Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 feet (417 m) in the air. Date: August 7, 1974 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day in 1974 📅 On This Day (Today)

Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars. Date: August 7, 1976 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day in 1976 📅 On This Day (Today)

U.S. President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been disposed of negligently. Date: August 7, 1978 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day in 1978 📅 On This Day (Today)

Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts. Date: August 7, 1985 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day in 1985 📅 On This Day (Today)

Cold War: Lynne Cox becomes the first person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union, crossing the Bering Strait from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union. Date: August 7, 1987 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day…

U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia. Date: August 7, 1989 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day in 1989 📅 On This Day (Today)

First American soldiers arrive in Saudi Arabia as part of the Gulf War. Date: August 7, 1990 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day in 1990 📅 On This Day (Today)

Ada Deer, a Menominee activist, is sworn in as the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Date: August 7, 1993 Read more on Wikipedia → 📅 Other events on August 7 📅 Events on this day in 1993 📅 On This Day (Today)