On This Day — 7 October

2000s

2023

Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launch an attack into Israel, which results in the deaths of around 1,200, mostly civilians, and the taking of 251 hostages, including civilians and soldiers. The attack initiated the Gaza war and the larger Middle Eastern crisis.

Hamas

2022

Ten people are killed and eight are injured in an explosion at petrol station in Creeslough, Ireland.

Creeslough explosion

2022

Ales Bialiatski, along with two organisations, Memorial & Center for Civil Liberties, are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ales Bialiatski

2016

In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the death toll rises to over 800.

Hurricane Matthew

2008

Asteroid 2008 TC3 impacts the Earth over Sudan, the first time an asteroid impact is detected prior to its entry into Earth's atmosphere.

2008 TC3

2008

Qantas Flight 72 experiences an in-flight upset near Learmonth, Victoria, Australia, injuring 112.

Qantas Flight 72

2004

Three bombs explode at Taba and Nuweiba in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, killing 34.

2004 Sinai bombings

2002

The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-112 to continue assembly of the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

2001

The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins with an air assault and covert operations on the ground, starting the longest war in American history.

United States invasion of Afghanistan

2000

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Hezbollah militants capture three Israeli Defense Force soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

1900s

1996

Fox News Channel begins broadcasting.

Fox News

1993

The flood of '93 ends at St. Louis, Missouri, 103 days after it began, as the Mississippi River falls below flood stage.

Great Flood of 1993

1991

Croatian War of Independence: Bombing of the Banski Dvori in Zagreb, Croatia.

Bombing of the Banski Dvori

📅

1988

A hunter discovers three gray whales trapped under the ice near Alaska; the situation becomes a multinational effort to free the whales.

Operation Breakthrough

1987

Sikh nationalists declare the independence of Khalistan from India; it is not internationally recognized.

Khalistan movement

1985

The Mameyes landslide kills almost 200 people in Puerto Rico.

1985 Puerto Rico floods

1985

Four men from the Palestine Liberation Front hijack the MS Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt.

Achille Lauro hijacking

1979

Swissair Flight 316 crashes at Ellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece, killing 14.

Swissair Flight 316

1978

Aeroflot Flight 1080 crashes after takeoff from Koltsovo International Airport, killing 38.

Aeroflot Flight 1080

1977

The Fourth Soviet Constitution is adopted.

1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union

1963

President Kennedy signs the ratification of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

1963

Buddhist crisis: Amid worsening relations, outspoken South Vietnamese First Lady Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu arrives in the US for a speaking tour, continuing a flurry of attacks on the Kennedy administration.

Buddhist crisis

1961

A Douglas Dakota IV operated by Derby Aviation (later renamed to British Midland International) crashes in Canigou, France, killing 34 people.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain

1959

The Soviet probe Luna 3 transmits the first-ever photographs of the far side of the Moon.

Luna 3

📅

1958

The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état inaugurates a prolonged period of military rule.

1958 Pakistani military coup

1958

The U.S. crewed space-flight project is renamed to Project Mercury.

Project Mercury

1950

Mother Teresa establishes the Missionaries of Charity.

Mother Teresa

1949

The communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is formed.

East Germany

1944

World War II: The Sonderkommando Revolt in Auschwitz was an uprising of prisoners (especially the Sonderkommando) at the Auschwitz concentration camp, they burnt down Crematorium IV.

Auschwitz Sonderkommando revolt

1940

World War II: The McCollum memo proposes bringing the United States into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the United States.

World War II

📅

1929

Photius II becomes Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Photius II of Constantinople

1924

Andreas Michalakopoulos becomes prime minister of Greece for a short period of time.

Andreas Michalakopoulos

1919

KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, is founded. It is the oldest airline still operating under its original name.

KLM

1916

Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222–0 in the most lopsided college football game in American history.

1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game

1913

Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving vehicle assembly line.

Ford Motor Company

1912

The Helsinki Stock Exchange sees its first transaction.

Nasdaq Helsinki

1800s

1879

Germany and Austria-Hungary sign the "Twofold Covenant" and create the Dual Alliance.

Dual Alliance (1879)

1870

Franco-Prussian War: Léon Gambetta escapes the siege of Paris in a hot-air balloon.

Léon Gambetta

1868

Cornell University holds opening day ceremonies; initial student enrollment is 412, the highest at any American university to that date.

Cornell University

1864

American Civil War: A US Navy ship captures a Confederate raider in a Brazilian seaport.

American Civil War

1840

Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.

William II of the Netherlands

1828

Morea expedition: The city of Patras, Greece, is liberated by the French expeditionary force.

Morea expedition

1826

The Granite Railway begins operations as the first chartered railway in the U.S.

Granite Railway

1800

French corsair Robert Surcouf, commander of the 18-gun ship La Confiance, captures the British 38-gun Kent.

Robert Surcouf

Before 1800

1780

American Revolutionary War: American militia defeat royalist irregulars led by British major Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina, often regarded as the turning point in the war's Southern theater.

Loyalist (American Revolution)

1777

American Revolutionary War: The Americans defeat British forces under general John Burgoyne in the Second Battle of Saratoga, also known as the Battle of Bemis Heights, compelling Burgoyne's eventual surrender.

American Revolutionary War

1763

King George III issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing Indigenous lands in North America north and west of the Alleghenies to white settlements.

Royal Proclamation of 1763