Discover what happened on October 7 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

October 7

Discover what happened on October 7 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on October 7 | HISTORY

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Officially the first year of the new millennium, 2001 is remembered now for a single day: September 11, when terrorist-hijacked airliners brought down the Twin Towers, slammed into the Pentagon and nosedived into a Pennsylvania field. Congress responded by passing the Patriot Act, giving the government expanded powers to combat terrorism, and authorized the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the plotters’ base. The year also introduced iTunes, the Xbox, Wikipedia and the first Harry Potter movie.

2001

A U.S. Airforce B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber drops bombs in this undated file photo. The United States and Britain launched powerful air and missile strikes against command bases, airports and training camps across Afghanistan October 7, 2001 using 50 cruise missiles and dozens of aircraft.

1985

1916

1864

1975

1913

The Cold War heated up in 1949 when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb and Germany split into two separate nations—one aligned with the West, the other with the Soviets. To counteract the threat, the U.S. and European allies signed the NATO charter. In Asia, Communists declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China. George Orwell predicted scarier times ahead with his novel “1984,” and consumers saw the introduction of 45 r.p.m. records, Kraft singles and Lego plastic bricks.

1949

1780

As the Cold War heated up in 1955, the U.S.S.R. and seven of its European satellite countries formed the Warsaw Pact defense alliance to counter NATO. In the U.S., the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, while Disneyland debuted in Anaheim, California and the Mickey Mouse Club premiered on TV. Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus in Alabama, and the racially inspired murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till sparked national outrage.

1955

1983

Cold War tensions spiked after the Soviets shot down an American spy plane and captured its pilot. John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon in a tight presidential race, and in Greensboro, N.C., four Black college students refused to leave a “whites-only” lunch counter. The median U.S. home price hovered at $11,900, while median income was $5,600. And on the pop culture front, Chubby Checker’s “Twist” became a worldwide dance craze, and Alfred Hitchcock’s "Psycho" made showers a whole lot scarier.

1960

1943

Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944, the largest amphibious invasion in history. Weeks later, the Allies liberated Paris from its Nazi occupiers. Meanwhile, Soviet forces battered the Nazis on WWII’s eastern front. In the U.S., Franklin Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth presidential term and Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starred in their first film together, “To Have and Have Not,” introducing the immortal line, “You know how to whistle, don’t you?” 

1944

2003

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

This Day In History: October 7

U.S.‑led attack on Afghanistan begins

Also on This Day in History October | 7

Lynette Woodard becomes first female Harlem Globetrotters player

Georgia Tech shuts out Cumberland, 222‑0, in most lopsided college football game

This Day in History Video: What Happened on October 7

Union and Confederate forces clash at Darbytown Road outside Richmond

A judge reverses John Lennon’s deportation order

Moving assembly line debuts at Ford factory

East Germany created

Battle of King’s Mountain

Poet Allen Ginsberg reads “Howl” for the first time

“Never Say Never Again,” which brings back Sean Connery as 007, opens in U.S. theaters

Palestinian terrorists hijack an Italian cruise ship

Kennedy and Nixon debate Cold War foreign policy

CBS broadcasts the premiere episode of “Route 66″

Japanese execute nearly 100 American POWs on Wake Island

Hundreds of prisoners revolt at Auschwitz‑Birkenau

Arnold Schwarzenegger elected California governor

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