A Swedish man named his son 'Google' as a tribute to the search engine
The father said Google helped him find information during pregnancy and parenting, so he wanted to honor the company. Swedish authorities approved the...
April 7 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2017
2009
A massive dust storm turned Sydney's sky orange and reduced visibility to less than 100 meters
The Australian city woke up to apocalyptic orange skies as winds carried millions of tons of red dust from the outback. The dust was so thick that it...
2003
A man in Belgium legally changed his name to 'Strange Uncle' in his native language
Guy Verriest changed his name to 'Vreemde Oom' (Strange Uncle in Dutch) after losing a bet with friends. Belgian authorities approved the change, and...
2001
Mars Odyssey was launched on a mission to study the Red Planet's surface
The spacecraft discovered vast amounts of water ice just beneath Mars' surface and found the perfect landing site for future missions. It became the l...
1990
John Poindexter was found guilty of lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra affair
The former National Security Advisor was convicted on five felony counts of lying, obstruction, and conspiracy. However, his convictions were later re...
1978
President Jimmy Carter decided to postpone production of the neutron bomb
The weapon was controversial because it was designed to kill people with radiation while leaving buildings intact, earning it the nickname 'the capita...
1969
The Internet's symbolic birth date occurred when RFC 1 was published
MajorSteve Crocker published the first Request for Comments document, which outlined host-to-host communication protocols. These RFCs became the informal b...
1948
The World Health Organization was officially established
MajorWHO came into being when its constitution was ratified by the 26th member state. Its first major achievement was declaring smallpox eradicated in 1980...
1945
The Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever built, was sunk by American aircraft
MajorOn a suicide mission with only enough fuel for a one-way trip to Okinawa, the massive ship was struck by at least 11 torpedoes and 6 bombs. When its a...
1940
Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be depicted on a U.S. postage stamp
The 10-cent stamp was part of the Famous Americans series and honored the educator and civil rights leader. This broke a significant color barrier in...
1933
Prohibition ended for beer with 3.2% alcohol content in the United States
This date became known as 'New Beer's Eve' as people lined up at breweries at midnight for the first legal beer in 13 years. An estimated 1.5 million...
1927
The first long-distance public television broadcast transmitted an image from Washington D.C. to New York City
Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover appeared on screen in New York while speaking from Washington, becoming the first person to be seen on television...
1827
The first friction match that could be struck on any surface was sold in England by John Walker
Walker, a pharmacist, accidentally discovered the formula while stirring chemicals with a stick. When he tried to remove the dried lump on the end by...
1348
Charles University in Prague was founded, becoming the first university in Central Europe
Emperor Charles IV established the university with a papal bull, creating an institution that would educate students for over 675 years. The universit...