- May 8
- Sabena aircraft at Lod International airport, Tel Aviv, Israel, captured by Palestinians. [1]
- May 10
- Overloaded South Korean bus plunges into reservoir, killing 77. [1]
- May 13
- 115 die in nightclub atop seven-story Sennichi department store (Osaka, Japan). [1]
- May 15
- Okinawa island is reunified with Japan as American occupation ends. [1567.38]
- Bus plunges into Nile River killing 50 pilgrims (Minia, Egypt). [1]
- George Wallace is shot and left paralyzed by Arthur Bremer in Laurel, Maryland, USA. [1]
- Ryukyu Island and Daito Island are returned to Japan after 27 years of US control. Ryukyu Islands cease issuance of postage stamps. [1] [1135]
- May 17
- Netherlands and People's Republic of China exchange ambassadors. [1]
- May 20
- Republic of Cameroon declared as constitution is ratified. [1]
- May 22
- Ceylon becomes Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified. [1] [700.47A] [707.177]
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- US President Richard Nixon begins visit to Moscow, Russia. [1]
- May 26
- US President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev signs SALT accord. [1]
- May 30
- Three Japanese PFL terrorists kill 24, wound 72 at Tel Aviv's Lod International Airport, Israel. [1]
- June 5
- United Nations Conference on the Human Environment opens in Stockholm, Sweden. [1]
- June 6
- Explosion at world's largest coal mine kills 427 (Wankie, Rhodesia). [1]
- Gold hits record US$60 an ounce in London, England. [1]
- June 7
- German Chancellor Willy Brandt visits Israel. [1]
- June 9
- 14 inches of rain in six hours bursts Rapid City, South Dakota dam, drowns 200. [1]
- June 15
- Rock fall inside Vierzy Tunnel (France) causes two-train crash; 107 die. [1]
- June 18
- BEA Trident crashes after takeoff from Heathrow airport in England, killing 118. [1]
- June 23
- US President Richard Nixon and Chief of Staff Harry Haldeman agree to use Central Intelligence Agency to cover up Watergate. [1]
- June 29
- USSR launches Prognoz 2 into earth orbit (549/200,000 km). [1]
- July 1
- Ms. magazine begins publishing. [1]
- July 10
- Herd of stampeding elephants kills 24, Chandka Forest, India. [1]
- July 21
- Two passenger trains collide head-on killing 76 (Seville, Spain). [1]
- In New York, 57 murders occur in 24 hours. [1]
- July 22
- Sweden and the European Economic Community make a free trade agreement. [7]
- July 23
- First Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) is launched. [1]
- July 24
- Jigme Singye Wangchuk becomes king of Bhutan at age 16. [1]
- July 25
- US health officials concede blacks were used as guinea pigs in 40-year syphilis experiment. [1]
- July 30
- In Sitka, Alaska, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurs. The Fairvolcano fault ruptures over a length of 75 kilometers. [53]
- August 1
- First article appears exposing Watergate scandal (Bernstein-Woodward). [1]
- August 2
- Gold hits record US$70 an ounce in London, England. [1]
- August 10
- An asteroid 2-10m in diameter enters Earth's atmosphere over Utah, USA, and exits 100 seconds later over Alberta, Canada. [521]
- August 12
- Last American combat ground troops leave Vietnam. [1]
- August 14
- East German Aeroflot Illyushin 62 crashes near Moscow, Russia, killing 156. [1]
- August 17
- In the New Britain region, Papua New Guinea, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurs. [53]
- August 21
- First hot air balloon flight over the Alps. [1]
- US orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus launched. [1]
- September 1
- Bobby Fischer (US) defeats Boris Spassky (USSR) for world chess title. [1]
- September 3
- In Northwestern Kashmir, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurs. Over 100 killed, over 1,000 homes destroyed. [53]
- September 5
- Eleven Israeli athletes are slain at Munich Olympics, Germany. [1]
- Chemical spill with fog sickens hundreds in Meuse Valley, Belgium. [1]
- September 19
- A letter bomb in London, England, kills Israeli diplomat Ami Shachori. 51 bombs are mailed to Israeli embassy employees worldwide, with most intercepted. [635.74]
- September 21
- Ferdinand Marcos declares martial law in the Philippines. [1]
- September 24
- Antique F86 Sabrejet fails to takeoff at air show, kills 22. [1]
- September 26
- American Museum of Immigration dedicated. [1]
- September 28
- Japan and Communist China agree to re-establish diplomatic relations. [1]
- September 30
- Passenger train derails killing 48 (Rust Stasie, South Africa). [1]
- October 2
- Aeroflot Il-18 crashes near Black Sea resort of Sochi, kills 105. [1]
- October 3
- Spaceflight 71-2 launched; first flexible substrate photovoltaic flown. [1]
- October 5
- Herbert Mullin, serial killer, first kills, claiming to prevent earthquakes. [1]
- October 6
- 22-car train carrying 2,000 pilgrims derails, kills 208 in Mexico. [1]
- October 12
- 46 sailors injured in race riot on US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. [1]
- October 13
- Aeroflot Il-62 crashes in large pond outside Moscow, Russia, 176 die. [1]
- Uruguay to Chile plane crashes in Andes Mountain, (December 23rd rescue). [1]
- October 25
- Eddy Merckx (Belgium) covers 30 miles, 1,258 yards in one hour. [1]
- October 26
- Henry Kissinger declares "Peace is at hand" in Vietnam. [1]
- October 30
- Worst US rail accident in 14 years; 45 die in Chicago, Illinois. [1]
- November 1
- Standard Oil (New Jersey) changes its company name to Exxon. [228]
- November 7
- US President Richard Nixon (Republican) re-elected defeating George McGovern (Democrat). [1]
- November 11
- US Army turns over Long Bihn base to South Vietnamese army. [1]
- November 14
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,000 (1,003.16) for the first time. [1] [227] [846.38]
- November 15
- Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 48 is launched to study gamma rays. [1]
- November 19
- Parliamentary elections are held in Federal Republic of Germany. The CDU/CSU gets 44.9 percent of the vote, the SPD 45.8 percent and the FDP 8.4 percent. The coalition between the SPD and the FDP continues, and Willy Brandt continues as chancellor. [37]
- November 29
- Atari releases the Pong coin-operated arcade video game system. Nolan Bushnell and Al Alcorn developed the game at Atari, partly based on the Magnavox Odyssey system. [9]
- November 30
- Illegal fireworks factory explodes killing 15 (Rome, Italy). [1]
- December 2
- "December Giant" largest sinkhole in US collapses (Alabama). [1]
- December 3
- Convair 990A charter crashes in Tenerife, Canary Island, 155 die. [1]
- December 4
- In Japan, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurs, centered on the island of Hachijojima 325 kilometers southeast of Tokyo. [53]
- December 5
- Australia Labour party wins parliamentary election. [1]
- December 7
- Apollo 17 (US), final manned lunar landing mission (last of Apollo Moon series), is launched. [1] [5] [1723.30]
- Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos stabbed and wounded by an assailant. [1]
- December 8
- United Airlines airplane crashes at Chicago's Midway Airport killing 45. [1]
- December 10
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- December 11
- Apollo 17 becomes the sixth American mission to land on the Moon. Astronauts Cernan and Harrison become 11th and 12th astronauts on the Moon. [1] [5]
- December 14
- Apollo 17 mission leaves the Moon, with astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. (Last humans on the surface of the Moon until at least 2022.) [1] [5] [129] [524.25] [1659.66] [1723.30]
- Willy Brandt re-elected West German chancellor. [1]
- December 17
- New line of control agreed to in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. [1]
- December 18
- US begins its heaviest bombing of North Vietnam. [1]
- December 19
- The last American manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ron Evans and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth. [1] [5]
- South Korean oil tanker Sea Star collides with Brazilian tanker Horta Barbosa in the Gulf of Oman, spilling about 133.5 million litres of oil. [522]
- December 21
- Soviet Union signs a separate peace with German Democratic Republic. [1]
- December 23
- Sixteen plane crash survivors rescued after 70 days, survived by cannibalism. [1]
- In Managua, Nicaragua, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurs. 5,000-12,000 deaths, thousands injured. Estimated US$800 million in damages. [1] [53]
- December 27
- Belgium recognizes German Democratic Republic. [1]
- New North Korean constitution comes into effect. [1]
- December 28
- Kim Il-song becomes President of North Korea. [1]
- Martin Bormann's skeleton found in Berlin (Adolf Hitler's deputy). [1]
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- December 29
- Eastern Tristar Jumbo Jet crashes near Florida Everglades killing 101. [1]
- Life magazine ceases publication. [1]
- December 30
- US President Richard Nixon halts bombing of North Vietnam and announces peace talks. [1]
- December 31
- Pittsburgh Pirates' outfielder Roberto Clemente is killed at age 38 when a cargo plane crashes during a relief effort to bring supplies to the victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake. [1] [56] [817.144] [1302.198]
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