History for December 7

History for December 7 - On-This-Day.com:
Donald Albert Hall 1898 - Aircraft designer (Spirit of St. Louis), Eli Wallach 1915, Ted Knight 1923


Ellen Burstyn 1932, Johnny Bench (MLB) 1947, Larry Bird (NBA) 1956



1787 - Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. constitution becoming the first of the United States.


1796 - John Adams was elected to be the second president of the United States.


1836 - Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the United States.


1941 - Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu was attacked by nearly 200 Japanese warplanes. The attack resulted in the U.S. entering into World War II.


1972 - Apollo 17 was launched at Cape Canaveral. It was the last U.S. moon mission.


1983 - Madrid, Spain, an Aviaco DC-9 collided on a runway with an Iberia Air Lines Boeing 727 that was accelerating for takeoff. The collision resulted in the death of all 42 people aboard the DC-9 and 51 on the Iberia jet.


1993 - Six people were killed and 17 were injured when a gunman opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train.


1998 - U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno declined to seek an independent counsel investigation of President Clinton over 1996 campaign financing.