September 7

Historic Events

2021

Bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador. ›

2021

The National Unity Government of Myanmar declares a people's defensive war against the military junta during the Myanmar civil war. ›

2019

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 66 others are released in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. ›

2017

The 8.2 Mw 2017 Chiapas earthquake strikes southern Mexico, killing at least 60 people. ›

2012

Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, over nuclear plans and purported human rights abuses. ›

2011

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in Russia kills 43 people, including nearly the entire roster of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Kontinental Hockey League team. ›

2010

A Chinese fishing trawler collides with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the Senkaku Islands. ›

2008

The United States government takes control of the two largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ›

2005

Egypt holds its first-ever multi-party presidential election. ›

1999

The 6.0 Mw Athens earthquake affects the area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 143, injuring 800–1,600, and leaving 50,000 homeless. ›

1997

Maiden flight of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. ›

1995

Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-69, the second flight of the Wake Shield Facility. ›

1986

Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town. ›

1986

Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet survives an assassination attempt by the FPMR; five of Pinochet's bodyguards are killed. ›

1984

An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat disposing of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo kills seven soldiers and policemen. ›

1979

The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for US$1.5 billion to avoid bankruptcy. ›

1978

While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Gullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially designed umbrella. ›

1977

The Torrijos–Carter Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The United States agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century. ›

1977

The 300-metre (980 ft) tall CKVR-DT transmission tower in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, is hit by a light aircraft in a fog, causing it to collapse. All aboard the aircraft are killed. ›

1970

Fighting begins between Arab guerrillas and government forces in Jordan. ›

1970

Vietnam Television is established. ›

1965

During an Indo-Pakistani War, China announces that it will reinforce its troops on the Indian border. ›

1965

Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula. ›

1963

The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members. ›

1953

Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ›

1945

World War II: Japanese forces on Wake Island, which they had held since December 1941, surrender to U.S. Marines. ›

1945

The Berlin Victory Parade of 1945 is held. ›

1943

A fire at the Gulf Hotel in Houston kills 55 people. ›

1943

World War II: The German 17th Army begins its evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead (Taman Peninsula) in southern Russia and moves across the Strait of Kerch to the Crimea. ›

1942

World War II: Japanese marines are forced to withdraw during the Battle of Milne Bay. ›

1940

Romania returns Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria under the Treaty of Craiova. ›

1936

The last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial, dies alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. ›

1932

The Battle of Boquerón, the first major battle of the Chaco War, commences. ›

1929

Steamer Kuru capsizes and sinks on Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere in Finland. One hundred thirty-six lives are lost. ›

1927

The first fully electronic television system is achieved by Philo Farnsworth. ›

1923

The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is formed. ›

1921

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held. ›

1921

The Legion of Mary, the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church, is founded in Dublin, Ireland. ›

1920

Two newly purchased Savoia flying boats crash in the Swiss Alps en route to Finland where they were to serve with the Finnish Air Force, killing both crews. ›

1916

US federal employees win the right to workers' compensation by Federal Employers Liability Act (39 Stat. 742; 5 U.S.C. 751). ›

1911

French poet Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and put in jail on suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum. ›

1909

Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Port-Aviation (often called "Juvisy Airfield") at Viry-Châtillon, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life piloting a powered heavier-than-air craft.[better source needed] ›

1907

Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City. ›

1906

Alberto Santos-Dumont flies his 14-bis aircraft at Bagatelle, France successfully for the first time. ›

1903

The Ottoman Empire launches a counter-offensive against the Strandzha Commune, which dissolves. ›

1901

The Boxer Rebellion in Qing dynasty (modern-day China) officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol. ›

1876

In Northfield, Minnesota, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang attempt to rob the town's bank but are driven off by armed citizens. ›

1864

American Civil War: Atlanta is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. ›

1863

American Civil War: Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore capture Fort Wagner in Morris Island after a seven-week siege. ›

1860

Unification of Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Naples. ›

1857

Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers slaughter most members of a peaceful emigrant wagon train. ›

1856

The Saimaa Canal is inaugurated. ›

1822

Dom Pedro I declares Brazil independent from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga Brook in São Paulo. ›

1818

Carl III of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim. ›

1812

French invasion of Russia: The Battle of Borodino, the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, is fought near Moscow and results in a French victory. ›

1778

American Revolutionary War: France invades Dominica in the British West Indies, before Britain is even aware of France's involvement in the war. ›

1776

According to American colonial reports, Ezra Lee makes the world's first submarine attack in the Turtle, attempting to attach a time bomb to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor (no British records of this attack exist). ›

1764

Election of Stanisław August Poniatowski as the last ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. ›

1736

Following the Porteous Riots, a mob storms the Tolbooth prison in Edinburgh and lynches John Porteous. ›

1714

The treaty of Baden between the kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire is ratified. ›

1706

War of the Spanish Succession: Siege of Turin ends, leading to the withdrawal of French forces from North Italy. ›

1695

Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to end all English trading in India. ›

1652

Around 15,000 Han farmers and militia rebel against Dutch rule on Taiwan. ›

1625

The Treaty of Southampton makes an alliance between England and the Dutch Republic against Spain. ›

1620

The town of Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. ›

1571

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is arrested for his role in the Ridolfi plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. ›

1565

Arrival of the so-called Grande Soccorso ("great relief") by Philip II of Spain to the Great Siege of Malta. ›

1303

Guillaume de Nogaret takes Pope Boniface VIII prisoner on behalf of Philip IV of France. ›

1228

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II lands in Acre, and starts the Sixth Crusade, which results in a peaceful restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. ›

1191

Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. ›

1159

Cardinal Rolando Bandinelli is elected Pope Alexander III, prompting the election of Cardinal Octaviano Monticelli as Antipope Victor IV the same day. ›

878

Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII. ›