February 7 in History

Pakistan election offices are hit by twin bombings, killing at least 24 people a day before general elections.

The 2021 Uttarakhand flood begins.

North Korea launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into outer space violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world.

Scientists announce that the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, date back to more than 800,000 years ago, making them the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa.

The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995.

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Republic of Maldives resigns, after 23 days of anti-governmental protests calling for the release of the Chief Judge unlawfully arrested by the military.

Bushfires in Victoria leave 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.

Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-98, carrying the Destiny laboratory module to the International Space Station.

Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.

Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union.

Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.

The Troubles: The Provisional IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street in London, the headquarters of the British government.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.

Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.

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).

A plane crash at Pushkin Airport kills 50 people, including 16 members of the Pacific Fleet.

Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered.

Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.

The Great Fire of Iloilo breaks out in a lumber yard in Iznart Street and burns for almost half a day destroying nearly three-quarters of the City Proper area and Php 50 million pesos in total properties' damage.

The Beatles land in the United States for the first time, at the newly renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports.

Korean War: More than 700 suspected communist sympathizers are massacred by South Korean forces.

World War II: In Anzio, Italy, German forces launch a counteroffensive during the Allied Operation Shingle.

World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy forces complete the evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in the Guadalcanal campaign.

The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres.

The Great Baltimore Fire begins in Baltimore, Maryland; it destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.

Second Boer War: British troops fail in their third attempt to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.

A Chinese immigrant in San Francisco falls ill to bubonic plague in the first plague epidemic in the continental United States.

Dreyfus affair: Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse...!

The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States.

HMS Orpheus sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189.

A law is approved to found the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Lectures started October 16, 1855.

Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking it over, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar.

In the action of 7 February 1813 near the Îles de Los, the frigates Aréthuse and Amelia batter each other, but neither can gain the upper hand.

The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri.

Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon finds Bennigsen's Russian forces taking a stand at Eylau. After bitter fighting, the French take the town, but the Russians resume the battle the next day.

The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.

American Revolutionary War: French and Spanish forces lift the Great Siege of Gibraltar.

Guaraní War: The leader of the Guaraní rebels, Sepé Tiaraju, is killed in a skirmish with Spanish and Portuguese troops.

In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a "Bonfire of the vanities".

Albert III of Mecklenburg (King Albert of Sweden) grants city rights to Ulvila (Swedish: Ulvsby).

King Thihathu founds the Pinya Kingdom as the de jure successor state of the Pagan Kingdom.

Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales.

A synod at Blachernae convened by anti-Unionist Greek clergy condemns the former pro-Unionist patriarch John XI of Constantinople.

Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II.

Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor.

Diego Aguado, Spanish footballer

Alessandro Fontanarosa, Italian footballer

Shedeur Sanders, American football player

R. J. Hampton, American basketball player

Jayden Campbell, Australian rugby league player

Omar Marmoush, Egyptian footballer

Nicolò Barella, Italian footballer

Anhelina Kalinina, Ukrainian tennis player

Aaron Ekblad, Canadian ice hockey player

Pierre Gasly, French racing driver

Tom Glynn-Carney, English actor and musician

Roberto Osuna, Mexican baseball player

Riley Barber, American ice hockey player

Nathan Walker, Welsh-Australian ice hockey player

Javon Hargrave, American football player

Chris Mears, English diver

Sergi Roberto, Spanish footballer

Ksenia Stolbova, Russian figure skater

Maimi Yajima, Japanese singer and actress

Gabbie Hanna, American Internet personality and singer-songwriter

Ryan O'Reilly, Canadian ice hockey player

Richard Pánik, Slovak ice hockey player

Morris Claiborne, American football player

Jacksepticeye, Irish YouTuber

Gianluca Lapadula, Italian footballer

Dalilah Muhammad, American hurdler

Steven Stamkos, Canadian ice hockey player

Nick Calathes, American-Greek basketball player

Isaiah Thomas, American basketball player

Elia Viviani, Italian cyclist

Ai Kago, Japanese singer and actress

Matthew Stafford, American football player

Joel Freeland, English basketball player

Josh Hennessy, American ice hockey player

Bernard James, American basketball player

Tina Majorino, American actress

Deborah Ann Woll, American actress

Trey Hardee, American decathlete

Jeremy Meeks, American model and actor

Scott Feldman, American baseball player

Federico Marchetti, Italian footballer

Mohammed Bijeh, Iranian serial killer (died 2006)

Osamu Mukai, Japanese actor

Mickaël Piétrus, French basketball player

Neto, Brazilian footballer

Lee Ok-sung, South Korean boxer

Dalibor Bagarić, Croatian basketball player

Mikey Erg, American drummer, guitarist, and vocalist

Daniel Bierofka, German footballer and coach

Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate

Sam J. Miller, American author

David Aebischer, Swiss ice hockey player

Endy Chávez, Venezuelan baseball player

Ashton Kutcher, American model, actor, producer, and entrepreneur

Milt Palacio, American-Belizean basketball player and coach

Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer

Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Japanese footballer

Chito Miranda, Filipino singer-songwriter

Wes Borland, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Miriam Corowa, Australian journalist, television presenter and producer

Alexandre Daigle, Canadian ice hockey player

Rémi Gaillard, French comedian and actor

J Dilla, American rapper and producer (died 2006)

Steve Nash, South African-Canadian basketball player

Nujabes, Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (died 2010)

Juwan Howard, American basketball player and coach

Essence Atkins, American actress

Robyn Lively, American actress

Anita Tsoy, Russian singer-songwriter

Franz Jantscher, Austrian politician

Andrew Micallef, Maltese painter and musician

Peter Bondra, Ukrainian-Slovak ice hockey player and manager

Christian Drobits, Austrian politician

Sully Erna, American singer-songwriter and musician

Mark Tewksbury, Canadian swimmer and sportscaster

Kristin Otto, German swimmer

Chris Rock, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Ashok Banker, Indian journalist, author, and screenwriter

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, American Naval officer and astronaut

Garth Brooks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

David Bryan, American keyboard player and songwriter

Eddie Izzard, English comedian, actor, and producer

Robert Smigel, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

James Spader, American actor and producer

Mick McCarthy, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster

Giuseppe Baresi, Italian footballer and manager

Terry Marsh, English boxer and politician

Matt Ridley, English journalist, author, and politician

Dámaso García, Dominican baseball player and footballer (died 2020)

John Nielsen, Danish racing driver

Mark St. John, American guitarist (died 2007)

Rolf Benirschke, American football player and game show host

Miguel Ferrer, American actor and director (died 2017)

Dieter Bohlen, German singer-songwriter and producer

Robert Brazile, American football player

Karen Joy Fowler, American author

Jacques Duchesneau, Canadian police officer and politician

Alan Lancaster, English-Australian bass player singer and songwriter Status Quo (died 2022)

Héctor Babenco, Argentinian-Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2016)

Gérard Jean-Juste, Haitian priest and activist (died 2009)

Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (died 2011)

Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player and journalist

Eric Foner, American historian, author, and academic

Gareth Hunt, English actor (died 2007)

Tony Tan, Singaporean academic and politician, 7th President of Singapore

Peter Jay, English economist, journalist, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (died 2024)

Juan Pizarro, Puerto Rican baseball player (died 2021)

Jas Gawronski, Italian journalist and politician

Cliff Jones, Welsh international footballer

Herb Kohl, American businessman and politician (died 2023)

Jörg Schneider, Swiss actor and author (died 2015)

Eddie Fenech Adami, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Malta

King Curtis, American saxophonist and producer (died 1971)

Earl King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2003)

K. N. Choksy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, Sri Lankan Minister of Finance (died 2015)

Gay Talese, American journalist and memoirist

Alfred Worden, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 2020)

Jim Langley, English international footballer and manager (died 2007)

Lincoln D. Faurer, American general (died 2014)

Juliette Gréco, French singer and actress (died 2020)

Vladimir Kuts, Ukrainian-Russian runner and coach (died 1975)

Lalo Ríos, Mexican actor (died 1973)

Konstantin Feoktistov, Russian engineer and astronaut (died 2009)

Hans Schmidt, Canadian wrestler (died 2012)

Dora Bryan, English actress and restaurateur (died 2014)

Hattie Jacques, English actress (died 1980)

Athol Rowan, South African cricketer (died 1998)

Oscar Brand, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and author (died 2016)

An Wang, Chinese-American engineer and businessman, founded Wang Laboratories (died 1990)

Desmond Doss, American army corporal and combat medic, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2006)

Jock Mahoney, American actor and stuntman (died 1989)

Frank Hyde, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (died 2007)

Teoctist Arăpașu, Romanian patriarch (died 2007)

Eddie Bracken, American actor and singer (died 2002)

Russell Drysdale, English-Australian painter (died 1981)

Roberta McCain, American socialite and oil heiress (died 2020)

Hélder Câmara, Brazilian archbishop (died 1999)

Amedeo Guillet, Italian soldier (died 2010)

Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (died 1983)

Manmath Nath Gupta, Indian journalist and author (died 2000)

Oleg Antonov, Soviet engineer, founded the Antonov Design Bureau (died 1984)

Puyi, Chinese emperor (died 1967)

Paul Nizan, French philosopher and author (died 1940)

Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1983)

Ernest E. Debs, American politician (died 2002)

Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (died 1989)

Anita Stewart, American actress (died 1961)

Joseph Algernon Pearce, Canadian astrophysicist and astronomer (died 1988)

Nicanor Abelardo, Filipino pianist, composer and teacher (died 1934)

Harry Nyquist, Swedish-American engineer and theorist (died 1976)

Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (died 1983)

Peter Arshinov, Russian anarchist revolutionary (disappeared 1940)

Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1951)

Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (died 1953)

Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Russian-American pianist and conductor (died 1936)

G. H. Hardy, English mathematician and geneticist (died 1947)

Erkki Melartin, Finnish composer (died 1937)

Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder and businessman, designed the RMS Titanic (died 1912)

Wilhelm Stenhammar, Swedish pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1927)

Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish psychologist and therapist (died 1937)

Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (died 1957)

Arthur Collins, American baritone singer (died 1933)

James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (died 1915)

Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe, French architect (died 1895)

Karl Möbius, German zoologist and ecologist (died 1908)

Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (died 1870)

John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded Deere & Company (died 1886)

Louisa Jane Hall, American poet, essayist, and literary critic (died 1892)

Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (baptism date; (died 1874)

Benedikt Schack, Czech tenor and composer (died 1826)

Henry Fuseli, Swiss-English painter and academic (died 1825)

Margaret Fownes-Luttrell, English painter (died 1766)

Azar Bigdeli, Iranian anthologist and poet (died 1781)

Empress Anna of Russia (died 1740)

Vittoria della Rovere, Italian noble (died 1694)

Thomas Killigrew, English playwright and manager (died 1683)

João de Castro, viceroy of Portuguese India (died 1548)

Queen Dangyeong, Korean royal consort (died 1557)

Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (died 1535)

Adriana of Nassau-Siegen, German countess (died 1477)

Empress Matilda, Holy Roman Empress and claimant to the English throne (probable; (died 1167)

Prince Shōtoku of Japan (died 622)

Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Welsh academic and politician (born 1946)

Tony Roberts, American actor and singer (born 1939)

Li Wenliang, Chinese ophthalmologist who initially warned about COVID-19 (born 1985)

John Dingell, American politician (born 1926)

Albert Finney, English actor (born 1936)

Jan Olszewski, Polish politician, 3rd Prime Minister (born 1930)

Frank Robinson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1935)

Richard Hatch, American actor (born 1945)

Hans Rosling, Swedish academic (born 1948)

Tzvetan Todorov, Bulgarian philosopher (born 1939)

Billy Casper, American golfer (born 1931)

Marshall Rosenberg, American psychologist and author (born 1934)

Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (born 1931)

John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State (born 1922)

Doug Mohns, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1933)

Krsto Papić, Croatian director and screenwriter (born 1933)

Harry Keough, American soccer player and coach (born 1927)

Franco Ballerini, Italian cyclist and coach (born 1964)

Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (born 1924)

Princess Durru Shehvar of the Ottoman Empire (born 1914)

Atli Dam, Faroese engineer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (born 1932)

Augusto Monterroso, Guatemalan author (born 1921)

Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author and pilot (born 1906)

Doug Henning, Canadian magician and politician (born 1947)

King Hussein of Jordan (born 1935)

Bobby Troup, American actor, pianist, and composer (born 1918)

Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer and conductor (born 1913)

Amos Yarkoni, Israeli colonel (born 1920)

Alan Perlis, American computer scientist and academic (born 1922)

Alfredo M. Santos, Filipino general (born 1905)

Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegalese historian, anthropologist, and physicist (born 1923)

Josef Mengele, German SS officer and physician (born 1911)

Walter Lang, American director and screenwriter (born 1896)

Nick Adams, American actor and screenwriter (born 1931)

Sofoklis Venizelos, Greek captain and politician, 133rd Prime Minister of Greece (born 1894)

Learco Guerra, Italian cyclist and manager (born 1902)

Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist and academic (born 1903)

Nap Lajoie, American baseball player and manager (born 1874)

Daniel François Malan, South African minister and politician, 5th Prime Minister of South Africa (born 1874)

Guitar Slim, American singer and guitarist (born 1926)

Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano and actress (born 1874)

Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator and stage designer (born 1876)

James McCormick (Irish republican), Executed Irish Republican (born 1910)

Peter Barnes (Irish republican), Executed Irish Republican (born 1907)

Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter and illustrator (born 1886)

Harvey Samuel Firestone, American businessman, founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (born 1868)

Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1845)

John J. Gardner, American politician (born 1845)

Alexander Kolchak, Russian admiral and explorer (born 1874)

Charles Langelier, Canadian journalist, judge, and politician (born 1850)

William Halford, English-American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1841)

Galileo Ferraris, Italian physicist and engineer (born 1847)

Marie Louise Andrews, American story writer and journalist (born 1849)

Pope Pius IX (born 1792)

Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish author (born 1814)

Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (born 1797)

Vuk Karadžić, Serbian philologist and linguist (born 1787)

Francisco de Paula Martínez de la Rosa y Berdejo, Spanish playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (born 1787)

Mariano Paredes, Mexican general and 16th president (1845–1846) (born 1797)

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (born 1778)

Ann Radcliffe, English author (born 1764)

August Wilhelm Hupel, German-Estonian linguist and author (born 1737)

Daniel Chodowiecki, Polish-German painter and academic (born 1726)

Qianlong Emperor of China (born 1711)

William Boyce, English organist and composer (born 1711)

Stephen Gray, English astronomer and physicist (born 1666)

Paul Pellisson, French lawyer and author (born 1624)

William Bedell, English bishop and academic (born 1571)

William V, Duke of Bavaria (born 1548)

Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (born 1546)

Bartholomäus Sastrow, German politician (born 1520)

Bartolommeo Bandinelli, Florentine sculptor (born 1493)

Alfonsina de' Medici, Regent of Florence (born 1472)

Nikko, Japanese priest, founder of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism (born 1246)

Jan Muskata, Bishop of Kraków (born 1250)

Robert, Count of Clermont (born 1256)

Thomas, Count of Flanders

Marshal Stephen of Armenia

Ava, German poet (born 1060)

Siegfried I, Count of Sponheim (born c. 1010)

Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (born 1009)

Boleslaus II the Pious, Duke of Bohemia (born 932)

Jin Mindi, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (born 300)

Lü Bu, Chinese warlord