7 October

Events

Pre-1600

*3761 BC – The epoch reference date (start) of the modern Hebrew calendar.
* 1403 – Venetian–Genoese wars: The Genoese fleet under a French admiral is defeated by a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon.
* 1477 – Uppsala University is inaugurated after receiving its corporate rights from Pope Sixtus IV in February the same year.
* 1513 – War of the League of Cambrai: Spain defeats Venice.
*1571 – The Battle of Lepanto is fought, and the Ottoman Navy suffers its first defeat.

1601–1900

* 1691 – The charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is issued.
* 1763 – King George III issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing Indigenous lands in North America north and west of the Alleghenies to white settlements.
*1777 – American 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.
*1780 – American 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.
*1800 – French corsair Robert Surcouf, commander of the 18-gun ship ''La Confiance'', captures the British 38-gun ''Kent''.
*1826 – The Granite Railway begins operations as the first chartered railway in the U.S.
*1828 – Morea expedition: The city of Patras, Greece, is liberated by the French expeditionary force.
*1840 – Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.
*1864 – American Civil War: A US Navy ship captures a Confederate raider in a Brazilian seaport.
*1868 – Cornell University holds opening day ceremonies; initial student enrollment is 412, the highest at any American university to that date.
*1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Léon Gambetta escapes the siege of Paris in a hot-air balloon.
*1879 – Germany and Austria-Hungary sign the "Twofold Covenant" and create the Dual Alliance.

1901–present

*1912 – The Helsinki Stock Exchange sees its first transaction.
*1913 – Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving vehicle assembly line.
*1916 – Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222–0 in the most lopsided college football game in American history.
*1919 – KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, is founded. It is the oldest airline still operating under its original name.
* 1924 – Andreas Michalakopoulos becomes prime minister of Greece for a short period of time.
* 1929 – Photius II becomes Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
*1940 – World War II: The McCollum memo proposes bringing the United States into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the United States.
*1944 – World 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.
*1949 – The communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is formed.
*1950 – Mother Teresa establishes the Missionaries of Charity.
*1958 – The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état inaugurates a prolonged period of military rule.
* 1958 – The U.S. crewed space-flight project is renamed to Project Mercury.
*1959 – The Soviet probe Luna 3 transmits the first-ever photographs of the far side of the Moon.
*1961 – A Douglas Dakota IV operated by Derby Aviation (later renamed to British Midland International) crashes in Canigou, France, killing 34 people.
*1963 – President Kennedy signs the ratification of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
*1963 – Buddhist 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.
*1977 – The Fourth Soviet Constitution is adopted.
*1978 – Aeroflot Flight 1080 crashes after takeoff from Koltsovo International Airport, killing 38.
*1979 – Swissair Flight 316 crashes at Ellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece, killing 14.
*1985 – The Mameyes landslide kills almost 200 people in Puerto Rico.
* 1985 – Four men from the Palestine Liberation Front hijack the off the coast of Egypt.
*1987 – Sikh nationalists declare the independence of Khalistan from India; it is not internationally recognized.
* 1988 – A hunter discovers three gray whales trapped under the ice near Alaska; the situation becomes a multinational effort to free the whales.
*1991 – Croatian War of Independence: Bombing of the Banski Dvori in Zagreb, Croatia.
*1993 – The flood of '93 ends at St. Louis, Missouri, 103 days after it began, as the Mississippi River falls below flood stage.
*1996 – Fox News Channel begins broadcasting.
*1998 – Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, is found tied to a fence after being savagely beaten by two young adults in Laramie, Wyoming. He dies five days later.
*2000 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Hezbollah militants capture three Israeli Defense Force soldiers in a cross-border raid.
*2001 – The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins with an air assault and covert operations on the ground, starting the longest war in American history.
*2002 – The Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' launches on STS-112 to continue assembly of the International Space Station.
*2004 – Three bombs explode at Taba and Nuweiba in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, killing 34.
*2008 – Asteroid 2008 TC3 impacts the Earth over Sudan, the first time an asteroid impact is detected prior to its entry into Earth's atmosphere.
* 2008 – Qantas Flight 72 experiences an in-flight upset near Learmonth, Victoria, Australia, injuring 112.
*2016 – In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the death toll rises to over 800.
*2022 – 10 people die and 8 are injured in an explosion at petrol station in Creeslough.
* 2022 – Ales Bialiatski, along with two organisations, Memorial & Center for Civil Liberties, are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
*2023 – Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launch an attack into Israel, which results in the deaths of around 1,200, mostly civilians, and taking more than 240 hostages, including civilians and soldiers. The attack initiated the Gaza war.

Births

Pre-1600

*14 BC – Drusus Julius Caesar, Roman politician (died 23 AD)
* 1301 – Grand Prince Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver (died 1339)
*1409 – Elizabeth of Luxembourg (died 1442)
* 1471 – Frederick I of Denmark (died 1533)
* 1474 – Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Baden (died 1536)
* 1482 – Ernest, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (died 1553)
*1573 – William Laud, English archbishop and academic (died 1645)
* 1576 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (died 1634)
*1586 – Isaac Massa, Dutch diplomat (died 1643)
* 1589 – Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria (died 1631)
* 1591 – Pierre Le Muet, French architect (died 1669)
* 1597 – Captain John Underhill, English settler and soldier (died 1672)

1601–1900

* 1635 – Roger de Piles, French painter (died 1709)
*1713 – Granville Elliott, English general (died 1759)
*1728 – Caesar Rodney, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 4th Governor of Delaware (died 1784)
* 1744 – Sergey Vyazmitinov, Russian general and politician, War Governor of Saint Petersburg (died 1819)
*1746 – William Billings, American composer and educator (died 1800)
* 1748 – Charles XIII of Sweden (died 1818)
*1769 – Solomon Sibley, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 1st Mayor of Detroit (died 1846)
*1786 – Louis-Joseph Papineau, Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1871)
*1798 – Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, French instrument maker and businessman (died 1875)
*1799 – Mills Darden, one of the largest men ever in human history (died 1857)
*1819 – Ann Eliza Smith, American author and patriot (died 1905)
*1821 – Richard H. Anderson, American general (died 1879)
*1832 – Charles Crozat Converse, American lawyer and composer (died 1918)
* 1835 – Felix Draeseke, German composer and educator (died 1913)
*1836 – Henri Elzéar Taschereau, Canadian scholar and jurist, 4th Chief Justice of Canada (died 1911)
*1841 – Nicholas I of Montenegro (died 1921)
*1849 – James Whitcomb Riley, American poet and author (died 1916)
*1860 – Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (died 1936)
*1866 – Wlodimir Ledóchowski, Polish-Austrian religious leader, 26th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (died 1942)
*1870 – Uncle Dave Macon, American old-time country banjo player, singer-songwriter, and comedian (died 1952)
*1876 – Louis Tancred, South African cricketer (died 1934)
*1879 – Joe Hill, Swedish-born American labor activist and poet (died 1915)
* 1881 – Mikhail Drozdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian general (died 1918)
*1884 – Harold Geiger, American lieutenant and pilot (died 1927)
* 1885 – Niels Bohr, Danish physicist and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1962)
* 1885 – Claud Ashton Jones, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1948)
*1887 – Jack Russell, English cricketer and coach (died 1961)
* 1888 – Henry A. Wallace, American agronomist and politician, 33rd Vice President of the United States (died 1965)
* 1888 – Edna Meade Colson, American educator and activist (died 1985)
*1889 – Robert Z. Leonard, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1968)
*1892 – Dwain Esper, American director and producer (died 1982)
* 1893 – Alice Dalgliesh, Trinidadian-American author and publisher (died 1979)
*1895 – Maurice Grevisse, Belgian linguist and author (died 1980)
*1896 – Paulino Alcántara, Spanish Filipino football player and manager (died 1964)
*1897 – Elijah Muhammad, American religious leader (died 1975)
* 1897 – Thakin Mya, Burmese lawyer and politician (died 1947)
*1900 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician (died 1945)

1901–present

* 1901 – Frank Boucher, Canadian ice hockey player and executive (died 1977)
*1904 – Armando Castellazzi, Italian footballer and coach (died 1968)
* 1904 – Chuck Klein, American baseball player (died 1958)
* 1905 – Andy Devine, American actor (died 1977)
*1907 – Helen MacInnes, Scottish-American librarian and author (died 1985)
* 1909 – Anni Blomqvist, Finnish author (died 1990)
* 1909 – Shura Cherkassky, Ukrainian-American pianist and educator (died 1995)
* 1909 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American soldier and politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany (died 1983)
*1910 – Henry Plumer McIlhenny, American art collector and philanthropist (died 1986)
*1911 – Vaughn Monroe, American singer, trumpet player, and bandleader (died 1973)
*1912 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian architect and politician, 85th President of Peru (died 2002)
* 1912 – Peter Walker, English race car driver (died 1984)
*1913 – Simon Carmiggelt, Dutch journalist and author (died 1987)
* 1913 – Raimond Valgre, Estonian pianist, guitarist, and composer (died 1949)
*1914 – Begum Akhtar, Indian actress (died 1974)
* 1914 – Sarah Churchill, English actress (died 1982)
* 1914 – Alfred Drake, American actor and singer (died 1992)
* 1914 – Herman Keiser, American golfer (died 2003)
*1917 – June Allyson, American actress (died 2006)
*1918 – Harry V. Jaffa, American historian, philosopher, and academic (died 2015)
*1919 – Henriette Avram, American computer scientist and academic (died 2006)
* 1919 – Zelman Cowen, Australian academic and politician, 19th Governor-General of Australia (died 2011)
* 1919 – Georges Duby, French historian and author (died 1996)
*1920 – Georg Leber, German soldier and politician, German Federal Minister of Defence (died 2012)
* 1920 – Jack Rowley, English footballer and manager (died 1998)
*1921 – Raymond Goethals, Belgian footballer and coach (died 2004)
*1922 – Grady Hatton, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2013)
* 1922 – William Zinsser, American journalist and critic (died 2015)
*1923 – Irma Grese, German SS officer (died 1945)
* 1923 – Břetislav Pojar, Czech animator and director (died 2012)
* 1923 – Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (died 2002)
*1926 – Alex Groza, American basketball player (died 1995)
*1927 – Al Martino, American singer and actor (died 2009)
* 1927 – R. D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist and author (died 1989)
* 1927 – Demetrio González, Spanish-Mexican film actor and singer (died 2015)
*1928 – José Messias, Brazilian composer, singer, writer, host and critic (died 2015)
* 1928 – Ali Kafi, Algerian politician (died 2013)
* 1928 – Lorna Wing, English autism researcher (died 2014)
* 1929 – Graeme Ferguson, Canadian director and producer, co-founded the IMAX Corporation (died 2021)
* 1929 – Mariano Gagnon, American Catholic priest and author (died 2017)
* 1929 – Robert Westall, English journalist and author (died 1993)
*1930 – Curtis Crider, American race car driver (died 2012)
*1931 – Cotton Fitzsimmons, American basketball player and coach (died 2004)
* 1931 – Tommy Lewis, American football player and coach (died 2014)
* 1931 – R. Sivagurunathan, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and academic (died 2003)
* 1931 – Desmond Tutu, South African archbishop and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021)
*1932 – Joannes Gijsen, Dutch bishop (died 2013)
*1933 – Harold Dunaway, American race car driver and pilot (died 2012)
*1934 – Amiri Baraka, American poet, playwright, and academic (died 2014)
* 1934 – Ulrike Meinhof, German far-left terrorist, co-founder of the Red Army Faction, journalist (died 1976)
* 1934 – Willie Naulls, American basketball player (died 2018)
* 1934 – Julian Thompson, English general and historian
*1935 – Thomas Keneally, Australian novelist, playwright, and essayist
*1936 – Michael Hurll, English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2012)
*1937 – Christopher Booker, English journalist and author (died 2019)
* 1937 – Chet Powers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1994)
* 1937 – Maria Szyszkowska, Polish academic and politician
*1938 – Yvonne Brewster, Jamaican actress and theatre director
* 1938 – Ann Jones, English tennis player and sportscaster
*1939 – John Hopcroft, American computer scientist and author
* 1939 – Clive James

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