Significant Events
- Jan 13 Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu flees Biafra into exile, leaving his deputy Philip Effiong to surrender to the Nigerian army, unofficially ending the Nigerian Civil War
- Mar 2 White government of Rhodesia declares itself a republic
- May 31 7.75 Ancash earthquake off coast of Peru kills 66-70,000 and sets off world's deadliest avalanche
- Jul 6 California passes 1st "no fault" divorce law
- Jul 21 Aswan High Dam opens in Egypt, enables human control of the flooding of the Nile
- Sep 8 Black September hijackings begin, three airliners hijacked and blown up by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- Nov 3 US President Richard Nixon promises gradual troop removal of Vietnam
- Nov 12 Cyclone Bhola makes landfall in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) killing up to 500,000, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded
- Nov 17 Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse
- Nov 21 General Hafez al-Assad becomes Prime Minister of Syria following military coup
1970 in Film & TV
- Jan 27 Movie rating system modifies "M" rating to "PG"
- Feb 4 "Patton" directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring George C. Scott premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1971)
- Jul 4 Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" debuts on LA radio
- Sep 19 "The Mary Tyler Moore" show premieres on CBS
1970 in Music
- Mar 30 Miles Davis's influential double album "Bitches Brew" released
- Apr 10 Paul McCartney officially announces the split of The Beatles
- Apr 17 Paul McCartney's 1st solo album "McCartney" is released
1970 in Sport
- May 10 Bobby Orr scores one of the most famous goals in hockey history, an overtime goal that gives the Boston Bruins its first Stanley Cup since 1941
- Jun 21 FIFA World Cup Final: Brazil and Pelé become first team and player to win three times, beating Italy, 4-1 in front of 107,412 at Azteca Stadium, Mexico City
World Leaders in 1970
Leonid Brezhnev
Soviet General Secretary
Mao Zedong
Chinese Revolutionary and Chairman of the Communist Party
Richard Nixon
37th US President
Famous People in 1970
Bobby Orr
Sportsperson
of the Year
George C. Scott
Oscar for Best Actor
Johnny Cash
Country Singer
Andre Agassi
Chris O'Donnell
Matt Damon
Melania Trump
Phil Mickelson
River PhoenixWould You Believe?
In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 1.5 inches (38.1mm) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever on record
On November 26, 1970
Famous Weddings
- Mar 12 Actor Phil Hartman (21) weds first wife Gretchen Lewis
- Mar 20 Singer David Bowie (23) weds model Angie Bowie (20) at Bromley Register Office in Beckenham Lane, London
- May 11 Sammy Davis Jr weds Altovise
- May 19 US Vice President Al Gore weds (22) weds author Tipper Aitcheson (21) at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
- May 23 US Secretary of State John Kerry (26) weds heiress Julia Stimson Thorne (25)
Famous Divorces
- Nov 8 "Easy Rider" director and actor Dennis Hopper (34) divorces singer Michelle Phillips (26) only 8 days after getting married
Charles de Gaulle
Janis Joplin
Jimi Hendrix
Sonny Liston
Sukarno
Vince Lombardi