July 7
July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining.
Events
- 1456 - Joan of Arc is acquitted of heresy (having been executed in 1431).
- 1534 - European colonization of the Americas: First known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in New Brunswick.
- 1543 - French troops invade Luxembourg.
- 1798 - Quasi-War: The U.S. Congress rescinds treaties with France sparking the 'war.'
- 1799 - Ranjit Singh's men take up their positions outside Lahore.
- 1807 - Napoleonic Wars: Peace of Tilsit between France, Prussia and Russia ends the Fourth Coalition.
- 1846 - Mexican War: Acting on instructions from Washington, DC, Commodore John Drake Sloat orders his troops to occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena, thus beginning the United States annexation of California.
- 1863 - United States begins first military draft; exemptions cost $100
- 1865 - American Civil War: Four conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln are hanged; Mary E. Surratt, Lewis T. Powell, David E. Herold, and George A. Atzerodt.
- 1898 - History of United States imperialism: President of the United States William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
- 1917 - Russian Revolution: Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov forms Provisional Government in Russia after the deposing of the tsar.
- 1930 - Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam).
- 1937 - Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge - Japanese forces invade Beijing, China.
- 1941 - World War II: American forces land in Iceland to forestall an invasion by Germany.
- 1947 - Downed UFO believed to be found in the Roswell UFO incident.
- 1946 - Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American saint to be canonized.
- 1954 - In Memphis, Tennessee, WHBQ becomes the first radio station to air an Elvis Presley record.
- 1958 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into United States law.
- 1959 - 14:28 UT Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event (which will next occur on October 1, 2044) was used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere.
- 1969 - The Official Languages Act is adopted by the Canadian Government in which the French language is made equal to English language throughout the Federal government.
- 1978 - The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1983 - Cold War: Samantha Smith, a U.S. schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Premier Yuri Andropov
- 1991 - Yugoslav Wars: Brioni Agreement ended ten-day independence war in Slovenia against the rest of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 1994 - Aden is occupied by troops from North Yemen, completing the reunification of Yemen.
- 2004 - The last patent on the LZW compression algorithm (in Canada) expires.
- 2005 - Terrorist explosions which coincide with G8 summit in Scotland occur on the London Underground network and on a London Bus.
Births
- 1752 - Joseph-Marie Jacquard, French inventor (d. 1834)
- 1855 - Ludwig Ganghofer, writer (d. 1920)
- 1860 - Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer (d. 1911)
- 1884 - Lion Feuchtwanger, German dramatist and narrator (d. 1958)
- 1887 - Marc Chagall, Belarusian-born painter (d. 1985)
- 1893 - Miroslav Krleža, Croatian writer (d. 1981)
- 1899 - George Cukor, American director (d. 1983)
- 1901 - Vittorio De Sica, Italian director (d. 1974)
- 1901 - Gustav Knuth, actor (d. 1978)
- 1901 - Sam Katzman, American film producer (d. 1973)
- 1906 - William Feller, Croatian mathematician (d.1970)
- 1906 - Leroy "Satchel" Paige, American baseball player (d. 1982)
- 1907 - Robert Heinlein, American science fiction writer (d. 1988)
- 1911 - Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer
- 1915 - Yul Brynner, Russian-born actor (d. 1985)
- 1919 - Jon Pertwee, British actor (d. 1996)
- 1922 - Pierre Cardin, French fashion designer
- 1927 - Doc Severinsen, American composer and musician
- 1933 - Murray Halberg, New Zealand runner
- 1937 - Tung Chee-Hwa, first chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- 1940 - Ringo Starr, English drummer and singer (The Beatles)
- 1941 - Bill Oddie, English comedian and ornithologist
- 1942 - Carmen Duncan, Australian actress
- 1945 - Michael Ancram, British politician
- 1947 - Howard Rheingold American author
- 1949 - Shelley Duvall, American actress
- 1959 - Ben Linder, American engineer (murdered) (d. 1987)
- 1966 - Gundula Krause, German folk violinist
- 1967 - Jackie Neal, American blues singer
- 1969 - Joe Sakic, Canadian hockey player
- 1974 - Karlis Skrastins, Latvian-born hockey player
- 1975 - Michael Voss, Australian Rules footballer
- 1980 - Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
- 1980 - Deidre Downs, Miss America
Deaths
- 1129 - Emperor Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1053)
- 1304 - Pope Benedict XI, (possibly poisoned) (b. 1240)
- 1307 - King Edward I of England (b. 1239)
- 1537 - Madeleine de Valois, queen of James V of Scotland (b. 1520)
- 1572 - King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland (b. 1520)
- 1816 - Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright and politician (b. 1751)
- 1880 - Lydia Child, American novelist and abolitionist (b. 1802)
- 1901 - Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (b. 1827)
- 1924 - Calvin Coolidge Jr., son of President Calvin Coolidge (b. 1908)
- 1930 - Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer (b. 1859)
- 1949 - Bunk Johnson, American jazz musician (b. 1879 or 1889)
- 1956 - Gottfried Benn, German poet (b. 1886)
- 1964 - Lillian Copeland, American athlete (b. 1904)
- 1965 - Moshe Sharett, second Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1894)
- 1967 - Vivien Leigh, American actress (b. 1913)
- 1971 - Claude Gauvreau, Canadian writer (b. 1925)
- 1971 - Ub Iwerks, American artist, director, and cartoonist (b1901)
- 1972 - King Talal, King of Jordan (b. 1909)
- 1972 - Athenagoras, Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 1886)
- 1973 - Veronica Lake, American actress (b. 1919)
- 1973 - Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (b. 1895)
- 1980 - Dore Schary, American film producer, writer (b. 1905)
- 1990 - Bill Cullen, American game show host (b. 1920)
- 2000 - Kenny Irwin, Jr., American race car driver (b. 1969)
- 2003 - Izhak Graziani, Bulgarian-born conductor (b. 1924)
Holidays and observances
- Bhutan - Guru Rinpoche
- Japan - Tanabata
- Roman Empire - Nonae Caprotinae festival in honor of Juno
- Russia and Ukraine - Ivan Kupala
- Solomon Islands - Independence Day (1978)
- Spain - San Fermín festival or running of the bulls, in Pamplona, Navarre.
- Tanzania - Saba Saba Day (or Peasants' Day, founding of the TANU party, 1954)
- Yemen - Unity Factory Day
External links
July 6 - July 8 - June 7 - August 7 -- listing of all days