Historical Events
- Jan 25 Military coup in Uganda under Major General Idi Amin
- Feb 2 Idi Amin ousts Milton Obote and appoints himself President (dictator) of Uganda
- Feb 8 Nasdaq Composite stock market index debuts with 50 companies and a starting value of 100
- Feb 14 Richard Nixon installs secret taping system in the White House
- Mar 26 Bangladesh (East Pakistan) under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declares its independence from Pakistan
- Jul 9 Henry Kissinger visits the People's Republic of China to negotiate a detente between the US and China
- Oct 25 United Nations votes to expel the Chinese Nationalist ruled Taiwan and admit the Communist People's Republic of China
- Nov 21 Battle of Garibpur: Indian troops aided by the Mukti Bahini, Bengali guerrillas, defeat the army of Pakistan
- More Historical Events
1971 in Film & TV
- Feb 9 Probably 1st gay theme TV episode - All in the Family
- Oct 7 "The French Connection" directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey premieres in the US (Academy Awards Best Picture 1972)
- Dec 19 Stanley Kubrick's X-rated film "A Clockwork Orange" based on the book by Anthony Burgess and starring Malcolm McDowell premieres
1971 in Music
- Jan 20 Tamla Records releases Marvin Gaye's single "What's Going On" about police brutality, from the album of the same name
- Mar 5 "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin first played live at Ulster Hall, Belfast by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones
- Apr 4 Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 524 performances, then most expensive Broadway musical at the time
- Jun 17 Carole King's album "Tapestry" goes to #1 on US album charts and stays there for 15 weeks
- Aug 1 George Harrison's benefit concerts for Bangladesh (2 shows) take place at Madison Square Garden, NYC; performers include Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Leon Russell
- Oct 8 John Lennon releases his megahit single "Imagine"
1971 in Sport
- Feb 28 PGA Championship Men's Golf, PGA National East: Jack Nicklaus leads wire-to-wire for his 2nd career grand slam; wins by 2 from Billy Casper
- Mar 8 Joe Frazier ends Muhammad Ali's 31-fight winning streak at Madison Square Garden, NYC; retains heavyweight boxing title by unanimous points decision over 15 rounds in the "Fight of the Century"
- Jul 10 100th British Open Men's Golf, Royal Birkdale: Lee Trevino wins the first of his consecutive Open Championships, a stroke ahead of Lu Liang-Huan of Taiwan
- Aug 26 Bobby Orr signs a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins worth one million dollars, the first million dollar contract in NHL history
Did You Know?
Did You Know?Crew of Russian space mission Soyuz 11 found dead upon arrival on earth (only people to die in space)
On June 30, 1971
Idina Menzel
Tupac Shakur
Elon Musk
Alison Krauss
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
ThalíaFamous People in 1971
Gene Hackman
Jane Fonda
Richard NixonWorld Leaders in 1971
Leonid Brezhnev
Mao Zedong
Would You Believe?
American "Dan Cooper" hijacks plane, extorts $200,000 ransom before jumping out of plane over Washington State, never seen again
On November 24, 1971
Famous Weddings
- Jan 7 American horror, sci-fi and fantasy author Stephen King marries Tabitha Spruce, author and activist
- Feb 5 Actress Judi Dench (36) weds actor Michael Williams (35) at St Mary's Catholic Church in Hampstead, London
- Mar 4 Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau (51) weds author and actress Margaret Joan Sinclair (23) at a private ceremony in North Vancouver, Canada
Famous Divorces
- Jan 11 1st "Quickie" Divorce granted in UK
- Jun 18 Aviator Howard Hughes divorces 2nd wife Jean Peters after 14 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Coco Chanel
James Cash Penney
Thomas E. Dewey
Jim Morrison
Louis Armstrong
Nikita KhrushchevArticles and Photos
Sinatra Snaps the Fight of the Century
Sinatra does it his way and secures a ringside seat as a photographer for the "Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.March 8Ogden Nash, The Perceptive Poet
Ogden Nash, the American poet famous for his short, whimsical verse, died on this day. He was noted for his wit and understanding of the human condition.May 19White Night Riots
Rioters outside San Francisco City Hall on the night of May 21, 1979May 21Scrabble Creator Stuck for Words
The inventor of a new word game just could not think what to call it. Then a bright friend came up with the name – no points for guessing – Scrabble.June 28A Clockwork Orange
Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"December 19
