7 July in history
8 events that happened on 7 July, from 1456 to 2005.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1456 CE 570 years ago
Joan of Arc is cleared of heresy 25 years after her death
A retrial authorised by Pope Callixtus III quashed Joan of Arc's 1431 conviction and declared her innocent. She was canonised as a saint in 1920.
1585 CE 441 years ago
The Treaty of Nemours ends toleration of Protestants in France
At Nemours, the Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici, acting for King Henry III, signed articles with representatives of the House of Guise abolishing toleration of Protestants. Contemporaries saw the accord as a renewal of the French Wars of Religion.
1777 CE 249 years ago
American rearguard fights the British at Hubbardton
Retreating from Fort Ticonderoga, an American rearguard fought pursuing British and German troops at Hubbardton, Vermont. Though defeated, they slowed Burgoyne's advance towards eventual surrender at Saratoga.
1807 CE 219 years ago
Napoleon and Alexander I sign the first Treaty of Tilsit
Napoleon and Emperor Alexander I of Russia signed the first of the Treaties of Tilsit, ending hostilities between France and Russia in the War of the Fourth Coalition after the French victory at Friedland. Russia joined the Continental System against Britain.
1898 CE 128 years ago
President McKinley signs the resolution annexing Hawaii
McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, annexing the Republic of Hawaii five years after American businessmen had overthrown Queen Liliuokalani. Hawaii became a US territory and, in 1959, the 50th state.
1937 CE 89 years ago
Marco Polo Bridge Incident sparks war between China and Japan
A night-time clash between Japanese and Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing escalated into full-scale war. The Second Sino-Japanese War merged into the Second World War and cost millions of Chinese lives.
1985 CE 41 years ago
Boris Becker, 17, becomes Wimbledon's youngest men's champion
Unseeded West German Boris Becker beat Kevin Curren in four sets to win Wimbledon at 17. He remains the youngest men's singles champion in the tournament's history.
Born on 7 July 4
Died on 7 July 7
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.