Historical Events on February 7

  • 1812: Near the town of New Madrid in Missouri, one of the strongest earthquakes in a whole series of them strikes.
  • 1854: Legislation is passed that allowed the founding of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
  • 1863: Almost 190 people are killed when the HMS Orpheus sinks off of the coast of Auckland, New Zealand.
  • 1904: A fire breaks out in the city of Baltimore in Maryland. It ends up destroying over fifteen hundred buildings in just over one day.
  • 1907: The first procession organized by the NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies), called the Mud March, begins on this day.
  • 1940: The Walt Disney film Pinocchio premiers on this day.
  • 1943: Japanese Naval forces finish evacuating Imperial Japanese forces from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke. This thereby ends the attempt by the Japanese to retake the island from Allied forces.
  • 1944: In response to the Allied Operation Shingle, Italian and German forces launch a counteroffensive during WWII.
  • 1951: Over seven hundred suspected communist sympathizers are killed by South Korean troops during the Korean War.
  • 1962: The importation of all Cuban goods into the United States and all exports from the U.S to Cuba are banned by the United States.
  • 1984: The 1st untethered space walk using the MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit) is performed by Astronauts Robert L. Stewart and Bruce McCandless II during the STS-41B Mission.
  • 1990: The Soviet Communist Party agrees to relinquish its monopoly of power during the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Famous Birthdays on February 7

  • American blacksmith and founder of Deere & Co., John Deere is born in 1804.
  • English novelist Charles Dickens is born in 1812.
  • American author, Laura Ingalls Wilder is born in 1867.
  • American actress and silent film producer, Anita Stewart is born in 1895.
  • American actor James Spader is born in 1960.
  • American singer-songwriter Garth Brooks is born in 1962.
  • English comedian and actor, Eddie Izzard is born in 1962.
  • American comedian, actor and screenwriter, Chris Rock is born in 1965.