On This Day

Birthdays in History on December 7

  • 521 Saint Columba, Irish Christian missionary to Scotland, born in Gartan, Ireland (d. 597)
  • 903 Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Persian astronomer, born in Rey, Buyid Persia (d. 986)
  • 967 Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr, Persian mystic and poet, born in Mihne, Greater Khorasan (d. 1049)
  • 1302 Azzone Visconti, Lord of Milan (1329-39), born in Ferrara, Italy (d. 1339)
  • 1545 Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, King consort of Mary, Queen of Scots, born in Temple Newsam, Yorkshire, England (d. 1567)
  • 1561 Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese daimyō of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period (d. 1625)

Gian Lorenzo BerniniGian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)

Italian baroque sculptor (St Teresa in Ecstasy), painter and architect, born in Naples, Italy

Gian Lorenzo Bernini
  • 1627 Louise Henriette, daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1667)
  • 1731 Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron, French scholar and interpreter, born in Paris (d. 1805)
  • 1751 Jurriaan François de Friderici, governor-general of Suriname, born in Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1812)
  • 1754 Jack Jouett, American politician and patriot (warn Thomas Jefferson of British attack), born in Albemarle County, Virginia (d. 1822)
  • 1764 Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno, French marshal, born in Lamarche, France (d. 1841)
  • 1784 Allan Cunningham, Scottish poet and author, born in Keir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland (d. 1842)
  • 1803 Maria Josepha of Saxony, Queen consort of Spain, born in Dresden Castle, Dresden, Saxony (d. 1829)
  • 1808 Hugh McCulloch, US Treasury Secretary (1865-69, 1884-85), born in Kennebunk, Maine (d. 1895)
  • 1810 Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist, born in Eisenstadt, Austria (d. 1894)

Theodor SchwannTheodor Schwann (1810-1882)

German physician, physiologist and co-originator of cell theory (Schwann cells; pepsin; metabolism), born in Neuss, French Empire

Theodor Schwann
  • 1823 Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (Tensor of Kronecker), born in Liegnitz, Province of Silesia, Prussia (d. 1891)
  • 1830 Luigi Cremona, Italian mathematician (grafostatica), born in Pavia, Italy (d. 1903)
  • 1839 Redvers Buller, English general and recipient of the Victoria Cross, born in Crediton, Devon (d. 1908)
  • 1842 Otto Ammon, German anthropologist and sociologist (schedelmetingen), born in Karlsruhe, Baden (d. 1916)
  • 1847 Solomon Schechter, Moldavian-American Talmudic scholar and rabbi, born in Focşani, Moldavia (d. 1915)
  • 1849 Saionji Kinmochi, Japanese politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1906-1908, 1911-1912), born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 1940)
  • 1860 Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia, born in Silverdale, Staffordshire, England (d. 1947)
  • 1862 Paul Adam, French writer (La Bataille d'Uhde), born in Paris (d. 1920)
  • 1863 Felix Calonder, Swiss politician (Free Democratic Party), born in Scuol, Switzerland (d. 1952)
  • 1863 Svetolik Ranković, Serbian writer (Forest King), born in Velika Moštanica, Principality of Serbia (d. 1899)
  • 1872 Johan Huizinga, Dutch culture historian (Homo Ludens), born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1945)
  • 1873 Willa Cather, American author (My Ántonia), born in Winchester, Virginia (d. 1947)
  • 1878 Akiko Yosano, Japanese poet (Tangled Hair), born in Sakai, Ōsaka, Japan (d. 1942)
  • 1884 Petru Groza, Austro-Hungarian born Romanian communist and President of Romania (1945-58), born in Băcia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1958)
  • 1888 Hamilton Fish III, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York), born in Garrison, New York (d. 1991)
  • 1888 Heywood Broun, American journalist (1st President of American Newspaper Guild) born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1939)
  • 1888 Joyce Cary, Anglo-Irish writer (House of Children), born in Londonderry, Ireland (d. 1957)
  • 1892 Stuart Davis, American modernist painter, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1964)
  • 1901 Tony Pugsley, British rear-admiral (Walcheren attack (1944)) (d. 1990)
  • 1903 Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician, born in Osijek, Austria-Hungary (d. 1987)
  • 1904 Clarence Nash, American voice actor (Donald Duck), born in Watonga, Oklahoma (d. 1985)
  • 1905 Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-American astronomer (moons of Uranus, Neptune), born in Tuitjenhorn, Netherlands (d. 1973)
  • 1908 Jacques Gans, Dutch author and journalist, born in Hilversum, Netherlands (d. 1972)
  • 1909 Arch Oboler, American director, screen and radio writer, and producer (Lights Out, Bwana Devil), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1987)
  • 1909 Jacob Kainen, American painter and curator, born in Waterbury, Connecticut (d. 2001)
  • 1915 Leigh Brackett, American sci-fi author (Ginger Star), Los Angeles, California (d. 1978)
  • 1916 Jean Carignan, French Canadian fiddler, born in Lévis, Quebec (d. 1988)
  • 1919 Charles McGee, American US Air Force officer and fighter pilot of the Tuskegee Airmen (WWII, Korean War, Vietnam), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2022)
  • 1920 Tatamkhulu Afrika, South African poet and writer, born in As Sallum, Egypt (d. 2002)
  • 1921 Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian Hindu spiritual leader (BAPS), born in Chansad, Gujarat (d. 2016)

Mário SoaresMário Soares (1924-2017)

17th President of Portugal (1986-96) and Prime Minister (1976-78 and 1983-85), born in Lisbon, Portugal

Mário Soares

Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky (94 years old)

1928 American linguist (founded transformational grammar), philosopher and political activist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Noam Chomsky
  • 1932 Paul Caponigro, American photographer, born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1936 Martha Layne Collins, American businesswoman and politician (56th Governor of Kentucky), born in Bagdad, Kentucky
  • 1937 Thad Cochran, American politician (U.S. Senator from Mississippi), born in Pontotoc, Mississippi (d. 2019)
  • 1943 Bernard C. Parks, American politician and Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, born in Beaumont, Texas
  • 1943 Göran Lennmarker, Swedish politician, born in Norberg, Västmanland County, Sweden
  • 1943 James Tate, American poet (Pulitzer Prize 1992), born in Kansas City Missouri (d. 2015)
  • 1944 Jamiel Chagra, American drug trafficker, born in El Paso, Texas (d. 2008)
  • 1947 Mino Reitano, Italian entertainer, born in Fiumara, Italy (d. 2009)
  • 1952 Susan Collins, American politician (U.S. Senator from Maine), born in Caribou, Maine
  • 1954 Bertín Osborne, Italian entertainer, born in Madrid, Spain
  • 1954 Gianfranco Jannuzzo, Italian entertainer, born in Agrigento, Italy
  • 1954 Mark Hofmann, American forger, bomber and convicted murderer, born in Salt Lake City, Utah
  • 1955 John Watkins, Australian politician (Deputy Premier of New South Wales), born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 1957 John Lee, Hong Kong politician (Police Chief and Chief Executive of Hong Kong 2022-), born in British Hong Kong
  • 1957 Tom Winsor, British lawyer and economic regulator, born in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland
  • 1974 Kang Full, South Korean webcomic artist, born in Seoul, South Korea
  • 1975 Nikola Wapzarow, Bulgarian poet and writer, born in Bansko, Bulgaria
  • 1978 Chad Dukes, American radio personality, born in Alexandria, Virginia
  • 2003 Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, born in HMC Bronovo, The Hague, Netherlands


Historical Figures

Search the largest, most accurate site for today in history.