# On this day: February 7

February 7 is the 38th day of the year (38th in leap years), with 327 days left until the end of the year (328 in a leap year).

## February 7 in one line

Headline entries for February 7, from Wikipedia: in 1992, The Maastricht Treaty, which led to the formation of the European Union, was signed by the member states of the European Communities; born 1812: Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (died 1870); died 1878: Pope Pius IX (born 1792). In 2026 it is a Saturday, in 2027 a Sunday.

## Events on February 7

- 457 Leo I, who ruled for nearly 20 years, was crowned Byzantine emperor. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_I_(emperor))
- 1365 Albert, King of Sweden, granted a charter to the town of Ulvila, the third-oldest city in Finland. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert%2C_King_of_Sweden)
- 1497 Supporters of the Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of vanity items such as cosmetics, art and books in Florence, Italy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_of_the_vanities)
- 1783 American Revolutionary War: After three years and seven months, Spain and France abandoned their attempt to capture Gibraltar from the British. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Siege_of_Gibraltar)
- 1795 The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in federal courts, was ratified. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution)
- 1813 Napoleonic Wars: Two evenly matched frigates, the French Aréthuse and the British Amelia, battled to a stalemate at the Îles de Los off the Guinean coast. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_7_February_1813)
- 1865 The trustees of Seattle enacted an ordinance that expelled Native Americans from the newly incorporated town. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_of_Seattle_Ordinance_No._5)
- 1900 A Chinese immigrant in San Francisco fell ill with the bubonic plague in the first epidemic of the disease in the continental United States. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900%E2%80%931904_San_Francisco_plague)
- 1900 Second Boer War: British troops made a third unsuccessful attempt to lift the siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Vaal Krantz. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vaal_Krantz)
- 1914 Kid Auto Races at Venice, featuring the first appearance of comedy actor Charlie Chaplin's character the Tramp, was released. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin)
- 1940 Walt Disney's Pinocchio, the first animated feature to win a competitive Academy Award, debuted at the Center Theatre in New York City. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocchio_(1940_film))
- 1941 Soviet border guards opened fire on civilians attempting to cross the border from the Soviet Union to Romania near Lunca, killing several hundred people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunca_massacre)
- 1943 World War II: Japan successfully withdrew its troops from Guadalcanal. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ke)
- 1948 Neil Harvey became the youngest Australian to score a century in Test cricket. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Harvey)
- 1979 Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune)
- 1984 During the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-B, astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart performed the first untethered spacewalk. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-41-B)
- 1986 President of Haiti Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country after a popular uprising, ending 28 years of one-family rule in the nation. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Duvalier)
- 1991 The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army shelled 10 Downing Street with mortars in a failed attempt to assassinate British prime minister John Major. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_mortar_attack)
- 1992 The Maastricht Treaty, which led to the formation of the European Union, was signed by the member states of the European Communities. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht_Treaty)
- 1994 Having retired four months earlier, American basketball player Michael Jordan signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox to play baseball. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan)
- 1995 Ramzi Yousef, one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramzi_Yousef)
- 1997 Steve Jobs returned to Apple Inc. as a consultant after the company's acquisition of his technology startup NeXT. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT)
- 1999 Abdullah II became the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan following the death of his father King Hussein. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_II)
- 2005 President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on the redenomination of Azerbaijan's currency, with 1 new manat equal to 5000 old manats. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redenomination_of_the_Azerbaijani_manat)
- 2014 An inquiry report of the United Nations Human Rights Council found systematic and wide-ranging violations of human rights in North Korea. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Report_of_the_Commission_of_Inquiry_on_Human_Rights_in_the_Democratic_People's_Republic_of_Korea)
- 2014 Researchers announced the discovery of the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa, at more than 800,000 years old. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happisburgh_footprints)

## Born on February 7

- 1102 Empress Matilda, Holy Roman Empress and claimant to the English throne (probable; (died 1167) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda)
- 1478 Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (died 1535) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More)
- 1693 Empress Anna of Russia (died 1740) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_of_Russia)
- 1812 Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (died 1870) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens)
- 1867 Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (died 1957) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Ingalls_Wilder)
- 1870 Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish psychologist and therapist (died 1937) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Adler)
- 1877 G. H. Hardy, English mathematician and geneticist (died 1947) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._H._Hardy)
- 1885 Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1951) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Lewis)
- 1905 Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1983) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulf_von_Euler)
- 1906 Puyi, Chinese emperor (died 1967) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi)
- 1940 Tony Tan, Singaporean academic and politician, 7th President of Singapore [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Tan)
- 1954 Dieter Bohlen, German singer-songwriter and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Bohlen)
- 1960 James Spader, American actor and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Spader)
- 1965 Chris Rock, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rock)
- 1974 Steve Nash, South African-Canadian basketball player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Nash)
- 1977 Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Japanese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuneyasu_Miyamoto)
- 1978 Ashton Kutcher, American model, actor, producer, and entrepreneur [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashton_Kutcher)
- 1978 Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Van_Buyten)
- 1979 Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawakkol_Karman)
- 1992 Sergi Roberto, Spanish footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergi_Roberto)
- 1996 Pierre Gasly, French racing driver [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Gasly)
- 1997 Nicolò Barella, Italian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%B2_Barella)

## Died on February 7

- 1799 Qianlong Emperor of China (born 1711) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianlong_Emperor)
- 1823 Ann Radcliffe, English author (born 1764) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Radcliffe)
- 1837 Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (born 1778) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_IV_Adolf)
- 1864 Vuk Karadžić, Serbian philologist and linguist (born 1787) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuk_Karad%C5%BEi%C4%87)
- 1878 Pope Pius IX (born 1792) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_IX)
- 1920 Alexander Kolchak, Russian admiral and explorer (born 1874) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kolchak)
- 1937 Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1845) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elihu_Root)
- 1960 Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist and academic (born 1903) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Kurchatov)
- 1979 Josef Mengele, German SS officer and physician (born 1911) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele)
- 1994 Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer and conductor (born 1913) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Lutos%C5%82awski)
- 1999 King Hussein of Jordan (born 1935) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_of_Jordan)
- 2017 Tzvetan Todorov, Bulgarian philosopher (born 1939) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzvetan_Todorov)
- 2019 Albert Finney, English actor (born 1936) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Finney)
- 2020 Li Wenliang, Chinese ophthalmologist who initially warned about COVID-19 (born 1985) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Wenliang)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Richard the Pilgrim [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_the_Pilgrim)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Eugénie Smet [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatification)
- Christian feast day: John of Triora [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Triora)
- Christian feast day: Luke of Steiris [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_of_Steiris)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Petro Verhun [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petro_Verhun)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Pope Pius IX [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_IX)
- Christian feast day: Rosalie Rendu [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalie_Rendu)
- Christian feast day: Egidio Maria of Saint Joseph [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egidio_Maria_of_Saint_Joseph)
- Christian feast day: February 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_7_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Christian feast day: New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church Typically observed on the Sunday closest to January 25 (O.S.)/February 7 (N.S.) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Martyrs_and_Confessors_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church)
- Independence Day (Grenada), celebrates the independence of Grenada from the United Kingdom in 1974. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(Grenada))
- National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV.gov)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “February 7”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_7) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/February 7”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/February_7) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“February 7”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_7) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_7?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for February 7 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. The 1992 entry comes first in the one-line summary: a short list, checked by hand, names the event a date is best known for where the order above would put a lesser one first. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## February 7 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Saturday | 2026-W06 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2027 | Sunday | 2027-W05 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2028 | Monday | 2028-W06 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2029 | Wednesday | 2029-W06 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2030 | Thursday | 2030-W06 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on February 7

- [🇸🇬 Singapore](https://whathappen.today/holidays/singapore/): Chinese New Year (2027)
- [🇨🇳 China](https://whathappen.today/holidays/china/): Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) (2027)
- [🇰🇷 South Korea](https://whathappen.today/holidays/south-korea/): Korean New Year (2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← February 6](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-6/) · [February 8 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-8/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-7/