On this day in History - Feb. 7

• 0457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
• 0780 - Nicetas dies. Patriarch of Constantinople.
• 1045 - Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan dies (b. 1009)
• 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio wherein the prince of Benevento, Pandulf IV, is killed battling the encroaching Normans.
• 1102 - Empress Matilda was born (d. 1169). Princess of England and wife of Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire.
• 1301 - Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first Prince of Wales.
• 1317 - Robert, Count of Clermont dies (b. 1256). French founder of the House of Bourbon.
• 1478 - Sir Thomas More was born (d. 1535). English statesman and humanist, author.
• 1502 - Hugo Boncompagni was born. Pope Gregorio XIII.
• 1550 - Julius III becomes Pope.
• 1560 - Bartolommeo Bandinelli dies (b. 1493). Italian sculptor.
• 1569 - Se establece la Inquisición en América.
• 1602 - El pirata británico William Parker toma al asalto la ciudad de San Felipe de Portobelo (Panamá).
• 1612 - Thomas Killigrew was born (d. 1683). English dramatist.
• 1613 - Mikhail Romanov becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1626 - William V, Duke of Bavaria dies (b. 1548) .
• 1639 - La Academie Française publica el primer diccionario de la lengua francesa.
• 1642 - William Bedell dies (b. 1571). English clergyman.
• 1652 - Gregorio Allegri dies (b. 1582). Italian composer.
• 1690 - William Morice dies. English royalist statesman.
• 1693 - Paul Pellisson dies (b. 1624). French writer.
• 1693 - Empress Anna of Russia was born (d. 1740)
• 1736 - Stephen Gray dies (b. 1666). English astronomer and scientist.
• 1779 - William Boyce dies (b. 1711). English composer.
• 1795 - The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed.
• 1799 - Qianlong dies (b. 1711). Emperor of China.
• 1801 - Daniel Chodowiecki dies (b. 1726). Polish painter.
• 1803 - Hector Berlioz was born (d. 1869). French composer
• 1804 - John Deere was born (d. 1886). American manufacturer (Deere & Company)
• 1807 - Napoléon's French Empire began fighting against Russian and Prussian forces of the Fourth Coalition at the Battle of Eylau in Eylau, Poland.
• 1812 - The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes .
• 1812 - Charles Dickens was born (d. 1870). English novelist (Oliver Twist; David Copperfield).
• 1819 - Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking over it, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar.
• 1822 - Joaquín Gaztambide was born. Spanish composer.
• 1823 - Ann Radcliffe dies (b. 1764). English novelist.
• 1825 - Francisco Metrass was born (d. 14 Feb 1861). Portuguese painter.
• 1826 - El Congreso argentino nombra primer presidente de la República a Bernardino Rivadavia.
• 1830 - Marcos Portugal dies (b. 24 Mar 1762). Portuguese composer.
• 1833 - Ricardo Palma was born. Peruvian writer.
• 1834 - Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was born (d. 1907). Chemist and inventor of the Periodic table of the chemical elements.
• 1834 - Estanislao del Campo was born in Buenos Aires (d. 1880). Argentine poet, journalist and politician.
• 1837 - King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden dies (b. 1778).
• 1839 - Karl August Nicander dies (b. 1799). Swedish poet.
• 1842 - Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien
• 1842 - Alexandre Ribot was born (d. 1923). French statesman.
• 1848 - Doroteo Vasconcelos toma posesión de la Presidencia de El Salvador.
• 1849 - Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera was born (d. 1909). Peruvian novelist, writer and women rights defender (El Conspirador, La influencia de la mujer en la civilización)
• 1856 - The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of legislation (the Electoral Act 1856) anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot.
• 1863 - HMS Orpheus sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189.
• 1867 - Laura Ingalls Wilder was born (d. 1957). American author.
• 1870 - Alfred Adler was born (d. 1937). Austrian psychologist.
• 1871 - Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg dies (b. 1797). Piano manufacturer (Steinway & Sons)
• 1873 - Sheridan Le Fanu dies (b. 1814). Irish writer.
• 1877 - Godfrey Harold Hardy was born (d. 1947). English mathematician.
• 1878 - Pope Pius IX dies (b. 1792) .
• 1882 - In Mississippi City, the last heavyweight boxing championship bare-knuckle fight takes place.
• 1883 - Eubie Blake was born (d. 1983). American musician, composer.
• 1885 - Hugo Sperrlen was born (d. 1953). German field marshal.
• 1885 - Sinclair Harry Lewis was born (d. 1951). American author who was the 1st American Nobel prize-winning author in 1930.
• 1887 - Eubie Blake was born (d. 1983). American musician and composer.
• 1887 - Hernâni Cidade was born in Redondo (d. 1975). Portuguese essayst and teacher.
• 1889 - Harry Nyquist was born (d. 1976). Important contributor to information theory.
• 1891 - Ann Little was born (d. 1984). American actress.
• 1893 - Elisha Gray of Highland Park, Illinois, patented a machine called the telautograph. It automatically signed autographs to documents.
• 1894 - The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
• 1895 - Anita Stewart was born (d. 1961). American film actress.
• 1897 - Benito Pérez Galdós ingresa en la Real Academia Española.
• 1897 - Galileo Ferraris dies (b. 1847). Italian physicist.
• 1898 - Dock Boggs was born (d. 1971). American musician.
• 1898 - Emile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse.
• 1900 - The British Labour Party is formed.
• 1902 - Clementina de Jesus was born (d. 1987). Brazilian singer.
• 1904 - A fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.
• 1904 - Ernst Ginsberg was born (d. 1964). Actor and film director.
• 1905 - Paul Nizan was born (d. 1940). French author .
• 1905 - Ulf von Euler was born (d. 1983). Swedish physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1906 - Oleg Antonov was born (d. 1984). Soviet aircraft designer.
• 1906 - Puyi was born (d. 1967). Emperor of China.
• 1908 - Buster Crabbe was born (d. 1983). Olympic Games swimming gold medalist, actor.
• 1909 - Dom Helder Pessoa Câmara was born. Brazilian Roman catholic archbishop.
• 1910 - Max Bense was born (d. 1990). German philosopher.
• 1911 - Carybé was born (d. 1997). Brazilian artist (painter, muralist, engraver, ceramist) and journalist and historian
• 1914 - Charlie Chaplin first appears as "The Little Tramp", as his first film Kid Auto Races at Venice is released at Keystone Studios.
• 1914 - Ramón Mercader was born (d. 1978). Assassin of Leon Trotsky.
• 1915 - Eddie Bracken was born (d. 2002). American actor.
• 1915 - Teoctist was born (d. 2007). Ex-Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
• 1917 - Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima, in Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos, is founded
• 1918 - Markey Robinson was born (d. 1999). Northern Irish painter.
• 1919 - William Halford was born. American naval officer and Medal of Honor recipient.
• 1920 - Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak dies (b. 1874). Russian military commander.
• 1920 - An Wang was born (d. 1990). Chinese-born computer pioneer.
• 1922 - Hattie Jacques was born (d. 1980). English actress.
• 1926 - Konstantin Feoktistov was born. Cosmonaut.
• 1927 - Juliette Greco was born. French singer and actor.
• 1927 - Vladimir Kuts was born. Russian runner.
• 1932 - Gay Talese was born. American author .
• 1932 - Al Worden was born. American astronaut.
• 1933 - John Anderton was born. English footballer.
• 1934 - Earl King was born (d. 2003). American musician.
• 1934 - Eddie Fenech Adami was born. President of Malta.
• 1934 - King Curtis was born (d. 1971). American saxophonist.
• 1937 - Juan Pizarro was born. Major League Baseball pitcher.
• 1937 - Elihu Root dies. American politician Nobel Peace Prize in 1912.
• 1938 - S. Ramachandran Pillai was born. Indian communist leader.
• 1938 - Harvey Firestone dies (b. 1868). American manufacturer.
• 1939 - Boris Grigoriev dies (b. 1886). Russian painter.
• 1940 - Pinocchio, an Academy Award-winning animated feature based on the story Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, was first released by Walt Disney Productions.
• 1940 - Yvette Centeno was born. Portuguese writer.
• 1941 - Peter Foxhall was born. Australian evangelist.
• 1942 - In Drakulici, Banja Luka, Croatian Nazis kill 2,300 Serbian civilians, among them 551 children.
• 1942 - Ivan Bilibin dies (b. 1876). Russian illustrator.
• 1943 - World War II: In the United States it is announced that shoe rationing will go into effect in two days.
• 1943 - Gareth Hunt was born (d. 2007). English actor.
• 1944 - World War II: In Anzio, Italy Nazi forces launch a counteroffensive.
• 1944 - World War II: American Aircraft carrier strike on Truk.
• 1945 - Pete Postlethwaite was born. English actor.
• 1945 - Gerald Davies was born. Welsh rugby player.
• 1945 - Ian Jack was born. Scottish journalist
• 1946 - Hector Babenco was born. Brazilian film director (Kiss of the Spider Woman)
• 1947 - Joe Shea was born. American journalist
• 1947 - Se establece la base chilena Arturo Prat en la Antártida.
• 1948 - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff and was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.
• 1949 - Joe English was born. American drummer
• 1949 - Paulo César Carpegiani was born. Brazilian footballer and coach.
• 1951 - Benny Ayala was born. Baseball player.
• 1952 - Vasco Rossi was born. Italian singer.
• 1952 - Sebastião da Gama dies (b. 1924). Portuguese poet.
• 1953 - Lige Curry was born. Musician (P Funk).
• 1953 - Dan Quisenberry was born (d. 1998). Baseball pitcher.
• 1954 - Brian Morton was born. Scottish writer.
• 1954 - Dieter Bohlen was born. German Composer and Performer (Modern Talking) .
• 1955 - Mario Coutinho was born. Brazilian physician.
• 1955 - Rolf Benirschke was born. American football player.
• 1955 - Miguel Ferrer was born. American actor.
• 1956 - Emo Philips was born. American comedian.
• 1956 - Mark St. John was born (d. 2007). American musician (Kiss).
• 1957 - Carney Lansford was born. American baseball player.
• 1957 - Richard Cook was born (d. 2007). British jazz writer.
• 1958 - Manuel Mijares was born. Mexican singer.
• 1959 - Guitar Slim dies (b. 1926). American blues guitarist.
• 1960 - James Spader was born. American actor (Pretty in Pink, Stargate).
• 1960 - Igor Kurchatov dies (b. 1903). Russian phsycist.
• 1962 - The United States Government bans all US-related Cuban imports and exports.
• 1962 - Garth Brooks was born. American singer.
• 1962 - Eddie Izzard was born. British actor and comedian.
• 1962 - David Bryan was born. American musician (Bon Jovi)
• 1962 - Clara Nordström dies (b. 1886). German writer and translator.
• 1963 - Learco Guerra dies (b. 1902). Italian cyclist.
• 1964 - The Beatles arrived on their first visit to the United States.
• 1965 - Chris Rock was born. American comedian and actor.
• 1965 - Jason Gedrick was born. American actor.
• 1966 - Paul Williams creates the rock music magazine Crawdaddy!.
• 1967 - A fire at a restaurant in Montgomery, Alabama kills 25 people.
• 1967 - Chris Rock was born. American comedian and actor.
• 1967 - Richie Burnett was born. Welsh darts player
• 1967 - Cheung Man was born. Hong Kong actress
• 1968 - Peter Bondra was born. Ukrainian-born hockey player
• 1968 - Sully Erna was born. American singer (Godsmack)
• 1968 - Peter Bondra was born. Ukranian-born hockey player.
• 1968 - Nick Adams dies (b. 1931). American actor.
• 1969 - The original Hetch Hetchy Moccasin Powerhouse is removed from service.
• 1969 - Yves Racine was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1971 - Women gain the right to vote in Switzerland.
• 1972 - Alex Bassi was born. American race car driver.
• 1972 - Robyn Lively was born. American actress.
• 1973 - Juwan Howard was born. American basketball player.
• 1973 - Ferdinand Schörner dies (b. 1892). German field marshal.
• 1974 - Grenada becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
• 1974 - Steve Nash was born. Canadian NBA star.
• 1974 - J Dilla was born (d. 2006). American hip-hop producer.
• 1974 - Emma McLaughlin was born. American novelist.
• 1975 - Wes Borland was born. American guitarist (Limp Bizkit).
• 1975 - Alexandre Daigle was born. National Hockey League player.
• 1976 - Darryl Sittler sets NHL record with 10 points in one game.
• 1976 - Future Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores six goals and records four assists in an 11-4 victory over the Boston Bruins, setting a NHL record with 10 points in one game.
• 1976 - Sreto Ristić was born. German footballer.
• 1977 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24.
• 1977 - Paul Comrie was born. Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 - Ashton Kutcher was born. American actor
• 1978 - Daniel Van Buyten was born. Belgian international footballer
• 1978 - Endy Chávez was born. Baseball player
• 1978 - David Aebischer was born. National Hockey League goaltender
• 1978 - Ashton Kutcher was born. American actor.
• 1979 - Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either planet was known to science.
• 1979 - The final session of Iranian National Consultative Assembly is held.
• 1979 - Cerina Vincent was born. American actress.
• 1979 - Jon Leicester was born. American baseball player.
• 1979 - Josef Mengele dies (b. 1911). Nazi war criminal.
• 1980 - Secondo Campini dies (b. 1904). Italian jet pioneer.
• 1983 - Christian Klien was born. Austrian Fórmula 1 car driver.
• 1984 - Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission - Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).
• 1984 - Francisco Lopes Ribeiro - O Ribeirinho - dies in Lisbon (b. 21 Sep 1911). Portuguese actor.
• 1985 - Tina Majorino was born. American actress
• 1985 - "New York, New York" becomes the official city anthem of New York City.
• 1985 - Matt Monro dies (b. 1932). English singer.
• 1985 - Nuno Bragança dies (b. 1929). Portuguese writer ( A noite e o riso)
• 1986 - 28 years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.
• 1986 - Cheikh Anta Diop dies (b. 1923). Senegalese historian.
• 1987 - Madonna’s Open Your Heart hit #1 in the U.S. It was the third straight number-one single from her True Blue album
• 1988 - Ai Kago was born. Japanese singer (W (Double You), Morning Musume, and MiniMoni)
• 1988 - Matthew Stafford was born. American college footabll player.
• 1989 - Louisa Lytton was born. British actress.
• 1990 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly of power.
• 1990 - Jimmy Van Heusen dies (b. 1913). American songwriter.
• 1991 - Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.
• 1991 - The IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.
• 1991 - Amos Yarkoni dies (b. 1920). Legendary Israeli soldier.
• 1991 - Jean-Paul Mousseau dies (b. 1927). Quebec painter, member of Les Automatistes.
• 1992 - The Maastricht Treaty is signed, which will lead to the creation of the European Union.
• 1992 - Buzz Sawyer dies. Wrestler
• 1993 - Lillian Gish dies (b. 1893). American actress .
• 1994 - Paul Anka was honored at the French music industry’s annual awards in Paris for his song My Way. It became Frank Sinatra’s signature song.
• 1994 - Witold Lutosławski dies (b. 1913). Polish composer.
• 1994 - Stephen Milligan dies of autoerotic asphyxiation (b. 1948). British journalist and politician.
• 1995 - Ramzi Yousef, the alleged mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• 1996 - Ciento ochenta y nueve personas mueren a consecuencia de un accidente aéreo frente a las costas de la República Dominicana.
• 1996 - Letsie III assume o trono do Lesoto.
• 1996 - Phillip Davidson dies (b. 1915). US Army general.
• 1997 - Chloe Moretz was born. American actress
• 1998 - The 1998 Winter Olympic Games open in Nagano, Japan.
• 1998 - Lawrence Sanders dies (b. 1920). American author.
• 1999 - Crown Prince Abdullah become the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.
• 1999 - King Hussein of Jordan dies (b. 1935) .
• 1999 - Bobby Troup dies (b. 1918). American musician and actor .
• 1999 - José Silva dies (b. 1914). American parapsychologist, author of Silva Method and the Silva UltraMind ESP System
• 2000 - Doug Henning dies (b. 1947). Canadian magician.
• 2000 - Big Pun dies (b. 1971). Puerto Rican rapper (b. 1971) .
• 2000 - Bahria University is established through the Presidential Ordinance No. V of 2000 of Government of Pakistan.
• 01 - Dale Evans dies (b. 1912). American actress and singer.
• 2001 - Anne Morrow Lindbergh dies (b. 1906). American author and aviator.
• 2002 - Lilí Del Mónico dies (b. 1910). Swiss-born Paraguayan artist and painter, co-founder of the group Arte Nuevo
• 2002 - Elisa Bridges dies (b. 1973). American model.
• 2003 - Augusto Monterroso dies (b. 1921). Guatemalan author.
• 2003 - Pioneer program: Last unsuccessful contact attempt with Pioneer 10.
• 2003 - Augusto Monterroso dies (b. 1921). Guatemalan author.
• 2003 - John Reading dies (b. 1917). Mayor of Oakland, California.
• 2004 - John Hench dies (b. 1908). American artistic designer for Walt Disney .
• 2004 - Rebeca Martinez, girl born with two heads, died of complications from surgery to remove extra head (b. 2003) .
• 2006 - Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar dies (b. 1914)
• 2007 - Suicide bombing at airport in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• 2007 - Pedro Mattar dies (b. 1936). Brazilian pianist.
• Independence Day in Grenada (1974).
• Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Mulk (Dominion) - First day of the 18th month of the Bahá'í Calendar.
• Sapporo Snow Festival in Sapporo, Japan (2005).