Historical Events on February 7
- 1812: Near the town of New Madrid in Missouri, one of the strongest earthquakes in a whole series of them strikes.
- 1854: Legislation is passed that allowed the founding of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
- 1863: Almost 190 people are killed when the HMS Orpheus sinks off of the coast of Auckland, New Zealand.
- 1904: A fire breaks out in the city of Baltimore in Maryland. It ends up destroying over fifteen hundred buildings in just over one day.
- 1907: The first procession organized by the NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies), called the Mud March, begins on this day.
- 1940: The Walt Disney film Pinocchio premiers on this day.
- 1943: Japanese Naval forces finish evacuating Imperial Japanese forces from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke. This thereby ends the attempt by the Japanese to retake the island from Allied forces.
- 1944: In response to the Allied Operation Shingle, Italian and German forces launch a counteroffensive during WWII.
- 1951: Over seven hundred suspected communist sympathizers are killed by South Korean troops during the Korean War.
- 1962: The importation of all Cuban goods into the United States and all exports from the U.S to Cuba are banned by the United States.
- 1984: The 1st untethered space walk using the MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit) is performed by Astronauts Robert L. Stewart and Bruce McCandless II during the STS-41B Mission.
- 1990: The Soviet Communist Party agrees to relinquish its monopoly of power during the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Famous Birthdays on February 7
- American blacksmith and founder of Deere & Co., John Deere is born in 1804.
- English novelist Charles Dickens is born in 1812.
- American author, Laura Ingalls Wilder is born in 1867.
- American actress and silent film producer, Anita Stewart is born in 1895.
- American actor James Spader is born in 1960.
- American singer-songwriter Garth Brooks is born in 1962.
- English comedian and actor, Eddie Izzard is born in 1962.
- American comedian, actor and screenwriter, Chris Rock is born in 1965.