August 7

The Northern Hemisphere is considered to be halfway through its summer and the Southern Hemisphere half way through its winter on this day.

Events

*322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great.
*1461 - the Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor.
*1606 - The first documented performance of Macbeth performed at the Great Hall at Hampton Court.
*1679 - The brigantine Le Griffon, commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the south-eastern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America.
*1714 - The Battle of Gangut: the first important victory of the Russian Navy.
*1782 - George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart.
*1789 - The United States War Department is established.
*1794 - The Whiskey Rebellion begins: farmers in the Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania rebel against the federal tax on liquor and distilled drinks.
*1819 - Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá.
*1879 - The opening of the Poor Man's Palace in Manchester.
*1927 - The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.
*1933 - The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
*1940 - Alsace Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich (Germany) during World War II
*1942 - World War II: the Battle of Guadalcanal begins - United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.
*1944 - IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
*1945 - President Harry Truman announces the bombing of Hiroshima with an atomic bomb while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
*1947 - Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 7000-km (4375-mile) journey across the Pacific Ocean proving that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
* 1947 - The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).
*1955 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan.
*1959 - The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the "sheaves of wheat" design and is still in use.
* 1959 - Explorer program: Explorer 6 launched from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
*1960 - Côte d'Ivoire becomes independent.
*1964 - Vietnam War: the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving US President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
*1966 - Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.
*1967 - Vietnam War: the People's Republic of China agrees to give North Vietnam an undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant.
*1970 - California judge Harold Haley is taken hostage in his courtroom and killed during in an effort to free George Jackson from police custody.
*1973 - NBC airs the final day of the Watergate hearings on U.S. daytime television.
*1974 - Philippe Petit performed a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 ft (417.0 m) in the air.
*1976 - Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars.
*1978 - United States President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal.
*1981 - "The Washington Star" ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
*1985 - Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts.
*1988 - Rioting in New York City's Tompkins Square Park.
*1989 - U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.
*2007 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's record by hitting his 756th home run.
*2008 - Georgia launches a military offensive to surround and capture the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, from Russian control, starting the South Ossetia War.

Births

*317 - Constantius II, Roman emperor (d. 361)
*1282 - Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (d. 1316)
*1533 - Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga, Basque soldier and poet (d. 1595)
*1560 - Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and serial killer (d. 1614)
*1574 - Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, English writer (d. 1649)
*1598 - Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (d. 1672)
*1726 - James Bowdoin, American Revolutionary leader and politician (d. 1790)
*1742 - Nathanael Greene, American Revolutionary general (d. 1786)
*1751 - Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (d. 1820)
*1779 - Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (d. 1842)
* 1779 - Carl Ritter, German geographer (d. 1859)
*1783 - Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (d. 1810)
*1844 - Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist (d. 1911)
*1860 - Alan Leo, British astrologer (d. 1917)
*1862 - Victoria of Baden, Queen of Sweden (d. 1931)
*1867 - Emil Nolde, German painter (d. 1956)
*1868 - Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian mathematician (d. 1931)
*1876 - Mata Hari, Dutch spy (d. 1917)
*1877 - Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (d. 1949)
*1879 - Johannes Kotze, South African cricketer (d. 1931)
*1885 - Billie Burke, American actress (d. 1970)
*1901 - Ann Harding, American actress (d. 1981)
*1903 - Louis Leakey, British archaeologist (d. 1972)
*1904 - Ralph Bunche, American diplomat, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1971)
*1907 - Albert Kotin, American abstract painter (d. 1980)
*1911 - Nicholas Ray, American director and scenarist (d. 1979)
*1913 - George Van Eps, American guitarist (d. 1998)
*1921 - Manitas de Plata, Gypsy guitarist
*1925 - M. S. Swaminathan, Indian scientist
* 1925 - Felice Bryant, American country songwriter and singer (d. 2003)
*1926 - Stan Freberg, American voice comedian
*1927 - Edwin W. Edwards, American politician
* 1927 - Art Houtteman, American baseball player (d. 2003)
* 1927 - Carl Switzer, American child actor (d. 1959)
*1928 - Romeo Muller, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
* 1928 - James Randi, Canadian magician
*1929 - Don Larsen, American baseball player
*1931 - Charles E. Rice, American legal scholar and author
*1932 - Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian athlete (d. 1973)
* 1932 - Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist
* 1932 - Edward Hardwicke, British actor
*1933 - Eddie Firmani, South African football player and coach
*1936 - Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American saxophonist (d. 1977)
*1937 - Don Wilson, England cricketer
*1939 - Anjanette Comer, American actress
*1940 - Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian politician
*1942 - Tobin Bell, American actor
* 1942 - Garrison Keillor, American writer and radio host
* 1942 - Carlos Monzón, Argentine boxer
* 1942 - B.J. Thomas, American singer
* 1942 - Caetano Veloso, Brazilian musician
*1943 - Dino Valente, American musician (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (d. 1994)
* 1943 - Alain Corneau, French film director
*1944 - Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
* 1944 - David Rasche, American actor
*1945 - Alan Page, American football player
*1946 - Ed Seykota, American commodities and futures trader
*1947 - Franciscus Henri, Dutch-born Australian entertainer
*1948 - Greg Chappell, Australian cricket player, captain and coach
* 1948 - Marty Appel, American public relations executive and author
*1949 - Walid Jumblatt, Lebanese political leader
*1950 - Alan Keyes, American diplomat and political activist
*1952 - Alexei Sayle, British comedian
*1953 - Anne Fadiman, American writer; daughter of Clifton Fadiman
*1954 - Jonathan Pollard, Israeli spy
*1955 - Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
* 1955 - Greg Nickels, mayor of Seattle
* 1955 - Wayne Knight, American actor
* 1955 - Gregoris Valtinos, Greek actor and director
*1957 - Alexander Dityatin, Soviet gymnast
*1958 - Bruce Dickinson, English singer (Iron Maiden)
* 1958 - Alberto Salazar, American distance runner
*1959 - Ali Shah, Zimbabwean cricketer
*1960 - David Duchovny, American actor
* 1960 - Jacquie O'Sullivan, British singer (Bananarama)
*1961 - Yelena Davydova, Soviet gymnast
*1962 - Bruno Pelletier, Québécois singer
*1963 - Harold Perrineau Jr., American actor
*1964 - Michael Weishan, American TV host
* 1964 - John Birmingham, Australian author
*1966 - Kristin Hersh, American singer and guitarist (Throwing Muses)
* 1966 - Jimmy Wales, American internet entrepreneur
*1967 - Jason Grimsley, American baseball player
*1968 - Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot)
*1971 - Sydney Penny, American actress
* 1971 - Rachel York, American actress and singer
* 1971 - Dominic Cork, England cricketer
*1972 - Greg Serano, American actor
*1973 - Danny Graves, American baseball player
* 1973 - Kevin Muscat, Australian footballer
*1975 - Edgar Rentería, Colombian baseball player
* 1975 - David Hicks, Australian alleged terrorist
* 1975 - Charlize Theron, South African actress
* 1975 - Gaahl (Kristian Eivind Espedal), Norwegian musician
* 1975 - Koray Candemir, Turkish singer
*1976 - Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos, Greek footballer
* 1976 - Shane Lechler, American football player
* 1977 - Samantha Ronson, British DJ.
*1978 - Jamey Jasta, American singer (Hatebreed)
* 1978 - Alexandre Aja, French director
* 1978 - Vanness Wu, Taiwanese singer
* 1978 - Cirroc Lofton, American actor
* 1978 - Shirley Yeung, Hong Kong actress
*1979 - Eric Johnson, American actor
*1980 - Aurélie Claudel, French model
*1982 - Yana Klochkova, Ukrainian swimmer
* 1982 - Vasileios Spanoulis, Greek basketball player
*1983 - Tina O'Brien, British actress
*1987 - Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
*1988 - Melody Oliveria, American internet blogger
*1996 - Tessa Allen, American actress

Deaths

*461 - Majorian, Roman Emperor (assassinated) (b. 420)
*479 - Emperor Yūryaku of Japan
*1106 - Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1050)
*1485 - Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, Scottish prince
*1613 - Thomas Fleming, English judge (b. 1544)
*1616 - Vincenzo Scamozzi, Italian architect (b. 1548)
*1635 - Friedrich von Spee, German writer (b. 1591)
*1639 - Martin van den Hove, Dutch scientist (b. 1605)
*1661 - Jin Shengtan, Chinese editor, writer and critic (b. 1608)
*1817 - Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, French industrialist (b. 1739)
*1834 - Joseph Marie Jacquard, French weaver and inventor (b. 1752)
*1848 - Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (b. 1779)
*1855 - Mariano Arista, President of Mexico (b. 1802)
*1864 - Li Xiucheng, late Taiping‘s Field Marshal and soul person.(b. 1823)
*1893 - Alfredo Catalani, Italian musician (b. 1854)
*1912 - François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (b. 1841)
*1917 - Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, first pilot to land his aircraft on a moving ship. (b. 1891)
*1938 - Constantin Stanislavski, Russian/Soviet theatre practitioner (b. 1863)
*1941 - Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1861)
*1957 - Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (b. 1892)
*1969 - Joseph Kosma, French composer (Autumn Leaves) (b. 1905)
*1970 - Jonathan Jackson, Brother of George Jackson, Black Panther (b. 1953)
*1972 - Joi Lansing, American model and actress (b. 1929)
*1973 - Jack Gregory, Former Australian cricketer (b. 1895)
*1974 - Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (b. 1925)
* 1974 - Sylvio Mantha, professional ice hockey player (b. 1902)
*1984 - Esther Phillips, American singer (b. 1935)
*1985 - Grayson Hall, American actress (b. 1923)
*1987 - Camille Chamoun, Lebanese President (b. 1900)
*1989 - Mickey Leland, American politician, United States Congressman from Texas (b. 1944)
*1992 - John Anderson, American actor (b. 1922)
*1994 - Larry Martyn, comedy actor (b. 1934)
*1995 - Brigid Brophy, British author (b. 1929)
*1999 - Brion James, American actor (b. 1945)
*2003 - Mickey McDermott, baseball player (b. 1929)
*2004 - Red Adair, American oil field firefighter (b. 1915)
* 2004 - Colin Bibby, English ornithologist (b. 1948)
*2005 - Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor (b. 1938)
*2006 - Mary Anderson Bain, American New Deal politician (b. 1911)
*2007 - Hal Fishman, Los Angeles based local news anchor. (b. 1931)
* 2007 - Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director and producer. (b. 1917)
* 2007 - Angus Tait, New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman (b. 1919)
*2008 - Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent/manager and producer (b. 1931)
* 2008 - Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A. (b. 1957)

Holidays and observances

*BC Day - Province of Canada.
*Civic Holiday - Canada.
*Emancipation Day - Turks and Caicos Islands.
* National Holiday in Colombia: Battle of Boyaca, birth of Bogotá.
Roman Catholicism
* St. Afra, virgin martyr
* St. Albert of Trapani (Albert of Sicily)
*Saint Cajetan of Thienna, priest, confessor [common]
* St. Carpophorus
* St. Donatus of Arezzo
* St. Peter, Julian and Companions
*Saint Sixtus II, pope and companions, martyrs (sometimes only confessors) [common]
*Saint Juliana of Cornillon
*Saint Mary of Egypt [Cologne, Trier]

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7 BBC: On This Day]
*NYT On this day|month=08|day=07
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Aug&day=07 On This Day in Canada] ----