February 7 facts for kids

February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 327 days remain until the end of the year (328 in leap years).

February 7th is a day filled with interesting events throughout history! From ancient empires to modern space missions, many important things have happened on this date. Let's explore some of them.

Historical Events on February 7

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• In 457, Leo I became the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. This was a powerful empire that lasted for a very long time.
• Around 987, two Byzantine generals, Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, started a big rebellion against Emperor Basil II.
• In 1301, Edward of Caernarvon became the very first English Prince of Wales. He later became King Edward II of England.
• King Thihathu founded the Pinya Kingdom in 1313. This new kingdom was meant to follow the older Pagan Kingdom.
• In 1365, King Albert of Sweden gave city rights to Ulvila in Finland. This helped the town grow and become more important.
• In 1497, something called the "Bonfire of the vanities" happened in Florence, Italy. Supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burned many things they thought were too fancy or sinful, like cosmetics, art, and books.

From the 17th to 19th Centuries

• The Guaraní War was happening in 1756. On this day, Sepé Tiaraju, a leader of the Guaraní people, was killed fighting against Spanish and Portuguese soldiers.
• In 1783, during the American Revolutionary War, French and Spanish forces finally ended the long Great Siege of Gibraltar.
• The 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was officially approved in 1795. This amendment changed rules about lawsuits against states.
• During the Napoleonic Wars in 1807, Napoleon's French army met Russian forces at Eylau. It was a very tough battle, and the fighting continued the next day.
• The strongest in a series of huge earthquakes hit New Madrid, Missouri, in 1812. These were some of the biggest earthquakes ever in the central United States.
• In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles left Singapore after taking control of it. He left it in the care of William Farquhar.
• The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology was approved to be founded in 1854. This is a famous university for science and technology.
• A ship called HMS Orpheus sank off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, in 1863. Sadly, 189 people lost their lives.
• The Cripple Creek miners' strike began in Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States, in 1894. Miners were fighting for better working conditions.
• In 1898, French writer Émile Zola went to trial for publishing his famous letter J'Accuse...!. He was accused of libel, which means writing something false and harmful about someone.
• During the Second Boer War in 1900, British troops tried for the third time to end the Siege of Ladysmith, but they were not successful.
• Also in 1900, the first case of bubonic plague in the continental United States was reported in San Francisco.

The 20th and 21st Centuries

• The Great Baltimore Fire started in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1904. It burned for 30 hours and destroyed over 1,500 buildings.
• The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, had its first showing in 1940.
• In 1943, during World War II, Japanese forces finished pulling their troops out of Guadalcanal. This ended their attempts to take the island back from the Allied forces.
• The United States put a ban on all Cuban imports and exports in 1962.
• The Beatles landed in the United States for the very first time in 1964. They arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport and were met by huge crowds of fans.
• A massive fire, known as the Great Fire of Iloilo, broke out in the City Proper area of the Philippines in 1966. It burned for almost half a day.
• Grenada became an independent country from the United Kingdom in 1974.
• In 1979, Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since these planets were discovered. This is a rare event because their orbits usually don't cross.
• In 1984, astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart made history. They performed the first untethered spacewalk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). This meant they floated freely in space without being connected to the Space Shuttle!
• In 1986, President Jean-Claude Duvalier fled Haiti, ending 28 years of his family's rule in the Caribbean nation.
• The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union agreed to give up its complete control over power in 1990. This was a big step towards the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was sworn into office in 1991.
• The Treaty of Maastricht was signed in 1992. This important treaty led to the creation of the European Union, a group of countries working together.
• In 1995, Ramzi Yousef, who was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• Crown Prince Abdullah became the King of Jordan in 1999 after his father, King Hussein, passed away.
• Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on mission STS-98 in 2001. It carried the Destiny laboratory module to the International Space Station, which is a science lab orbiting Earth.
• In 2009, terrible bushfires in Victoria, Australia, caused 173 deaths. It was one of Australia's worst natural disasters.
• The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certified the Thirteenth Amendment in 2013. This amendment abolished slavery. Mississippi had formally approved it in 1995, but this was the final official certification.
• Scientists announced in 2014 that the Happisburgh footprints found in England were over 800,000 years old. These are the oldest known human-like footprints found outside of Africa!
• North Korea launched a satellite called Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into space in 2016. Many countries around the world spoke out against this launch.
• The 2021 Uttarakhand flood began in India in 2021, causing significant damage.

Famous Births on February 7

Many interesting people were born on this day throughout history!

Born Before 1600

• 574 – Prince Shōtoku of Japan, an important leader who helped spread Buddhism.
• 1102 – Empress Matilda, a powerful woman who claimed the English throne.
• 1478 – Thomas More, an English lawyer and politician who was also a famous writer.
• 1500 – João de Castro, a viceroy (a ruler representing a king) of Portuguese India.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

• 1693 – Empress Anna of Russia, who ruled Russia in the 18th century.
• 1741 – Henry Fuseli, a Swiss-English painter known for his dramatic and imaginative art.
• 1804 – John Deere, an American blacksmith who founded the famous company Deere & Company, known for its farm equipment.
• 1812 – Charles Dickens, a very famous English novelist and critic. He wrote classic books like A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist.
• 1825 – Karl Möbius, a German zoologist and ecologist who studied marine life.
• 1837 – James Murray, a Scottish expert on words who helped create the Oxford English Dictionary.
• 1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, an American author famous for her "Little House on the Prairie" books.
• 1870 – Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychologist who developed important ideas about human behavior.
• 1873 – Thomas Andrews, an Irish shipbuilder who designed the famous RMS Titanic.
• 1885 – Sinclair Lewis, an American novelist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1887 – Eubie Blake, an American pianist and composer who was a pioneer in jazz and ragtime music.
• 1889 – Harry Nyquist, a Swedish-American engineer whose work was important for telecommunications.

Born After 1900

• 1906 – Oleg Antonov, a Soviet engineer who founded the Antonov Design Bureau, known for large aircraft.
• 1906 – Puyi, the last emperor of China.
• 1908 – Buster Crabbe, an American swimmer and actor who played Tarzan and Flash Gordon.
• 1912 – Roberta McCain, an American socialite and the mother of Senator John McCain.
• 1919 – Desmond Doss, an American army medic who saved many lives during World War II without carrying a weapon. He received the Medal of Honor.
• 1920 – An Wang, a Chinese-American engineer and businessman who founded Wang Laboratories, a computer company.
• 1927 – Juliette Gréco, a French singer and actress.
• 1932 – Alfred Worden, an American astronaut who flew on the Apollo 15 mission to the Moon.
• 1934 – Eddie Fenech Adami, a Maltese lawyer and politician who became the 7th President of Malta.
• 1935 – Herb Kohl, an American businessman and politician.
• 1940 – Tony Tan, a Singaporean academic and politician who became the 7th President of Singapore.
• 1946 – Pete Postlethwaite, a well-known English actor.
• 1954 – Dieter Bohlen, a German singer-songwriter and producer.
• 1955 – Miguel Ferrer, an American actor.
• 1958 – Matt Ridley, an English journalist and author known for his science books.
• 1960 – James Spader, an American actor.
• 1962 – Garth Brooks, a very popular American country music singer-songwriter.
• 1962 – Eddie Izzard, an English comedian, actor, and producer.
• 1963 – Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, an American Naval officer and astronaut.
• 1965 – Chris Rock, a famous American actor, director, producer, and comedian.
• 1966 – Kristin Otto, a German swimmer who won many Olympic gold medals.
• 1968 – Peter Bondra, a Ukrainian-Slovak ice hockey player.
• 1974 – Steve Nash, a South African-Canadian basketball player who became a star in the NBA.
• 1978 – Ashton Kutcher, an American model, actor, producer, and entrepreneur.
• 1979 – Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni journalist and activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1985 – Tina Majorino, an American actress.
• 1988 – Matthew Stafford, an American football player who is a quarterback in the NFL.
• 1989 – Isaiah Thomas, an American basketball player.
• 1990 – Jacksepticeye, a popular Irish YouTuber.
• 1990 – Dalilah Muhammad, an American hurdler who is an Olympic gold medalist.
• 1991 – Gabbie Hanna, an American Internet personality and singer-songwriter.
• 1992 – Sergi Roberto, a Spanish footballer.
• 1996 – Pierre Gasly, a French racing driver in Formula 1.
• 1997 – Nicolò Barella, an Italian footballer.

Notable Deaths on February 7

This day also marks the passing of many important figures.

Died Before 1600

• 199 – Lü Bu, a famous Chinese warlord.
• 318 – Jin Mindi, an emperor of the Jin Dynasty in China.
• 999 – Boleslaus II the Pious, a Duke of Bohemia.
• 1045 – Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan.
• 1127 – Ava, a German poet.
• 1317 – Robert, Count of Clermont, a French nobleman.
• 1333 – Nikko, a Japanese priest who founded a branch of Buddhism.
• 1520 – Alfonsina de' Medici, a powerful regent (ruler) of Florence.

Died Between 1601 and 1900

• 1626 – William V, Duke of Bavaria.
• 1736 – Stephen Gray, an English astronomer and physicist.
• 1779 – William Boyce, an English organist and composer.
• 1799 – Qianlong Emperor of China, one of the longest-reigning emperors in Chinese history.
• 1819 – Ann Radcliffe, a famous English author known for her gothic novels.
• 1837 – Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, a former king of Sweden.
• 1864 – Vuk Karadžić, a Serbian expert on language who helped modernize the Serbian language.
• 1871 – Henry E. Steinway, a German-American businessman who founded Steinway & Sons, a famous piano company.
• 1873 – Sheridan Le Fanu, an Irish author known for his mystery and horror stories.
• 1878 – Pope Pius IX, who was the head of the Catholic Church for a very long time.
• 1897 – Galileo Ferraris, an Italian physicist and engineer.

Died After 1900

• 1920 – Alexander Kolchak, a Russian admiral and explorer.
• 1937 – Elihu Root, an American lawyer and politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1938 – Harvey Samuel Firestone, an American businessman who founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
• 1942 – Ivan Bilibin, a Russian illustrator and stage designer.
• 1959 – Nap Lajoie, an American baseball player who is in the Hall of Fame.
• 1960 – Igor Kurchatov, a Russian physicist who was a key figure in the Soviet atomic bomb project.
• 1972 – Walter Lang, an American film director.
• 1994 – Witold Lutosławski, a famous Polish composer and conductor.
• 1999 – King Hussein of Jordan, who ruled Jordan for many years.
• 2000 – Doug Henning, a Canadian magician and politician.
• 2001 – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, an American author and pilot.
• 2009 – Blossom Dearie, an American singer and pianist.
• 2015 – Billy Casper, an American golfer.
• 2015 – Dean Smith, a very successful American basketball coach.
• 2017 – Richard Hatch, an American actor.
• 2017 – Hans Rosling, a Swedish academic known for his engaging presentations on global health.
• 2019 – Albert Finney, a well-known English actor.
• 2020 – Li Wenliang, a Chinese ophthalmologist who was among the first to warn about the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

Holidays and Celebrations

• Independence Day (Grenada): This day celebrates when Grenada became independent from the United Kingdom in 1974.
• National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States): A day to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in the Black community.

See also

In Spanish: 7 de febrero para niños