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On This Day in History — August 7
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Highlights of August 7
- 2020 — Air India Express Flight 1344 overshot the runway at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, India, and crashed, killing 21 of the 190 people on board. Read more
- 1998 — Car bombs exploded simultaneously at the American embassies in the East African capital cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 4,000 others. Read more
- 1987 — Lynne Cox became the first person to swim between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, crossing from Little Diomede to Big Diomede in the Bering Strait in 2 hours and 5 minutes. Read more
- 1985 — Five members of the Bamber family were found murdered at a farmhouse in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, England. Read more
- 1970 — Jonathan Jackson took hostages in a courthouse in Marin County, California, to coerce the release of the Soledad Brothers, resulting in the deaths of judge Harold Haley and three others. Read more
- 1955 — Hurricane Diane, the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than $1 billion in damages, formed between the Lesser Antilles and Cape Verde. Read more
- 1946 — The Soviet Union informed Turkey that the way in which the latter was handling the Turkish Straits no longer represented the security interests of Turkey's fellow Black Sea nations, escalating the Turkish Straits crisis. Read more
- 1944 — IBM presented the first program-controlled calculator to Harvard University, after which it became known as the Mark I (pictured). Read more
- 1942 — World War II: U.S. Marines initiated the first American offensive of the Guadalcanal campaign, with landings on Tulagi (pictured), Gavutu–Tanambogo and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Read more
- 1914 — The Battle of Mulhouse began with France's first attack of World War I in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to recover the region of Alsace from Germany. Read more
- 1909 — Fifty-nine days after leaving New York City with three passengers, Alice Huyler Ramsey arrived in San Francisco to become the first woman to drive an automobile across the contiguous United States. Read more
- 1897 — Mahdist War: Anglo-Egyptian soldiers clashed with Mahdist Sudanese rebels in the Battle of Abu Hamed. Read more
- 1850 — The first section of the Great Northern Railway, now the southern section of the East Coast Main Line, opened between London and Peterborough. Read more
- 1782 — The Badge of Military Merit (pictured), the precursor to the U.S. Purple Heart, was established as a military decoration of the Continental Army. Read more
- 1744 — Prussia declared its intervention in the War of the Austrian Succession on behalf of Charles VII, beginning the Second Silesian War. Read more
- 1461 — Ming Chinese general Cao Qin staged a failed coup against the Tianshun Emperor. Read more
Events
- 2026 — Debsirin Nonthaburi school shooting Read more
- 2020 — Air India Express Flight 1344 overshoots the runway at Calicut International Airport in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India, and crashes, killing 21 of the 190 people on board. Read more
- 2008 — The start of the Russo-Georgian War over the territory of South Ossetia. Read more
- 2007 — At AT&T Park, Barry Bonds hits his 756th career home run to surpass Hank Aaron's 33-year-old record. Read more
- 1999 — The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades neighboring Dagestan. Read more
- 1998 — Bombings at United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya kill approximately 212 people. Read more
- 1997 — Space Shuttle Program: The Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-85 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Read more
- 1997 — Fine Air Flight 101 crashes after takeoff from Miami International Airport, killing five people. Read more
- 1995 — The Chilean government declares state of emergency in the southern half of the country in response to an event of intense, cold, wind, rain and snowfall known as the White Earthquake. Read more
- 1993 — Ada Deer, a Menominee activist, is sworn in as the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Read more
- 1990 — First American soldiers arrive in Saudi Arabia as part of the Gulf War. Read more
- 1989 — U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia. Read more
- 1989 — The National Cold Fusion Institute opened in Salt Lake City. Read more
- 1987 — Cold War: Lynne Cox becomes the first person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union, crossing the Bering Strait from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union. Read more
- 1985 — Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts. Read more
- 1981 — The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication. Read more
- 1978 — U.S. President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been disposed of negligently. Read more
- 1976 — Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars. Read more
- 1974 — Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 feet (417 m) in the air. Read more
- 1970 — California judge Harold Haley is taken hostage in his courtroom and killed during an effort to free George Jackson from police custody. Read more
- 1969 — Richard Nixon appoints Luis R. Bruce, a Mohawk-Oglala Sioux and co-founder of the National Congress of American Indians, as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Read more
- 1964 — Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces. Read more
- 1962 — Canadian-born American pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey is awarded the U.S. President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for her refusal to authorize thalidomide. Read more
- 1960 — Ivory Coast becomes independent from France. Read more
- 1959 — Explorer program: Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Read more
- 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 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America. Read more
- 1947 — The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). Read more
- 1946 — The government of the Soviet Union presented a note to its Turkish counterparts which refuted the latter's sovereignty over the Turkish Straits, thus beginning the Turkish Straits crisis. Read more
- 1944 — IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I). Read more
- 1942 — World War II: The Battle of Guadalcanal begins as the United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. Read more
- 1933 — The Kingdom of Iraq slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele. This date is recognized as Martyrs Day or National Day of Mourning by the Assyrian community in memory of the Simele massacre. Read more
- 1930 — The last confirmed lynching of black people in the Northern United States occurs in Marion, Indiana; two men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, are murdered. Read more
- 1927 — The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. Read more
- 1926 — The first British Grand Prix was held at Brooklands. Read more
- 1909 — Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York, New York to San Francisco, California. Read more
- 1890 — Anna Månsdotter, found guilty of the 1889 Yngsjö murder, becomes the last woman to be executed in Sweden.[better source needed] Read more
- 1858 — The first Australian rules football match is played between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College. Read more
- 1819 — Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá. Read more
- 1794 — U.S. President George Washington invokes the Militia Acts of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. Read more
- 1791 — American troops destroy the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua near the site of present-day Logansport, Indiana in the Northwest Indian War. Read more
- 1789 — The United States Department of War is established. Read more
- 1786 — The first federal Indian Reservation is created by the United States. Read more
- 1782 — George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart. Read more
- 1743 — The Treaty of Åbo ends the 1741–1743 Russo-Swedish War. Read more
- 1714 — The Battle of Gangut: The first important victory of the Russian Navy. Read more
- 1679 — The brigantine Le Griffon becomes the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America. Read more
- 1479 — Battle of Guinegate: French troops of King Louis XI are defeated by the Burgundians led by Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg. Read more
- 1461 — The Ming dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor. Read more
- 936 — Coronation of King Otto I of Germany. Read more
- 768 — Pope Stephen III is elected to office, and quickly seeks Frankish protection against the Lombard threat, since the Byzantine Empire is no longer able to help. Read more
- 626 — The Avar and Slav armies leave the siege of Constantinople. Read more
- 610 — Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628: Sassanid troops under general Shahrbaraz conquer the town of Zenobia. Read more
- 461 — Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in north-west Italy following his arrest and deposition by the magister militum Ricimer. Read more
Born on August 7
- 2000 — Lauren Hemp, English footballer Read more
- 1999 — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, American hurdler and sprinter Read more
- 1998 — Vladimir Barbu, Italian diver Read more
- 1998 — María Belén Bazo, Peruvian windsurfer Read more
- 1998 — Jalen Hurts, American football player Read more
- 1997 — Matty Cash, English-Polish footballer Read more
- 1997 — Kyler Murray, American football player Read more
- 1996 — Dani Ceballos, Spanish footballer Read more
- 1993 — Martti Nõmme, Estonian ski jumper Read more
- 1993 — Karol Zalewski, Polish sprinter Read more
- 1992 — E. J. Tackett, American bowler Read more
- 1992 — Wout Weghorst, Dutch footballer Read more
- 1992 — Adam Yates, English cyclist Read more
- 1992 — Simon Yates, English cyclist Read more
- 1991 — Luis Salom, Spanish motorcycle racer (died 2016) Read more
- 1991 — Mike Trout, American baseball player Read more
- 1991 — Mitchell te Vrede, Dutch footballer Read more
- 1990 — Jake Allen, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1990 — Josh Franceschi, English singer-songwriter Read more
- 1989 — DeMar DeRozan, American basketball player Read more
- 1988 — Jonathan Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1988 — Mohamed Coulibaly, Senegalese footballer Read more
- 1988 — Melody Oliveria, American blogger Read more
- 1988 — Erik Pieters, Dutch footballer Read more
- 1988 — Beanie Wells, American football player Read more
- 1987 — Sidney Crosby, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1987 — Mustapha Dumbuya, Sierra Leonean footballer Read more
- 1987 — Ryan Lavarnway, American baseball player Read more
- 1987 — Rouven Sattelmaier, German footballer Read more
- 1986 — Paul Biedermann, German swimmer Read more
- 1986 — Valter Birsa, Slovenian footballer Read more
- 1986 — Altaír Jarabo, Mexican model and actress Read more
- 1986 — Juan de la Rosa, Mexican boxer Read more
- 1984 — Stratos Perperoglou, Greek basketball player Read more
- 1984 — Tooba Siddiqui, Pakistani model and actress Read more
- 1984 — Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (died 2003) Read more
- 1983 — Christian Chávez, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor Read more
- 1983 — Murat Dalkılıç, Turkish singer-songwriter Read more
- 1983 — Danny, Portuguese footballer Read more
- 1983 — Andriy Hrivko, Ukrainian cyclist Read more
Died on August 7
- 2025 — Myint Swe, retired army general and acting president of Myanmar (born 1951) Read more
- 2024 — Jon McBride, American astronaut (born 1943) Read more
- 2023 — William Friedkin, American film director (born 1935) Read more
- 2022 — David McCullough, American historian and author (born 1933) Read more
- 2021 — Markie Post, American actress (born 1950) Read more
- 2021 — Trevor Moore, American comedian (born 1980) Read more
- 2019 — David Berman, American musician, singer, poet and cartoonist (born 1967) Read more
- 2018 — M. Karunanidhi, Indian politician, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and prominent leader of Tamils (born 1924) Read more
- 2018 — Stan Mikita, Slovak hockey player (born 1940) Read more
- 2017 — Don Baylor, American baseball player (born 1949) Read more
- 2017 — David Maslanka, American composer (born 1943) Read more
- 2016 — Bryan Clauson, American racing driver (born 1989) Read more
- 2015 — Manuel Contreras, Chilean general (born 1929) Read more
- 2015 — Frances Oldham Kelsey, Canadian pharmacologist and physician (born 1914) Read more
- 2015 — Louise Suggs, American golfer, co-founded LPGA (born 1923) Read more
- 2014 — Víctor Fayad, Argentine lawyer and politician (born 1955) Read more
- 2014 — Perry Moss, American football player and coach (born 1926) Read more
- 2014 — Henry Stone, American record producer (born 1921) Read more
- 2013 — Samuel G. Armistead, American linguist, historian, and academic (born 1927) Read more
- 2013 — Almir Kayumov, Russian footballer (born 1964) Read more
- 2013 — Anthony Pawson, English-Canadian biologist, chemist, and academic (born 1952) Read more
- 2013 — Margaret Pellegrini, American actress and dancer (born 1923) Read more
- 2013 — Meeli Truu, Estonian architect (born 1946) Read more
- 2013 — Alexander Yagubkin, Russian boxer (born 1961) Read more
- 2012 — Murtuz Alasgarov, Azerbaijani academic and politician, Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan (born 1928) Read more
- 2012 — Judith Crist, American critic and academic (born 1922) Read more
- 2012 — Vladimir Kobzev, Russian footballer and coach (born 1959) Read more
- 2012 — Anna Piaggi, Italian journalist and author (born 1931) Read more
- 2012 — Mayer Zald, American sociologist and academic (born 1931) Read more
- 2012 — Dušan Zbavitel, Czech indologist and author (born 1925) Read more
- 2011 — Mark Hatfield, American soldier, academic, and politician, 29th Governor of Oregon (born 1922) Read more
- 2011 — Nancy Wake, New Zealand-English captain and spy (born 1912) Read more
- 2010 — John Nelder, English mathematician and statistician (born 1924) Read more
- 2009 — Louis E. Saavedra, American educator and politician, 48th Mayor of Albuquerque (born 1933) Read more
- 2009 — Mike Seeger, American singer-songwriter (born 1933) Read more
- 2008 — Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (born 1931) Read more
- 2008 — Andrea Pininfarina, Italian engineer and businessman (born 1957) Read more
- 2007 — Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director, and producer (born 1917) Read more
- 2007 — Angus Tait, New Zealand businessman, founded Tait Communications (born 1919) Read more
- 2006 — Mary Anderson Bain, American lawyer and politician (born 1911) Read more
Holidays & observances
Assyrian Martyrs Day (Assyrian community); Battle of Boyacá Day (Colombia); Christian feast day:
Afra; Christian feast day:
Albert of Trapani; Christian feast day:
Cajetan of Thienna; Christian feast day:
Carpophorus and companions; Christian feast day:
Dometius of Persia; Christian feast day:
Donatus of Arezzo; Christian feast day:
Donatus of Besançon; Christian feast day:
Donatus of Muenstereifel; Christian feast day:
Blessed Edward Bamber, John Woodcock and Thomas Whittaker; Christian feast day:
Felicissimus and Agapitus; Christian feast day:
John Mason Neale (Episcopal Church (USA)); Christian feast day:
Nantovinus; Christian feast day:
Pope Sixtus II; Christian feast day:
August 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Christian feast day:
Filseta (Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church); Emancipation Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis); Republic Day (Ivory Coast); Youth Day (Kiribati); National Purple Heart Day (United States)
Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “August 7”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.