Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on October 7th?

The Battle of Lepanto takes place, with the Holy League defeating the Ottoman Empire's navy in a significant naval battle.

The German Democratic Republic. The GDR, commonly known as East Germany is created from the Soviet occupation zone of occupation on October 7, 1949. The United States responded by stating its position that the GDR was “without any legal validity,” and that the United States would “continue to give full support to the Government of the German Federal Republic FDR at Bonn in its efforts to restore a truly free and democratic Germany.” The FDR, commonly known as West Germany had been formed months earlier on May 23,1949 by combining the occupation territories of France, Britain and the U.S. The U.S. refused to recognize the GDR until 1974. The GDR was absorbed by the FRG in 1990 when Germany reunified. More

Four terrorists from the Arab Liberation Front, hijack the Italian cruise ship MS Achille Lauro shortly after it left Alexandria, Egypt. During the hijack the terrorists killed Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled American man who was in a wheelchair. More

The U.S.‑led attack on Afghanistan begins as a response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on New, York and Washington DC. marking the beginning of the war in Afghanistan which lasted two decades. On September 18 2001, President Bush signed into law a joint resolution authorizing the use of force against those responsible for attacking the United States on September. On Aug 15 the Afghanistan government collapses and the capital comes under Taliban control on Aug. 15. Chaos erupts at the Kabul airport as desperate Afghans try to leave the country. The war ended on with a a complete withdraw of American and coalition troops. On Aug. 30, U.S. Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie announces the last planes have departed, marking the end of the military evacuation effort and America's war in Afghanistan. The Taliban celebrated what they call "full independence." More

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize is jointly awarded to three female political activists Two African and one Asian female ."for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work". The joint Laureated were: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (b. 1938), Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee (b. 1972) and Yemeni politician Tawakkul Karman (b. 1979). More