Happy Birthday January 7

Bernadeta Soubirous (Saint Bernadette) was born in Lourdes, France on January 7, 1844. Her parents were François Soubirous, a poor miller with no regular employment, and Louise (née Castérot) a laundress. Bernadette did farm work, notably sheep herding, for a family friend in nearby Bartres, and also waited tables in her Aunt Bernarde's tavern. Bernadette had the first of several visions of the Virgin Mary in a grotto when she was 14.

Bernadette Soubirous when a child.

The first person born in Antarctica was Emilio Marcos Palma of Argentina on January 7, 1978. He was born in Fortín Sargento Cabral at the Esperanza Base near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and weighed 3.4 kg (7 lb 8 oz). His father, Captain Jorge Emilio Palma, was head of the Argentine army detachment at the base.

For more January 7 anniversaries, including Galileo observations with his telescope of Jupiter's four largest moons. the opening of the first American commercial bank, and the invention of the first motion picture film, check out OnThatDay.