October 7Birthdays & History

On this day: October 7 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 3761 BCThe epoch reference date (start) of the modern Hebrew calendar.Middle East
2. 1403Venetian–Genoese wars: The Genoese fleet under a French admiral is defeated by a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon.Europe
3. 1477Uppsala University is inaugurated after receiving its corporate rights from Pope Sixtus IV in February the same year.Europe
4. 1513War of the League of Cambrai: Spain defeats Venice.Europe
5. 1571The Battle of Lepanto is fought, and the Ottoman Navy suffers its first defeat.Middle East
6. 1691The charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is issued.North America
7. 1763King George III issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing Indigenous lands in North America north and west of the Alleghenies to white settlements.North America
8. 1777American Revolutionary War: The Americans defeat British forces under general John Burgoyne in the Second Battle of Saratoga, also known as the Battle of Bemis Heights, compelling Burgoyne's eventual surrender.North AmericaEurope
9. 1780American Revolutionary War: American militia defeat royalist irregulars led by British major Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina, often regarded as the turning point in the war's Southern theater.North AmericaEurope
10. 1800French corsair Robert Surcouf, commander of the 18-gun ship La Confiance, captures the British 38-gun Kent.Europe
11. 1826The Granite Railway begins operations as the first chartered railway in the U.S.North America
12. 1828Morea expedition: The city of Patras, Greece, is liberated by the French expeditionary force.Europe
13. 1840Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.Europe
14. 1864American Civil War: A US Navy ship captures a Confederate raider in a Brazilian seaport.North AmericaLatin America
15. 1868Cornell University holds opening day ceremonies; initial student enrollment is 412, the highest at any American university to that date.North America
16. 1870Franco-Prussian War: Léon Gambetta escapes the siege of Paris in a hot-air balloon.Europe
17. 1879Germany and Austria-Hungary sign the "Twofold Covenant" and create the Dual Alliance.Europe
18. 1912The Helsinki Stock Exchange sees its first transaction.Europe
19. 1913Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving vehicle assembly line.North America
20. 1916Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222–0 in the most lopsided college football game in American history.North America
21. 1919KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, is founded. It is the oldest airline still operating under its original name.Europe
22. 1924Andreas Michalakopoulos becomes prime minister of Greece for a short period of time.Europe
23. 1929Photius II becomes Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.Middle East
24. 1940World War II: The McCollum memo proposes bringing the United States into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the United States.North AmericaEuropeAsia
25. 1944World War II: The Sonderkommando Revolt in Auschwitz was an uprising of prisoners (especially the Sonderkommando) at the Auschwitz concentration camp, they burnt down Crematorium IV.Europe
26. 1949The communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is formed.Europe
27. 1950Mother Teresa establishes the Missionaries of Charity.Asia
28. 1958The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état inaugurates a prolonged period of military rule.Asia
29. 1958The U.S. crewed space-flight project is renamed to Project Mercury.North America
30. 1959The Soviet probe Luna 3 transmits the first-ever photographs of the far side of the Moon.Europe
31. 1961A Douglas Dakota IV operated by Derby Aviation (later renamed to British Midland International) crashes in Canigou, France, killing 34 people.Europe
32. 1963Buddhist crisis: Amid worsening relations, outspoken South Vietnamese First Lady Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu arrives in the US for a speaking tour, continuing a flurry of attacks on the Kennedy administration.AsiaNorth America
33. 1963President Kennedy signs the ratification of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.North America
34. 1977The Fourth Soviet Constitution is adopted.Europe
35. 1978Aeroflot Flight 1080 crashes after takeoff from Koltsovo International Airport, killing 38.Europe
36. 1979Swissair Flight 316 crashes at Ellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece, killing 14.Europe
37. 1985Four men from the Palestine Liberation Front hijack the MS Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt.Middle East
38. 1985The Mameyes landslide kills almost 200 people in Puerto Rico.Latin America
39. 1987Sikh nationalists declare the independence of Khalistan from India; it is not internationally recognized.Asia
40. 1988A hunter discovers three gray whales trapped under the ice near Alaska; the situation becomes a multinational effort to free the whales.North America
41. 1991Croatian War of Independence: Bombing of the Banski Dvori in Zagreb, Croatia.Europe
42. 1993The flood of '93 ends at St. Louis, Missouri, 103 days after it began, as the Mississippi River falls below flood stage.North America
43. 1996Fox News Channel begins broadcasting.North America
44. 2000Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Hezbollah militants capture three Israeli Defense Force soldiers in a cross-border raid.Middle East
45. 2001The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins with an air assault and covert operations on the ground, starting the longest war in American history.North AmericaAsia
46. 2002The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-112 to continue assembly of the International Space Station.North America
47. 2004Three bombs explode at Taba and Nuweiba in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, killing 34.Middle East
48. 2008Asteroid 2008 TC3 impacts the Earth over Sudan, the first time an asteroid impact is detected prior to its entry into Earth's atmosphere.Africa
49. 2008Qantas Flight 72 experiences an in-flight upset near Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia, injuring 112.Oceania
50. 2016In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the death toll rises to over 800.Latin AmericaNorth America
51. 2022Ten people are killed and eight are injured in an explosion at petrol station in Creeslough, Ireland.Europe
52. 2022Ales Bialiatski, along with two organisations, Memorial & Center for Civil Liberties, are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.Europe
53. 2023Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launch an attack into Israel, which results in the deaths of around 1,200, mostly civilians, and the taking of 251 hostages, including civilians and soldiers.Middle East

Source: Wikipedia "October 7" / CC BY-SA 4.0