What Happened in 1974 — Events, Births & Deaths

In response to the 1973 oil crisis, the United States implements the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act, switching to permanent daylight saving time for a trial period.

Aeroflot Flight H-75 crashes near Mukachevo, killing 24.

A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.

China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam.

Turkish Airlines Flight 301 crashes during takeoff from Izmir Cumaovası Airport (now İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport), killing 66 of the 73 people on board the Fokker F28 Fellowship.

Pan Am Flight 806 crashes near Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa, killing 97.

A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.

The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.

M62 coach bombing: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes a bomb on a bus carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel in Yorkshire, England. Nine soldiers and three civilians are killed.

Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.

The crew of Skylab 4, the last mission to visit the American space station Skylab, returns to Earth after 84 days in space.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.

Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.

The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit begins in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh.

Samuel Byck attempts to hijack an aircraft at Baltimore/Washington International Airport with the intention of crashing it into the White House to assassinate Richard Nixon, but commits suicide after being wounded by police.

The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.

The British election ends in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieved their biggest vote share since 1929.

Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.

Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal.

The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars.

1974 Belgian general election: Elections are held in Belgium for all 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives, the Belgian Socialist Party taking the majority with 59.

Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 802 crashes into the White Mountains near Bishop, California, killing 36.

Fifteen people are killed when Sterling Airways Flight 901, a Sud Aviation Caravelle, catches fire following a landing gear collapse at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran.

Güzel İstanbul, a nude sculpture by Gürdal Duyar in Istanbul, is torn down in the middle of the night.

NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.

The Terracotta Army is discovered in Shaanxi province, China.

The Local Government Act 1972 of England and Wales comes into effect.

The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second largest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the 2011 Super Outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.

Carrie, the first novel by American author Stephen King, is published for the first time with a print run of 30,000 copies.

In Brighton, United Kingdom, ABBA wins the 1974 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo", the first of a joint-record seven Swedish wins.

The first California Jam festival takes place at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. Co-headlined by Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The festival set what were then records for the loudest amplification system ever installed, the highest paid attendance, and highest gross in history.

Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth as the all-time leader in career home runs by hitting his 715th home run off of Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Pan Am Flight 812 crashes on approach to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, killing all 107 people on board.

Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime.

One hundred nine people are killed in a plane crash near Pulkovo Airport.

Watergate scandal: United States President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.

Watergate scandal: The United States House Committee on the Judiciary opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.

Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.

Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.

The Troubles: Thirty-three civilians are killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland.

Police in Los Angeles raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.

Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.

Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.

SETA, a Finnish LGBT rights organisation, is founded in Helsinki.

The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.

The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.

The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

U.S. president Richard Nixon visits the Soviet Union.

Vice President Isabel Perón assumes powers and duties as Acting President of Argentina, while her husband President Juan Perón is terminally ill.

Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet.

The Baltimore municipal strike of 1974 begins.

An EgyptAir Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes at Cairo International Airport, killing all six people on board.

In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek junta-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d'état, deposing Makarios III and installing Nikos Sampson as the president of Cyprus.

Turkish invasion of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'état, organized by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.

The Greek military junta collapses, and former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis is invited to lead the new government, beginning Greece's metapolitefsi era.

Watergate scandal: The United States Supreme Court unanimously rules that President Richard Nixon does not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.

Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country's first civil government after seven years of military rule.

Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.

Spetsgruppa A, Russia's elite special force, was formed.

Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the "Green Line", dividing Cyprus into two zones.

A bomb explodes in the Italicus Express train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22.

Watergate scandal: President Richard Nixon, under orders of the US Supreme Court, releases the "Smoking Gun" tape, recorded on June 23, 1972, clearly revealing his actions in covering up and interfering investigations into the break-in. His political support vanishes completely.

Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 feet (417 m) in the air.

President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.

As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first president of the United States to resign from office. Vice President Gerald Ford becomes president.

Turkey launches the second phase of the invasion of Cyprus, which eventually resulted in the Turkish occupation of 37% of Cyprus.

Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President Park Chung Hee.

A Belgrade–Dortmund express train derails at the main train station in Zagreb killing 153 passengers.

A powerful bomb explodes at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Eight are killed, 378 are injured. Eight left-wing activists are arrested on May 19, 1975, by Japanese authorities.

The Third World Population Conference ends in Bucharest, Romania. At the end of the ceremony, the UN-Romanian Demographic Centre is inaugurated.

The SR-71 Blackbird sets (and holds) the record for flying from New York to London in the time of one hour, 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds at a speed of 1,435.587 miles per hour (2,310.353 km/h).

Watergate scandal: US President Gerald Ford signs the pardon of Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.

Guinea-Bissau gains independence from Portugal.

Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew.

Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup by the Derg, ending a reign of 58 years.

Air Vietnam Flight 706 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board.

Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.

Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people.

Dr. Frank Jobe performs first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery (better known as Tommy John surgery) on baseball player Tommy John.

Bombs planted by the PIRA in pubs in Guildford kill four British soldiers and one civilian.

Franklin National Bank collapses due to fraud and mismanagement; at the time it is the largest bank failure in the history of the United States.

Niue becomes a self-governing colony of New Zealand.

The Arecibo message is broadcast from Puerto Rico.

The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System.

The first fatal crash of a Boeing 747 occurs when Lufthansa Flight 540 crashes while attempting to takeoff from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 59 out of the 157 people on board.

The Birmingham pub bombings kill 21 people. The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but are later exonerated.

Sixty Ethiopian politicians, aristocrats, military officers, and other persons are executed by the provisional military government.

Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" (after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"), in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression.

TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashes northwest of Dulles International Airport, killing all 92 people on board.

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231, another Boeing 727, crashes northwest of John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Martinair Flight 138 crashes into the Saptha Kanya mountain range in Maskeliya, Sri Lanka, killing 191.

A plebiscite results in the abolition of monarchy in Greece.

Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.

In the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese forces launch their 1975 Spring Offensive (to 30 April 1975), which results in the final capitulation of South Vietnam.

Nelson Rockefeller is sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford under the provisions of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli vote to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remains under French administration.

Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.

Edgar Wright, English filmmaker

Randy Fine, American politician and former gambling industry executive

Shavo Odadjian, Armenian-American bassist

Uncle Kracker, American musician

Sonya Walger, British-American actress

Bear Grylls, English adventurer, author, and television host

Lauren Burns, Australian taekwondo practitioner

Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright, and director (born 1895)

Carl Spaatz, American World War II general; commander of the Strategic Air Forces in Europe (born 1891)

Richard Long, American actor and director (born 1927)