December 7 in History

Marcus Tullius Cicero ( SISS-ər-oh, Classical Latin: [ˈmaːrkʊs ˈtʊlli.ʊs ˈkɪkɛroː]; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, and writer who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises of the Roman Republic that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire. The extensive writings of Cicero include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy, and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as "Ciceronian rhetoric". Cicero was educated in Rome and in Greece. He came from a wealthy municipal (municipium) family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC. Cicero greatly influenced both ancient and modern reception of the Latin language. A substantial percentage of his work has survived, and he was admired by ancient and modern authors alike. He adapted the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy in Latin and coined a large portion of Latin philosophical vocabulary via lexical innovation (e.g. neologisms such as evidentia, generator, humanitas, infinitio, qualitas, and quantitas), almost 150 of which were the result of translating Greek philosophical terms. Although he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. During his consulship in 63 BC, he suppressed the Catilinarian conspiracy; however, because he had summarily and controversially executed five of the conspirators without trial, he was exiled in 58 but recalled the next year. Spending much of the 50s unhappy with the state of Roman politics, he took a governorship in Cilicia in 51 and returned to Italy on the eve of Caesar's civil war. Supporting Pompey during the war, Cicero was pardoned after Caesar's victory. After the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC, he led the Roman Senate against Mark Antony, attacking him in a series of speeches (Philippicae). He elevated Caesar's heir Octavian to rally support against Antony in the ensuing violent conflict (War of Mutina); however, after Octavian and Antony reconciled to form the Second Triumvirate (with Lepidus), Cicero was proscribed and executed in late 43 BC while attempting to escape Italy for safety. His severed hands and head were then displayed on the Rostra. Cicero's hands and head were taken by order of Antony and displayed to represent the repercussions of his anti-Antonian actions (notably his Philippicae) as a writer and as an orator respectively. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs (res publica), humanism, and classical Roman culture. According to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, "the Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity." The peak of Cicero's authority and prestige came during the 18th-century Enlightenment. His impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers and political theorists, such as John Locke, David Hume, Montesquieu, and Edmund Burke, was substantial. His works rank among the most influential in global culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic.

Justin II was Eastern Roman emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the niece of Justinian's wife Theodora.

The Sajid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty, of Iranian origin, that ruled from 889/890 until 929. The Sajids ruled Azerbaijan and parts of Armenia first from Maragha and Barda and then from Ardabil. The Sajids originated from the Central Asian province of Ushrusana and were of Iranian (Sogdian) descent and culturally Arabised. Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad the son of Diwdad, the first Sajid ruler of Azerbaijan, was appointed as its ruler in 889 or 890. Muhammad's father Abu'l-Saj Devdad had fought under the Ushrusanan prince Afshin Khaydar during the latter's final campaign against the rebel Babak Khorramdin in Azerbaijan, and later served the caliphs. Toward the end of the tenth century, as the central authority of the Abbasid Caliphate weakened, Muhammad was able to form a virtually independent state. Much of the Sajids' energies were spent in attempting to take control of neighboring Armenia. The dynasty ended with the death of Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath in 929.

The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by an attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. Closing the gates was an act of rebellion against James II. The second attempt began on 18 April 1689 when James himself appeared before the walls with an Irish army led by Jacobite and French officers. The town was summoned to surrender but refused. The siege began. The besiegers tried to storm the walls, but failed. They then resorted to starving Derry. They raised the siege and left when supply ships broke through to the town. The siege lasted 105 days from 18 April to 1 August 1689. It is commemorated yearly by the Protestant community.

The Great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck south Wales and central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships were blown hundreds of miles off-course, and over 1,000 seamen died on the Goodwin Sands alone. News bulletins of casualties and damage were sold all over England and Wales – a novelty at that time. The Church of England declared that the storm was God's vengeance for the sins of the nation.

The Tumult of Thorn (Toruń), or Blood-Bath of Thorn (Polish: Tumult toruński; German: Thorner Blutgericht, lit. 'Bloody court of Thorn') refers to executions ordered in 1724 by the Polish supreme court under Augustus II the Strong of Poland. During a religious conflict between Protestant townsfolk represented by mayor Johann Gottfried Rösner, and the Roman Catholic students of the Jesuit college in the city of Thorn (Toruń) in Royal Prussia, the college had been vandalised by a crowd of German Protestants. The mayor and nine other Lutheran officials were blamed for neglect of duty, sentenced to death, and executed on 7 December 1724.

The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, which are known collectively as the Royal Ballet and Opera. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the third theatre on the site, following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856 to previous buildings. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. The main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 14.80 metres (48 ft 7 in) wide, with the stage of the same depth and 12.20 metres (40 ft 0 in) high. The main auditorium is a Grade I listed building. The Royal Opera House companies were rebranded as the Royal Ballet and Opera in 2024, but the building retains the title of The Royal Opera House.

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, known in the United States as Lafayette, was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Continental Army, led by General George Washington, in the American Revolutionary War. Lafayette commanded Continental Army troops in the decisive siege of Yorktown in 1781, the Revolutionary War's final major battle, which secured American independence. After returning to France, Lafayette became a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830 and continues to be celebrated as a hero in both France and the United States.

Delaware is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state's name derives from the adjacent Delaware Bay, which in turn was named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and the Colony of Virginia's first colonial-era governor.

The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern was an engagement which took place on December 7, 1837 during the Upper Canada Rebellion. The abortive revolutionary insurrection, inspired by William Lyon Mackenzie, was crushed by British authorities and Canadian volunteer units near John Montgomery's tavern on Yonge Street at Eglinton, north of Toronto. The site of Montgomery's Tavern was designated a National Historic Site in 1925 and a historical marker sits at the south-west corner of Yonge Street and Broadway Avenue.

The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., and globally known as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, it is one of the leading American orchestras popularly called the "Big Five". The philharmonic's home is David Geffen Hall, at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are typically faster and more maneuverable than merchant ships. Unlike a merchant ship, which carries cargo, a warship typically carries only weapons, ammunition and supplies for its crew. In wartime, the distinction between warships and merchant ships is often blurred. Until the 17th century it was common for merchant ships to be pressed into naval service, and not unusual for more than half of a fleet to be composed of merchant ships—there was not a large difference in construction, unlike the difference between a heavily armoured battleship and an ocean liner. Until the threat of piracy subsided in the 19th century, it was normal practice to arm larger merchant ships such as galleons. Warships have also often been used as troop carriers or supply ships, such as by the French Navy in the 18th century or the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. In war since the early 20th century, merchant ships were often armed and used as auxiliary warships, such as the Q-ships of the First World War and the armed merchant cruisers of the Second World War.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, World War I caused 15 to 22 million deaths, including those resulting from war crimes and genocides. The war also contributed to the spread of the Spanish flu pandemic. The conflict saw important developments in weaponry, including machine guns, artillery, aircraft, chemical weapons, and tanks.

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore order during the Troubles, resulting in the introduction of direct rule. It was abolished under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate causes of phenomena, and usually frame their understanding in mathematical terms. They work across a wide range of research fields, spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic and particle physics, through biological physics, to cosmological length scales encompassing the universe as a whole. The field generally includes two types of physicists: experimental physicists who specialize in the observation of natural phenomena and the development and analysis of experiments, and theoretical physicists who specialize in mathematical modeling of physical systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena.

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that is played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding bats, while one player from the fielding team, the bowler, bowls the ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each of these swaps. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

Operation Frankton was a commando raid on ships in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux in southwest France during World War II. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD), part of Combined Operations, inserted by the submarine HMS Tuna captained by Lieutenant-Commander Dick Raikes who, earlier, had been awarded the DSO for operations while in command of the submarine HMS Seawolf (47S). The RMBPD would later form the Special Boat Service. The plan was for six folding kayaks to be taken to the area of the Gironde estuary by submarine. Twelve men would then paddle by night to Bordeaux. On arrival they would attack the docked cargo ships with limpet mines and then escape overland to Spain. Men from no.1 section were selected for the raid; including the commanding officer, Herbert "Blondie" Hasler, and with the reserve marine Colley the team numbered thirteen in total. One kayak was damaged while being deployed from the submarine, and it and its crew therefore could not take part in the mission. Only two of the ten men who launched from the submarine survived the raid: Hasler, and his number two in the kayak, Bill Sparks. Of the other eight, six were executed by the Germans and two died from hypothermia. Two German vessels were sunk with another four suffering varying degrees of damage.

The 1944 Tōnankai earthquake occurred at 13:35 local time (04:35 UTC) on 7 December. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale (making it the strongest known earthquake of 1944) and a maximum felt intensity of greater than 5 Shindo (about VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale). It triggered a large tsunami that caused serious damage along the coast of Wakayama Prefecture and the Tōkai region. Together, the earthquake and tsunami caused 3,358 casualties.

The Winecoff Hotel fire, of December 7, 1946, was the deadliest hotel fire in American history, killing 119 hotel occupants, including the hotel's original owners. Located at 176 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, the Winecoff Hotel was advertised as "absolutely fireproof". While the hotel's steel structure was indeed protected against the effects of fire, its interior finishes were combustible and the building's exit arrangements consisted of a single stairway serving all fifteen floors. All of the hotel's occupants above the fire's origin on the third floor were trapped, and the fire's survivors either were rescued from upper-story windows or jumped into nets held by firemen. A number of victims jumped to their deaths. A photograph of one survivor's fall won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. The fire — which followed the June 5, 1946, La Salle Hotel fire in Chicago (with 61 fatalities), and the June 9, also 1946, Canfield Hotel fire in Dubuque, Iowa (with 19 fatalities) — spurred significant changes in North American building codes, most significantly requiring multiple protected means of egress and self-closing fire-resistant doors for guest rooms in hotels.

The Chinese Civil War was fought between the government of the Republic of China (ROC), led by the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermittently from 1 August 1927 until Communist victory that led to the Kuomintang's retreat to Taiwan on 7 December 1949. The war is generally divided into two phases with an interlude. In 1926 and 1927, the KMT and the CCP, allied with one another in the First United Front, had carried out a very successful campaign, the Northern Expedition, against warlords in central China. The CCP calls this the First Revolutionary Civil War. The united front broke up and war broke out between the KMT and the CCP on 1 August 1927. The CCP calls this the Second Revolutionary Civil War; it lasted until 1937. From 1937 to 1945, hostilities were mostly put on hold as the Second United Front fought the Japanese invasion of China with eventual help from the Allies of World War II. However, armed clashes between the groups remained common. The civil war resumed as soon as it became apparent that Japanese defeat was imminent, with the communists gaining the upper hand in the second phase of the war from 1945 to 1949, generally referred to as the Chinese Communist Revolution. The CCP calls this the Third Revolutionary Civil War. The Communists gained control of mainland China and proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) in October 1949, while the Republic of China government retreated to the island of Taiwan in December. Starting in the 1950s, a lasting political and military stand-off between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has ensued, with the ROC in Taiwan and the PRC on the mainland both claiming to be the legitimate government of all China. In addition, ROC guerrilla forces continued to operate in mainland China and northern Burma until 1961. After the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, both tacitly ceased to engage in open conflict in 1979; however, no armistice or peace treaty has ever been signed.

Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 until his death in 2005. Rainier was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco as the only son of Hereditary Princess Charlotte and Prince Pierre. During his reign, he was responsible for the transformation of Monaco's economy, shifting from its traditional casino gambling base to its current status as a tax haven and cultural destination. The Prince also coordinated the substantial reforms of Monaco's constitution, which limited the powers of sovereign rule. Rainier married American film star Grace Kelly in 1956, which generated global media attention. They had three children: Caroline, Albert and Stéphanie. Rainier died in April 2005 from complications relating to a lung infection compromised by years of cigarette smoking; he was succeeded by his son, Albert II. His reign of 56 years is the second-longest in Monégasque history, after Honoré III.

Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. Born in Concesio, Montini served in the Holy See's Secretariat of State from 1922 to 1954, and along with Domenico Tardini was considered the closest and most influential advisor of Pope Pius XII. In 1954, Pius named Montini Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese. Montini later became the Secretary of the Italian Bishops' Conference. John XXIII elevated Montini to the College of Cardinals in 1958, and after his death, Montini was, with little to no opposition, elected his successor, taking the name Paul VI. He reconvened the Second Vatican Council, which had been suspended during the interregnum. After its conclusion, Paul VI took charge of the interpretation and implementation of its mandates, finely balancing the conflicting expectations of various Catholic groups. The resulting reforms were among the widest and deepest in the Church's history. Paul VI spoke repeatedly to Marian conventions and Mariological meetings, visited Marian shrines and issued three Marian encyclicals. Following Ambrose of Milan, he named Mary as the Mother of the Church during the Second Vatican Council. In January 1964, he flew to Jordan, the first time a reigning pontiff had left Italy in more than a century. His opposition to birth control was published in the 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae. Paul VI described himself as a humble servant of a suffering humanity and demanded significant changes from the rich in North America and Europe in favour of the poor in the Third World. Pope Benedict XVI, citing his heroic virtue, proclaimed him venerable on 20 December 2012. Pope Francis beatified Paul VI on 19 October 2014, after the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession. His liturgical feast was celebrated on the date of his birth, 26 September, until 2019 when it was changed to the date of his priestly ordination, 29 May. Pope Francis canonised him on 14 October 2018.

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population in the world as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.

Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final crewed mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited above. Schmitt was the only professional geologist to land on the Moon; he was selected in place of Joe Engle, as NASA had been under pressure to send a scientist to the Moon. The mission's heavy emphasis on science meant the inclusion of a number of new experiments, including a biological experiment containing five mice that stayed in orbit with Evans. Mission planners had two primary goals in deciding on the landing site: to sample lunar highland material older than that at Mare Imbrium and to investigate the possibility of relatively recent volcanic activity. They therefore selected Taurus–Littrow, where formations that had been viewed and pictured from lunar orbit were thought to be volcanic in nature. Since all three crew members had backed up previous Apollo lunar missions, they were familiar with the Apollo spacecraft and had more time for geology training. Launched at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 7, 1972, following the only launchpad delay in the Apollo program, which was caused by a hardware problem, Apollo 17 was a "J-type" mission that included three days on the lunar surface, expanded scientific capability, and the use of the third Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). Cernan and Schmitt landed in the Taurus–Littrow valley, completed three moonwalks, took lunar samples and deployed scientific instruments. Orange soil was discovered at Shorty crater; it proved to be volcanic in origin, although from early in the Moon's history. Evans remained in lunar orbit in the command and service module, taking scientific measurements and photographs. The spacecraft returned to Earth on December 19. It was the last human flight beyond low Earth orbit until the Artemis II lunar flyby in April 2026. The mission broke several records for crewed spaceflight, including the longest crewed lunar landing mission (12 days, 14 hours), greatest distance from a spacecraft during an extravehicular activity of any type (7.6 kilometers or 4.7 miles), longest time on the lunar surface (75 hours), longest total duration of lunar-surface extravehicular activities (22 hours, 4 minutes), largest lunar-sample return (approximately 115 kg or 254 lb), longest time in lunar orbit (6 days, 4 hours), and greatest number of lunar orbits (75).

Texas is a state in the United States. Located in the south-central part of the country, it borders Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. It also borders Mexico along the Rio Grande, and has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km2) and with an estimated population of over 31.7 million residents in 2025, it is the second-largest state by both area and population. Texas is nicknamed the "Lone Star State" for the single star depicted on the Republic of Texas flag in 1836 during the Texas war for independence from Mexico, symbolizing Texans' enduring independent spirit and distinct national identity. The lone star design was originally flown in 1819 during the Long Expedition, an early attempt to liberate Texas from Spanish imperial rule.

Iberia, legally incorporated as Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A. Operadora, Sociedad Unipersonal, is the flag carrier of Spain. Founded in 1927 and based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main base of Madrid–Barajas Airport. Iberia, with Iberia Regional and with Iberia Express, is a part of International Airlines Group. In addition to transporting passengers and freight, Iberia Group carries out related activities, such as aircraft maintenance, handling in airports, IT systems and in-flight catering. Iberia Group airlines fly to over 109 destinations in 39 countries, and a further 90 destinations through code-sharing agreements with other airlines.

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 was a scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles International Airport to San Francisco International Airport that crashed in San Luis Obispo County, California, on December 7, 1987, following an armed attack aboard the aircraft. All 43 people aboard the British Aerospace 146-200, registered N350PS, were killed.

On December 7, 1993, a mass shooting occurred aboard a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train in Garden City Park, New York, United States. As the train arrived at the Merillon Avenue station, passenger Colin Ferguson began firing at passengers with a semi-automatic pistol. Six of the victims were killed and 19 others were wounded before Ferguson was tackled and held down by other passengers on the train.

Galileo was an American robotic space probe that studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as the asteroids Gaspra and Ida. Named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, it consisted of an orbiter and an entry probe. It was delivered into Earth orbit on October 18, 1989, by Space Shuttle Atlantis, during STS-34. Galileo arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1995, after gravitational assist flybys of Venus and Earth, and became the first spacecraft to orbit an outer planet.

Khabarovsk United Air Group Flight 3949 was a Russian domestic passenger flight from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Khabarovsk, that crashed on 7 December 1995 local time, killing all ninety-eight people aboard. The crash occurred after the aircraft had entered into a steep downward spiral during automated flight at an altitude of 10,600 metres (34,800 ft).

Air Caraïbes is a French West Indian airline, with its headquarters in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. The airline's main base of operations is at Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, with a focus city at Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport, near Fort-de-France in Martinique. It operates scheduled and charter services in the West Indies, as well as transatlantic flights to and from Paris Orly Airport in Metropolitan France.

Rigoberto Alpizar was a Costa Rican-born United States citizen who was fatally shot at Miami International Airport by two United States Federal Air Marshals.

A furry convention is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom – people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human animal characters with human characteristics. These conventions provide a place for fans to meet, exchange ideas, transact business and engage in entertainment and recreation centered on this concept. Originating in California during the mid-1980s, as of 2016 there are over 50 furry conventions worldwide each year.

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661 was a Pakistani domestic passenger flight from Chitral to Islamabad, operated by Pakistan's flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines. On 7 December 2016, the aircraft serving the route, an ATR 42-500 twin-turboprop, crashed near Havelian following an engine failure. All 47 people on board died, including singer-turned-preacher and entrepreneur Junaid Jamshed, and the Deputy Commissioner of the District of Chitral.

On December 7, 2017, a school shooting occurred at Aztec High School in Aztec, New Mexico, United States. The perpetrator, William Atchison, a 21-year-old former student of Aztec High, entered the school disguised as a student and hid in the school restroom. He was discovered by student Francisco Fernandez, whom he then shot and killed, before killing another student in the hallway. He attempted to enter a classroom, but a teacher barricaded the door with a couch, preventing him from entering. Atchison then killed himself.

On 7 December 2024, the Syrian opposition group known as the Southern Operations Room, in co-ordination with the Military Operations Command, led forces that entered the Rif Dimashq region of Syria from the south, and those forces then came within 20 kilometres (12 mi) of the capital Damascus. The Syrian Army withdrew from multiple points in the outskirts. Concurrently with the advance towards Damascus, opposition militia Tahrir al-Sham and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army in the north launched an offensive into Homs, while the Syrian Free Army advanced into the capital from the southeast. By 8 December 2024, rebel forces entered the city's Barzeh neighborhood. According to official state reports in Russian mass media and media footage, President Bashar al-Assad left Damascus by air to Moscow, where he was granted asylum, sealing the fall of his regime.

Lando Norris is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2025 with McLaren, and has won 13 Grands Prix across eight seasons.

On 7 December 2025, several soldiers of the Benin Armed Forces (FAB) led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri announced on national television the overthrow of Patrice Talon, the president of Benin, following an attack on Talon's residence in Cotonou and the residences of other top-ranking military officials. Talon's government requested military assistance from Nigeria, and hours later, Beninese interior minister Alassane Seidou said that the coup attempt had been thwarted. The ECOWAS Standby Force was then deployed to maintain security. Several people on both sides, including one civilian, were killed during the attempt.