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Events of the 70's
This timeline shows some important events of the 1970's -
World Trade Center Completed
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is being rebuilt with five new skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks. As of November 2011[update], only one skyscraper has been completed, with four more expected to be completed before 2020. -
• First Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the City of Saint Francis, patron saint of ecology. Earth Day was first observed in San Francisco and other cities on March 21, 1970, the first day of Spring. -
1970 Beatles Break Up
There were numerous causes for the Beatles' break-up. It was not a single event but a long transition. including the cessation of touring in 1966, and the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in 1967, meaning the Beatles were personally involved in financial and legal conflicts.Conflict arose from differences between each member's artistic vision. Both George Harrison and Ringo Starr temporarily 'left' the group at various points during 1968–1969 and all four band members had begun workin -
Cigarette ads are banned on Tv
On this day in 1970, President Richard Nixon signs legislation officially banning cigarette ads on television and radio. Nixon, who was an avid pipe smoker, indulging in as many as eight bowls a day, supported the legislation at the increasing insistence of public health advocates. -
• Disney World Opens
The resort was originally developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s to supplement Disneyland in California. In addition to hotels and a theme park similar to Disneyland, Walt's original plans for the resort also included an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", a planned city that would serve as a test bed for new innovations for city living. After extensive lobbying, the Government of Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district that essentially gave -
• VCRs Introduced
The videocassette recorder (or VCR, also known as the video recorder), is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time. This facility afforded by a VCR machine is commonly referred to as television program Timeshifting. Most domestic VCRs are equipped with a television broadcast receiver (tuner) for TV -
• M*A*S*H T.V. Show Premiers
MASH (officially rendered M*A*S*H on the film's poster and art) is a 1970 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on Richard Hooker's novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. It is the only feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise. It became one of the biggest films of the early 1970s for 20th Century Fox. -
• Pocket Calculators Introduced
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.
The first solid state electronic calculator was created in the 1960s, building on the history of tools such as the abacus, developed around 2000 BC; and the mechanical calculator, developed in the 17th century. It was developed in parallel -
• HBO launched
HBO (Home Box Office) is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner, under the operating subsidiary Home Box Office Inc. As of January 2012[update], HBO's programming reaches 29 million subscribers in the United States,[1] making it the second largest premium network in the United States (Encore's programming reaches 33.2 million subscribers as of March 2012[update]).[2] In addition to its U.S. subscriber base, HBO also broadcasts in at least 151 countries worldwide. -
• U.S. Pulls Out of Vietnam
The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American public's support for the war. Since the end of the war, the Vietnam War has become a benchmark for what not to do in all future U.S. foreign conflicts. -
• Paul Getty Kidnapped
Jean Paul Getty (December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American industrialist.[2] He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American,[3] whilst the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1,200 million. [4] At his death, he was worth more than $2 billion.[5] A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the gros -
• Sears Tower Built
The Willis Tower (formerly named the Sears Tower) is a 108-story, 1,451-foot (442 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois.[4] At the time of its completion in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York, and it held this rank for nearly 25 years. The Willis Tower is the tallest building in the United States and the seventh-tallest freestanding structure in the world. The skyscraper is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Chicago, and -
• Patty Hearst Kidnapped
On February 4, 1974, the 19-year-old Hearst was kidnapped from the Berkeley, California apartment she shared with her fiancé Steven Weed by a left-wing urban guerrilla group called the Symbionese Liberation Army. When the attempt to swap Hearst for jailed SLA members failed, the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian – an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. In response, Hearst's father arranged the immediate donation of $6 -
• Girls allowed to play in Little League Baseball
Girls are formally permitted to play in the Little League Baseball program, and a Little League Softball program for both boys and girls is created. Bunny Taylor becomes the first girl to pitch a no-hitter.Girls are officially allowed to play little lead baseball. after making it fair. -
• National speed limit 55
The National Maximum Speed Law (NMSL) in the United States was a provision of the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that prohibited speed limits higher than 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). It was drafted in response to oil price spikes and supply disruptions during the 1973 oil crisis. While officials hoped gasoline consumption would fall by 2.2%, actual savings are estimated at between 0.5% and 1%. The law was widely disregarded by motorists, and most states subversively opposed the -
• Microsoft Founded
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, United States that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions. Established on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, Microsoft rose to dominate the home computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Mi -
• Computerized Supermarket checkouts begin to appear
This machine was invented in 1975. it was replaced with the old fashioned manual checkout machine because there was many problems and an computerized one was just easier to use/control. -
• Francisco Franco dies
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde, better known under the name of Franco, (Spanish: [fɾanˈθisko ˈfɾaŋko]; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general, dictator and the leader of the Nationalist military rebellion in the Spanish Civil War, and totalitarian head of state of Spain, from October 1936 (as a unified nation from 1939 onwards) until his death in November 1975. He came to power while recognizing the principles of the far-right Falange movement, although this was for propaganda r -
• Apple Computer launched
Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne,[1] to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. They were hand-built by Wozniak[21][22] and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club.[23] The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips)—less than what is today considered a complete personal computer.[24] The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666.66 ($2,723 in 2012 dollars, adjusted for -
• Red Dye #2 is banned
Even today, artificial dyes are subject to some of the most bizarre fears and nastiest urban legends. Blame Red Dye No. 2. In the 1970s, Soviet scientists claimed a link between the dye — used in everything from sausage casings and ice cream to makeup — and cancer, and U.S. tests proved some correlation as well. Though it was never linked to any deaths or illnesses, the substance was banned from U.S. shelves in 1976. Consumer worries were enough to get the Mars candy company to pull red M&Ms fr -
• Betamax VCR’s released
Betamax (sometimes called Beta, and referred to as such in the logo) was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975.[1] The cassettes contain .50 in (12.7 mm)-wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional .75 in (19 mm) wide, U-matic format. The format is considered obsolete, though it is still used in specialist applications by a small minority of people.[2] -
• Star Wars Movie Released
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released. The three films were also released at three-year intervals, with the final fil -
• New York City blackout
The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City from July 13, 1977 to July 14, 1977. The only neighborhoods in New York City that were not affected were in southern Queens, and neighborhoods of the Rockaways, which are part of the Long Island Lighting Company System. Unlike other blackouts that affected the region, namely the Northeast blackout of 1965 and the Northeast blackout of 2003, the 1977 blackout was localized to New York City and the -
• Elvis Found Dead
Elvis Aaron Presleya (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley moved to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family at the age of 13. He began his career there in 1954, working with Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African American music t -
• Atlantic City permits gambling
During a gala Memorial Day weekend in 1978, nearly 18 months after voters approved a statewide referendum to permit casino gambling in Atlantic City, Resorts International opens the nation’s first legal casino outside Nevada. Thousands of people flood the Boardwalk to gawk at what state and gambling officials have billed as a panacea for the city’s faded opulence. Visitors arrive in steadily increasing numbers for a decade. But as other parts of the country embrace gambling, A.C. fades. Three de -
• Love Canal in New York declared federal disaster
Love Canal was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, located in the white collar LaSalle section of the city. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the far southeastern corner of the city, along 99th Street and Read Avenue. Two bodies of water define the northern and southern boundaries of the neighborhood: Bergholtz Creek to the north and the Niagara River one-quarter mile (400 m) to the south. In the mid 1970s Love Canal became the subject of national and international attention after -
• John Paul II Becomes Pope
Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa];) (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the second-longest serving Pope in history and the first non-Italian since 1523. John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. Some say[who?] he was instrumental in ending communist part -
• Nuclear Accident at Three Mile Island
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown which occurred at the Three Mile Island power plant in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States on March 28, 1979. It was the worst accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history,[1] and resulted in the release of small amounts of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment. -
• Sony Introduces the Walkman
Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette players, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of former Sony Ericsson mobile phones. The original Walkman introduced a change in music listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them and listen to music through lightweight headphones. The prototype was built in 1978 by audio-division engineer Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony co-chairman Akio Morita, who wanted to be ab -
• ESPN starts broadcasting
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming. Founded by Bill Rasmussen, his son Scott Rasmussen and Aetna insurance agent Ed Eagan, it launched on September 7, 1979, under the direction of Chet Simmons, the network's President and CEO (and later the United States Football League's first com
