Box-office #1
The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · dir. Irvin Kershner
Wide US release on May 23, 1980. Goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year.
Sci-fiStar Wars $538M worldwide
On this day
January 7 Wednesday, January 7, 2026
A curious almanac of what happened on January 7 across the years — history, birthdays, the songs that ruled the charts, the films that packed cinemas, and the science that nudged the world forward.
12
Events
7
Birthdays
4
Holidays
1558
European history 468 years ago
French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of England.
French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, capture Calais, ending over two centuries of English rule and stripping England of its last continental possession.
History
What happened on January 7
12 verified entries Full timeline
- -49World history
The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army, prompting the tribunes who support him to flee to where Caesar is waiting in Ravenna.
The Roman Senate threatens to declare Caesar a public enemy unless he disbands his army, prompting his allied tribunes to flee Rome and join him in Ravenna.
- 1078European history
The people of Constantinople revolt, lynch the unpopular official Nikephoritzes and proclaim Nikephoros Botaneiates as emperor.
The people of Constantinople revolt, lynching Nikephoritzes and proclaiming Nikephoros Botaneiates as emperor.
- 1325European history
Afonso IV becomes King of Portugal.
Afonso IV ascends to the throne of Portugal, succeeding his father Denis I and beginning a reign marked by military campaigns and internal reforms.
- 1558European history
French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of England.
French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, capture Calais, ending over two centuries of English rule and stripping England of its last continental possession.
- 1608US history
Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.
A fire devastates Jamestown, Virginia, destroying its church and most of the colonial settlement.
- 1610Science
Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following night.
Galileo Galilei observes three of Jupiter's moons, later identifying all four Galilean satellites.
- 1782US history
The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.
The Bank of North America opens in Philadelphia, becoming the first commercial bank in the United States.
- 1785Technology
Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
Blanchard and Jeffries cross the English Channel by hot air balloon, becoming the first to fly across it.
- 1835Science
HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, drops anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.
HMS Beagle, carrying Charles Darwin, anchors off the Chonos Archipelago, marking another stop in Darwin's voyage of scientific discovery.
- 1894Technology
Thomas Edison makes a kinetoscopic film of someone sneezing. On the same day, his employee, William Kennedy Dickson, receives a patent for motion picture film.
Thomas Edison's employee William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film, while Edison films someone sneezing with kinetoscopic technology.
- 1993Politics
The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as president.
Jerry Rawlings is sworn in as president of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
- 2012Disaster
A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.
A hot air balloon crash near Carterton kills all 11 people on board.
Born today
Famous birthdays on January 7
7 this date All birthdays
Gerald Durrell
Indian-English zookeeper, conservationist and author, founded Durrell Wildlife Park
Gerald Durrell, the British naturalist, author, and conservationist who founded Jersey Zoo and pioneered captive breeding programs for endangered species, was born in Jamshedpur, India, in 1925.
Born
1925
Died
1995
Sandford Fleming
Scottish-Canadian engineer, created Universal Standard Time
1827 – 1915
Zora Neale Hurston
American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist
1891 – 1960
Kenny Loggins
American singer-songwriter
b. 1948 · 78
Vic Darchinyan
Armenian-Australian boxer
b. 1976 · 50
Lauren Cohan
American-English actress
b. 1982 · 44
Jon Lester
American baseball player
b. 1984 · 42
Music
The number one songs on January 7
Across the years Full chart history
🇬🇧 #1 on January 7, 1981
"Stand and Deliver"
by Adam and the Ants
The dandy highwayman spent five weeks at the top — a brash, glam-pop coronation.
#1 for 5 weeks
Also #1 on this day
- 1965"Ticket To Ride"— The Beatles
- 1972"Metal Guru"— T. Rex
- 2003"Make Luv"— Room 5 ft. Oliver Cheatham
Film & TV
At the movies
Box office #1 and premieres All releases
🏆 Sport January 7, 1989
Sutton United, a team in the fifth tier of English league football, defeated top-tier Coventry City in one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history.
Sutton United, from the fifth tier, shocked top-tier Coventry City in the FA Cup.
Read the story
🔬 Science January 7, 1985
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union.
Japan launches Sakigake, its first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep-space probe by a nation outside the United States or Soviet Union.
Read the storyToday is also
Holidays & observances
4 celebrated today
Distaff Day (medieval Europe)
International
Saint Distaff's Day, Distaff Day, or Rock Day, is 7 January, the day after Epiphany, and was the traditional day on which women would start spinning again after Christmas
Pioneer's Day (Liberia)
International
The following are public holidays in Liberia
Tricolour Day or Festa del Tricolore (Italy)
International
Tricolour Day, officially National Flag Day, is the Flag Day of Italy
Victory from Genocide Day (Cambodia)
International
Cambodia has numerous public holidays, including memorial holidays and religious holidays of Buddhist origin
❝
The best protection for the animals is not to protect them but to protect their habitat.
— Gerald Durrell · born January 7, 1925