7 January

Across recorded history, 1,777 notable lives are recorded as having ended on 7 January. Below are the 24 most widely documented — ranked by how many language editions of Wikipedia carry an article about them.

← January 6 January 8 →

Nikola Tesla

1856–1943

Serbian-American engineer and inventor

Nikola Tesla was an inventor who developed alternating current electrical systems.

Hirohito

1901–1989

emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989

Hirohito was the emperor of Japan who reigned throughout the period of the Second World War.

Franz Beckenbauer

1945–2024

German sports official and association football player

Franz Beckenbauer was an association football player who also served as a sports official.

Jean-Marie Le Pen

1928–2025

French politician

Jean-Marie Le Pen was a French politician who served as a long-term leader of the National Front party.

Alfred Kastler

1902–1984

French physicist

Alfred Kastler was a physicist who conducted research on optical methods for studying Hertzian resonances in atoms.

Vladimir Prelog

1906–1998

Bosnian-Swiss chemist

Vladimir Prelog was a chemist who conducted extensive research on the structure of organic compounds and alkaloids.

Mário Soares

1924–2017

President of Portugal

Mário Soares was a Portuguese politician who served as the President of Portugal.

Edmund Barton

1849–1920

Australian politician, first Prime Minister of Australia and founding justice of the High Court of Australia

Edmund Barton was an Australian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court.

Juan Rulfo

1917–1986

Mexican writer

Juan Rulfo was a Mexican writer known for his contributions to twentieth-century literature.

Murray Rothbard

1926–1995

American economist

Murray Rothbard was an American economist who authored numerous works on economic theory and history.

Josef Stefan

1835–1893

Carinthian Slovene physicist, mathematician and poet

Josef Stefan was a physicist who formulated the law stating that the total radiation from a black body is proportional to the fourth power.

Ignacy Łukasiewicz

1822–1882

Polish pharmacist and petroleum industry pioneer

Ignacy Łukasiewicz was a pharmacist who pioneered the petroleum industry.

René Guénon

1886–1951

French metaphysician

René Guénon was a French metaphysician who authored numerous works on traditionalist philosophy and Eastern spiritual traditions.

Lou Henry Hoover

1874–1944

First Lady of the United States from 1929 to 1933

Lou Henry Hoover served as the First Lady of the United States.

Charb

1967–2015

French caricaturist and journalist

Charb was a French caricaturist who served as the editorial director of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Heinrich Harrer

1912–2006

Austrian mountaineer and author

Heinrich Harrer was an Austrian mountaineer who authored books detailing his experiences and travels.

Rod Taylor

1930–2015

Australian actor

Rod Taylor was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous film and television productions throughout his career.

Cabu

1938–2015

French comic strip artist and caricaturist

Cabu was a French caricaturist and comic strip artist known for his contributions to satirical publications.

Trevor Howard

1913–1988

English film, stage and television actor

Trevor Howard was an English actor who performed in film, stage, and television productions.

Ingrid Thulin

1929–2004

Swedish actress

Ingrid Thulin was a Swedish actress known for her extensive work in international cinema.

Jože Plečnik

1872–1957

Slovenian architect

Jože Plečnik was a Slovenian architect known for his influential contributions to urban planning and design.

Richard Hamming

1915–1998

American mathematician and information theorist

Richard Hamming was a mathematician who contributed to the development of information theory and error-detecting codes.

Thomas Lawrence

1769–1830

English portrait painter

Thomas Lawrence was an English portrait painter who achieved significant recognition for his work during the Regency era.

Julius Wellhausen

1844–1918

German theologian and orientalist

Julius Wellhausen was a biblical scholar who developed the documentary hypothesis regarding the composition of the Pentateuch.

Source: Wikidata, released into the public domain under CC0. Snapshot: 2026-07. Names, dates and roles come from Wikidata; summaries are condensed from it. Nothing here is generated to fill a gap.