The United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark entered the 'European Economic Community (EEC, generally referred to as "the Common Market", a predecessor to the European Union. The addition of the new members brought the number of Common Market nations from six to nine.[1][2]
Exxon Corporation, the largest oil company in the world at the time, was created by the merger of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and Humble Oil. The gasoline stations of the merged companies, operating under the names Esso, Enco and Humble, would all be rebranded as Exxon stations during the year 1973.
In the 59th Rose Bowl college football game, the #1-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific 8 conference defeated the #3-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten conference, 42–17.[3] The #2-ranked team, the Oklahoma Sooners, had beaten the #5-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions the night before in the Sugar Bowl. The University of Southern California team, unbeaten and untied in 12 starts, would be voted #1 in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls, gaining recognition by the NCAA in the era before playoffs as the unofficial national champion of American college football.
A new constitution went into effect in the southern African nation of Zambia, declaring the republic to be a "one-party participatory democracy", with the lone political organization being the ruling United National Independence Party (UNIP) of President Kenneth Kaunda. Zambia continued as a one-party participatory democracy until becoming "a unitary, indivisible, multi-party and democratic sovereign state" when a new constitution would take effect in 1991.
The west African nation of Nigeria, the last on earth to use the non-decimal "£sd" system of "pounds, shillings and pence", introduced a new currency, the naira (₦) to replace the Nigerian pound that had been used since independence, at the rate of £1 = ₦2. Under the new decimal system, one naira was worth 100 kobo.[4][5]
Sergei Kourdakov, 21, a Soviet Russian KGB agent who had defected to Canada on September 3, 1971, was found dead in his motel room at the ski resort town of Running Springs, California, from a gunshot to the head.[6][7]
Nirmal Munda, 79, Indian agrarian leader and independence fighter known for leading the Munda agitation from 1937 to 1939 against extortion
Speckled Red (stage name for Rufus Perryman), 80, African-American comedian, blues singer and musician known for his recordings of the improvised insult exchanges known as "The Dozens"
The 93rd United States Congress opened with the swearing in of new U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators.[12] The seats of Democratic Representatives Hale Boggs of Louisiana's 2nd district and Nick Begich of Alaska's At-Large district were declared "presumed dead" by House Resolution 1, nearly three months after the plane carrying both Congressmen was lost on October 16, 1972, over a remote region of Alaska. Although both Boggs and Begich won their re-elections while officially missing after the crash, the House resolution renders their seats vacant at the start of the 93rd Congress and orders special elections to fill both seats. Antonio Won Pat became the first delegate from the U.S. territory of Guam to have an office in the U.S. House of Representatives, appearing as the territory's non-voting delegate.
Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst for the RAND Corporation who leaked top secret U.S. Department of Defense documents to multiple newspapers, went on trial for violations of the Espionage Act of 1917.[13] The documents, published as the "Pentagon Papers", led to Ellsberg's indictment. Although initially barred from testifying in his own defense, Ellsberg would have the charges against him dismissed on May 11 because of prosecutorial misconduct including the wiretapping of his office and the burglary of his psychiatrist's office.
The Golden Corral chain of steak restaurants opened its first of almost 500 locations in the United States, starting with a steakhouse in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
U.S. Air Force General John C. Meyer, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Air Command, was booed by airmen at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, where he had paid a visit days after directing Operation Linebacker II, the "Christmas Bombing" that took place from December 18 to December 29, 1972.
Born: Dan Harmon, American TV producer known for Community and for Rick and Morty; in Milwaukee
Christopher Chenery, 86, American engineer, businessman and racehorse owner whose thoroughbred Secretariat would win the U.S. Triple Crown of Horse Racing later in the year[16]
The 29th Canadian Parliament opened its session with the swearing in of 264 members of the Canadian House of Commons and 102 Senators. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had only a 109 to 107 lead in Commons over the Progressive Conservative opposition, with other parties dividing the remaining 48 seats.[17]
In Derry (also referred to as "Londonderry") in Northern Ireland, a crowd of almost 300 children threw stones and bottles at six British Army soldiers who had come to a Roman Catholic neighborhood to investigate a complaint. Four soldiers were hurt before the patrol commander fired a rifle shot over the heads of the children.[18]
Australia's new Minister for Immigration, Al Grassby, announced that the nation had officially ended what critics had called the "white Australia policy", eliminating the use of skin color as a factor in determining whether to admit immigrants, and specifically lifting the quota on nonwhites. The phasing out of the policy had started after World War II, when Australia admitted a few nonwhites as immigrants and then permitted them to become citizens after 15 years residence. In 1966, the residence requirement was reduced to five years.[19]
The pilot episode of the longest-running TV comedy series in the world, Last of the Summer Wine, was broadcast in the United Kingdom as an episode of BBC's Comedy Playhouse. Picked up as a series, Last of the Summer Wine would debut on November 12 and would continue to run for 295 episodes over 37 years, until August 29, 2010.
A Secretary of Homeland Security going through a metal detector, 2014
Mandatory screening before boarding of all airline passengers went into effect in the United States[20] under orders of the U.S. Department of Transportation, after notice and comment was announced on December 5.[21]
As its first order of business, the members of the Canada's House of Commons, liberal and conservative, voted unanimously to condemn the American Christmas bombing of North Vietnam that was carried out from December 18 to December 29, 1972. The resolution, introduced by Mitchell Sharp, the MP who was Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs, began with a statement that the House "deplores the recent large-scale bombing in the Hanoi-Haiphong area", and added that the body "requests the government of the United States to refrain from resumption" of the bombing.[22] The move infuriated U.S. President Richard M. Nixon.[23]
U.S. President Nixon issued an Executive Order to partially put into effect his 1971 proposal for reorganization of the federal government, consolidating much of the authority under three members of his Cabinet whom he elevated to the additional role of "White House Counselor". Caspar Weinberger, whom he had nominated for U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), was designated as "Counselor for Human Resources" and had "responsibility for health, education, manpower development, income security, social services, Indian and native peoples, drug abuse and consumer protection". James T. Lynn, nominated as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was designated as "Counselor for Community Development" to handle community institutions, community planning, housing, highways, public transportation, regional development, disaster relief and national capital affairs. Earl Butz, at the time the United States Secretary of Agriculture, was named "Counselor for Natural Resources" in charge of "natural resource use, lands and minerals, environment, outdoor recreation, water control and park and wildlife resources." Many of the named duties were under the authority of agencies not affiliated with any Cabinet-level department. The move was intended to reduce the number of staff in the White House from 4,000 to 2,000.[24]
NASA announced the cancellation of the NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) project, a joint effort of NASA and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to develop a nuclear-powered rocket engine for long range space missions.[25] Over 17 years, US$1.4 billion had been spent on the development before U.S. President Nixon canceled the program as a cost-cutting measure.
Indonesia's four Islamic political parties merged into a single organization, the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP, United Development Party).
Died: Gerald Boland, 87, Irish attorney who served as Minister for Justice 1939 to 1948 and 1941 to 1954, as well as member of the parliament 1923–1961 and senator, 1961–1969
Multiplication Rock, U.S. television cartoon series with three-minute episodes setting the multiplication tables to memorable tunes, made its debut between the regular Saturday morning shows on the ABC network.[29][30] The first installment, "Three Is a Magic Number", appeared at 8:25 in the morning after H.R. Pufnstuf. Bob Dorough wrote and performed the music and lyrics to most of the songs, with most of the cartoons produced by Phil Kimmelman & Associates.
Died: Maurice H. Thatcher, 102, U.S. Representative for Kentucky from 1923 to 1933, former U.S. Governor of the Canal Zone in Panama (1910–1922) and the oldest surviving former member of Congress.[31]
After shooting a police officer a week earlier, Mark Essex, a former Black Panther party member, shot 19 people (10 of them police officers) with a sniper rifle from his vantage point at a Howard Johnsons hotel in the U.S. city of New Orleans. His stated motive was "retaliation for police killings" of African-Americans. Essex had killed a black police cadet and fatally wounded a white police officer on New Year's Eve. In a single day, Essex caused the deaths of two hotel guests, two hotel employees, and three additional New Orleans police officers before being shot dead by a police marksman firing from a helicopter.[32]
Utah became one of the first states of the United States to reinstate capital punishment after the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down the death penalty in all states in its decision on June 29, 1972, in Furman v. Georgia.[33] The replacement law took effect on July 1, 1973, pending approval of the new standards for capital sentences by the high Court. After the July 2, 1976 decision in Gregg v. Georgia, Utah would become the first state to carry out a death sentence, executing Gary Gilmore by firing squad on January 17, 1977.
The 1973 All-Africa Games, the second in the series, opened for 12 days of competition by 36 nations in Lagos, Nigeria. The first All-Africa Games had been held in the Congo Republic in 1965.[35] Egypt won the most medals (23 gold and 66 overall) with Nigeria second (18 gold, 60 total) and Kenya third (nine gold, 27 total)[36]
Died: Pedro Berruezo, Spanish soccer football forward for Sevilla FC, suffered a fatal heart attack on the field six minutes into a match against the host team Pontevedra CF.
The Paris Peace Talks to end the Vietnam War came close to failing at an angry meeting in the French town of Gif-sur-Yvette, where U.S. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger was angrily confronted by North Vietnam's chief negotiator, Lê Đức Thọ, over the Christmas bombing of North Vietnam. Reportedly, Tho shouted at Kissinger in French for more than an hour, loudly enough that reporters outside the conference room could hear him berate the U.S. representative.[37][38] Nevertheless, a peace agreement would be reached on January 23.
The Brazilian government kidnapped, from different locations (including Soledad Barrett Viedma), six opponents of the military regime and then murdered them. The bodies were found in a barn in the town of São Bento near the city of Abreu e Lima in the Pernambuco state.[39]
Sesamstrasse, the German-language version of the U.S. children's program Sesame Street, premiered on the west German network Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), with German actors dubbing previously broadcast U.S. shows, before a German production could be started on January 2, 1978, with new puppets and sets.[41]
At 9:55 a.m. Moscow time (0615 UTC), the Soviet Union launched the Luna 21 uncrewed space mission to the Moon, which included the remotely-guided Lunokhod 2 lunar rover.[42]
In the U.S., the ABC television network introduced its new late-night series, ABC's Wide World of Entertainment, as part of a block of programming after 11:30 pm that rotated between the series and several other programs.
Born:
Irina Slavina (pen name for Irina Murakhtaeva), Russian journalist and government opponent known for her fatal self-immolation as a protest; in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (d. 2020)
Ryan Coetzee, South African politician and British political strategist
An American Family, arguably the first "reality show" on television, was launched as a 12-episode series on the U.S. Public Broadcasting System. The show was the edited product of seven months of a production crew following around a Santa Monica, California husband and wife and their five teenage children, and filming their private lives. From May 30 until December 31, 1971, 300 hours of film was made of business executive Bill Loud, his wife Pat, and their three sons and two daughters, then editing it to twelve 50-minute shows.[48]
The "Phase II" wage controls that had been implemented by U.S. president Nixon on November 14, 1971, ended along with all U.S. government limits on the raising of rent. With the issuance of Executive Order 11695, Price controls continued for six months on food, health care and construction as part of the authority granted to the U.S. president the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970.[49] Nixon called on industries to voluntarily hold down price and wage increases.[50]
All Australian involvement in combat in the Vietnam War ceased by order of Australia's Governor-General, Paul Hasluck.[51] Troops remained in South Vietnam until July 1, 1973.
Former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt, leader of the White House Special Investigations Unit team that had been called "the White House Plumbers" because of the assignment to determine the source of news leaks to the media), became the first major participant in the Watergate scandal to plead guilty to charges.[52] He would be sentenced to 8 years in prison and would serve for less than 3.
Joshua Wanume Kibedi, the Foreign Minister of Uganda, resigned abruptly while he was out of the country, attending a conference of foreign ministers of the Organisation of African Unity in Accra, capital of Ghana. Kibedi made the decision days after his uncle, former Ugandan Minister of Health Shaban Nkutu, had been kidnapped and murdered on orders of Ugandan President Idi Amin. Kibedi's sister, Malyamu Kibedi Amin, was one of President Amin's two wives, and Foreign Minister Kibedi feared for his own life and made the decision not to return, going into exile instead in the United Kingdom.
William T. Farr, a reporter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, was freed from jail after having been held in contempt of court for 48 days for refusing to reveal his confidential source for an article he had written in 1972 about the Charles Manson murder trial. U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas ordered Farr's release while the contempt citation was on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. "The case is a recurring one", Douglas wrote in his order, "when the interests of a fair trial sometimes collide with the requirements of a free press", but added "Yet since the precise question is a new one not covered by our prior decisions, I have concluded in the interest of justice to release Farr on his personal recognizance."[53][54]
At a meeting in Chicago, the 24 Major League Baseball team owners voted to allow the American League to implement the "designated hitter" rule starting with the 1973 season, marking the first time since the American League's founding in 1901 that the two leagues would be playing the game under different rules. The change, which permitted a team to designate a specific player who would substitute for the pitcher, but who would not be on the field when the other team was up to bat, was an amendment to Rule 3.03, which bars the pitcher from re-entering the game if he is replaced in the lineup. The "DH" rule had been tested in the minor International League in 1969 and had resulted in increased team batting averages, an increase in runs scored and a decrease in the length of a game.[55] The rule would be used in the American League for 49 seasons before being adopted by the National League in 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, commonly called "The Dow", the measure of performance on Wall Street of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, reached its peak for the rest of the decade, closing at 1,051.70 points. The next day, the Dow dropped 12.34 points[56] and then began a steady decline that would last almost two years, with stocks averaging a 45.1 percent decrease in value and closing at a low of 577.60 on December 6, 1974.[57] "The Dow" would not break the 1973 peak until almost 10 years later, with a close on November 3, 1982, of 1,065.49.
BBCOpen University, which had offered degrees to older and working students through distance learning with early morning broadcasts on BBC-2 that started on January 3, 1971, awarded its first diplomas.[58]
Members of the all-male Harvard Club of New York City voted overwhelmingly, 2,097 to 695, to admit women to the private social group for Harvard University alumni.[59] On May 4, 1972, more members voted in favor of admitting women than had voted against (1,654 to 854), but the move fell 18 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required by the Harvard Club's bylaws.[60]
The General Electric Company of the United States signed an agreement with the Soviet Union's State Committee for Science and Technology (GKNT, Gosudarstvennyi Komitet po Nauke i Tekhnike) for a joint research project to develop new electric power generating technology. The G.E.—U.S.S.R. pact was the first direct cooperative agreement between the Communist nation and a major capitalist corporation.[61]
Les Halles, which had operated as the central food market in Paris since the 18th century, closed permanently[66] to make way for construction of the Westfield Forum des Halles, a modern shopping mall built largely underground.
In Italy, agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad foiled an attempt by the PLO to shoot down a jet transporting Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir to Rome's Fiumicino Airport. Meir was in Italy on a state visit to meet President Leone and Pope Paul VI, and Mossad had only learned about the plot the day before. Spotting a Fiat van in a field near the flight path of Meir's airplane, a Mossad agent ordered the driver to step out of the van, and a gun fight began, with two terrorists being wounded. A search found that the van had six heat-seeking missiles and a launcher, and after torture, the captured driver revealed the location of a backup team with missiles and launchers mounted on a van. A Mossad truck rammed the second team's van and detained the would-be assassins.[69] Mrs. Meir's flight, and El Al jet bringing her to Rome after her visit to Paris, landed that evening under heavy security, taxiing to a spot more than one mile from the passenger terminal, where she was met by a chauffeur and officials from the Italian Foreign Ministry. The next day, she became the first Israeli prime minister to meet with a Pope.[70]
Elvis Presley's "Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite" concert was performed in Honolulu at 12:30 in the morning local time, to be seen live in Australia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, South Vietnam and Hong Kong, and on tape delay everywhere else in the world.
The Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins, 14–7, to win Super Bowl VII and to complete the NFL's first, and thus far only, "perfect season", with no losses or ties in the regular season or the postseason. The Dolphins finished with a record of 14-0-0 in regular play and then won their three playoff games.[71]
The day before Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir was scheduled to fly in a jet to Rome for a state visit to Italy and to the Vatican, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad learned of a possible Palestine Liberation Organization plot to assassinate her by shooting down her airplane. .
The Enemy is Dead, a play written by Don Petersen, opened on Broadway at the Bijou Theatre[72] and closed after one performance.[73]
France's Department of the Overseas signed a treaty with representatives of the Comoro Islands, guaranteeing the African island territory full independence within five years, subject to a referendum of all residents of the four islands.
On the same day in the Philippines, the execution in the electric chair of convicted drug trafficker Lim Seng was broadcast on national television, by order of President Ferdinand Marcos.[75]
Four additional defendants in the first Watergate burglary trial accepted a plea bargain rather than risk conviction by a jury and a longer prison sentence. Miami real estate agent Bernard L. Barker and three of his associates, Frank A. Sturgis, Eugenio Martínez and Virgilio Gonzalez all pled guilty before Judge John J. Sirica.[76]
The West Germany TV situation comedy Ein Herz und eine Seele ("One Heart and One Soul", adapted (as with the U.S. sitcom All in the Family) from the British series Till Death Us Do Part broadcast its first of 25 episodes. Part of the schedule of the ARD network, the show featured Heinz Schubert in the (Alf Garnett/Archie Bunker) role as "Alfred Tetzlaff", a right-wing bigot, along with his wife "Else", a daughter ("Rita") and son-in-law ("Michael").[77]
Barrie-Jon Mather, English rugby player who became the first to play on the national teams for both rugby league (for the Great Britain team 1994–1996) and the rugby union team (for England in 1999); in Wigan, Lancashire
Luna 21, the uncrewed Soviet probe carrying the Lunokhod 2 lunar rover landed on the Moon at the Le Monnier crater at 1:35 in the morning Moscow time (2335 on 15 January UTC).[78] The 8-wheeled Lunokhod rover was dispatched from the lander at 4:14 (0114 UTC) and began transmitting television images from three cameras back to Earth, along with data from telephotometric cameras, an x-ray spectrometer, and x-ray telescope, a radiation detector, an astrophotometer, a magnetometer and a photodetector.[79][80]
The 431st and last episode of the NBC television westernBonanza, ending a run of 14 seasons. Number one in the ratings in three consecutive seasons from 1964–65 to 1966–67, the show had been in the five most popular for nine consecutive seasons until its penultimate season. After the death of popular actor Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright) before the 1971–72 season, the once-popular show could not compete against Maude and Hawaii Five-O and was ranked 50th for the year. Lorne Greene and Michael Landon were the only actors left from the original members of the fictional Cartwright family, introduced on September 12, 1959, as one of 32 Western programs on television at that time. Landon wrote and directed the final episode.[81]
Following a referendum in the Philippines, Proclamation No. 1102 certified and proclaimed that the new Philippine Constitution proposed by the Constitutional Convention of 1971 had been ratified by the Filipino people and had thereby come into effect, repealing the limits on the president's term of office. The new constitution made the presidency a ceremonial office and provided that actual control would be in the hands of the new office of Prime Minister of the Philippines, a job which Marcos appointed himself to. The legislature provided for in the new constitution could be suspended by the prime minister, and he dismissed the interim assembly that had been scheduled to take office.[84]
In attempt to kill Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, a former member of the Nation of Islam ("Black Muslim") movement, five children and two adults were murdered in Washington, D.C.[86] Khaalis, born "Ernest McGee" before converting to Islam and joining the Black Muslims, had split with the group to follow the Hanafi branch of Sunni Islam, and had sent letters to the 50 Nation of Islam mosques in the U.S. criticizing the movement's leader Elijah Muhammad. In retaliation, seven members of the "Black Mafia" invaded the Hanafi Muslim headquarters and killed Khaalis's children and two adults. Ultimately, four defendants would be convicted of murder. In 1977, Khaalis would later lead 11 Hanafi Movement gunmen to seize 149 hostages in a takeover of the District of Columbia building with the motive of calling attention to the 1973 murder of his family.
The six-year term of Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland, set to expire on March 1, 1974, was extended by four years in a 170 to 28 vote by the nation's parliament, the Suomen Eduskunta. The change in law came at Kekkonen's request, after he decided that he did not want Foreign Minister Ahti Karjalainen to succeed him. Kekkonen had been president since 1956 and had started his third 6-year term in 1968.[87]
The government of France began a program of replacing 350 English-language words with French substitutes issued by a "terminology commission" chaired by former Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas, and the approval of the French Academy. Among the changes were retrospectif (for "flashback"), palmares (for "hit parade"), navire citerne (for a "tanker" ship) and avion ADAC (for a "STOL aircraft").[88]
The 28 people killed in the 1972 crash in the Andes of a Uruguayan airplane flight were given a funeral service by a Chilean priest and burial in a common grave more than 400 metres (1,300 ft) from the airplane's fuselage.[89]
Eleven Labour Party councillors in Clay Cross, Derbyshire in England, were ordered to pay £6,985 for not enforcing the Housing Finance Act.
In a dramatic upset in the National Hockey League, the NHL's worst team, the first-year expansion club New York Islanders (with a record of 4 wins, 37 losses and 4 ties) defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions, the 28-10-4 Boston Bruins, 9 to 7, in Boston in a regular season game. The win snapped the Islanders' 12-game losing streak.[91] Boston would finish with 51 wins, 22 losses and 5 ties for the second-best record in the 16-team league, while the Islanders remained the worst, with a record of 12-60-6.
Timothy Leary, a former Harvard University professor and advocate of recreational drug use, who later escaped from prison and fled the U.S., was returned to the United States after being arrested by police in Afghanistan.[92]
Died: Abdul Qaiyum Ansari, 67, Indian Muslim and independence activist who had campaigned to prevent the division of British India into two nations. In 1947, the predominantly Muslim areas became the nation of Pakistan while the Hindu areas became the Dominion of India.
The 37th president and the future 41st president in 1973
George Bush, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and future President of the United States, was appointed Chair of the Republican National Committee, replacing Bob Dole, U.S. Senator for Kansas.[93]
Amílcar Cabral, the leader of the fight for the independence of the African colonies of Portuguese Guinea from Portugal, was shot and killed by two former members of his organization.[95] In 1956, Cabral had been one of the co-founders of the Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) and its leader since 1963, guiding the operations from the republic (and former French colony) of Guinea. He was in front of his house in the Guinean capital of Conakry when he was assassinated. Guinea-Bissau would proclaim its independence eight months later under Cabral's successor, his younger brother Luís Cabral.
The government of the Soviet Union made official its "education tax" on emigrants, a higher fee for legally moving away out of the country. The Bulletin of the Supreme Soviet published the decree made on August 3, 1972, by President of the Presidium Nikolai V. Podgorny. Based on a theory that the Soviet government had provided free education for citizens, the "tax" was based upon the level of education as well as length of employment and averaged an additional 8,000 Soviet rubles (officially, $10,000 in U.S. dollars), an amount that represented the total gross earnings over five years for an engineer or physician.[96]
Nixon sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger
U.S. President Richard Nixon was inaugurated for his second term.[97] In his inaugural address, Nixon began by saying that before he started his term, "America was bleak in spirit, depressed by the prospect of seemingly endless war abroad and of destructive conflict at home", but that "As we meet here today, we stand on the threshold of a new era of peace in the world", and asked "How shall we use that peace?" Paraphrasing a line used in John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech, Nixon said "In our own lives, let each of us ask now just what will government do for me, but what can I do for myself?"[98]
Aeroflot Flight 6263, carrying 39 passengers and crew, crashed in snow while making its approach to the Perm International Airport in the Soviet Union's Russian SFSR, its final scheduled destination after departing from Kazan on a flight that had originated in Krasnodar. While only four people died from the impact of the crash of the Antonov An-24B in rugged terrain near Petukhovo, 57 miles (92 km) from Perm, the 35 survivors froze to death in −40 °F (−40 °C) while awaiting rescue.[99]
The U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision in Roe v. Wade by a vote of 7 to 2, overturning individual state bans in the first three months of pregnancy on a woman's right to an abortion, concluding that such bans deprive a woman of a fundamental liberty without due process of the law contrary to the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. States were allowed to bar abortions during the final 10 weeks of pregnancy.[100] The Texas case had been consolidated with the lesser known Georgia case of Doe v. Bolton. Justices Byron R. White and William H. Rehnquist dissented, while Harry A. Blackmun was joined in the majority opinion by fellow justices William O. Douglas, William J. Brennan Jr., Potter Stewart, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell Jr., and Chief Justice Warren Burger. For nearly half a century afterward, a division between "pro-life" and "pro-choice" positions on abortion would continue with challenges until the overruling of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.[101]
The crash of a ALIA Royal Jordanian Airlines flight from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria killed 176 of the 202 people on board. The chartered Boeing 707 was bringing Muslim pilgrims back home and had taken off from Jeddah before it crashed in Kano, Nigeria.[102]
Former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had served from 1963 to 1969, suffered a massive heart attack at 3:50 p.m. local time while at his LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, Texas, and died shortly thereafter.[103] According to contemporary reports, he picked up the phone next to his bed and told the switchboard operator at the Ranch, "Send Mike immediately,"[104] referring to his Secret Service agent, Mike Howard. The nearest agents, Ed Noland and Harry Harris reached Johnson's bedroom at 3:52 and found him lying on the floor, dead.[105] The death of Johnson, coming 27 days after that of Harry S. Truman, marked the first time since January 5, 1933, that there were no former U.S. presidents alive.
The Eldfellvolcano on the Icelandic island of Heimaey erupted at 1:55 in the morning near the town of Vestmannaeyjar.[108] The 5,500 inhabitants of the island were evacuated by the fishing boats already docked in the island's harbor.[109] The eruption would last until July 3.
After U.S. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Lê Đức Thọ attached an agreement on terms of a treaty at 12:30 p.m. local time in Paris, President Richard Nixon announced that a peace agreement had been reached in Paris to end the Vietnam War, including the release by North Vietnam of all American prisoners of war, and a complete withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from South Vietnam by March. The cease-fire was scheduled to take effect on Saturday, January 27.[110] Nixon spoke on national television in the evening and said that "we today have concluded an agreement to end the war and bring peace with honor in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia."[111][112]
American inventors Mario Cardullo and William L. Parks, received U.S. patent 3,713,148 for the first radio-frequency identification transmitter, the first implantable tracking device, after having filed the application on May 21, 1970.[113]
The U.S. House of Representatives implemented electronic voting for the first time in its history, with the members of Congress pushing buttons on their desks rather than the more time-consuming roll call. The first test was for a quorum call, moved for by Congressman Wayne Hays of Ohio, to determine if the House had a quorum of at least 218 members present to conduct business.[114]
Died: Alexander Onassis, 24, Greek businessman, heir to the Aristotle Onassis fortune and chairman of Olympic Airways, died one day after being fatally injured in the crash of his single-engine airplane on takeoff from the Athens airport.[115]
Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd. was incorporated in Bangladesh as Imperial Chemical Industries Bangladesh after the government purchased the assets of the company from its British owners.
U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Clinton E. Knox and Consul General Ward L. Christensen were taken hostage by terrorists who invaded Knox's home at Port-au-Prince and demanded the release of 12 political prisoners, a ransom of $70,000 and safe conduct to Mexico. Knox and Christensen were safely released in Mexico after the terrorists' demands were met.[117]
Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands won European football's firstSuper Cup, defeating Rangers F.C. of Glasgow in Scotland on the second leg of the home-and-away series. The winner of the series, contested between the winners 1971–72 season for the European Cup (Ajax) and the European Cup Winners' Cup (Rangers), was determined on an aggregate of the two matches, and Ajax had beaten Rangers, 3 to 1, in Glasgow on January 16 in front of 57,000 people at Ibrox Stadium. On the second game, Ajax won, 3–2, in front of 26,168 people at Olympic Stadium, for an aggregate of 6 to 3.
The second section of the Autostrada A56 opened in Italy.
Died:
J. Carrol Naish, 77, American film, stage, TV and radio actor known for Sahara and A Medal for Benny, as well as the star of the radio series Life With Luigi. The Associated Press noted that during the 1940s, "Naish was making 30 movies a year and played virtually every nationality in film— Italians, Japanese, Hindus, Arabs, Chinese, Jews and Mexicans— every nationality in fact except his own: Irish."[118]
Anthony Sagar, 52, British character actor on film and television
Ali Haydar Yıldız, 19, Turkish Kurdish activist, was killed in a shootout in a raid by the Turkish Army in the village of Vartinik upon the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML). The party's leader, İbrahim Kaypakkaya, was wounded but escaped, only to be turned over to police a few days later for execution.
A state funeral in Washington, D.C. for former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson took place at the National City Christian Church. Johnson had died three days earlier in Texas, after which his flag-draped casket was flown to Washington to "lie in state" in the U.S. Capitol building. Following the funeral, the later president's body was flown back to Texas and buried in a cemetery two miles from the LBJ Ranch.[119]
The Battle of Cua Viet began on the morning before the U.S. and North Vietnam signed the Paris Peace Accords, as South Vietnam's Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) ground troops, supplemented by air cover from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, attempted to recapture the port of Cua Viet in the Quảng Trị province and failed. North Vietnam claimed that 2,330 ARVN troops were killed or wounded, while South Vietnam claimed that the North sustained 1,000 casualties.[122]
The Tokyo Metropolitan Murders, a string of rapes and killings of 10 women, usually with a modus operandi of burning the bodies, began with the strangling, followed by burning, of a 22-year old office worker at her apartment in the Kita section. The death was similar to one that had taken place in Tokyo in 1968. A 67-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man would be burned to death on February 13, after which the Tokyo murderer stayed away from crime until a streak of killings that ran for more than six weeks from June 25 to August 9, 1974.
Died: Edward G. Robinson (stage name for Emanuel Goldenberg), 79, Romanian-born American film and stage actor known for his "tough guy" roles, died of cancer 12 days after completion of filming of his final role as a supporting actor in Soylent Green.[125]
U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ended with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords at the Hôtel Majestic. Neither Lê Đức Thọ or Henry Kissinger, who negotiated for North Vietnam and the U.S., respectively, was present for the signing of "Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam"[126]
At Paris, the government of North Vietnam and delegates from the Viet Cong presented U.S. representatives a list of 555 American prisoners of war that it was prepared to release, while the U.S. provided a list of 26,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong prisoners that were being held by the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. Department of Defense was aware of 1,925 missing personnel, and 1,370 servicemen would be listed permanently as "missing in action."[127] After reviewing the names, the U.S. Department of Defense said through a spokesman, "there are 56 men that we had previously carried on our list of prisoners of war" who were not on the list provided.[128]
Died: U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel William Nolde, 43, of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, was killed by North Vietnamese artillery fire at An Lộc in South Vietnam, at 9:00 in the evening local time, 11 hours before the ceasefire agreed upon in Paris took effect. Colonel Nolde became the last combat death in the Vietnam War[132]
With the expiration of hostilities the Vietnam War to go into effect at 0:00 Universal Time, the ceasefire began at 8:00 in the morning local time. The war continued in the neighboring kingdom of Laos, where no truce had been reached, and U.S. B-52 bombers continued to bomb suspected Communist positions and supply lines that were infiltrating South Vietnam.[133]
The television detective drama Barnaby Jones premiered on the CBS television network for the first of 178 episodes and eight seasons. At the age of 64, Buddy Ebsen, who had starred in the comedy The Beverly Hillbillies from 1962 to 1971, took on a dramatic role as an elderly private investigator seeking to find the killer of his son-in-law between cases. Actress Lee Meriwether portrayed his daughter-in-law and assistant in the program, a production of Quinn Martin.[134]
The Golden Globe Awards were presented for film and television for the year 1972.
John Banner, 63, Austrian-born American stage, film and TV actor best known for playing Sergeant Schultz on Hogan's Heroes, died while visiting friends in Austria.
An arsonist killed 10 of the 16 residents of Street's Rest Home in Pleasantville, New Jersey, including 106-year-old woman. A 22-year-old man who resided at the home was chaarged with setting the early-morning fire.[137]
Three people were killed in fighting in Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland. A member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) shot dead a Catholic civilian at his workplace, a petrol station on Kennedy Way, Belfast. Later, the UDA killed a 15-year-old Catholic civilian in a drive-by shooting at Falls Road/Donegall Road junction, and a Provisional IRA shot and killed dead UDA member Francis 'Hatchet' Smith, rumored to have led the group that shot the teenager.[138][139]
Bass guitarist Gene Klein and rhythm guitarist Stanley Eisen, members of the heavy metal band Wicked Lester, introduced their reimagined format, wearing face makeup and playing before a group of 10 customers Popcorn Club, a bar located in the borough of Queens in New York City. Klein renamed himself Gene Simmons while Eisen became Paul Stanley. With drummer George Peter Criscuola (Peter Criss) and lead guitarist Paul "Ace" Frehley, the band played for the first time under the name KISS.[141]
India nationalized its remaining private coal mines, bringing 184 under control the government company, Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and 527 others under the Coal Mines Authority.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced that the list of 555 prisoners of war included a U.S. Marine, Private First Class Ronald L. Ridgeway of Houston, Texas, who had been listed as killed in action on February 25, 1968. Ridgeway had been on patrol with eight other Marines during the Battle of Khe Sanh when the group was ambushed, and a group burial had been made in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.[142] After more than five years as a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton", Ridgeway was released with the other listed POWs on March 16, 1973[143] and would work in administration with the Veterans Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after returning to civilian life.[144]
G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr., both former officials in the Committee to Re-Elect the President that had coordinated U.S. President Nixon's re-election campaign, were convicted by a federal jury in Washington on charges of conspiracy to spy on Democratic Party officials at the Watergate Hotel. Unlike the other five persons charged, Liddy and McCord had declined to enter a plea bargain, and the jury returned guilty verdicts after less than 90 minutes of deliberation.[145]
U.S. Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi was shot and wounded in front of his Washington, D.C. home in an armed robbery "by two young men who took his wallet, 25 cents and his watch." The shooting did not appear to be politically-motivated. Despite a wound to the chest, Senator Stennis recovered after undergoing surgery at the Walter Reed Hospital.[146] Six weeks later, on March 12, three young men were arrested by the FBI and charged with assault on a member of Congress under a 1971 federal law,[147] and one pleaded guilty.[148]
The first 125 officers and enlisted men out of 37,000 Republic of Korea troops who were still remaining in South Vietnam returned home to Seoul as South Korea's pullout from the Vietnam War began.[149]
Born:
Jay Manalo, Vietnamese-born Filipino actor, in Saigon, South Vietnam
Titina Silla, 29, Guinea-Bissau freedom fighter, in an ambush by Portuguese authorities. The anniversary of her death would later come to be celebrated as National Women's Day in Guinea Bissau.[150]
Jack MacGowran, 54, Irish stage and film actor, died of complications from influenza. MacGowran, who had recently finished filming an appearance in The Exorcist, had been on leave from starring in the Broadway production of The Plough and the Stars at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at the Lincoln Center.[151]
Rioting began in Syria when President Hafez al-Assad announced a new constitution that did not require the president to be a Muslim. Within a few weeks, Assad amended the constitution to restore the requirement and approval would come on March 13.
Dewey Barto (stage name for Stewart Swoyer), 76, American comedian who was half of the team of Barto and Mann
References
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^"Ceremony Marks Britain's Entry; Thousands Take Day Off to Celebrate Joining Market -Debate Still Goes On", The New York Times, January 2, 1973, p. 1
^"U.S.C. Trounces Ohio State, 42-17; Late Rout Led by Cunningham in Rose Bowl", The New York Times, January 2, 1973, p. 47
^"Eleazar López Contreras, 89, Former President of Venezuela", The New York Times, January 3, 1973, p. 42
^"Congress Opens; Democrats Plan Antiwar Action", The New York Times, January 4, 1973, p.1
^"Defense Sees Constitutional Test As Ellsberg-Russo Trial Starts", by Martin Arnold, The New York Times, January 4, 1973, p.1
^"C.B.S. Sells the Yankees for $10-Million", by Joseph Durso, The New York Times, January 4, 1973, p. 1
^"Marcos Moves to Appease Moslems", The New York Times, January 4, 1973, p. 1
^"Christopher T. Chenery Is Dead; Meadow Stable Founder Was 86", by Joe Nichols, The New York Times, January 5, 1973, p. 34
^"Trudeau Pledges to Combat Unemployment and Inflation", by Jay Walz, The New York Times, January 5, 1973, p. 3
^"300 Children Attack 6 Soldiers in Londonderry", The New York Times, January 5, 1973, p. 3
^"Australia Ends Racial Curb on Migration", by Robert Trumbull, The New York Times, January 5, 1973, p. 1
^"Airports Start Thorough Screening of All Passengers", by Robert Lindsey, The New York Times, January 6, 1973, p. 1
^Timothy Naftali, Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism (Basic Books, 2009) p. 66.
^"Canadians Deplore Raids In Unanimous House Vote", by Jay Walz, The New York Times, January 6, 1973, p. 1
^John Hilliker, et al., Canada's Department of External Affairs, Volume 3: Innovation and Adaptation, 1968–1984 (University of Toronto Press, 2017) p. 135
^"Nixon Increases Scope of Duties for 3 in Cabinet— Reorganization Plans Advanced Without Congress Action", by John Herbers, The New York Times, January 6, 1973, p. 1
^"NASA Cuts Programs to Save $200-Million in Current Budget", by Harold M. Schmeck Jr., The New York Times, January 6, 1973, p. 11
^David Wild, Pandora's Box (Columbia Records, 1991) pp. 17-18
^"Biden Takes Oath Friday", The New York Times, January 3, 1973, p. 10
^"It's Official; Nixon Won, 520 to 17", The New York Times, January 7, 1973, p. 41
^"'Multiplication Rock' Debuts Today", Pottstown (PA) Mercury, January 6, 1973, p. A10
^"Maurice Thatcher Dies at 102; Oldest Former Representative", The New York Times, January 7, 1973, p. 67
^"10 Dead in New Orleans Sniper Attack; Police in a Copter Kill Gunman at Hotel— 5 Guests, Employee and 4 Policemen Reported Dead", by Martin Waldron, The New York Times, January 8, 1973, p. 1
^"The Harvard Club Votes 2,097 to 695 To Accept Women", The New York Times, January 12, 1973, p. 41
^"Harvard Club to Remain a Male Enclave", by David A. Andelman, The New York Times, May 5, 1972, p. 43
^"G.E. and Soviet Sign Pact For Technology Exchange— Agreement Includes Joint Research on Power and Pooling Specialists", by Theodore Shabad, The New York Times, January 13, 1973, p. 1
^Ahmed Boukhari, Raisons d'états: tout sur l'affaire Ben Barka et d'autres crimes politiques au Maroc (Maghrébines, 2005) p. 185
^"Les Halles Dead at 200, A Victim of Progress", The New York Times, January 13, 1973, p. 8
^"Dr. Roy F. Nichols, Historian, 76, Dies", The New York Times, January 13, 1973, p. 34
^"Turk Edwards, 65, of Football Fame", The New York Times, January 13, 1973, p. 34
^Michael Burleigh, Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism (HarperCollins, 2008) pp. 172–73
^"Mrs. Meir to Visit Pope Paul Today; To Make First Such Call by an Israeli Premier— Italy Provides Heavy Security", by Paul Hofmann, The New York Times, January 15, 1973, p. 1
^"Miami Wins in Bowl for Perfect Season", by William N. Wallace, The New York Times, January 15, 1973, p. 1
^"Theater: 'Enemy Is Dead' at the Bijou— Play by Don Petersen Reopens Film House", The New York Times, January 15, 1973, p. 23
^"President Halts all Bombing, Mining and Shelling of North; Points to 'Progress' in Talks", by John Hebbers, The New York Times, January 16, 1973, p. 1
^NSSDC Catalog, Luna 21/Lunokhod 2, version March 21, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
^"'Bonanza' out to pasture after tonight", by Jay Sharbutt, Associated Press, The Miami News, January 16, 1973, p. 6-B
^"Clara Ward, Gospel Singer, 48; Leader of Popular Group Dies", The New York Times, January 17, 1973, p. 42
^"Aquarium's Dr. Herald Is Drowned", Oakland (CA) Tribune, January 18, 1973, p. 4
^"Marcos Tightens Grip in Manila by New Charter— He Extends Martial Law and Raises Prospect of a Long Period of Strong Rule", by Tillman Durdin, The New York Times, January 18, 1973, p. 1
^"Ralph T. Walker Is Dead at 83; Hailed as 'A architect of Century'", by Farnsworth Fowle, The New York Times, January 18, 1973, p. 44
^"7 Slain at Muslim House in Capital; 5 Are Children", by Paul Delaney, The New York Times, January 19, 1973, p. 1
^"Finns Extend President's Term Without Election", The New York Times, January 18, 1973, p. 2
^"Paris Purifying French: 'Hit Parade' Is 'Palmares'", The New York Times, January 18, 1973, p. 3
^Christine Quigley, Modern Mummies: The Preservation of the Human Body in the Twentieth Century (McFarland, 2015) pp. 225–232
^"India Takes Over Strife-Torn Area— To Rule Andhra Pradesh in a Separatist Dispute", The New York Times, January 19, 1973, p. 10
^"Bruins Are Upset By Islanders, 9-7", The New York Times, January 19, 1973, p. 17
^"Leary's Saga Ends in L.A.— in Handcuffs and Driving Rain", Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1973, p. I-3
^"Bush Now Heads G.O.P. Committee; Unchallenged as Chairman— Dole Mocks Post", The New York Times, January 20, 1973, p. 21
^"Max Adrian, 69, British Actor Of Stage and Movies, Is Dead", The New York Times, January 20, 1973, p.34
^"Key Anti-Portuguese Leader In West Africa Is Assassinated", The New York Times, January 22, 1973, p. 1
^"Soviet Officially Adopts Education Exit Fee", by Theodore Shabad, The New York Times, January 21, 1973, p. 2
^"Nixon Inaugurated for His Second Term; Sees World on Threshold of a Peace Era", by R. W. Apple Jr., The New York Times, January 20, 1973, p. 1
^"A Transcript of President Nixon's Second Inaugural Address to the Nation", The New York Times, January 21, 1973, p. 40
^"High Court Rules Abortions Legal the First 3 Months; National Guidelines Set by 7-to-2 Vote", by Warren Weaver Jr., The New York Times, January 23, 1973, p. 1
^"Pilgrims' Jet Crashes in Nigeria; 180 Are Feared Dead, a Record", by Thomas A. Johnson, The New York Times, January 23, 1973, p. 1
^"Lyndon Johnson, 36th President, Is Dead; Was Architect of 'Great Society' Program; Nation Is Shocked— Citizens Join Leaders in Voicing Sorrow and Paying Tribute", The New York Times, January 23, 1973, p. 1
^"Iceland Evacuates 7,000 on Isle After an Ancient Volcano Erupts", The New York Times, January 23, 1973, p. 1 (the figure was amended by the Times to 5,500 the next day).
^Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History (Viking Press, 1983), p. 654
^"Vietnam Accord Is Reached; Cease-Fire Begins Saturday; P.O.W.'s to Be Free in 60 Days— On TV, Nixon Asserts 'Peace With Honor' Is Aim of Pact", by Bernard Gwertzman, The New York Times, January 24, 1973, p. 1
^"American Dies in Shelling Of Air Base Near Saigon", The New York Times, January 26, 1973, p. 1
^"Edward G. Robinson, 79, Dies; His 'Little Caesar' Set a Style", The New York Times, January 27, 1973, p. 1
^"Vietnam Peace Pacts Signed; America's Longest War Halts", by Flora Lewis, The New York Times, January 28, 1973, p. 1
^"Hanoi Lists 555 War Prisoners— Long Wait Over for 1,925 U.S. Families", by Steven V. Roberts, The New York Times, January 29, 1973, p. 1
^"U. S. Says 56 Prisoners Remain Unaccounted For", The New York Times, January 30, 1973, p. 12
^"Armenian Held in Coast Slaying of Turks", The New York Times, January 29, 1973, p. 4
^"Nation Ends Draft, Turns to Volunteers; Message From Laird Hopes Senate Will Act Change Is Ordered Six Months Early—Youths Must Still Register", by David E. Rosenbaum, The New York Times, January 28, 1973, p. 1
^"Five Years of the All-Volunteer Force: 1973–1978", by Morris Janowitz and Charles C. Moskos Jr., Armed Forces & Society magazine (January 1979), pp. 171–218
^"An Army Colonel From Michigan Is Last American to Die in War", by Jerry M. Flint, The New York Times, January 29, 1973, p. 1
^"U.S. Bombs Supply Lines in Laos— Attacks Expected to Continue Until Lao Truce is Reached", by John W. Finney, The New York Times, January 29, 1973, p. 1
^"Jack MacGowran, Interpreter Of Beckett and O'Casey, Dead; Noted Irish Actor, Currently in Fluther Role of 'Plough and the Stars,'" Was 54", by Lawrence Van Gelder, The New York Times, January 31, 1973, p. 44
^"2 Airlines Cancel Concorde Orders— Pan American and T.W.A. Giving Up Options for 13 Jets, Cite Objections" by Richard Witkin, The New York Times, February 1, 1973, p. 1
^"Dr. Ragnar Frisch Dead at 77; Economist Won '69 Nobel Prize", The New York Times, February 1, 1973, p. 37
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