On This Day in History — November 7

Highlights of November 7

• 2000 — Hillary Clinton was elected as a US senator from New York, the first time a first lady had been elected to public office. Read more
• 1996 — NASA launched the Mars Global Surveyor from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Read more
• 1991 — Magic Johnson announced his retirement from professional basketball due to HIV infection. Read more
• 1987 — Singapore's first Mass Rapid Transit line opened, with train services running between Yio Chu Kang and Toa Payoh. Read more
• 1987 — Tunisian prime minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali deposed and replaced President Habib Bourguiba by declaring him medically unfit for the duties of the office. Read more
• 1972 — A ship collision with the Sidney Lanier Bridge in the U.S. state of Georgia resulted in a bridge collapse (pictured), which killed ten people. Read more
• 1949 — Oil was discovered in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan, leading to the construction of Neft Daşları, the world's first offshore oil platform. Read more
• 1934 — The first specimens of the tufted jay (pictured) to be scientifically described were collected in Mexico. Read more
• 1917 — World War I: British forces captured Gaza following the retreat of the Ottoman garrison. Read more
• 1916 — In the congressional elections, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives. Read more
• 1893 — Between 20 and 30 people were killed in the Liceu bombing, a terrorist attack by the Spanish anarchist Santiago Salvador. Read more
• 1861 — American Civil War: Future U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant engaged in his first combat leadership role in the Battle of Belmont in Mississippi County, Missouri. Read more
• 1837 — American abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, during an attack to destroy his printing press and abolitionist materials. Read more
• 1825 — Jereboam O. Beauchamp murdered Kentucky legislator Solomon P. Sharp; Beauchamp later became the first person legally executed in the state. Read more
• 1811 — Tecumseh's War: American forces led by William Henry Harrison defeated the forces of Shawnee leader Tecumseh's growing confederation at the Battle of Tippecanoe near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana. Read more
• 1723 — O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60, a dialogue cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Leipzig, was first performed. Read more
• 680 — The Third Council of Constantinople convened to settle the Christological controversies of monoenergism and monothelitism. Read more

Events

• 2023 — António Costa resigns as Prime Minister of Portugal following news of an investigation in a corruption scandal implicating members of his cabinet. Read more
• 2020 — Joe Biden is confirmed elected as the 46th president of the United States, defeating incumbent Donald Trump. Read more
• 2017 — Shamshad TV is attacked by gunmen and suicide bombers, with a security guard killed and 20 people wounded; ISIS claims responsibility for the attack. Read more
• 2012 — An earthquake off the Pacific coast of Guatemala kills at least 52 people. Read more
• 2007 — The Jokela school shooting in Jokela, Tuusula, Finland, takes place, resulting in the death of nine people. Read more
• 2004 — Iraq War: The interim government of Iraq calls for a 60-day state of emergency as U.S. forces storm the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. Read more
• 2000 — The controversial US presidential election is later resolved in the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case, electing George W. Bush as the 43rd President of the United States. Read more
• 2000 — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration discovers one of the country's largest LSD labs inside a converted military missile silo in Wamego, Kansas. Read more
• 1996 — NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor. Read more
• 1996 — ADC Airlines Flight 086 crashes into the Lagos Lagoon in Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria, killing all 144 people on board. Read more
• 1994 — WXYC, the student radio station of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, launches the world's first internet radio broadcast. Read more
• 1991 — Magic Johnson announces that he is HIV-positive and retires from the NBA. Read more
• 1990 — Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland. Read more
• 1989 — Douglas Wilder wins the governor's seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States. Read more
• 1989 — David Dinkins becomes the first African American to be elected Mayor of New York City. Read more
• 1989 — East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph, along with his entire cabinet, is forced to resign after huge anti-government protests. Read more
• 1987 — In Tunisia, president Habib Bourguiba is overthrown and replaced by Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Read more
• 1987 — The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in Singapore opens for passenger service. Read more
• 1983 — United States Senate bombing: A bomb explodes inside the United States Capitol. No one is injured, but an estimated $250,000 in damage is caused. Read more
• 1983 — Cold War: The command post exercise Able Archer 83 begins, eventually leading to the Soviet Union to place air units in East Germany and Poland on alert, for fear that NATO was preparing for war Read more
• 1982 — Colonel Saye Zerbo, president of the military government of Upper Volta, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Colonel Gabriel Yoryan Somé. Read more
• 1975 — In Bangladesh, a joint force of people and soldiers takes part in an uprising led by Colonel Abu Taher that ousts and kills Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, freeing the then house-arrested army chief and future president Major General Ziaur Rahman. Read more
• 1973 — The United States Congress overrides President Richard Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval. Read more
• 1972 — United States presidential election: U.S. President Richard Nixon is re-elected in the largest landslide victory at the time. Read more
• 1967 — Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major American city. Read more
• 1967 — US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Read more
• 1957 — Cold War: The Gaither Report calls for more American missiles and fallout shelters. Read more
• 1956 — Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt. Read more
• 1956 — Hungarian Revolution: János Kádár returns to Budapest in a Soviet armored convoy, officially taking office as the next Hungarian leader. By this point, most armed resistance has been defeated. Read more
• 1949 — The first oil was taken in Oil Rocks (Neft Daşları), the world's oldest offshore oil platform. Read more
• 1944 — Soviet spy Richard Sorge, a half-Russian, half-German World War I veteran, is hanged by his Japanese captors along with 34 of his ring. Read more
• 1944 — Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected for a record fourth term as President of the United States. Read more
• 1941 — World War II: Soviet hospital ship Armenia is sunk by German planes while evacuating refugees and wounded military and staff of several Crimean hospitals. It is estimated that over 5,000 people died in the sinking. Read more
• 1940 — In Tacoma, Washington, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion. Read more
• 1936 — Spanish Civil War: The Madrid Defense Council is formed to coordinate the Defense of Madrid against nationalist forces. Read more
• 1933 — Fiorello H. La Guardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City. Read more
• 1931 — The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed on the anniversary of the October Revolution. Read more
• 1929 — In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public. Read more
• 1920 — Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow issues a decree that leads to the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Read more
• 1919 — The first Palmer Raid is conducted on the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Over 10,000 suspected communists and anarchists are arrested in 23 U.S. cities. Read more
• 1918 — The 1918 influenza epidemic spreads to Western Samoa, killing 7,542 (about 20% of the population) by the end of the year. Read more
• 1918 — Kurt Eisner overthrows the Wittelsbach dynasty in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Read more
• 1917 — The October Revolution, which gets its name from the Julian calendar date of 25 October, occurs, according to the Gregorian calendar; on this date, the Bolsheviks storm the Winter Palace. Read more
• 1917 — World War I: The Third Battle of Gaza ends, with British forces capturing Gaza from the Ottoman Empire. Read more
• 1916 — Jeannette Rankin is the first woman elected to the United States Congress. Read more
• 1916 — Woodrow Wilson is reelected as President of the United States. Read more
• 1916 — Boston Elevated Railway Company's streetcar No. 393 smashes through the warning gates of the open Summer Street drawbridge in Boston, Massachusetts, plunging into the frigid waters of Fort Point Channel, killing 46 people. Read more
• 1914 — The German colony of Kiaochow Bay and its centre at Tsingtao are captured by Japanese forces. This leaves Germany without a far east base. Read more
• 1913 — The first day of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, a massive blizzard that ultimately killed 250 and caused over $5 million (about $159,243,000 in 2024 dollars) damage. Winds reach hurricane force on this date. Read more
• 1912 — The Deutsche Opernhaus (now Deutsche Oper Berlin) opens in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg, with a production of Beethoven's Fidelio. Read more
• 1910 — The first air freight shipment (from Dayton, Ohio, to Columbus, Ohio) is undertaken by the Wright brothers and department store owner Max Morehouse. Read more
• 1907 — Jesús García saves the entire town of Nacozari de García by driving a burning train full of dynamite six kilometres (3.7 miles) away before it can explode. Read more
• 1900 — Second Boer War: The Battle of Leliefontein takes place, during which the Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses. Read more
• 1893 — Women's suffrage: Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote, the second state to do so. Read more
• 1893 — An anarchist throws two bombs in Barcelona's Liceu opera house, killing 20. Read more
• 1885 — The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway is symbolized by the Last Spike ceremony at Craigellachie, British Columbia. Read more
• 1881 — Mapuche uprising of 1881: Mapuche rebels destroy the Chilean settlement of Nueva Imperial after defenders fled to the hills. Read more
• 1874 — A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party. Read more
• 1861 — American Civil War: Battle of Belmont: In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive. Read more
• 1861 — The first Melbourne Cup horse race is held in Melbourne, Australia. Read more

Born on November 7

• 2001 — Amybeth McNulty, Irish actress Read more
• 2000 — Callum Hudson-Odoi, English footballer Read more
• 1999 — Mink Nutcharut, Thai snooker player Read more
• 1998 — Hongjoong, South Korean rapper, singer, producer, and songwriter Read more
• 1998 — Trevor Rainbolt, American social media personality Read more
• 1997 — Erika Hendsel, Estonian tennis player Read more
• 1997 — Nana Okada, Japanese singer Read more
• 1996 — Lorde, New Zealand singer-songwriter Read more
• 1995 — Cody Ware, American racer car driver Read more
• 1994 — Gervonta Davis, American boxer Read more
• 1994 — Haruna Iikubo, Japanese singer and actress Read more
• 1994 — Algee Smith, American actor and singer Read more
• 1992 — Apisai Koroisau, Australian-Fijian rugby league player Read more
• 1991 — Felix Rosenqvist, Swedish race car driver Read more
• 1990 — Daniel Ayala, Spanish footballer Read more
• 1990 — Matt Corby, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
• 1990 — David de Gea, Spanish footballer Read more
• 1990 — Joelle Hadjia, Australian singer-songwriter Read more
• 1989 — Sonny Gray, American baseball player Read more
• 1989 — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Russian singer and political activist Read more
• 1988 — Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ukrainian tennis player Read more
• 1988 — Simone Favaro, Italian rugby player Read more
• 1988 — Gani Lawal, Nigerian-American basketball player Read more
• 1988 — Thomas Schneider, German sprinter Read more
• 1988 — Tinie Tempah, English rapper and producer Read more
• 1987 — Mitch Brown, Australian rugby league player Read more
• 1987 — Marek Semjan, Slovak tennis player Read more
• 1986 — Andy Hull, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
• 1986 — David Nelson, American football player Read more
• 1986 — Doukissa Nomikou, Greek model and television host Read more
• 1985 — Sebastian Aldén, Swedish motorcycle racer Read more
• 1985 — Darnell Jackson, American basketball player Read more
• 1985 — Lucas Neff, American actor Read more
• 1984 — Mihkel Aksalu, Estonian footballer Read more
• 1984 — Jonathan Bornstein, American-Israeli soccer player Read more
• 1984 — Gervais Randrianarisoa, Malagasy footballer Read more
• 1984 — Amelia Vega, Dominican actress and singer, Miss Universe 2003 Read more
• 1983 — Adam DeVine, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and singer Read more
• 1983 — Forrest Kline, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
• 1983 — Patrick Thoresen, Norwegian ice hockey player Read more

Died on November 7

• 2024 — Bruce Degen, American writer (born 1945) Read more
• 2023 — Frank Borman, American astronaut (born 1928) Read more
• 2021 — Dean Stockwell, American actor (born 1936) Read more
• 2020 — Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth and member of the House of Lords (born 1948) Read more
• 2019 — Janette Sherman, American physician, author, and pioneer in occupational and environmental health (born 1930) Read more
• 2017 — Roy Halladay, American baseball player (born 1977) Read more
• 2017 — Carl Sargeant, Welsh Assembly minister (born 1968) Read more
• 2017 — James R. Thompson Jr., American naval officer and engineer, 5th Director of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (born 1936) Read more
• 2016 — Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer-songwriter and poet (born 1934) Read more
• 2016 — Janet Reno, American lawyer and government official; Attorney General of the United States (1993–2001) (born 1938) Read more
• 2016 — Jimmy Young, British singer and radio personality (born 1921) Read more
• 2015 — Bappaditya Bandopadhyay, Indian director and poet (born 1970) Read more
• 2015 — Ri Ul-sol, North Korean marshal and politician (born 1921) Read more
• 2014 — Lincoln D. Faurer, American general (born 1928) Read more
• 2014 — Kajetan Kovič, Slovenian journalist and poet (born 1931) Read more
• 2014 — Allen Ripley, American baseball player (born 1952) Read more
• 2013 — John Cole, Irish-English journalist and author (born 1927) Read more
• 2013 — Ian Davies, Australian basketball player and coach (born 1956) Read more
• 2013 — Ron Dellow, English footballer and manager (born 1914) Read more
• 2013 — Joey Manley, American publisher, founded Modern Tales (born 1965) Read more
• 2013 — Jack Mitchell, American photographer and author (born 1925) Read more
• 2013 — Manfred Rommel, German lawyer and politician (born 1928) Read more
• 2012 — Carmen Basilio, American boxer (born 1927) Read more
• 2012 — Kevin O'Donnell, Jr., American author (born 1950) Read more
• 2012 — Glenys Page, New Zealand cricketer (born 1940) Read more
• 2012 — Sandy Pearson, Australian general (born 1918) Read more
• 2012 — Darrell Royal, American football player and coach (born 1924) Read more
• 2012 — Arthur K. Snyder, American lawyer and politician (born 1932) Read more
• 2011 — Joe Frazier, American boxer (born 1944) Read more
• 2011 — Takanosato Toshihide, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1952) Read more
• 2009 — Juanita Helms, American politician (born 1941) Read more
• 2007 — Earl Dodge, American activist and politician (born 1932) Read more
• 2007 — George W. George, American screenwriter and producer (born 1920) Read more
• 2006 — Aino Kukk, Estonian chess player and engineer (born 1930) Read more
• 2006 — Bryan Pata, American football player (born 1984) Read more
• 2006 — Johnny Sain, American baseball player and coach (born 1917) Read more
• 2006 — Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist and politician, co-founded L'Express (born 1924) Read more
• 2006 — Polly Umrigar, Indian cricketer and manager (born 1926) Read more
• 2005 — Harry Thompson, English author, screenwriter, and producer (born 1960) Read more
• 2004 — Howard Keel, American actor and singer (born 1919) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: All Dominican Saints and Blesseds; Christian feast day: Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (Lutheran); Christian feast day: Engelbert II of Berg; Christian feast day: Herculanus of Perugia; Christian feast day: John Christian Frederick Heyer (Lutheran); Christian feast day: Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen (Lutheran); Christian feast day: Prosdocimus; Christian feast day: Vicente Liem de la Paz (one of Vietnamese Martyrs); Christian feast day: Willibrord; Christian feast day: November 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Students' Day, the anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar's school entry day. (Maharashtra, India); Commemoration Day, the anniversary of Ben Ali's succession. (Tunisia); Hungarian Opera Day (Hungary); International Inuit Day; National Day, after Treaty of the Pyrenees. (Northern Catalonia, France); National Revolution and Solidarity Day (Bangladesh); October Revolution Day (the Soviet Union (former, official), modern Belarus, Kyrgyzstan); Tokhu Emong (Lotha Naga people of India)

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