1974
From Freepedia
1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar).
| Years: 1971 1972 1973 - 1974(MCMLXXIV) - 1975 1976 1977 | ||||||||||
| Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s - 1970s - 1980s 1990s 2000s | ||||||||||
| Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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Contents |
Events
January-February
- January 5 - Dungeons & Dragons officially released.
- January 6 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
- January 30 - G. Gordon Liddy found guilty of Watergate charges
- February 1 - Fire in Joelman Bank Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil - 177 dead, 293 injured
- February 1 - The Joelma Fire kills 188 in São Paulo.
- February 3 - Prisoners riot in the Bathurst Jail Riots, destroying much of the jail.
- February 4 - Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patricia Hearst, the 19 year old granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst
- February 8 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the temporary American space station, Skylab, return to Earth.
- February 12 - US District Court Judge George Boldt rules that Native American tribes in Washington State are entitled to half of the legal salmon and steelhead catches, based on treaties signed by the tribes and the US government.
- February 13 - Nobel Prize winning writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn is expelled from the Soviet Union (he returns May 27 1994)
- February 17 - Soccer stampede in Cairo - 49 dead
- February 20 - Following a visit to his home from a woman wearing a strange pendant, Phillip K Dick begins to receive a series of visions which he refers to as 2-3-74, shorthand for February/March of 1974.
- February 23 - The Symbionese Liberation Army demand $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
- February 27 - People magazine is published for the first time.
- February 28 - United Kingdom general election results in an almost dead-heat. Harold Wilson becomes Prime Minister again despite his Labour Party (UK) having received fewer votes than the Conservative Party (UK).
- February 28 - Ethiopian prime minister Tsehafi Aklilu Habte-Wold, who has held the position since 1961, is dismissed by Emperor Haile Selassie and replaced with Endelkachew Makonnen.
March
- March 1 - Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- March 1 - Pierre Messmer finishes his first term as Prime Minister of France.
- March 3 - A Turkish Airlines DC-10 travelling from Paris to London crashes in a wood near Paris, killing all 346 aboard.
- March 8 - Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
- March 10 - Ten miners die in a methane gas explosion at Golborne Colliery near Wigan, Lancashire.
- March 10 - Japanese World War Two soldier, second lieutenant Hiroo Onoda surrenders in the Philippines
- March 18 - Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
- March 20 - Ian Balls fails in his attempt to kidnap Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips in The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace, London.
- March 29 - Mariner 10 approaches Mercury.
April-May
- April 1 - the Local Government Act 1972 comes into effect in England and Wales, creating six new metropolitan counties and comprehensively redrawing the administrative map
- April 3 - The Super Outbreak, the largest series of tornadoes in history, hits 13 U.S. states and one Canadian province. By the time the last of 148 tornadoes hit early the following morning, 315 died and over 5,000 were injured.
- April 10 - In Israel, Golda Meir resigns as Prime Minister
- April 17 - Three members of the Symbionese Liberation Army die when their apartment catches fire during a shootuot with the LAPD
- April 25 - Coup in Portugal restores democracy (see Carnation Revolution)
- April 28 - Last Americans evacuated from Saigon
- May 4 - All female Japanese team summits Manaslu and become the first women to climb an 8,000 metre peak.
- May 9 - The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard M. Nixon
- May 17 - Los Angeles, California police raid Symbionese Liberation Army headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall
- May 17 - Thirty-three people die in the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings in Ireland. Members of the UDR and UVF, allegedly assisted by British intelligence, are behind the blast.
- May 18 - Nuclear test: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
- May 18 - Completition of Warsaw radio mast. The Warsaw radio mast was the tallest construction ever built. It collapsed on August 8, 1991
- May 19 - In the second round of the presidential elections in France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing wins from François Mitterrand, but by a close margin.
June
- June 1 - Flixborough disaster: An explosion at a chemical plant in Flixborough, UK kills 28 people
- June 6 - A new Instrument of Government is promulgated making Sweden a parliamentary monarchy
- June 15 - The Red Lion Square disorders
- June 16 - First Darwin beer-can boat regatta in Darwin, Australia - 63 crafts made of beer cans participate
- June 17 - A bomb explodes at the Houses of Parliament in London damaging Westminster Hall. The bomb had been planted by the Irish Republican Army
- June 24 - The UPC label is used for the first time to ring up purchases at a supermarket.
- June 29 - Isabel Peron becomes interim president of Argentina when Juan Peron falls seriously ill
- June 30 - Assassination of Alberta Williams King, mother of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., during a church service
July
- July 7 - West Germany defeats Netherlands 2-1 to win the Football World Cup 1974.
- July 14 - Christine Chubbuck, US television presenter for WXLT-TV, draws a revolver and shoots herself in the head during a live broadcast. She dies in a hospital 14 hours later.
- July 15 - Military coup overthrows President Makarios in Cyprus
- July 17- A bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army explodes in the White Tower at the Tower of London, killing one person and injuring 41. Another bomb explodes outside a government building in South London.
- July 20 - Turkish occupation of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after Greek Cypriots' attempt at enosis.
- July 22 - Ethiopian Prime Minister Endelkachew Makonnen is replaced with Mikael Imru.
- July 23 - Greek military government collapses
- July 24 - Watergate Scandal: The United States Supreme Court unanimously rules that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor
- July 27-July 30 - Watergate Scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee adopts three articles of impeachment charging President Richard M. Nixon with obstruction of justice, failure to uphold laws, and refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee.
August-October
- August 3 - Former Scottish Works team Ferranti Thistle joins the Profesional Scottish Leagues and changes its name to Meadowbank Thistle Football Club.
- August 4 - Bomb explodes in Italicus Expressen train between Italy and West Germany. Italian neo-fascist terrorists take responsibility
- August 8 - Watergate scandal: US President Richard Nixon announces his resignation (effective August 9)
- August 9 - Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office, an action taken to avoid being removed by impeachment in response to his role in the Watergate scandal. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, takes the oath of office and becomes the 38th president
- September 8 - Watergate Scandal: US President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.
- September 13 - Japanese Red Army members seize the French Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands. They secure the release of member Yatuka Fumiya, $300.000 and a flight to Aden
- September 23 - Ceefax is started by the BBC - one of the first public service information systems
- October 5 - The Guildford Pub Bombings at The Horse and Groom and The Seven Stars kill 5 people, lead to the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of the Guildford Four the next year
- October 10 - the second United Kingdom general election of the year results in a narrow victory for Labour, still led by Harold Wilson.
November
- November 7 - Lord Lucan disappears
- November 7 - An IRA bomb explodes at the Kings Arms, Woolwich
- November 8 - In Salt Lake City, Utah, Carol DaRonch narrowly escapes abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy
- November 10 - Members of the Movement 2 June try to kidnap Günter von Drenkmann, the president of West Germany's Superior Court of Justice, at his home but he is fatally shot during the attempt
- November 14 - Ronald Defeo, Jr. murders his parents four siblings in what would later become known as "The Amityville Horror House"
- November 16 - Arecibo radio telescope sends an interstellar radio message towards M 13 great globular cluster
- November 17 - Irish President Childers dies suddenly of a heart attack in the Republic of Ireland in the middle of a public speech
- November 20 - The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. This suit later leads to the break up of AT&T and the Bell System.
- November 21 - In Birmingham, England, two pubs are bombed, killing 21 people (the Birmingham Six were later sentenced to life in prison for this)
- November 21 - George W. Bush is discharged from the US Air Force Reserve
- November 22 - The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.
- November 24 - A skeleton from the hominid Australopithecus afarensis is discovered and named Lucy.
- November 27 - The Prevention of Terrorism Act is passed in the United Kingdom
December
- December 1 - A Boeing 727 carrying TWA Flight 514 crashes 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Dulles International Airport during bad weather, killing all 92 people on-board
- December 8 - Greek voters reject a proposal to restore the Greek monarchy.
- December 19 - Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh becomes the fifth President of Ireland, in a state inauguration in Dublin Castle
- December 23 - Former British ex-minister John Stonehouse, who faked his drowning in Florida, is arrested in Melbourne, Australia
- December 24-December 25 - Darwin, Australia almost completely destroyed by Cyclone Tracy
Unknown date
- The Milgram experiment first described by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in his 1974 book Obedience to Authority; An Experimental View.
- Baltimore police strike
- Volkswagen's Golf automobile first enters production. VW will go on to sell 22 million Golfs, and the model is still very popular today.
Births
January-February
- January 2 - Tricia Helfer, Canadian actress and model
- January 16 - Kate Moss, English model
- January 17 - Ladan and Laleh Bijani, Iranian conjoined twins (d. 2003)
- January 23 - Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
- January 27 - Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
- January 28 - Tony Delk, American basketball player
- January 30 - Christian Bale, Welsh actor
- January 31 - Ian Huntley, English murderer
- February 7 - Steve Nash, Canadian basketball player
- February 8 - Seth Green, American actor
- February 11 - D'Angelo, American singer
- February 13 - Robbie Williams, English singer
- February 15 - Seattle Slew, American racehorse (d. 2002)
- February 15 - Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- February 24 - Chad Hugo, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
March-April
- March 1 - Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
- March 5 - Jens Jeremies, German footballer
- March 7 - Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor
- March 11 - Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- March 11 - Russ Haas, American wrestler (d. 2001)
- March 20 - Paula Garces, Colombian actress
- March 20 - Andrzej Pilipiuk, Polish writer
- March 20 - Carsten Ramelow, German footballer
- March 22 - Marcus Camby, American basketball player
- March 24 - Alyson Hannigan, American actress
- March 25 - Lark Voorhies, American actress
- April 4 - Dave Mirra, American athlete
- April 9 - Jenna Jameson, American actress
- April 11 - Trot Nixon, baseball player
- April 14 - Da Brat, American rapper
- April 15 - Josh Todd, musician and singer (Buckcherry)
- April 17 - Victoria Beckham, English singer (Spice Girls)
- April 22 - Shavo Odadjian, Armenian-born bassist (System of a Down)
- April 28 - Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
- April 28 - Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
May-July
- May 8 - Korey Stringer, American football player (d. 2001)
- May 17 - Andrea Corr, Irish singer (The Corrs)
- May 23 - Ken Jennings, American long-time winner on Jeopardy!
- May 23 - Jewel, American singer
- May 24 - Ruslana, Ukrainian singer
- May 27 - Danny Wuerffel, American football player
- June 1 - Alanis Morissette, Canadian singer
- June 2 - Gata Kamsky, American chess player
- June 7 - Mahesh Bhupathi, Indian tennis player
- June 10 - James Spix, American author
- June 12 - Hideki Matsui, Japanese baseball player
- June 13 - Brande Roderick, American actress
- June 25 - Karisma Kapoor, Indian actress
- June 26 - Derek Jeter, baseball player
- July 2 - Matthew Reilly, Australian writer
- July 4 - La'Roi Glover, American football player
- July 19 - Preston Wilson, baseball player
- July 22 - Daddy Kev, American record producer
- July 23 - Maurice Greene, American athlete
- July 31 - Emilia Fox, English actress
- July 31 - Jonathan Ogden, American football player
August-October
- August 2 - Jeremy Castle, American singer and songwriter
- August 5 - Kajol Devgan, Indian actress
- August 9 - Matt Morris, baseball player
- August 15 - Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress and model
- August 20 - Maxim Vengerov, Russian violinist
- August 23 - Ray Park, Scottish actor
- August 24 - Jennifer Lien, American actress
- August 27 - Jose Vidro, baseball player
- September 6 - Tim Henman, English tennis player
- September 10 - Ben Wallace, American basketball player
- September 14 - Hicham El Guerrouj, Moroccan athlete
- September 17 - Rasheed Wallace, American basketball player
- September 19 - Jimmy Fallon, American actor and comedian
- October 10 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., American race car driver
- October 11 - Terje Haakonsen, Norwegian snowboarder
- October 16 - Paul Kariya, Canadian hockey player
- October 21 - Lera Auerbach, Russian composer, pianist, and poet
- October 23 - Sander Westerveld, Dutch soccer player
- October 29 - Michael Vaughan, English cricketer
November-December
- November 1 - VVS Laxman, Indian cricketer
- November 4 - Louise Redknapp, English singer
- November 5 - Ryan Adams, American singer and songwriter
- November 5 - Jerry Stackhouse, American basketball player
- November 9 - Uncle Kracker, American singer
- November 11 - Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
- November 11 - Bettina Goislard, French UN worker (d. 2003)
- November 22 - Ken Mondschein, American writer
- November 22 - David Pelletier, Canadian figure skater
- November 23 - Jamie Sharper, American football player
- November 27 - Zsófia Polgár, Hungarian-born chess player
- December 1 - Costinha, Portuguese footballer
- December 7 - Nicole Appleton, Canadian singer (All Saints)
- December 13 - Nicholas McCarthy, English-born guitarist (Franz Ferdinand (band))
- December 14 - Billy Koch, baseball player
- December 18 - Peter Boulware, American football player
- December 19 - Jake Plummer, American football player
- December 21 - Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
- December 24 - Ryan Seacrest, American television host
- December 29 - Jenny Barker, British radio presenter
- December 29 - Richie Sexson, baseball player
Unknown date
- Ziad Jarrah, Lebanese hijacker (d. 2001)
Deaths
January-July
- January 2 - Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (b. 1905)
- January 12 - Princess Patricia of Connaught (b. 1886)
- January 31 - Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-born film studio executive (b. 1879)
- February 11 - Anna Q Nilsson, Swedish actress (b. 1888)
- February 15 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (b. 1887)
- February 21 - Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (b. 1930)
- February 23 - Harry Ruby, American composer and writer (b. 1895)
- March 1 - Bobby Timmons, American jazz pianist (b. 1935)
- March 5 - Sol Hurok, Russian-born impresario (b. 1888)
- March 6 - Ernest Becker, American cultural anthropologist
- March 20 - Chet Huntley, American television journalist (b. 1911)
- April 2 - Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911)
- April 15 - Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (b. 1906)
- April 19 - Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan (b. 1907)
- April 24 - Bud Abbott, American actor (b. 1897)
- May 24 - Duke Ellington, American jazz pianist and bandleader (b. 1899)
- June 9 - Miguel Angel Asturias, Guatemalan writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
- June 10 - Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1900)
- June 22 - Darius Milhaud, French composer (b. 1892)
- June 28 - Frank Sutton, American actor (b. 1923)
- July 1 - Juan Domingo Perón, President of Argentina (b. 1895)
- July 9 - Earl Warren, Governor of California and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (b. 1891)
- July 11 - Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- July 13 - Patrick Blackett, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- July 24 - James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
September-December
- September 3 - Harry Partch, American composer (b. 1901)
- September 4 - Creighton Williams Abrams, American general (b. 1914)
- September 4 - Marcel Achard, French playwright and scriptwriter (b. 1899)
- September 14 - Warren Hull, American actor (b. 1903)
- October 6 - V.K. Krishna Menon, Indian freedom fighter and politician (b. 1897)
- October 24 - David Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1908)
- November 11 - Alfonso Leng, Chilean composer (b. 1894)
- November 13 - Vittorio De Sica, Italian film director (b. 1901)
- November 17 - Erskine Hamilton Childers, fourth President of Ireland (b. 1905)
- November 19 - George Brunies, American musician (b. 1902)
- November 21 - John B. Gambling, American radio talk-show host (b. 1897)
- November 21 - Frank Martin, Swiss composer (b. 1890)
- November 24 - Nick Drake, British musician (b. 1948)
- November 24 - Endelkachew Makonnen, Ethiopian politician (b. 1927)
- November 29 - Peng Dehuai, Chinese leader (b. 1898)
- December 2 - Max Weber, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1897)
- December 18 - Harry Hooper, baseball player (b. 1887)
- December 20 - André Jolivet, French composer (b. 1905)
Nobel Prizes
- Physics - Sir Martin Ryle, Antony Hewish
- Chemistry - Paul J. Flory
- Medicine - Albert Claude, Christian de Duve, George E. Palade
- Literature - Eyvind Johnson, Harry Martinson
- Peace - Séan MacBride, Eisaku Sato
- Economics - Gunnar Myrdal, Friedrich von Hayek
