A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 7th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On February 7, 1497, the followers of Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola of Florence, Italy, gathered and burned a large quantity of objects they referred to as “vanities,” objects such as cosmetics, books, artwork, mirrors, fancy clothes, playing cards, and musical instruments, any objects these religious zealots thought could lead people to sin.
On February 7, 1795, the 12th state needed to ratify the 11th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (North Carolina) voted to ratify the Amendment, thus making it part of the law of the land.
On February 7, 1863, the waters off New Zealand witnessed the worst maritime disaster in that country’s history when the Royal Navy corvette, HMS Orpheus went aground and sank while trying to enter Manukau Harbour, leaving 189 of the 259 man crew dead.
On February 7, 1882, John L. Sullivan became the last of the bare-knuckle boxing champions with an eighth-round knockout of Paddy Ryan.
On February 7, 1885, one of the first great industrialists to bring Japan from a backwater third world nation to a modern industrial giant died of stomach cancer.
On February 7, 1981, a Soviet airliner carrying 6 crewmen and 44 passengers crashed immediately after takeoff from Pushkin Airport near Leningrad, killing all 50 people aboard the jetliner.
On February 7, 1984, two astronauts from the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-41-B made space exploration history by taking the first untethered space walk outside of their space ship.
On February 7, 1992, signatories from the 12 member states of the European Economic Community signed the Maastricht Treaty, so named after the city in which it was signed, Maastricht, The Netherlands, which more or less created a modern United States of Europe, although it is actually called The European Union.
February 7, 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the “British Invasion,” a period in which British rock and roll musicians flooded the United States, starting with the greatest of them all, The Beatles.
On February 7, 2014, scientists in England verified that footprints found in an uncovered sediment layer in Happisburgh, Norfolk were of human, or “hominid” origin and dated back about 900,000 years.
On February 7, 2023, US President Joe Biden gave his second State of the Union Address.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.