
• 1984 – Robert Kubica, a Polish race car driver.
• 1987 – Aaron Carter, an American singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1988 – Emily Browning, an Australian actress and singer.
• 1989 – Nicholas Hoult, an English actor.
• 1990 – Yasiel Puig, a Cuban baseball player.
• 1994 – Yuzuru Hanyu, a Japanese figure skater.

People Who Died on December 7

Deaths Before 1600

• 43 BC – Cicero, a Roman philosopher and politician.
• 983 – Otto II, a Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1254 – Innocent IV, a pope of the Catholic Church.
• 1295 – Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, an English officer.
• 1498 – Alexander Hegius von Heek, a German poet.
• 1562 – Adrian Willaert, a Dutch-Italian composer.

Deaths from 1601 to 1900

• 1649 – Charles Garnier, a French missionary and saint.
• 1680 – Peter Lely, a Dutch-English painter.
• 1683 – Algernon Sidney, an English philosopher and politician.
• 1723 – Jan Santini Aichel, a Czech architect.
• 1775 – Charles Saunders, an English admiral.
• 1815 – Michel Ney, a French general.
• 1817 – William Bligh, an English admiral and politician.
• 1894 – Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French businessman who helped build the Suez Canal.
• 1899 – Juan Luna, a Filipino painter and sculptor.

Deaths from 1901 to Today

• 1902 – Thomas Nast, a German-American cartoonist.
• 1906 – Élie Ducommun, a Swiss journalist and educator who won a Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1941 – Many American sailors and soldiers died during the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
• 1947 – Nicholas Murray Butler, an American philosopher who won a Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1962 – Kirsten Flagstad, a Norwegian opera singer.
• 1970 – Rube Goldberg, an American cartoonist.
• 1975 – Thornton Wilder, an American novelist and playwright.
• 1979 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, an English-American astronomer.
• 1985 – Robert Graves, an English poet and novelist.
• 1990 – Joan Bennett, an American actress.
• 1993 – Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the first President of Ivory Coast.
• 1998 – Martin Rodbell, an American biochemist who won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 2006 – Jeane Kirkpatrick, an American academic and diplomat.
• 2011 – Harry Morgan, an American actor.
• 2016 – Junaid Jamshed, a Pakistani recording artist and television personality.
• 2016 – Greg Lake, an English musician.
• 2020 – Chuck Yeager, a famous American aviator who was the first person to break the sound barrier.
• 2023 – Benjamin Zephaniah, a British writer and poet.

Holidays and Observances

• Armed Forces Flag Day (India)
• Christian feast day:
  • Ambrose
• Eve of the Immaculate Conception-related observances:
  • Day of the Little Candles, begins after sunset (Colombia)
• International Civil Aviation Day
• National Heroes Day (East Timor)
• National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (United States)
• Spitak Remembrance Day (Armenia)

See also

In Spanish: 7 de diciembre para niños