December 7 in History

British racing driver Lando Norris wins the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2025 with McLaren.

An attempted coup takes place in Benin, but is thwarted, and order restored.

Battle of Damascus (2024): Syrian opposition forces enter the Rif Dimashq Governorate, reaching within 20 km of the capital Damascus.

Aztec High School shooting: William Atchison kills two students at his former high school.

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.

The JAXA probe Akatsuki successfully enters orbit around Venus five years after the first attempt.

The annual furry convention Midwest FurFest is targeted in an unsolved chlorine gas attack.

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.

The Conservative Party of Canada is officially registered, following the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.

Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949 crashes into the Bo-Dzhausa Mountain, killing 98.

An Air Saint Martin (now Air Caraïbes) Beechcraft 1900 crashes near the Haitian commune of Belle Anse, killing 20.

Long Island Rail Road shooting: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.

The 6.8 Ms Armenian earthquake shakes the northern part of the country with a maximum MSK intensity of X (Devastating), killing 25,000–50,000 and injuring 31,000–130,000.

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.

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.

In Texas, Charles Brooks Jr., becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.

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.

Apollo 17, the last Apollo Moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.

The Battle of Sylhet is fought between the Pakistani military and the Indian Army.

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.

Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously revoke mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054.

Instant replay makes its debut during the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.

Chinese Civil War: The Government of the Republic of China moves from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan.

A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.

An earthquake along the coast of Wakayama Prefecture in Japan causes a tsunami which kills 1,223 people.

World War II: British commandos conduct Operation Frankton, a raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour.

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. (For Japan's near-simultaneous attacks on Eastern Hemisphere targets, see December 8.)

Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.

German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa.

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.

The Parliament of Northern Ireland votes to remain a part of the United Kingdom and not unify with Southern Ireland.

World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.

Comparative fuel trials begin between warships HMS Spiteful and HMS Peterel: 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.

First concert of the New York Philharmonic, founded by Ureli Corelli Hill.

The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, the only battle of the Upper Canada Rebellion, takes place in Toronto, where the rebels are quickly defeated.

Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arranges to enter the American military as a major general.

The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, England.

Tumult of Thorn: Religious unrest is followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Toruń) by Polish authorities.

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.

The Sajid emir of Adharbayjan, Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj is defeated and captured by the Qarmatians near Kufa.

Byzantine Emperor Justin II, suffering recurring seizures of insanity, adopts his general Tiberius and proclaims him as Caesar.

Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated in Formia on orders of Marcus Antonius.

Torri Huske, American swimmer

Jalen McMillan, American football player

Dane Belton, American football player

Boo Buie, American basketball player

Pavol Regenda, Slovak ice hockey player

Tony Yike Yang, Canadian pianist

Abi Harrison, Scottish footballer

Tommy Nelson, American actor

Pete Alonso, American baseball player

Geno Chiarelli, American politician

Yuzuru Hanyu, Japanese figure skater

Hunter Henry, American football player

Rahama Sadau, Nigerian actress

Alex Singleton, American football player

Sean Couturier, American-Canadian ice hockey player

Eugenio Pisani, Italian race car driver

Chris Wood, New Zealand footballer

Cameron Bairstow, Australian basketball player

David Goffin, Belgian tennis player

Aleksandr Menkov, Russian long jumper

Yasiel Puig, Cuban baseball player

Urszula Radwańska, Polish tennis player

Kyle Hendricks, American baseball player

Philip Larsen, Danish ice hockey player

Alessandro Marchi, Italian footballer

Kevin Séraphin, French basketball player

Nathan Adrian, American swimmer

Angelina Gabueva, Russian tennis player

Andrew Goudelock, American basketball player

Aaron Carter, American singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and actor (died 2022)

Billy Horschel, American golfer

Nita Strauss, American guitarist

Jon Moxley, American wrestler

Aaron Gray, American basketball player

Robert Kubica, Polish race car driver

Milan Michálek, Czech ice hockey player

Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer

Mike Mucitelli, American mixed martial artist

Al Thornton, American basketball player

Lou Amundson, American basketball player

Dan Bilzerian, American poker player and internet celebrity

John Terry, English footballer

Lampros Choutos, Greek-Italian footballer

Ayako Fujitani, Japanese actress and screenwriter

Suzannah Lipscomb, English historian, academic and television presenter

Eric Chavez, American baseball player and sportscaster

Luke Donald, English golfer

Dominic Howard, English drummer and producer

Alan Faneca, American football player

Ivan Franceschini, Italian footballer

Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player and politician

Derek Ramsay, Filipino-British actor, model and television personality

Benoît Tréluyer, French race car driver

Joris Vandenbroucke, Belgian politician

Jamie Clapham, English footballer and coach

Mia Love, American politician (died 2025)

Manuel Martínez Gutiérrez, Spanish shot putter and actor

Hack Meyers, American wrestler and trainer (died 2015)

Fabien Pelous, French rugby player and coach

Damien Rice, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer

Hermann Maier, Austrian skier

Tammy Lynn Sytch, American wrestler and manager

Vladimir Akopian, Azerbaijani-Armenian chess player

Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster

Tino Martinez, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster

Nina Turner, American politician

C. Thomas Howell, American actor, director,

Shinichi Ito, Japanese motorcycle racer

Kazue Itoh, Japanese actress

Andres Kasekamp, Canadian-Estonian historian and academic

Louise Post, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Deborah Bassett, Australian rower

Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer and manager

Peter Laviolette, American ice hockey player and coach

Theo Snelders, Dutch footballer and coach

Katsuya Terada, Japanese illustrator

Barbara Weathers, American R&B/soul singer

Alain Blondel, French decathlete

Jeffrey Donaldson, Northern Irish politician

Imad Mughniyah, Lebanese activist (died 2008)

Craig Scanlon, English guitarist and songwriter

Saleem Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer

Rick Rude, American wrestler and sportscaster (died 1999)

Geoff Lawson, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Nigerian career-diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (2019)

Tom Winsor, English lawyer and civil servant

Chuy Bravo, Mexican-American comedian and actor (died 2019)

Iveta Radičová, Slovak politician

Anna Soubry, British politician

John Watkins, Australian educator and politician, 14th Deputy Premier of New South Wales

Mary Fallin, American businesswoman and politician, 27th Governor of Oklahoma

Mark Hofmann, a.k.a. the Mormon Murderer; American counterfeiter, forger of fake Mormon historical documents, and convicted murderer

Susan Collins, American politician

Eckhard Märzke, German footballer and manager

Davinder Singh, Indian field hockey player (died 2026)

Ron Hynes, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2015)

James Rivière, Italian sculptor and jeweler

Tony Thomas, American screenwriter and producer

Anne Fine, English author

James Keach, American actor, producer, and director

Garry Unger, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster

Daniel Chorzempa, American organist and composer (died 2023)

Miroslav Macek, Czech dentist and politician (died 2024)

Susan Isaacs, American author and screenwriter

Jóhann Ársælsson, Icelandic politician

Nick Katz, American mathematician and academic

Bernard C. Parks, American police officer and politician

John Bennett Ramsey, American businessman and pilot

Alex Johnson, American baseball player (died 2015)

Reginald F. Lewis, American businessman (died 1993)

Peter Tomarken, American game show host and producer (died 2006)

Melba Pattillo Beals, American journalist and activist

Gerry Cheevers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Stan Boardman, English comedian

Thad Cochran, American lawyer and politician (died 2019)

Kenneth Colley, English actor (died 2025)

Martha Layne Collins, American politician, 56th Governor of Kentucky (died 2025)

Armando Manzanero, Mexican musician, singer and composer (died 2020)

Krsto Papić, Croatian director and screenwriter (died 2013)

Oktay Ekşi, Turkish journalist and politician

Rosemary Rogers, American journalist and author (died 2019)

J. B. Sumarlin, Indonesian economist and politician, 17th Indonesian Minister of Finance (died 2020)

Bobby Whitton, Australian rugby league player (died 2008)

Allan B. Calhamer, American game designer, created Diplomacy (died 2013)

Christopher Nicole, Guyanese-English author (died 2017)

Hal Smith, American baseball player (died 2020)

Mickey Thompson, American race car driver (died 1988)

Jack S. Blanton, American businessman and philanthropist (died 2013)

Helen Watts, Welsh opera singer (died 2009)

William John McNaughton, American bishop (died 2020)

Hermano da Silva Ramos, French-Brazilian race car driver (died 2026)

Max Zaslofsky, American basketball player and coach (died 1985)

Bent Fabric, Danish pianist and composer (died 2020)

John Love, Zimbabwean race car driver (died 2005)

Mary Ellen Rudin, American mathematician (died 2013)

Mário Soares, Portuguese historian, lawyer, and politician, 17th President of Portugal (died 2017)

Intizar Hussain, Indian-Pakistani author and scholar (died 2016)

Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian guru and scholar (died 2016)

Tatamkhulu Afrika, South African poet and author (died 2002)

Fiorenzo Magni, Italian cyclist (died 2012)

Walter Nowotny, Austrian-German soldier and pilot (died 1944)

Leigh Brackett, American author and screenwriter (died 1978)

Eli Wallach, American actor (died 2014)

Kersti Merilaas, Estonian author and poet (died 1986)

Daniel Jones, Welsh captain and composer (died 1993)

Duncan McNaughton, Canadian high jumper and geologist (died 1998)

Louis Prima, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and actor (died 1978)

Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet and author (died 1942)

Fred Rose, Polish-Canadian politician and spy (died 1983)

Erika Fuchs, German translator (died 2005)

Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (died 1973)

Clarence Nash, American voice actor and singer (died 1985)

Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician, physicist, and academic (died 1987)

Hilda Taba, Estonian architect, author, and educator (died 1967)

Kateryna Vasylivna Bilokur, Ukrainian folk artist (died 1961)

Freddie Adkins, English author and illustrator (died 1986)

Fay Bainter, American actress (died 1968)

Hermann Balck, German general (died 1982)

Stuart Davis, American painter and academic (died 1964)

Joyce Cary, Irish novelist (died 1957)

Hamilton Fish III, American captain and politician (died 1991)

Ernst Toch, Austrian-American composer and songwriter (died 1964)

Mason Phelps, American golfer (died 1945)

Peter Sturholdt, American boxer and painter (died 1919)

John Carpenter, American sprinter (died 1933)

Rudolf Friml, Czech-American pianist, composer, and academic (died 1972)

Akiko Yosano, Japanese author, poet, pioneering feminist, pacifist, and social reformer (died 1942)

Willa Cather, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (died 1947)

Frank Laver, Australian cricketer (died 1919)

Felix Calonder, Swiss soldier and politician, 36th President of the Swiss Confederation (died 1952)

Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer and conductor (died 1945)

Richard Warren Sears, American businessman, co-founded Sears (died 1914)

Paul Adam, French author (died 1920)

Henri Mathias Berthelot, French general during World War I (died 1931)

Joseph Cook, English-born Australian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1947)

Thomas Bent, Australian businessman and politician, 22nd Premier of Victoria (died 1909)

Leopold Kronecker, Polish-German mathematician and academic (died 1891)

Josef Hyrtl, Hungarian-Austrian anatomist and biologist (died 1894)

Theodor Schwann, German physiologist and biologist (died 1882)

Johann Nestroy, Austrian actor and playwright (died 1862)

Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Dutch author and academic (died 1857)

Ferenc Novák, Hungarian-Slovene priest and poet (died 1836)

Allan Cunningham, Scottish author and poet (died 1842)

Claude-Victor Perrin, French general and politician (died 1841)

John Littlejohn, American sheriff and Methodist preacher (died 1836)

Giovanni Battista Falda, Italian architect and engraver (died 1678)

Bernardo Pasquini, Italian organist and composer (died 1710)

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian sculptor and painter (died 1680)

Injo of Joseon, Korean king (died 1649)

Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese daimyō (died 1625)

Henry Stuart, English-Scottish husband of Mary, Queen of Scots (died 1567)

Louis I, German nobleman and politician (died 1605)

Azzone Visconti, Italian nobleman (died 1339)

Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr, Persian Sufi poet (died 1049)

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Persian astronomer and author (died 986)

Columba, Irish missionary, monk, and saint (died 597)

Doudou Adoula, Congolese atalaku and composer (born 1965)

Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer and dub poet (born1958)

Refaat Alareer, Palestinian professor and writer (born1979)

Emiko Miyamoto, Japanese volleyball player (born 1937)

Dick Allen, American baseball player and tenor (born 1942)

Chuck Yeager, American aviator (born 1923)

Remilia, American professional gamer (born 1995)

Ron Saunders, English football player and manager (born 1932)

Steve Reevis, Native American actor (born 1962)

Junaid Jamshed, Pakistani recording artist, television personality, fashion designer, occasional actor, singer-songwriter and preacher. (born 1964)

Greg Lake, English musician (born 1947)

Gerhard Lenski, American sociologist and academic (born 1924)

Hyron Spinrad, American astronomer and academic (born 1934)

Peter Westbury, English race car driver (born 1938)

Shirley Stelfox, English actress (born 1941)

Mark Lewis, American author and educator (born 1954)

Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1928)

Chick Willis, American singer and guitarist (born 1934)

Roelof Kruisinga, Dutch physician and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence (born 1922)

Ralph Parr, American colonel and pilot (born 1924)

Marty Reisman, American table tennis player and author (born 1930)

Saul Steinberg, American businessman and financier (born 1939)

Harry Morgan, American actor (born 1915)

Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and author (born 1949)

Kari Tapio, Finnish singer (born 1945)

Herbert Hutner, American banker and lawyer (born 1908)

Jeane Kirkpatrick, American academic and diplomat, 16th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (born 1926)

Bud Carson, American football player and coach (born 1931)

Frederick Fennell, American conductor and educator (born 1914)

Jerry Scoggins, American singer and guitarist (born 1913)

Jay Van Andel, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway (born 1924)

Carl F. H. Henry American journalist and theologian (born 1913)

Azie Taylor Morton, American educator and politician, 36th Treasurer of the United States (born 1933)

John Addison, English-American composer and conductor (born 1920)

Martin Rodbell, American biochemist and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1925)

George Wilson, American comics artist (born 1921)

Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1942)

Kathleen Harrison, English actress (born 1892)

Abidin Dino, Turkish-French painter and illustrator (born 1913)

Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivoirian physician and politician, 1st President of Ivory Coast (born 1905)

Richard J. Hughes, American politician, 45th Governor of New Jersey, and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court (born 1909)

Joan Bennett, American actress (born 1910)

Jean Paul Lemieux, Canadian painter and educator (born 1904)

Haystacks Calhoun, American wrestler and actor (born 1934)

Hans Hartung, French-German painter (born 1904)

J. R. Eyerman, American photographer and journalist (born 1906)

Robert Graves, English poet, novelist, critic (born 1895)

Potter Stewart, American soldier and jurist (born 1915)

Jack Mercer, American voice actor (born 1910)

LeeRoy Yarbrough, American race car driver (born 1938)

Darby Crash, American punk rock vocalist and songwriter (born 1958)

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (born 1900)

Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist and paleontologist (born 1886)

Paul Gibb, English cricketer and umpire (born 1913)

Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-American engineer (born 1906)

Georges Grignard, French race car driver (born 1905)

Paul Bragg, American nutritionist (born 1895)

Thornton Wilder, American novelist and playwright (born 1897)

Hardie Albright, American actor (born 1903)

Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist, sculptor, and author (born 1883)

Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player and manager (born 1897)

Eric Portman, English actor (born 1903)

Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian opera singer (born 1895)

Ioannis Demestichas, Greek admiral and politician (born 1882)

Huntley Gordon, Canadian-American actor (born 1887)

Reşat Nuri Güntekin, Turkish author and playwright (born 1889)

Rex Beach, American author, playwright, and water polo player (born 1877)

Tristan Bernard, French author and playwright (born 1866)

Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1862)

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Frank Wilson, English-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Western Australia (born 1859)

Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist and composer (born 1826)

Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian cardinal (born 1828)

Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1833)

Thomas Nast, German-American cartoonist (born 1840)

Juan Luna, Filipino painter and sculptor (born 1857)

Ferdinand de Lesseps, French businessman and diplomat, co-developed the Suez Canal (born 1805)

Arthur Blyth, English-Australian politician, 9th Premier of South Australia (born 1823)

Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic scholar and politician, 1st Speaker of the Parliament of Iceland (born 1811)

Constantin von Tischendorf, German theologian, scholar, and academic (born 1815)

Thomas Hamilton, Scottish philosopher and author (born 1789)

Robert Nicoll, Scottish poet (born 1814)

William Bligh, English admiral and politician, 4th Governor of New South Wales (born 1745)

Michel Ney, German-French general (born 1769)

Küçük Hüseyin Pasha, Turkish admiral and politician (born 1757)

Joseph Bara, French soldier and drummer (born 1779)

Charles Saunders, English admiral and politician (born 1715)

Martín Sarmiento, Spanish monk, scholar, and author (born 1695)

Florent Carton Dancourt, French actor and playwright (born 1661)

Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect, designed the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk and Karlova Koruna Chateau (born 1677)

Algernon Sidney, English philosopher and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (born 1623)

Peter Lely, Dutch-English painter (born 1618)

Richard Bellingham, English-American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (born 1592)

Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (born 1606)

Adrian Willaert, Dutch-Italian composer and educator (born 1490)

Alexander Hegius von Heek, German poet (born 1433)

Wenceslaus I, duke of Luxembourg (born 1337)

Michael II of Antioch, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch (r. 1292–1312)

Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, English officer (born 1243)

Bolesław V, High Duke of Poland (born 1226)

Innocent IV, pope of the Catholic Church (born 1195)

Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 955)

Anspert, archbishop of Milan

Eutychian, pope of the Catholic Church

Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (born 106 BC)