December 7 in history — What Happened Today in History

Long Island Rail Road shooting: Passenger Colin Ferguson murders six people and injures 19 others on the LIRR in Nassau County, New York.

The 6.8 Ms Armenian earthquake shakes the northern part of the country with a maximum MSK intensity of X (Devastating), killing 25,000–50,000 and injuring 31,000–130,000.

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, a British Aerospace 146-200A, crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-boss traveling on the flight, then shoots both pilots and steers the plane into the ground.

An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid–Barajas Airport, killing 93 people.

In Texas, Charles Brooks Jr., becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.

The Senior Road Tower collapses in less than 17 seconds. Five workers on the tower are killed and three workers on a building nearby are injured.

Apollo 17, the last Apollo Moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.

The Battle of Sylhet is fought between the Pakistani military and the Indian Army.

Pakistan President Yahya Khan announces the formation of a coalition government with Nurul Amin as Prime Minister and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as Deputy Prime Minister.

Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I simultaneously revoke mutual excommunications that had been in place since 1054.

Instant replay makes its debut during the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils.

Chinese Civil War: The Government of the Republic of China moves from Nanjing to Taipei, Taiwan.

A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.

An earthquake along the coast of Wakayama Prefecture in Japan causes a tsunami which kills 1,223 people.

World War II: British commandos conduct Operation Frankton, a raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour.

World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (For Japan's near-simultaneous attacks on Eastern Hemisphere targets, see December 8.)

Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.

German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa.

W1XAV in Boston, Massachusetts telecasts video from the CBS radio orchestra program, The Fox Trappers. The telecast also includes the first television advertisement in the United States, for I.J. Fox Furriers, which also sponsored the radio show.

The Parliament of Northern Ireland votes to remain a part of the United Kingdom and not unify with Southern Ireland.

World War I: The United States declares war on Austria-Hungary.

Comparative fuel trials begin between warships HMS Spiteful and HMS Peterel: Spiteful was the first warship powered solely by fuel oil, and the trials led to the obsolescence of coal in ships of the Royal Navy.

First concert of the New York Philharmonic, founded by Ureli Corelli Hill.

The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, the only battle of the Upper Canada Rebellion, takes place in Toronto, where the rebels are quickly defeated.

Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arranges to enter the American military as a major general.

The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, England.

Rahama Sadau, Nigerian actress

Alex Singleton, American football player

Sean Couturier, American-Canadian ice hockey player

Eugenio Pisani, Italian race car driver

Chris Wood, New Zealand footballer

Cameron Bairstow, Australian basketball player

David Goffin, Belgian tennis player

Aleksandr Menkov, Russian long jumper

Yasiel Puig, Cuban baseball player

Urszula Radwańska, Polish tennis player

Kyle Hendricks, American baseball player

Philip Larsen, Danish ice hockey player

Alessandro Marchi, Italian footballer

Peter Westbury, English race car driver (born 1938)

Shirley Stelfox, English actress (born 1941)

Mark Lewis, American author and educator (born 1954)

Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1928)

Chick Willis, American singer and guitarist (born 1934)

Roelof Kruisinga, Dutch physician and politician, Dutch Minister of Defence (born 1922)

Ralph Parr, American colonel and pilot (born 1924)

Marty Reisman, American table tennis player and author (born 1930)

Saul Steinberg, American businessman and financier (born 1939)

Harry Morgan, American actor (born 1915)

Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and author (born 1949)

Kari Tapio, Finnish singer (born 1945)

Herbert Hutner, American banker and lawyer (born 1908)