December 7
Events
Pre-1600
- 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated in Formia on orders of Marcus Antonius.
- 574 - Byzantine Emperor Justin II, suffering recurring seizures of insanity, adopts his general Tiberius and proclaims him as Caesar.
- 927 - The Sajid emir of Adharbayjan, Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj is defeated and captured by the Qarmatians near Kufa.
1601–1900
- 1703 - The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, makes landfall. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people die.
- 1724 - Tumult of Thorn: Religious unrest is followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn by Polish authorities.
- 1732 - The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, England.
- 1776 - Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arranges to enter the American military as a major general.
- 1787 - Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1837 - The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, the only battle of the Upper Canada Rebellion, takes place in Toronto, where the rebels are quickly defeated.
- 1842 - First concert of the New York Philharmonic, founded by Ureli Corelli Hill.
1901–present
- 1904 - Comparative fuel trials begin between warships and : Spiteful was the first warship powered solely by fuel oil, and the trials led to the obsolescence of coal in ships of the Royal Navy.
- 1917 - World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1922 - The Parliament of Northern Ireland votes to remain a part of the United Kingdom and not unify with Southern Ireland.
- 1930 - W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts telecasts video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The telecast also includes the first television advertisement in the United States, for I.J. Fox Furriers, which also sponsored the radio show.
- 1932 - German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa.
- 1936 - Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
- 1941 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
- 1942 - World War II: British commandos conduct Operation Frankton, a raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour.
- 1944 - An earthquake along the coast of Wakayama Prefecture in Japan causes a tsunami which kills 1,223 people.
- 1946 - A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
- 1949 - Chinese Civil War: The Government of the Republic of China moves from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan.
- 1962 - Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.
- 1963 - Instant replay makes its debut during the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
- 1965 - Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously revoke mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054.
- 1971 - The Battle of Sylhet is fought between the Pakistani military and the Indian Army.
- 1971 - Pakistan President Yahya Khan announces the formation of a coalition government with Nurul Amin as Prime Minister and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Deputy Prime Minister.
- 1972 - Apollo 17, the last Apollo Moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.
- 1982 - In Texas, Charles Brooks Jr., becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.
- 1982 - The Senior Road Tower collapses in less than 17 seconds. Five workers on the tower are killed and three workers on a building nearby are injured.
- 1983 - An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid–Barajas Airport, killing 93 people.
- 1987 - Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, a British Aerospace 146-200A, crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and steers the plane into the ground.
- 1988 - The 6.8 Armenian earthquake shakes the northern part of the country with a maximum MSK intensity of X, killing 25,000–50,000 and injuring 31,000–130,000.
- 1993 - Long Island Rail Road shooting: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.
- 1995 - The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.
- 1995 - Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949 crashes into the Bo-Dzhausa Mountain, killing 98.
- 1995 - An Air Saint Martin Beechcraft 1900 crashes near the Haitian commune of Belle Anse, killing 20.
- 2003 - The Conservative Party of Canada is officially registered, following the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
- 2005 - Rigoberto Alpizar, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 924 who allegedly claimed to have a bomb, is shot and killed by a team of U.S. federal air marshals at Miami International Airport.
- 2014 - The annual furry convention Midwest FurFest is targeted in an unsolved chlorine gas attack.
- 2015 - The JAXA probe Akatsuki successfully enters orbit around Venus five years after the first attempt.
- 2016 - Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661, a domestic passenger flight from Chitral to Islamabad, operated by an ATR-42-500 crashes near Havelian, killing all 47 on board.
- 2017 - Aztec High School shooting: William Atchison kills two students at his former high school.
- 2024 - Battle of Damascus : Syrian opposition forces enter the Rif Dimashq Governorate, reaching within 20 km of the capital Damascus.
- 2025 - British racing driver Lando Norris wins the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2025 with McLaren.
- 2025 - An attempted coup takes place in Benin, but is thwarted, and order restored.
Births
Pre-1600
- 521 - Columba, Irish missionary, monk, and saint
- 903 - Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Persian astronomer and author
- 967 - Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr, Persian Sufi poet
- 1302 - Azzone Visconti, Italian nobleman
- 1532 - Louis I, German nobleman and politician
- 1545 - Henry Stuart, English-Scottish husband of Mary, Queen of Scots
- 1561 - Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese daimyō
- 1595 - Injo of Joseon, Korean king
- 1598 - Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian sculptor and painter
1601–1900
- 1643 - Giovanni Battista Falda, Italian architect and engraver
- 1637 - Bernardo Pasquini, Italian organist and composer
- 1756 - John Littlejohn, American sheriff and Methodist preacher
- 1764 - Claude Victor-Perrin, French general and politician
- 1784 - Allan Cunningham, Scottish author and poet
- 1791 - Ferenc Novák, Hungarian-Slovene priest and poet
- 1792 - Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Dutch author and academic
- 1801 - Johann Nestroy, Austrian actor and playwright
- 1810 - Josef Hyrtl, Hungarian-Austrian anatomist and biologist
- 1810 - Theodor Schwann, German physiologist and biologist
- 1823 - Leopold Kronecker, Polish-German mathematician and academic
- 1838 - Thomas Bent, Australian businessman and politician, 22nd Premier of Victoria
- 1860 - Joseph Cook, English-born Australian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1861 - Henri Mathias Berthelot, French general during World War I
- 1862 - Paul Adam, French author
- 1863 - Felix Calonder, Swiss soldier and politician, 36th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1863 - Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer and conductor
- 1863 - Richard Warren Sears, American businessman, co-founded Sears
- 1869 - Frank Laver, Australian cricketer
- 1873 - Willa Cather, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
- 1878 - Akiko Yosano, Japanese author, poet, pioneering feminist, pacifist, and social reformer
- 1879 - Rudolf Friml, Czech-American pianist, composer, and academic
- 1884 - John Carpenter, American sprinter
- 1885 - Mason Phelps, American golfer
- 1885 - Peter Sturholdt, American boxer and painter
- 1887 - Ernst Toch, Austrian-American composer and songwriter
- 1888 - Joyce Cary, Irish novelist
- 1888 - Hamilton Fish III, American captain and politician
- 1892 - Stuart Davis, American painter and academic
- 1893 - Fay Bainter, American actress
- 1893 - Hermann Balck, German general
- 1894 - Freddie Adkins, English author and illustrator
- 1900 - Kateryna Vasylivna Bilokur, Ukrainian folk artist
1901–present
- 1902 - Hilda Taba, Estonian architect, author, and educator
- 1903 - Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician, physicist, and academic
- 1904 - Clarence Nash, American voice actor and singer
- 1905 - Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-American astronomer and academic
- 1906 - Erika Fuchs, German translator
- 1907 - Fred Rose, Polish-Canadian politician and spy
- 1909 - Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet and author
- 1910 - Duncan McNaughton, Canadian high jumper and geologist
- 1910 - Louis Prima, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and actor
- 1912 - Daniel Jones, Welsh captain and composer
- 1913 - Kersti Merilaas, Estonian author and poet
- 1915 - Leigh Brackett, American author and screenwriter
- 1915 - Eli Wallach, American actor
- 1920 - Tatamkhulu Afrika, South African poet and author
- 1920 - Fiorenzo Magni, Italian cyclist
- 1920 - Walter Nowotny, Austrian-German soldier and pilot
- 1921 - Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian guru and scholar
- 1923 - Intizar Hussain, Indian-Pakistani author and scholar
- 1924 - Bent Fabric, Danish pianist and composer
- 1924 - John Love, Zimbabwean race car driver
- 1924 - Mary Ellen Rudin, American mathematician
- 1924 - Mário Soares, Portuguese historian, lawyer, and politician, 17th President of Portugal
- 1925 - Hermano da Silva Ramos, French-Brazilian race car driver
- 1925 - Max Zaslofsky, American basketball player and coach
- 1926 - William John McNaughton, American bishop
- 1927 - Jack S. Blanton, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1927 - Helen Watts, Welsh opera singer
- 1928 - Noam Chomsky, American linguist and philosopher
- 1928 - Mickey Thompson, American race car driver
- 1930 - Christopher Nicole, Guyanese-English author
- 1930 - Hal Smith, American baseball player
- 1931 - Allan B. Calhamer, American game designer, created Diplomacy
- 1931 - Bobby Osborne, American bluegrass singer and musician
- 1932 - Ellen Burstyn, American actress
- 1932 - Oktay Ekşi, Turkish journalist and politician
- 1932 - Rosemary Rogers, American journalist and author
- 1932 - J. B. Sumarlin, Indonesian economist and politician, 17th Indonesian Minister of Finance
- 1932 - Bobby Whitton, Australian rugby league player
- 1933 - Krsto Papić, Croatian director and screenwriter
- 1935 - Armando Manzanero, Mexican musician, singer and composer
- 1936 - Martha Layne Collins, American politician, 56th Governor of Kentucky
- 1937 - Stan Boardman, English comedian
- 1937 - Thad Cochran, American lawyer and politician
- 1937 - Kenneth Colley, English actor
- 1940 - Gerry Cheevers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1941 - Melba Pattillo Beals, American journalist and activist
- 1942 - Harry Chapin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 - Alex Johnson, American baseball player
- 1942 - Reginald F. Lewis, American businessman
- 1942 - Peter Tomarken, American game show host and producer
- 1943 - Susan Isaacs, American author and screenwriter
- 1943 - Jóhann Ársælsson, Icelandic politician
- 1943 - Nick Katz, American mathematician and academic
- 1943 - Bernard C. Parks, American police officer and politician
- 1943 - John Bennett Ramsey, American businessman and pilot
- 1944 - Daniel Chorzempa, American organist and composer
- 1944 - Miroslav Macek, Czech dentist and politician
- 1947 - Johnny Bench, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1947 - Anne Fine, English author
- 1947 - James Keach, American actor, producer, and director
- 1947 - Garry Unger, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1948 - Gary Morris, American country singer-songwriter and actor
- 1948 - Tony Thomas, American screenwriter and producer
- 1949 - James Rivière, Italian sculptor and jeweler
- 1949 - Tom Waits, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1950 - Ron Hynes, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 - Susan Collins, American politician
- 1952 - Eckhard Märzke, German footballer and manager
- 1952 - Davinder Singh, Indian field hockey player
- 1954 - Mary Fallin, American businesswoman and politician, 27th Governor of Oklahoma
- 1954 - Mark Hofmann, a.k.a. the Mormon Murderer; American counterfeiter, forger of fake Mormon historical documents, and convicted murderer
- 1955 - John Watkins, Australian educator and politician, 14th Deputy Premier of New South Wales
- 1956 - Larry Bird, American basketball player and coach
- 1956 - Chuy Bravo, Mexican-American comedian and actor
- 1956 - Iveta Radičová, Slovak politician
- 1956 - Anna Soubry, British politician
- 1957 - Geoff Lawson, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
- 1957 - Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Nigerian career-diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly
- 1957 - Tom Winsor, English lawyer and civil servant
- 1958 - Tim Butler, English bass player and songwriter
- 1958 - Rick Rude, American wrestler and sportscaster
- 1959 - Saleem Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer
- 1960 - Craig Scanlon, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1962 - Alain Blondel, French decathlete
- 1962 - Jeffrey Donaldson, Northern Irish politician
- 1962 - Imad Mughniyah, Lebanese activist
- 1963 - Theo Snelders, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1963 - Katsuya Terada, Japanese illustrator
- 1963 - Barbara Weathers, American R&B/soul singer
- 1964 - Hugo Blick, English filmmaker
- 1964 - Patrick Fabian, American actor
- 1964 - Peter Laviolette, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 - Deborah Bassett, Australian rower
- 1965 - Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1965 - Jeffrey Wright, American actor
- 1966 - C. Thomas Howell, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 - Shinichi Ito, Japanese motorcycle racer
- 1966 - Kazue Itoh, Japanese actress
- 1966 - Andres Kasekamp, Canadian-Estonian historian and academic
- 1966 - Louise Post, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 - Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1967 - Tino Martinez, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1967 - Nina Turner, American politician
- 1971 - Vladimir Akopian, Azerbaijani-Armenian chess player
- 1972 - Hermann Maier, Austrian skier
- 1972 - Tammy Lynn Sytch, American wrestler and manager
- 1973 - İbrahim Kutluay, Turkish basketball player
- 1973 - Hack Meyers, American wrestler and trainer
- 1973 - Terrell Owens, American football player
- 1973 - Fabien Pelous, French rugby player and coach
- 1973 - Damien Rice, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
- 1974 - Nicole Appleton, Canadian singer and actress
- 1974 - Manuel Martínez Gutiérrez, Spanish shot putter and actor
- 1975 - Jamie Clapham, English footballer and coach
- 1975 - Mia Love, American politician
- 1976 - Alan Faneca, American football player
- 1976 - Ivan Franceschini, Italian footballer
- 1976 - Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
- 1976 - Derek Ramsay, Filipino-British actor, model and television personality
- 1976 - Sunny Sweeney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 - Benoît Tréluyer, French race car driver
- 1976 - Joris Vandenbroucke, Belgian politician
- 1977 - Eric Chavez, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1977 - Luke Donald, English golfer
- 1977 - Dominic Howard, English drummer and producer
- 1978 - Shiri Appleby, American actress, director, and producer
- 1978 - Suzannah Lipscomb, English historian, academic and television presenter
- 1979 - Sara Bareilles, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
- 1979 - Jennifer Carpenter, American actress
- 1979 - Lampros Choutos, Greek-Italian footballer
- 1979 - Ayako Fujitani, Japanese actress and screenwriter
- 1980 - Dan Bilzerian, American poker player and internet celebrity
- 1980 - John Terry, English footballer
- 1982 - Lou Amundson, American basketball player
- 1982 - Jack Huston, English actor
- 1983 - Mike Mucitelli, American mixed martial artist
- 1983 - Al Thornton, American basketball player
- 1984 - Aaron Gray, American basketball player
- 1984 - Robert Kubica, Polish race car driver
- 1984 - Milan Michálek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1984 - Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer
- 1985 - Jon Moxley, American wrestler
- 1986 - Billy Horschel, American golfer
- 1986 - Nita Strauss, American guitarist
- 1987 - Aaron Carter, American singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and actor
- 1988 - Nathan Adrian, American swimmer
- 1988 - Emily Browning, Australian actress and singer
- 1988 - Angelina Gabueva, Russian tennis player
- 1988 - Andrew Goudelock, American basketball player
- 1989 - Kyle Hendricks, American baseball player
- 1989 - Nicholas Hoult, English actor
- 1989 - Philip Larsen, Danish ice hockey player
- 1989 - Alessandro Marchi, Italian footballer
- 1989 - Kevin Séraphin, French basketball player
- 1990 - Cameron Bairstow, Australian basketball player
- 1990 - David Goffin, Belgian tennis player
- 1990 - Aleksandr Menkov, Russian long jumper
- 1990 - Yasiel Puig, Cuban baseball player
- 1990 - Urszula Radwańska, Polish tennis player
- 1991 - Eugenio Pisani, Italian race car driver
- 1991 - Chris Wood, New Zealand footballer
- 1992 - Sean Couturier, American-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1993 - Rahama Sadau, Nigerian actress
- 1993 - Alex Singleton, American football player
- 1994 - Pete Alonso, American baseball player
- 1994 - Geno Chiarelli, American politician
- 1994 - Yuzuru Hanyu, Japanese figure skater
- 1994 - Hunter Henry, American football player
- 1997 - Abi Harrison, Scottish footballer
- 1997 - Tommy Nelson, American actor
- 1998 - Tony Yike Yang, Canadian pianist
- 1999 - Boo Buie, American basketball player
- 1999 - Pavol Regenda, Slovak ice hockey player
- 2000 - Dane Belton, American football player
- 2001 - Jalen McMillan, American football player
- 2002 - Torri Huske, American swimmer