Historical Events
- Jan 30 Bloody Sunday: 27 unarmed civilians are shot (14 are killed) by the British Army during a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland; this is the highest death toll from a single shooting incident during 'the Troubles'
- Feb 9 British government declares state of emergency after month-long coal miners' strike
- Feb 17 British Parliament votes to join the European Common Market
- Feb 21 Richard Nixon becomes the first US President to visit China, normalizing relations between the countries in a meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing
- Mar 30 Northern Ireland's Government and Parliament dissolved by the British Government and 'direct rule' from Westminster is introduced
- Apr 10 US, USSR & 70 other nations agree to ban biological weapons
- May 28 White House "plumbers" first break in at the Democratic National Headquarters and install listening devices at Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.
- Jun 23 Hurricane Agnes becomes America's costliest natural disaster, affecting 15 states, with 119 deaths and $3 billion in damage
- Aug 3 US Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union to limit the use of missile systems capable of defending against missile-delivered nuclear weapons
- More Historical Events
1972 in Film & TV
- Feb 13 "Cabaret", directed by Bob Fosse, based on John Kander and Fred Ebb's musical of the same name, starring Liza Minnelli and Michael York, released
- Mar 15 "The Godfather", based on the book by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, premieres in NYC (Academy Awards Best Picture 1973)
- Sep 17 TV comedy "M*A*S*H", adapted from the movie, starring Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Wayne Rogers, and McLean Stevenson debuts on CBS in the US
1972 in Music
- Jun 6 David Bowie releases his breakthrough album "The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"
- Jun 7 Musical "Grease" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 3,388 performances
- Jul 15 "Honky Chateau" becomes Elton John's first No. 1 album in the US, includes hit "Rocket Man"
- Sep 2 Rod Stewart's 1st #1 hit single in the UK, "You Wear it Well"
1972 in Sport
- Jan 7 Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 134-90 for their 33rd straight win, the longest winning streak in major professional sports
- Jan 13 Bernice Gera wins anti-discrimination case against the National Baseball Congressl, initiated March 15, 1971 to be allowed to umpire
- Feb 5 Bob Douglas is 1st African American elected to Basketball Hall of Fame
- Mar 26 LA Lakers break NBA wins record by winning 69 of 82 games (69-13), record will stand for 24 years
- Aug 28 Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut becomes media darling at the Munich Olympics; wins gold in the teams all-round ; follows with 2 gold and a silver
- Sep 1 American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer beats Russian champion Boris Spassky 12.5-8.5 in Reykjavik, Iceland; most publicised world title match ever played; Fischer 1st American to win title
- Sep 4 US 4 x 100m medley relay team of Mike Stamm, Tom Bruce, Mark Spitz & Jerry Heidenreich sets world record 3:48.16 to win gold at the Munich Olympics; Mark Spitz becomes 1st athlete to win 7 Olympic gold medals at a single Games
- Sep 5 11 Israeli athletes taken hostage and later killed by Palestinian Black September group at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 9 Soviet Union beats the United States 51-50 in the most controversial game in international basketball history; with US leading 50-49 the final 3 seconds is replayed 3 times until the Soviets finally win
- Sep 10 American long distance runner Frank Shorter scores a famous win in the men's marathon in 2:12:19.8 at the Munich Olympics
Did You Know?
Did You Know?Co-founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell releases Pong, the 1st commercially successful video game, in Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California
On November 29, 1972
Shaquille O'Neal
Jennifer Garner
Carmen Electra
Dwayne Johnson
Eminem
Alyssa Milano
Billie Jean King
Henry Kissinger
Liza Minnelli
Marlon BrandoWorld Leaders in 1972
Leonid Brezhnev
Mao Zedong
Richard Nixon
Would You Believe?
Robert McNamara, former US Secretary of Defense, is almost thrown overboard on a ferry by an artist wanting to confront him on his role in escalating US involvement in the Vietnam war (no charges pressed)
On September 29, 1972
Famous Weddings
- Jan 1 Politician Aung San Suu Kyi (26) weds author Michael Aris (25)
- Feb 11 Playwright Tom Stoppard (34) weds doctor and author Miriam Moore-Robinson (34)
- Apr 25 Comedic actor Bob Denver (37) weds third wife Carole Abrahams
Famous Divorces
- Jun 26 NFL quarterback Johnny Unitas (39) divorces first wife Dorothy Hoelle after nearly 2 decades of marriage
- Sep 19 Actor Phil Hartman (23) divorces Gretchen Lewis after 2 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Joe Gallo
Kwame Nkrumah
Jackie Robinson
Ezra Pound
Harry TrumanArticles and Photos
Britain Joins the European Community
British MPs voted on this day to join the European Communities, as it was then known. It was to be a thorny issue, finally leading to ‘Brexit’ in 2020.February 17Nixon Meets Mao
Richard Nixon meets Chairman Mao in BeijingFebruary 21Pong
The original Atari Pong video game upright cabinetNovember 29The Blue Marble
The famous 'Blue Marble' photograph of the Earth taken by the crew of the Apollo 17December 7
