Vintage News · Odd history for November 7

What Happened On November 7

Q: What happened on November 7?

1885: The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway is symbolized by the Last Spike ceremony at Craigellachie, British Columbia. 1874: A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party. 1665: The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published. 1861: American Civil War: Future U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant engaged in his first combat leadership role in the Battle of Belmont in Mississippi County, Missouri. 1825: Jereboam O. Beauchamp murdered Kentucky legislator Solomon P. Sharp; Beauchamp later became the first person legally executed in the state. 1723: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60, a dialogue cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Leipzig, was first performed. 1861: The first Melbourne Cup horse race is held in Melbourne, Australia. 1775: John Murray (also known as Lord Dunmore), the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, starts the first mass emancipation of slaves in North America by issuing Lord Dunmore's Offer of Emancipation, which offers freedom to slaves who abandoned their colonial masters to fight with Murray and the British. 1504: Christopher Columbus returns from his fourth and last voyage. 1492: The Ensisheim meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the Earth in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.

73 events and 271 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 7 November →

November 6 November 8

10 odd things that happened on November 7

1885 First ever
The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway is symbolized by the Last Spike ceremony at Craigellachie, British Columbia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1874 First ever
A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1665 First ever
The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1861 First ever
American Civil War: Future U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant engaged in his first combat leadership role in the Battle of Belmont in Mississippi County, Missouri.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1825 First ever
Jereboam O. Beauchamp murdered Kentucky legislator Solomon P. Sharp; Beauchamp later became the first person legally executed in the state.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1723 First ever
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60, a dialogue cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Leipzig, was first performed.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1861 First ever
The first Melbourne Cup horse race is held in Melbourne, Australia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1775 First ever
John Murray (also known as Lord Dunmore), the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, starts the first mass emancipation of slaves in North America by issuing Lord Dunmore's Offer of Emancipation, which offers freedom to slaves who abandoned their colonial masters to fight with Murray and the British.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1504 Oddly true
Christopher Columbus returns from his fourth and last voyage.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1492 Oddly true
The Ensisheim meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the Earth in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2023António Costa resigns as Prime Minister of Portugal following news of an investigation in a corruption scandal implicating members of his cabinet. Wikipedia →
2020Joe Biden is confirmed elected as the 46th president of the United States, defeating incumbent Donald Trump. Wikipedia →
2017Shamshad TV is attacked by gunmen and suicide bombers, with a security guard killed and 20 people wounded; ISIS claims responsibility for the attack. Wikipedia →
2012An earthquake off the Pacific coast of Guatemala kills at least 52 people. Wikipedia →
2007The Jokela school shooting in Jokela, Tuusula, Finland, takes place, resulting in the death of nine people. Wikipedia →
2004Iraq War: The interim government of Iraq calls for a 60-day state of emergency as U.S. forces storm the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. Wikipedia →
2000The controversial US presidential election is later resolved in the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case, electing George W. Bush as the 43rd President of the United States. Wikipedia →
2000The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration discovers one of the country's largest LSD labs inside a converted military missile silo in Wamego, Kansas. Wikipedia →
1996NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor. Wikipedia →
1996ADC Airlines Flight 086 crashes into the Lagos Lagoon in Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria, killing all 144 people on board. Wikipedia →
1994WXYC, the student radio station of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, launches the world's first internet radio broadcast. Wikipedia →
1991Magic Johnson announces that he is HIV-positive and retires from the NBA. Wikipedia →
1990Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland. Wikipedia →
1989Douglas Wilder wins the governor's seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States. Wikipedia →
1989David Dinkins becomes the first African American to be elected Mayor of New York City. Wikipedia →
1989East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph, along with his entire cabinet, is forced to resign after huge anti-government protests. Wikipedia →
1987In Tunisia, president Habib Bourguiba is overthrown and replaced by Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Wikipedia →
1987The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in Singapore opens for passenger service. Wikipedia →
1983United States Senate bombing: A bomb explodes inside the United States Capitol. No one is injured, but an estimated $250,000 in damage is caused. Wikipedia →
1983Cold War: The command post exercise Able Archer 83 begins, eventually leading to the Soviet Union to place air units in East Germany and Poland on alert, for fear that NATO was preparing for war Wikipedia →
1982Colonel Saye Zerbo, president of the military government of Upper Volta, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Colonel Gabriel Yoryan Somé. Wikipedia →
1975In Bangladesh, a joint force of people and soldiers takes part in an uprising led by Colonel Abu Taher that ousts and kills Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, freeing the then house-arrested army chief and future president Major General Ziaur Rahman. Wikipedia →
1973The United States Congress overrides President Richard Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval. Wikipedia →
1972United States presidential election: U.S. President Richard Nixon is re-elected in the largest landslide victory at the time. Wikipedia →
1967Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major American city. Wikipedia →
1967US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Wikipedia →
1957Cold War: The Gaither Report calls for more American missiles and fallout shelters. Wikipedia →
1956Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt. Wikipedia →
1956Hungarian Revolution: János Kádár returns to Budapest in a Soviet armored convoy, officially taking office as the next Hungarian leader. By this point, most armed resistance has been defeated. Wikipedia →
1949The first oil was taken in Oil Rocks (Neft Daşları), the world's oldest offshore oil platform. Wikipedia →
1944Soviet spy Richard Sorge, a half-Russian, half-German World War I veteran, is hanged by his Japanese captors along with 34 of his ring. Wikipedia →
1944Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected for a record fourth term as President of the United States. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: Soviet hospital ship Armenia is sunk by German planes while evacuating refugees and wounded military and staff of several Crimean hospitals. It is estimated that over 5,000 people died in the sinking. Wikipedia →
1940In Tacoma, Washington, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion. Wikipedia →
1936Spanish Civil War: The Madrid Defense Council is formed to coordinate the Defense of Madrid against nationalist forces. Wikipedia →
1933Fiorello H. La Guardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City. Wikipedia →
1931The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed on the anniversary of the October Revolution. Wikipedia →
1929In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public. Wikipedia →
1920Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow issues a decree that leads to the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Wikipedia →
1919The first Palmer Raid is conducted on the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Over 10,000 suspected communists and anarchists are arrested in 23 U.S. cities. Wikipedia →
1918The 1918 influenza epidemic spreads to Western Samoa, killing 7,542 (about 20% of the population) by the end of the year. Wikipedia →
1918Kurt Eisner overthrows the Wittelsbach dynasty in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Wikipedia →
1917The October Revolution, which gets its name from the Julian calendar date of 25 October, occurs, according to the Gregorian calendar; on this date, the Bolsheviks storm the Winter Palace. Wikipedia →
1917World War I: The Third Battle of Gaza ends, with British forces capturing Gaza from the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia →
1916Jeannette Rankin is the first woman elected to the United States Congress. Wikipedia →
1916Woodrow Wilson is reelected as President of the United States. Wikipedia →
1916Boston Elevated Railway Company's streetcar No. 393 smashes through the warning gates of the open Summer Street drawbridge in Boston, Massachusetts, plunging into the frigid waters of Fort Point Channel, killing 46 people. Wikipedia →
1914The German colony of Kiaochow Bay and its centre at Tsingtao are captured by Japanese forces. This leaves Germany without a far east base. Wikipedia →
1913The first day of the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, a massive blizzard that ultimately killed 250 and caused over $5 million (about $159,243,000 in 2024 dollars) damage. Winds reach hurricane force on this date. Wikipedia →
1912The Deutsche Opernhaus (now Deutsche Oper Berlin) opens in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg, with a production of Beethoven's Fidelio. Wikipedia →
1910The first air freight shipment (from Dayton, Ohio, to Columbus, Ohio) is undertaken by the Wright brothers and department store owner Max Morehouse. Wikipedia →
1907Jesús García saves the entire town of Nacozari de García by driving a burning train full of dynamite six kilometres (3.7 miles) away before it can explode. Wikipedia →
1900Second Boer War: The Battle of Leliefontein takes place, during which the Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses. Wikipedia →
1893Women's suffrage: Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote, the second state to do so. Wikipedia →
1893An anarchist throws two bombs in Barcelona's Liceu opera house, killing 20. Wikipedia →
1885The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway is symbolized by the Last Spike ceremony at Craigellachie, British Columbia. Wikipedia →
1881Mapuche uprising of 1881: Mapuche rebels destroy the Chilean settlement of Nueva Imperial after defenders fled to the hills. Wikipedia →
1874A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party. Wikipedia →
1861American Civil War: Battle of Belmont: In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive. Wikipedia →
1861The first Melbourne Cup horse race is held in Melbourne, Australia. Wikipedia →
1837In Alton, Illinois, abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy is shot dead by a mob while attempting to protect his printing shop from being destroyed a third time. Wikipedia →
1811Tecumseh's War: The Battle of Tippecanoe is fought near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana, United States. Wikipedia →
1786The oldest musical organization in the United States is founded as the Stoughton Musical Society. Wikipedia →
1775John Murray (also known as Lord Dunmore), the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, starts the first mass emancipation of slaves in North America by issuing Lord Dunmore's Offer of Emancipation, which offers freedom to slaves who abandoned their colonial masters to fight with Murray and the British. Wikipedia →
1723O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60, a dialogue cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Leipzig, was first performed. Wikipedia →
1665The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published. Wikipedia →
1619Elizabeth Stuart is crowned Queen of Bohemia. Wikipedia →
1504Christopher Columbus returns from his fourth and last voyage. Wikipedia →
1492The Ensisheim meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the Earth in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France. Wikipedia →
1426Lam Sơn uprising: Lam Sơn rebels emerge victorious against the Ming army in the Battle of Tốt Động – Chúc Động taking place in Đông Quan, in now Hanoi. Wikipedia →
921Treaty of Bonn: The Frankish kings Charles the Simple and Henry the Fowler sign a peace treaty or 'pact of friendship' (amicitia) to recognize their borders along the Rhine. Wikipedia →
680The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople. Wikipedia →
335Athanasius, 20th pope of Alexandria, is banished to Trier on the charge that he prevented a grain fleet from sailing to Constantinople. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2025The Guardian
Mother of transgender teen accuses Queensland government of privacy breach that could have ‘outed’ her child
Revelation comes as LNP accused of ‘intimidation’ after demanding sensitive medical details from parents of transgend…
Read on The Guardian →
2019The Guardian
Michael Bloomberg poised for possible 2020 campaign
Former New York mayor fears current Democratic candidates are not equipped to defeat Trump, adviser says
Read on The Guardian →
2002The New York Times · Front page
Vote Solidifies Shift of South To the G.O.P.
South has never been more at center of national politics, and midterm elections complete half-century-long transfer o…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.