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• The U.S. achieves the first moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned (robotic) missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959.[3] The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon on 20 July 1969.[4] There have been six manned landings (between 1969 and 1972) and numerous unmanned landings. -
• Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to travel to China
On Monday, February 21, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon arrived in Beijing, China, in the Spirit of '76, the presidential jet. He was greeted only by occupants of an unmarked vehicle and no crowd. Nixon was informed that he would be at his first meeting with Premier Zhou En Lai in just three hours. It was customary at the time to quickly get important figures to their meetings so that nothing could interfere with diplomatic proceedings. President Nixon met with his hosts at the Great Hall of th -
• Televised Senate hearings on Watergate begin
In Washington, D.C., the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, begins televised hearings on the escalating Watergate affair. One week later, Harvard law professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as special Watergate prosecutor. On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into and illegally wiretapping the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. One of the suspects, James W. -
• Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to resign
On August 9th, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. President to resign his office rather than become the first to be removed via impeachment. The night before he had made one of the most dramatic appearances in television history by announcing his intention to resign. -
• Gerald Ford signs the Helsinki Accords on European security
In the summer of 1975 Gerald Ford traveled to Helsinki, Finland, joining Prime Minister Harold Wilson, President Giscard d’Estaing, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, and the leaders of 30 other nations to sign the Helsinki Accords. Drafted by these 35 nations, the accord, or Final Act, was the result of two years of negotiations.\n\nWhile U.S. participation was heavily criticized at home, from both the left and the right, Ford believed it was his most significant fore -
• U.S. celebrates the bicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. -
• Jimmy Carter negotiates the Camp David Accords to promote peace in the Middle East
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, folowing thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David.[1] The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter. The second of these frameworks, A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, led directly to the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, and resulted in Sad -
• U.S. boycotts the Moscow summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott of the Moscow Olympics was a part of a package of actions initiated by the United States to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan. It preceded the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott carried out by the Soviet Union and other Communist friendly countries. -
• American hostages held in Iran are set free
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States. Fifty-two US citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamic students and militants took over the Embassy of the United States in support of the Iranian Revolution.[1] Sixty-six Americans were taken captive when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, including three who were at the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Six more Ame
