What happened today
1863
Famous birthdays
1947
Get history's greatest tales
Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! newsletter for a blast from the past each week in your inbox.
more events on December 7
-
2003
Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, heiress apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
-
A tornado in Kensal Green, North West London, damages about 150 properties.
-
1999
The Recording Industry Association of America files a copyright infringement suit against the file-sharing website Napster.
-
1995
Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter after a 6-year journey.
-
1988
Emily Browning, actress, singer, model; won AFI International Award for Best Actress as Violet Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.
-
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
-
An earthquake in Armenia kills an estimated 100,000 people.
-
1981
The Reagan Administration predicts a record deficit in 1982 of $109 billion.
-
1972
The crew of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the moon, lifts off at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
-
1970
Poland and West Germany sign a pact renouncing the use of force to settle disputes, recognizing the Oder-Neisse River as Poland’s western frontier, and acknowledging the transfer to Poland of 40,000 square miles of former German territory.
-
1956
Larry Bird, basketball player for the Boston Celtics.
-
1949
Tom Waits, singer, songwriter (“Jersey Girl,” “Downtown Train”), musician, actor (Down by Law).
-
The A.F.L. and the C.I.O. organize a non-Communist international trade union.
-
1947
Johnny Bench, pro baseball catcher; twice named National League Most Valuable Player, he was dubbed the greatest catcher in baseball history by ESPN.
-
1946
The president of the United Mine Workers, John L. Lewis, orders all striking miners back to work.