October 7 in History

Significant events that happened on this day.

Historical Events

2016

A man in Florida tried to pay for his McDonald's order with a bag of weed

The customer at a St. Petersburg McDonald's drive-through attempted to use marijuana as currency when the cashier asked if he had anything smaller tha...

2003

Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California in a recall election

The bodybuilding champion turned action star became the 38th governor in one of the most unusual elections in American history. The recall ballot feat...

2001

The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan began with Operation Enduring Freedom

Major

In response to the September 11 attacks, American and British forces launched military operations against the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda. This marked...

1993

A 13-year-old boy in California became the youngest person ever to fly across the United States

Tony Aliengena completed his coast-to-coast flight despite having no legs below the knees, a condition he'd had since birth. The journey took 8 months...

1982

Cats opened on Broadway and would go on to run for 18 years

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical became one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, with 7,485 performances. The show about jellicle cats compe...

1969

The BBC broadcast the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, unleashing absurdist comedy on an unsuspecting world

The revolutionary sketch comedy show debuted with no studio audience and broke every rule of television comedy. The troupe's surreal, stream-of-consci...

1959

The Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft transmitted the first-ever photographs of the far side of the Moon

Major

For the first time in human history, we saw what had been hidden from Earth for all of time. The probe captured about 70% of the far side, revealing a...

1952

The first bar code patent was issued to inventors Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver

The patent for "Classifying Apparatus and Method" laid the groundwork for the ubiquitous technology, though bar codes wouldn't be commercially used un...

1949

East Germany was officially established as the German Democratic Republic

Major

The Soviet occupation zone formally became a separate socialist state, solidifying the division of Germany that would last until 1990. This marked the...

1916

Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222-0 in the most lopsided college football game ever

Cumberland showed up with just 14 players (no substitutes) and their team had actually disbanded before the season, but honored the contract. Georgia...

1826

The Granite Railway became America's first commercial railroad

Built in Quincy, Massachusetts, this 3-mile railway was constructed to transport granite blocks from a quarry for the construction of the Bunker Hill...

1777

The Second Battle of Saratoga ended with a decisive American victory that became the turning point of the Revolutionary War

Major

British General John Burgoyne's surrender of 6,000 troops convinced France to enter the war as America's ally. This battle is often called one of the...

1571

The Battle of Lepanto saw the largest naval battle in Mediterranean history with over 400 ships

Major

The Holy League's fleet decisively defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras, with an estimated 200,000+ men engaged in combat. This battle ma...