This Day In History : January 7

1968 United States

Surveyor 7 (last of series) launched

Surveyor 7, the seventh and final mission in the Surveyor program, launched on January 7, 1968, from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket. Three days later, it successfully touched down on the Moon near the outer rim of the Tycho crater in the southern hemisphere. This robotic lander provided valuable ground-level information about the lunar surface, paving the way for future human missions.

Also on This Day in History January 7

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

Births on This Day, January 7
  • 1834 Johann Philipp Reis

    German physicist who invented an early telephone before Bell.

  • 1925 Gerald Malcolm Durrell

    British conservationist whose life work was the preservation of endangered animal species.

  • 1871 Émile Borel

    Félix-Édouard-Justin-Émile Borel was a French mathematician who (with René Baire and Henri Lebesgue), was among the pioneers of measure theory and its application to probability theory.

  • 1745 Johann Christian Fabricius

    Danish entomologist who was one of the great entomologists of the 18th century.

  • 1794 Eilhard Mitscherlich

    German chemist who spread the principle of isomorphism, after early in his career (about 1820) he discovered the importance of similarity of crystalline form between chemical compounds.

Deaths on This Day, January 7
  • 1998 Vladimir Prelog

    Yugoslavian-Swiss chemist who shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with John W. Cornforth for his work on the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions.

  • 1943 Nikola Tesla

    Serbian-American inventor and researcher who designed and built the first alternating current induction motor in 1883.

  • 1943 George Washington Crile

    American surgeon who was one of the first to study the significance of surgical shock.

  • 1984 Alfred Kastler

    French physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1966 for his discovery and development of methods for observing Hertzian resonances within atoms.

  • 1998 Richard Hamming

    He was an American computer scientist and mathematician who devised computer Hamming codes - error-detecting and correcting codes (1947).

1939

Francium

In 1939, the element Fr (francium) was discovered, the last naturally occurring element to be found.
1989

Akihito Sworn in as Emperor of Japan

On January 7, 1989, Akihito was formally enthroned as the 125th Emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Hirohito. Akihito's reign marked the beginning of the Heisei era in Japan, during which the country saw significant social, economic, and cultural changes. His reign continued until April 30, 2019, when he abdicated the throne in favor of his son, Emperor Naruhito.
1927

First Transatlantic Telephone Service Established

On January 7, 1927, the first transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated, connecting New York City in the United States with London in the United Kingdom. This historic achievement allowed for direct telephone communication across the Atlantic Ocean, marking a significant advancement in telecommunications technology at the time.
1785

First Balloon Flight Across the English Channel

On January 7, 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a French balloonist, and Dr. John Jeffries, an American physician, made history by completing the first balloon flight across the English Channel. Departing from Dover, England, they landed safely in Calais, France, after a journey of about 2.5 hours.
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