December 7

Events
Up to 1900
43 BC - Roman writer, lawyer and statesman Cicero is assassinated.
574 - Roman Emperor Justin II retires.
1703 - The Great Storm of 1703 in Great Britain makes landfall.
1724 - religious troubles were followed by the execution of nine Protestant citizens and the mayor of Thorn (Torun) by Polish authorities.
1732 - The Royal Opera House opens in London.
1776 - Glibert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette arranges to enter the American military as a general.
1787 - Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the US Constitution.
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
1869 - American outlaw Jesse James commits his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, Missouri.
1901 1950
1917 - World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.
1941 - World War II: Canada declares war on Finland, Hungary, Romania, and Japan.
1941 - The Japanese attack the Hawaiian city of Pearl Harbor during World War II. 2,403 people are killed, 188 planes are destroyed, and 8 US ships are damaged or destroyed.
1946 - A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, kills 119 people.
1949 - Chinese Civil War: The government of Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei.
1951 2000
1962 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.
1970 - West German Chancellor Willy Brandt makes a gesture of reconciliation towards the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, known as the "Kniefall", as he falls to his knees in front of the city's memorial.
1972 - First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos escapes an assassination attempt.
1972 - Apollo 17 launches, as the last mission to-date to fly to the Moon; On this mission, the famous "Blue Marble" photograph of the Earth is taken.
1975 - Indonesia invades East Timor.
1983 - An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxing down the runway at Madrid-Barajas Airport, killing 93 people.
1987 - Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 people on board.
1987 - The Alianza Lima air disaster occurs.
1988 - In Armenia an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale kills nearly 25,000, injures 15,000 and leaves 400,000 people homeless.
1988 - Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist.
1995 - The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter.
1999 - The RIAA files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client, on charges of copyright infringement.
From 2001
2003 - The newly formed Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognised.
2006 - A tornado strikes Kensal Green, Northwest London.
2007 - The "Hebei Spirit" oil spill begins in South Korea after a crane barge that had broken free from a tug collides with the very large crude carrier, Hebei Spirit.
2015 - Then-US Presidential candidate Donald Trump calls for Muslims to be banned from entering the United States.
2016 - An earthquake in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, kills around 100 people.
2016 - All 47 people on board die when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashes near Islamabad.
2017 - Australia legalises same-sex marriage.
Births
Up to 1900
521 - Columba, Irish missionary, monk and saint (d. 597)
903 - Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Persian astronomer and author (d. 986)
1302 - Azzone Visconti, Italian ruler (d. 1339)
1546 - Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (d. 1567)
1561 - Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese daimyo (d. 1625)
1598 - Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian artist (d. 1680)
1627 - Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau (d. 1667)
1637 - Bernardo Pasquini, Italian composer (d. 1710)
1643 - Giovanni Battista Falda, Italian architect and engraver (d. 1678)
1724 - Louise of Great Britain (d. 1751)
1784 - Allan Cunningham, Scottish author and poet (d. 1842)
1801 - Johann Nestroy, Austrian dramatist and actor (d. 1862)
1810 - Theodor Schwann, German biologist (d. 1882)
1823 - Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (d. 1891)
1830 - Luigi Cremona, Italian mathematician (d. 1903)
1838 - Thomas Bent, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of Victoria (d. 1909)
1847 - Deacon White, American baseball player and manager (d. 1939)
1860 - Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1947)
1863 - Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer (d. 1945)
1863 - Felix Calonder, Swiss politician (d. 1952)
1863 - Richard Warren Sears, American businessman (d. 1914)
1873 - Willa Cather, American writer (d. 1947)
1879 - Rudolf Friml, Czech-American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
1884 - John Carpenter, American sprinter (d. 1933)
1885 - Mason Phelps, American golfer (d. 1945)
1887 - Ernst Toch, Austrian-American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
1888 - Hamilton Fish III, American captain and politician (d. 1991)
1889 - Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher, dramatist and critic (d. 1973)
1891 - Fay Bainter, American actress (d. 1968)
1900 - Christian Matras, Faroese poet (d. 1988)
1901 1950
1905 - Gerard Kuiper, Dutch astronomer (d. 1973)
1908 - Slim Bryant, American musician (d. 2010)
1909 - Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet (d. 1942)
1910 - Duncan McNaughton, Canadian high jumper (d. 1998)
1910 - Louis Prima, American singer-songwriter, trumpeter and actor (d. 1978)
1910 - Vere Bird, 1st Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda (d. 1999)
1910 - Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian bandleader (d. 2011)
1912 - Daniel Jones, Welsh composer (d. 1993)
1915 - Eli Wallach, American actor (d. 2014)
1918 - Max Merkel, Austrian footballer (d. 2006)
1920 - Manuel Pereira da Silva, Portuguese sculptor (d. 2003)
1920 - Tatamkulu Afrika, South African poet and author (d. 2002)
1920 - Fiorenzo Magni, Italian cyclist (d. 2012)
1920 - Walter Nowotny, Austrian-German soldier and pilot (d. 1944)
1924 - Jovanka Broz, First Lady of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
1924 - Mario Soares, former President of Portugal (d. 2017)
1928 - Noam Chomsky, American linguist, philosopher and political writer
1930 - Christopher Nicole, English author
1932 - Ellen Burstyn, American actress
1933 - Krsto Papic, Croatian actor (d. 2013)
1935 - Armando Manzanero, Mexican musician, singer and composer
1940 - Stan Boardman, English comedian and actor
1942 - Harry Chapin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
1943 - Sue Johnston, English actress
1947 - Johnny Bench, American baseball player and sportscaster
1947 - Tony Thomas, American screenwriter and producer
1947 - Garry Unger, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1947 - Anne Fine, British author
1948 - Gary Morris, American singer and actor
1951 1975
1952 - Susan Collins, American senator
1952 - Georges Corraface, French actor and producer
1954 - Mike Nolan, Irish singer
1955 - Priscilla Barnes, American actress and producer
1955 - John Watkins, Australian educator and politician
1956 - Larry Bird, American basketball player
1956 - Anna Soubry, English politician
1956 - Iveta Radicova, former Prime Minister of Slovakia
1958 - Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta
1959 - Barbara Wilshere, British actress
1960 - Craig Scanlon, English guitarist and songwriter
1962 - Alain Blondel, French decathlete
1962 - Grecia Colmenares, Venezuelan-Argentine actress
1962 - Imad Mughniyah, Lebanese resistance leader and freedom fighter
1963 - Theo Snelders, Dutch footballer and coach
1964 - Ilse Aigner, German politician
1965 - Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer
1965 - Jeffrey Wright, American actor and director
1969 - Andrea Claudio Galluzzo, Italian historian and archaeologist
1971 - Chasey Lain, American pornographic actress
1972 - Hermann Maier, Austrian skier
1972 - Tammy Lynn Sytch, American wrestler and manager
1973 - Damien Rice, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
1973 - Terrell Owens, American football player
1974 - Nicole Appleton, Canadian singer and actress
From 1976
1977 - Dominic Howard, English drummer (Muse)
1977 - Luke Donald, English golfer
1979 - Jennifer Carpenter, American actress
1979 - Sara Bareilles, American singer
1980 - Clemens Fritz, German footballer
1980 - John Terry, English footballer
1984 - Robert Kubica, the first Polish Formula One racing driver
1984 - Aaron Gray, American basketball player
1984 - Marko Vujin, Serbian handball player
1985 - Dean Ambrose, American wrestler
1987 - Aaron Carter, American singer
1988 - Emily Browning, Australian actress
1988 - Andrew Goudelock, American basketball player
1989 - Nicholas Hoult, English actor
1989 - Caleb Landry Jones, American actor
1989 - Alessandro Marchi, Italian footballer
1990 - Yasiel Puig, Cuban baseball player
1990 - David Goffin, Belgian tennis player
1990 - Urszula Radwanska, Polish tennis player
1991 - Dori Sakurada, Japanese actor, singer and dancer
1993 - Jasmine Villegas, American actress
1994 - Yuzuru Hanyu, Japanese figure skater
2003 - Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, Dutch royal
Deaths
Up to 1900
43 BC - Cicero, Roman politician and writer (b. 106 BC)
283 - Pope Eutychian
983 - Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 955)
1254 - Pope Innocent IV (b. 1195)
1279 - Boleslaw V the Chaste, Polish prince (b. 1226)
1295 - Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (b. 1243)
1649 - Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (b. 1606)
1683 - Algernon Shirley, English philosopher and politician (b. 1623)
1723 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (b. 1677)
1772 - Martin Sarmiento, Spanish monk, missionary, scholar and author (b. 1695)
1793 - Joseph Bara, French soldier and drummer (b. 1779)
1817 - William Bligh, British naval officer and Governor of New South Wales (b. 1754)
1879 - Jon Sigurdsson, Icelandic independence campaigner (b. 1811)
1894 - Ferdinand de Lesseps, French diplomat and entrepreneur (b. 1805)
1899 - Juan Luna, Filipino painter and sculptor (b. 1857)
1901 2000
1902 - Thomas Nast, German-American cartoonist (b. 1840)
1906 - Elie Ducommun, Swiss educator and journalist (b. 1833)
1913 - Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian cardinal (b. 1828)
1917 - Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1826)
1938 - Anna Marie Hahn, German-American murderer (b. 1906)
1947 - Tristan Bernard, French author and playwright (b. 1866)
1947 - Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat and educator (b. 1862)
1970 - Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist, sculptor and author (b. 1883)
1975 - Thornton Wilder, American author and playwright (b. 1897)
1978 - Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist (b. 1886)
1985 - Robert Graves, English poet (b. 1895)
1990 - Joan Bennett, American actress (b. 1910)
1993 - Felix Houphouet-Boigny, 1st President of Ivory Coast (b. 1905)
1993 - Wolfgang Paul, German physicist (b. 1913)
1994 - J. C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1939)
1997 - Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b. 1942)
1998 - Martin Rodbell, American scientist (b. 1925)
From 2001
2005 - Lucy d'Abreu, Indian-born supercentenarian (b. 1892)
2006 - Jeane Kirkpatrick, American diplomat (b. 1926)
2010 - Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and author (b. 1949)
2011 - Harry Morgan, American actor (b. 1915)
2011 - Jerry Robinson, American comic artist (b. 1922)
2012 - Marty Reisman, American table tennis player and author (b. 1930)
2013 - Edouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
2014 - Khalil Ullah Khan, Bangladeshi actor (b. 1934)
2014 - Mango, Italian singer, songwriter and musician (b. 1954)
2014 - Ken Weatherwax, American actor (b. 1955)
2015 - Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor and producer (b. 1945)
2015 - Shirley Stelfox, English actress (b. 1941)
2015 - Martin E. Brooks, American actor (b. 1925)
2016 - Greg Lake, English musician (b. 1947)
2017 - Fred J. Doocy, American politician and banker (b. 1913)
2017 - Ivan Korsak, Ukrainian writer and journalist (b. 1946)
2017 - Philippe Maystadt, Belgian politician (b. 1948)
2017 - Roland Taylor, American basketball player (b. 1946)
2018 - Belisario Betancur, Colombian politician, President of Colombia (b. 1923)
2018 - Shmuel Flatto-Sharon, French-Israeli politician (b. 1930)
2018 - Luigi Radice, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
2019 - Berkley Bedell, American politician and businessman (b. 1921)
2019 - Reinhard Bonnke, German evangelist (b. 1940)
2019 - Bump Elliott, American football player (b. 1925)
2019 - Giuseppe Frigo, Italian politician and lawyer (b. 1935)
2019 - Herbert Joos, German jazz trumpeter (b. 1940)
2019 - Ali Mufuruki, Tanzanian businessman (b. 1958)
Holidays and observances
Saint Ambrose Feast Day
United States - Pearl Harbor Day
Colombia - Dia de las Velitas (Day of the Candles): Festivity
India - The Armed Forces Flag Day
Armenia - Spitak Remembrance Day
International Civil Aviation Day
December 07