History of 7 August
1914 – Germany invaded France.
1928 – The U.S. Treasure Department issued a new bill that was one third smaller than the previous U.S. bills.
1934 – The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling striking down the government’s attempt to ban the controversial James Joyce novel “Ulysses”.
1942 – U.S. forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.
1947 – The balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki, which had carried a six-man crew 4,300 miles across the Pacific Ocean, crashed into a reef in a Polynesian archipelago.
1959 – The U.S. launched Explorer 6, which sent back a picture of the Earth.
1960 – The Cuban Catholic church condemned the rise of communism in Cuba. Fidel Castro then banned all religious TV and radio broadcasts.
1964 – The U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.
1974 – French stuntman Philippe Petit walked a tightrope strung between the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center.
1976 – Scientists in Pasadena, CA, announced that the Viking I spacecraft had found strong indications of possible life on Mars.
1981 – After 128 years of publication, “The Washington stars” ceased all operations.
1983 – AT & T employees went on strike.
1987 – The Presidents of five Central American nations, met in Guatemala City and signed an 11-point agreement designed to bring peace to their region.
1990 – U.S. President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard against a possible invasion by Iraq.
1999 – Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres) got the 3,000th hit of his major league career.
2003 – In California, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he would run for the office of governor.
2003 – Stephen Geppi bought a 1963 G.I. Joe prototype for $200,000.
2008 – The start of the Russo-Georgian War over the territory of South Ossetia.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – David Testo, American soccer player
- 1981 – Randy Wayne, American actor, and producer
- 1982 – Ángeles Balbiani, Argentine actress and singer
- 1982 – Abbie Cornish, Australian actress
- 1982 – Juan Martín Hernández, Argentine rugby player
- 1982 – Marquise Hill, American football player (d. 2007)
- 1982 – Vassilis Spanoulis, Greek basketball player
- 1982 – Martin Vucic, Macedonian singer, and drummer
- 1983 – Christian Chávez, Mexican singer-songwriter, and actor
- 1983 – Murat Dalkılıç, Turkish singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Danny, Portuguese footballer
- 1983 – Andriy Hrivko, Ukrainian cyclist
- 1983 – Mark Pettini, English cricketer and journalist
- 1984 – Stratos Perperoglou, Greek basketball player
- 1984 – Tooba Siddiqui, Pakistani model, and actress
- 1984 – Yun Hyon-Seok, South Korean poet and author (d. 2003)
- 1986 – Paul Biedermann, German swimmer
- 1986 – Valter Birsa, Slovenian footballer
- 1986 – Altaír Jarabo, Mexican model and actress
- 1986 – Juan de la Rosa, Mexican boxer
- 1987 – Sidney Crosby, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Mustapha Dumbuya, Sierra Leonean footballer
- 1987 – Ryan Lavarnway, American baseball player
- 1987 – Rouven Sattelmaier, German footballer
- 1988 – Jonathan Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Mohamed Coulibaly, Senegalese footballer
- 1988 – Anisa Mohammed, West Indian cricketer
- 1988 – Melody Oliveria, an American blogger
- 1988 – Erik Pieters, Dutch footballer
- 1988 – Beanie Wells, American football player
- 1989 – DeMar DeRozan, American basketball player
- 1990 – Helen Flanagan, English actress
- 1990 – Josh Franceschi, English singer-songwriter
- 1991 – Luis Salom, Spanish motorcycle racer (d. 2016)
- 1991 – Mitchell te Vrede, Dutch footballer
- 1991 – Mike Trout, American baseball player
- 1992 – Adam Yates, English cyclist
- 1992 – Simon Yates, English cyclist
- 1992 – E. J. Tackett, American bowler
- 1992 – Jang Ki-Yong, South Korean actor and model
- 1993 – Martti Nõmme, Estonian ski jumper
- 1993 – Zaur Size, Russian footballer
- 1993 – Karol Zalewski, a Polish sprinter