News Chronology 1970-79
1970 1st January - UK voting age reduced from 21 years to 18 16th January - Gaddafi takes control in Libya 22nd January - First ‘Jumbo Jet’ makes its appearance at Heathrow Airport 24th January - Dr Robert Moog unveils the Mini-Moog, an electronic synthesiser which was to contribute so much to music in the ensuing decades – as well as heralding a new musical genre: electronica 2nd March - Rhodesia declared a republic under Ian Smith, severing its links with the UK 6th March - Quarantine regulations introduced to the UK for the import of domestic pets 10th April - The Beatles announce break up 11th–17th April - Apollo 13 crisis. British TV audience of 42 million watch Apollo 13 splash down to bring the incident to a happy conclusion 16th April - Reverend Ian Paisley begins his 30+ year reign as a British MP 22nd May - South African cricket tour of England called off amidst anti-apartheid storm 17th June - ‘Babes in the wood’ bodies discovered (Gary Hanlon and Susan Blatchford). The murders would remain unsolved until Ronald Jebson’s confession and conviction in 2000 19th June - Heath leads the Conservatives to General Election win 21st June - Brazil win football’s World Cup in Mexico with a 4-1 win over Italy, England having exited at the quarter-final stage 2nd August - British troops in Northern Ireland use rubber bullets for the first time 2nd August - The US state of Mississippi holds its first inter-racial wedding 4th September - Salvador Allende becomes president of Chile – the world’s first democratically elected Marxist ruler. The US would soon see to it that he didn't last very long. 17th–27th September - ‘Black September’ in Jordan as civil war breaks out. King Hussein and PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, eventually agree a peace deal 18th September - Jimi Hendrix, 27, dies in a London hotel after choking on his own vomit. Little more than a few sleeping pills seem to have sent him on his way 28th September - Egypt’s President Nasser dies, aged 52. He is succeeded by Anwar Sadat. 4th October - Singer, Janis Joplin, 27, dies of a drug overdose 19th October - Large oilfield found in North Sea by BP 1st November - French night-club blaze kills 142 9th November - France’s General Charles de Gaulle dies, aged 79 13th November - Over 300,000 killed by a tidal wave which hits Pakistan 27th November - The UK Gay Liberation Front holds its first public rally 1st December - Divorce becomes legal in Italy Other bits and pieces: Commonwealth Games are held in Edinburgh Tony Jacklin secures Britain’s only golfing major of the decade in the US Open IBM invent the floppy disc The ‘Chopper’ bike was launched – it was to become the country’s biggest selling bicycle by 1973 Sindy is Toy of the Year, and Rolf Harris’ Stylophone is launched The first series of The Goodies hits UK screens 1971 2nd January - 66 football fans die in stadium tragedy at Ibrox Park, Glasgow 7th January - The USSR decree that it is now legal for men to have long hair 11th January - A ground-breaking divorce takes place in the UK: the very first on the new grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown’ 25th January - Idi Amin seizes power in Uganda 5th February - Apollo 14 lands on the Moon – and an astronaut plays golf there! 7th February - In Switzerland, women win the right to vote 15th February - ‘D-Day’ in the UK as Decimalisation is introduced 26th March - Civil war breaks out in Pakistan, which leads to the eventual creation of Bangladesh in December 29th March - The infamous Charles Manson is convicted of murder in the US and is installed on Death Row 6th April - Composer, Igor Stravinsky, dies, aged 88 21st April - Haitian dictator, ‘Papa Doc’ dies, aged 64; to be succeeded by his son, ‘Baby Doc’ 12th May - Mick Jagger and Bianca Perez Morena de Macias wed 24th May - The first Aboriginal is elected to the Australian senate (Neville Bonner) 6th–30th June - Three Russian cosmonauts become the first humans to man an orbital space station – then die on re-entry 3rd July - The Doors’ singer, Jim Morrison, found dead in a hotel bath, aged 27 6th July - 69-year-old Jazz singer, Louis Armstrong, dies 29th July - Tito becomes president – again – in Yugoslavia 30th July - Apollo 15 lands on the Moon – and the ‘Moon Buggy’ makes its debut 9th August - ‘Internment without trial’ is introduced in Northern Ireland – followed two days later by the rounding up of 300 suspected terrorists 15th August - Showjumper, Harvey Smith, gives the judges his infamous V-sign at the British Show Jumping Derby 30th August - KGB superspy nicked by London bobby, triggering a diplomatic panic 11th September - Former Russian premier, Nikita Khrushchev, dies, aged 77 30th September - New Canadian pressure group, Greenpeace, embark upon their first stunt – in Alaska 10th October - At Lake Havasu, Arizona, London Bridge is reassembled having been shipped brick-by-brick from the UK 12th October - Rock ‘n’ roller, Gene Vincent, dies aged 36 31st October - Post Office Tower falls victim to an IRA bomb 24th November - In the US, hijacker D.B.Cooper pulls an amazing stunt by parachuting from an aeroplane with $200,000 in ransom money strapped to him – and gets away scot-free 28th November - Smuggling ring broken by angry farmer, who rams suspect plane with his truck 4th December - McGurk’s Bar bombing in Belfast kills 15 – the first major incident of ‘The Troubles’ Other bits and pieces: First VCRs appear on market – not popular until late seventies Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, USA The wearing of crash helmets becomes law in the UK The pocket calculator is invented Arsenal secure a Football League Championship and F.A.Cup ‘double’ Jackie Stewart becomes Formula One motor racing champion for the second time in three years A Clockwork Orange and Straw Dogs shock cinema-goers The Two Ronnies and The Generation Game first hit UK screens LCD (digital) watches hit the market 1972 4th January - The Old Bailey appoints its first female judge, Rose Heibron 9th January - Seven week Miners’ Strike begins, leading to power cuts 9th January - A blaze destroys the Queen Elizabeth liner in Hong Kong harbour 30th January - ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacre in Londonderry, Northern Ireland 9th February - State of emergency declared in the UK. Prime Minister, Ted Heath, imposes 3-day working week. Within days the power cut crisis deepens across the UK as ‘power off’ rotas are announced 21st February - President Nixon begins his historic visit to China 25th February - Miners’ Strike over as government gives way to demands 31st March - London-Aldermaston CND march begins 10th April - 5,000+ killed in Iranian earthquake 19th April - Bloody Sunday report controversially clears Army of blame 20th April - Apollo 16 lands on the Moon 22nd May - Richard Nixon becomes the first US president to visit the USSR 26th May - SALT I treaty signed between USA and USSR 28th May - Edward, Duke of Windsor, dies in Paris, aged 77 15th June - Education Secretary, ‘Thatcher the Milk Snatcher’, withdraws free milk from British primary schools 17th June - The Watergate Building in Washington DC is burgled – the start of the Watergate Scandal 18th June - 118 killed in UK’s worst ever air crash (until Lockerbie ’88) 18th June - West Germany win the European Football Championships 21st July - The IRA detonate 22 bombs across Belfast, causing 13 deaths. 6th September - Olympic hostage tragedy in Munich: 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian terrorists – most of them during a bodged rescue mission 29th September - The state of war which has officially existed between China and Japan since 1937, is ended 6th November - Government freeze pay and prices in attempt to curb inflation 7th November - Richard Nixon wins second term as US president 11th December - Apollo 17, man’s final mission to the Moon, lands on the lunar surface. The astronauts splash down to Earth on 19th of the month 22nd December - 14 survivors of an Andean plane crash are found 10 weeks after accident 23rd December - Nicaraguan earthquake claims 5,000-10,000 lives Other bits and pieces: The Olympic Games are held in Munich – and swimmer, Mark Spitz, smashes the record books by winning seven gold medals … all world records CAT scans used for first time The Godfather pulls them in at the pictures, whilst the first mainstream porn movie, Deep Throat, makes a star of Linda Lovelace Mastermind makes its TV debut, as does Crossroads The Joy of Sex is published 1973 1st January - The UK joins the EEC 23rd January - Peace deal announced for Vietnam War – signed on 27th 8th March - People of Northern Ireland vote to stay part of UK – but most Catholics stay away from ballot box 26th March - London Stock Exchange admits women for first time in its 200-year history 29th March - Last US troops leave Vietnam 1st April - VAT introduced in the UK 8th April - Pablo Picasso dies, aged 91 22nd May - Lord Lambton resigns as Minister for the RAF after being caught in sex and drugs scandal 9th July - The Bahamas gain independence from the UK 15th July - Grandson of US billionaire, Paul Getty, kidnapped 20th July - Actor Bruce Lee, 32, dies 30th July - The long-running campaign for compensation for thalidomide victims is concluded. £20 million to be paid to the families of over 400 children – but it takes years for some families to get their cash 2nd August - 50 die in leisure complex blaze on the Isle of Man 21st August - Bloody Sunday Inquest accuses British Army of “sheer unadulterated murder” 2nd September - Author J.R.R.Tolkien dies, aged 81 11th September - General Pinochet usurps power in Chile with the help of the USA. His 17-year reign of terror brings death to thousands 26th September - Concorde makes its first Atlantic crossing – in record time 6th–26th October - Yom Kippur War between Israel and Syria/Egypt. US and USSR involvement brings the superpowers into conflict. US on nuclear alert on 25th of the month 8th October - UK’s first commercial radio station is launched – London Broadcasting Company 9th October - Elvis and Priscilla Presley divorce 17th October - Beginning of the Oil Crisis as the Arab OPEC states raise prices by 70% in protest at US and European support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Oil prices quadruple at the crisis’ peak 20th October - Dalai Lama arrives in the UK for a ten-day tour 14th November - Princess Anne and Mark Phillips tie the knot 24th November - Australian Aborigines granted the vote 31st December - Three-day working week introduced in the UK as the combined effect of the Oil Crisis and industrial disputes have their effect on the economy and energy supplies Other bits and pieces: Uri Geller becomes a celebrity Bar codes introduced Drink cans with ‘pop top’ tabs are introduced Jackie Stewart becomes Formula One motor racing champion for third time in five years The Exorcist changes the face of horror movies for good 1974 6th January - Football matches played on a Sunday for first time in the UK 8th February - The trawler Gaul sinks in mysterious circumstances with the loss of all onboard 10th February - Miners’ Strike begins 28th February - General Election produces a hung parliament – Harold Wilson eventually setting up a minority Labour government on 4th March 3rd March - Largest disaster in aviation history as a Turkish airline crashes with loss of 346 people 6th March - Long-running Miners’ Strike comes to an end with another win for the workers – and a whopping 35% pay rise 8th March - Three-day working week ends 10th March - Japanese soldier, Hiroo Onoda, surrenders on Lubang Island in the Philippines, unaware that World War II had ended 29 years previously 18th March - Oil crisis ends 25th April - The ‘Carnation Revolution’ in Portugal 11th May - Earthquake kills 20,000 in China 24th May - Jazzman Duke Ellington dies, aged 75 28th May - The short-lived Northern Ireland power-sharing assembly collapses as the province falls under Westminster rule again 7th July - West Germany win football’s World Cup with a 2-1 win over Holland July-August - Crisis in Cyprus, resulting in Turkish invasion and the island’s partition 29th July - ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot of The Mamas and Papas, dies in a London flat of a heart attack, aged 32. A bizarre (and untrue) rumour spreads that she inhaled her own vomit after choking on a ham sandwich 8th August - US President Nixon announces his resignation after the Watergate Scandal, with effect from noon the following day. Gerald Ford takes over as president 5th October - The Guildford bomb blasts, leading to the great miscarriage of justice against the ‘Guildford Four’ 11th October - Second General Election of the year sees Labour scrape a working majority 16th October - Maze Prison near Belfast in flames after riot 30th October - Muhammad Ali regains the boxing World Heavyweight Championship in his ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ victory over George Foreman 7th November - Lord Lucan disappears after the murder of his children’s nanny 21st November - Birmingham pub blasts kills 21 – and the ‘Birmingham Six’ are incorrectly convicted 24th December - ‘Drowned’ former government minister, John Stonehouse, found alive and well in Australia Other bits and pieces: Streaking hits the UK as Michael O’Brien bears all during the England-France rugby international at Twickenham Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Emmanuelle challenge the movie censors in very different ways Pop group, Abba, burst onto the scene McDonald’s opens its first restaurant in the UK Ceefax transmitted for the first time on the BBC 1975 11th February - Margaret Thatcher elected leader of the Conservative Party 28th February - Moorgate Tube disaster kills 43 7th March - Lesley Whittle becomes the ‘Black Panther’s’ final victim 15th March - Aristotle Onassis, the Greek shipping magnate, dies, aged 69 25th March - Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal assassinated by his nephew 13th April - The troubles begin in Beirut, Lebanon, as 17 die in street battle 17th April - Khmer Rouge take the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh 24th April - Baader-Meinhof Gang blow up German embassy in Stockholm 30th April - Vietnam War finally over as Saigon surrenders 6th June - UK votes to stay in EEC 8th June - Cambridge’s ‘hooded rapist’ is caught 9th June - First live radio broadcast from Parliament 19th June - Lord Lucan found guilty of murder by Inquest jury in his absence 21st June - West Indies beat Australia in the first ever cricket World Cup Final 5th July - American Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win Wimbledon Men’s Singles 11th July - The ‘Terracotta Army’ is discovered by archaeologists in China 17th July - Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 perform their famous US-USSR link up in space 1st August - The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe signed 5th September - London’s Hilton Hotel bombed – IRA claim responsibility. Two dead, 63 injured 22nd September - IRA explodes 17 bombs across Northern Ireland – no deaths 24th September - First Britons climb Everest (remember, Sir Edmund Hilary was a Kiwi) 1st October - Muhammad Ali beats Joe Frazier in boxing’s ‘Thrilla in Manila.’ 10th October - Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor remarry 15th October - Cod War breaks out 29th October - Franco’s 36-year reign ends 3rd November - North Sea Oil begins to flow 20th November - Spain’s General Franco dies, aged 82. King Juan Carlos is sworn in as the new ruler 27th November - Ross McWhirter, 50, is shot dead on his doorstep by a Provisional IRA gunman 29th November - Grand Prix driver Graham Hill, 46, killed in air crash 11th December - Icelandic gunboat opens fire on UK vessels in Cod War 29th December - Sex Discrimination & Equal Pay Acts come into force Other bits and pieces: Video game ‘Pong’ hits the UK Jaws is the movie smash of the year The Sweeney is first aired on ITV, as is the first series of Fawlty Towers (second series 1979) Womblemania peaks in the UK Lego is the Toy of the Year for second year running The pop video is born with the release of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody First woman climbs Everest Dutch Elm disease kills 6½ million trees in the UK 1976 2nd January - Hurricane winds lash the UK – 22 deaths 5th January - Ten protestants killed in the Kingsmill Massacre, South Armagh 7th January - More Cod War clashes 12th January - Author Agatha Christie dies, aged 85 4th March - ‘Maguire Seven’ convicted for possessing explosives 9th March - 43 killed in cable car tragedy in Northern Italy 16th March - Harold Wilson announces resignation as PM – for no apparent reason 19th March - Princess Margaret & Lord Snowdon announce separation 24th March - Field Marshall Lord Montgomery dies, aged 88 5th April - James Callaghan appointed PM 5th April - US billionaire, Howard Hughes, dies, aged 70 26th April - 62-year-old comedian Sid James dies 7th May - Italy’s worst ever earthquake strikes in Friuli – 550 dead 10th May - Liberal Party leader, Jeremy Thorpe, resigns 1st June - Cod War ends 6th June - US billionaire, Paul Getty, dies, aged 83 16th June - Soweto Uprising in South Africa leaves 100s dead 20th June - Westerners evacuate Beirut, Lebanon, as civil war heightens 20th June - Czechoslovakia win the European Football Championships 26th June - Record temperatures as the UK basks in its ‘Summer of ‘76’ heatwave 2nd July - Vietnam reunited … under Communist rule 3rd July - 20-year-old Swede, Björn Borg, wins the first of his five consecutive Wimbledon Men’s Singles titles 4th July - United States celebrates its bicentennial 4th July - Israelis rescue Entebbe hostages in Uganda 20th July - Viking I sends back first photos from Mars 28th July - At least ¼ million die in Chinese earthquake 29th July - Southend Pier destroyed by fire 1st August - Niki Lauda severely injured in German Grand Prix 30th August - Notting Hill Carnival ends in riot 1st September - Water crisis deeps during long, hot summer – worst drought in 250 years 3rd September - Hull prison riot ends 9th September - China’s Chairman Mao dies, aged 82 24th September - Rhodesia/Zimbabwe PM Ian Smith announces white rule to end 4th October - Inter-City 125s begin running 23rd October - China’s ‘Gang of Four’ are arrested and imprisoned 25th October - National Theatre opens in London 3rd November - Jimmy Carter wins US presidential election 4th December - Benjamin Britten dies, aged 63 Other bits and pieces: The Olympic Games are held in Montreal The first of the Rocky movies hits the big screen I, Claudius pulls in the viewers on the Beeb James Hunt becomes Formula One motor racing champion Brotherhood of Man win the Eurovision Song Contest with Save Your Kisses for Me First home computer, Apple 1, introduced The first skateboarding craze takes off 1977 6th January - Sex Pistols fired by EMI 17th January - First US execution for 10 years – Gary Gilmore (firing squad) 27th March - 583 die in aircraft runway collision at Tenerife 2nd April - Red Rum wins a record third Grand National 13th May - England cricket captain, Tony Greig, sacked for ‘Packer’ involvement 25th May - Liverpool win football’s European Cup 7th June - Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Silver Jubilee 16th June - Leonid Brezhnev becomes Russian leader 1st July - Briton Virginia Wade wins at Wimbledon 11th July - Mary Whitehouse wins blasphemy case against gay newspaper 10th August - ‘Son of Sam’ killer is arrested in the US. David Berkowitz claims that his neighbour’s dog, a black Labrador called Harvey, told him to kill his victims 12th August - The Space Shuttle makes its first test flight – though it is yet to venture into space 16th August - Elvis Presley dies, aged 42 19th August - Comedian Groucho Marx dies, aged 86 12th September - Black rights leader Steve Biko, 30, dies in custody 16th September - 29-year-old pop star, Marc Bolan, killed 14th October - Singer, Bing Crosby, dies, aged 74 27th October - Jeremy Thorpe murder plot story breaks 14th November - Green Goddesses on the streets as firemen strike 15th November - Princess Anne gives birth to son, Peter Mark Andrew Phillips 25th December - Charlie Chaplin dies, aged 88 Other bits and pieces: The world of international cricket is turned on its head with the launching of Kerry Packer’s ‘World Series Cricket’ Sci-Fi is the flavour of the year at the flicks with the release of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind Roots has us all, er, rooted to our sofas on the small screen The ‘Atari’ games console becomes a best-seller 1978 26th January - The Aboriginal Land Rights Act hands land back to Australia’s Aboriginals 17th February - La Mon Restaurant bomb in Northern Ireland kills 12 – IRA responsible 2nd March - First non-US/USSR person in space – Czech Vladimir Remek 16th March - The Amoco Cadiz super tanker runs aground on the coast of Brittany, spilling 220,000 tonnes of oil 10th May - Liverpool win football’s European Cup for second consecutive year 8th June - UK-based New Zealander, Naomi James, breaks solo around-the-world sailing record 13th June - Israelis leave Beirut and Lebanon 25th June - Argentina win football’s World Cup with a 3-1 win over Holland 25th July - First test tube baby is born, Louise Brown 6th August - Pope Paul VI dies, aged 80. Pope John Paul I elected on 26th August 17th August - US team become first to cross Atlantic by balloon 5th – 17th September - Camp David Accords agreement between Israel and Egypt 7th September - The Who drummer, Keith Moon, 32, dies in the same London apartment as Mama Cass Elliot in 1974 11th September - Bulgarian dissident and outspoken journalist, Georgi Markov, dies after being stabbed by a ricin-laced umbrella at a London bus stop – a victim of the Bulgarian KGB 15th September - Muhammad Ali wins boxing’s World Heavyweight Title for a record third time 16th September - 26,000 die in Iranian earthquake 19th September - Carl Bridgewater murdered 28th September - Pope John Paul I, 65, dies after 33 days in the post 12th October - Sid Vicious arrested on suspicion of murder 16th October - John Paul II elected Pope 18th November - 914 in mass suicide in Guyana 6th December - Spaniards vote for democratic rule Other bits and pieces: Grease is the word at the local flea-pit The BBC pull the plug on the long-running and racially-sensitive Black & White Minstrel Show Grange Hill first appears on TV 1979 7th January - Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge on the retreat as Vietnamese invade Cambodia 16th January - Shah of Iran flees his country 22nd January - ‘Winter of Discontent’ begins as public sector workers strike 29th January - In the US, schoolgirl, Brenda Spencer, shoots and kills eleven of her friends because she “doesn't like Mondays” 30th January - White Rhodesians/Zimbabweans vote for black majority rule in referendum 1st February - Ayatollah Khomeini returns to power in Iran 2nd February - Sid Vicious, 21, dies of heroin overdose before he can be tried for the alleged murder of his girlfriend 9th February - Britain’s first £1 million football transfer – Trevor Francis 18th March - 10 die in Golborne mine blast in Lancashire 28th March - Three-Mile Island nuclear power station leak in the US 30th March - Tory MP, Airey Neave, 63, is killed by a car bomb 4th April - Recently deposed Pakistani PM, Mr Bhutto, 51, is executed 11th April - Uganda’s Idi Amin flees his country, his reign of tyranny finally at an end 23rd April - Southall race riots. One man dies – allegedly at the hands of the police 4th May - Margaret Thatcher leads Tories to General Election win 30th May - Nottingham Forest win football’s European Cup 11th June - Actor, John Wayne, dies, aged 72 18th June - Arms reduction treaty signed by US & USSR (SALT II) 22nd June - Jeremy Thorpe acquitted of murder charges 23rd June - West Indies beat England in the second cricket World Cup Final 16th July - Saddam Hussein becomes president of Iraq 27th August - Lord Mountbatten, 79, killed in IRA bomb blast 27th August - 18 soldiers die in Warrenpoint massacre, South Down 27th September - Actress, Gracie Fields, dies, aged 81 28th October - Chinese leader visits UK for first time – Chairman Hua 4th November - Tehran hostages taken – held for 444 days 12th November - NATO announce Pershing II and Cruise missile bases to be sited in Europe on the same day that the Soviet Politburo decide to invade Afghanistan 13th November - The Times newspaper published for first time in nearly a year 16th November - The Queen’s Art Advisor, Anthony Blunt, is named as the ‘Fourth Man’ in the Cambridge spy ring scandal 24th December - First European rocket, Ariane 1, successfully launched 25th December - USSR invasion of Afghanistan begins Other bits and pieces: Monty Python’s Life of Brian has them rolling in the aisles – but not at the local church Space Invaders sees the light of day for the first time Trivial Pursuit hits the shops |
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