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1971 This could well be the year that marked the start of the digital age when the Microprocessor was invented. We also saw the use of more and more of the transistor technology in use in things like hand held calculators which although are still very expensive over time will drop in price and increase in function to where we are today. It is also the first year North Sea Oil production begins in Norway. One other major change is the change to Decimalisation in the UK on and Ireland on February 15th . The birth of Greenpeace signals a need to question how we manage the resources entrusted to us and a means of organised questioning of governments around the world.
Cost Of Living, - News, Facts and Events, - Movies, TV and Music, - Born This Year, - Technology, - World Leaders,


Cost of Living 1971

How Much things cost in 1971
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.3%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 8.6%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 890
Average Cost of new house $25,250.00
Average Income per year $10,600.00
Average Monthly Rent $150.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 40 cents
Datsun 1200 Sports Coupe $1,866.00
United States postage Stamp 8 cents
Ladies 2 piece knit suites $9.98
Movie Ticket $1.50
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling

Average House Price 5,632
Gallon of Petrol 0.33
To find more prices and information for the 70's including 1971
1970's - Cars and Car Prices - Music -


What Events Happened in 1971

UN
  • China is admitted to the United Nations UN
Scotland
  • Ibrox disaster in Scotland when 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match
U.S.
  • A new stock market index called the Nasdaq debuts
India
  • Border battles between India and Pakistan erupt into full-scale war when India invades East Pakistan ( Now Bangladesh ) in support of the independence movement
U.S.
  • Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
Peru
  • Peru Earthquake results in the destruction of the town of Chungar, Peru, and the death of most of the towns people
UK
  • Decimalisation in United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency.
UK
  • Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher's ( "Thatcher The Milk Snatcher". ) ends free school milk for children over the age of seven in the UK
UK
  • IRA Bomb Post Office Tower in London
U.S.
  • The Voting Age in the United States is lowered to 18 yrs old when the 26th Amendment to the US constition is ratified Available as a downloadable image on our US Constitution Public Domain Images Page
U.S.
  • Prison riot and prisoners take hostages at Attica Prison in New York, resulting in the death of 10 hostages and 29 inmates.
U.S.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court upholds School Busing Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education 402 U.S
Switzerland
  • Women are granted the right to vote in Switzerland
U.S.
  • Amtrak created to provide US inter city passenger train services.
Sicily
  • Mount Etna erupts
Japan
  • Tsunami 85 m high rises over Ryukyu Islands in Japan
U.S.
  • Harris public opinion poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the war in Vietnam
India
  • Tsunami in the Bay of Bengal in Orissa State in India kills 10,000.
U.S.
  • The Walt Disney World Resort opens in Florida on October 21st
China
  • The US table tennis team visits to the People's Republic of China (PRC) known as "Ping Pong Diplomacy"
World
  • Greenpeace formally comes into existence.
U.S.
  • Federal Express is started by Fred Smith
UK
  • Thousands protest against the British government's new industrial relations Bill.
Australia
  • Australia and New Zealand Announce Pull Out Of Troops from Vietnam
U.S.
  • Cigarette Advertising Ended on Television in USA
Scotland
  • A fatal stampede at Glasgow Soccer Game
U.S.
  • In an attempt to control inflation President Richard M. Nixon implements 90 day freeze on wages and prices, he also removed the gold/silver backing from the US Dollar
Uganda
  • Major General Idi Amin takes control of Uganda soon to become one of the worst and most notorious dictators of modern times
UK
  • Following Public Concern Over Immigration in the UK, a new Immigration Bill stops Commonwealth citizens automatic entry
U.S.
  • Following on from the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasts for the first time in April 1971
Northern Ireland
  • Problems in Northern Ireland continue as rioting increases as part of the IRA campaign to end British Government Rule.
U.S.
  • The New York Times begins to publish sections of the Pentagon Papers showing the US Government had been lying to the American People.
Quatar
  • Qatar Gains Independence From Great Britain
Sierra Leone
  • Sierra Leone Gains Independence From Great Britain
U.S.
  • Charles Manson and three of his followers receive the death penalty




Popular Culture

  • Led Zeppelin releases their untitled fourth album
  • Jim Morrison of The Doors found dead in bath tub in Paris

Popular Films

  • Love Story
  • Summer of '42
  • Ryan's Daughter
  • The Owl and the Pussycat
  • The Aristocats
  • Carnal Knowledge
  • The Andromeda Strain
  • The French Connection

Popular Musicians and songs

  • James Taylor
  • The Doors
  • Bob Dylan
  • Tony Orlando and Dawn with " Knock Three Times "
  • Janis Joplin with " Me and Bobby Mcgee "
  • The Who
  • Mungo Jerry
  • John Lennon
  • The Jackson 5
  • Ike and Tina Turner
  • Marvin Gaye
  • Rod Stewart with " Maggie Mae "
  • The Osmonds
  • Michael Jackson
  • The Rolling Stones with " Brown Sugar "

Check out our Television Programmes From The 70s whenever possible we have included a trailer to jog your memory. Series trailers and more information are found on the decade they started.

Popular TV Programmes

  • All My Children
  • Mary Tyler Moore
  • McCloud
  • The Odd Couple
  • The Partridge Family





Technology 1971

  • Oil Production from the North Sea begins in Norway


  • Intel releases world's first microprocessor, the 4004.


  • Texas Instruments releases the first pocket calculator


  • The First Internet Chat rooms appear


  • The First Cat Scanner Produced by EMI


  • BBC Open University broadcasts begin in the UK.


  • The Aswan Dam is completed in Egypt


  • The Worlds Largest Tanker 372,400 tons Nisseki Maru is launched


  • Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.


  • Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover a day after landing on the surface.


  • Three Soviet cosmonauts die during Soyuz 11 accident.


  • First Soft Contact Lens became available commercially in the USA




Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
Microprocessor USA
Pocket Calculator The Sharp Company
E-Mail USA Ray Tomlinson
Floppy Disk USA by IBM

Liquid Crystal Displays ( LCD ) Switzerland





Major World Political Leaders 1971

Australia Prime Minister John Gorton Till 10 March
Australia Prime Minister William McMahon From 10 March

Brazil President Emilio Medici

Canada Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Song Qingling

France President Georges Pompidou

Germany Chancellor Willy Brandt

India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Italy Prime Minister Emilio Colombo

Japan Prime Minister Eisaku Sato

Mexico President Luis Echeverría

Russia / Soviet Union
First Secretary of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev

South Africa Prime Minister Balthazar Johannes Vorster

United States President Richard Nixon

United Kingdom Prime Minister Edward Heath


Political Elections This Year


Canadian Federal Election 1972 Pierre Trudeau ( Liberal ) defeats Robert Stanfield ( Progressive Conservatives )


The Information above is taken from our new page that gives world leaders from 1920 to current.
WorldLeaders