On This Day - February 7, 2026

Baltimore, Maryland becomes the first American city to become lit with gaslight. Market and Lemon Streets (now known as North Holliday Street and East Baltimore Street today) were the first public lighting in the city.

The Beatles arrive in (or invade) the United States. Beatlemania begins.

Swiss women were granted the right to vote. Since 1868, Swiss women had been demanding the right to vote and every time it was denied. Nearly every two decades women’s suffrage would be brought before the various committees, councils, and Parliament, and the motions were ignored or passed on. The European Convention on Human Rights brought the issue to the table once again and finally, in 1971, Swiss women had a voice. However, there were still many regions in Switzerland that did not allow women the vote at certain levels of Swiss elections. It wouldn’t be until 1991 that women could vote at all levels of Swiss elections.

Speedskater Sheila Young becomes the first American to win three Winter Olympic medals. During the Innsbruck Winter Olympics in 1976, Young brought home medals in the following events:

The space shuttleChallengerastronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart complete the first untethered spacewalk during their STS-41B mission.

Sarah Thomas becomes the first woman to referee a Super Bowl championship game. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. February 7th Celebrated Birthdays