events 1970-1979

31 December 1979, Monday (+12,655) In 1979 British airlines flew 47 billion passenger kilometres; this compares with 6 million passenger kilometres flown in 1936.

30 December 1979, Sunday (+12,654) Richard Rodgers, US composer, died aged 77

27 December 1979, Thursday (+12,651) President Hafizullah of Afghanistan was deposed and executed in a coup strongly backed by Soviet� troops. On 8 January 1980 President Carter described the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as the greatest threat to world peace since World War Two. Muslim guerrillas were active against the pro-Soviet regime, and 5,000 Soviet troops were stationed in Afghanistan. The USSR feared a spread of Muslim insurgency to the Soviet Union itself.

24 December 1979, Monday (+12,648) Soviet troops began an invasion of Afghanistan.

23 December 1979, Sunday (+12,647) In Czechoslovakia, playwright Vaclav Havel was convicted of subversion.

22 December 1979, Saturday (+12,646) (Comoros) The French Senate and National Assembly passed a law that Mayotte was part of the French Republic and could not be separated from it without the consent of the Mayotte population.

20 December 1979, Thursday (+12,644) In the UK, the Housing Bill was introduced to Parliament. This would, from 3 October 1980, give more than 5 million council house tenants the right to buy their home at a discount.

18 December 1979, Tuesday (+12,642) Stanley Barrett became the first man to break the sound barrier on land, driving in California at 739.5 mph.

14 December 1979, Friday (+12,638) Michael Owen, English footballer, was born.

12 December 1979, Wednesday (+12,636) Lord Soames arrived in southern Rhodesia as the official governor, ending 14 years of rebellion and UDI.

10 December 1979, Monday (+12,634) Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work helping the destitute in India. Born in Albania in 1910, she joined a convent at age 18 and taught in the convent�s Calcutta premises. In 1946 she began working the streets of Calcutta to relieve poverty.

7 December 1979, Friday (+12,631) Charles Haughey of Fianna Fail became the new Irish Prime Minister.� This followed the resignation of Jack Lynch.

2 December 1979, Sunday (+12,626) Iran adopted a new Islamic constitution.

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30 November 1979, Friday (+12,624) (1) In Dublin, Mrs Thatcher demanded a �1,000 million rebate from the EEC.

(2) Zeppo Marx, the agent of the Marx brothers, died in London.

28 November 1979, Wednesday (+12,622) A sight-seeing flight took off from Auckland, New Zealand, to fly over Antarctica. However there was low cloud and fog. Because of proximity to the South Magnetic Pole compasses were unreliable, so the flight navigation relied on grid co-ordinated programmed into the plane�s computer, but these had been incorrectly entered. They thought they were over the coast of mainland Antarctica but were actually looking down at the coast of Ross Island. The flight crew obtained permission to fly lower, below the cloud, and at 12.49pm slammed into Mont Erebus at 480 kph. There would have been no warning a sthe cloud and ice-covered mountain were visually indistinguishable, and the altimeter gave no alarm until the last second.

25 November 1979, Sunday (+12,619) The West Yorkshire Police Committee raised the price on the head of the Yorkshire Ripper to �20,000.

24 November 1979, Saturday (+12,618) Saudi troops stormed the Great Mosque in Mecca to evict Iranian religious fanatics.

23 November 1979, Friday (+12,617) (1) In Dublin, IRA member Thomas MacMahon was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lord Mountbatten.

(2) Militant Sunni Muslims occupied the Grand Mosque in Mecca, holding out there until 4 December 1979. After false radio reports on 21 November 1979 that US forces had taken the Grand Mosque, the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, was attacked by a mob and set on fire, killing four people.

22 November 1979, Thursday (+12,616)

21 November 1979, Wednesday (+12,615) Khomeini warned that if the US attacked Iran the hostages would be killed.

20 November 1979, Tuesday (+12,614) Anthony Blunt, Surveyor of the Queen�s Pictures, lost his knighthood after being exposed as a spy.

19 November 1979, Monday (+12,613)

17 November 1979, Saturday (+12,611) Khomeini ordered the release of 13 female and Black hostages being held at the US Embassy in Tehran. However the remaining 53 were to stand trial for espionage.

16 November 1979, Friday (+12,610) Bucharest Metro Line One opened, from Timpur Noi to Semanatoarea, 8.63 kilometres.

15 November 1979, Thursday (+12,609)

14 November 1979, Wednesday (+12,608) Iranian assets in the USA were frozen.

13 November 1979, Tuesday (+12,607) The Times reappeared after a year�s absence.

8 November 1979, Thursday (+12,602)

5 November 1979, Monday (+12,599) Al Capp, cartoonist, died.

4 November 1979, Sunday (+12,598) Iranian demonstrators, and 100 Revolutionary Guards, seized the American Embassy in Tehran, beginning a hostage crisis. 90 personnel, 63 of them Americans, were taken hostage as the return of the Shah for trial was demanded, see 8 March 1980. On 22 October 1979 the Shah had entered the US for hospital treatment and Iranian students wanted him extradited to Iran. On 12 November 1979 the US stopped all oil imports from Iran. On 14 November 1979 President Jimmy Carter ordered all Iranian assets within the US frozen.

3 November 1979, Saturday (+12,597) Clashes between Communist Worker�s party members and Klu Klux Klan neo-Nazis in Greensboro�, North Carolina, USA. 5 Communists were shot dead.

2 November 1979, Friday (+12,596) Protestors in Tripoli, Libya, attacked and burnt the US Embassy.

1 November 1979, Thursday (+12,595) The struggling Chrysler Corporation received a US$ 1.5 billion bailout from the US Government.

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30 October 1979, Tuesday (+12,593) Aeronautical engineer and� inventor Sir Barnes Wallis died aged 92. He invented the bouncing bombs for the Dambusters raid.

27 October 1979, Saturday (+12,590) St Vincent and the Grenadines achieved independence.

26 October 1979, Friday (+12,589) President Park Chung Hee of South Korea was assassinated by his secret service.

25 October 1979, Thursday (+12,588) Referendums in Spain approved devolution of power to Catalonia and Euzkadi (Basque region).

24 October 1979, Wednesday (+12,587) James Farrell, rugby player, died (born 7 August 1903).

23 October 1979, Tuesday (+12,586)

22 October 1979, Monday (+12,585) The deposed Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, went to the USA for medical treatment, see 4 November 1979.

21 October 1979, Friday (+12,582) Norwegian female runner Grete Waitz set a new time record of 2 hours 27 minutes 32.6 seconds for the New York marathon, 26 miles / 42 km.

18 October 1979, Thursday (+12,581) The Beatles staged a compilation show, Beatlemania, at the Astoria, London.

16 October 1979, Tuesday (+12,579) 23 people died when a tsunami hit Nice, France.

15 October 1979, Monday (+12,578) (1) (Turkey) Bulent Ecevit, leader of the governing leftist secular Republican People�s Party, resigned amidst growing unrest in Turkey. At the start of 1979, martial law was in force in 13 of Turkey�s 67 provinces, due to clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslims. In April 1979 unrest in Kurdish regions caused martial law to be instituted in a further 6 provinces. There were also Left-Right wing clashes. The Turkish Army began to ally with the Right wing opposition Justice Party, led by Suleyman Demirel. Demirel took over governing Turkey, and announced that during Ecevit�s 22-month rule, there had been 2,444 murders by terrorists. However the killings continued. The US was hoping to store nuclear weapons at its bases in Turley, but Ecevit had not allowed this, without USSR approval, which was not given.

(2) Reformist officers overthrew National Conciliation Party rule. El Salvador was being torn apart by vivil war between Left and Right, with the Conservative Government being accused of kidnappings, torture and arbitrary arrests. The new military regime appealed for an end to the civil war, but to no effect.

14 October 1979, Sunday (+12,577) The first National March in Washington DC, USA, for Lesbian and Gay Rights, had over 100,000 marchers.

12 October 1979, Friday (+12,575)

11 October 1979, Thursday (+12,574) Dimitri Tiomkin, composer, died in London (born 10 May 1894 in St Petersburg, Russia)

10 October 1979, Wednesday (+12,573) Pac-Man was released in Japan by Namco; it soon became a worldwide craze.

9 October 1979, Tuesday (+12,572)

8 October 1979, Monday (+12,571) In Israel, the new Tehiya (Renaissance) Party was launched, to resist any further territorial concessions by Israel for peace.

7 October 1979, Sunday (+12,570) In Japanese general elections, the Liberal Democrat Party won a narrow victory.

6 October 1979, Saturday (+12,569) (Price) Inflationary pressures were mounting in response to oil price hikes, after a cold winter 1978/9 and cuts in Iranian production after the Iranian Revolution. Bankers, to protect the real value of their capital, pressured the US Government to intervene. This day the US Federal Reserve announced it would use interest rates to rein in inflation, which in the USA stood at 13.3%, up from 9% a year earlier, and peaked at 21.5% in December 1980. In response US GDP growth fell from +5% in 1978 to -3% in 1982 before rising again. Meanwhile the UK also hiked its Bank Rate by 3% to a record 17% in November 1979, causing the loss of 1 million manufacturing jobs. The global oil price fell back to 1978 levels in real terms and UK inflation, never below 8% throughout the 70s, fell back to 5%.

4 October 1979, Thursday (+12,567) British biologist James Lovelock published his book Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth.

1 October 1979, Monday (+12,564) (1) The USA handed back control of the Canal Zone to Panama.

(2) The first section of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway, from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, opened.

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29 September 1979, Saturday (+12,562) Pope John Paul II arrived in Ireland, the first ever Papal visit there.

27 September 1979, Thursday (+12,560) BBC�s Question Time was broadcast for the first time, with Robin Day in the chair.� He stayed with the show for 10 years.

25 September 1979, Tuesday (+12,558)

24 September 1979, Monday (+12,557) A remote control cordless telephone, imported from the USA to UK stores, was declared illegal in Britain as it had not been allocated a radio frequency. It was on sale for �260.

23 September 1979, Sunday (+12,556) A US satellite recorded a brilliant double flash over the ocean between South Africa and Antarctica. A South African Navy ship was in the area, but South Africa denied it had tested a nuclear weapon. Since the 1960s, South Africa had invested in nuclear power technology, despite having abundant coal reserves.

22 September 1979, Saturday (+12,555) Otto Frisch, Austrian-British nuclear physicist, died aged 74.

21 September 1979, Friday (+12,554)

20 September 1979, Thursday (+12,553) �Emperor� Bokassa was deposed in Central Africa and a Republic restored under his cousin, David Dacko. Dacko had been President until Bokassa, then an army colonel, overthrew him in a coup in 1965. Bokassa now fled to France, amid accusations of child cannibalism, and he had wasted money on extravagant living.

19 September 1979, Wednesday (-12,552) Pol Pot, ex-dictator of Cambodia, was sentenced to death in his absence by the Vietnamese-backed Cambodian Government.

18 September 1979, Tuesday (+12,551) Corporal punishment was abolished in all inner London schools.

16 September 1979, Sunday (+12,549) Three families fled East Germany by balloon.

14 September 1979, Friday (+12,547) The UK Government announced plans to redevelop London�s Docklands.

10 September 1979, Monday (+12,543) The Lancaster House Conference in the future of Rhodesia opened.

9 September 1979, Sunday (+12,542) Norrie Paramor, British composer, died in London (born 1914)

8 September 1979, Saturday (+12,541) Pink, singer, was born

7 September 1979, Friday (+12,540) In the USA, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) went on air, giving 24-hour coverage to a wide variety of sports from the Olympics and football to tractor pulling events.

6 September 1979, Thursday (+12,539) Ronald Binge, British composer, died in Ringwood (born 15 July 1910 in Derby)

5 September 1979, Wednesday (+12,538) Earl of Mountbatten's Ceremonial Funeral held in Westminster Abbey

1 September 1979, Saturday (+12,534) The US spacecraft Pioneer 1 visited Saturn, passing by the planet 21,000 kilometres away.

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27 August 1979, Monday (+12,529) Earl Mountbatten, British Admiral of the Fleet, his 14 year old grandson Nicolas, and 15 year old boatman Paul Maxwell, were killed when an IRA bomb exploded in their boat near Mullaghmore, Sligo Bay, Ireland. Three others were seriously injured whilst 82-year old Lady Brabourne died the following day. In Ireland, on 30 August 1979, Francis McGirl and Thomas McMahon were charged with his murder in Dublin.

25 August 1979, Saturday (+12,527) Stan Kenton, US composer, died in Los Angeles (born 15 February 1912 in Wichita, Kansas)

23 August 1979, Thursday (+12,525) In Iran, troops clashed with Kurdish rebels.

16 August 1979, Thursday (+12,518) John George Diefenbaker, Canadian Prime Minister (born 18.9.1895 in rural Ontario) died.

15 August 1979, Wednesday (+12,517) Peter Shukoff, US comedian and musician, was born.

14 August 1979, Tuesday (+12,516) John Stonehouse was released from prison.

9 August 1979, Thursday (+12,511) Brighton established Britain�s first nudist beach.

6 August 1979, Monday (+12,508) (Biology) Feodor Lynen, German biochemist, died in Munich.

5 August 1979, Sunday (+12,507) (1) British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher urged rebel leaders in Rhodesia to hold talks.

(2) The Forestry Commission reported the spread of Dutch Elm Disease, which had already infected 3 million trees.

3 August 1979, Friday (+12,505) Francis Macias Nguema, pro-Soviet President of Equatorial Guinea, was deposed by his nephew Lt-Colonel Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. He was then found guilty of genocide and corruption, and was executed.

1 August 1979, Wednesday (+12,503) Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was installed as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, the first woman to hold this office.�

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31 July 1979, Tuesday (+12,502) Nigeria seized British oil installations, in a bid to persuade Mrs Thatcher to take a harder line on Apartheid.

29 July 1979, Sunday (+12,500) Herbert Marcuse, German philosopher, died aged 81.

28 July 1979, Saturday (+12,499) Saddam Hussein purged the Iraqi Ba�ath Party after an alleged plot.

23 July 1979, Monday (+12,494) (Iran) In Iran, Khomeini banned the broadcasting of music.

20 July 1979, Friday (+12,491) Sandinista rebels entered Managua, Nicaragua, and set up a 5-man junta.

19 July 1979, Thursday (+12,490) Two oil tankers, the Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain collided off Trinidad, spilling 300,000 tons of crude oil, the world�s largest oil spill.

18 July 1979, Wednesday (+12,489) Jared Hess, US film director and screenwriter, was born

17 July 1979, Tuesday (+12,488) Anastasio Somoza, dictator of Nicaragua, fled to the USA.

16 July 1979, Monday (+12,487) Iraqi President Hasan al Bakr resigned. Vice President Saddam Hussein replaced him.

15 July 1979, Sunday (+12,486) Moraji Desai resigned as Indian Prime Minister. On 28 July 1979 Charan Singh became Indian Prime Minister.

14 July 1979, Saturday (+12,485) Bernie Castro, baseball player, was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic

13 July 1979, Friday (+12,484) Craig Bellamy, footballer, was born.

12 July 1979, Thursday (+12,483) Kiribati became independent. It was formerly known as the Gilbert Islands.

11 July 1979, Wednesday (+12,482) America�s Skylab I fell to earth after 34,981 orbits in six years. It had been launched on 14 May 1973.� Debris landed in Australia.

10 July 1979, Tuesday (+12,481) (Football) Mvondo Atangana, Cameroon footballer, was born.

9 July 1979, Monday (+12,480) General Somoza, whose family had ruled Nicaragua for 47 years, was overthrown by the Sandinistas. General Somoza had lost the support of conservative businessmen and the USA.

8 July 1979, Sunday (+12,479) (Chemistry) Robert Burns Woodward, US chemist, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

7 July 1979, Saturday (+12,478) China was granted �most favoured nation� status by the USA, giving it ;lower tariff rates on its imports to the US.

6 July 1979, Friday (+12,477)

4 July 1979, Wednesday (+12,475) Algerian leader ben Bella was released after 14 years in jail.

3 July 1979, Tuesday (+12,474) US President Jimmy Carter signed the first secret directive for aid to be given to anti-Communist opponents of the Kabul government.

2 July 1979, Monday (+12,473) (Railways) The Komsomolsk to Urgal railway, Russia, opened.

1 July 1979, Sunday (+12,472) The first Sony Walkman, a portable personal cassette player with headphones, went on sale in Japan.

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30 June 1979, Saturday (+12,471)

27 June 1979, Wednesday (+12,468) Brian Weber lost a reverse discrimination case against his union (US Supreme Court, United Steel Workers v Weber), which had recruited Black and White workers in equal numbers to a training programme, although White workers outnumbered Black ones.

26 June 1979, Tuesday (+12,467) Muhammad Ali retired as world heavyweight boxing champion. He made two comebacks in 1980 and 1981 but lost both.

22 June 1979, Friday (+12,463) In Britain, Liberal politician Jeremy Thorpe was cleared of conspiracy to murder homosexual Norman Scott.

18 June 1979, Monday (+12,459) US President Carter and USSR President Brezhnev signed the SALT 2 (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) in Vienna.

12 June 1979, Tuesday (+12,453) (1) Sir Geoffrey Howe, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the new Conservative government�s first Budget. In a decisive change of political direction, direct taxes such as income tax were cut but indirect taxes increased. VAT was raised to 15%. Public spending was cut. Controls on pay, prices and dividends were scrapped, and incentives provided to businesspeople.

(2) The American Bryan Allen made the first man-powered flight across the English Channel. He pedalled his Gossamer Albatross from Folkestone to Cap Gris Nez in 2 hours 50 minutes.

11 June 1979, Monday (+12,452) Actor John Wayne died, aged 72.

10 June 1979, Sunday (+12,451)

8 June 1979, Friday (+12,449) British actor Michael Wilding died.

7 June 1979, Thursday (+12,448) First direct elections to the European Parliament.

5 June 1979, Tuesday (+12,446)

4 June 1979, Monday (+12,445) Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led a military coup which deposed General Acheampong, who had ruled since 1972. Acheampong was then executed.

3 June 1979, Sunday (+12,444) In Italian general elections, the Communists lost ground.

2 June 1979, Saturday (+12,443) Pope John Paul II visited his native Poland. He was the first Pope to visit a Communist country.

1 June 1979, Friday (+12,442) Rhodesia officially changed its name to Zimbabwe.

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31 May 1979, Thursday (+12,441) Astronomers published the first evidence of gravitational lensing.

29 May 1979, Tuesday (+12,439) (1) Bishop Abel Muzorewa became Rhodesia�s first Black Prime Minister.

(2) Sandinistas from Costa Rica invaded Nicaragua and succeeded in starting a revolution against Somoza.

25 May 1979, Friday (+12,435) A DC-10 airliner crashed at Chicago Airport, killing 273.

23 May 1979, Wednesday (+12,433) Ten days into the new Conservative administration, the Secretary for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, put Britain�s six million council and New Town homes up for sale.� Existing tenants could obtain discounts of up to 50%.

22 May 1979, Tuesday (+12,432) In Canada, Pierre Trudeau, Liberal, lost the election. Joe Clark became Progressive Conservative Prime Minister of a minority government.

21 May 1979, Monday (+12,431) Elton John became the first Western rock star to perform in the Soviet Union.

17 May 1979, Thursday (+12,427)

14 May 1979, Monday (+12,424) Jean Rhys, novelist, died aged 88.

13 May 1979, Sunday (+12,423) The Chief of the Central Islamic Revolutionary Court said that anyone who killed the Shah of Iran or his family or aides (all of whom had fled abroad) would be acting on the orders of his court. On 18 May 1979 an Iranian newspaper offered a free trip to Mecca for anyone who killed the exiled Shah.

12 May 1979, Saturday (+12,422) Steve Smith, US footballer, was born in Los Angeles, California

11 May 1979, Friday (+12,421) Lester Flatt, US singer, died in Nashville (born in Overton County, Tennessee, 28 June 1914).

10 May 1979, Thursday (+12,420) The Federated States of Micronesia became self-governing.

9 May 1979, Wednesday (+12,319) Israeli forces pursued into Lebanon some Palestinian guerrillas who had attacked a Jewish settlement. Conflict in the area looked likely to escalate again.

8 May 1979, Tuesday (+12,418) Talcott Parsons, US sociologist, died aged 76.

7 May 1979, Monday (+12,417) Tehran lowered the minimum age of marriage to 13 for boys and 15 for girls.

6 May 1979, Sunday (+12,416) Bernard Leach, British studio pottery artist, died aged 92.

4 May 1979, Friday (+12,414)

3 May 1979, Thursday (+12,413) UK General Election. The Conservatives defeated Labour and Mrs Margaret Hilda Thatcher, born 13 October 1925, becomes Britain�s first woman Prime Minister. The Conservative election majority was 43 seats. The Conservatives won 339 seats, Labour won 269 seats, the Liberals 11, Nationalists 4. Jeremy Thorpe lost his seat, conclusively ending his political career.

2 May 1979, Wednesday (+12,412) Riots in Longwy, France, over the proposed closure of steel plants.

1 May 1979, Tuesday (+12,411) Denmark granted Greenland home rule.

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29 April 1976, Sunday (+12,409) The Indian Supreme Court ruled that the Government can imprison political opponents without legal hearings. There were reports of torture of such prisoners.

26 April 1979, Thursday (+12,406)

23 April 1979, Monday (+12,403) A teacher, Blair Peach, was killed, and 300 were arrested after violent clashes between the National Front and the anti-Nazi League in Southall, west London.

22 April 1979, Sunday (+12,402) Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones escaped a drugs conviction in return for performing a benefit concert for the Canadian National institute for the Blind.

20 April 1979, Friday (+12,400) The last Concorde to be built made its maiden flight. Only 16 of the aircraft were ever built; they were too noisy. Even the lawyer hired to secure landing rights publically admitted �Concorde is noisy as hell�.

17 April 1979, Tuesday (+12,397) In Northern Ireland 4 policemen were killed by a 1,000 lb. bomb, the IRA�s most powerful so far.

15 April 1979, Sunday (+12,395) Easter Sunday.

12 April 1979, Thursday (+12,392) Claire Danes, actress, was born.

11 April 1979, Wednesday (+12,391) Kampala, capital of Uganda, was captured by Tanzanian forces who deposed General Idi Amin. Fighting continued in Uganda, and on 22 April 1979 Tanzanian forces captured Jinja, 50 miles from Kampala. Idi Amin fled to Libya as troops closed in on his capital.

10 April 1979, Tuesday (+12,390) Cambodia recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

9 April 1979, Monday (+12,389) Officials declared Three Mile Island nuclear power station to be safe, see 29 March 1979.

7 April 1979, Saturday (+12,387)

6 April 1979, Friday (+12,386) Milton Ager, US composer, died in Los Angeles (born 6 October 1893 in Chicago).

5 April 1979, Thursday (+12,385) US President Carter established an Energy Security Fund to help US consumers meet fuel costs, and to promote alternative energy and more use of public transport.

4 April 1979, Wednesday (+12,384) (1) There were demonstrations in Pakistan as ex-Prime Minister Ali Bhutto was hanged.� He was accused of conspiring to murder a political opponent.� See 18 March 1978.

(2) Through services from Canton to Kowloon (Hong Kong) were restored (withdrawn 14 October 1949).

3 April 1979, Tuesday (+12,383) China warned the USSR it would not seek to renew the 1950 Treaty of Friendship when it expired in1980.

2 April 1979, Monday (+12,382) Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin became the first Israeli leader to make an official visit to Egypt.

1 April 1979, Sunday (+12,381) Iranians voted by a 98% majority to make their country an Islamic Republic; the Shah was officially deposed.

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31 March 1979, Saturday (+12,380) The British Royal Navy finally withdrew from Malta.

30 March 1979, Friday (+12,379) The MP and opposition spokesman on Northern Ireland, Airey Neave, was killed by an IRA car bomb, in the car park at the House of Commons.

29 March 1979, Thursday (+12,378) Valves in the cooling system at Three Mile Island nuclear reactor malfunctioned, and due to staff error part of the reactor was left without coolant and melted. Radioactive steam escaped outside. A meltdown was averted. This pushed public opinion in the USA and Europe strongly against nuclear power. See 9 April 1979.

28 March 1979, Wednesday (+12,377) The UK Labour government of James Callaghan collapsed over the Home Rule vote in Parliament, losing the vote by one vote, and Parliament was dissolved, see 1 March 1979.

27 March 1979, Tuesday (+12,376) Hafizullah Amin became Prime Minister of Afghanistan.

26 March 1979, Monday (+12,375) In Washington, USA, Mr Begin of Israel and President Sadat of Egypt signed a peace treaty. President Carter oversaw the signing.

22 March 1979, Thursday (+12,371) (1) The leader of the Conservative Opposition, Mrs Thatcher, put down a Motion of No Confidence in the ruling Labour administration, hoping to force a spring election.

(2) Ugandan Army troops surrounded the home of General Idi Amin but he slipped away undetected. Under Amin�s rule some 300,000 Ugandans were killed. Amin became President in 1972, overthrowing Milton Obote; his downfall came when he invaded northern Tanzania in 1971. President Nyerere retaliated, assisting Ugandan rebels to depose Amin.

20 March 1979, Tuesday (+12,369) After a 5-day popular uprising against the PDPA in Herat, Afghanistan, the PDPA retook the city by force. Some 20,000 civilians died in the fighting

19 March 1979, Monday (+12,368) Ceasefire in hostilities between North and South Yemen.

16 March 1979, Friday (+12,365) Vietnam fought a brief nine-day war with China. The Chinese withdrew this day.

13 March 1979, Tuesday (+12,362) Sir Eric Gairy, Prime Minister of Grenada, was ousted in a coup by 33-year-old Marxist, Maurice Bishop, whilst Gairy was away in New York.

8 March 1979, Thursday (+12,357) Women in Tehran demonstrated against Islamic laws.

6 March 1979, Tuesday (+12,355)

4 March 1979, Sunday (+12,353) Voyager 1 photographed Jupiter�s rings, approaching within 290,000 kilometres of the planet on 5 March 1979.

3 March 1979, Saturday (+12,352) Chinese forces in Vietnam took Lang Son.

2 March 1979, Friday (+12,351) Damien Duff, footballer, was born.

1 March 1979, Thursday (+12,350) 32.5% of Scottish voters voted in favour of devolution, short of the 40% required; however a majority of Scots who voted favoured devolution. The Welsh vote was overwhelmingly against devolution. This led to the defeat of the Labour government in a confidence motion, necessitating a General Election, see 28 March 1979.� In a Welsh referendum, 11.9% of the electorate voted for independence and 46.9% voted against it.

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28 February 1979, Wednesday (+12,349)

25 February 1979, Sunday (+12,345) Christies London auctioneers held their first collectors car sale. A 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K roadster sold for US$ 400,000.

24 February 1979, Saturday (+12,345) Border guards in North and South Yemen began firing on each other.

23 February 1979, Friday (+12,344) WAC. Bennett, Canadian politician, died aged 78

22 February 1979, Thursday (+12,343) St Lucia became an independent member of the Commonwealth.

21 February 1979, Wednesday (+12,342) Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress, was born.

20 February 1979, Tuesday (+12,341) Poisoning by a high concentration of carbon dioxide killed 175 people in the Indonesian village of Pucukan on Java, built on a plateau near the Mount Sinila crater of the Dieng Volcanic Complex. Rescuers evacuated 9,000 people in Pucukan and a neighbouring village. A small eruption from Kawah Simla and neighbouring Sigluduk released the gas that had been trapped underground.

19 February 1979, Monday (+12,340) In Bangladesh, Zia ur Rahman�s Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the elections.

18 February 1979, Sunday (+12,339) (1) The BBC screened the first episode of The Antiques Roadshow, hosted by Bruce Parker, Arthur Negus and Angela Rippon.

(2) The Sahara had a 30-minute snowfall.

17 February 1979, Saturday (+12,338) China launched an invasion of northern Vietnam. China had backed North Vietnam during the Vietnam war with the US-backed South, but since Hanoi�s victory in 1975, North Vietnam had aligned with the Soviet Union, and in January 1979 North Vietnam invaded Cambodia and ousted the Pol Pot regime, which China backed.

16 February 1979, Friday (+12,337) The new government of Iran carried out its first executions of members of the Shah's regime.

15 February 1979, Thursday (+12,336) In Iran, 4 Iranian army generals were executed by firing squad; two members of the Shah�s government were executed the following day.

14 February 1979, Wednesday (+12,335) (1) In Britain, trades unions and the Government announced a Valentine�s day agreement to end the winter of discontent that had started with a 25% pay claim by the lorry drivers. The settlement of the claim by petrol tanker drivers merely encouraged other pay claims to breach the Government 5% �pay norm�. Rubbish piled up in the streets, the dead went unburied, hospitals turned away the sick, food and petrol supplies were disrupted.

(2) In Kabul, Muslim militants kidnapped the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs. He was killed the following day in a gunfight between the kidnappers and the police.

(3) The first �1 million transfer deal in British football. Trevor Francis moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. Later in 1979 this record was broken when Steve Dudley moved from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Manchester United for �1.45 million, and then Andy Gray moved from Aston Villa to Wolverhampton for �1.47 million.

13 February 1979, Tuesday (+12,334) Jean Renoir, French film director, died.

12 February 1979, Monday (+12,333) In Britain, over 1,000 schools closed because of shortages of heating oil.

11 February 1979, Sunday (+12,332) In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini set up a provisional government.

10 February 1979, Saturday (+12,331) (1) The Iranian Army mutinied against its leader and joined the Iranian Revolution. Khomeini now also controlled the law courts and government administration.

(2) General Zia, ruler of Pakistan, introduced Islamic Shia law.

9 February 1979, Friday (+12,330) Dennis Gabor, physicist who invented holography, died aged 78.

7 February 1979, Wednesday (+12,328)

6 February 1979, Tuesday (+12,327) Pakistan�s Supreme Court ruled that the former Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, should be hanged for conspiring to murder an opponent. He was hanged in Rawalpindi on 4 April 1979, despite pleas from world leaders.

5 February 1979, Monday (+12,326) Edward Paynter, cricketer, died (born 5 November 1901).

4 February 1979, Sunday (+12,325) Giorgio Pantano, Italian racing car driver, was born.

3 February 1979, Saturday (+12,324) Khomeini created the Council of the Iranian Revolution.

2 February 1979, Friday (+12,323) Sid Vicious (born as John Ritchie), former band member of the Sex Pistols, died of a heroin overdose at a party in New York, aged 21.

1 February 1979, Thursday (+12,322) (Iran) Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 year�s exile in France, at the invitation of Bakhtiar.

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31 January 1979, Wednesday (+12,321) Industrial disputes led to uncollected rubbish building up on Britain�s streets.

30 January 1979, Tuesday (+12,320) White voters in Rhodesia voted to ratify the new Constitution.

29 January 1979, Monday (+12,319) William McCracken, footballer, died.

28 January 1979, Sunday (+12,318) Edwin Mbaso, Zambian footballer, died aged 24 from injuries in a motor vehicle accident.

27 January 1979, Saturday (+12,317) Rosamund Pike, actress, was born.

26 January 1979, Friday (+12,316) Nelson Rockerfeller, Republican politician and vice President to Gerald Ford, died.

25 January 1979, Thursday (+12,315) Pope John Paul II visited Latin America.

18 January 1979, Thursday (+12,308) A Palestinian bomb explo0ded in Jerusalem. In retaliation, Israeli forces� oved into south Lebanon. A truce was agreed on 24 January 1979.

16 January 1979, Tuesday (+12,306) The Shah of Iran and Empress Farah fled to Egypt from Tehran, following months of riots.

15 January 1979, Monday (+12,305) A series of one-day rail strikes hit Britain.

14 January 1979, Sunday (+12,304) John Reuben, American singer, was born in Columbus, Ohio.

13 January 1979, Saturday (+12,303) Concorde began a regular service between Washington DC and Dallas airports.

12 January 1979, Friday (+12,302) Grzegorz Rasiak, footballer, was born in Szczecin, Poland

11 January 1979, Thursday (+12,301) State of Emergency began in Northern Ireland due to the tanker drivers� strike, until 14 January 1979.

10 January 1979, Wednesday (+12,300) In Britain, Labour Prime Minister Jim Callaghan arrived back from a 4-day holiday in the West Indies to face the Winter of Discontent.

9 January 1979, Tuesday (+12,299) Avery Claflin, composer, died aged 80.

8 January 1979, Monday (+12,298) (1) The French oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded in Bantry Bay, west Ireland, killing 49 people.

(2) In Cambodia, the Vietnamese took Phnom Penh; the Khmer Rouge regime fell.

7 January 1979, Sunday (+12,297) Rebel Cambodia forces, along with Vietnamese forces captured Phnom Penh, capital of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia). Pol Pot and his Khmer rouge retreated to Thailand.

6 January 1979, Saturday (+12,296) Charles Elliott, horse racing champion, died.

5 January 1979, Friday (+12,295) A lorry driver�s strike was causing chaos in Britain.

4 January 1979, Thursday (+12,294) The Shah of Iran appointed Dr Shakpur Bakhtiar as Prime Minister, in a concession to popular discontent.

3 January 1979, Wednesday (+12,293) Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotel Group and once married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, died.

2 January 1979, Tuesday (+12,292) Suranne Jones, British actress, was born.

1 January 1979, Monday (+12,291) (1) Diplomatic relations were established between China and the USA.

(2) The European Monetary System (EMS) was formed.

(3) (Iran) Iranian Prime Minister General Azhari resigned. He had been appointed to halt the Islamist protests on the streets of Iran, but despite the use of the army, police and secret police he had not achieved this. Demonstrators continued to call for the Shah to be deposed, and for the return of Ayatollah Khomeini from exile

(4) �M-19 Leftist guerrillas (see 19 May 1970) captured over 5,000 weapons from the main military arsenal in Bogota

===================================================================================

27 December 1978, Wednesday (+12,286) Spain became a democracy as a new Constitution was approved, after 40 years of dictatorship. See 8 January 1982.

25 December 1978, Monday (+12,284) Vietnam launched a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.

24 December 1978, Sunday (+12,283) In Tehran, demonstrators tried to attack the US Embassy.

20 December 1978, Wednesday (+12,279)

18 December 1978, Monday (+12,277) Katie Holmes, actress, was born.

17 December 1978, Sunday (+12,276) IRA bombs exploded in Southampton, Bristol, Manchester, and Coventry.

16 December 1978, Saturday (+12,275) (1) Civil war loomed in Iran as the Shah refused to abdicate.

(2) Ministers from Britain and Argentina met to discuss the Falkland Islands, to which Argentina had reiterated its claim. Films on release included Jaws II.

15 December 1978, Friday (+12,274) Cleveland, Ohio, became the first major US city to go into default since the great Depression, under mayor Dennis Kucinich.

14 December 1978, Thursday (+12,273) Newsweek looked at the growing influence of Islam in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

12 December 1978, Tuesday (+12,271)

11 December 1978, Monday (+12,270) (Biology) Vincent du Vigneaud, US biochemist, dies in Scarsdale, New York, USA.

10 December 1978, Sunday (+12,269) (1) In Iran, two million marched in protest against the Shah.

(2) Presidents Menachim Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt shared the Nobel Peace Prize. See 18 September 1978.

9 December 1978, Saturday (+12,268) Two US spacecraft reached Venus, sending back pictures of its surface hidden below clouds. On 5 December 1978 the Pioneer I craft went into orbit around Venus, analysing the atmosphere and mapping the surface by radar. This day the Pioneer 2 craft launched probes which landed, surviving the hellish conditions for four hours.

8 December 1978, Friday (+12,267) Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel 1969-1974, died, aged 80, in Jerusalem.

7 December 1978, Thursday (+12,266) Shiri Appleby, US actress, was born.

6 December 1978, Wednesday (+12,265) James Callaghan announced that Britain would not be joining the new European Monetary System (EMS).

5 December 1978, Tuesday (+12,264) The USSR signed a 20-year friendship treaty with Afghanistan. See 27 April 1978.

4 December 1978, Monday (+12,263) Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco�s first woman mayor, following the murder of mayor George Moscone. She served until 8 January 1988.

2 December 1978, Saturday (+12,261) Nelly Furtado, pop singer, was born.

===================================================================================

30 November 1978, Thursday (+12,259) The Times stopped publication because of an industrial dispute. Industrial relations problems continued at The Times until 13 November 1979.

29 November 1978, Wednesday (+12,258) (1) In Jonestown, Guyana, 914 bodies, including 276 children, were found, all believed to have committed suicide, at the premises of the People�s Temple sect. Jonestown was a communal village built by a cult leader, the Reverend Jim Jones (formerly a Methodist Minister). Jones persuaded most of his followers to drink cyanide in an act of �revolutionary suicide�. However not all the 1,100 persons there did so, and there were reports that some had been forced to drink the poison.

(2) (Race Equality, Football) Viv Anderson, of Nottingham Forest, became the first Black footballer to play for England.

28 November 1978, Tuesday (+12,257) The Iranian Government banned religious marches.

27 November 1978, Monday (+12,258) Harvey Milk, first openly gay ,man to hold public office in the USA, on the California Board of Governors, was assassinated.

25 November 1978, Saturday (+12,254) The trial of Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, accused along with three other men of conspiracy and incitement to murder a former male model, continued.

20 November 1978, Monday (+12,249) An attempted military coup in Spain failed.

18 November 1978, Saturday (+12,247) Lennie Tristano, US jazz pianist, died in New York (born 19 March 1919 in 19 March 1919)

15 November 1978, Wednesday (+12,344) Margaret Mead, anthropological writer, died.

13 November 1978, Monday (+12,242) NASA launched the Einstein Observatory, the first dedicated X-ray telescope.

11 November 1978, Saturday (+12,240) The TUC refused to endorse the UK Government�s 5% wage limit.

8 November 1978, Wednesday (+12,237) Uganda dropped its territorial claim on Tanzania.

7 November 1978, Tuesday (+12,236) Indira Ghandi was re-elected to the Indian Parliament.

6 November 1978, Monday (+12,235) As disorder increased in Iran, a military government was appointed.

5 November 1978, Sunday (+12,234) Fierce fighting in Tehran; the Prime Minister, Sharif-Emami, resigned. The British Embassy in Tehran was sacked.

3 November 1978, Friday (+12,232) (1) The Caribbean island of Dominica became an independent member of the Commonwealth.

(2) Vietnam and the USA signed a 25-year treaty of friendship and co-operation in economic, scientific and technical endeavours.

1 November 1978, Wednesday (+12,230) The British newspaper The Daily Star went on sale in the north and midlands.� It was owned by Express newspapers.

=====================================================================================

31 October 1978, Tuesday (+12,229) Iranian oil-workers� strike halved production.

30 October 1978, Monday (+12,228) Edgar Bergen, ventriloquist, died.

29 October 1978, Sunday (+12,227)

28 October 1978, Saturday (+12,226) George Scott-Wood, British composer, died in London (born 27 May 1903 in Glasgow)

27 October 1978, Friday (+12,225) Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat were joint winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

25 October 1978, Wednesday (+12,223)

24 October 1978, Tuesday (+12,222) (Aviation) US President Jimmy Carter signed the Airlines Deregulation Act. This allowed commercial airlines to ditch their unprofitable short haul routes and to compete on the main inter-city routes and tourist flights.

23 October 1978, Monday (+12,221) The UK Government planned to replace GCE O levels and CSEs with a single exam, the GCSE.

22 October 1978, Sunday (+12,220) John Riley, poet, died.

18 October 1978, Wednesday (+12,216) Frank Woolley, cricketer, died (born 28 May 1887)

16 October 1978, Monday (+12,214) Karol Wojtyla, from Poland, Archbishop of Cracow, became the first non-Italian Pope since 1542, as Pope John Paul II. See 28 September 1978, and 2 April 2005.

14 October 1978, Saturday (+12,212) Daniel Arap Moi became President of Kenya.

13 October 1978, Friday (+12,211) A new Swedish Government, minority Liberal, took power under Ola Ullsten.

12 October 1978, Thursday (+11,210) Border clashes between Uganda and Tanzania, caused by Idi Amin�s expansionist claims on Tanzanian territory.

10 October 1978, Tuesday (+12,208)

9 October 1978, Monday (+12,207) Jacques Brel, musician, died.

8 October 1978, Sunday (+12,206) Australia�s Ken Warby set a new world water speed record of 317.627 mph in The Spirit of Australia at Blowering �Dam, Australia.

7 October 1978, Saturday (+12,305)

6 October 1978, Friday (+12,204) The first woman train driver on the London Underground began work.

5 October 1978, Thursday (+12,203) The Swedish Centre-Right Government collapsed over the issue of nuclear power.

4 October 1978, Wednesday (+11,202) Paul Hunter, snooker player, was born (died 9 October 2006)

3 October 1978, Tuesday (+11,201)

1 October 1978, Sunday (+12,199) Vietnam attacked Cambodia.

===================================================================================

30 September 1978, Saturday (+12,198) The Ellice Islands became the independent nation of Tuvalu.

29 September 1978, Friday (+12,197) Johannes Vorster became President of South Africa.

28 September 1978, Thursday (+12,196) (1) Pope John Paul I died, after just 33 days in office. See 26 August 1978, and 16 October 1978.

(2) Peter Botha became Prime Minister of South Africa.

26 September 1978, Tuesday (+12,194)

25 September 1978, Monday (+12,193) Jodie Kidd, TV personality, was born.

24 September 1978, Sunday (+12,192) Ruth Etting, US actress, died in Colorado Springs (born 23 November 1896 in David City, Nebraska)

22 September 1978, Friday (+12,190) Harry Kewell, Australian footballer, was born.

20 September 1978, Wednesday (+12,,188) B J Vorster resigned as Prime Minister of South Africa due to ill-health.

18 September 1978, Monday (+12,186) President Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt signed the Camp David peace agreement in America, with President Carter of the US. See 10 December 1978. Other Arab leaders were appalled.

16 September 1978, Saturday (+12,184) (1) 25,000 died in a quake in Iran measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale around the town of Tabas.

(2) Zia ul Haq became Head of State in Pakistan, succeeding President Chaudry.

15 September 1978, Friday (+12,183) Wilhelm Messerschmitt, German aviation engineer and designer, died aged 80.

13 September 1978, Wednesday (+12,181)

12 September 1978, Tuesday (+12,180) (Railway Tunnels) The Kamai Range tunnel, North Island, New Zealand, 8.8 km long, opened between Apata and Waharoa.

11 September 1978, Monday (+12,179) (1) Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov, a broadcaster on the BBC�s foreign service, was stabbed in the thigh with a poisoned umbrella in London. He soon collapsed into a coma, and died on 18 September 1979.

(2) The world�s last smallpox victim died. She was a medical school photographer in Birmingham, and had caught the virus on 30 August 1979 after it escaped from a laboratory located on the floor below her workplace. The Head of Department responsible for this laboratory later committed suicide by cutting his throat.

10 September 1978, Sunday (+12,178) Martial law was imposed in parts of Rhodesia.

9 September 1978, Saturday (+12,177) Jack Warner, film studio founder, died.

8 September 1978, Friday (+12,176) In Iran, the Shah imposed martial law in an attempt to quell growing discontent; 122 died and 4,000 were wounded.. This followed demonstrations against the Shah in which 58 died.� General Gholam Ali Oveissi was appointed military governor of Tehran. Reviled as the �butcher of Tehran� after his brutal response to riots in 1963, he continued in that pattern. His security forces met a peaceful demonstration in Jaleh Square with a hail of bullets, an incident known as �Black Friday�.

7 September 1978, Thursday (+12,175) Keith Moon, drummer, died.

6 September 1978, Wednesday (+12,174) Gerry Adams was released from jail after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove IRA membership.

5 September 1978, Tuesday (+12,173) The Camp David Accords; Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat began peace talks at the Camp in Maryland.

4 September 1978, Monday (+12,172) In Rhodesia, guerrillas fighting the Ian Smith regime shot down an airliner with a Russian SAM-7 missile, then massacred the survivors of the crash; they claimed the aeroplane was a �legitimate military target�.

1 September 1978, Friday (+12,169)

=====================================================================================

27 August 1978, Sunday (+12,164) The new Iranian Government of Sharif-Emami lifted the ban on political parties.

26 August 1978, Saturday (+12,163) (1) After the death of Pope Paul VI on 6 August 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani was elected Pope John Paul I, the 264^th Pope. See 28 September 1978.

(2) The funeral and burial of Rudolf Hess.

25 August 1978, Friday (+12,162) The Shroud of Turin went on public display for the first time in 45 years.

24 August 1978, Thursday (+12,161) Louis Prima, US trumpeter, died in New Orleans (born 7 December 1911 in New Orleans)

22 August 1978, Tuesday (+12,159) Jomo Kenyatta, first President of Kenya since 1964, died in Mombasa aged 86. He was succeeded as leader by Daniel Mori.

20 August 1978, Sunday (+12,157) Gunmen opened fire on an El Al airline bus in London.

19 August 1978, Saturday (+12,156) Extremist Muslims in Abadan, Iran set fire to a cinema, killing nearly 400 people.

17 August 1978, Thursday (+12,154) The first crossing of the Atlantic by balloon. The huge black and silver balloon, Double Eagle II, landed in a wheat field at Miserey, near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Maine. It was flown by three Americans, Ben Abruzzo, Max Anderson and Larry Newman.

14 August 1978, Monday (+12,151) Victor Silvester, British author, died in Le Lavandou, France (born 25 February 1900 in Wembley, Middlesex)

13 August 1978, Sunday (+12,150) A large bomb in Beirut killed 150 Palestinians.

12 August 1978, Saturday (+12,149) China and Japan signed a 10-year friendship treaty. In April 1978, Chinese fishing boats had been operating near the Japanese held, but Chinese/Taiwan claimed, Senkaku Islands. These boats were withdrawn before the treaty was signed.

11 August 1978, Friday (+12,148)

9 August 1978, Wednesday (+12,146) Audrey Tatou, actress, was born.

7 August 1978, Monday (+12,144) President Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency at Love Canal.

6 August 1978, Sunday (+12,143) Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) died, aged 80.

4 August 1978, Friday (+12,141) Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party, was charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Norman Scott. He was later cleared.

3 August 1978, Thursday (+12,140) De Lorean Motor Company announced its intention to build a sports car factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

=====================================================================================

31 July 1978, Monday (+12,137) The Devolution Acts for Scotland and Wales received Royal Assent.

25 July 1978, Tuesday (+12,131) The world�s first test tube baby was born, in Britain. Louise Joy Brown was born by Caesarean section at Oldham General Hospital, Lancashire, to Lesley Brown. She had been conceived by combining the sperm and egg in a Petri Dish, because her mother�s Fallopian Tubes were blocked.

21 July 1978, Friday (+12,127) Henry Longhurst, golfing champion, died (born 18 March 1909).

20 July 1978, Thursday (+12,126) Teddy Bunn, US jazz and blues guitarist, died (born 1909 in Freeport, New York).

14 July 1978, Friday (+12,120) In the USSR, dissident writer Anatoly Sharansky was sentenced to 13 years prison with hard labour.

10 July 1978, Monday (+12,116) Joe Davis, snooker player, died (born 15 April 1901).

9 July 1978, Sunday (+12,115) Abdul Razak al-Naif, Prime Minister of Iraq, was murdered.

8 July 1978, Saturday (+12,114) Two German mountaineers, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeller, made the first ascent of Everest without oxygen.

7 July 1978, Friday (+12,113) (1) The EEC looked at proposals to link together its different currencies.

(2) The Solomon Islands became an independent republic within the Commonwealth.� They had been a British protectorate since 1899.

======================================================================================

30 June 1978, Friday (+12,106) Ethiopia began a major offensive in Eritrea.

27 June 1978, Tuesday (+12,103) The UK was expected to be self-sufficient in oil in two year�s time.

26 June 1978, Monday (+12,102) A bomb set off by Breton nationalists damaged Versailles.

25 June 1978, Sunday (+12,101) Argentina won the World Cup.

24 June 1978, Saturday (+12,100) (Yemen) The President of North Yemen was killed by a bomb as he received the Credentials of a new ambassador from South Yemen.

23 June 1978, Friday (+12,099) (Yugoslavia) Josip Broz Tito was nominated Yugoslav President for life.

22 June 1978, Thursday (+12,098) (Astronomy) Charon, a satellite of Pluto, was discovered.

21 June 1978, Wednesday (+12,097) The musical Evita, score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.� premiered at London�s Prince Edward Theatre.

20 June 1978, Tuesday (+12,096) (Earthquake) A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit Thessaloniki, Greece�s second-largest city. An apartment block in the central district of Ippodrome collapsed, killing over 40 people.

19 June 1978, Monday ((+12,095) A team of US physicists led by David Wineland announced that they had trapped a cloud of magnesium atoms using a laser., This was an important step towards quantum computing.

13 June 1978, Tuesday (+12,089) (Lebanon) Israel withdrew from the 6 mile deep zone of southern Lebanon it had occupied since 14 March 1978. However rather than handing control of the territory to UN forces it handed over to Christian forces.

9 June 1978, Friday (+12,085) (Aviation) Prince Charles opened new terminal facilities at Gatwick Airport.

7 June 1978, Wednesday (+12,083) (Chemistry) Ronald George Norrish, English chemist, died in Cambridge.

6 June 1978, Tuesday (+12,082) (USA) Californians approved Proposition 13 � a proposal to cut property taxes by 60%.

1 June 1978, Thursday (+12,077) (Russia) Bugging devices were found at the US embassy in Moscow.

=====================================================================================

25 May 1978, Thursday (+12,070) (USA) �The Unabomber set off his first bomb, in the security section of Northwestern University, USA.

24 May 1978, Wednesday (+12,069) (Britain) Princess Margaret obtained a divorce from Lord Snowdon.

23 May 1978, Tuesday (+12,068) Carolyn Moos, US basketball player, was born.

22 May 1978, Monday (+12,067) Yoshifumi Ono, Japanese footballer, was born.

21 May 1978, Sunday (+12,066) Despite four years of protests, Tokyo�s new second airport at Narita opened.

20 May 1978, Saturday (+12,065) 5 terrorists and 2 policemen were killed at Orly Airport, Paris, after terrorists fired at passengers boarding an Israeli plane.

19 May 1978, Friday (+12,064) Marcus Bent, English footballer, was born.

18 May 1978, Thursday (+12,063) Yuri Orlov, Soviet human-rights campaigner, was sentenced to 7 years in a labour camp.

17 May 1978, Wednesday (+12,062) Compact Discs created by Philips.

16 May 1978, Tuesday (+12,061) Rhodesian forces killed 94 at a Black political meeting.

15 May 1978, Monday (+12,060) Iranian students rioted in Tabriz; troops were called in to quell the disturbances.

14 May 1978, Sunday (+12,059) Sir Robert Menzies, 12^th Prime Minister of Australia, died.

13 May 1978, Saturday (+12,058) Steve Mildenhall, English football player, was born.

12 May 1978, Friday (+12,057) The US Commerce Department announced that hurricanes would no longer be named only after women.

11 May 1978, Thursday (+12,056) Rioting in Tehran as Muslims called for the removal of the Shah.

10 May 1978, Wednesday (+12,055) Fundamentalist Islamic riots in Qom, Iran. 10 people killed.

9 May 1978, Tuesday (+12,054) The body of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was found in the boot of a car in central Rome, a victim of the Red Brigade.

8 May 1978, Monday (+12,053) Matthew Davis, US actor, was born.

7 May 1978, Sunday (+12,052) �Mrs Thatcher, Conservative Opposition leader, announced that she had no intention of outlawing the closed shop.

6 May 1978, Saturday (+12,051) The UK recognised the new regime in Afghanistan.

4 May 1978, Thursday (+12,049) South Africa raided SWAPO (South West African People�s Organisation) bases in Angola.

1 May 1978, Monday (+12,046) The first May Day bank holiday in Britain.

====================================================================================

30 April 1978, Sunday (+12,045) The Soviet Union recognised the new regime in Afghanistan.

27 April 1978, Thursday (+12,042) A bloody coup overthrew the government of Afghanistan and replaced it with a pro-Soviet regime. Tanks and Mig-21 fighter planes attacked the Presidential palace in Kabul as Mohammed Daud was overthrown. The president and his family was massacred. All public meetings were banned and martial law imposed indefinitely.

15 April 1978, Saturday (+12,030) The death penalty was abolished in Spain.

14 April 1978, Friday (+12,029) F R Leavis, British literary critic, died aged 82.

10 April 1978, Monday (+12,025) Volkswagen began manufacturing cars in the USA, in Pennsylvania.

7 April 1978, Friday (+12,022) (1) US President Carter pulled back from building a neutron bomb.

(2) A copy of the Gutenberg Bible sold in New York for US$ 2 million.

4 April 1978, Tuesday (+12,019) The Angolan government began an offensive against UNITA forces.

3 April 1978, Monday (+12,018) Regular BBC radio broadcasts of British Parliamentary proceedings began.

2 April 1978, Sunday (+12,017) The first episode of Dallas was broadcast in the USA.

1 April 1978, Saturday (+12,016) (Education � Universities) The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, became the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

===================================================================================

31 March 1978, Friday (+12,015) (Medical) Charles Herbert Best, Canadian-US physiologist, died in Toronto, Ontario.

30 March 1978, Thursday (+12,014) Charles and Maurice Saatchi were recruited by Mrs Thatcher to help publicise her policies ahead of the General Election, then expected for autumn 1978.

28 March 1978, Tuesday (+12,012)

26 March 1978, Sunday (+12,010) Easter Sunday

25 March 1978, Saturday (+12,009) In the Oxford-Cambridge boat race, the Cambridge boat sank.

23 March 1978, Thursday (+12,007)

22 March 1978, Wednesday (+12,006) The Robert Frost Plaza, san Francisco, California, named after the late IUS poet, was dedicated.

21 March 1978, Tuesday (+12,005) The first Black Ministers joined the government of Rhodesia. However Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo were excluded.

19 March 1978, Sunday (+12,003)

18 March 1978, Saturday (+12,002) Former Pakistani PM, Zufilkar Ali Bhutto, was sentenced to death for ordering the murder of a political opponent in 1974, see 5 July 1977 and 4 April 1979.

17 March 1978, Friday (+12,001) The Amoco Cadiz oil tanker ran aground on the Brittany coast.� She split in two on 24 March 1978; 220,000 tons of oil were spilled.

16 March 1978, Thursday (+12,000) In Rome, former Prime Minister Aldi Moro was kidnapped.

15 March 1978, Wednesday (+11,999)

14 March 1978, Tuesday (+11,998) (Israel, Arabs) Israeli forces, under Operation Litani, invaded Lebanon. This was in retaliation for the bus hijacking on 11 March 1978. Israeli forces occupied a 6 mile deep strip of territory into Lebanon.

13 March 1978, Monday (+11,997) Moluccan terrorists held 72 people hostage in government buildings in Assen, Holland.

12 March 1978, Sunday (+11,996) Tolchard Evans, British composer, died in London (born 1901 in London)

11 March 1978, Saturday (+11,995) (Israel) A PLO unit sailed from the south coast of Lebanon, landed in northern Israel, and hijacked a bus. 39 of the passengers were killed near Tel Aviv.

10 March 1978, Friday (+11,994)

9 March 1978, Thursday (+11,993) Somalia left Ethiopian territory, so ending the Ogaden War.

8 March 1978, Wednesday (+11,992) The Hitchhiker�s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It ran until 1980.

5 March 1978, Sunday (+11,989) Ethiopian forces, backed by Russia and Cuba, completely retook the region of Ogaden seized by Somalia in September 1977.

3 March 1978, Friday (+11,987) Rhodesian forces attacked Zambia.

1 March 1978, Wednesday (+11,985) Charlie Chaplin�s coffin was stolen from a cemetery in Switzerland.

====================================================================================

25 February 1978, Saturday (+11,981) Gerry Adams was charged with being a member of the IRA.

24 February 1978, Friday (+11,980) Mary Leakey reported the discovery of fossil footprints made by bipedal hominids 3.6 million years ago.

22 February 1978, Wednesday (+11,978) (Cartography) The first NAVSTAR satellite was launched, part of the Global Positioning System (GPS) network.

17 February 1978, Friday (+11,973) An IRA incendiary bomb attack on the La Mon Hotel, Belfast, killed 16 people.

15 February 1978, Wednesday (+11,971) Rhodesia�s Ian Smith and three Black leaders agreed on a transfer to Black majority rule.

14 February 1978, Tuesday (+11,970) Paul Governali, US football player, died (born 1921).

13 February 1978, Monday (+11,969) In the UK, Anna Ford became ITN�s first woman newscaster.

12 February 1978, Sunday (+11,968) In Nicaragua, the Sandinistas prepared for civil war.

11 February 1978, Saturday (+11,967) China lifted a ban on the works of Shakespeare, Dickens and Aristotle.

10 February 1978, Friday (+11,966)

8 February 1978, Wednesday (+11,964) BBC showed the first episode of the school drama Grange Hill.

7 February 1978, Tuesday (+11,963) Timothy Floyd Fuller, Missouri University basketball coach, was born.

6 February 1978, Monday (+11,962) Turner Layton, US composer, died in London (born 1894 in Washington DC)

4 February 1978, Saturday (+11,862) Junius Jayawardene became President of Sri Lanka.

2 February 1978, Thursday (+11,860) Darrick Leonard Vaughn, US footballer, was born.

===================================================================================

30 January 1978, Monday (+11,955) (1) Mrs Thatcher said many in Britain feared �being swamped� by people with a different culture.

(2) Blizzards in the US killed 30 people.

28 January 1978, Saturday (+11,953) Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer, was born.

24 January 1978, Tuesday (+11,949) (Canada, Space exploration) A Soviet nuclear-powered satellite, Cosmos 954, crashed in north-western Canada, spilling radioactive debris. The Canadian government presented Moscow with a 6 billion dollar bill for the clean-up, of which Moscow eventually paid half.

23 January 1978, Monday (+11,948) Sweden became the first country to ban aerosol sprays, because of the damage they cause to the ozone layer.

22 November 1978, Sunday (+11,947) Herbert Sutcliffe, cricketer, died (born 24 November 1894).

21 January 1978, Saturday (+11,946) Ethiopian forces began expelling Somali forces from the Ogaden, see 23 July 1977 and 5 March 1978.

18 January 1978, Wednesday (+11,943)

16 January 1978, Monday (+11,941) Philip Wills, gliding champion, died.

15 January 1978, Sunday (+11,940) Eddie Cahill, US actor, was born New York City.

14 January 1978, Saturday (+11,939) Kurt Godel, Austrian-American logician, died aged 71.

13 January 1978, Friday (+11,938) Hubert Humphrey, Vice President to Lyndon Johnson, died.

12 January 1978, Thursday (+11,937) In Italy, the Andreotti government collapsed.

10 January 1978, Tuesday (+11,935) In Nicaragua, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, editor of La Prensa, (The Press) newspaper, which is opposed to the Somoza regime, was shot dead in Managua.

7 January 1978, Saturday (+11,932) (1) Riots erupted in the Iranian city of Qom after a government controlled newspaper made crude accusations against Khomeini, alleging that he had spied for the British and written erotic poetry.

(2) Emilio Palma was born in Antarctica; he was the first baby born on this continent.

3 January 1978, Tuesday (+11,928) Ex-Prime Minister Indira Ghandi was expelled from her Congress party.

1 January 1978, Sunday (+11,926) An Air India Boeing 77 crashed into the sea off India, killing all 213 people on board.

=====================================================================================

31 December 1977, Saturday (+11,925) (1) For the first time since the invention of the internal combustion engine, the UK imported more cars than it made itself.

(2) Cambodia broke off diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and suspended air services between them. Fighting between the two countries had erupted in the Parrot�s Beak area, where Cambodia juts out into (South) Vietnam. The Chinese-backed Cambodian regime accused Vietnam of not being sufficiently �revolutionary�. Troubles began when many Cambodians moved across the border into the Mekong Delta area, after Saigon fell and before North Vietnam had fully established control of the area.

28 December 1977, Wednesday (+11,922)

25 December 1977, Sunday (+11,919) Charlie Chaplin died in Switzerland, aged 88.

24 December 1977, Saturday (+11,918) Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin began peace discussions with President Sadat of Egypt.

20 December 1977, Tuesday (+11,914) UK motor executive Sir Reginald Rootes died in London, aged 81.

18 December 1977, Sunday (-11,912) Cyril Ritchard, Australian actor, died in Chicago (born 1 December 1897 in Sydney)

12 December 1977, Monday (+11,906) Lady Churchill, widow of Sir Winston Churchill, died.

10 December 1977, Saturday (+11,904) In Australia the Fraser Government won another large majority in Federal elections.

9 December 1977, Friday (+11,903) Concorde began a short-lived thrice weekly service between London Heathrow and Singapore via Bahrain. The service was initially suspended on 13 December 1977, after just three flights, because of complaints from Malaysia about sonic booms over the Strait of Malacca. On 24 January 1979 the route resumed, with take-offs out to sea from Singapore avoiding Malaysia. However the route was losing �2 million a year due to inadequate demand as was permanently withdrawn on 1 November 1980.

7 December 1977, Wednesday (+11,901)

5 December 1977, Monday (+11,899) Egypt broke with Syria, Libya, Algeria, and South Yemen.

4 December 1977, Sunday (+11,898) In the Central African Republic, Jean Bedel Bokassa crowned himself Emperor.

3 December 1977, Saturday (+11,897) Jack Beresford, rower, died.

2 December 1977, Friday (+11,896) The South African judicial system decided that the security forces were not responsible for the death of Steve Biko, despite evidence that he had been badly beaten.

=====================================================================================

25 November 1977, Friday (+11,889)

24 November 1977, Thursday (+11,888) Ian Smith said he accepted the idea of universal adult suffrage in Rhodesia, which would mean a Black Government.

23 November 1977, Wednesday (+11,887) Rhodesian troops entered Mozambique and killed over 1,000 alleged guerrillas.

22 November 1977, Tuesday (+11,886) British Airways began regular commercial services by Concorde between London and New York.

21 November 1977, Monday (+11,885) Kerry Packer launched his World Series cricket in Melbourne. Packer had bene unable to secure broadcasting rights with the Australian Cricket Board, so he signed 60 players to start their own series.

20 November 1977, Sunday (+11,884) President Sadat of Egypt became the first Arab leader to visit Israel. He met Israeli PM Menachem begin in the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement. This outraged many Arabs.

19 November 1977, Saturday (+11,883) Iranian police broke up a peaceful middle class and student protest at Ayramehr University, where intellectuals had begun to challenge the rule of the Shah through letter writing, pamphlets and poetry readings. Students then protested on the streets, where they were met by the Savak security forces.

18 November 1977, Friday (+11,882) Kurt von Schuschnigg, Austrian politician, died.

17 November 1977, Thursday (+11,881)

15 November 1977, Tuesday (+11,879) Peter Phillips, son of the Princess Royal, was born

14 November 1977, Monday (+11,878) Richard Addinsell, British composer, died in London (born 13 January 1904 in Oxford)

11 November 1977, Friday (+11,875) The UK�s Anti-Nazi League was formed.

9 November 1977, Wednesday (+11,873) The Israelis resumed the bombing of Lebanese villages, after a two-year break, in retaliation for Lebanese tolerance of the PLO in their country.

5 November 1977, Saturday (+11,869) Guy Lombardo, band leader, died.

4 November 1977, Friday (+11,868) The UN banned arms sales to South Africa.

1 November 1977, Tuesday (+11,865)

===================================================================================

31 October 1977, Monday (+11,864)

28 October 1977, Friday (+11,861) Elso Barghoorn and Andrew Knoll announced the discovery of 3.4 billion year old fossils of bacteria.

27 October 1977, Thursday (+11,860) Jeremy Thorpe denied any homosexual link with unemployed male model Norman Scott.

26 October 1977, Wednesday (+11,859) (Education, Schools) The UK Department of Education announced plans for national testing of schoolchildren in mathematics, reading and writing.

24 October 1977, Monday (+11,857) The transatlantic liner France was sold to Saudi Arabia for use as a floating hotel.

18 October 1977, Tuesday (+11,851) German anti-terror forces stormed a hijacked Lufthansa airliner at Mogadishu, Somalia, killing three Palestinian terrorists and freeing all the hostages. Three of the four hijackers were killed.

17 October 1977, Monday (+11,850) The US Supreme Court ruled that Concorde could use New York�s Kennedy Airport.

16 October 1977, Sunday (+11,849)

15 October 1977, Saturday (+11,848) David Trezeguet, French footballer, was born.

14 October 1977, Friday (+11,847) Bing Crosby, US actor, died.

10 October 1977, Monday (+11,843) Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, co-founders of the Ulster Peace Movement, received the Nobel peace Prize in Oslo.

===================================================================================

27 September 1977, Tuesday (+11,830)

25 September 1977, Sunday (+11,828) Freddie Lakers� Skytrain service began between Gatwick and New York. One way fares London to New York cost �59, against the normal price of �190; no frills, with food extra.

17 September 1977, Saturday (+11,820) Operatic singer Maria Callas died.

16 September 1977, Friday (+11,819) Charlotte Leitch, golfer, died (born 13 April 1891)

15 September 1977, Thursday (+11,818) TV show CHiPs, a drama about policing in Los Angeles, was first broadcast �in the �USA

14 September 1977, Wednesday (+11,817) James Sullivan, rugby player, died (born 2 December 1903).

13 September 1977, Tuesday (+11,816) Leopold Stokowski, organist and conductor, died in Nether Wallop, Hampshire.

12 September 1977, Monday (+11,815) The moderate South African black activist Steven Biko, 30, died after 3 weeks in police detention in Port Elizabeth.� He received a head injury during police interrogation and became unconscious; a police doctor recommended hospitalisation. Instead, on 11 September 1977 Biko was taken on� a 1,200 mile journey to Pretoria Central prison, naked in the back of a Land Rover, where he died on the 12^th. This event proved a focal point in internal and international opposition to the South African regime. Steve Biko�s funeral was held on 25 September 1977. Heavy tactics were used to prevent Black mourners from attending, bus travel permits were denied, roadblocks employed, and Black mourners taken off buses and beaten with truncheons.

11 September 1977, Sunday (+11,814) Atari, Inc. released its Video Computer System in North America.

10 September 1977, Saturday (+11,813) The last official execution by guillotine in France; execution of Hamida Djandoubi. See 17 June 1939.

9 September 1977, Friday (+11,812)

7 September 1977, Wednesday (+11,810) A treaty between the USA and Panama was signed; the US agreed to give Panama control of the Canal by 2000.

6 September 1977, Tuesday (-11,809) Guido Pannain, composer, died aged 85.

5 September 1977, Monday (+11,808) The US launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft to add to the information gathered by Voyager 1 on Saturn.� It continued on to Uranus, then to Neptune, where it arrived in September 1989, its last planetary visit.

4 September 1977, Sunday (+11,807) E F Schumacher, German economist, died aged 66.

3 September 1977, Saturday (+11,806) In Pakistan, Bhutto was arrested on charges of conspiring to murder Ahmad Kasuri in 1974.

2 September 1977, Friday (+11,805) Frederic Kanoute, Malian footballer, was born.

1 September 1977, Thursday (+11,804) Anglo-American proposals for a transition to legal rule in Rhodesia were published.

====================================================================================

31 August 1977, Wednesday (+11,803) In Rhodesia, Ian Smith�s Rhodesian Front Party won an overwhelming victory.

26 August 1977, Friday (+11,798) French was made the only official language of Quebec, Canada, excluding English.

23 August 1977, Tuesday (+11,795) The Gossamer Condor became the first human-powered aircraft to achieve sustained controlled flight.

21 August 1977, Sunday (+11,793) South African Black civil rights activist Steve Biko was arrested on suspicion of promoting unrest in Port Elizabeth and of distributing leaflets calling for �violence and arson�.

20 August 1977, Saturday (+11,792) (1) The Voyager I space craft was launched on a journey via Jupiter and Saturn, later to become the first man-made object to leave the solar system.

(2) Julius, or Groucho Marx, US comedian of the famous Marx Brothers, died in Los Angeles.

19 August 1977, Friday (+11,791) Earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia.

18 August 1977, Thursday (+11,790) Regine Chassagne, Canadian musician, was born in Montreal, Quebec

17 August 1977, Wednesday (+11,789) Thierry Henry, French footballer, was born in Essonne, Paris.

16 August 1977, Tuesday (+11,788) Rock and roll star Elvis Presley died in Memphis, Tennessee, aged 42. He died in the bathroom of his home although he was actually pronounced dead at 3.30 pm in the emergency room of the Baptist Hospital, Memphis. Overweight, he died of heart failure. He was buried in Memphis on 18 August 1977. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, the survivor of twin boys, on 8 January 1935.

15 August 1977, Monday (+11,787) Radio astronomers at Ohio State University picked up a powerful radio burst at 1420 Megahertz. This was thought to be a frequency at which intelligent aliens might broadcast as it is a significant radio absorption and emission frequency of hydrogen atoms. It was dubbed the �Wow� signal after the comment scribbled on the radio transcript document by Jerry Ehman. In 2016 astronomers decided it might have been from passing comets.

14 August 1977, Sunday (+11,786) Tamil riots in Sri Lanka.

13 August 1977, Saturday (+11,785) The police used riot shields on the British mainland for the first time, during an anti-fascist demonstration in Lewisham, London.

11 August 1977, Thursday (+11,783) Matthew Stevens, snooker player, was born.

9 August 1977, Tuesday (+11,781)

4 August 1977, Thursday (+11,776) (Medical) Edgar Douglas Baron, English physiologist, died in London.

3 August 1977, Wednesday (+11,775) Archbishop Makarios, religious leader and first President of Cyprus, died.

2 August 1977, Tuesday (+11,774) Edward Furlong, actor, was born.

===================================================================================

31 July 1977, Sunday (+11,772)

28 July 1977, Thursday (+11,769) (1) First oil through the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline reached Valdez, Alaska.

(2) Spain formally applied to join the EC.

27 July 1977, Wednesday (+11,768) Anderson de Souza, Portuguese footballer, was born.

26 July 1977, Tuesday (+11,767) Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin defied a plea from US President Jimmy Carter and ordered more settlements to be built on the West Bank.

25 July 1977, Monday (+11,766) Kenny Thomas, US basketball player, was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

24 July 1977, Sunday (+11,765) Algeria�s President intervened to arrange a ceasefire between Libya and Egypt.

23 July 1977, Saturday (+11,764) Somalia invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, in support of the guerrillas of the �Western Somali Liberation Front�.� See 21 January 1978.

22 July 1977, Friday (+11,763) The �Gang of Four� were expelled from the Chinese Communist Party.

21 July 1977, Thursday (+11,762) (1) Cambodia and Thailand fought in a border war.

(2) A brief border war started between Libya and Egypt,� Both sides suffered heavy losses of men and equipment.

13 July 1977, Wednesday (+11,754) The UK Government abandoned the Social Contract with the TUC as wages rose.

11 July 1977, Monday (+11,752) British magazine Gay News was fined �1,000 for publishing a poem about a homosexual Jesus.

10 July 1977, Sunday (+11,751) Chiwetel Ejiofor, actor, was born

9 July 1977, Saturday (+11,750) Death of women�s suffrage campaigner Alice Paul (born 11 January 1885 in Moorestown, New Jersey, USA).

7 July 1977, Thursday (+11,748) The first test of the USA�s neutron (enhanced-radiation) bomb.

5 July 1977, Tuesday (+11,746) In Pakistan, President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first democratically elected President of Pakistan, was overthrown, and then arrested, in a military coup by Zia, after rioting following accusations of vote rigging by Bhutto.� Bhutto was later arrested and charged with treason, see 18 March 1978.

3 July 1977, Sunday (+11,744) The first prototype Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan on a human was performed. The machine was built by Raymond Damadian.

2 July 1977, Saturday (+11,743) (1) UK miners sought �135 a week for a 4-day week.

(2) In China Deng Xiaoping, 73, was restored to power.

1 July 1977, Friday (+11,742) (1) A large loaf of white bread cost 22p.� A lb of back bacon cost 96p.� A pint of milk cost 11.5p.� A lb of butter cost 54p. A lb of potatoes cost 4p.� A lb of oranges cost 22p.� A quarter lb loose tea cost 29p.� A pint of beer cost 38p.� 20 king-size cigarettes cost 55p.� A sack of house coal cost �2.26.

(2) Deadline set by Gadhafi for Egyptian workers to leave Libya, or be arrested, after Gadhafi had accused Egypt of trying to provoke a war so it could seize Libyan oilfields.

=====================================================================================

29 June 1977, Wednesday (+11,740)

27 June 1977, Monday (+11,738) Raul Gonzalez Bianco, Spanish footballer, was born in Madrid.

26 June 1977, Sunday (+11,737) Elvis Presley made his last ever live stage appearance at the Market Square Arena in Indianopolis.

25 June 1977, Saturday (+11,736) Lady Baden Powell, founder of the Girl Guides movement in 1910, died.

24 June 1977, Friday (+11,735)

23 June 1977, Thursday (+11,734) Liam Cosgrave retired as President of Ireland.

22 June 1977, Wednesday (+11,733) The 7,000 mile Alaska Oil Pipeline opened.

21 June 1977, Tuesday (+11,732) (Geology) Bruce Charles Heezen, US oceanographer and geologist, died near Reykjanes, Iceland.

20 June 1977, Monday (+11,731) The US Supreme Court ruled that States were not required to fund elective abortions on Medicaid.

18 June 1977, Saturday (+11,729)

17 June 1977, Friday (+11,728) (1) Britain�s unemployment figure rose to 1,450,055; 6.2% of the working population of 23.4 million. The average price of cigarettes was then 60p for 20.

(2) Britain recalled its last two ambassadors from Uganda after threats against them from President Idi Amin.

(3) The feminist claim that God is a woman was supported by no less than the Jesuit journal Civitta Cattolica, published fortnightly in Rome.

16 June 1977, Thursday (+11,727) In Ireland, Fianna Fail defeated the Fine Gael-Labour coalition and retunred to power with Charles Haughey as Taoiseach (Prime Minister).

15 June 1977, Wednesday (+11,726) Spain held its first democratic elections, after 41 years of dictatorship under Franco.

13 June 1977, Monday (11,724) Freddie Laker launched Skytrain, the first low-cost carrier.

8 June 1977, Wednesday (+11,719) The Commission for Racial Equality began work. Films on release included Blazing Saddles.

7 June 1977, Tuesday (+11,718) The Queen lit a bonfire in Windsor Park, starting a week of Royal Silver Jubilee celebrations.

6 June 1977, Monday (+11,717) Derby was designated a city, to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

5 June 1977, Sunday (+11,716) Apple 2 computers first went on sale.

4 June 1977, Saturday (+11,715) (USA) Two people died during violence on �Puerto Rican Day in Chicago.

3 June 1977, Friday (+11,714) (Medical) Archibald Vivian Hill, English physiologist, died in Cambridge.

2 June 1977, Thursday (+11,713) Djibouti became independent, after over 100 years of French rule.

================================================================================

31 May 1977, Tuesday (+11,711) The Trans-Alaska Pipeline was completed.

23 May 1977, Monday (+11,703) Scientists reported using bacteria to make insulin.

22 May 1977, Sunday (+11,702) (Rail Tunnels) The Santa Lucia tunnel, Italy, 10.262km long, opened on the Naples-Salerno line.

21 May 1977, Saturday (+11,701) (Aviation) Concorde made a memorial flight from New York to Paris to mark the 50^th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh�s transatlantic flight. Whereas Lindbergh took 33 hours 29 minutes, Concorde completed the flight in 3 hours 44 minutes.

20 May 1977, Friday (+11,700) (Rail Travel) The Orient Express, between Paris and Istanbul, ran for the last time.

19 May 1977, Thursday (+11,699) (Football) Manuel Almuni, Spanish footballer, was born.

18 May 1977, Wednesday (+11,698) (Jewish) Menachem Begin became President of Israel after his centre-right Likud party coalition won elections, ending 29 years of Labour rule in Israel.

17 May 1977, Tuesday (+11,697) (Science) Erwin Wilhelm Mueller, Hungarian-US physicist, died in Washington DC.

14 May 1977, Saturday (+11,694)

12 May 1977, Thursday (+11,692) Graeme Dott, snooker player, was born.

11 May 1977, Wednesday (+11,691) (Environment) The USA said CFCs were to be banned as propellants in aerosol cans within two years, after worries about ozone depletion.

10 May 1977, Tuesday (+11,690) American film star Joan Crawford died.

8 May 1977, Sunday (+11,688) Dutch art dealer Peter Menten went on trial, charged with murdering Polish Jews in 1941 for financial gain.

===================================================================================

30 April 1977, Saturday (+11,680) Red Adair successfully put out an oil rig fire in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

29 April 1977, Friday (+11,679) Trades Unions were legalised in Spain for the first time since 1936.

28 April 1977, Thursday (+11,678) In Germany, the Baader Meinhof terrorists, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan Raspe, dedicated to the violent overthrow of capitalism, were jailed for life. The trial began on 21 May 1975.

25 April 1977, Monday (+11,675)

22 April 1977, Friday (+11,672) The first transmission of telephone signals via optical fibres was achieved.

21 April 1977, Thursday (+11,671) US President Carter proposed a national energy conservation plan to discourage waste and achieve greater efficiency.

20 April 1977, Wednesday (+11,670)

15 April 1977, Friday (+11,665) In Argentina, Jacobo Timerman, publisher of a newspaper called La Opinion, was arrested and tortured as part of a campaign against dissidents.

11 April 1977, Monday (+11,661) Jacques Prevert, French poet, died aged 77.

10 April 1977, Sunday (+11,660) Easter Sunday.

9 April 1977, Saturday (+11,659) Spain legalised the Communist Party after a 38-year ban.

8 April 1977, Friday (+11,658) The Dammed played in New York, the first punk band to play in the USA.

7 April 1977, Thursday (+11,657) In Germany, terrorists murdered the Attorney-General who was prosecuting the Baader-Meinhof gang.

5 April 1977, Tuesday (+11,655)

2 April 1977, Saturday (+11,652) Red Rum became the first horse ever to win three Grand Nationals.

1 April 1977, Friday (+11,651) Hay on Wye declared �independence�.

===================================================================================

30 March 1977, Wednesday (+11,649)

28 March 1977, Monday (+11,647) British Breakfast TV began as an experiment on Yorkshire TV, hosted by Bob Warman.

27 March 1977, Sunday (+11,646) Two jumbo jets collided on the ground at the single airstrip of Tenerife Airport, in the fog, killing 582 people. The collision between the KLM and the Pan Am, craft was the worst air disaster ever to date.

25 March 1977, Friday (+11,644)

23 March 1977, Wednesday (+11,642) British Prime Minister James Callaghan and Liberal leader David Steel agreed the so-called �Lib-Lab pact, to avoid a defeat in a confidence motion.

22 March 1977, Tuesday (+11,641) Indira Ghandi resigned as President of India after an election defeat.

20 March 1977, Sunday (+11,639)

18 March 1977, Friday (+11,637) President Mgoubi of Congo-Brazzaville was assassinated.

16 March 1977, Wednesday (+11,635) Richard Faulds, clay pigeon shooting champion, was born.

15 March 1977, Tuesday (+11,634) The Jewish Russian dissident Anatoly Sharansky was arrested on charges of plotting with the CIA.

13 March 1977, Sunday (+11,632) Czech secret police tortured to death the leader of the Charter 77 Movement, Jan Potocka.

12 March 1977, Saturday (+11,631) In Chile, political parties were banned and censorship was tightened.

11 March 1977, Friday (+11,630) Widespread violent protests in Pakistan, amid claims that Mrs Bhutto�s election victory was fraudulent.

9 March 1977, Wednesday (+11,628) Saccharine was banned in the USA because it was believed to be carcinogenic.

7 March 1977, Monday (+11,626) Bhutto won the Pakistani general elections. However opposition to her had been so widespread that vote-rigging was suspected, and the Pakistani Army stepped in, led by Zia Ul Haq.

5 March 1977, Saturday (+11,624) The first Punk Rock LP, Dammed, Dammed, Dammed, was released.

4 March 1977, Friday (+11,623) Earthquake in Bucharest, magnitude 7.2, �killed 1,500 people and injured 7,600.

===================================================================================

28 February 1977, Monday (+11,619) (El Salvador) In El Salvador, Government troops fired on protestors in San Salvador led by Claramount, the opposition candidate in the 20 February 1977 elections.

20 February 1977, Sunday (+11,611) (El Salvador) Former Defence Minister Carlos Romero rigged the Presidential elections in El Salvador, stuffing ballot boxes to ensure his victory.

19 February 1977, Saturday (+11,610) Anthony Crosland, British Foreign Secretary, died in office. On 21 February 1977 he was succeeded by Dr David Owen.

18 February 1977, Friday (+11,609) The Space Shuttle Enterprise went on its maiden �flight� on the top of a Boeing 747 plane.

17 February 1977, Thursday (+11,608) Scientists discovered thermal vents near the Galapagos Ridge, east Pacific.

16 February 1977, Wednesday (+11,607)� The Archbishop of Uganda, the Most Reverend Janani Luwum, was murdered by Idi Amin�s troops.

9 February 1977, Wednesday (+11,600) Buddy Johnson, US musician, died in New York (born 10 January 1915 in Darlington, South Carolina)

5 February 1977, Saturday (+11,596) Oscar Klein, particle physicist, died.

4 February 1977, Friday (+11,595) Police in Liverpool discovered an IRA bomb factory.

3 February 1977, Thursday (+11,594) Colonel Mengistu Haile Maram became leader of Ethiopia after killing 8 other members of the ruling council.

2 February 1977, Wednesday (+11,593) The Pompidou Centre of art and culture opened in Paris.

1 February 1977, Tuesday (+11,592) Khmer Rouge incursion into Thailand killed 30.

=====================================================================================

31 January 1977, Monday (+11,591) Wembley Conference Centre opened by the Duke of Kent.

30 January 1977, Sunday (+11,590) The 8th (final) part of Roots became the �most-watched US entertainment show ever (viewed by 100 million)

29 January 1977, Saturday (+11,589) The IRA set off 7 bombs in London�s West End. No-one was killed.

28 January 1977, Friday (+11,588) The USA warned the USSR not to persecute the dissident, Sakharov.

27 January 1977, Thursday (+11,587) Walter Baldwin, US actor, died aged 88

26 January 1977, Wednesday (+11,586) The US State Department accused Czechoslovakia of violating the Helsinki Accord (1 August 1975) by persecuting dissidents.

25 January 1977, Tuesday (+11,585) The US Supreme Court reversed a previous decision (1966) and ruled that a suspect who has not been formally arrested can be interrogated without being informed of their legal rights.

24 January 1977, Monday (+11,584) The second round of Rhodesian talks failed; Ian Smith rejected British proposals for a transfer of power to Black majority rule.

23 January 1977, Sunday (+11,583) Dick Burnett, US musician, died aged 93

22 January 1977, Saturday (+11,582) Hidetoshi Nakaya, Japanese footballer, was born.

21 January 1977, Friday (+11,581) Jimmy Carter issued a pardon for those who evaded the draft for the Vietnam War.

20 January 1977, Thursday (+11,580) Jimmy Carter became 39^th President of the USA.

19 January 1977, Wednesday (+11,579) Snow fell for the first recorded time in Florida.

18 January 1977, Tuesday (+11,578) The worst rail disaster in Australia occurred when a Sydney bound train derailed, killing 82 people.

17 January 1977, Monday (+11,577) The US restored the death penalty, after a ten year suspension, and Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah.

16 January 1977, Sunday (+11,576) Peter Finch, actor, died.

15 January 1977, Saturday (+11,575) Simon James Cook, British cricketer, was born in Oxford, England

14 January 1977, Friday (+11,574) Sir Anthony Eden, Earl of Avon and former UK Conservative Prime Minister 1955 � 1957, died aged 79.

13 January 1977, Thursday (+11,573) Orlando Bloom, actor, died.

10 January 1977, Monday (+11,570) In the UK, a miniature portable TV with a 5 cm screen went on sale.

7 January 1977, Friday (+11,567) Civil Rights campaigners in Czechoslovakia published their Charter 77, following the signing by the Czechoslovak Government of the International Convention on Human Rights in 1976. In practice, many civil rights such as freedom of expression had been suppressed following the �normalisation� that followed the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The Charter�s signatories included Jiri Hajek, who was Czechoslovak Foreign Minister in 1968, and the writer Vaclav Havel. The signatories were greatly harassed by the Communist administration, but the Charter contributed to the downfall of Communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989, when Havel became President.

6 January 1977, Thursday (+11,566) EMI dismissed the Sex Pistols due to their outrageous behaviour and foul language, with a �40,000 payoff. The resultant publicity boosted sales of the Sex Pistol�s album Anarchy in the UK; sales reached 50,000.

2 January 1977, Sunday (+11,562) Erroll Garner, US jazz pianist, died in Los Angeles (born 15 June 1923 in Pittsburgh)

1 January 1977, Saturday (+11,561)

===================================================================================

25 December 1976, Saturday (+11,554) Sir Ernest Daryl Lindsay, Australian artist, died (born 31 December 1889).

20 December 1976, Monday (+11,549) Ned Washington, US singer, died in Beverly Hills, California (born 15 August 1901 in Scranton, Pennsylvania)

16 December 1976, Thursday (+11,545) The UK Government announced that Scotland and Wales were to have referendums on a greater measure of self-rule. From today, Scots could drink all day, pubs could stay open from 11am to 11pm.

6 December 1976, Monday (+11,535) (1) Joao Goulart, President of Brazil, died.

(2) (Comoros) A further UN resolution, passed by 112 votes to 1, reaffirmed Comoros sovereignty over Mayotte. This was rejected by France as impermissible interference in its internal affairs.

5 December 1976, Sunday (+11,534) In Japan, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered losses in the general election.

4 December 1976, Saturday (+11,533) (1) Death of the composer Benjamin Britten, aged 63.

(2) The military ruler of the Central African Republic, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, declared the country a Parliamentary monarchy, the Central African Empire, with himself as monarch, Emperor Bokassa I.

3 December 1976, Friday (+11,532)

2 December 1976, Thursday (+11,531) Museum of London opened by the Queen.

1 December 1976, Wednesday (+11,530) The Sex Pistols, a punk rock group, were interviewed by Bill Grundy on Thames TV Today.

====================================================================================

30 November 1976, Tuesday (+11,529)

28 November 1976, Sunday (+11,527) Leonard Harvey, boxer, died (born 11 July 1907).

27 November 1976, Saturday (+11,526) Over 30,000 people joined the Ulster Women�s Peace March.

26 November 1976, Friday (+11,525) An obscure company called Microsoft was officially registered in the US State of New Mexico.

25 November 1976, Thursday (+11,524) Donovan McNabb, US football player, was born

24 November 1976, Wednesday (+11,523) The Turkish province of Van was devastated by an earthquake, and 3,700 people were killed.

23 November 1976, Tuesday (+11,522) Andre Malreux, French novelist. died aged 75.

21 November 1976, Sunday (+11,520)

20 November 1976, Saturday (+11,519) (Biology) Trofim Denisovich Lysenko, Soviet biologist, died in Kiev, Ukraine.

19 November 1976, Friday (+11,518) Sir Basil Spence, designer of the new Coventry Cathedral, died in Eye, Suffolk.

18 November 1976, Thursday (+11,517) Man Ray, US artist, died aged 86.

15 November 1976, Monday (+11,514) The secessionist Party Quebecois wins the Quebec provincial elections.

13 November 1976, Saturday (+11,512) The World Health Organisation declared Asia was free of smallpox for the first time in history.

11 November 1976, Thursday (+11,510) Alexander Calder, US sculptor, died aged 78.

8 November 1976, Monday (+11,507) Brett Lee, cricketer, was born.

2 November 1976, Tuesday (+11,501) President Jimmy �peanuts� (James Earl) Carter became 39^th (Democrat) President of the USA, defeating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford.

==================================================================================

30 October 1976, Saturday (+11,498) The EEC agreed to introduce a 200-mile fishing zone from 1 January 1977.

29 October 1976, Friday (+11,497) Chairman Hua of China repudiated messages of congratulations from Communist countries.

28 October 1976, Thursday (+11,496) A conference on Rhodesia opened in Geneva.

27 October 1976, Wednesday (+11,495)

26 October 1976, Tuesday (+11,494) Transkei became the first South African Black homeland to gain �independence�. The UN called the exercise a sham; South Africa had effectively deprived the 1.3 million Xhosa in Transkei of South African citizenship.

25 October 1976, Monday (+11,493) Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the National Theatre on London�s South Bank.

23 October 1976, Saturday (+11,491)

22 October 1976, Friday (+11.490) Edward Burra, English painter, died aged 71.

21 October 1976, Thursday (+11,489) (1) Michael Foot became deputy leader of the Labour Party.

(2) (Comoros) The United Nations General Assembly passed a motion by 102 votes to 1 calling on France to withdraw from Mayotte

16 October 1976, Saturday (+11,484)

11 October 1976, Monday (+11,479) In China the �Gang of Four� were arrested, accused of plotting a coup.

10 October 1976, Sunday (+11,478) Israel promised Egypt that Israeli forces would withdraw from occupied Sinai.

8 October 1976, Friday (+11,476)

7 October 1976, Thursday (+11,475) I(n China, Hua Guofeng succeeded Mao Zedong as Chairman. The �Gang of Four�, including Mao�s widow, were arrested and denounced for plotting to seize power.

6 October 1976, Wednesday (+11,474), Military government took power in Thailand.

5 October 1976, Tuesday (+11,473) (Chemistry) Lars Onsanger, Norwegian-US chemist, died in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.

4 October 1976, Monday (+11,472) The first Inter-City 125 mph train service began in Britain.

3 October 1976, Sunday (+11,471) In German elections, Helmut Schmidt�s Social-Democrat-led coalition was returned to power with a reduced majority.

1 October 1976, Friday (+11,469) International banks agreed to lend Mexico 800 million Eurodollars to aid its economic development.

=====================================================================================

29 September 1976, Wednesday (+11,467) Britain, humiliatingly, was forced to ask the IMF for a �2.1 billion loan, the maximum allowed, to prop up the ailing Pound. There had been a run on the Pound following left wing successes at the Labour Party Annual Conference. The UK economy was also suffering from high inflation, high Government spending, an energy crisis, and high wage demands. Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan was resisting Left-wing demands for lower taxes and a bigger Welfare budget.

27 September 1976, Monday (+11,465) Francesco Totti, Italian footballer, was born.

26 September 1976, Sunday (+11,464) (Chemistry) Leopold Stephen Ruzicka, Croatian-Swiss chemist, died in Zurich, Switzerland.

25 September 1976, Saturday (+11,463) (1) The government of Rhodesia, led by Mr Ian Smith, announced its acceptance of African rule within two years. Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, became independent on 18 April 1980.

(2) It was announced that the Orient Express, which had run between Istanbul and Paris since 1883, was to be withdrawn. British Rail�s new High Speed Train reached 125 mph.

(3) The BBC called for a rise in the licence fee, from �18 to �27 for colour and from �8 to �12 for black and white. The licence fee stood at �145 in 2013.

(4) A Danish film director was planning a film on Jesus� sex life.

24 September 1976, Friday (+11,462)

22 September 1976, Wednesday (+11,460) Ronaldo, footballer, was born.

21 September 1976, Tuesday (+11,459) The former Chilean Ambassador to the US, Orlando Letelier, was killed by a car bomb explosion in Washington DC. He had been an outspoken critic of President Pinochet.

19 September 1976, Sunday (+11,457) Swedish general election ended 40 years of Social Democrat government. Thorbjorn Falldin, Conservative, became Prime Minister.

17 September 1976, Friday (+11,455) The first female cadets were admitted to Dartmouth Naval College, UK.

16 September 1976, Thursday (+11,454) In the USA, the Episcopalian Church approved the ordination of women.

9 September 1976, Thursday (+11,447) Mao Tse Tung, Chairman of the Chinese Communist party for 40 years, died of a series of strokes, aged 82.

6 September 1976, Monday (+11,444) Soviet air force pilot Viktor Belenko landed his MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate in Hokkaido and requested political asylum in the USA.

5 September 1976, Sunday (+11,442) Arthur Gilligan, cricketer, died (born 23 December 1894).

4 September 1976, Saturday (+11,442) In Northern Ireland, 25,000 Protestants and Catholics went on a peace march.

3 September 1976, Friday (+11,441) The US spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars after a journey lasting 359 days. It landed in the Utopia Planitia region and broadcast back the first colour pictures of the planet.

2 September 1976, Thursday (+11,440) The European Court of Human Rights said Britain was torturing Ulster detainees.

1 September 1976, Wednesday (+11,439) The worsening drought meant 750,000 homes in Yorkshire went on standpipes.

====================================================================================

31 August 1976, Tuesday (+11,438) Shar Jackson, actress, was born.

30 August 1976, Monday (+11,437) Over 100 police officers were taken to hospital after clashes at London�s Notting Hill Carnival.

29 August 1976, Sunday (+11,436) Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, died aged 77.

28 August 1976, Saturday (+11,435) Peace marches held across Northern Ireland; 25,000 marched in Belfast.

27 August 1976, Friday (+11,434) Carlos Moya, tennis player, was born.

26 August 1976, Thursday (+11,433) In the Netherlands, Prince Bernhard, husband of Queen Juliana, resigned all his public posts after being accused of corruption in his dealings with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

25 August 1976, Wednesday (+11,432) (1) UK unemployment passed the 1.5 million mark.

(2) Jacques Chirac resigned as French Prime Minister and was replaced by Raymond Barre.

24 August 1976, Tuesday (+11,431) In the UK, Denis Howell was appointed Minister for Drought. Rain fell three days ;later.

23 August 1976, Monday (+11,430) Scott Caan, US actor, was born in Los Angeles, California.

22 August 1976, Sunday (+11,429) Britain was suffering the worst drought for 500 years, and it was also the hottest summer since at least 1727.

21 August 1976, Saturday (+11,428) Mary Langdon, aged 25, joined the East Sussex Fire Brigade, becoming Britain�s first female firefighter.

20 August 1976, Friday (+11,427) The Grunwick Strike, at a film processing company in NW London, began, sparked by te sacking of a young worker. Work conditions at Grunwick were poor, and the strike was led by 43-year-old Jayabeen Desai, a Ugandan Asian who had fled to Britain. 137 of Grunwick�s 490 employees joined the strike. Postal workers refused to deliver mail in sympathy; 84% of Grunwick�s trade was mail-order. The Association of Professional, Executive Clerical and Computer staff, APEX (now part of the GMB trades union), mounted a major picketing action, with some 20.000 turning up on 11 July 1977. Fighting ensued and many were injured. The strike was defeated on 14 July 1978, with Government supporting the company. Arguably the Grunwick Strike paved the way for Mrs Thatcher, elected in 1979, to outlaw secondary picketing. However the Grunwick Strike was also the first time the Trades unions had supported immigrant workers. In 1974 the Transport and General Workers Union had refused to support Asian workers striking for equality with White colleagues at Imperial Typewriters, Leicester.

19 August 1976, Thursday (+11,426)

18 August 1976, Wednesday (+11,425) In North Korea, at Panmunjom, two US soldiers were killed whilst trying to chop down a tree in the demilitarised zone; the tree had obscured their view.

17 August 1976, Tuesday (+11,424) In the Philippines a severe earthquake followed by tidal waves killed over 3,000 people.

14 August 1976, Saturday (+11,421) David Valentine, rugby player, died (born 12 September 1926).

10 August 1976, Tuesday (+11,417) A stolen vehicle driven by IRA gunmen hit and killed a family of pedestrians in south west |Belfast, whilst being pursued by British soldiers.� A girl aged 8, a boy aged 2, and a 6 week old baby were killed.� This tragedy, after many other deaths in Northern Ireland, started the Ulster Peace Movement.� Two of its leaders, Mariead Corrigan and Betty Williams, were subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1976.

9 August 1976, Monday (+11,416) Russia launched the Luna 24 probe towards the Moon

8 August 1976, Sunday (+11,415)

7 August 1976, Saturday (+11,414) The Viking 2 probe entered orbit around Mars.

6 August 1976, Friday (+11,413) The UK MP John Stonehouse began a seven-year sentence for fraud.

4 August 1976, Wednesday (+11,411) First recorded cases of Legionnaires Disease, at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia, killed 29 people. Scientists isolated the previously unknown bacteria that caused this disease on 18 January 1977.

2 August 1976, Monday (+11,409) Fritz Lang, German film director, died aged 85.

1 August 1976, Sunday (+11,408) Trinidad and Tobago became a Republic.

===================================================================================

30 July 1976, Friday (+11,406)

29 July 1976, Thursday (+11,405) (1) Fire damaged the world�s longest pier, at Southend, Essex.

(2) The hijackers (see 27 June 1976 and 3 July 1976) demanded the release of 53 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the 98 Jewish hostages they were holding in Entebbe.

28 July 1976, Wednesday (+11,404) One of the greatest natural disasters of the 20^th century occurred when an earthquake, magnitude 7.8, hit Tangshan in China, killing 255,000 � 750,000 people. At least 164,000 were injured.

27 July 1976, Tuesday (+11,403) (1) The UK broke off diplomatic relations with Uganda.

(2) The Soviet chess champion Korchnoi defected to the West.

26 July 1976, Monday (+11,402) The former Prime Minister of Japan, Kakuei Tanbaka, was arrested on charges that he accepted bribes from the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

24 July 1976, Saturday (+11,400)

23 July 1976, Friday (+11,399) Judit Polgar, chess champion, was born.

22 July 1976, Thursday (+11,398) (India) Relations between India and Pakistan improved. This day the first through train ran from Delhi to Lahore.

21 July 1976, Wednesday (+11,397) In Eire, the British Ambassador to Dublin was killed by an IRA car bomb.

20 July 1976, Tuesday (+11,396) The US spacecraft Viking I landed on Mars after an 11-month journey from Earth. On 31 July 1976 NASA released the famous �face on Mars� photograph.

18 July 1976, Sunday (+11,394) The 21^st Olympic games opened in Montreal.

15 July 1976, Thursday (+11,391) Paul Gallico, writer, died.

14 July 1976, Wednesday (+11,390) (1) Parliament passed the �Drought Bill� as Britain faced its worst drought in 250 years.

(2) Canada abolished capital punishment.

13 July 1976, Tuesday (+11,389) Roy Jenkins became President of the European Commission.

10 July 1976, Saturday (+11,386) After an explosion at a chemical plant at Seveso, Italy, a 7 km radius was contaminated with dioxin, a weed killer. Crops and 40,000 animals died, and the number of abnormal births rose dramatically.

8 July 1976, Thursday (+11.384) Dame Ellen MacArthur, yachtswoman, was born.

7 July 1976, Wednesday (+11,383) David Steel was elected leader of the Liberal Party.

6 July 1976, Tuesday (+11,382) After the Soweto riots of 16 June 1976, the South Africa Minister for Education announced that plans for compulsory teaching in Afrikaans were to be dropped.

5 July 1976, Monday (+11,381)

3 July 1976, Saturday (+11,379) (1) Israeli commando raid at Entebbe Airport, Uganda, freed 103 hostages from a hijacked aircraft. An Air France airbus had been hijacked there by Palestinian guerrillas, on 27 June 1976, from Athens, on a flight to Paris, with 246 passengers and 12 crew. The Israeli commandos flew 2,500 miles and landed in three large transport aircraft in the dark. In just 35 minutes they had killed all the hijackers and the 20 Ugandan troops guarding them as hostages. 31 lives were lost; 3 hostages, 1 Israeli, 20 Ugandan soldiers, and 7 hijackers. 11 Ugandan aircraft, Russian-made Migs, were destroyed, as the Israelis and the 103 rescued hostages made for Nairobi, where they refuelled and flew to Tel Aviv. In response the Ugandans murdered Dora Bloch, a hostage who had been removed to a Kampala hospital after choking whilst on board the aircraft.

(2) The Supreme Court of the USA, in the case of Gregg vs. Georgia, ruled that the death penalty was not cruel or unusual punishment and was constitutionally acceptable.

2 July 1976, Friday (+11,378) North and South Vietnam were reunited to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

1 July 1976, Thursday (+11,377) Average pay in the UK was �3,340 per year. GPs got �6,344, 190% of average. Teachers got �4,576, 137% of average. Train drivers got �3,900, 116% of average. Factory workers got �3,172, 95% of average. Average UK house price was �11,866.

====================================================================================

30 June 1976, Wednesday (+11,376)

28 June 1976, Monday (+11,374) Seychelles became independent.� They had been ceded to Britain as a colony in 1814.

27 June 1976, Sunday (+11.373) An Air France airbus on a flight from Athens to Tel Aviv was hijacked by terrorists from the �Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine� and forced to fly to Libya, where all non-Jewish passengers were released. The hijackers then flew to Entebbe, Uganda, see 29 July 1976 and 3 July 1976.

26 June 1976, Saturday (+11,372) London recorded a record high temperature of 35 degrees C, or 95 F.

25 June 1976, Friday (+11,371) In Uganda, Idi Amin declared himself President for life.

24 June 1976, Thursday (+11,370) (1) In Poland, Jaroszewicz announced large food price increases, believing that one sudden large rise was better than a number of smaller ones, Basic food prices would rise some 60% from 27 June 1976. Sugar would be up 100%, meat an average 69%, and butter and cheese up 30%. Low wage earners and OAPs would receive pay rises to compensate, and farmers would be paid more for their produce. On 25 June 1976 there were riots, some violent, across Poland. Many rioters suffered arrest, police brutality, summary imprisonment, and dismissal from their jobs. However an amnesty in July 1977 meant most were released from jail.

(2) At a government conference in Hanoi, the unification of North and South Vietnam was approved, as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, see 30 April 1975.

23 June 1976, Wednesday (+11,369) Patrick Viera, French footballer, was born.

20 June 1976, Sunday (+11,366) Unrest in Lebanon following the murder of the US ambassador forced the evacuation of hundreds of Western tourists to Syria by the US military.

18 June 1976, Friday (+11,364) Britain granted independence to the Seychelles.

17 June 1976, Thursday (+11,363) The US Ambassador to Lebanon, Francis Meloy, was assassinated in Beirut. Washington advised all US citizens to leave Lebanon.

16 June 1976, Wednesday (+11,362) Schoolchildren in the black township of Soweto, South Africa, began protesting against having to learn Afrikaans, the language of the then ruling white minority. Police open fire and killed a 13 year old, Hector Peterson. Nationwide demonstrations began, met by more police brutality. By February 1977 over 570 people, mostly black schoolchildren, had been killed. Resistance against apartheid hardened. Apartheid had developed in the 1930s by the Afrikaans rulers as a way of segregating blacks and whites. When the Afrikaaners gained power in 1948 they made apartheid part of the South African legal system.

12 June 1976, Saturday (+11,358)

8 June 1976, Tuesday (+11,354) Lindsay Davenport, tennis player, was born.

7 June 1976, Monday (+11,353) Bobby Hackett, US jazz trumpeter, died in West Chatham, Massachusetts (born 31 January 1915 in Providence, Rhode Island)

6 June 1976, Sunday (+11,352) Paul Getty, American oil tycoon, reputed to be the richest man on earth, died aged 83 at his home, Sutton Place, outside London. He was worth around US$ 4 billion.

3 June 1976, Thursday (+11,349) The UK presented the US with the oldest known copy of Magna Carta.

1 June 1976, Tuesday (+11,347) Britain and Iceland signed an agreement in Oslo to end the Cod War.� Up to 24 British trawlers would be permitted to fish within the 200-mile zone claimed by Iceland.

===================================================================================

31 May 1976, Monday (+11,346) J L Monod, French biochemist, died aged 66.

29 May 1976, Saturday (+11,344) John Badcock, Olympic rower, died.

26 May 1976, Wednesday (+11,341) Martin Heidegger, German philosopher, died aged 86.

24 May 1976, Monday (+11,339) Concorde made its first commercial transatlantic flight, from London to Washington DC.

11 May 1976, Tuesday (+11,326) Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect, died aged 78.

10 May 1976, Monday (+11,325) Jeremy Thorpe, born 29 April 1929, resigned as leader of the Liberal Party, which he had led since 18 January 1967. David Steele was the new Party leader from 7 July 1976.

9 May 1976, Sunday (+11,324) The terrorist Ulrike Meinhof, 42, hanged herself in her prison cell in Stuttgart. �

6 May 1976, Thursday (+11,321) Major earthquake in northern Italy killed 2,000.

=====================================================================================

27 April 1976, Tuesday (+11,312) Britain began exporting North Sea Oil.

26 April 1976, Monday (+11,311) South African-born British actor Syd James died.

25 April 1976, Sunday (+11,310) (1) The Post Office in Britain stopped Sunday collections; these were partly resumed in 1990.

(2) Portugal held its first free elections for fifty years.

24 April 1976, Saturday (+11,309) Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist, died aged 81.

23 April 1976, Friday (+11,308) Henry Kissinger began a tour of Africa. He stated that his top priority was an end to the maverick status of Southern Rhodesia. He promised Mozambique aid because of the trade losses it had suffered in closing its border with Rhodesia.

20 April 1976, Tuesday (+11,305)

18 April 1976, Sunday (+11,303) Melissa Joan Hart, actress, was born.

16 April 1976, Friday (+11,301) India, to curb population growth, raised the minimum age for marriage to 21 for men and 18 for women.

15 April 1976, Thursday (+11,300) Steve Williams, rower, was born.

14 April 1976, Wednesday (+11,299) Spain withdrew the last of its troops from the Spanish Sahara. This allowed Morocco to annex the phosphate-rich country.

13 April 1976, Tuesday (+11,298) Actor Jonathan Brandis was born in Connecticut USA (committed suicide 12 November 2003, aged 27).

11 April 1976, Sunday (+11,296)

9 April 1976, Friday (+11,294) Phil Ochs, US singer, died in Far Rockaway, New York (born 19 December 1940 in El Paso, Texas)

8 April 1976, Thursday (+11,293) Belgian molecular biologist Walter Fiers announced the sequence of an entire genome of a virus.

6 April 1976, Tuesday (+11,291)

5 April 1976, Monday (+11,290) (1) James Callaghan, born 27 March 1912, succeeded Harold Wilson, who had resigned, as Prime Minister. Callaghan defeated Michael Foot in the final ballot for leadership of the labour Party by 176 votes to 137.� Callaghan remained Prime Minister until the General Election of 1979. �See 4 April 1974.

(2) The multi-millionaire Howard Hughes died on his private jet going to a hospital at Houston, Texas leaving a fortune of US$ 2,000 million. He was aged 71.

4 April 1976, Sunday (+11,289) Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigned as leader of Cambodia and was placed under house arrest.

3 April 1976, Saturday (+11,288)

2 April 1976, Friday (+11,287) Portugal adopted a new Constitution with a commitment to socialism.

1 April 1976, Thursday (+11,286) Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded the Apple computer company. It sold its first Apple-1 computer in July 1976 for US$666.66, with 8 kB RAM.

====================================================================================

29 March 1976, Monday (+11,283) Jennifer Capriati, tennis player, was born.

27 March 1976, Saturday (+11,281) The first 4.6 miles of the Washington DC subway system opened.

24 March 1976, Wednesday (+11,278) (1) Bernard, Viscount Montgomery, Irish-born British Army Field Marshall in World War II, died aged 88.

(2) Isabel Peron, third wife of former President Juan Peron, was ousted as President of Argentina in a bloodless military coup.

23 March 1976, Tuesday (+11,277) Ian Smith rejected Harold Wilson�s conditions for a Rhodesian settlement.

22 March 1976, Monday (+11,276) Reece Witherspoon, actress, was born.

19 March 1976, Friday (+11,273) Alessandro Nesta, Italian footballer, was born.

17 March 1976, Wednesday (+11,271) Luchino Visconti, Italian film director, died aged 69.

16 March 1976, Tuesday (+11,270) Prime Minister Harold Wilson announced his retirement from UK politics. James Callaghan became new Labour Prime Minister on 5 April 1976.� Callaghan, aged 64, had defeated Michael Foot in the leadership contest by 176 votes to 137.

15 March 1976, Monday (+11,269)

14 March 1976, Sunday (+11,268) Busby Berkeley, US film director, died.

10 March 1976, Wednesday (+11.264)

4 March 1976, Thursday (+11,258) First non-stop flight of a Japan Airlines jumbo jet from Tokyo to New York. The jet covered the 10,000km in 11 hours 30 minutes.

3 March 1976, Wednesday (+11,257) The newly-independent country of Mozambique closed its border with Rhodesia, as a protest against the illegal regime there.

2 March 1976, Tuesday (+11,256) Brent Cross shopping centre, N W London, was opened; it was the first regional shopping centre in Europe.

1 March 1976, Monday (+11,255) In Britain, wearing seat belts in cars became compulsory under the Road Traffic Bill.

====================================================================================

27 February 1976, Friday (+11,252) The Western Sahara declared its independence. Spain gave up its territories in the Sahara but retained the enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta.

24 February 1976, Tuesday (+11,249) Britain sent a fourth gunboat to Iceland.

23 February 1976, Monday (+11,248) Painter L S (Lawrence Stephen) Lowry, noted for his matchstick people, died in Glossop, Derbyshire.

22 February 1976, Sunday (+11,247) Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima, Brazilian footballer, was born.

19 February 1976, Thursday (+11,244) (1) The Cuban backed MPLA won the Angolan civil war, and was recognised by most other countries.� See 10 November 1975.

(2) Iceland broke off diplomatic relations with Britain after the two countries failed to reach agreement on fishing limits in the �Cod War� dispute. Conflict began in 1958 when Iceland extended its territorial waters from 3 to 12 nautical miles; Britain finally recognised this limit in 1961. In 1972 Iceland claimed a further extension to 50 miles; Britain ignored this, and Icelandic gunboats sank two British trawlers. In January 1976 an Icelandic gunboat rammed the Royal Navy frigate Andromeda, which had been protecting British fishing boats.

13 February 1976, Friday (+11,238) Nigerian President General Mohammed was assassinated.

11 February 1976, Wednesday (+11,236) In Italy, Aldo Moro formed a minority Christian Democrat Government.

9 February 1976, Monday (+11,234) Percy Faith, musician and composer, died.

8 February 1976, Sunday (+11,233) (Comoros) The referendum in Mayotte gave a 99.4% vote in favour of remaining with France. France rejected a UN draft security resolution stating that this referendum was an interference in the internal affairs of Comoros.

4 February 1976, Wednesday (+11,229) A major earthquake devastated parts of Guatemala and Honduras, killing over 23,000 people.

2 February 1976, Monday (+11,227) The 310 acre National Exhibition Centre was opened by the Queen at Bickenhill, Birmingham.

1 February 1976, Sunday (+11,226) (Medical) Gene Hoyt Whipple, US physician, died in Rochester, New York, USA.

====================================================================================

31 January 1976, Saturday (+11,225)

29 January 1976, Thursday (+11,223) In Britain, male model Norman Scott alleged in court that he was the homosexual lover of Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe in the 1960s.

28 January 1976, Wednesday (+11,222) Ray Willis Nance, US jazz trumpeter, died in New York (born 10 December 1913)

27 January 1976, Tuesday (+11,221) A UN Resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from all territories occupied since 1967and for a Palestinian State was vetoed by the US delegate.

26 January 1976, Monday (+11,220)

25 January 1976, Sunday (+11,219) 12 IRA bombs exploded in London�s East End.

24 January 1976, Saturday (+11,218) (1) Mrs Thatcher was dubbed the Iron Lady in the soviet newspaper Red Star after a speech about the Communist threat.

(2) The oil tanker Olympic Bravery spilled 250,000 tons of oil off Brittany.

23 January 1976, Friday (+11,217) Paul Robeson, US actor, died aged 77.

22 January 1976, Thursday (+11,216) Ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.

21 January 1976, Wednesday (+11,215) (1) The Financial Times and New York Times went on sale in the USSR.

(2) The British Airways and French Concorde aircraft made their first commercial flights, from London to Bahrain and from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. See 9 January 1969 and 24 October 2003.

20 January 1976, Tuesday (+11,214)

19 January 1976, Monday (+11,213) Jean Lenoir, French composer, died (born 1891)

18 January 1976, Sunday (+11,212) British Labour MPs Jim Sillars and John Robertson launched the Scottish Labour Party (SLP) to campaign for greater devolution for Scotland.

15 January 1976, Thursday (+11,209) The Roman Catholic Church condemned sex outside marriage and said homosexuality could not be condoned.

13 January 1976, Tuesday (+11,207) Argentina suspended diplomatic relations with the UK over the Falkland Islands.

12 January 1976, Monday (+11,206) (1) The UN Security Council voted 12-1 to admit the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

(2) Dame Agatha Christie, English crime story writer and creator of the Belgian detective character Hercule Poirot, died.� She was born in Torquay on 15 September 1890.

11 January 1976, Sunday (+11,205) Chester Arthur Burnett, US blues singer, died in Hines, Illinois (born 10 June 1910)

10 January 1976, Saturday (+11,204)

9 January 1976, Friday (+11,203) (Astronomy) Rupert Wildt, German-US astronomer, died in New Orleans., USA.

8 January 1976, Thursday (+11,202) Zhou En Lai, Chinese revolutionary and Prime Minister of China, 1949-76, died. Aged 77, he was succeeded by Hua Goufeng.

7 January 1976, Wednesday (+11,201) In Armagh, the SAS were deployed to combat rising violence; 15 died in sectarian violence the previous week.

6 January 1976, Tuesday (+11,200)

2 January 1976, Friday (+11,196) Britain granted the Solomon Islands internal self-government.

1 January 1976, Thursday (+11,195) Venezuela nationalised its oil industry.

====================================================================================

30 December 1975, Tuesday (+11,193) Tiger Woods, US golfer, was born.

27 December 1975, Saturday (+11,190)� In the UK, the Sex Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay Act came into force.

24 December 1975, Wednesday (+11,187) Roger Tredgold, fencing champion, died.

21 December 1975, Sunday (+11,184) Left wing terrorists, including Carlos The Jackal, kidnapped delegates of an OPEC conference in Vienna. They killed three hostages, extorted US$ 3 million, and vanished into the Middle East.

17 December 1975, Wednesday (+11,180) Milla Jovovich, actress, was born.

14 December 1975, Sunday (+11,177) The terrorist seizure of a Dutch express train at Beilen, near Assen, ended.� On 2 December 1975 south Moluccan extremists seized the train to protest against the Dutch Government�s failure to ensure an independent Republic of South Molucca when The Netherlands granted independence to Indonesia. Indonesia gained independence in 1950; the South Moluccans, who had fought fiercely for the Dutch against the Japanese in World War Two, had also resisted the Indonesian independence movement, and in 1950 feared reprisals from Indonesia. 15,000 South Moluccans fled to the Netherlands, and from 1970 onwards more extremist members of the community had begun to carry out terrorist attacks within Holland, such as petrol-bombing the Indonesia Embassy in The Hague. On 2 December 1975 six Moluccans boarded the train at Groningen. They stopped the train at Beilen and shot the driver, 30-year-old Hans Braam. The passengers were forced into one carriage; one man tried to escape but was also shot. Dutch forces laid siege to the train, which was in open countryside and hard to approach unnoticed. Some hostages were released in return for food and warm clothing, but the Dutch Government refused to cooperate with the terrorists� demands for international broadcasts of their cause. Finally, as the Dutch winter closed in and the train under siege from over 1,000 armed police and military, the Moluccans surrendered and gave up their last 25 hostages.

13 December 1975, Saturday (+11,176) General Election in Australia gave a large majority to the Fraser Government.

12 December 1975, Friday (+11,175)

11 December 1975, Thursday (+11,174) Lee Wiley, US singer, died in New York (born 9 October 1915 in Port Gibson, Oklahoma)

10 December 1975, Wednesday (+11,173) (1) The first shots were fired in the Cod War between Britain and Iceland.

(2) (Comoros) The French National Assembly passed a Bill recognising the independence of the three Comoros Islands (Grand Comore, Moheli and Anjouan), and called for a referendum to determine the future of Mayotte. If Mayotte were to vote against independence there was provision for a further referendum on whether Mayotte would become an Overseas department or a Territory.

9 December 1975, Tuesday (+11,172)

7 December 1975, Sunday (+11,170) Indonesia invaded East Timor. See 28 November 1975. On 17 July 1976 East Timor was declared the 27^th province of Indonesia.

6 December 1975, Saturday (+11,169) The Balcombe Street siege began; IRA terrorists held Mr and Mrs Andrews hostage in their London flat. The siege ended on 11 December 1975.

5 December 1975, Friday (+11,168) Ronald O�Sullivan, snooker champion, was born.

3 December 1975, Wednesday (+11,166)

2 December 1975, Tuesday (+11,165) Following the fall of Saigon, Vietnam, to the Communists the Pathet Lao in Laos took over the entire government, effectively abrogating a coalition agreement with the Lao government made in 21 February 1973.� The King of Laos abdicated and Laos was proclaimed a People�s Democratic Republic.

1 December 1975, Monday (+11,164) Gerald Ford became the second U.S. president to travel to China, where he met with Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping.

=====================================================================================

30 November 1975, Sunday (+11,163) The African country of Dahomey was renamed Benin.

29 November 1975, Saturday (+11,162) In New Zealand the National Party defeated the Labour Government. Robert Muldoon became Prime Minister.

28 November 1975, Friday (+11,161) Portuguese Timor declared independence from Portugal, as East Timor. See 7 December 1975.

27 November 1975, Thursday (+11,160) (1) Devolution was discussed on the TV programme Newsday. TV programmes ceased at 12.25 am with What did you learn at School Today? on ITV.

(2)� Provisional IRA gunmen killed Ross McWhirter, co-editor of the Guinness Book of Records. He had launched a �Beat the Bombers� campaign three weeks earlier, offering rewards to informers on the IRA.

(3) A new modern railway from Belgrade to the Mediterranean port of Bar opened (construction began 1952).

26 November 1975, Wednesday (+11,159) Attempted coup in Portugal by left-wing soldiers was foiled.

25 November 1975, Tuesday (+11,158) (1) The UK Government authorised the sending of three Royal Navy frigates to protect British trawlers fishing in disputed waters off Iceland.

(2) Surinam became independent from The Netherlands.� It was formerly known as Dutch Guiana.

24 November 1975, Monday (+11,157) Civil war began in Angola.

23 November 1975, Sunday (+11,156) Arno Schreuders, Dutch footballer, was born.

22 November 1975, Saturday (+11,155) The Spanish monarchy was restored following the death of General Franco. King Juan Carlos II became King of Spain on 27 November 1975. See 30 October 1975.

21 November 1975, Friday (+11,154) Gunnar Gunnarsson, Icelandic writer, died aged 86

20 November 1975, Thursday (+11,153) General Franco, Spanish Head of State from 1936, died aged 82. He became leader of Spain following the Spanish Civil War (1935-39), due to lack of intervention by other European countries and the backing of Fascist Italy and Germany. Franco stayed out of World War Two because Adolf Hitler would not agree to cede France�s North African territories to Spain. In 1949 Franco declared Spain to be a monarchy, although there was no monarch until, in 1954, he declared that his heir would be Juan Carlos, grandson of the last Spanish King. Carlos took Spain in a different political direction from Franco, adopting a democratic constitution in 1978 after� referendum showed 90% of Spaniards in favour of this.

14 November 1975, Friday (+11,147) Spain pulled out of the Western Sahara under the Madrid Accord. However this left the territory vulnerable to occupation by Morocco.

12 November 1975, Wednesday (+11,145) An IRA bomb exploded at Scott�s Restaurant in London, killing one man. Two more people were killed by another IRA bomb on 18 November 1975 at Walton�s Restaurant, London.

11 November 1975, Tuesday (+11,144) Angola became independent from Portugal, but three different liberation factions were fighting for control.� 320 years of Portuguese occupation ended. Civil was began between the Cuban-backed MPLA (People�s Movement for the Liberation of Angola) and the Western backed UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) and the South African backed FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola).� See 19 February 1976.

10 November 1975, Monday (+11,143) The UN General Assembly passed by 72 votes to 35 a resolution defining Zionism as �a form of racism and racial discrimination�. Some 32 nations abstained.

8 November 1975,� Saturday (+11,141)

6 November 1975, Thursday (+11,139) (1) (Morals and Fashion) The punk rock band Sex Pistols played their first gig at St Martin�s College of Art in London.

(2) In a �Green March� organised by King Hassan II, 160,000 unarmed Moroccans marched across the border into Western Sahara. Spain now agreed to allow Morocco to take the territory instead of organising a self-determination referendum amongst the indigenous Sahrawi.

5 November 1975, Wednesday (+11,138) (Biology) Edward Lawrie Tatum, US biochemist, died in New York City, USA.

4 November 1975, Tuesday (+11,137) Cuba's leader Fidel Castro ordered 650 troops to Angola to support the Marxist MPLA government against UNITA and South Africa.

3 November 1975, Monday �(+11,136) Queen Elizabeth II officially opened a pipeline that was to bring 400,000 barrels of North Sea Oil ashore every day at the Grangemouth refinery. North Sea Oil had been discovered in the 1960s; the first exploited oilfield was Ekofisk, tapped from 1969. The global oil crisis of 1974 intensified the need to develop North Sea resources.

2 November 1975, Sunday (+11,135) Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian film director, died aged 53

1 November 1975, Saturday (+11,134) 3 died and 6 were injured in an explosion aboard the Ekofisk A oil rig.

===================================================================================

31 October 1975, Friday (+11,133) The Provisional Sinn Fein leader Seamus McCusker was shot dead by the official IRA.

30 October 1975, Thursday (+11,132) (1) The Forestry Commission said more than 16 million trees had been destroyed in Britain because of Dutch Elm Disease.

(2) Prince Juan Carlos became acting Head of State in Spain after dictator Franco became ill. See 20 November 1975.

29 October 1975, Wednesday (+11,131) The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, committed his first murder, Wilma McCann.

28 October 1975, Tuesday (+11,130) Edward (Oliver Nelson, US composer, died in Los Angeles (born 4 June 1932)

27 October 1975, Monday (+11,129) 18 year old Robert Poulin began shooting at the Pius X High School in Ottawa, Canada, killing 1 and injuring 5. He then shot himself.

26 October 1975, Sunday (-11, 128) Katja Riipi, Finnish ice hockey player, was born in Sodankyla, Finland

25 October 1975, Saturday (+11,127) Evel Knievel made his longest motorbike jump, clearing 14 Greyhound buses on his Harley Davidson machine.

24 October 1975, Friday (+11,126) Women in Iceland staged a one-day general strike.

23 October 1975, Thursday (+11,125) Professor Farley, a leading cancer expert, was killed by a n IRA car bomb intended for Hugh Fraser MP.

22 October 1975, Wednesday (+11,124) In Britain the Guildford Four were sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of planting bombs in Guildford and Woolwich. They were released 19 October 1989.

21 October 1975, Tuesday (+11,123) Spain�s 82 year old General Franco suffered his third heart attack in five days. He died on 20 November 1975. See 22 November 1975.

18 October 1975, Saturday (+11,120)

16 October 1975, Thursday (+11,118) Indonesian forces on a raid into Portuguese Timor killed 5 Australian-based journalists.

15 October 1975, Wednesday (+11,117) Iceland unilaterally extended its fishing grounds to 200 miles, leading to a resumption of the Cod war with Britain.

9 October 1975, Thursday (+11,111) An IRA bomb exploded at Green Park tube station, London, killing 1 and injuring 20.

5 October 1975, Sunday (+11,107) Kate Winslet, British actress, was born.

3 October 1975, Friday (+11,105) The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was banned.

2 October 1975, Thursday (+11,104) Protestant revenge killings left 11 dead.

=====================================================================================

30 September 1975, Tuesday (+11,102)

28 September 1975, Sunday (+11,100) Spanish dictator General Franco executed five Basque terrorists.

27 September 1975, Saturday (+11,099) The National Rail Museum in York opened.

24 September 1975, Wednesday (+11,096) The south-west face of Everest was climbed for the first time by Douglas Haston and Doug Scott.

22 September 1975, Monday (+11,094) The US President, Gerald Ford, survived a second assassination attempt in 17 days, when a woman, Sara Jane Moore, fired at him as he left a hotel in San Francisco. On 5 September 1975 Lynette Fromme had attempted an assassination but had been thwarted by a Secret Service agent. On 15 January 1976 Ms Moore was sentenced to life imprisonment.

20 September 1975, Saturday (+11,092) Juan Pablo Montoya, racing car driver, was born.

19 September 1975, Friday (+11,091) The first episode of Fawlty Towers was broadcast by the BBC.

18 September 1975, Thursday (+11,090)

16 September 1975, Tuesday (+11,088) Papua New Guinea became �independent from Australia.

15 September 1975, Monday (+11,087) Civil war broke out in Beirut between Christians and Muslims.

14 September 1975, Sunday (+11,086) Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was canonised by Pope Paul VI to become the first American �saint�.

12 September 1975, Friday (+11,084)

10 September 1975, Wednesday (+11,082) (Science) Sir George Paget, Thomson, English physicist, died in Cambridge.

9 September 1975, Tuesday (+11,081) The Czech tennis player Martina Navratilova defected to the West.

7 September 1975, Sunday (+11,079)

6 September 1975, Saturday (+11,078) A major earthquake in Lice, Turkey, killed nearly 3,000 people.

5 September 1975, Friday (+11,077) Lynette Fromme, a Charles Manson (cult leader and killer) follower, made an assassination attempt on US President Ford, in Sacramento.

4 September 1975, Thursday (+11,076) Ivan Maisky, Soviet politician, died aged 91.

1 September 1975, Monday (+11,073) Kissinger arranged an accord between Israel and Egypt on Sinai.

===================================================================================

29 August 1975, Friday (+11,070) Eamon De Valera, leader of the Irish rising 1916, three times Prime Minister of Ireland and President of Ireland 1959 � 1973, died aged 92. His place of birth, New York, to a Spanish father and Irish mother, saved him from execution in 1916.

28 August 1975, Thursday (+11,069) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a ban on the use of polyvinyl chloride plastic for packaging of certain foods, because of its potential for causing cancer. At the time, PVC was the second most-used plastic in American food packaging. Although PVC film wrapping of meat and fruits was still permitted, the use of hard PVC plastic on lunch meat packages, and for bottles of liquids, was to be prohibited.

27 August 1975, Wednesday (+11,068) Haile Selassie, deposed Emperor of Ethiopia, nicknamed �the Lion of Judah�, died in exile. In 1916 he had become Ras (Prince) Tafari, and in 1930 became Emperor of Ethiopia. He was seen as the Messiah� by Rastafarians, who saw Ethiopia as the Promised Land. He was exiled to England during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, 1935-39, but returned to Ethiopia in 1941. He helped found the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) but faced considerable opposition within Ethiopia and was deposed in 1974.

26 August 1975, Tuesday (+11,067)

25 August 1975, Monday (+11,066) (Science) John Ray Dunning, US physicist, died in Key Biscayne, Florida, USA.

24 August 1975, Sunday (+11,065) The officers responsible for the military coup in Greece were sentenced to death in Athens � this was later commuted to life imprisonment.

22 August 1975, Friday (+11,063)

21 August 1975, Thursday (+11,062) British unemployment figures reached 1.25 million.

20 August 1975, Wednesday (+11,061) NASA launched the Viking I probe towards Mars.

19 August 1975, Tuesday (+11,060)

15 August 1975, Friday (+11,056) The Birmingham Six were sentenced to life imprisonment for planting bombs that killed 21 people in Birmingham. Their convictions were later overturned.

14 August 1975, Thursday (+11,055) In a military coup in Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rhaman was overthrown; he and his family were murdered. General Zia ur Rahman now headed a military Government which ruled until 1981.

11 August 1975, Monday (+11,052) (1) British Leyland was taken under UK Government control.

(2) Mario Lemos Pires, Governor of Portuguese Timor, was forced to abandon the capital, Dili, due to civil war between UDT and Fretilin.

9 August 1975, Saturday (+11,050) Death of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovitch.

8 August 1975, Friday (+11,049) The Banqiao Dam in China failed during a freak typhoon, killing over 200,000 people.

7 August 1975, Thursday (+11,048) Charlize Theron, actress, was born.

1 August 1975, Friday (+11,042) Britain signed the Helsinki Accord on closer co-operation with Europe.

===================================================================================

29 July 1975, Tuesday (+11,039) A military coup in Nigeria.

22 July 1975, Tuesday (+11,032) (1) Britain�s unemployment figures, at 1,087, 869, were the worst since World War Two.

(2) It was announced that the fixed �2 parking fine � set in 1960 and by then regarded as a good buy by some motorists � would be increased to �6 in September.

18 July 1975, Friday (+11,028) John Stonehouse, former Labour minister, returned to Britain to face 21 charges of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy. On 6 August 1976 he was convicted of theft and conspiracy and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.

17 July 1975, Thursday (+11,027) The crews of Apollo 18 (USA) and Soyuz 19 (USSR) visited each other�s capsules in the first such joint space venture between the two countries. They shook hands 140 miles over the south coast of Britain.� The Apollo 18 mission was reckoned to have cost US$ 500 million, and the expense of this put an end to the Apollo project.

16 July 1975, Wednesday (+11,026)

15 July 1975, Tuesday (+11,025) Apollo 18 was launched, crewed by Vance Brand, Thomas Stafford, and Donald Slayton.

14 July 1975, Monday (+11,024) Zutty Singleton, US jazz drummer, died in New York (born 14 May 1898 in Bunkei, Louisiana)

13 July 1975, Sunday (+11,023) President Idi Amin of Uganda was promoted from General to Field Marshall.

12 July 1975, Saturday (+11,022) Sao Tome and Principe declared independence from Portugal.

11 July 1975, Friday (+11,021) Inflation reached 25% in Britain. The Government limited annual pay rises to �6 a week, and to zero for those earning over �8,500 a year. Firms would be fined of they passed on higher wage costs in price rises. Prime Minister Harold Wilson called the plan tough but essential.

10 July 1975, Thursday (+11,020) (Comoros) Due to the anti-independence movement in Mayotte, the French Government decided to grant independence to Comoros but not in entirety as one unit. French troops left Grand Comore, but 200 Foreign ;Legionaries remained in Mayotte.

9 July 1975, Wednesday (+11,019)

7 July 1975, Monday (+11,017) (Weather) Jacob Aall Bonnevie Bjerknes, Norwegian-US meteorologist, died in Los Angeles, California.

6 July 1975, Sunday (+11,016) The Comoros declared their independence from France.

5 July 1975, Saturday (+11,015) Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal after nearly 500 years of colonial rule.

4 July 1975, Friday (+11,014) A Palestinian bomb in Jerusalem killed 14.

3 July 1975, Thursday (+11,013)

1 July 1975, Tuesday (+11,011) Australia broke up the Postmaster-General�s Department into Telecom Australia and Australia Post.

====================================================================================

30 June 1975, Monday (+11,010) In India, Indira Gandhi imposed press censorship, to suppress dissent.

28 June 1975, Saturday (+11,008)

27 June 1975, Friday (+11,007) Toby Maguire, actor, was born.

26 June 1975, Thursday (+11,006) The French Parliament passed the Comoro Islands Independence Bill. This required the holding of island-by-island referendums on independence within the Comoros, but the Comoros Government objected to this; they voted for a declaration of independence on 6 July 1975.

25 June 1975, Wednesday (+11,005) Mozambique became independent from Portugal.� This followed a ten-year war against Portuguese colonial rule.

22 June 1975, Sunday (+11,002)

19 June 1975, Thursday (+10,999) Lord Lucan was found guilty of murdering his nanny, but he was still missing.

18 June 1975, Wednesday (+10,998) The first North Sea Oil, from the Argyll field, came ashore from a Liberian tanker.

16 June 1975, Monday (+10,996) Oregon, USA, became the first place to ban the sale of aerosols containing CFC gases..

12 June 1975, Thursday (+10,992) Greece applied to join the EEC.

11 June 1975, Wednesday (+10,991) The High Court in India ruled that Indira Gandhi had used unfair practices to win the election and must stand down. She refused to go.

10 June 1975, Tuesday (+10,990) Henrik Pedersen, Danish football player, was born.

9 June 1975, Monday (+10,989) Live radio broadcasting from the House of Commons began. On 12 June 1989, TV broadcasts from the House of Commons began.

8 June 1975, Sunday (+10,988) The USSR launched the Venera 9 probe towards Venus. It landed on the surface, transmitting data and pictures for 53 minutes.

7 June 1975, Saturday (+10,987) Sony introduced the Betamax home videotape recorder.

6 June 1975, Friday (+10,986) Larry Blyden, US TV �game show host of What's My Line? was killed aged 49 in a car accident in Morocco.

5 June 1975, Thursday (+10,985) (1) A referendum in the UK showed a 67.2% majority in favour of remaining in the EEC. 17, 378,581 (67.2%) voted for Europe, and 8,470,073 (32.8%) voted no.� The only areas in the UK to have a �no� majority were the Shetlands and the Western Isles of Scotland.

(2) President Sadat opened the Suez Canal reopened to all international maritime traffic except Israeli shipping, after eight years of total closure since the Six-Day War.

4 June 1975, Wednesday (+10,984) Angelina Jolie, actress, was born.

3 June 1975, Tuesday (+10,983) Eisaku Sato, Japanese politician, died aged 75.

2 June 1975, Monday (+10,982) Singapore introduced strict new road congestion measures. Rush hour travel permist costing �25 cut traffic congestion by 40%.

1 June 1975, Sunday (+10,981) Snow fell on London in June, for the first time since records began.

====================================================================================

31 May 1975, Saturday (+10,980) Peter Alliss, British golfer, died (born 8 January 1897)

30 May 1975, Friday (+10,979) Andrew Farrell, rugby player, was born.

29 May 1975, Thursday (+10,978) Bianca Langham, hockey player, was born

28 May 1975, Wednesday (+10,977) (Africa) The Treaty of Lagos was signed, creating ECOWAS as a means of continental integration. Borders were to be open to travel and trade.

27 May 1975, Tuesday (+10,976) Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef, was born.

26 May 1975, Monday (+10,975) The stuntman Evel Knievel suffered severe spinal injuries whilst attempting to jump 13 buses in his car.

23 May 1975, Friday (+10,972)

21 May 1975, Wednesday (+10,970) The trial of the Baader Meinhof terrorist group began. On 28 April 1977 they were sentenced to life imprisonment.

20 May 1975, Tuesday (+10,969) Barbara Hepworth, English artist, died aged 72.

18 May 1975, Sunday (+10,967) Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

16 May 1975, Friday (+10,965) India annexed Sikkim.

13 May 1975, Tuesday (+10,962) Richard Hollingshead, who pioneered the development of the drive-in movie theatre in 1933 In Camden, USA, died this day.

12 May 1975, Monday (+10,961) Jonah Lomu, rugby player, was born.

5 May 1975, Monday (+10,954) The Scottish Daily News, a worker�s co-operative newspaper, was launched. However it closed in October 1975, despite intervention by Robert Maxwell.

2 May 1975, Friday (+10,951) David Beckham, footballer, was born in Leytonstone, London.

1 May 1975, Thursday (+10,950) The US Securities and Exchange Commission ordered an abolition of the fixed commission rate on Wall Street. This increased the number of investors who came forward, meaning more money was available for shares trading.

====================================================================================

30 April 1975, Wednesday (+10,949) Saigon surrendered to the North Vietnamese, so ending the 15-year Vietnam War. This had been the longest conflict of the 20th century.

29 April 1975, Tuesday (+10,948) A US helicopter evacuated Americans and a few lucky Vietnamese from the roof of the US Embassy in Saigon to a nearby US warship a day before Saigon fell to the Vietcong. The picture of the helicopter evacuation became an iconic symbol of US humiliation in Vietnam. In the US Embassy, some Vietnamese women quickly �married� Americans in order to gain a place in the evacuation; the marriage ceremony was rather brief, �Do you? I do�. Conditions in the embassy corridors quickly deteriorated as the air conditioning broke down. In all, 1,373 Americans, 5,595 South Vietnamese and 85 other nationals were evacuated in the last days of the war.

28 April 1975, Monday (+10,947) North Vietnamese forces encircled Saigon and shelled its airfield, ending the evacuation by aeroplane. See 23 and 29 April 1975.

27 April 1975, Sunday (+10,946) Nicholas Soussanin, actor, died aged 86.

26 April 1975, Saturday (+10,945) In Portugal�s first free elections for 50 years, former exile Mario Soares won for the Portuguese Socialist Party.

25 April 1975, Friday (+10,944) The Australian Embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam, shut as North Vietnamese forces closed in.

24 April 1975, Thursday (+10,943) The British Government decided to take a majority shareholding in British Leyland motor company.

23 April 1975, Wednesday (+10,942) US President Ford announced that US involvement in Vietnam was to end. US forces began the final evacuation of personnel from Saigon by aeroplane, see 28 and 29 April 1973.

22 April 1975, Tuesday (+10,941) Oswaldo L�pez Arellano was removed from office as President of Honduras by order of the nation's high military council.

21 April 1975, Monday (+10.940) President Thieu of South Vietnam, aware that the North would never negotiate with him, resigned in a last ditch attempt to find an agreement by appointing a new leader in his place. Thieu escaped to Taipei with 3.5 tons of gold. General Duong Van Minh became leader in his place.

20 April 1975, Sunday (+10,939) South Vietnamese forces were now driven back to Long Binh and Bien Hoa airbases, just 12 miles from Saigon. Saigon was now surrounded by 15 divisions, and defended by just four.

18 April 1975, Friday (+10,937)

17 April 1975, Thursday (+10,936) In Cambodia, the capital Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge. The civil war there ended. Pol Pot proclaimed the �Democratic Republic of Kampuchea, and became its Prime Minister, from 1975 to 1979.

16 April 1975, Wednesday (+10,935) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian statesman, died aged 86.

15 April 1975, Tuesday (+10.934) British actor Michael Flanders died.

14 April 1975, Monday (+10,933)

13 April 1975, Sunday (+10,932) Fighting broke out in Beirut between Christians and Moslems. The fighting was sparked by a Phalangist attack on a Palestinian bus in Ain El Remmeneh, and led to 13 years of civil war in Lebanon.

12 April 1975, Saturday (+10,931) (Aviation) French President Valery Giscard d�Estaing opened the new airport at Lyons-Satolas.

11 April 1975, Friday (+10,930) Josephine Baker, US entertainer, died.

8 April 1975, Tuesday (+10,927) Pagers were launched in Britain.

6 April 1975, Sunday (+10,925) A plane carrying 99 Vietnamese orphans landed at Heathrow Airport, London.

5 April 1975, Saturday (+10,924) The Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai Shek died in Taiwan, aged 87.

4 April 1975, Friday (+10,923) A Galaxy transport plane carrying 243 Vietnamese orphans from Saigon to the US crashed shortly after take-off, killing over 200 children and 44 adults.

2 April 1975, Wednesday (+10,921)

====================================================================================

30 March 1975, Sunday (+10,918) Easter Sunday (1) North Vietnamese forces captured the port of Da Nang. Ships attempted to rescue over 1 million refugees.

(2) The Great Train Robbers Ronald �Buster� Edwards and James White were released on bail after serving 9 years in gaol.

(3) The Provisional IRA council planned to meet to discuss the future of a ceasefire declared on 10 February 1975. Films on release included Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

29 March 1975, Saturday (+10,917) Tommy Green, champion walker, died (born 30 March 1894).

27 March 1975, Thursday (+10,915) Arthur Bliss, English composer, died aged 83.

25 March 1975, Tuesday (+10,913) (1) In South Vietnam, Hue fell to the North.

(2) In Saudi Arabia, King Faisal was assassinated by his 31-year-old mentally deranged nephew, and Crown Prince Khalid Ibn Abdul Aziz acceded to the throne. The US had regarded Faisal as a moderating influence in the unstable Middle East.

21 March 1975, Friday (+10,909) (1) Ethiopia abolished the monarchy.

(2) John Stonehouse, the disappeared MP, was arrested in Australia for theft, fraud, and deception.

20 March 1975, Thursday (+10,908) In Vietnam, Communist forces overran Da Nang,

19 March 1975, Wednesday (+10.907) In South Vietnam, Quang Tri Province fell to the North, leaving the provincial capital of Hue exposed.

17 March 1975, Monday (+10,905)

16 March 1975, Sunday (+10,904) Aaron Thibeaux, Us blues singer, died in Los Angeles (born 28 May 1910 in Linden, Texas)

15 March 1975, Saturday (+10,903) (1) Troops in Glasgow cleared 70,000 tons of refuse that had built up during the dustmen�s strike.

(2) Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate and Olympic Airways operator, second husband of Jacqueline Kennedy, died.

14 March 1975, Friday (+10,902) (USA) Presidential aide Fred de la Rue was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for his part on the Watergate cover up.

12 March 1975, Wednesday (+10,900)

10 March 1975, Monday (+10,988) (Rail Tunnel) The Shin Kannon rail tunnel, Japan, 18.713 km long, opened, also the Kitakyushu line, 11.747 km long, also the Bingo Tunnel, 8.9 km long. Also the Aki Tunnel, 13.03 km long.

9 March 1975, Sunday (+10,897) (USA) Construction of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline began.

7 March 1975, Friday (+10,895)

6 March 1975, Thursday (+10,894) (India) Large demonstrations in New Delhi against Indira Gandhi.

5 March 1975, Wednesday (+10,893) (Jewish) Palestinian guerrillas raided a hotel at Tel Aviv, taking 30 hostages. Israeli troops stormed the hotel, killing 7 of the 8 terrorists, and 11 other lives were lost.

4 March 1975, Tuesday (+10,892) Queen Elizabeth II knighted the actor Charlie Chaplin.

2 March 1975, Sunday (+10.890)

1 March 1975, Saturday (+10,889) Colour TV broadcasting began in Australia.

====================================================================================

28 February 1975, Friday (+10,888) (1) A London Underground train from Drayton Park crashed through the buffers at Moorgate, killing 42 people. The driver, Leslie Newton, was bringing in his 8.37 train when instead of braking he accelerated into a 72 metre blind tunnel. The front 4.5 metres of the leading carriage were crushed into 60 centimetres.

(2) The Watergate scandal continued as 3 Nixon aides were sentenced for their role.

(3) The Lome Convention was signed in Lome, capital of Togo, between the EC and 46 developing nations.� The agreement provided for free access for the export of these 46 countries into the EC, also for aid and investment.� It laid the foundation for the post imperialistic (colonial) relations between Europe and Africa.

27 February 1975, Thursday (+10,884) Peter Lorenz, Chairman of the West Berlin Christian Democratic Union, was kidnapped by terrorists. He was released on 5 March 1975 after demands that 5 terrorists were released from German jails and flown out of the country were met.

25 February 1975, Tuesday (+10,885)

24 February 1975, Monday (+10,884) Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet Prime Minister from 1955 to 1958, died.

23 February 1975, Sunday (+10,883) In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time began two months early in the USA.

22 February 1975, Saturday (+10,882) Drew Barrymore, US actress, was born.

21 February 1975, Friday (+10,881) Those convicted of offences in the Watergate affair received sentences of between 30 months and 8 years.

20 February 1975, Thursday (+10,880) Britain issued new �10 notes, depicting Florence Nightingale carrying a lamp.

19 February 1975, Wednesday (+10,879) Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola died in Florence aged 71.

18 February 1975, Tuesday (+10,878) Gary Neville, English footballer, was born.

17 February 1975, Monday (+10,877)

14 February 1975, Friday (+10.874) PG Wodehouse, author, died.

13 February 1975, Thursday (+10,873) (1) The UK miners accepted a pay rise of 35%.

(2) Turkish held northern Cyprus declared itself �The Turkish Federated State of Cyprus�.

12 February 1975, Wednesday (+10,872)

11 February 1975, Tuesday (+10,871) Mrs Thatcher was confirmed as leader of the UK Conservative Party.

10 February 1975, Monday (+10,870) Martyn Green, British actor, died in Hollywood (born 22 April 1899 in London)

7 February 1975, Friday (+10,867) In response to the global oil crisis, Canada imposed a national speed limit of 55 mph.

4 February 1975, Tuesday (+10,864) Edward Heath resigned as leader of the Conservative Party. Mrs Thatcher became the first woman to lead a political party on 11 February 1975. Aged 49, she was the wife of a wealthy businessman and the mother of twins. She had defeated 4 other male challengers for the position of leader of the Conservatives. 146 MPs had voted for her, against just 79 for her nearest rival, William Whitelaw. Geoffrey Howe, James Prior, and John Peyton were far behind.

3 February 1975, Monday (+10,863) (Science) William David Coolidge, US physicist, died in Schenectady, New York, USA.

====================================================================================

30 January 1975, Thursday (+10,859) (Innovations) The Rubik Cube was patented by Erno Rubik in Hungary.

28 January 1975, Tuesday (+10,857) Antonin Novotkny, Czechoslovak politician, died aged 70.

27 January 1975, Monday (+10,856) (1) Five IRA bombs exploded in London.

(2) Morocco requested that the UN Decolonisation Committee put the Ceuta case on its agenda. Morocco also said it would raise the question of the Spanish enclaves, if Gibraltar were ever returned to Spanish control.

24 January 1975, Friday (+10,853) Dr Donald Coggan was enthroned as the 101^st Archbishop of Canterbury, succeeding Michael Ramsey.

20 January 1975, Monday (+10,849) The Channel Tunnel project was abandoned by the British Government.

19 January 1975, Sunday (+10.848) Thomas Hart Benton, US painter, died in Kansas City, Missouri.

18 January 1975, Saturday (+10,847)

16 January 1975, Thursday (+10,845) The IRA ended its 25-day truce.

15 January 1975, Wednesday (+10,844) Britain proposed to nationalise its aircraft construction industry.

14 January 1975, Tuesday (+10,843) The House Committee on Internal Security (formerly HUAC, House Committee on Un-American Activities) was formally terminated on January 14, 1975, the day of the opening of the 94th Congress. The Committee's files and staff were transferred on that day to the House Judiciary Committee.

10 January 1975, Friday (+10,839) The Portuguese Government agreed on independence for Angola.

7 January 1975, Tuesday (+10,836) (1) OPEC agreed to raise crude oil prices by 10%.

(2) (SEAsia, USA) North Vietnamese forces captured the southern province of Phuoc Long (see 29 March 1973). There was no reaction from the US. On 10 March 1975 North Vietnam captured the strategic town of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. Within four days South Vietnam decided to abandon the entire Central Highlands to concentrate on the defence of Saigon. This strategic withdrawal became a rout, with hundreds of thousands of civilians, and fleeing soldiers, clogging the roads as the Communists advanced. By 1 April 1975 half of South Vietnam was occupied by the North and the South Vietnamese army was disintegrating. US Congress had no intention of further aid to the South; they did not even intend to organise an evacuation of US citizens and pro-US Vietnamese, instead hoping to persuade the North to stop short of total conquest and accept a coalition government in Saigon.� President Thieu of South Vietnam resigned on 28 April 1975 and was replaced by the neutralist General Duong Van Minh. By then North Vietnamese forces were in the suburbs of Saigon. A few fortunate personnel were evacuated from the roof of the US Embassy by helicopter (see 29 April 1975).� However in the last-minute chaos nobody thought to destroy the records of South Vietnamese who had supported the US. On 30 April 1975 a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon and a soldier raised the North Vietnamese flag. Then the event was repeated for the benefit of TV cameras who had missed the original. Meanwhile in Cambodia the Khmer Rouge had entered Phnom Penh and begun deporting hundreds of thousands of its population to the killing fields. The defeat of the US was total and complete.

6 January 1975, Monday (+10,835) Burton K. Wheeler, 92, U.S. Senator, died.

5 January 1975, Sunday (+10,834) The Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, came under siege by Khmer Rouge forces (led by Pol Pot), despite heavy US military aid to the Cambodian leader, Lon Nol.

4 January 1975, Saturday (+10,833) U.S. President Gerald R. Ford signed legislation making 55 miles per hour the maximum speed limit across the United States, making permanent what had been a temporary order in 1973 by President Nixon.

3 January 1975, Friday (+10,832) Turkish president, Mr Bulent Ecevic, received a hero�s welcome as he arrived in Famagusta, northern Cyprus. He had ordered the Turkish invasion of part of the island 6 months earlier.

2 January 1975, Thursday (+10,831) British hospital consultants started a work-to-rule over new contracts.

1 January 1975, Wednesday (+10,830) (1) In the USA, aides of President Nixon, H R Haldeman, John D Erlichman and John H Mitchell were found guilty of Watergate offences. On 21 February 1975 they were sentenced to between 2 � and 8 years in prison.

(2) In Uruguay, all Marxist Parties were permanently outlawed. In practice the military control was by then so heavy-handed that such Parties could not have existed anyway.

======================================================================================

31 December 1974, Tuesday (+10,829)

29 December 1974, Sunday (+10,827) Brad Hodge, cricketer, was born.

28 December 1974, Saturday (+10,826) An earthquake in northern Pakistan killed over 5,000 people.

27 December 1974, Friday (+10,825)

25 December 1974, Wednesday (+10,823) Darwin, capital of Australia�s Northern Territory, was devastated by Cyclone Tracy.

24 December 1974, Tuesday (+10,822) The Beatles� legal partnership was formally dissolved.

22 December 1974, Sunday (+10,820) (1) The North Vietnamese General Van Tra, to prove that the South Vietnamese Army was on the point of collapse, made a ferocious attack on Don Luan. The town fell within four days, enabling the North to push on southwards towards Phuoc Long province.

(2) (Comoros) A referendum in Comoros voted 96% for independence. However in Mayotte the vote was 63% against independence.

20 December 1974, Friday (+10,818) The new Ethiopian regime declared its socialist principles.

19 December 1974, Thursday (+10,817) Ricky Ponting, cricketer, was born.

17 December 1974, Tuesday (+10,815)

14 December 1974, Saturday (+10,812) Walter Lippmann, US political writer, died aged 85.

13 December 1974, Friday (+10,811) Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth.

12 December 1974, Thursday (+10,810) Jimmy Carter said he would run for US Presidency.

11 December 1974, Wednesday (+10,809) 200,000 workers in the Basque Region of Spain staged a general strike, demanding am amnesty for political prisoners.

10 December 1974, Tuesday (+10,808) Israeli rocket attack on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon, injuring 2 people.

9 December 1974, Monday (+10,807) Miki Takeo became Japanese Prime Minister.

8 December 1974, Sunday (+10,806) Greece voted against restoring the monarchy by 62%.

7 December 1974, Saturday (+10,805) President Makarios returned to Cyprus; however almost half of it was occupied by Turkey.

6 December 1974, Friday (+10,804) The UK Government announced it was taking a shareholding in British Leyland car company, in return for providing financial support.

5 December 1974, Thursday (+10,803) The last episode of Monty Python�s Flying Circus was broadcast by the BBC.

4 December 1974, Wednesday (+10,802) Leo Goossen, US racing car designer, died aged 82.

3 December 1974, Thursday (+10,801) In the UK, the Ford Motor Company asked for 1.,750 staff to volunteer for redundancy, out of 16,000 employees, to safeguard the company�s future.

2 December 1974, Monday (+10,800) Israel announced that it possessed the capability of manufacturing nuclear weapons.

1 December 1974, Sunday (+10,799) TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashed 40 km northwest of Dulles International Airport during bad weather, killing all 92 people on board.

======================================================================================

30 November 1974, Saturday (+10,798) An IRA bomb was thrown into a pub in Belgravia, injuring 4 people.

29 November 1974, Friday (+10,797) (1) The IRA was outlawed in Britain.

(2) Ironside� was on TV. In the cinema the new sensurround film Earthquake made its debut.

(3) The French Assembly voted 248 to 189 to legalise abortion.

28 November 1974, Thursday (+10,796) (1) A truce in Londonderry between the IRA and the UDA. Both agreed to cease sectarian killings.

(2) A severe cyclone hit Bangladesh, after the worst floods in 20 years hit in June 1974, drowning 1.300 and driving 27 million from their homes. In these floods, 0.9 million tons of rice was destroyed, also much jute, a major export earner, was lost. The jute crop was 6.2 million bales in 1973 but just 4 million in 1974.The country had also been severely impacted by the oil price rise. Oil imports consumed 20% of foreign earnings in 1973, but 50% in 1974.

27 November 1974, Wednesday (+10,795) Two IRA bombs exploded at the Army Museum in Chelsea, London, injuring 4 policemen.

26 November 1974, Tuesday (+10,794) Kakuei Tanaka resigned as Prime Minister of Japan after financial scandals emerged.

25 November 1974, Monday (+10,793) U Thant, Burmese diplomat and Secretary-General to the UN 1962-71, died in New York.

24 November 1974, Sunday (+10,792) The MP John Stonehouse disappeared from as Miami beach; it was assumed he had drowned.

23 November 1974, Saturday (+10,791) In Ethiopia, 60 Government officials were executed.

22 November 1974, Friday (+10,790) As anger mounted at the Birmingham pub bombings, there were calls in the UK for a return of capital punishment and some attacks on Irish workers in Birmingham.

21 November 1974, Thursday (+10,789) IRA bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs, killing 21 and injuring a further 182. On 14 November 1974 an IRA bomber, James McDade, was blown up by his own bomb which he had intended to plant at Coventry telephone exchange.� The UK Government banned demonstrations in his memory, and the IRA bombed Birmingham in retaliation. The Birmingham bombings triggered the Prevention of Terrorism Act, giving the UK police extensive powers to investigate suspects; unfortunately they misused this to ensure charges were pinned on someone, innocent or guilty.

20 November 1974, Wednesday (+10,788) The first fatal crash of a jumbo jet. A Lufthansa Boeing 747 crashed on take-off at Nairobi Airport. 59 were killed but 98 escaped.

19 November 1974, Tuesday (+10,787) Three Arab terrorist attacked the Israeli town of Beth Shean, killing 4 and wounding 38 before being shot themselves.

18 November 1974, Monday (+10,786) US President Ford made the first ever visit by a US President to Japan.

17 November 1974, Sunday (+10,785) The rule of the colonels ended in Greece, and Karamanlis became Prime Minister.

16 November 1974, Saturday (+10,784) The Arecibo radio telescope beamed a message towards the M13 star cluster encoding information about mankind, in case any aliens are there to receive it.

15 November 1974, Friday (+10,783) US President Gerald Ford confirmed that he would stand for re-election in 1976.

14 November 1974, Thursday (+10,782) An IRA bomber blew himself up whilst planting a bomb at Coventry telephone exchange. Another IRA bomb went off at the RAF Club in Northampton, but injured nobody.

13 November 1974, Wednesday (+10,781) Karen Silkwood, activist over nuclear industry safety concerns, died in unclear circumstances in a car crash.

12 November 1974. Tuesday (+10,780) A salmon was caught in the Thames, the first since around 1840. It was retrieved from the filters of West Thurrock power station.

11 November 1974, Monday (+10,779) In Pakistan, Ahmad Kasuri, an outspoken critic of President Zufilkar al Bhutto, was assassinated by members of Bhutto�s security forces.

10 November 1974, Sunday (+10,778) Niko Hurme, Finnish musician, was born in Karkkila, Finland.

9 November 1974, Saturday (+10,777)� Alessandro del Piero, Italian footballer, was born.

8 November 1974, Friday (+10,776) Covent Garden Market moved from central London to Nine Elms, after 300 years in the West End

7 November 1974, Thursday (+10,775) (1) An IRA nail bomb exploded at the Kings Arms pub in Woolwich, London.� The pub was opposite the Woolwich Barracks.� Two died and 34 were injured.

( 2) Lord Lucan, 7^th Earl of Lucan, disappeared following the murder of his children�s nanny. The nanny had been found bludgeoned to death on the 6^th November, and his estranged wife was also brutally attacked. Police arrived at Lucan�s flat but he was not there; his bloodstained car was found in Sussex, and some suspected he had drowned himself. His body however was never found. Several alleged sightings of him occurred in the following years. In 2015 his heir, George Bingham, attempted to have him legally declared dead but the family of the murdered nanny lodged an objection.

4 November 1974, Monday (+10,772)

===================================================================================

31 October 1974, Thursday (+10,768) Britain, France and the USA vetoed a motion to expel South Africa from the UN.

30 October 1974, Wednesday (+10,767) All Arab States recognised the Palestinian Liberation organisation (PLO) as the �sole representative of the Palestinian people�.

29 October 1974, Tuesday (+10,766) Michael Vaughan, cricketer, was born

28 October 1974, Monday (+10,765) Russia launched the Luna 23 probe towards the Moon.

26 October 1974, Saturday (+10,763)

25 October 1974, Friday (+10,762) Nick Drake, songwriter, died.

24 October 1974, Thursday (+10,761) Russian violinist David Oistrakh died in Amsterdam, aged 66.

21 October 1974, Monday (+10,758) Liverpool City radio went on air.

18 October 1974, Friday (+10,755) A unit in Whitehall; was set up to prepare for devolution of power to Wales and Scotland.

17 October 1974, Thursday (+10,754) 10 million Italian workers went on strike demanding measures to protect them against recession and inflation.

16 October 1974, Wednesday (+10,753) In the USA the 82^nd airborne division was put on alert as race riots in Boston continued. President Ford was reluctant to send in troops.

15 October 1974, Tuesday (+10,752) Riots at The Maze prison, Northern Ireland.

14 October 1974, Monday (+10,751) The United Nations recognised the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

13 October 1974, Sunday (+10,750) Ed Sullivan, TV host, died.

12 October 1974, Saturday (+10,749) Ladbrokes gave odds of 50 to 1 against Mrs Thatcher being the successor to Edward Heath.

11 October 1974, Friday (+10,748) Labour won the British elections with a tiny majority of three seats. Labour won 319 seats, Conservatives won 277, Liberals 13, Scottish Nationalists 11.

10 October 1974, Thursday (-10,747) Widespread race rioting in Boston, USA,� in protest at the bussing of black schoolchildren to maintain a racial balance in the city�s schools.

9 October 1974, Wednesday (+10,746) Oskar Schindler, German businessman who saved the lives of many Jews in World War Two, died.

8 October 1974, Tuesday (+10,745) Harry Carney, US jazz saxophonist, died in New York (born 1 April 1910 in Boston, USA)

7 October 1974, Monday (-10,744)

5 October 1974, Saturday (+10,742) 5 died and 65 were injured when the IRA bombed two pubs in Guildford.

4 October 1974, Friday (+10.741) The American, David Kunst, completed the first round the world trip on foot, 14,450 miles, having started in 1970.

3 October 1974, Thursday (+10,740) 32 people died in major earthquake in Lima, Peru.

2 October 1974, Wednesday (+10,739) US scientists announced that experiments with monkeys proved that cannabis did cause permanent irreversible brain damage.

1 October 1974, Tuesday (10,738) (1) The first McDonalds opened in London, heralding the fast-food revolution.

==================================================================================

30 September 1974, Monday (+10,737) A report by the Royal Society for the prevention of accidents showed that the 50 mph speed limit imposed on Britain�s roads during the 1973 fuel crisis had reduced road accident casualties by over 6,000. The TV show Some mothers do �ave �em was showing.

23 September 1974, Monday (+10,730) The world�s first Ceefax service began, operated by the BBC.

20 September 1974, Friday (+10,727) A Nationalist government took control in Mozambique, headed by Jacques Chissano.

19 September 1974, Thursday (+10,726) Hurricane Fifi killed 8,000 in Honduras.

18 September 1974, Wednesday (+10,725) Sulzeer Campbell, English footballer, was born.

17 September 1974, Tuesday (+10,724) The British Motor Corporation unveiled the Vanden Plas 1500.

15 September 1974, Sunday (+10,722)

14 September 1974, Saturday (+10,721) China sent two giant pandas, Chia-Chia and Ching-Ching, to London Zoo.

13 September 1974, Friday (+10,720) Japanese �Red Army� terrorists took French diplomats hostage at The Hague. On 17 September 1974 France and The Netherlands paid a ransom.

12 September 1974, Thursday (+10,719) In Ethiopia, President Haile Selassie was deposed by leaders of the armed forces. He was taken to prison where he died on 27 August 1975. A famine in 1972 in which 200,000 Ethiopians died had exposed the organisational inadequacies of the Ethiopian Government. From early 1974 Ethiopia saw strikes, army mutinies, demonstrations by students and peasants revolts. In June 1974 a committee of junior army officers was formed, known as the Derg, and it was this body who overthrew the President. Unfortunately rule by the Derg proved more autocratic and oppressive than under Haile Selassie.

11 September 1974, Wednesday (+10,718) Lucian Sahetapy, footballer, was born in Groningen, Netherlands.

10 September 1974, Tuesday (+10,717) Guinea Bissau became independent.

9 September 1974, Monday (+10,716) Mathias Farm, guitarist was born in Orebro, Sweden.

8 September 1974, Sunday (+10,715) President Nixon�s successor, Gerald Ford, issued Nixon an unconditional pardon for any crimes committed whilst in office.

7 September 1974, Saturday (+10,714) Mario Frick, footballer, was born in Chur, Switzerland.

6 September 1974, Friday (+10,713) Stuntman Evel Knievel, a 34 year old former salesman, failed in his attempt to fly a rocket across the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. He plunged 1,500 feet into the river 30 seconds after take off. Charles Kray, elder brother of the Kray twins, left Maidstone Prison for 5 days �acclimatisation leave�. Mary Whitehouse described as �completely irresponsible� a sketch on the BBC children�s programme Jackanory in which a actors walked away unharmed after blowing up a car. At least one Japanese soldier was reported to be still roaming the forests of the central Philippines, left behind after World War Two.

5 September 1974, Thursday (+10,712) Rawl Lewis, West Indian cricketer, was born in Grenada

4 September 1974, Wednesday (+10,711) The USA established diplomatic relations with East Germany.

3 September 1974, Tuesday (+10,710) Rebecca Bailey, champion cyclist, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand

2 September 1974, Monday (+10,709) Maureen Gardner, athlete (hurdles), died

1 September 1974, Sunday (+10,708) General Somoza was elected as President of Nicaragua.

===================================================================================

31 August 1974, Saturday (+10,707) Luis Marcelo Duran, footballer, was born in Montevideo, Uruguay.

29 August 1974, Thursday (+10,795)

27 August 1974, Tuesday (+10,793) The ruling Armed Forces Committee in Ethiopia ordered Emperor Haile Selassie not to leave the capital.

26 August 1974, Monday (+10,702) Charles Lindbergh, US aviator, the first to fly across the Atlantic solo non-stop in 1927, died.

22 August 1974, Thursday (+10,698) Jacob Bronowski, presenter of the BBC TV show The Ascent of Man, died in a car crash.

19 August 1974, Monday (+10,695) The US Ambassador to Nicosia, Rodger Davies, was shot dead during a Greek Cypriot demonstration outside his Embassy.

18 August 1974, Sunday (+10,694) Severe flooding devastated central Luzon, Philippines.

17 August 1974, Saturday (+10,693) The Commander of Haile Selassie�s bodyguard was arrested by the Ethiopian Army.

16 August 1974, Friday (+10,692) Ivan Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer, was born.

15 August 1974, Thursday (+10,691) Natasha Henstridge, actress, was born.

14 August 1974, Wednesday (+10,690) Clarksons and Horizon Holidays collapsed, leaving over 5,000 stranded abroad.

13 August 1974, Tuesday (+10,689)

9 August 1974, Friday (+10,685) Gerald Ford sworn in as the 38th President of the USA.� He succeeded Richard Nixon, who had resigned over Watergate, hence Ford became the first President not chosen by the US people in an election. See 8 September 1974.

8 August 1974, Thursday (+10,684) Richard Nixon announced his resignation as US President after his implication in the Watergate scandal. President Ford granted a pardon to Nixon for any offences he might have committed in the Watergate affair.� Nixon was the first American President to resign. See 9 May 1974. President Gerald Ford takes office as the 38^th president. He was the first person not to have been elected by ballot to the Presidency or Vice Presidency.

7 August 1974, Wednesday (+10,683) In the USA, the Electoral Reform Act was passed, which aimed to limit the contribution of large individual donations towards Presidential election campaigns. However large sums could still be raised through Political Action Committees.

5 August 1974. Monday (+10,681) President Nixon admitted his complicity in the Watergate affair. See 27 July 1974 and 8 August 1974.

1 August 1974, Thursday (+10,677) Restoration of the 1952 Constitution in Greece.

=====================================================================================

31 July 1974, Tuesday (+10,675) Prison riots at the French prison of St Martin de Re, Brittany. Two prisoners were killed and 21 injured.

30 July 1974, Tuesday (+10,675) The House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach US President Nixon on three counts. 1) Obstruction of justice, 2) Failure to uphold laws, and 3) Refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee.

29 July 1974, Monday (+10,674) Erich Kastner, German author, died aged 75.

28 July 1974, Sunday (+10,673) Nicole Narain, US-Lebanese actress, was born.

27 July 1974, Saturday (+10,672) (1) Greek military leaders handed political power to a civilian government.

(2) A Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon for obstructing justice in the Watergate affair. See 20 October 1973 and 5 August 1974.

26 July 1974, Friday (+10,671) An IRA bomb exploded in a Heathrow car park.

25 July 1974, Thursday (+10,670) The International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that Britain was not bound to observe Iceland�s unilateral extension of its fishing rights from 12 to 50 miles in 1972.

24 July 1974, Wednesday (+10,669) The US Supreme Court ruled that the White House Watergate tapes must be handed over to a special prosecutor.

23 July 1974, Tuesday (+10,668) The Greek �Colonels� military junta resigned.� Civilian rule returned to Greece, under President Karamanlis.

22 July 1974, Monday (+10,667) Greece and Turkey agreed to a ceasefire in Cyprus. On 23 July 1974 Sampson was replaced as President by Glafkos Clerides. 2,000 British and foreign residents and tourists were evacuated by the Royal Navy.

21 July 1974, Sunday (+10,666) Steve Byrne, US comedian, was born.

20 July 1974, Saturday (+10,665) Turkey invaded northern Cyprus, after the overthrow of Makarios.� See 15 July 1974.

19 July 1974, Friday (+10,664) The Soviet space probe Soyuz 14 returned safely to Earth.

18 July 1974, Thursday (+10,663) The Maplin project, which would have created a seaport and airport combined the size of Rotterdam off the Essex coast, was scrapped.

17 July 1974, Wednesday (+10,662) An IRA bomb exploded at the Tower of London, killing one person and injuring 41.

16 July 1974, Tuesday (+10,661) Robinne Lee, US actress, was born.

15 July 1974, Monday (+10,660) In Cyprus. Archbishop Makarios was deposed as President in a coup by officers of the Greek National Guard. Nicos Sampson was installed as President.� Makarios, nearly assassinated, went into exile for 6 months.� Cyprus descended into near-anarchy, and Turkey took advantage of this to invade (see 20 July 1974).� By August 1974 Turkey occupied the northern 40% of Cyprus; Greeks were forced to leave this area.

14 July 1974, Sunday (+10,659) Left-wing government took office in Portugal, under Colonel Vasco Goncalves.

13 July 1974, Saturday (+10,658) Peter Blackett, British physicist, died aged 76.

12 July 1974, Friday (+10,657) In the US John Erlichman, former Director of Domestic Affairs at the White House, was found guilty of lying over the Watergate tapes.

9 July 1974, Tuesday (+10,654) In Canadian elections, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau�s Liberal Party won with 141 seats out of 264. The Conservatives took 95 seats, the New Democratic Party took 11 the Social Credit Party won 11 and there was one independent seat.

5 July 1974, Friday (+10,650) British novelist Georgette Hayer died.

4 July 1974, Thursday (+10,649) In Bangkok, a State of Emergency was declared as tanks entered the Chinese Quarter to suppress riots.

3 July 1974, Wednesday (+10,648) In Spain, 15 were killed at an explosion at a munitions works in Bilbao.

2 July 1974, Tuesday (+10,647) In Ethiopia, Prince Eskinder Desta, grandson of Haile Selassie, was arrested by the Army.

1 July 1974, Monday (+10,646) (1) A loaf of bread cost 15p, and beer rose on the budget by 1p to 15p a pint.

(2) General Juan Peron, President of Argentina, died aged 78. He was succeeded by his wife, Maria Estela Peron. However she was deposed in a military coup in March 1976 and sentenced to five years in prison for alleged corruption.

====================================================================================

30 June 1974, Sunday (+10,645) France formally left SEATO.� At a meeting of ministers in New York at the end of� September 1975 it was decided to �phase out� SEATO because of changed conditions in the region.

28 June 1974, Friday (+10,643)

27 June 1974, Thursday (+10,642) Cliff Friend, US composer, died in las Vegas (born 1 October 1893 in Cincinnati)

26 June 1974, Wednesday (+10,641) (1) The first use of barcodes in a supermarket. A pack of Wrigley�s Juicy Fruit was scanned at a March�s supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

(2) In the UK, Labour and the TUC agreed on the �Social Contract�, to restrain pay claims.

25 June 1974, Tuesday (+10,640)

21 June 1974, Friday (+10,636) (1) The destroyer HMS Coventry was launched at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead.

(2) TV showed The Wombles.

20 June 1974, Thursday (+10,635) Israeli aircraft attacked a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, killing 16.

19 June 1974, Wednesday (+10,634) The Pink Panther Show entertained the young on TV, whilst later on, grown ups had The Two Ronnies. The Best of Les Dawson provided relief after seven hours of World Cup Grandstand.

18 June 1974, Tuesday (+10,633) Georgi K Zhukov, Soviet statesman, died aged 77.

17 June 1974, Monday (+10,632) Two large IRA bombs exploded in London. The first went off at the Houses of Parliament just before 8.30a.m. and caused fire damage to the 800 year-old Westminster Hall. The second, larger, bomb, went off at The Tower of London later in the day when there were many tourists there, and there were serious casualties.

15 June 1974, Saturday (+10,630)

13 June 1974, Thursday (+10,628) Palestinian terrorists killed three Israeli women in Kibbutz Shamir.

12 June 1974, Wednesday (+10,627) The Redgrave Theatre, Farnham, opened.

8 June 1974, Saturday (+10,623)

3 June 1974, Monday (+10,618) Yitzhak Rabin became Prime Minister of Israel.

2 June 1974, Sunday (+10,617) In Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuk was installed as the 4^th hereditary ruler, the Druk Gyalpo, or Dragon King.

1 June 1974, Saturday (+10,616) A major explosion at the Nypro chemical works at Flixborough, Lincolnshire, killed 29 people.� 2,000 houses were damaged and a large cloud of toxic cyclohexane gas escaped. Cyclohexane was used to manufacture nylon. A pipe at Nypro had sprung a leak, leading to 40 tons of cyclohexane gas escaping in about one minute, this gas cloud then ignited.

===================================================================================

31 May 1974, Friday (+10,615) (Israel) Israel signed a truce with Syria. Israel returned the city of Kuneitra, occupied since the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, to Syria.

30 May 1974, Thursday (+10,614) Vigor Bovolenta, Italian volleyball champion, was born.

29 May 1974, Wednesday (+10,613) Northern Irish intransigence caused the Northern Ireland Assembly to collapse, see 28 June 1973. Donald Crisp, British actor and director (How Green Was My Valley, Pollyana), dies at 91

28 May 1974, Tuesday (+10,612) Angela Loij died, last full-blooded member of the Selk'nam people of Tierra del Fuego.

27 May 1975, Monday (+10,611) Jacques Chirac became Prime Minister of France.

26 May 1974, Sunday (+10,610) UK Opposition leader Edward Heath met Chairman Mao of China to improve relations between the two countries.

25 May 1974, Saturday (+10,609) Donald Crisp, British actor (How Green Was My Valley), died aged 91.

24 May 1974, Friday (+10,608) �Duke Ellington, jazz musician, died of lung cancer aged 75.

23 May 1974, Thursday (+10,607) The Avonmouth M.5 Bridge was opened.

22 May 1974, Wednesday (+10,696) Sean Gunn, US actor, was born.

21 May 1974, Tuesday (+10,605) The film company United Artists was facing prosecution over allegations that the film Last Tango in Paris contravened the Obscene Publications Act.

20 May 1974, Monday (+10,604) The Cornish Parliament, or Stannary, sat for the first time in 221 years.

19 May 1974, Sunday (+10,603) (1) Valery Giscard d�Estaing was elected President of France.

(2) A state of emergency was declared in Northern Ireland. An IRA bomb exploded at a Heathrow car park.

18 May 1974, Saturday (+10,602) India exploded its first nuclear bomb. Pakistan, which lost its third war with India in 1970, was nervous.

17 May 1974, Friday (+10,601) Car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan killed 28 people and injured over 100.

16 May 1974, Thursday (+10,600) Helmut Schmidt became Chancellor of West Germany.� Chancellor Brandt had resigned on 6 May 1974 over a spy scandal.

15 May 1974, Wednesday (+10,599) General Spinola became ruler of Portugal, see 25 April 1974. A moderate conservative senior army officer, Spinola was unable to block the rise of the Communists in Portugal and he resigned in September 1974. Spinola attempted a counter-coup against the Communists in March 1975 but this failed. In April 1975 Mario Soares�s moderate socialist party won elections, but power remained with the Supreme Revolutionary Council of Marxist Officers, led by Captain Otelo de Carvalho. Portugal seemed to be on the way to becoming a Communist state, but in November 1975 moderate socialists under Colonel Ramalho Eanes arrested Carvalho and other communist officers, with little resistance. Eanes became president in 1976 with Soares as Prime Minister, restoring democracy.

14 May 1974, Tuesday (+10,598) Dr Donald Coggan was made Archbishop of Canterbury.

12 May 1974, Sunday (+10,596)

11 May 1974, Saturday (+10,595) Big earthquake killed 20,000 in Sichuan, China.

10 May 1974, Friday (+10,594) Anatoly Karpov defeated Boris Spassky to become world chess champion.

9 May 1974, Thursday (+10,593) Impeachment proceedings were opened against President Nixon � see 2 March 1974 and 8 August 1974.

8 May 1974, Wednesday (+10,592) UK nurses began a strike over low pay.

6 May 1974, Monday (+10,590) Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany, was forced to resign after he unwittingly employed an East German spy as a secretary. There had been warnings for 4 years that Gunter Guillaume was a spy.� Brandt became Foreign Minister in 1966 and West Germany�s first Social Democratic Chancellor in 1969. In 1971 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Price for his policies of detente with the Communist bloc.

4 May 1974, Saturday (+10,588) Gerald Bright, British bandleader, died in Vevey, Switzerland (born 10 August 1904 in London)

2 May 1974, Thursday (+10,586) Eric Winstone, British composer, died in Pagham, Sussex (born 1 January 1915)

1 May 1974, Wednesday (+10,585) The musical Billy opened in Drury lane, London

===================================================================================

30 April 1974, Tuesday (+10,584)

25 April 1974, Thursday (+10,579) A military coup in Portugal.� PM Marcello Caetano was overthrown in an almost bloodless military coup organised by left-wing junior officers of the secret Movimento das Forcas Armadas (MFA).� There was dissatisfaction with Portugal�s demoralising colonial wars in Angola and Mozambique. The coup provoked rejoicing in Lisbon and the red carnation was adopted as symbol of the revolution. See 15 May 1974.

24 May 1974, Wednesday (+10,578) Fierce fighting in Vietnam, just 50 km from Saigon.

22 April 1974, Monday (+10,576) The Israeli Labour Party voted by 298 votes to 254 for General Yitzhak Rabin to succeed Golda Meir as Prime Minister.

20 April 1974, Saturday (+10,574) A Catholic became the thousandth person to die in �The Troubles�.

17 April 1974, Wednesday (+10,571) Victoria Beckham, singer, was born.

14 April 1974, Sunday (+10,568) Easter Sunday.

13/4.1974, Saturday (+120,567) End of a strike by 6 million Japanese workers, which had begun on 11 April 1974.

12 April 1974, Friday (+10,566) (1) Israeli soldiers destroyed several houses in Lebanon in retaliation for an Arab guerrilla attack on the Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona in which 18 people died.

(2) Films on release included Last Tango in Paris and The Exorcist.

11 April 1974, Thursday (+10,565) Palestinian terrorists killed 18 Israelis, mainly women and children, in a raid on Kiryat Shemona.

10 April 1974, Wednesday (+10,564) Golda Meir resigned as Israeli Prime Minister. Yitzhak Rabin of the Labour Party replaced her on 22 April 1974.

8 April 1974, Monday (+10,562)

7 April 1974, Sunday (+10,561) Pete Wendling, US composer, died in New York (born 6/66/1888)

6 April 1974, Saturday (+10,560) Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo.

5 April 1974, Friday (+10,559) Richard Crossman, British Labour MP, died aged 66.

4 April 1974, Thursday (+10,558) The USA and Canada suffered their worst tornadoes since 1925, killing over 300 people.

3 April 1974, Wednesday (+10,557) President Nixon agreed to pay US$ 432,787 outstanding income tax.

2 April 1974, Tuesday (+10,556) Georges Pompidou, French president from 1969, died in office, from cancer, aged 62.

1 April 1974, Monday (+10,555) Major reorganisation of British Local Authorities. Rutland disappeared, and 4 new counties were created. They were Avon, Cleveland, Humberside, and Cumbria.

====================================================================================

30 March 1974, Saturday (+10,553)

29 March 1974, Friday (+10,552) (1) The US spacecraft Mariner sent back the first photos of the planet Mercury.

(2) Chinese peasants digging a well unearthed a terracotta army of 8,000 figures and horses, buried over 2,000 years ago near Xi�an. They belonged to Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, who first united China and built the Great Wall. The artisans who built the tomb were walled up within it, to safeguard its secrets.

28 March 1974, Thursday (+10,551) (Medical) In Britain, the NHS Family Planning Service was inaugurated.

27 March 1974, Wednesday (+10,550) Simon Terry, archery champion, was born.

26 March 1974, Tuesday (+10,549) In Romania, Mr ion Maurer, 71, retired as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Mr Manea Manescu.

25 March 1974, Monday (+10,548) Fifty army officers were killed after a failed coup attempt against President Idi Amin of Uganda.

24 March 1974, Sunday (+10,547) In Uganda an attempted coup against President Amin by Brigadier Arube was suppressed. Arube shot himself and later died in hospital.

23 March 1974, Saturday (+10,546) Eric Washington, US basketball player, was born.

22 March 1974, Friday (+10,545) Sam Donahue, US musician, died in Reno, Nevada (born 8 March 1918 in Detroit).

21 March 1974, Thursday (+10,544) France suffered widespread power cuts as electricity workers went on a 24-hour strike..

20 March 1974, Wednesday (+10,543) A kidnap attempt was made on Princess Anne, in The Mall, London. The perpetrator, Ian Ball, was making a bizarre attempt to draw attention to the decline in medical services for mental patients in Britain.

19 March 1974, Tuesday (+10, 542) Food riots in Bihar, India.

18 March 1974, Monday (+10,543) The Iraqi Army assembled 3 divisions, 48,000 men, to suppress the Kurdish rebellion.

17 March 1974, Sunday (+10,540) The Arab oil embargo, imposed om the US in 1973 in retaliation for US support for Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, was lifted.

16 March 1974, Saturday (+10,539) Daniel Frank Gerber, US manufacturer of baby food, died aged 75.

15 March 1974, Friday (+10,538) The Kurdish rebellion in northern Iraq intensified. The Kurds now controlled 330 km of the border between Iraq and Turkey.

14 March 1974, Thursday (+10,537) Bobby Moore, former England Football Captain, was transferred from West Ham United to Fulham for �25,000.

13 March 1974, Wednesday (+10,536) Britain�s newly-elected Labour Government wrote off the National Coal Board�s �105 million debt.

12 March 1974, Tuesday (+10,535) The EEC Parliament elected its first Communist Vice-President, Mr Gerard Bordu.

11 March 1974, Monday (+10,534) The Iraqi Revolutionary Council granted self-rule to the country�s Kurds to try and end the ongoing fighting.

10 March 1974, Sunday (+10,533) A Japanese soldier was found hiding on Lubang Island in the Philippines; he believed World War Two was ongoing and was waiting for relief by his own side.

9 March 1974, Saturday (+10,532) Britain�s 3-day-week ended. The three-day week had begun in December 1973 to conserve fuel supplies. Oil supplies from the Middle East had been disrupted due to an Arab-Israeli war.

8 March 1974, Friday (+10,531) Charles de Gaulle airport at Paris was opened.

7 March 1974, Thursday (+10,530) Following a strike by Ethiopian Trades Unions for better pay and conditions, Emperor Haile Selassie drove to Addis Ababa market place and personally handed out money to the poor. However this did not halt political pressure building against him.

6 March 1974, Wednesday (+10,529) Harold Wilson formed a minority Labour government. Mr Denis Winston Healey became Chancellor of the Exchequer. The UK coal miners were offered a 35% pay increase, and returned to work. Labour had 301 seats, the Conservatives had 297, the Liberals 14, 9 were held by Scottish and Welsh Nationalists, and 12 to Northern Ireland.

5 March 1974, Tuesday (+10,528) Billy De Wolfe, US actor, died of lung cancer aged 67

4 March 1974, Monday (+10,527) Edward Heath resigned as Prime Minister.

3 March 1974, Sunday (+10,526) A Turkish Airlines DC10 crashed into a wood near Paris, killing all 344 people on board.

2 March 1974, Saturday (+10,525) A USA Grand Jury decided Richard Nixon was involved in the Watergate cover up see 9 May 1974.

1 March 1974, Friday (+10,524) 7 of President Nixon�s advisors were arrested over charges to obstruct justice in the Watergate investigation.

====================================================================================

28 February 1974, Thursday (+10,523) (1) General Election in the UK. 4 March 1974. Harold Wilson, born 11 March 1916, succeeded Edward Heath as Prime Minister. There was no overall majority; Labour gained 301 seats, the Conservatives 296, and the Liberals, 14 seats. Other parties gained 9 seats. See 13 December 1973, 4 February 1975 and 5 April 1976. Edward Heath had tried to make a coalition with the Liberals on 7 February 1974 but they refused.� The Conservatives gained 225,789 more votes than Labour did, but fewer seats.

(2) The USA and Egypt resumed diplomatic relations after a break of 7 years.

27 February 1974, Wednesday (+10,522) New Constitution in Sweden stripped the monarchy of all remaining powers.

26 February 1974, Tuesday (+10,521) Sebastian Loeb, racing car driver, was born.

24 February 1974, Sunday (+10,519)

23 February 1974, Saturday (+10,518) Iceland was hit by a General Strike; only civil servants and printers remained at work. Workers demanded a 28% pay rise.

22 February 1974, Friday (+10,517) Pakistan recognised Bangladesh.

21 February 1974, Thursday (+10,516) The last Israeli military units left the west bank of the Suez Canal.

20 February 1974, Wednesday (+10,515) In Israel, Golda Meir formed a minority Government after the National Religious Party withdrew its support.

19 February 1974, Tuesday (+10,514) In the guerrilla war in Zimbabwe waged by African Nationalists, 73 civilians had so far died. Also 230 guerrillas and 31 security men had been killed.

18 February 1974, Monday (+10,513) Terrorists killed two White farmers and a woman in Rhodesia� (Zimbabwe).

17 February 1974, Sunday (+10,512) British Opposition leader Harold Wilson proposed the �Social Contract� between the Labour Party and the TUC. In return for wage restraint, Labour would promote social legislation.

16 February 1974, Saturday (+10,511) Fanis Katergiannakis, Greek footballer, was born.

15 February 1974, Friday (+10,510) Fierce fighting on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria.

14 February 1974, Thursday (+10,509) A quarter ton IRA bomb exploded in Dungannon, County Down, killing nobody but causing extensive damage.

13 February 1974, Wednesday (+10,508) (Russia) Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian author and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1970, was expelled from the USSR. This was a result of the publication of his work, The Gulag Archipelago, a study of the Stalinist prison camp system. Solzhenitsyn himself had spent time in these camps between 1945 and 1953.

12 February 1974, Tuesday (+10,507) A 30lb IRA bomb exploded at the National College of Defence at Latimer, Buckinghamshire, injuring 10 people.

11 February 1974, Monday (+10,506) John Poulson, a British architect who undertook numerous contracts for local authorities, was sentenced to 5 years prison on corruption charges, On 15 March 1974 he received another 7 years on further charges.

10 February 1974, Sunday (+10,505) In Britain the National Union of Miners began an all out strike, calling for a wage rise of 30-40%.

9 February 1974, Saturday (+10,504) Amber Valletta, US actress was� born in Phoenix, Arizona.

8 February 1974, Friday (+10,503) America�s final Skylab mission ended after 84 days, as Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue returned to Earth.

7 February 1974, Thursday (+10,502) Grenada, in the Windward Islands, became an independent state within the Commonwealth, with Eric Gairy as its first Prime Minister. It had been a British colony since 1783.

6 February 1974, Wednesday (+10,501) Olaf Lindenbergh, Dutch footballer, was born in Purmerend, Netherlands.

5 February 1974, Tuesday (+10,500) (1) (Brazil) Manuel dos Reis Machado died (born 23 November 1899). In 1932 he set up a School of Capoeira, the martial arts/music culture of Quilombo Black Brazilians.

(2) The US spacecraft Mariner 10 sent back pictures of Venus.

4 February 1974, Monday (+10,499) (1) 12 men were killed as an IRA bomb went off on their army coach whilst on the M.62 near Bradford, Yorkshire; 11 died.

(2) Heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped.

(3) UK coal miners, in an 86% turnout vote, voted 81% in favour of a national strike.

3 February 1974, Sunday (+10,498) Om Kalsoum, famous Arab singer, died aged 77.

2 February 1974, Saturday (+10,497) Jean Absil, Belgian composer, died aged 80.

1 February 1974, Friday (+10,496) Ronald Biggs, who had escaped from London�s Wandsworth Prison n 1965, was arrested in Rio De Janeiro, but extradition was refused. Biggs had been serving 30 years for his part in the Great Train Robbery.

====================================================================================

31 January 1974, Thursday (+10,495) Sam Goldwyn, Polish-born US film producer, died aged 91.

30 January 1974, Wednesday (+10,494) Christian Bale, actor, was born.

29 January 1974, Tuesday (+10,493) HE Bates, English novelist, died aged 68.

28 January 1974, Monday (+10,492) President Grivas of Cyprus died aged 75.

25 January 1974, Friday (+10,489)

22 January 1974, Tuesday (+10,486) In Northern Ireland, hard-line Loyalists opposed to any form of power-sharing disrupted the first meeting of the new Assembly, and all Unionist delegates withdrew the next day.

21 January 1974, Monday (+10,485) Joseph Washburne, US singer, died in Santa Ana, California (born 28 December 1904 in Houston, Texas)

20 January 1974, Sunday (+10,484) Football League games were played on a Sunday for the first time.

19 January 1974, Saturday (+10,483) In a very brief war lasting less than a day, China drove the Vietnamese out of the Paracel Islands and occupied them.

18 January 1974, Friday (+10,482) Henry Kissinger, US Secretary of State, brokered a peace deal between Egypt and Israel. Israel would withdraw from the east bank of the Suez Canal, and Egypt would reoccupy the west bank. Israel then, in June 1974, agreed to withdraw from Syria and parts of the Golan Heights.

17 January 1974, Thursday (+10,481) Clara Edward, US singer, died aged 93

16 January 1974, Wednesday (+10,480) Kate Moss, British model, was born.

15 January 1974, Tuesday (+10,479) Riots in Jakarta, Indonesia, in protest at a visit by the Japanese Prime Minister.

14 January 1974, Monday (+10,478) Talks between British Prime Minister Edward Heath and the National Union of Miners leader, Mick McGahey, broke down., On 28 January 1974 Heath accused the NUM of trying to bring down the government.

13 January 1974, Sunday (+10,477) Dallas-Fort Worth Airport opened for scheduled airline services.

12 January 1974, Saturday (+10,476) The military Government of Chile began pre-publication censorship of all newspapers and magazines.

11 January 1974, Friday (+10,475) The first surviving sextuplets were born to Mrs Sue Rosenberg in Cape Town, South Africa.

10 January 1974, Thursday (+10.474) Dr Henry Kissinger, US Head of State, held talks with President Sadat to discuss an Arab-Israeli peace plan.

9 January 1974, Wednesday (+10,473) Rioting in Thailand in protest at a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka.

8 January 1974, Tuesday (+10,472) In Rome, youths protested against the film Jesus Christ Superstar. The film�s makers protested that this film should not be confused with the Danish film Jesus Christ Superstud.

7 January 1974, Monday (+10,471) In response to fuel shortages (see 4 November 1973 and 17 October 1073), The Netherlands introduced petrol rationing.

6 January 1974, Sunday (+10,470) In response to the energy crisis, the USA started Daylight Savings Time, almost 4 months before usual; many children had to leave for school before sunrise.

5 January 1974, Saturday (+10,469) Lev Oborin, Russian pianist and composer died aged 66

4 January 1974, Friday (+10,468) On TV, whilst Holiday �74 compared the rival delights of Blackpool and Benidorm, Dad�s Army also entertained viewers. The James Bond film Live and let Die was released in South Africa. Teachers requested that 16 year old �bovver boys� (�they don�t even speak English, they just grunt�) should be allowed to leave school as soon as exams were over rather than having to stay on till the end of term.

3 January 1974, Thursday (+10,467) (Libya) The EEC (Brussels) accused Colonel Gaddafi of funding international terrorist organisations.

2 January 1974, Wednesday (+10,466) In response to the Oil Crisis, the USA imposed a national 55 mph (88 kph) speed limit on its major roads.

1 January 1974, Tuesday (+10,465) (1) Direct Rule in Northern Ireland ended as a new Ulster Executive took control; however Direct Rule was reinstated later in 1974.

(2) New Year�s Day was a public holiday for the first time in the UK.

(3) Golda Meir was re-elected Prime Minister of Israel.

====================================================================================

31 December 1973, Monday (+10,464) Mohammad Iqbal, Pakistani born Canadian cricketer, was born.

30 December 1973, Sunday (+10,463) In London, Joseph Seiff, Jewish head of Marks and Spencer, was shot and injured by an Arab terrorist.

29 December 1973, Saturday (+10,462) Christophe Rinero, French road racing cyclist, was born.

28 December 1973, Friday (+10,461) (1) US President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act, providing further environmental protection.

(2) In Paris, Alexander Solzhenitsyn published The Gulag Archipelago, detailing conditions in the Soviet prison system.

26 December 1973, Thursday (+10,460)

25 December 1973, Tuesday (+10,458) Ismet Inonu, Turkish statesman, died aged 84.

24 December 1973, Monday (+10,457) Dutch-US astronomer Kuiper died.

23 December 1973, Sunday (+10,456) OPEC quadrupled the price of crude oil.

20 December 1973, Thursday (+10,453) The Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanca, was killed in Madrid by a Basque ETA bomb which blew his car up. Every day Blanca attended Mass at the same church at the same time then took the same route beck to his office. This predictability enabled a group of five young ETA men, pretending to be arts students, to rent a ground floor flat on his route then dig a tunnel out under the road and detonate 80 kg of explosives as his car passed overhead. The car seemed to have completely disappeared; it had in fact been blasted over a four-storey building to land in the internal courtyard.

Luis Blanca had been chosen by General Franco as his successor, and had promised to continue Franco�s policies. Many Spaniards disliked this, not just the Basques, and after the event jokes circulated about �Spain�s first astronaut� and a folk song went �Whoops, there he goes�.

17 December 1973, Monday (+10,450) 31 people died after Arab guerrillas hijacked a West German airliner at Rome Airport.

14 December 1973, Friday (+10,447) John Paul Getty II was freed by kidnappers after his grandfather paid a US$ 750,000 ransom.

13 December 1973, Thursday (+10,446) A three day working week, beginning from 1 January 1974, was ordered by Edward Heath�s government because of the Arab oil embargo and the coal miner�s industrial action. See 5 December 1973 and 8 January 1974. Use of electricity for much of industry and commerce was restricted, and TV had to close down at 10.30 pm. The miners had rejected a 13% pay offer and staged an overtime ban, and fighting in the Middle East had massively raised oil prices. Coal supplies to the power stations dropped by 40%. Disruption to the coal mines, power stations, and railways forced a General Election, on 28 February 1974, which the Conservatives lost.

Within 1 week 320,000 workers in the Midlands alone registered as temporary unemployed; nationwide the unemployment total rose to 1.5 million. However many smaller Black Country companies just carried on with a normal work week. Officially, five-day working recommenced on 9 March 1974.

12 December 1973, Wednesday (+10,445) On British Railways, an overtime ban began to disrupt services.

9 December 1973, Sunday (+10,442) A 4-day conference ended at Sunningdale with an historic Anglo-Irish agreement to set up a Council of Ireland, There would be cooperation between Dublin and Belfast in areas such as trade and tourism. The Irish Republic agreed there could be no change in the status of Northern Ireland without majority consent. Northern Ireland Loyalists remained opposed to any power sharing with Dublin.

6 December 1973, Thursday (+10,439) Gerald Ford sworn in as US Vice President.

5 December 1973, Wednesday (+10,438) The UK government announced a nation-wide speed limit of 50 mph to conserve oil stocks, see 13 December 1973.

4 December 1973, Tuesday (+10,437) Tyra Banks, actress, was born.

3 December 1973, Monday (+10,436) The Pioneer 10 spacecraft captured the first close-up images of Jupiter,

2 December 1973, Sunday (+10,435) Monica Seles, tennis player, was born.

1 December 1973, Saturday (+10,434) (1) Death of Israeli statesman David Ben Gurion. Born in 1886 he was one of the founders of the State of Israel and its first President from 1948 to 1963.

(2) Papua New Guinea became internally self-governing, see 16 September 1975.

===================================================================================

29 November 1973, Thursday (-10,432) Ryan Giggs, footballer, was born in Cardiff.

26 November 1973, Monday (+10,,429) The Getty family agreed to pay US$ 1 million in ransom for their kidnapped son Paul, whose ear had been posted to them.

25 November 1973, Sunday (+10,428) The 200^th British soldier died in Northern Ireland.

24 November 1973, Saturday (+10,427) Germany imposed speed limits on its autobahns in response to the global oil crisis. The limits were ;lifted 4 months later.

21 November 1973, Wednesday (+10,424)

17 November 1973, Saturday (+10,420) UK Prime Minister Edward Heath and French President Pompidou signed an agreement to build a Channel Tunnel rail link. However there were delays and construction did not start until 1987.

16 November 1973, Friday (+10,419) (Space exploration) The third Skylab mission was launched, on an 84-day mission.

15 November 1973, Thursday (+10,418) (Jewish) Egypt and Israel exchanged prisoners of war.

14 November 1973, Wednesday (+10,417) (1) Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey.

(2) Greek students, in a protest against the military rule of the Colonels, occupied the Polytechnical School of Athens. The protest was ended by brutal police violence.

13 November 1973, Tuesday (+10,416) In the UK, a state of emergency was declared as miners and power workers went on strike.

12 November 1973, Monday (+10,415) British miners began an overtime ban in protest at their pay offer.

11 November 1973, Sunday (+10,414) Egypt and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement.

10 November 1973, Saturday (+10,413) Nick Lachey, musician, was born.

9 November 1973, Friday (+10,412) Six Watergate burglars jailed in the US.

8 November 1973, Thursday (+10,411) The Cod War between Britain and Iceland ended.

7 November 1973, Wednesday (+10,410) Pakistan formally left SEATO.

6 November 1973, Tuesday (+10,409) After singer Gram parsons died of a drugs overdose (23 September 1973), his manager Phil Kaufman took his body to the Joshua Tree Desert where he poured petrol over it and cremated it, in accordance with Gram�s last wishes. Kaufman was charged with stealing and burning� a coffin, as it was not a crime to steal a body.

5 November 1973, Monday (+10,.408) United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger began his shuttle diplomacy initiative to facilitate the cessation of hostilities following the Yom Kippur War.

4 November 1973, Sunday (+10,407) In response to fuel shortages caused by an Arab oil embargo (see 17 October 1973), The Netherlands introduced car-less Sundays (Autoloze Zondags), when all motor vehicles were banned from the road, see also 7 January 1974. By the end of November 1973 Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and West Germany had also introduced car-less Sundays. Only emergency vehicles, taxis, and some exempt drivers such as doctors and diplomats were allowed to drive on the roads.

3 November 1973, Saturday (+10,406) (Space exploration) The USA launched the Mariner-10 space probe. It made 1 flyby of Venus then 3 flybys of Mercury.

2 November 1973, Friday (+10,405) The IMCO Conference for Marine Pollution attended by 665 delegates from 79 countries, ended in London.

1 November 1973, Thursday (+10,404) The new bronze statue of Sir Winston Churchill was unveiled in Parliament Square by the Queen, the Queen Mother, and five Prime Ministers. These were Heath, Wilson, Douglas � Home, MacMillan, and Eden. The Royal Commission on the constitution completely rejected the case for separate sovereign parliaments for Scotland and Wales. The Watergate Tapes case continued with President Richard Nixon in Washington.

==================================================================================

31 October 1973, Wednesday (+10,403) Three provisional IRA leaders were sprung from Mountjoy Prison with a hi-jacked helicopter.

30 October 1973, Tuesday (+10,402) Preliminary impeachment hearings in the Watergate scandal began. Some tapes were still missing, including ones covering the crucial period of allegations.

29 October 1973, Monday (+10,401)

27 October 1973, Saturday (+10,399) The Canon City meteorite, a 1.4kg chondrite, fell in Fremont County, Colorado, USA.,

26 October 1973, Friday (+10,398) US President Nixon considered an attack on the Soviet Union, after hearing that the USSR was arming Arab nations in the Middle East.

25 October 1973, Thursday (+10,397) Steve White, US footballer, was born.

24 October 1973, Wednesday (+10,396) Syria accepted a ceasefire, and fighting ceased on both fronts.

23 October 1973, Tuesday (+10,395) The US House of Representatives ordered a judicial committee to consider the evidence for impeaching President Nixon.

22 October 1973, Monday (-10,394) Pablo Casals, Spanish composer, died aged 96.

21 October 1973, Sunday (+10,393) The Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.� It was designed by Danish architect Joern Utzon. Costs had soared from AU$ 7 million (UK� 3 million) to AU$ 100 million (UK� 43 million). The orchestra pit was criticised for being too small.

20 October 1973, Saturday (+10,392) (1) Sixteen impeachment orders were raised in the US House of Representatives after President Nixon ordered the removal from office of a special prosecutor who had refused to do a deal over the Watergate tapes, see 16 July 1973 and 27 July 1974.

(2) The Dalai Lama first visited Britain.

19 October 1973, Friday (+10,391) Severe floods in Spain killed 500.

18 October 1973, Thursday (+10,390) The Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences was awarded to US economist Wassily Leontief

17 October 1973, Wednesday (+10,389) Oil prices suddenly rose 70%. Saudi Arabia and several other oil-rich Arab countries voted to cut off supplies to America, and on 19 October 1973 Libya said it would also cut supplies to the USA and raise the price of oil to other countries from $4.90 a barrel to $8.25 a barrel.� On 21 October 1973 Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait also cut US supplies. This was OPEC�s first major action since it was founded in 1960.� Western experts predicted oil prices of over $100 a barrel by 2000. In fact in 2003 prices were around $30 a barrel. However they were rising through US$ 60 in June 2005, and reached just over US$ 100 a barrel in 2013.

16 October 1973, Tuesday (+10,388) Israeli forces crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt.

15 October 1973, Monday (+10,387) Moscow announced it would give all help possible to Arab nations to assist them to recover territory lost to Israel in the Six Day War.

14 October 1973, Sunday (+10,386) Edmund A. Chester, US journalist, died.

13 October 1973, Saturday (+10,385) The Polish Sejm (Parliament) passed a Bill adopting a national system of education, 11 years from ages 7 to 18, 3 years primary, 5 years secondary, and 3 years specialised secondary for certain careers.

12 October 1973, Friday (+10,384) (1) In the US, President Richard Nixon nominated Gerald Ford as Vice President.

(2) The US Court of Appeals ordered Richard Nixon to hand over the Watergate Tapes.

(3) Students jostled the Queen when she visited Stirling University.

(4) Israeli forces advanced to within 29 km of Damascus.

11 October 1973, Thursday (+10,383) (Israel) Israeli forces counterattacking on the Golan heights began to invade Syrian territory. They advanced almost halfway from the Golan towards the Syrian capital Damascus.

10 October 1973, Wednesday (+10,382) US Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges.

9 October 1973, Tuesday (+10,383) Capital Radio (London) began broadcasting.

8 October 1973, Monday (+10,380) (1) The first TV commercial in Britain for frozen fish fingers was broadcast.

(2) Britain�s first legal commercial radio station, LBC (London Broadcasting Company) Radio in London, began transmission.

7 October 1973, Sunday (+10,379) Dida, Brazilian footballer, was born in Bahia.

6 October 1973, Saturday (+10,378) Egypt launched the Yom Kippur War. Syria also attacked Israel on a second front. Israeli civilians had to be mobilised before the Syrians could be halted. Israel was heavily outgunned on the Golan, with its 2 brigades, 11 artillery batteries and 180 tanks facing a Syrian force of 5 divisions, 188 artillery batteries and 1,300 tanks. Only with mass mobilisation of its reserve forces did Israel turn the tide on 8 March 1973, forcing Syrians back beyond their initial positions by 10 October 1073. Meanwhile on the Egyptian front, Arab forces possessed state of the art SAM missiles that were highly effective at destroying Israeli fighter planes, in contrast to 1967. The Egyptians captured the Israeli / Sinai town of Qantara on 8 October 1973; they actually advanced too far, beyond air defence range, enabling Israeli aircraft to destroy their ground forces. On 16 October 1773 the Israeli General Sharon crossed on to the Egyptian side of the Suez Canal and cut off the Egyptian 100,000 � strong Third Army.� Fighting ceased on 23 October 1973.� This war strained relations between the USA and the USSR, who backed Israel and the Arabs respectively.� The USSR was forced to threaten �unilateral military action� if the USA did not enforce a ceasefire, when it was clear the Israelis were winning.

5 October 1973, Friday (+10,377)

3 October 1973, Wednesday (+10,375) Neve Campbell, actress, was born.

2 October 1973, Tuesday (+10,374) Britain agreed to withdraw its fishing boats from the 50 mile zone claimed by Iceland.

1 October 1973, Monday (+10,373) Denis Healey promised that Labour will tax the rich �until the pips squeak�.

====================================================================================

28 September 1973, Friday (+10,370) W H Auden, English-American poet, died aged 66.

26 September 1973, Wednesday (+10,368) a French Concorde flew non-stop from Washington to Paris in 3 hours 32 minutes. Now Concorde is out of service the same flight takes over eight hours.

23 September 1973, Sunday (+10,365) General Juan Peron was elected President of Argentina.

22 September 1973, Saturday (+10,364) The new Dallas-Fort Worth airport, then the biggest in the world, 17,500 acres, was formally opened.

21 September 1973, Friday (+10,363)

20 September 1973, Thursday (+10,362) An IRA bomb exploded at Chelsea Barracks, London.

19 September 1973, Wednesday (+10,361) Gram Parsons, musician, was born.

18 September 1973, Tuesday (+10,360) The UN admitted East and West Germany.

17 September 1973, Monday (+10,359) Edward Heath met Irish Prime Minister Cosgrave at a military airfield near Dublin; the first official visit to Ireland by a British Prime Minister.

16 September 1973, Sunday (+10,358)

15 September 1973, Saturday (+10,357) Gustavus VI, King of Sweden since 1950, died aged 90. He was succeeded by his 23-year-old son, Carl Gustavus XVI.

14 September 1973, Friday (+10,356) Most Chileans supported the coup by Pinochet, believing he had saved the country from a Left-wing coup. Pinochet began a savage repression of Allende�s supporters. Many were executed without trial, or simply �disappeared�. Congress was dismissed and strict Press control began. This repression was to continue for the next sixteen years.

13 September 1973, Thursday (+10,355) Major air battle between Israel and Syria.

12 September 1973, Wednesday (+10,354)

11 September 1973, Tuesday (+10,353) A military junta took control in Chile after President Salvador Allende, elected leader of a left-wing government, was deposed. He committed suicide as his palace was bombarded by planes and tanks. The coup was mounted by General Augusto Pinochet, and backed by the USA. Pinochet had made a show of loyalty towards Allende right up till the moment it was clear the military coup was going to succeed. This was the prelude to a savage repression in Chile in which at least 3,000 civilians were killed, and tens of thousands tortured or exiled. A majority of Chileans had probably favoured the overthrow of Allende, but did not support the repression that followed. Allende had attempted to run a Socialist government but with parliamentary democracy; however there was widespread unrest from business interests, and a major lorry drivers strike in 1972-3, backed by the CIA.� Coups swiftly followed in Uruguay and Argentina, where 30,000 were killed by the dictatorship. Due to Pinochet�s rule, and that of Mexico�s Carlos Salinas and Peru�s Alberto Fujimori, many Latin Americans in 2003 associate free-market economics with authoritarian rule. Augusto Pinochet ruled for 17 years. His free-market reforms led to rapid economic growth for Chile, but at great cost to human life and rights.

10 September 1973, Monday (+10,352) IRA bombs exploded at several London railway stations, injuring 13 people.

9 September 1973, Sunday (+10,351)

7 September 1973, Friday (+10,349) Iceland threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Britain over the fishing dispute.

6 September 1973, Thursday (+10,348) Greg Rusedski, tennis player, was born.

5 September 1973, Wednesday (+10,347) Jordanian terrorists held 13 hostages in the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Paris.

4 September 1973, Tuesday (+10,346) (1) BBC2 was still broadcasting for less than 7 hours a day, including the antique �lover�s show Collector�s World. ITV began at 11.15 am with Galloping Gourmet. Other programmes of the day included A TUC Special, Crossroads, and the sitcom Up The Workers. Emmerdale Farm was also on, and schedules closed at 12.15 am after The Evangelists. The Rolling Stones played in London for the first time in 2 � years, and then attended a party at Buckingham Palace which Mick Jagger described as �very dull�.

(2) First class stamps rose to 3 � pence and second class to 3p, and the price of half a dozen eggs rose by 2p, making them between 37p and 42p for six.

(3) IRA Bombs exploded in London, Birmingham, and Manchester.

3 September 1973, Monday (+10,345) In the UK, 20 Trade Unions were expelled from the TUC.

2 September 1973, Sunday (+10,344) J R R Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, died at Bournemouth.

1 September 1973, Saturday (+10,343) Ram Kapoor, Indian actor, was born in New Delhi

====================================================================================

31 August 1973, Friday (+10,342) (1) The growing drugs menace in Britain was investigated by the TV programme Midweek on Drugs.

(2) The IRA exploded a large bomb in London�s West End after a security drive by Scotland Yard. There were no casualties but thousands of guests were evacuated from nearby hotels and a large number of cars were wrecked.

30 August 1973, Thursday (+10,341) Kenya banned hunting elephants and trading in ivory.

28 August 1973, Tuesday (+10,339) 500 killed in Mexican earthquake.

24 August 1973, Friday (+10,335) David Chapelle, comedian, was born.

22 August 1973, Wednesday (+10,333) the Chilean Interior Minister, General Carlos Prats, warned Allende that a coup was now inevitable. Prats resigned, and reassured Allende that his replacement, General Pinochet, was loyal to him. However Prats also warned Allende that the momentum for a coup by the Army was now so strong that any officer who tried to resist it would be powerless.

21 August 1973, Tuesday (+10,332) The coroner in the Bloody Sunday inquest accused the British army of "sheer unadulterated murder" after the jury returned an open verdict.

20 August 1973, Monday (+10,331) (1) IRA bombs exploded in London.

(2) On TV, an account was shown of how the local community was resisting the new 6-lane Archway Road, north London.

19 August 1973, Sunday (+10,330) Marco Materazzi, Italian footballer, was born.

17 August 1973, Friday (+10,328)

15 August 1973, Wednesday (+10,326) British� motorcycle designer Edward Turner died aged 72.

14 August 1973, Tuesday (+10,325) Augustin Okocha, footballer, was born.

12 August 1973, Sunday (+10,323) Darren Campbell, athlete, was born.

9 August 1973, Thursday (+10,320) Filippo Inzaghi, Italian footballer, was born.

6 August 1973, Monday (+10,317) The US accidentally bombed friendly Laotian villages, causing hundreds of casualties.

5 August 1973, Sunday (+10,316) A terrorist attack at Athens Airport left 3 dead and 55 wounded.

4 August 1973, Saturday (+10,315) Eddie Condon, US jazz musician, died in New York (born 16 November 1905 in Goodland, Indiana)

3 August 1973, Friday (+10,314) Race riots at the University of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

2 August 1973, Thursday (+10,313) 46 people died and 80 were injured when fire swept through the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man. The acrylic sheeting covering the structure caught fire and melted onto the people below.

1 August 1973, Wednesday (+10,312) The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) was inaugurated.

===================================================================================

31 July 1973, Tuesday (+10,311) (1) US Congress voted to cut off funds for US military action anywhere in Indochina.

(2) The first, tumultuous, meeting of the new Northern Ireland Assembly took place in Belfast.

30 July 1973, Monday (+10,310) Families of thalidomide victims won �20 million damages after an 11-year court case fought on their behalf by The Sunday Times newspaper. Babies had been born with missing or malformed limbs after their pregnant mothers took the drug for morning sickness.

29 July 1973, Sunday (+10,309) Stephen Dorff, actor, was born.

28 July 1973, Saturday (+10,308) The car in which gangsters Bonnie and Clyde died, a 1934 Ford V8, was sold at auction for US$ 175,000.

27 July 1973, Friday (+10,307) Prison riots at the Queen of Heaven Prison, Rome, caused US$ 1.67 million worth of damage.

26 July 1973, Thursday (+10,306) A truckers strike began in Chile, backed by the CIA. After 2 months the strike was estimated to have cost the Chilean economy some US$ 100 million, and inflation reached 320%. The Chamber of Deputies called on the Chilean Army to stage a coup to overthrow Allende, and unlike in 1970 (see 17 September 1970) the Army generals were happy to comply, fearing a Left-wing coup. The Deputies hoped that after the coup the Army would retire and civilian rule resume.

23 July 1973, Monday (+10,303) Monica Lewinsky, White House intern, was born.

21 July 1973, Saturday (+10,301) France resumed nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll, despite protests from Australia and New Zealand.

20 July 1973, Friday (+10,300) A Japanese Boeing 747 with 123 passengers and 22 crew was hijacked over Holland and forced to fly to Dubai. Later, at Benghazi, the aircraft was blown up by the hijackers. A girl hijacker was killed by a grenade explosion, but all passengers and crew escaped.

19 July 1973, Thursday (+10,299) US Kung Fu film star Bruce Lee died.

18 July 1973, Wednesday (+10,298)

17 July 1973, Tuesday (+10,297) Daoud, supported by the Parcham Party, ousted his cousin King Mohammed Zabiur Shah, who had rued Afghanistan since 1933. Daoud proclaimed himself President of the new Republic of Afghanistan.

16 July 1973, Monday (+10,296) A former White House aide revealed that all conversations in the White House had been recorded, at President Nixon�s request, see 25 June 1973. Nixon flouted several subsequent court orders to release the tapes, see 20 October 1973.

15 July 1973, Sunday (+10,295) Paul Getty III was kidnapped.

12 July 1973, Thursday (+10,292) Christian Vieri, Italian footballer, was born.

10 July 1973, Tuesday (+10,290) The Bahamas became independent from Britain and joined the Commonwealth.� They had been� British colony since 1783.

8 July 1973, Sunday (+10,288) Wilfred Rhodes, cricketer, died (born 29 October 1876).

6 July 1973, Friday (+10,286) Otto Klemperer, Jewish-German composer, died aged 88.

5 July 1973, Thursday (+10,285) Rioting at Long Kesh prison, Northern Ireland.

4 July 1973, Wednesday (+10,284)

3 July 1973, Tuesday (+10,283) Betty Grable, US actress, died in Santa Monica, California (born 18 December 1918 in St Louis, Missouri)

2 July 1973, Monday (+10,282) US Congress passed the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) mandating Special Education federally.

1 July 1973, Sunday (+10,281) A pint of draught lager cost 14p. A 800g white loaf of bread cost 11p. 1kg dessert apples cost 28p. A pint of milk cost 6p. 1kg pork sausages cost 58p. 250g UK butter cost 13p. 1kg carrots cost 11p. 1kg granulated sugar cost 11p. 100g instant coffee cost 28p. A dozen eggs cost 33p. 1.5kg self-raising flour cost 15p. 1 litre diesel cost 14p. An average detached house cost �16,980. Gold was �34 per troy ounce.

======================================================================================

30 June 1973, �Saturday (+10,280)

29 June 1973, �Friday (+10,279) President Nixon warned US Congress that the US, with just 6% of the world population, consumed one third of the world�s energy supply, and that energy supplies were not infinite.

28 June 1973, Thursday (+10,278) A Northern Ireland Assembly was elected, but collapsed, see 29 May 1974.

27 June 1973, Wednesday (+10,277)

26 June 1973, Tuesday (+10,276) The newly formed �Ulster Freedom Fighters� murdered Senator Paddy Wilson of the SDLP in Belfast,

25 June 1973, Monday (+10,275) US President Nixon�s former legal counsel, John Dean, gave evidence at the Ervin Committee that directly contradicted Nixon�s statement regarding Watergate that he had made on 22 May 1973, see also 16 July 1973.

24 June 1973, Sunday (+10,274) Irish President De Valera resigned at the age of 90; he had been President since 1959. Erskine Childers succeeded him. De Valera died on 29 August 1975.

23 June 1973, Saturday (+10,273) The first graduates from the Open University received their degrees at a ceremony at Alexandra Palace, London.

22 June 1973, Friday (+10,272) East and West Germany were accepted into the UN.

21 June 1973, Thursday (+10,271) Juliette Lewis, US film actress, was born.

20 June 1973, Wednesday (+10,270) Juan Peron returned to Argentina as President after 20 years exile.

18 June 1973, Monday (+10,268)

16 June 1973, Saturday (+10,266) First performance of Benjamin Britten�s opera Death in Venice.

15 June 1973, Friday (+10,265) (Comoros) A joint French-Comoros Declaration stated that the Comoros would gain independence within 5 years.

12 June 1973, Tuesday (+10,262) In West Germany, Helmut Kohl became leader of the right of centre Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU).

9 June 1973, Saturday (+10,259) Erich von Manstein, military adviser to Adolf Hitler in World War Two (born in Berlin, 24 November 1887) died, having been imprisoned by the British in August 1945. His advice on attacking France through the Ardennes in 1940 was crucial to Nazi success here.

8 June 1973, Friday (+10,258) Enoch Powell said people should vote Labour to protest against Britain joining the EEC.

7 June 1973, Thursday (+10,257) The West German Chancellor Willy Brandt visited Israel.

6 June 1973, Wednesday (+10,256)

4 June 1973, Monday (+10,254) (Aviation) A Soviet version of Concorde crashed at the Paris Air Show. All six crew, and 27 spectators, were killed. Sabotage was suspected.

3 June 1973, Sunday (+10,253) (1) (Rail Tunnels) The Lierasen rail tunnel, Norway, 10.7km long, opened on the Oslo-Drammen line.

(2) (Jewish) Israel freed 96 Arab prisoners in exchange for 3 pilots.

2 June 1973, Saturday (+10,252) Carlos Acosta, Cuban ballet dancer, was born in Havana.

1 June 1973. Friday (+10,251) (1) (Greece) The Greek monarchy was abolished and George Papadopoulos became first president of the Republic.� The Greek Colonels (see 21 April 1967 and 13 December 1967) alleged that ex-King Constantine II was plotting to overthrow their regime from exile.

(2) (South America) The British colony of British Honduras was officially renamed Belize.� See 21 January 1981.

==================================================================================

31 May 1973, Thursday (+10,250) Kate Howey, judo player, was born.

30 May 1973, Wednesday (+10,249) In Irish presidential election: voters elected Erskine H Childers as successor to President �amon de Valera, defeating Tom O'Higgins.

29 May 1973, Tuesday (+10,248) Alpay Ozalan Fehmi, Turkish footballer, was born.

28 May 1973, Monday (+10,247) Actor Marlon Brando refused an Oscar in protest at the USA�s treatment of indigenous Amerindians.

27 May 1973, Sunday (+10,246) Jack Bennett, hockey player, died.

26 May 1973, Saturday (+10,245) An Icelandic gunboat shelled and holed a British trawler.

25 May 1973, Friday (+10,244) The Peronist Hector Campora was elected President of Argentina.

24 May 1973, Thursday (+10,243) The Cod War continued between Britain and Iceland. In Reykjavik several hundred protesters, in a crowd of several thousand, threw stones, eggs, and paint at the British Embassy. Reykjavik�s 150 police officers were hopelessly outnumbered.

23 May 1973, Wednesday (+10,240) The Greek Government foiled a naval mutiny.

22 May 1973, Tuesday (+10,241) President Nixon admitted concealing evidence of wrongdoing regarding Watergate (see 17 May 1973 and 25/ June 1973), but denied knowing of the burglary before it took place.

21 May 1973, Monday (+10,240) A British warship and an Icelandic frigate played cat and mouse in the first Royal Navy action of the Cod War. The British frigate Cleopatra and the Icelandic gunboat Thor were shadowing each other when the Thor suddenly turned and chased after a German trawler; the Cleopatra followed. The Thor suddenly turned and confronted the Cleopatra; Cleopatra retreated, with Thor in chase. As darkness fell the two ships were still dodging each other.

20 May 1973, Sunday (+10,239)

18 May 1973, Friday (+10,237) Royal Navy frigates were sent to protect British trawlers fishing in disputed waters near Iceland.

17 May 1973, Wednesday (+10,236) US Senate hearings over Watergate began. See 30 January 1973 and 22 May 1973.

16 May 1973, Tuesday (+10,235) Tori Spelling, US actress, was born.

14 May 1973, Monday (+10,233) The US put Skylab I into orbit. It eventually returned to Earth on 11 July 1979 after 34,981 orbits.

12 May 1973, Saturday (+10,231) Racing car driver Art Lee Pollard Jr was killed in an accident.

11 May 1973, Friday (+10,230) Joop den Uyl became Dutch Prime Minister after a record 164-day ministerial crisis.

10 May 1973, Thursday (+10,229) The Polisario was founded by radical students at Ain Bentili. Its aim was to free the Western Sahara from Spanish, then Moroccan, control.

7 May 1973, Monday (+10,226) The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, for exposing the Watergate Scandal.

4 May 1973, Friday (+10,223) The Sears Tower in Chicago, then the world�s tallest office building at 1,454 feet and 110 storeys was �topped out� when the highest storey was completed.

1 May 1973, Tuesday (+10,220) A TUC 1-day strike in protest at pay restraint was supported by 1.6 million workers.

==================================================================================

30 April 1973, Monday (+10,219) 4 of Nixon�s aides resigned over Watergate.

27 April 1973, Friday (+10,216)

24 April 1973, Tuesday (+10,213) An Icelandic gunboat opened fire on two British trawlers.

23 April 1973, Monday (+10,212) Henry Kissinger, head of the US National Security Council, called for a new �Atlantic Charter� governing relations between the US, Europe and Japan.

22 April 1973, Sunday (+10,211) Easter Sunday.

21 April 1973, Saturday (+10,210) Mark Dexter: English actor, was born.

20 April 1973, Friday (+10,209) Edris Hapgood, footballer, died.

19 April 1973, Thursday (+10,208) The Portuguese Socialist Party was founded in the German city of Bad M�nstereifel, by militants from Portuguese Socialist Action.

18 April 1973, Wednesday (+10,207) Nixon told Haldemann, a White House aide, to destroy the Watergate tapes. Had he done so, Nixon would probably have avoided having to resign.

17 April 1973, Tuesday (+10,206) President Nixon dropped the ban on White House staff appearing before Senate Committee hearings on Watergate.

16 April 1973, Monday (+10,205) (1) US bombing raids resumed on Laos.

(2) Criminal indictments were expected to be issued against senior members of President Nixon�s staff over the Watergate affair. The Church of England said that practising homosexuals would not be accepted for training as priests after a radio statement by the Archbishop of York said that many clergymen were homosexuals.

15 April 1973, Sunday (+10.204) Naim Talu, former civil servant, formed the new Turkish Government.

14 April 1973, Saturday (+10,203) Adrien Brody, actor, was born.

13 April 1973, Friday (+10,202) Balraj Sahni, Punjabi film actor, died aged 59.

12 April 1973, Thursday (+10,201) Arthur Freed, US film producer, died in Hollywood (born 9 September 1894 in Charleston, South Carolina)

11 April 1973, Wednesday (+10,200) UK Parliament voted against restoring capital punishment by a margin of 142 votes.

10 April 1973, Tuesday (+10,199) Israeli special forces completed an operation in Lebanon to attack terrorist targets there.

9 April 1973, Monday (+10,198) Arab terrorists attempted to hijack an Israeli plane at Nicosia. One Arab was killed and 7 captured.

8 April 1973, Sunday (+10,197) (1) Indian troops annexed Sikkim in the Himalayas.

(2) Spanish painter Pablo Picasso died of a heart attack, aged 91. He was famous for his Cubist style.

7 April 1973, Saturday (+10,196) Brett Tomko, US baseball player, was born

6 April 1973, Friday (+10,195) The space probe Pioneer 11 was launched. Passing Jupiter a year after Pioneer 10 it continued on to Saturn, which it reached in 1979.

5 April 1973, Thursday (+10,194) Pharrell Williams, musician, was born.

4 April 1973, Wednesday (+10,193) The British Government provided a �15 million subsidy to keep the mortgage rate below 9.5% for the next three months.

3 April 1973, Tuesday (+10,192) The world�s first ever mobile phone call was made, in New York.

2 April 1973, Monday (+10,191) The LexisNexis computerized legal research service began..

1 April 1973, Sunday (+10,190) VAT, or Value Added Tax, was introduced in Britain. It replaced Purchase Tax and Selective Employment Tax; this latter tax was meant to favour manufacturing jobs over services, and so prop up the UK�s old staple industries, but was doomed to failure.

===================================================================================

30 March 1973, Friday (+10,188)

29 March 1973, Thursday (+10,187) (SE Asia, USA) US pulled its last troops out of South Vietnam. The quadrupling of oil prices by OPEC worsened the finances of the USA. Nixon was in trouble with Watergate and Congress reasserted its power over US foreign policy. The War Powers Resolution of November 1973 removed the President�s power to make war without prior Congressional approval, nullifying Nixon�s promise to send troops to support South Vietnam if the Communists threatened again. In 1974 Congress slashed the budget for the war in Vietnam. US influence also declined in Cambodia, where extensive bombing had disrupted society and promoted the growth of the Communist Khmer Rouge, backed by Prince Sihanouk. Many Cambodians regarded Sihanouk as their legitimate leader, and by 1974 Sihanouk�s US-backed replacement, General Lon Nol, controlled just one third of Cambodia. In Laos an extensive bombing campaign to destroy the Ho Chi Minh trail, a network of routes used to supply the Communist Vietcong, simply resulted in the strengthening of the Pathet Lao, the Laotian Communists. Throughout 1974 the North Vietnamese quietly built up strength in the border regions of South Vietnam, and on 7 January 1975 they captured the South Vietnamese province of Phuoc Long.

28 March 1973, Wednesday (+10,186) Marlon Brando refused an Oscar because of Hollywood�s abuses of the American Indians.

27 March 1973, Tuesday (+10,185) Boyan Georgiev Ikonomov, Bulgarian composer, died aged 72

26 March 1973, Monday (+10,184) Women were allowed on the floor of the London Stock Exchange for the first time. Mrs Susan Shaw stepped onto the floor, the first woman in the 171-year history of the Stock Exchange.

22 March 1973, Thursday (+10,180) William Llewellyn, rugby player, died (born 1 January 1878).

20 March 1973, Tuesday (+10,178) Trial without jury was introduced for terrorist offences on Northern Ireland.

17 March 1973, Saturday (+10,175) A Cambodian Air Force office stole a plane and bombed the Presidential Palace, in an attempt to assassinate President Lon Nol. He missed his target, although he killed 20 others.

16 March 1973, Friday (+10,174) The new London Bridge was opened by the Queen. In 23 September 1968 the foundation stone of the old London Bridge had been laid at Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

15 March 1973, Thursday (+10.173) The last American PoWs from the Vietnam War were released by the North Vietnamese.

13 March 1973, Tuesday (+10,171) Edgar Steven Davids, Dutch footballer, was born.

11 March 1973, Sunday (+10,169) In Argentine general elections, the Peronist candidate, Hector Campora, won. On 13 July 1973 he resigned to make way for Peron.

10 March 1973, Saturday (+10, 168) Following a period of political tension in Bermuda, the Governor, Sir Richard Sharples, was assassinated.

9 March 1973, Friday (+10,167) A referendum in Northern Ireland showed 592,000 in favour of retaining links with the UK; 6,000 voted for union with Ireland. Most Catholics boycotted the vote.

8 March 1973, Thursday (+10,166) (1) The IRA set off two bombs in London, outside the Old Bailey and in Whitehall.� One person was killed and 244 injured.

7 March 1973, Wednesday (+10,165) Comet Kohoutek was discovered by Czech astronomer Lubo� Kohoutek.

6 March 1973, Tuesday (+10,164) The UK government budget introduced VAT and car tax.

5 March 1973, Monday (+10,163) 68 people died when two Spanish airliners collided over France, during a French air traffic controllers strike.

3 March 1973, Saturday (+10,161)

2 March 1973, Friday (+10,160) (Israel) Palestinian terrorists murdered the US ambassador to the Sudan, citing �US collusion with Israel� as their motive.

1 March 1973, Thursday (+10,159) An IRA bomb exploded in London, killing one and injuring 238.

====================================================================================

28 February 1973, Wednesday (+10,158) US Indians took hostages at Wounded Knee. They challenged the US Government to �repeat the massacre of Sioux Indians� that happened there over 80 years earlier.

26 February 1973, Monday (+10,156) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Norwegian footballer, was born.

23 February 1973, Friday (+10,153) Andre Tannenberger, disc jockey, was born.

22 February 1973, Thursday (+10,152) Elizabeth Bowen, Irish novelist, died aged 73.

21 February 1973, Wednesday (+10,151) A ceasefire agreement was signed in Vientiane, capital of Laos, between the Pathet Lao Communist guerrillas and the Lao Government.� By now the Communists occupied much of Laos.� See 2 December 1975.

20 February 1973, Tuesday (+10,150) (Science) Marie Goeppert Mayer, German-US physicist, died in San Diego, California.

18 February 1973, Sunday (+10,148)

16 February 1973, Friday (+10,146) Cathy Freeman, athlete, was born.

14 February 1973, Wednesday (+10,144) An Israeli fighter jet shot down a Libyan passenger plane over the Sinai Desert, killing 74 passengers and crew.

13 February 1973, Tuesday (+10,143) The USA devalued the Dollar by 10%, causing the price of gold to rise to US$42.22.

12 February 1973, Monday (+10,142) (1) The first group of American POWs was released from North Vietnam.

(2) In Uruguay, President Juan Maria Bordaberry (born 1928) agreed to a military dictatorship of the country. The army used harsh repression methods against the Tupumaros, including mass arrest and torture; some Tupumaros fled to Argentina.

10 February 1973, Saturday (+10,140)

8 February 1973, Thursday (+10,138) Makarios was re-elected President of Cyprus.

7 February 1973, Wednesday (+10,137) Unionists in Northern Ireland called a 1-day strike.

5 February 1973, Monday (+10,135) 20,000 Black workers went on strike in South Africa.

3 February 1973, Saturday (+10,133) Andy Razaf, US singer, died in Hollywood (born 16 December 1895 in Washington DC)

1 February 1973, Thursday (+10,131) The Common Agricultural Policy of the EEC came into operation.

=====================================================================================

31 January 1973, Wednesday (+10,130) Portia de Rossi, actress, was born.

30 January 1973, Tuesday (+10,129) G Gordon and James McCord were convicted of burglary, wire-tapping, and attempted bugging of the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Building in Washington. The men were part of the Campaign to Re Elect the President (CREEP) campaign (President Nixon). See 17 June 1972 and 17 May 1973.

29 January 1973, Monday (+10,128) The USA�s balance of payments deficit for 1972 was estimated at US$ 6 � 7 billion; the Dollar collapsed.

28 January 1973, Sunday (+10,127) Police in Londonderry fired rubber bullets on a crowd marking the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

27 January /1973, Saturday (+10,126) The war in Vietnam ended, as President Nixon signed the ceasefire agreement in Paris. One million combatants had been killed. The last US troops left Vietnam on 29 March 1972. This was just days before the Watergate scandal erupted. US astronauts were preparing for the launch of Skylab. However fighting later continued between North and South Vietnam, see 30 April 1975.

26 January 1973, Friday (-10,125) US actor Edward G Robinson died.

25 January 1973, Thursday (-10,124)

23 January 1973, Tuesday (+10,122) 5,000 evacuated from the island of Heimay in Iceland as volcano erupted.

22 January 1973, Monday (+10,121) (1) The US Supreme Court ruled, in Roe vs Wade; a ruling that resulted in the liberalisation of abortion laws, so women had the freedom to choose a private abortion. Abortion was subsequently legalised in France (1975) and Italy (1977). The actual case was between Henry Wade, Dallas County District Attorney, and Norma McCorvey; McCorvey�s name was disguised as Jane Roe.

(2) Lyndon Johnson, US Democrat President from 1963 to 1969, died of a heart attack in San Antonio, Texas.

21 January 1973, Sunday (+10,120)

20 January 1973, Saturday (+10,119) Disc Jockey Jimmy Saville ran his �clunk click every time� seat belt campaign.

19 January 1973, Friday (+10,118) Max Adrian, Irish actor, died in London (born 1 November 1903).

18 January 1973, Thursday (+10,117)

17 January 1973, Wednesday (+10,116) President Marcos of the Philippines extended his term indefinitely.

16 January 1973, Tuesday (-10,115) Edgar Sampson, US composer, died in Englewood, New Jersey (born 31 August 1907 in New York)

15 January 1973, Monday (+10,114) Bombing of North Vietnam halted by Nixon, as he ordered a ceasefire. This followed an intensive US bombing campaign of Hanoi over Christmas 1972, in which a hospital was destroyed and 1,600 civilians killed as 36,000 tons of bombs were dropped on the city, leaving much of it in ruins. US Congress was hostile to further bombing raids.

13 January 1973, Saturday (+10,112)

12 January 1973, Friday (+10,111) Yasser Arafat was re-elected leader of the PLO.

11 January 1973, Thursday (+10,110) The Open University awarded its first degrees. See 23 July 1969.

8 January 1973. Monday (+10,107) Russia launched the Luna 21 probe towards the Moon

4 January 1973, Thursday (+10,103) John Samuel Tucker, rugby player, died (born 1 June 1895).

2 January 1973, Tuesday (+10,101) Eleazar L�pez Contreras, President of Venezuela 1935�1941, died aged 89.

1 January 1973, Monday (+10,100) Britain, Denmark, and Ireland joined the EEC, enlarging it from 6 to 9 countries.

==================================================================================

31 December 1972, Sunday (+10,099) (1) Sinclair were selling a pocket calculator for �79, or US$ 195.

(2) Casualties in the Northern Ireland conflict over 1972 amounted to 467, including 103 British soldiers.

30 December 1972, Saturday (+10,098) The Tutankhamen exhibition closed in London; 1.6 million had visited since it opened on 29 March 1972.

29 December 1972, Friday (+10,097) Survivors of a Uruguayan plane crash in the Andes admitted to eating the bodies of their fello0w passengers to stay alive.

28 December 1972, Thursday (+10,096) Patrick Rafter, tennis player, was born.

27 December 1972, Wednesday (+10,095) Death of Lester Pearson, Canadian politician and Liberal Prime Minister 1963-8.

26 December 1972, Tuesday (+10,094) Harry S Truman, Democrat, 23^rd US President 1945-53, died in Independence, Missouri, aged 88.

25 December 1972, Monday (+10,093) In Managua, Nicaragua, over 10,000 people were killed in an earthquake.

24 December 1972, Sunday (+10,092) Melville Ruick, US actor, died aged 74.

23 December 1972, Saturday (+10,091) Managua, Nicaragua, was hit by a severe earthquake. More than 10,000 people died as huge fires broke out.

22 December 1972, Friday (+10,090) Vanessa Paradis, actress, was born.

21 December 1972, Thursday (+10,089) East and West Germany signed the Grundvertrag (Basic Treaty), by which the two States recognised each other�s boundaries and established a reciprocal presence in each other�s capital cities.

18 December 1972, Monday (+10,086) Heavy bombing of Hanoi by US B-52s.

12 December 1972, Tuesday (+10,080) South Vietnamese President Thieu rejected US peace proposals (see 20 November 1972).

11 December 1972, Monday (+10,079) India and Pakistan agreed on a� truce line in Jammu and Kashmir.

10 December 1972, Sunday (_10,078)

9 December 1972, Saturday (+10,077) Louella Parsons, gossip columnist, died.

8 December 1972, Friday (+10,076) The US State of Florida restored the death penalty

7 December 1972, Thursday (+10,075) The US spacecraft Apollo 17 was launched, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, Dr Harrison Schmitt.� Cernan and Schmitt made the 6^th Moon landing.

6 December 1972, Wednesday (+10,074) In Britain, four �Angry Brigade� anarchists were jailed for conspiracy to cause explosions after a record 111-day trial.

4 December 1972, Monday (+10,072)

3 December 1972, Sunday (+10,071) Swiss voters approved a Free Trade Agreement with the European Community by 1,345,057 votes to 509,350 against.

2 December 1972, Saturday (+10,070) The Australian Labour Party won a sweeping electoral victory; Gough Whitlam became Prime Minister.

1 December 1972, Friday (+10,069) Two IRA bombs exploded in Belfast, killing two people and injuring 127.

====================================================================================

30 November 1972, Thursday (+10,068) The UK Government cancelled a planned �10 million loan to Uganda because of Amin�s treatment of the Asians there. With the Asians gone, Uganda now suffered serious economic problems. In Kampala, 80% of the shops were closed, a third of the residential areas were deserted, and there was a shortage of teachers at some schools, also of medical personnel; few Ugandans were qualified to replace them. Imports were disrupted, causing prices and unemployment to rise.

29 November 1972, Wednesday (+10,067) Life magazine ceased publication (see 23 November 1936) but was revived in 10/1978.

28 November 1972, Tuesday (+10,066) North and South Yemen agreed to unify.

27 November 1972, Monday (+10,065) In the first episode of the fourth season of Sesame Street, the character of "The Count" (officially Count von Count) was introduced. True to his name, the friendly children's show puppet vampire (performed by Jerry Nelson) helped children count.

26 November 1972, Sunday (+10,064) The Race Relations Act became UK law; employers were now not allowed to discriminate on grounds of race.

25 November 1972, Saturday (+10,063) Norman Kirk became Prime Minister of New Zealand after Labour won a sweeping electoral victory.

24 November 1972, Friday (+10,062) Finland became the first western nation to formally recognise East Germany.

23 November 1972, Thursday (+10,061) Alf-Inge Haland, Norwegian footballer, was born in Stavanger

22 November 1972, Wednesday (+10,060) The first US B-52 bomber was shot down over Vietnam.

21 November 1972, Tuesday (+10,059) (USA, Russia) SALT 2 talks between the USA and Russia began in Geneva.

20 November 1972, Monday (+10,058) North Vietnamese peace negotiators rejected US peace proposals (see 12 December 1972).

18 November 1972, Saturday (+10,056)

16 November 1972, Thursday (+10,054) UNESCOs World Heritage Convention was adopted. This seeks to preserve sites of major cultural or biological significance around the world.

15 November 1972, Wednesday (+10,053) The RAF museum at Hendon opened.

14 November 1972, Tuesday (+10,052) Alfred Shrub, athlete (runner), died (born 12 December 1879).

13 November 1972, Monday (+10,051) Arnold Jackson, athlete, died (born 5 April 1891).

12 November 1972, Sunday (+10,050) Rudolf Friml, Bohemian-US composer, died in Los Angeles (born 7 December 1879 in Prague)

11 November 1972, Saturday (+10,049)

9 November 1972, Thursday (+10,047) New London Stock Exchange opened by the Queen.

8 November 1972, Wednesday (+10,046) East and West Germany signed the Basic Treaty, agreeing to respect each other�s� independence and sovereignty. The East claimed that this Treaty finalised the division of Germany; the West claimed it did not preclude the possible later reunification of Germany should the Cold War come to an end. In any case the Treaty was a political triumph for Chancellor Willy Brandt and his policy of Ostpolitik, allowing for personal contact between the leaders of East and West Germany.

7 November 1972, Tuesday (+10,045) (1) Richard Nixon was re-elected President of the USA for a second four year term.

(2) Californians voted to reinstate the death penalty.

6 November 1972, Monday (+10,044) (1) The UK faced continued large pay claims, such as the miners settlement of a 22% rise in February 1972 backdated to November 1971. Rising inflation was an ongoing threat. On this day the Prime Minister announced a compulsory freeze on prices, pay, dividends and rents for a period of 90 days, with a possible extension of a further 60 days.

(2) A Coptic Christian church was set alight during sectarian violence in the northern Cairo suburb of Khanka.

4 November 1972, Saturday (+10,042)

3 November 1972, Friday (+10,041) Harry Richman, US composer, died in Hollywood (born 10 August 1895 in Cincinnati, Ohio)

2 November 1972, Thursday (+10,040) Phil Baxter, US composer, died in Dallas (born 5 September 1896 in Navarro County Texas)

1 November 1972, Wednesday (+10,039) The Standard Oil Company was reorganised as the Exxon Corporation.

===================================================================================

31 October 1972, Tuesday (+10,038) Matt Dawson, English rugby player, was born in Birkenhead

30 October 1972, Monday (+10,037) (1) In Canadian elections the incumbent Liberal party narrowly won and Pierre Trudeau remained as Prime Minister.

(2) The Paignton to Kingswear railway closed.

29 October 1972, Sunday (+10,036) Black September terrorists hijacked a Lufthansa aircraft and successfully negotiated the release of the three terrorists being held in Germany for the Munich bombing.

28 October 1972, Saturday (+10,035) (Environment) The USA signed the Federal Noise Control Act, limiting noise emissions by trucks, buses, trains and construction equipment.

27 October 1972, Friday (+10,034) (USA) The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, USA, was created.

26 October 1972, Thursday (+10,033) Igor Sikorsky, Russian-born US aeronautical engineer who developed the first successful helicopter in 1939, died in Easton, Connecticut.

25 October 1972, Wednesday (+10,032) Iceland boycotted British goods as part of the Cod War.

23 October 1972, Monday (+10,030)

21 October 1972, Saturday (+10,028) An EC Summit in Paris approved the principle of economic and monetary union by 1980.

20 October 1972, Friday (+10,027) (Astronomy) Harlow Shapley, US astronomer, died in Boulder, Colorado.

18 October 1972, Wednesday (+10,025)

17 October 1972, Tuesday (+10,024) European Communities Bill received Royal Assent.

16 October 1972, Monday (+10,023) Protesters demanded compensation from the makers of the drug Thalidomide. Venereal Disease cases amongst under 16s were up 10% on last year. BBC1�s daytime TV included Pebble Mill At One and The Magic Roundabout as well as Blue Peter. Soaps included Crossroads, filmed in a Birmingham warehouse. Z Cars and Mastermind were also on the TV schedules. ITV was offering Opportunity Knocks and Coronation Street. Films included Steven Spielberg�s Duel. Emmerdale Farm, known as Emmerdale since 1989, was first broadcast on ITV.

13 October 1972, Friday (+10,020) In Britain, the �Minimum Lending Rate� replaced the �Bank Rate�.

10 October 1972, Tuesday (+10,017) Sir John Betjeman, born 28 August 1906, was appointed Poet Laureate.

5 October 1972, Thursday (+10,012) The Congregational Church and the Presbyterian Church of England combined to form the United Reformed Church.

4 October 1972, Wednesday (+10,011) The first ABC Afterschool Special was broadcast. The drama series for children, shown once a month on a Wednesday afternoon, addressed contemporary issues and ran until 1997.

3 October 1972, Tuesday (+10,010) (USA, Russia) The US and USSR signed SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) accords, limiting submarine based and land based missiles.

2 October 1972, Monday (+10,009) Denmark voted in a referendum to join the Common Market.

1 October 1972, Sunday (+10,008) The archaeologist and anthropologist David Leakey died. He had worked on human fossils in Africa to trace the history of mankind.

===================================================================================

30 September 1972, Saturday (+10,007) Ari Behn, author, was born.

29 September 1972, Friday (+10,006) Japan and China formally ended the state of war between them that had existed since 1937.

28 September 1972, Thursday (+10,005) Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, was born.

27 September 1972, Wednesday (+10,004) Border fighting between North and South Yemen.

26 September 1972, Tuesday (+10,003) (1) Norway voted in a referendum against joining the Common Market.

(2) President Nixon opened the Museum of Immigration, at the base of the Statue of Liberty, New York.

25 September 1972, Monday (+10,002) Friedrich Schroder, German composer, died in Berlin (born 6 August 1910)

24 September 1972, Sunday (+10,001) Esther Budiardjo, Indonesian pianist was born in Jakarta

23 September 1972, Saturday (+10,000) Last motor race at the Crystal Palace circuit, south London.

22 September 1972, Friday (+9,999) Idi Amin gave the remaining 80,000 Ugandan Asians 48 hours to leave Uganda.

21 September 1972, Thursday (+9,998) William Whitelaw ended internment without trial in Northern Ireland.

20 September 1972, Wednesday (+9,998) Fighting ceased after a short border war in which 1,000 Ugandan refugees living in Tanzania had invaded Uganda, occupying three small towns.

19 September 1972, Tuesday (+9,996) Robert Casadesus, French pianist, died aged 73

18 September 1972, Monday (+9,995) Ian Smith, rugby player, was born.

17 September 1972, Sunday (+9,994) The first Asians fleeing Idi Amin arrived in the UK.

16 September 1972, Saturday (+9,993) Ramon van Haaren, Dutch footballer, was born in Waalwijk, Netherlands

15 September 1972, Friday (+9,992) Seven men were indicted in Washington over the Watergate burglary on 17 June 1972.� They were charged with burglary, wiretapping and conspiracy. Five of the seven were arrested at the scene, attempting to install bugging devices. All seven were members of the Republican committee to re-elect President Nixon.

13 September 1972, Wednesday (+9,990) In the USA, the TV drama series The Waltons premiered on CBS. It was the story of a family living in the Virginia Mountains during The Depression and World War Two. The series ran until 1981, and had seven TV movies as spin-offs.

11 September 1972, Monday (+9,988) The BBC quiz Mastermind was first broadcast.

10 September 1972, Sunday (+9,987) (Comoros) The Comoros Chamber of Deputies voted to seek independence from France. However the 5 members of the Mouvement Populaire Mahorias (MPM), representing Mayotte�s interests, opposed this policy.

9 September 1972, Saturday (+9,986)

8 September 1972, Friday (+9,985) In retaliation for Munich, Israeli jets attacked 10 guerrilla bases in Lebanon.

7 September 1972, Thursday (+9,984) South Korea withdrew the 37,000 troops it had in South Vietnam.

5 September 1972, Tuesday (+9,982) Arab terrorists from the Black September terrorist group massacred 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Initially 2 athletes were killed and 9 taken hostage as the terrorists broke into dormitory, and after negotiations with the German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, the kidnappers and their hostages were flown to Furstenfeld military airfield, 25 miles from Munich. Later the terrorists were stormed by German police, and all 9 hostages were killed plus a German policeman and 5 terrorists. 3 terrorists were captured; one terrorist escaped. Police had stormed the kidnappers as they attempted to board a waiting aircraft. The Munich Olympic Games continued.

3 September 1972, Sunday (+9,980)

1 September 1972, Friday (+9,978) Iceland extended its fishing limit from 12 to 50 miles.

===================================================================================

31 August 1972, Thursday (+9,977) Chris Tucker, actor, was born.

30 August 1972, Wednesday (+9,976) Pavel Nedved, Czech footballer, was born.

29 August 1972, Tuesday (+9,975) Amanda Meta Marshall, Canadian pop-rock singer, was born.

28 August 1972, Monday (+9,974)

27 August 1972, Sunday (+9,973) Denise Lewis, heptathlete, was born

26 August 1972, Saturday (+9,972) (1) The 20^th Olympic Games at Munich opened.

(2) Sir Francis Chichester, English round the world yachtsman, died in Plymouth, Devon.

25 August 1972, Friday (+9,971) China vetoed the admission of Bangladesh to the UN.

22 August 1972, Tuesday (+9,968)

15 August 1972, Tuesday (+9,961) Ben Affleck, actor, was born.

14 August 1972, Monday (+9,960) Oscar Levant, US composer, died in Beverly Hills, California (born 27 December 1906 in Pittsburgh)

12 August 1972, Saturday (+9.958)

11 August 1972, Friday (+9,957) The last US ground combat forces left Vietnam. However more than 43,000 US air force and support personnel remained.

10 August 1972, Thursday (+9,956) Lawrence Dallaglio, rugby player, was born

8 August 1972, Tuesday (+9,954) The musical Jesus Christ Superstar premiered at the Palace Theatre, London.

6 August 1972, Sunday (+9,952) Idi Amin� began expelling 50,000 British Asians from Uganda. He gave all Ugandan Asians who were not citizens of Uganda 90 days in which to leave the country.

5 August 1972, Saturday (+9,951) Milton Mesirow, US musician, died in Paris (born 9 November 1899 in Chicago)

3 August 1972, Thursday (+9,949)

1 August 1972, Tuesday (+9,947) Journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post started a series of reports on a link between the Watergate break in and the Committee for the Re-Ele3ction of the President (CREEP)

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31 July 1972, Monday (+9,946) Paul Spaak died, aged 73. He had been one of the chief architects of the European Community (EC).

27 July 1972, Thursday (+9,942) Work began on the Humber Bridge, the world�s longest suspension bridge with a central span of 4,626 feet.� Queen Elizabeth II opened it on 17 July 1981.

23 July 1972, Sunday (+9,938) The US launched Landsat I, a satellite that could monitor Earth�s natural resources and their depletion from space.

22 July 1972, Saturday (+9,937) The Russian space probe Venera 8 landed on Venus.

21 July 1972, Friday (+9,936) The IRA set off 19 bombs in Belfast city centre, killing 9 and injuring 130. This day became known as Bloody Friday, and lost the Provisionals much support amongst Roman Catholics. On 31 July 1972 the British army was able to sweep aside the barricades and enter the �no-go� zones with little resistance. British troops were permanently stationed at strongpoints inside Catholic districts. The loss of these safe havens was a major blow to the IRA and their military capability was severely reduced.

20 July 1972, Thursday (+9,935)

19 July 1972, Wednesday (+9,934) Harold Weetman, golfer, died.

18 July 1972, Tuesday (+9,933) (1) In the UK, Reginald Maudling resigned as Home Secretary because of connections to John Poulson, an architect facing bankruptcy and a police corruption enquiry. He was succeeded by Robert Carr.

(2) Sadat expelled 20,000 Soviet advisers after the USSR failed to supply promised armaments.

14 July 1972, Friday (+9,929) 4 died in Belfast as the IRA ended its 2-week ceasefire.

9 July 1972, Sunday (+9,924) Martin McGuiness from the IRA met William Whitelaw from the British Government in secret talks in London.

8 July 1972, Saturday (+9,923) US President Nixon announced that the USSR was to buy US$ 750 million worth of US grain over the next 3 years.

7 July 1972, Friday (+9,922) Talal bin Abdullah, King of Jordan, died.

6 July 1972, Thursday (+9,921) Laurent Gaude, French writer, was born.

5 July 1972, Wednesday (+9,920) Pierre Mesmer succeeded Jacques Chaban-Delmas as Prime Minister of France.

3 July 1972, Monday (+9,918)

2 July 1972, Sunday (+9.917) India and Pakistan agreed to renounce the use of force in settling disputes.

1 July 1972, Saturday (+9,916) Annual fees at Eton public school were �800.

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30 June 1972, Friday (+9,915) (Railways) The Georgetown to Plaisance railway closed.

29 June 1972, Thursday (+9,914) The US Supreme Court abolished the death penalty as being unconstitutional, as it was a �cruel and unusual punishment�.

28 June 1972, Wednesday (+9,913) US President Nixon announced that no more draftees would be sent to Vietnam.

25 June 1972, Sunday (+9,910)

23 June 1972, Friday (+9,908) (1) In the USA, hurricane Agnes killed a34 and caused US$ 1.5 billion.

(2) Anthony Barber, UK Chancellor, announced he would float the Pound to try and curb inflation.

22 June 1972, Thursday (+9,907) The IRA agreed to a ceasefire.

20 June 1972, Tuesday (+9,905)

19 June 1972