154 things happened on 7 November, from AD 335 to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1665 · 361 years ago
The first issue of the London Gazette was published. It is the oldest surviving journal of its kind, and it is still one of the UK government's official ‘journals of record’. A journal of record is where official announcements are printed so that everyone can…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The first issue of the London Gazette was published. It is the oldest surviving journal of its kind, and it is still one of the UK government's official ‘journals of record’. A journal of record is where official announcements are printed so that everyone can find them. Some notices must be published in the Gazette by law.
UK story
John Murray, Lord Dunmore, the British governor of the Colony of Virginia, issued a proclamation. It offered freedom to enslaved people who left their colonial masters to fight for the British Crown against the Patriot rebels. It started the first mass emancipation of enslaved people in North America. Emancipation means being set free from slavery.
UK story
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on the United Kingdom, France and Israel to withdraw their troops from Egypt immediately. The three countries had invaded Egypt in what became known as the Suez Crisis. Britain and France wanted to regain control of the Suez Canal, which Egypt's president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, had nationalised, meaning taken over by the state.
UK story
World War I: British forces captured Gaza following the retreat of the Ottoman garrison.
The explorer Christopher Columbus returned from his fourth and last voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. He made all four voyages for the king and queen of Spain. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and with Central and South America. They opened the way for Europeans to explore and colonise the Americas.
The first tufted jays to be scientifically described were collected in Mexico. The tufted jay is a large bird in the crow family that lives only in a small area of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. It has a dark crest on its head, a purplish-blue back, wings and face, and white underparts. Its usual call is a quick, four-note sound.
Oil was discovered beneath the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan. This led to the building of Neft Daşları, the world's first offshore oil platform, 39 kilometres from the nearest shore. It grew into a whole industrial town standing on the sea. The Caspian Sea itself is the world's largest inland body of water and is often called the world's largest lake.
Singapore opened its first Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line, with trains running between Yio Chu Kang and Toa Payoh. After two decades of planning, the first stretch was just 6 kilometres long, with five stations. The network has since grown to reach most of Singapore's main island. In 2025 it carried an average of 3.49 million passengers a day.
NASA launched the Mars Global Surveyor from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The robotic space probe orbited Mars from 1997 to 2006, mapping the entire planet from high in its atmosphere down to its surface. It also helped later rovers and landers, by spotting possible landing sites and passing their signals back to Earth.
Athanasius, 20th pope of Alexandria, is banished to Trier on the charge that he prevented a grain fleet from sailing to Constantinople.
The Third Council of Constantinople convened to settle the Christological controversies of monoenergism and monothelitism.
Treaty 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.
Lam 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.
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.
Elizabeth Stuart is crowned Queen of Bohemia.
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60, a dialogue cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Leipzig, was first performed.
The oldest musical organization in the United States is founded as the Stoughton Musical Society.
Tecumseh's War: American forces led by William Henry Harrison defeated the forces of Shawnee leader Tecumseh's growing confederation at the Battle of Tippecanoe near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana.
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.
The first Melbourne Cup horse race is held in Melbourne, Australia.
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.
Mapuche uprising of 1881: Mapuche rebels destroy the Chilean settlement of Nueva Imperial after defenders fled to the hills.
The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway is symbolized by the Last Spike ceremony at Craigellachie, British Columbia.
Women's suffrage: Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote, the second state to do so.
Second Boer War: The Battle of Leliefontein takes place, during which the Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses.
Jesús 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.
The first air freight shipment (from Dayton, Ohio, to Columbus, Ohio) is undertaken by the Wright brothers and department store owner Max Morehouse.
The Deutsche Opernhaus (now Deutsche Oper Berlin) opens in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg, with a production of Beethoven's Fidelio.
The German colony of Kiaochow Bay and its centre at Tsingtao are captured by Japanese forces. This leaves Germany without a far east base.
Woodrow Wilson is reelected as President of the United States.
In the congressional elections, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.
The 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.
Kurt Eisner overthrows the Wittelsbach dynasty in the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow issues a decree that leads to the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public.
The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed on the anniversary of the October Revolution.
Fiorello H. La Guardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City.
Spanish Civil War: The Madrid Defense Council is formed to coordinate the Defense of Madrid against nationalist forces.
In Tacoma, Washington, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected for a record fourth term as President of the United States.
Hungarian 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.
Cold War: The Gaither Report calls for more American missiles and fallout shelters.
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major American city.
United States presidential election: U.S. President Richard Nixon is re-elected in the largest landslide victory at the time.
The United States Congress overrides President Richard Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.
Colonel 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.
Cold 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
Tunisian prime minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali deposed and replaced President Habib Bourguiba by declaring him medically unfit for the duties of the office.
David Dinkins becomes the first African American to be elected Mayor of New York City.
East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph, along with his entire cabinet, is forced to resign after huge anti-government protests.
Douglas Wilder wins the governor's seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States.
Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland.
WXYC, the student radio station of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, launches the world's first internet radio broadcast.
Hillary Clinton was elected as a US senator from New York, the first time a first lady had been elected to public office.
The 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.
Joe Biden is confirmed elected as the 46th president of the United States, defeating incumbent Donald Trump.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year was James Cook born?
B: 1728. 1728 — that’s 298 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “The United Nations calls for troops to leave Egypt in the Suez Crisis”?
B: 1956. 1956 — that’s 70 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: The London Gazette is published for the first time. 1665: The London Gazette is published for the first time · 1775: Lord Dunmore offers freedom to enslaved people who join the British · 1956: The United Nations calls for troops to leave Egypt in the Suez Crisis Find it on the page
“The London Gazette is published for the first time” happened in 1665. How many years ago was that?
B: 361 years. 2026 − 1665 = 361. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 7 November.
UK story
The English explorer Captain James Cook was born. A Royal Navy officer and map-maker, he led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He made the first recorded journey all the way round the main islands of New Zealand. He also led the first recorded European visits to the east coast of Australia and to the Hawaiian Islands.
UK story
The English antiquarian William Stukeley was born. An antiquarian is someone who studies objects and places from the distant past. Stukeley led the way in the careful study of the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire, and his work greatly influenced the later science of archaeology. He was also a doctor and a clergyman, and he published more than twenty books.
Well-known people who died on 7 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 7 November somewhere in the world.
In the Indian state of Maharashtra, 7 November is Students' Day. It marks the day B. R. Ambedkar first started school. Ambedkar grew up to be a lawyer, economist and social reformer who led the committee that drafted India's Constitution. The state government named the day Students' Day in 2017.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “November 7” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.