The Year 1972 From The People History

1972 This year is marked as a black year in history due to the use of terrorism entering sport with the massacre of 11 Israel Athletes by Arab Gunman. Also this is the beginning of the biggest political scandal in modern times and the start of the Watergate Scandal. On the other side of the Atlantic a worsening of the problems between the IRA and the British government see wrongs from both sides and innocent lives are lost.

What Events Happened in 1972

• 11 Israel Athletes murdered by Arab Gunman at Munich Olympics

• Three gunmen open fire at Lod International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 26 people and injuring dozens more

• Bloody Sunday - the British Army kills 13 unarmed Roman Catholic civil rights marchers in Derry, Ireland.

• The British government declares a state of emergency over 47 day miners' strike

• Earthquake lasting 20 seconds destroys most of Bingol, Turkey - more than 1000 dead, 10.000 made homeless

• Earthquake in the town of Ghir, in southern Iraq leaves over 5,000 dead

• Hurricane Agnes on June 13th kills 117 in US east coast.

• 16 survivors from plane crash survive and are rescued after practicing cannibalism

• Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee the start of the Watergate Scandal.

• Bobby Fischer beats Boris Spassky to become the World Chess Champion in Reykjavik, Iceland,

• Last US ground troops withdrawn from Vietnam

• Earthquake in Nicaragua kills 5,000-10,000 in the capital Managua

• The last major epidemic of smallpox in Europe breaks out in Yugoslavia.

• The Black Lung Benefits bill signed into law by President Nixon

• Bloody Friday 22 bombs explode in Belfast Ireland and 9 people are killed with a further 130 seriously injured.

• Bloody Sunday14 unarmed Catholic protesters are gunned down by British Police on bloody Sunday

• IRA bomb explodes at the 16th Parachute Brigade headquarters at Aldershot

• The Equal Rights Amendment which provided for the legal equality of the sexes passed by the U.S. Senate on 22nd March

• Pilots organise worldwide strike protesting increased Air Piracy / Hijacking and lack of government action.

• CND ( Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament ) organises a series of demonstrations against nuclear arms

• After spending 20 years fighting in the courts for compensation 300 Thalidomide victims are offered £11.85 million over 10 years

• The Second Cod War between UK and Iceland

• The worlds leaders agree to banning biological warfare

• Antiwar demonstrations draw 100,000 demonstrators in US cities

• Palestinian hijackers hijack a Lufthansa jet

• Martial Law Declared in the Philippines

• The ex RMS Queen Elizabeth Sets on Fire and Sinks in Hong Kong

• Ceylon becomes a republic and changes its name to Sri Lanka

• General Idi Amin of Uganda takes control of British firms and interests in the country

• General Idi Amin of Uganda expells 50,000 Asians From Uganda

• UK unemployment rises to one million for the first time since the depression years of the 1930s

• The Dow Jones closes above 1000 for the first time in history

• The Largest Diamond The Star of Sierra leone is unearthed it is 969.8 carats

• Flash Flood caused by dam burst in Rapid City, South Dakota kills over 200

• Governor George Wallace is shot three times in an attempted assasination attempt by Arthur Bremer which leaves him paralyzed.

• Richard Nixon Visits China

• A dam In West Virginia’s Buffalo Creek Valley collapses killing 118 people

• American Swimmer Mark Spitz wins a record 7 gold medals in the Summer Olympics in Munich

• Bangladesh Gains Independence From Pakistan

• Cameroon Gains Independence From France and Britain

• The Winter Olympic Games are held in Sapporo, Japan

• Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments come into force

Popular Culture

Popular Films

• The Godfather
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Diamonds Are Forever
• What's Up, Doc?
• Dirty Harry
• The Last Picture Show
• A Clockwork Orange
• Cabaret

Popular Musicians

• ABBA
• Roxy Music
• The Eagles
• John Lennon
• Paul Simon
• Simon and Garfunkel
• Rod Stewart
• Don Mclean with " American Pie "
• Michael Jackson with " Ben "
• Don McLean
• Elton John
• The Moody Blues
• David Bowie
• Led Zeppelin

What do you remember ? was this the year you graduated ?, what music was being played the year you were born?

Popular TV Programmes

• Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Sesame Street
• The Benny Hill Show
• The Brady Bunch
• Dad's Army
• Hawaii Five-O
• Here's Lucy

Technology 1972

• HBO launched in US as the first subscription cable service



• Richard Nixon orders the start for the space shuttle program



• Apollo 16 lands on the moon where the Lunar Rover is tested by astronauts John W Young and Charles M Duke



• Apollo 17 lands on the moon and the last men to walk on the moon are Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan



• Digital Watches are introduced



• First scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced (price $395).



• The Volkswagen Beetle becomes the most popular car ever sold with in excess of 15 million sold.



• Atari kicks off the first generation of video games with the release of PONG, the first game to achieve commercial success




Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
Artificial Heart USA Willem J Koiff
Optical Fiber USA

Major World Political Leaders 1972

Australia Prime Minister William McMahon Till 5 December
Australia Prime Minister Gough Whitlam From 5 December

Brazil President Emilio Medici

Canada Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Dong Biwu

France President Georges Pompidou

Germany Chancellor Willy Brandt

India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Italy Prime Minister Emilio Colombo Till 17 February
Italy Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti From 17 February

Japan Prime Minister Eisaku Sato Till 7 July
Japan Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka From 7 July

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 1972

United States Presidential Election 1972 Richard Nixon (Republican) Defeats George McGovern (Democratic) and John G. Schmitz (American)


Canadian Federal Election 1974 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