February 7
February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 328 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Aquarius.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On February 7 the Sun's declination is approximately -15.8°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a February 7.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
No widely-observed holidays catalogued for this day in our base set. See the external almanacs above for region-specific observances.
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1497 — The bonfire of the vanities: the followers of Girolamo Savonarola burned thousands of "sinful" objects in Florence. ↗(529 years ago)more
A bonfire of the vanities is a burning of objects condemned by religious authorities as occasions of sin. The phrase itself usually refers to the bonfire of 7 February 1497, when supporters of the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola collected and burned thousands of objects such as cosmetics, art, and books in the public square of Florence, Italy, on the ...
1795 — The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. ↗(231 years ago)more
The Eleventh Amendment is an amendment to the United States Constitution which was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified by the states on February 7, 1795. The Eleventh Amendment restricts the ability of individuals to bring suit against states of which they are not citizens in federal court.
1812 — A magnitude-7.4 earthquake (the strongest of the New Madrid sequence) shook the Mississippi Valley. ↗(214 years ago)more
The 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes were a series of intense intraplate earthquakes beginning with an initial earthquake of moment magnitude 7.2–8.2 on December 16, 1811, followed by a moment magnitude 7.4 aftershock on the same day. Two additional earthquakes of similar magnitude followed in January and February 1812.
1964 — The Beatles arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport for their first U.S. tour. ↗(62 years ago)more
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-late 1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States with significant influence on the rising "counterculture" on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Notable births
1812 — Charles Dickens, English novelist. ↗(214 years ago)more
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and journalist. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius.
1867 — Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (Little House on the Prairie). ↗(159 years ago)more
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American writer, teacher, and journalist. She is best known as the author of the children's book series Little House on the Prairie, published between 1932 and 1943, which was based on her childhood in a settler and pioneer family.
Notable deaths
1979 — Josef Mengele, Nazi SS officer and physician at Auschwitz. ↗(47 years ago)more
Josef Mengele, often dubbed the "Angel of Death", was a German military officer and physician during World War II at the Soviet front and then at Auschwitz during the Holocaust. He conducted research and experiments on prisoners at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp, where he was a member of the team of doctors who selected victims to be murdere...
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (38) | 2 × 19 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (328) | 2^3 × 41 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 07022026 · next palindrome year: 2070 |
| Sun declination | -15.81° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 49 days |