Purple Heart

1782

George Washington creates the Purple Heart

Born on This Day

Ralph Bunche

Ralph Bunche

1904 - 1971

Diplomat and scholar who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for mediating peace during the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Mata Hari Around 1900

Mata Hari

1876 - 1917

Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was accused of passing secrets to Germany and executed during World War I.

Los Angeles Premiere of "You People" - Red Carpet

David Duchovny

1960 -

Actor and author known for his role as iconic FBI agent Fox Mulder in "The X-Files."

Ralph Bunche

Bettmann Archive

Mata Hari

Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

David Duchovny

Variety via Getty Images

1909

AUG

7

Adventurous 22-year-old homemaker Alice Ramsey and three friends complete the first all-female cross-country road trip. With roads rugged and signage virtually nil, they took 59 days to drive from New York to San Francisco.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on August 7th

1912

Teddy Roosevelt nominated as Bull Moose candidate

Theodore Roosevelt is nominated for the presidency by the Progressive Party, a group of Republicans dissatisfied with the renomination of President William Howard Taft. Also known as the Bull Moose Party, the Progressive platform called for the direct election of U.S. senators, woman suffrage, reduction of the tariff and many social reforms. Roosevelt, who served as […]

1:20m read read

1942

U.S. forces invade Guadalcanal

On August 7, 1942, the U.S. 1st Marine Division begins Operation Watchtower, the first U.S. offensive of the war, by landing on Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands. Weeks earlier, the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal Island and began constructing an airfield there. Operation Watchtower was the codename for the U.S. plan to invade Guadalcanal and […]

1947

Norwegian explorer completes 4,300-mile ocean voyage in wooden raft

On August 7, 1947, Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completes a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti. Heyerdahl wanted to prove his theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents. Heyerdahl and his five-person […]

2:10m read read

1953

Eisenhower signs the Refugee Relief Act of 1953

Most visas were designated for refugees fleeing communism.

Chaim and Bina Gasthalter of Poland arrive at New York's Idylwild Airport with their six children for resettlement in Detroit. Gasthalter spent five years in Russian slave labor camps.

1956

Mysterious explosions in Colombia

Seven army ammunition trucks explode in Cali, Colombia, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring thousands more on August 7, 1956. The cause of the explosions remains a mystery. The previous day, 20 trucks fully loaded with dynamite departed the Colombian city of Buenaventura. The trucks stopped in Cali and then 13 of the trucks […]

1:00m read read

1959

The first U.S. satellite to photograph the Earth is launched

From the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the U.S. unmanned spacecraft Explorer 6 is launched into an orbit around the earth. The spacecraft, commonly known as the “Paddlewheel” satellite, features a photocell scanner that transmitted a crude picture of the earth’s surface and cloud cover from a distance of 17,000 miles. The photo, […]

0:46m read read

1964

Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

The United States Congress overwhelming approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson nearly unlimited powers to oppose “communist aggression” in Southeast Asia. The resolution marked the beginning of an expanded military role for the United States in the Cold War battlefields of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. By 1964, America’s ally, South […]

3:02m read read

1974

Philippe Petit walks on a tightrope between the Twin Towers

High above the early-morning traffic in Lower Manhattan, a French street performer steps off the roof of the south tower of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. Clad in black and carrying a long pole for balance, Philippe Petit begins the most famous high-wire walk in history, calmly traversing the space between the […]

Philippe Petit crossing the Twin Towers on a tightrope.

1987

Lynne Cox swims into communist territory

On August 7, 1987, Lynne Cox braves the freezing waters of the Bering Strait to make the first recorded swim from the United States to the Soviet Union. Lynne Cox’s swimming career began in her native New Hampshire when she was just nine years old. Not long after that, her parents moved the family to […]

2:10m read read

1990

President George H.W. Bush orders Operation Desert Shield

On August 7, 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush orders the organization of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepared American troops to become part of an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. To […]

2:50m read read

1998

U.S. embassies in East Africa bombed

At 10:30 a.m. local time, a massive truck bomb explodes outside the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Minutes later, another truck bomb detonated outside the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, the capital of neighboring Tanzania. The dual terrorist attacks killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and wounded more than 4,500. The United States accused […]

6:38m read read

2005

Trapped Russian sub rescued

On August 7, 2005, a Russian Priz AS-28 mini-submarine, with seven crew members on board, is rescued from deep in the Pacific Ocean. On August 4, the vessel had been taking part in training exercises in Beryozovaya Bay, off the coast of Russia’s far-eastern Kamchatka peninsula, when its propellers became entangled in cables that were […]

1:58m read read

History Every Day

Sign Up for "This Day in History"

Uncover fascinating moments from the past every day! Learn something new with key events in history, from the American Revolution to pop culture, crime and more.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Global Media. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details: Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us