August 7
1789 - The U.S. War Department was established by the U.S. Congress.
1782 - George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart.
1888 - Theophilus Van Kannel received a patent for the revolving door.
1914 - Germany invaded France.
1928 - The U.S. Treasure Department issued a new bill that was one third smaller than the previous U.S. bills.
1934 - The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling striking down the government's attempt to ban the controversial James Joyce novel "Ulysses."
1942 - U.S. forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.
1947 - The balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki, which had carried a six-man crew 4,300 miles across the Pacific Ocean, crashed into a reef in a Polynesian archipelago.
1959 - The U.S. launched Explorer 6, which sent back a picture of the Earth.
1960 - The Cuban Catholic Church condemned the rise of communism in Cuba. Fidel Castro then banned all religious TV and radio broadcasts.
1964 - The U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which gave President Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.
1974 - French stuntman Philippe Petit walked a tightrope strung between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center.
1976 - Scientists in Pasadena, CA, announced that the Viking 1 spacecraft had found strong indications of possible life on Mars.
1981 - After 128 years of publication, "The Washington Star" ceased all operations.
1983 - AT&T employees went on strike.
1987 - The presidents of five Central American nations, met in Guatemala City, and signed an 11-point agreement designed to bring peace to their region.
1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard against a possible invasion by Iraq.
1999 - Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres) got his 3,000th hit of his major league career.
2003 - In California, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he would run for the office of governor.
2003 - Stephen Geppi bought a 1963 G.I. Joe prototype for $200,000.
