Did you know
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was a Salesian priest before entering politics.
February 7 in History
1991 — Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in
February 7 spans 48 recorded events across recorded history, from 457 to 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
48 events
457 – 2024
Today in history
More major events on February 7
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1979 Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered. Source
- 2013 The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995. Source
- 2024 Pakistan election offices are hit by twin bombings, killing at least 24 people a day before general elections. Source
Did you know
Aristide served as president of Haiti from 1993 to 1994 and from 2001 to 2004.
Did you know
He founded the party Fanmi Lavalas in 1996 after being a member of the Lavalas Political Organization.
Did you know
Aristide lived in exile from 1991 to 1994 and again from 2004 to 2011.
Did you know
Aristide's presidency was interrupted by two military coups, in 1991 and 2004.
987
Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II.
10th-century Byzantine general
1285
A synod at Blachernae convened by anti-Unionist Greek clergy condemns the former pro-Unionist patriarch John XI of Constantinople.
Eastern Orthodox council rejecting church unionisation
1301
Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales.
Town and community in Gwynedd, Wales
1313
King Thihathu founds the Pinya Kingdom as the de jure successor state of the Pagan Kingdom.
King of Myinsaing–Pinya (1265–1325)
1365
Albert III of Mecklenburg (King Albert of Sweden) grants city rights to Ulvila (Swedish: Ulvsby).
North German dynasty of Slavic origin
1497
In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a "Bonfire of the vanities".
Largest city in Tuscany, Italy
1756
Guaraní War: The leader of the Guaraní rebels, Sepé Tiaraju, is killed in a skirmish with Spanish and Portuguese troops.
1756 conflict in South America
1783
American Revolutionary War: French and Spanish forces lift the Great Siege of Gibraltar.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1795
The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
1795 amendment restricting ability to sue states in federal courts
1807
Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon finds Bennigsen's Russian forces taking a stand at Eylau.
After bitter fighting, the French take the town, but the Russians resume the battle the next day.
1812
The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri.
Series of earthquakes during 1811–1812 impacting on Missouri, USA
1813
In the action of 7 February 1813 near the Îles de Los, the frigates Aréthuse and Amelia batter each other, but neither can gain the upper hand.
1813 battle of the Napoleonic Wars
1819
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking it over, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar.
British colonial official (1781–1826)
1842
Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien.
Ethiopian battle in 1842
1854
A law is approved to found the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Lectures started October 16, 1855.
1863
HMS Orpheus sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189.
British naval corvette (sank 1863)
1894
The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States.
Labor strike by the Western Federation of Miners in Colorado
1898
Dreyfus affair: Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse...!
1894–1906 political scandal in France
1900
Second Boer War: British troops fail in their third attempt to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.
1899–1902 war in South Africa
1900
A Chinese immigrant in San Francisco falls ill to bubonic plague in the first plague epidemic in the continental United States.
Human and animal disease
1904
The Great Baltimore Fire begins in Baltimore, Maryland; it destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.
1904 fire in Baltimore, Maryland, United States
1940
The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres.
American animator, producer and entrepreneur (1901–1966)
1943
World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy forces complete the evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in the Guadalcanal campaign.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1944
World War II: In Anzio, Italy, German forces launch a counteroffensive during the Allied Operation Shingle.
Comune in Lazio, Italy
1951
Korean War: More than 700 suspected communist sympathizers are massacred by South Korean forces.
1950–1953 conflict on the Korean Peninsula
1962
The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports.
Ongoing restriction on trade with Cuba by the United States
1964
The Beatles land in the United States for the first time, at the newly renamed John F.
Kennedy International Airport.
1966
The Great Fire of Iloilo breaks out in a lumber yard in Iznart Street and burns for almost half a day destroying nearly three-quarters of the City Proper area and Php 50 million pesos in total properties' damage.
Fire in Iloilo City, Philippines
1979
Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered.
Largest dwarf planet
1981
A plane crash at Pushkin Airport kills 50 people, including 16 members of the Pacific Fleet.
Plane crash in Leningrad, USSR
1984
Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission: astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L.
Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).
1986
Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.
Country in the Caribbean
1990
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.
1988–1991 breakup of the sovereign state
1991
The Troubles: The Provisional IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street in London, the headquarters of the British government.
1960s–1998 conflict in Northern Ireland
1992
The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union.
1992 founding treaty of the European Union
1995
Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Pakistani terrorist (born 1968)
1999
Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.
King of Jordan since 1999
2001
Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-98, carrying the Destiny laboratory module to the International Space Station.
Space Shuttle orbiter (1985–2011)
2009
Bushfires in Victoria leave 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.
2009 Australian fires
2012
President Mohamed Nasheed of the Republic of Maldives resigns, after 23 days of anti-governmental protests calling for the release of the Chief Judge unlawfully arrested by the military.
President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012
2013
The U.S.
state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995.
2014
Scientists announce that the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, date back to more than 800,000 years ago, making them the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa.
Fossilized hominid footprints in Norfolk, England
2016
North Korea launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into outer space violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world.
2016 North Korean reconnaissance satellite
2024
Pakistan election offices are hit by twin bombings, killing at least 24 people a day before general elections.
Bombings in Pakistan