Culture: International Women's Year world conference
Entertainment: "Sex Pistols" band created, furthering punk rock Musicals include Chicago, The Wiz,
A Chorus Line Writings: John Updike, Richard Adams (Watership Down), Peter Shaffer (Equus), Sylvia Plath letters,
Agatha Christie Film Jaws debuts German writer Thomas Mann's notebooks opened 20 years after his death
Medicine: Acupuncture shown to be result of either general or placebo effect
Religion: Five saints canonized
Science: Americans and Soviets in joint space venture - US Apollo and Soviet Soyuz 19 link Voyager lands on Mars
US Viking ship seeks for life on Mars King and Wilson show DNA differs from Chimp by one percent
Sports: Bobby Fischer gives up world chess championship due to terms of match
Technology: Completely disposable razor invented
War: Terrorism and kidnappings worldwide
Deaths: Charles H Revson (Revlon), English comic writer PG Wodehouse, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, Dmitri Shostakovich,
Aristotle S Onassis, Physicist Fustav Hertz, Physicist George P Thompson, Physicist (U-235) John R Dunning, Rod Serling, Josephine Baker,
PG Wodehouse, Thornton Wilder, Elijah Muhammad (formerly Poole – leader of Black Muslims)
Africa
Angola: Civil War after independence - was Portuguese West Africa and name changes
Benin: Former kingdom of Dahomey changes name
Cape Verde: Independent from Portugal
Comoros: Declare independence from France
Egypt: Suez Canal reopens
Ethiopia: Revolutionary regime to 1991 Death of Emperor Haile Selassie
Fierce fighting erupts between Ethiopians government and secessionist guerrillas in Eritrea
Guinea-Bissau: Was renamed from Portuguese Guinea
Kenya: Fifth assembly of World Council of Churches in Nairobi calls for a transformation of civilization
Mozambique: Independence and is renamed from Portuguese East Africa
Nigeria: Becomes leading oil producer in Africa
Sao Tome and Principe: Independemce from Portugal
Somalia: Kidnappings
Tanzania: Kidnappings
Americas
Argentina: Kidnappings by leftist, radicals, and terrorists
Canada: Worlds largest airport opens in Montreal Anglican Church ordains women
Honduras: Drought
Peru: President Juan Valasco Alvarado ousted in military coup and replaced by Premier General Francisco morales Bermudez
Suriname: Independence from Netherlands and renamed from Dutch Guiana
Asia
General: Start of Cambodian-Vietnamese War to 1989
Burma: Earthquake destroys Great Temples of Pagan
Cambodia: Pol Pot of Khmer Rouge takes control to 1979, killing 3 million Renamed Kampuchea Regime names the year zero
Cambodian President Lon Nol flees Phnom Penh before Communist takeover
Cambodian naval ship seizes US merchant ship which is retrieved by US forces
China: Death of Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-Shek) Earthquake in Liaoning predicted by strange animal behaviors but 10k die
Banqiao Dam rupture kills 231000 Super Typhoon Nina causes flooding leading to disease
Six thousand life-sized pottery figures from 3rd century BC found in NW China
East Timor: Portuguese Timor renamed - will later become part of Indonesia
India: Sikkim becomes part of India abolishing monarchy Cholera outbreak
Japan: Betamax invented in Japan Junko Tabei becomes first woman to climb Everest death of former Premier of Japan Eisaku Sato
Bando Mitsugoro VIII a Japanese kabuki actor dies of fugu poisoning after eating four livers
Laos: Pathet Lao Communist troops form government King Savang Batthana abdicates and a people's democratic republic established
North Vietnam: China starts to dominate End of Vietnam war
Northern Mariana Islands: vote to become US citizens and to become commonwealth (territory since 1925)
Papua New Guinea: Independence from Australia Influenza outbreak
South Vietnam: North Vietnamese troops capture Saigon creating single state Nguyen Van Thieu resigns as President of S Vietnam
American Air Force cargo jet crashes killing over 100 Vietnamese orphans aboard
Taiwan: Jiang Ching-kuo plans for rapid growth Chaing Kai-shek of China dies US withdraws
Europe
General: Concorde flights originate
Czechoslovakia: Death of Czech Communist Antonin Novotny
Finland: Helsinki agreement fixes Germany's borders and human rights in East Europe - signed by 35 nations
Great Britain: First sighting of Morgawr the monster off Cornwall Inflation rises dramatically
Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of British Conservative Party succeeding Edward Heath London subway crash kills 41
Charlie Chaplin and PG Wodehouse knighted by Queen Elizabeth Donald Nielson of Britains Post Office Robberies (and killings) arrested
Greece: Cabinet commutes death sentence of former President George Papadopoulos to life
Ireland: Death of Eamon De Valera
Italy: Kidnappings by terrorists Communists and Socialists register large gains in elections
Portugal: Constitution gives power to armed forces Riots and unrest Independence to colonies
Soviet Union: Death of former USSR Premier Nikolai Bulganin First regular supersonic plane is USSR Tupolev-144
Nobel Peace Prize by Sakharov the Russian physicist who developed USSR H Bomb
Spain: Generalissimo Francisco Franco dies and Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon sworn in as King Juan Carlos I
West Germany: Kidnappings by leftists and terrorists
Fritz Honka - serial killer of toothless prostitutes caught after he torched his apartment and the corpses found,
Middle East
General: Islamic nations vote to kick Israel out of UN Oil prices raised 10% by OPEC
Lebanon: Fighting between Christians and Moslems in Beirut – fighting forced to halt
Saudi Arabia: King Faisal assassinated bu nephew who is beheaded – new king Khalid brother of Faisal
Turkey: US government cuts off aid to Turkey
Turkish Cypriotes set up separate state in Cyprus – denounced by President Makarios of Cyprus
Pacific
Australia: Terrible fire season Political crisis as appointed governor-general deposes elected body
Asian immigration to Australia increases sharply Malcolm Fraser becomes Prime Minister
Business: Microsoft founded FootLocker opens Pet rocks hit market selling for $3.95 (equivalent of $15 in 2010) WT Grant stores fail and file bankruptcy
Crime: Dr. Kenneth C Edelin found guilty of manslaughter in death of male fetus in "legal" abortion
Weather Underground bombing Patty hearst captured (see 1974) James "Jimmy" Hoffa former Teamsters president disappears
John N Mitchell Erlichman and Haldeman of Nixon Administration convicted and sentenced for Watergate – Mardian also convicted - Dean Kalmbach and Magruder released with Colson and McCord - Hunt and Liddy continue without shortened sentences
Culture: Homosexuality removed from APA list of psychological disorders
Entertainment: Three major networks agree to family hour without violence and sex Saturday Night Live premiers
Finance: Dollar unpegs from gold and silver standard and begins to float 3 cent stamp price increase shows level of inflation
Unemployment rate in US reaches 9.2% - highest since 1941
Military: Congress rejects Ford's request for more aid to South Vietnam US Congress rejects Ford's request for more aid to S Vietnam
Politics: Daniel P Moynihan named US Ambassador to UN Maurice H Stans pleads guilty to violating campaign laws
Religion: First American-born saint canonized Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton Four US women ordained to Episcopal priesthood – former 11 women declared invalid
Death of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad
Science: Linus Pauling receives US medal of Honor Apollo and Soyuz flights on joint venture Animal encephalitis outbreak in US
Sports: Wepner lasts 15 rounds against Muhammed Ali inspiring Rocky to be written by Sylvester Stallone
Billie Jean King and Chris Evert win tennis titles
Technology: Home computers marketed
East
Connecticut: After 100 years Atlantic salmon return to CT River (restocked in 1973) and sturgeon to Hudson River
Massachusetts: Harvard establishes WEB DuBois Institute
New York: First Women's Bank in NYC Eastern Airlines jet crashes killing 113
NYC appeals to Federal Government for cash to avoid default Doctors strike in NY as malpractice rates quadruple
Sarah Caldwell becomes first woman conductor of Metropolitan Opera Musicians' strike on Broadway for 25 days
NYC Council of Churches rejects membership application of Unification Church of Rev. Sun Yung Moon,
Midwest
General: Blizzard The Edmund Fitzgerald sinks on Great Lakes drowning 29
Illinois: Death of Chicago Mafia leader Sam Giancana Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago wins sixth term
Ohio: Kent State officials and military exonerated of responsibility
South
Oklahoma: Nighttime tornadoes and snow
West and Pacific
California: Quake measures 5.8 Two assassination attempts made on life of President Ford in state
Hawaii: Quake measures 7.2 Mauna Loa erupts for first time since 1950
Utah: Reagan visits Utah on political visit
Washington: "Tony" Boyle head of United Mine Workers sentenced to jail for murder of union official Joseph A Yablonski