1971 Jan 3, At the top of the record charts:
My Sweet Lord/Isn’t It a Pity by George Harrison.
Knock
Three Times by Dawn.
Black
Magic Woman by Santana.
Rose Garden
by Lynn Anderson.
(440 Int'l. 1/3/99)
1971 Jan 4, Ohio agreed to pay $675,000 to relatives of Kent State
victims.
(MC, 1/4/02)
1971 Jan 5, Pres. Nixon named Robert Dole as chairman of the Republican
National Party.
(HN, 1/5/01)
1971 Jan 5, Sonny Liston (36), World Champion boxer (1962-64),
was found dead.
(MC, 1/5/02)
1971 Jan 8, 29 pilot whales beached themselves and died at San
Clemente Island, off Calif.
(MC, 1/8/02)
1971 Jan 10, "Masterpiece Theatre" premiered on PBS with host
Alistair Cooke introducing a drama series, "The First Churchills."
(AP, 1/10/01)
1971 Jan 10, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (87), French fashion designer,
died.
(MC, 1/10/02)
1971 Jan 12, The situation comedy "All in the Family" with Carroll
O’Connor (d.2001) as Archie Bunker, began on CBS TV and ran to 1983. It
later became "Archie Bunker’s Place." It was the first video-taped sitcom.
It was based on the 1964 British series "Till Death Do Us Part," written
by Johnny Speight (d.1998 at 78).
(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.39)(AP, 1/12/00)(SFC, 6/22/01, p.A1)
1971 Jan 12, A federal grand jury indicted Rev. Philip Berrigan
and 5 others, including a nun & 2 priests, on charges of plotting to
kidnap Henry Kissinger.
(MC, 1/12/02)
1971 Jan 13, The 1964 Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which amounted
to a declaration of war against Vietnam, was repealed by Congress. U.S.
Senators Wayne Morse of Oregon and Ernest Gruening of Alaska share the
distinction of casting the only votes against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
on August 7, 1964. The resolution supported President Lyndon Johnson's
military actions against North Vietnam in retaliation for its attack on
a U.S. spy ship in the Tonkin Gulf. The resolution passed in the House
414-0 and the Senate 88-2.
(HNQ, 6/24/98)
1971 Jan 15, George Harrison released "My Sweet Lord."
(MC, 1/15/02)
1971 Jan 15, Egypt’s Aswan High Dam, 600 miles upstream from
Cairo, officially opened. [see Jul 21, 1970]
(NG, 5/1985, p.582)(SFC, 1/11/97, p.C1)(MC, 1/15/02)
1971 Jan 18, Two Standard Oil tankers collided in the fog a quarter
mile west of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Arizona Standard ripped into the
Oregon Standard and caused the spill of some 1.9 million gallons of heavy
bunker oil.
(SFEC, 2/23/96, Z1 p.5)
1971 Jan 19, "No, No Nanette" opened at 46th St Theater NYC for
861 performances.
(MC, 1/19/02)
1971 Jan 19, Beatles' "Helter Skelter" was played at the Charles
Manson trial.
(MC, 1/19/02)
1971 Jan 22, Communist forces shelled Phnom Penh, Cambodia for
the first time.
(HN, 1/22/99)
1971 Jan 25, Charles Manson and three female followers were convicted
in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people,
including actress Sharon Tate.
(AP, 1/25/98)(SFEC, 5/23/99, Z1 p.4)
1971 Jan 25, Philadelphia mint made its 1st trial strike of Eisenhower
dollar.
(MC, 1/25/02)
1971 Jan 25, In Uganda Gen. Idi Amin (d.2003) led a military
coup that seized power while Pres. Obote was abroad.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFC, 8/16/03, p.A21)
1971 Jan 31, "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison hit #1 on UK pop
chart.
(MC, 1/31/02)
1971 Jan 31, Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell
and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.
(AP, 1/31/98)
1971 Jan, John Connally replaced David Kennedy as Treasury Secretary
under Richard Nixon. He instituted a 10% surcharge on imports and repudiated
fixed exchange rates.
(WSJ, 7/22/98, p.A12)
1971 Feb 1, The soundtrack album from the movie, "Love Story",
starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw, with music by Frances Lai, was certified
as a gold record on this day.
(440 Int'l, 2/1/1999)
1971 Feb 1, Evonne Goolagong scored her first major senior singles
victory as she defeated Margaret Court in the finals of the Victorian Open,
played in Melbourne, Australia.
(440 Int'l, 2/1/1999)
1971 Feb 1, The three astronauts aboard the Apollo XIV overcame
a difficult docking problem but faced a critical test to determine whether
they could land on the moon.
(G&M, 1/31/96, p.A-2)
1971 Feb 2, The Apollo XIV astronauts confirmed that they would
attempt a lunar landing.
(G&M, 2/2/96, p.A-2)
1971 Feb 2, Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda, following a coup
that ousted President Milton Obote.
(AP, 2/2/97)
1971 Feb 3, OPEC decided to set oil prices without consulting
buyers.
(HN, 2/3/99)
1971 Feb 4, National Guard was mobilized to quell rioting in Wilmington,
NC.
(MC, 2/4/02)
1971 Feb 4, Apollo 14 lander Antares landed on Moon with Shepard
& Mitchell.
(MC, 2/4/02)
1971 Feb 4, British car maker Rolls Royce declared itself bankrupt.
(MC, 2/4/02)
1971 Feb 5, Two Apollo 14 astronauts walked on the moon.
(HN, 2/5/99)
1971 Feb 6, Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the Moon.
(MC, 2/6/02)
1971 Feb 7, Switzerland voted to introduce female suffrage at
the federal but not the cantonal level.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(AP, 2/7/01)
1971 Feb 8, South Vietnamese ground forces, backed by American
air power, began Operation Lam Son 719, a 17,000 man incursion into Laos
that ended three weeks later in a disaster.
(HN, 2/8/98)
1971 Feb 9, Satchel Paige became the 1st negro-league player elected
to baseball HOF.
(MC, 2/9/02)
1971 Feb 9, The "Apollo 14" spacecraft returned to Earth after
man's third landing on the moon.
(AP, 2/9/99)
1971 Feb 9, In San Fernando, Ca., a 6.5 earthquake killed 65
people.
(SFEC, 10/17/99, p.A3)
1971 Feb 11, Whitney Young Jr., National Urban League director,
drowned in Nigeria.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1971 Feb 12, James Cash Penney (95), US founder (J C Penney),
died.
(MC, 2/12/02)
1971 Feb 13, 12,000 South Vietnamese troops crossed into Laos.
(MC, 2/13/02)
1971 Feb 14, The movie "Ben Hur" was 1st shown on television.
(MC, 2/14/02)
1971 Feb 14, Richard Nixon installed a secret taping system in
White House.
(SFC, 12/1/97, p.A7)(MC, 2/14/02)
1971 Feb 14, Moscow publicized a new five-year plan geared to
expanding consumer production.
(HN, 2/14/98)
1971 Feb 15, After 1200 years Britain abandoned the 12-shilling
system for the decimal system.
(440 Int’l., 2/15/99)
1971 Feb 20, Shalanda Burt, US murderess, was born.
(MC, 2/20/02)
1971 Feb 20, The National Emergency Warning Center in Colorado
erroneously ordered radio and TV stations across the US to go off the air;
some stations heeded the alert, which was not lifted for about 40 minutes.
(AP, 2/20/01)
1971 Feb 20, Young people protested having to cut their long
hair in Athens, Greece.
(HN, 2/19/98)
1971 Feb 20, Major General Idi Amin Dada appointed himself president
of Uganda.
(MC, 2/20/02)
1971 Feb 21, A series of tornadoes cut through Miss and La killing
117.
(MC, 2/21/02)
1971 Feb 23, Lt. William Calley confessed and implicated Captain
Ernest Medina in My Lai massacre. Lt. Calley, as the lowest ranking officer
involved, was the only one to be court marshaled.
(MC, 2/23/02)
1971 Feb 24, Algeria nationalized French oil companies.
(MC, 2/24/02)
1971 Feb 28, The male electorate in Lichtenstein refused to give
voting rights to women.
(HN, 2/28/98)
1971 Feb, The Japanese Red Army was founded by Fusako Shigenobu
with the goal of worldwide communist revolution. She entered Lebanon and
linked with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
(SFC, 11/9/00, p.C2)
1971 Mar 1, The bombing in the U.S. Capitol building was claimed
to be in protest of U.S. involvement in Laos. The bomb exploded in a Capitol
restroom 30 minutes after a telephone warning, which proclaimed the action
to protest against U.S. involvement in Laos. Some $200,000 in damage was
caused by the bombing. There were no injuries.
(HNQ, 7/30/98)
1971 Mar 3, South African Broadcasting Corp lifted its ban on
the Beatles.
(SC, 3/3/02)
1971 Mar 3, Winnie Mandela was sentenced to 1 year in jail in
South Africa.
(SC, 3/3/02)
1971 Mar 4, "City Command" kidnapped 4 US military men at Ankara,
Turkey.
(SC, 3/4/02)
1971 Mar 4, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (52)
married Margaret Sinclair (22) in North Vancouver, B.C. They later divorced.
(AP, 3/4/99)(SFC, 9/29/00, p.D7)
1971 Mar 7, A thousand U.S. planes bombed Cambodia and Laos.
(HN, 3/7/98)
1971 Mar 8, Radio Hanoi broadcast Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled
Banner."
(MC, 3/8/02)
1971 Mar 8, Joe Frazier fought Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight
championship. Frazier won. They fought rematches in 1974 and 1975. In 2001
Mark Kram authored "Ghosts of Manila," and account of the Frazier-Ali boxing
matches.
(WSJ, 5/25/01, p.W8)
1971 Mar 8, Pres. Nixon expressed his bigotry against women,
blacks and Mexicans and Italians on tape recordings that were only made
public in 1998.
(SFEC, 12/27/98, p.a15)
1971 Mar 8, Catholic radicals in Media, Pa., broke into the local
FBI offices and stole documents that revealed the agency’s illegal activities
against radical groups and leaked them to the media.
(SFEC, 2/16/97, BR p.8)
1971 Mar 8, Harold Lloyd (77), US comic, actor (Why Worry), died
of cancer.
(MC, 3/8/02)
1971 Mar 8, Joe Frazier fought Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight
championship. Frazier won. They fought rematches in 1974 and 1975. In 2001
Mark Kram authored "Ghosts of Manila," and account of the Frazier-Ali boxing
matches.
(WSJ, 5/25/01, p.W8)
1971 Mar 10, The Senate approved an amendment to lower the voting
age to 18.
(HN, 3/10/98)
1971 Mar 11, Federal Communications Commission stated that television
networks ABC, NBC and CBS must have a limited three-hour nightly program
service now called 'Prime Time'. Prime Time began in September of
1971.
(MC, 3/12/02)
1971 Mar 13, Rockwell Kent (b.1882), artist, illustrator and printmaker,
died. He was a member of the rugged realist school of landscape painters.
In the 1930s he created a set of illustrations for "Moby Dick." In 1960
he donated 80 paintings and 800 watercolors to the people of the Soviet
Union.
(WSJ, 8/15/00, p.A24)(SFC, 8/25/01, p.D12)(MC, 3/13/02)
1971 Mar 14, Senator Edward Kennedy estimated that 25,000 Vietnamese
civilians had been killed in 1970.
(HN, 3/14/98)
1971 Mar 14, The Rolling Stones left England for France to escape
taxes.
(MC, 3/14/02)
1971 Mar 15, CBS TV announced it was dropping "Ed Sullivan Show."
(MC, 3/15/02)
1971 Mar 15, Chat rooms made their debut on the Internet.
(MC, 3/15/02)
1971 Mar 16, Thomas E. Dewey (68), US president candidate (R 1944,
1948), died of a heart attack.
(MC, 3/16/02)(AH, 12/02, p.4)
1971 Mar 18, U.S. helicopters airlifted 1,000 South Vietnamese
soldiers out of Laos.
(HN, 3/18/98)
1971 Mar 19, At least 160 people perished in landslides north
of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(AP, 3/19/03)
1971 Mar 21, Two U.S. platoons in Vietnam refused their orders
to advance.
(HN, 3/21/98)
1971 Mar 21, Sheik Mujibur Rahman declared East Pakistan independent
of Bangladesh; Pakistani Pres. Yahya Khan ordered the army in; several
million East Bengali refugees fled to India.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Mar 23, USSR performed underground nuclear test.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1971 Mar 23, A coup in Argentina overthrew Pres. Levingston.
General Alehandro Lanusse seized power in a bloodless coup from General
Roberto Levingston. He re-established ties with China. He also allowed
Juan Domingo Peron to return to Argentina after 17 years of forced exile.
(SFC, 8/27/96, p.A17)(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Mar 23, Dutch 2nd Chamber accepted simplified divorce.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1971 Mar 25, Sheik Mujibur Rahman of East Pakistan was arrested
in Dacca.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Mar 26, "Benny Hill Show" topped TV ratings.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1971 Mar 26, "Cannon" with William Conrad premiered on CBS-TV.
(SS, 3/26/02)
1971 Mar 26, East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking
the name Bangladesh. [See Mar 21]
(AP, 3/26/97)(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Mar 28, In the 25th Tony Awards: Sleuth & Company won.
(MC, 3/28/02)
1971 Mar 29, Army Lt. William L. Calley Jr. was convicted of murdering
at least 22 Vietnamese civilians in the 1968 My Lai massacre. Calley ended
up spending three years under house arrest.
(AP, 3/28/97)
1971 Mar 29, A jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty
for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca
murders. The sentences were later commuted.
(AP, 3/28/97)
1971 Mar 29, Development of a serum hepatitis vaccine for children
was announced.
(MC, 3/29/02)
1971 Mar 29, Chile president Allende nationalized banks, copper
mines.
(MC, 3/29/02)
1971 Mar 31, 1st Lt. William L. Calley Jr. was found guilty for
his actions in the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.
(HN, 3/31/98)
1971 Mar, Daniel Ellsberg obtained a copy of the Pentagon Papers,
commissioned by then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, from his former
pentagon colleagues and showed it to Neil Sheehan, a young New York Times
reporter.
(SFC, 7/7/96, BR p.6)
1971 Mar, In Washington DC a bomb exploded in a Senate rest room.
It caused extensive damage but no injuries. It occurred at a time of rising
opposition to US policies in Vietnam.
(SFC, 7/25/98, p.A6)
1971
Apr 1, The United Kingdom lifted all restrictions on gold ownership.
(OTD)
1971 Apr 2, Sci-fi soap opera "Dark Shadows" concluded an almost
5 year run.
(MC, 4/2/02)
1971 Apr 3, Manfred Bonnington Lee (65), [Ellery Queen], detective
writer, died.
(MC, 4/3/02)
1971 Apr 3, Joseph Valachi (66), US gangster, died.
(MC, 4/3/02)
1971 Apr 4, "Follies" opened at Winter Garden Theater in NYC for
524 performances.
(MC, 4/4/02)
1971 Apr 5, US Lt. William Calley was sentenced to life for the
My Lai Massacre.
(MC, 4/5/02)
1971 Apr 5, Mount Etna erupted in Sicily, Italy.
(MC, 4/5/02)
1971 Apr 5-23, In Ceylon the People’s Liberation Front attempted
a nationwide coup, but the army and Mr. Bandaranaike’s government regained
control.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Apr 6, Igor Stravinsky (b.1882), Russian-born composer, died
in NYC.
(WUD, 1994, p.1405)(AP, 4/6/97)(MC, 4/6/02)
1971 Apr 7, President Nixon pledged a withdrawal of 100,000
more men from Vietnam by December.
(HN, 4/7/97)
1971 Apr 7, Pres. Nixon ordered Lt. Calley, imprisoned for the
Mi Lai massacre, free.
(MC, 4/7/02)
1971 Apr 8, The 1st legal off-track betting system began in New
York.
(MC, 4/8/02)
1971 Apr 9, Demonstrators occupying the Stanford Univ. Hospital
administration offices clashed with police and 9 Palo Alto officers were
injured. Police later raided the Stanford Daily to recover photos of the
demonstrators.
(SFC, 1/17/03, p.E8)
1971 Apr 10, The American table tennis team arrived in China.
(HN, 4/10/98)
1971 Apr 14, President Nixon ended a blockade against People's
Republic of China.
(MC, 4/14/02)
1971 Apr 14, Supreme Court upheld busing as a means of achieving
racial desegregation.
(MC, 4/14/02)
1971 Apr 15, In the 43rd Academy Awards "Patton," George C Scott
and Glenda Jackson won.
(MC, 4/15/02)
1971 Apr 15, North Vietnamese troops ambushed a company of Delta
Raiders from the 101st Airborne Division near Fire Support Base Bastogne
in Vietnam. The American troops were on a rescue mission.
(HN, 4/15/99)
1971 Apr 19, Charles Manson was sentenced to life for the Sharon
Tate murders.
(MC, 4/19/02)
1971 Apr 19, Russia launched its first Salyut space station.
(HN, 4/19/97)
1971 Apr 20, The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to
achieve racial desegregation in schools.
(AP, 4/20/97)
1971 Apr 21, Samantha Druce, the youngest woman to swim English
Channel, was born.
(MC, 4/21/02)
1971 Apr 21, In Haiti Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier (64) died.
He was succeeded by his teenage son Jean-Claude "Baby-Doc" Duvalier, under
the guidance of Simone Duvalier, aka "Mama Doc."
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFC,12/31/97, p.A17)
1971 Apr 23, Columbia University operations were virtually halted
by a student strike.
(MC, 4/23/02)
1971 Apr 23, The Soviet Union launched Soyuz 10; the cosmonauts
became the first in Salyut 1 space station.
(HN, 4/23/02)
1971 Apr 25, US canal rights in Nicaragua and rights to Corn Islands
expired.
(SS, 4/25/02)
1971 Apr 25, The country of Bangladesh was established. [see
Mar 26]
(HN, 4/25/98)
1971 Apr 29, Bill Graham closed down Fillmore and Fillmore East
and announced his retirement from concert promotion. He was angered by
his perceived greed of rock bands and anger and distrust of his audience.
He soon relented and put on shows with Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers,
Pink Floyd, the Who and the Grateful Dead.
(SFC,12/13/97, p.A15)(MC, 4/29/02)
1971 May 1, Amtrak, which combined and streamlined the operations
of 18 intercity passenger railroads, went into service. The Southern Pacific
Railroad turned over its money-losing passenger service and railroad cars
to the government which formed Amtrak.
(AP, 5/1/97)(SFC, 7/8/96, p.D1)
1971 May 3, All Things Considered premiered on 112 National Public
Radio stations. National Public Radio (NPR), the US national, non-commercial
radio network, began.
(MC, 5/3/02)
1971 May 3, A Pulitzer prize was awarded to John Toland (Rising
Sun).
(MC, 5/3/02)
1971 May 3, James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King's assassin,
was caught in a jail break attempt.
(HN, 5/3/98)
1971 May 3, Anti-war protesters calling themselves the Mayday
Tribe began four days of demonstrations in Washington aimed at shutting
down the nation's capital. 13,000 anti-war protesters were arrested in
3 days.
(AP, 5/3/97)(MC, 5/3/02)
1971 May 5, There was a race riot in Brownsville section of Brooklyn,
NYC.
(MC, 5/5/02)
1971 May 9, In the 23rd Emmy Awards: All in the Family, Jack Klugman
& Jean Stapleton won.
(MC, 5/9/02)
1971 May 9, Friends of Earth returned 1500 non-returnable bottles
to Schweppes.
(MC, 5/9/02)
1971 May 10, The Russian KOSMOS 419 Probe failed to leave Earth
orbit.
(SFC, 11/19/96, p.B1)
1971 May 13, Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane was seriously
injured in a car accident
(SS, Internet, 5/13/97)
1971 May 13, Pres. Nixon set his standards for a new IRS commissioner:
I want to be sure he is a ruthless son of a bitch, that he will do what
he’s told, that every income tax return I want to see I see, that he will
go after our enemies and not go after our friends."
(SFC, 1/3/97, p.A2)
1971 May 15-21, Earthquakes in Turkey killed 860 people.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 May 17, Stephen Schwartz' musical "Godspell," premiered off-Broadway.
(MC, 5/17/02)
1971 May 18, The documentary "Powers That Be" aired for one time
and went under litigation from PG&E. Don Widener (d.2003 at 72) produced
the work about environmental and nuclear dangers.
(SFC, 5/2/03, p.A26)
1971 May 18, President Nixon rejected the 60 demands of Congressional
Black Caucus.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1971 May 18, Vampire rapist Wayne Boden’s last victim was found.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1971 May 18, Bulgarian constitution went into effect.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1971 May 19, The Russian Mars 2 Orbiter and Lander made it to
Mars but the Lander crashed when braking rockets failed. The orbiter returned
late until 1972.
(SFC, 11/19/96, p.B1)
1971 May 25, Justin Henry Rye, actor (Kramer vs. Kramer, 16 Candles),
was born in NY.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1971 May 25, Jo Etha Collier, young black woman, was killed by
3 whites in Drew, MS.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1971 May 25, Mark Brunswick (69), composer, died.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1971 May 25, Terence De Marney (62), actor (Case Thomas-Johnny
Ringo), died.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1971 May 25, USSR performed a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan,
Semipalitinsk.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1971 May 26, Soviet Union's Concorde, TU-144, made its 1st appearance.
(MC, 5/26/02)
1971 May 28, Pres. Nixon ordered John Haldeman to do more wiretapping
and political espionage against the Democrats. The orders were recorded
on tape.
(SFEM, 4/11/99, p.41)
1971 May 28, The Russian Mars 3 Orbiter and Lander was launched
successfully.
(SFC, 11/19/96, p.B1)
1971 May 28, Audie Murphy (46), WW II hero, actor (Whispering
Smiths), was killed in plane crash near Roanoke, Va. [see May 30]
(MC, 5/28/02)
1971 May 29, Max Trapp (83), composer, died.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1971 May 30, The American space probe Mariner 9, the first satellite
to orbit Mars, blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla. It later transmitted
photos of possible riverbeds.
(AP, 5/30/97)(SFEC, 9/28/97, p.A14)(HN, 5/30/98)
1971 May 31, A US proposal was made to the North Vietnamese that
included a cease-fire-in-place, US withdrawal, and the return of prisoners.
58,167 Americans were killed in the Vietnam war.
(WSJ, 2/5/96, p.A-19)(SFEM, 11/10/96, p.12)
1971 May, In California Poet Lou Welch walked away from Gary Snider’s
residence in the Sierra foothills and was never seen again.
(SFC, 8/15/97, p.A21)
1971 May, Mr. Kissinger decided to let Hanoi keep its army inside
South Vietnam. His decision was made just after the May Day protests in
Washington. Many of the protestors were unconstitutionally arrested.
(WSJ, 1/23/96, p.A-15)
1971 May, The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) was born. The Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed to protect
workers from on-the-job injuries and illnesses.
(WSJ, 4/30/96, p.A-1)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R25)
1971 May, In Turkey the National Order Party was shut down by
Constitutional Court for being anti-secular. Erbakan went to Switzerland
in self-exile.
(AP, 11/4/02)
1971 Jun 1, The two-room shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis
Presley was born, was opened to the public as a tourist attraction.
(DTnet, 6/1/97)
1971 Jun 1, Reinhold Niebuhr (b.1892), US theologist (Nature
& Destiny of Man), died. His Serenity Prayer became widely used by
Alcoholics Anonymous: "God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things
that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."
(MC, 6/1/02)(SSFC, 5/4/03, p.F2)
1971 Jun 6, "Ed Sullivan Show" made its last broadcasts on CBS-TV.
(SFC, 1/7/98, p.E1)(MC, 6/6/02)
1971 Jun 7, Soviet Soyuz 11 crew completed the 1st transfer to
orbiting Salyut.
(SC, 6/7/02)
1971 Jun 10, Federal marshals, FBI agents and special forces swarmed
Alcatraz Island and removed the Native American occupiers: 5 women, 4 children
and 6 unarmed men.
(G, Summer ‘97, p.5)
1971 Jun 12, Tricia Nixon and Edward F. Cox were married in the
White House Rose Garden. The event was covered by all three major TV networks.
(AP, 6/12/97)(SFC, 12/1/97, p.A7)
1971 Jun 13, Broderick nonuplets, (7 of 9 survived infancy), were
born in Sydney, Australia.
(MC, 6/13/02)
1971 Jun 13, The New York Times began to publish the Pentagon
Papers leaked to it by Daniel Ellsberg. The papers were a secret official
history of the Vietnam War in 47 volumes that were highly classified. The
Nixon administration went to court to stop publication. A legal battle
ensued for 16 days and the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the government
failed to make its case for prior restraint and publication was resumed.
In 1996 the book, "The Day the Presses Stopped" by David Rudenstine, was
published and tells the whole story.
(SFC, 6/10/96, p.A21)(SFEC, 12/8/96, p.A14)
1971 Jun 16, An El Greco sketch, "The Immaculate Conception,"
stolen in Spain 35 years earlier, was recovered in New York City by the
FBI.
(HN, 6/16/98)
1971 Jun 17, The United States and Japan signed a treaty under
which the United States would return control of the island of Okinawa in
1972.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(Jap. Enc., BLDM, p. 216)(AP, 6/17/97)
1971 Jun 19, R.C., "Rainy Days And Mondays" by Carpenters peaked
at #2 on the pop singles chart.
(DTnet, 6/19/97)
1971 Jun 19, R.C., "It's Too Late" by Carole King peaked at #1
on the pop singles chart and stayed there for five weeks.
(DTnet, 6/19/97)
1971 Jun 23, Pres. Nixon recorded on tape that "anybody that wants
to be an ambassador wants to pay at least $250,000." The recordings were
transcribed and published in the 1997 book "Abuse of Power."
(SFC,11/1/97, p.A3)
1971 Jun 26, "Man of La Mancha" closed at ANTA Wash Square Theater
in NYC after 2329 performances.
(MC, 6/26/02)
1971 Jun 26, The U.S. Justice Department issued a warrant for
Daniel Ellsberg, accusing him of giving away the Pentagon Papers. The infamous
Pentagon Papers gave insights into the Johnson administration's thinking
on the Vietnam War.
(HN, 6/26/98)
1971 Jun 27, T. Smirnova discovered asteroid #2121, Sevastopol.
(SC, 6/27/02)
1971 Jun 28, The Supreme Court overturned the draft evasion conviction
of Muhammad Ali.
(HN, 6/28/98)
1971 Jun 28, Daniel Ellsburg was arrested for leaking the Pentagon
Papers to the Press. In 2002 he authored "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam
and The Pentagon Papers."
(TMC, 1994, p.1971)(SSFC, 10/20/02, p.M1)
1971 Jun 30, The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Pentagon
Papers. On the same day Pres. Nixon told Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman to
break into the Brookings Institute and bring out files collected on the
Vietnam War.
(SFC, 6/10/96, p.A21)(SFC, 11/22/96, p.A4)(HN, 6/30/98)
1971 Jun 30, The 26th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified
as Ohio became the 38th state to approve it. The amendment lowered the
minimum voting age from 21 to 18. The amendment was authored by Senator
Jennings Randolph (d.1998 at 96) of West Virginia.
(AP, 6/30/97)(SFC, 5/9/98, p.A21)
1971 Jun 30, A Soviet space mission ended in tragedy when three
cosmonauts (Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev)
aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead inside their spacecraft after it returned
to Earth.
(AP, 6/30/97)(MC, 6/30/02)
1971 Jun, Vietnam War records were given to the National Archives
for safe keeping by three former defense analysts.
(SFEC, 12/8/96, p.A14)
1971 Jun, T. Vincent Learson (1912-1996) became CEO of IBM. He
had helped develop the IBM System/360, one of the first commercially available
business computers.
(SFC, 11/5/96, p.A22)
1971 Jun , Southwest Airlines, co-founded by Herbert Kelleher,
made its 1st flight.
(WSJ, 1/13/03, p.A1)(WSJ, 7/11/03, p.A6)
1971 Jun, In Mexico City a paramilitary group descended on student
demonstrators and at least 11 people were killed. In 2002 criminal complaints
were filed against 14 former federal and Mexico City officials for their
involvement in the massacre. Mayor Alfonso Martinez (d.2002 at 81) denied
any involvement in the massacre that left over 30 protestors dead.
(SFC, 6/13/02, p.A14)(SFC, 11/9/02, p.A19)
1971 Jul 1, Pres. Nixon met with Haldeman and Kissinger and told
them: "We’re up against an enemy, a conspiracy, that (sic) are using any
means." He went on to again demand that the Brookings safe be cleared out.
(SFC, 11/23/96, p.A6)
1971 Jul 1, The United States Post Office was replaced with the
United States Postal Service.
(AP, 7/1/01)
1971 Jul 1, State of Washington became the 1st state to ban sex
discrimination.
(MC, 7/1/02)
1971 Jul 1, Great Britain and Argentina signed an accord about
Falkland Islands, which later caused a war.
(MC, 7/1/02)
1971 Jul 3, James Douglas Morrison (b.1943), singer for the Doors
rock group, died of an apparent heart attack in Paris, France. Jim Morrison
(27) was buried at the Pere Lachaise cemetery.
(SFC, 7/4/96, p.D2)(AP, 7/3/97)
1971 Jul 4, A July 4th concert on the West Lawn of the White House
was held and began an annual tradition.
(SSFC, 6/30/02, Par p.30)
1971 Jul 4, France performed nuclear test at Muruora Island.
(Maggio)
1971 Jul 6, White House Plumbers unit formed to plug news leaks.
(MC, 7/6/02)
1971 Jul 6, Louis Armstrong (70), jazz and blues musician widely
known as "Satchmo," died. His innovations of early day blues and Dixieland
music inspired the swing eras of the 1920s and 1930s. He invented skat,
a technique of singing jazz improvisations. Louis spoke out against the
US government during the 1957 Little Rock, Ark. school troubles. "The way
they are treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell."
A 32 cent memorial stamp was issued by the Post Office in 1995. Armstrong
smoked marijuana every day of his adult life, was unfaithful to each of
his four wives, was arrested 4 times and consorted freely with prostitutes,
pimps and mobsters. His biographies include: "Louis Armstrong: An American
Genius" by James Lincoln Collier (1983); "Satchmo" by Gary Giddins (1988);
and "Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life" by Laurence Bergreen (1997).
In 1999 Joshua Berrett published "The Louis Armstrong Companion."
(WSJ, 9/27/95, p.A-16)(WSJ, 6/26/97, p.A16)(WSJ, 3/10/99, p.A20)(MC,
7/6/02)
1971 Jul 9, The United States turned over complete responsibility
of the Demilitarized Zone to South Vietnamese units. In 1998 Jerry Lembcke
authored "The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory and Legacy of Vietnam.
(HN, 7/9/98)(SFEC, 10/11/98, BR p.7)
1971 Jul 9, Henry Kissinger visited China PR.
(MC, 7/9/02)
1971 Jul 10, In Morocco a coup against King Hassan at the Skhirat
palace failed. Nearly 100 guests were killed. The coup leaders were executed
three days later. The army officers were angered by Hassan's abandonment
of thousands of square miles in an Algerian border war.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFC, 7/24/99, p.A9)(SFEC, 7/25/99, p.A19)
1971 Jul 12, Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi, figure skater (Olympic-Gold-92),
was born in Hayward, Calif.
(MC, 7/12/02)
1971 Jul 12, Juan Corona was indicted for 25 murders. Corona,
a farm labor contractor from Yuba City in California, had killed and mutilated
25 farm workers. He was convicted to life in prison.
(SFEC, 5/4/97, p.B12)(MC, 7/12/02)
1971 Jul 13, The Army of Morocco executed ten leaders accused
of leading a revolt.
(HN, 7/13/99)
1971 Jul 13-19, Jordanian troops proceeded to wipe out Palestinian
guerrillas; some 1,500 prisoners were brought to Amman; Iraq and Syria
broke off relations with Jordan.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Jul 15, President Nixon announced he would visit the People's
Republic of China to seek a "normalization of relations."
(AP, 7/15/97)
1971 Jul 16, Dictator Francisco Franco appointed prince Juan Carlos
as deputy in Spain.
(MC, 7/16/02)
1971 Jul 18, New Zealand and Australia announced they would pull
their troops out of Vietnam.
(HN, 7/18/98)
1971 Jul 19, In Sudan a coup was aborted and Pres. Nimeiri was
restored to power by loyal troops. He denounced the Communist Party and
executed the rebel leaders 4 days later.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Jul 21, In Nederland, Colo., Marshal Renner Forbes pulled
Guy Goughnor ("Deputy Dawg," aged 19) from the Pioneer Inn tavern, drove
to a remote area in Clear Creek County and shot him in the head. Goughnor’s
body was found a month later but their was insufficient evidence to link
the marshal to the killing. In 1997 Forbes at age 68 confessed to the murder.
(SFC,10/24/97, p.A5)
1971 Jul 26, Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy.
(AP, 7/26/97)
1971 Jul 30, A Japanese 727 collided with a jet fighter. 162 people
were killed.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Jul 31, Apollo 15 astronauts (Dave Scott) took a drive on
the moon in their land rover.
(HN, 7/31/98)(MC, 8/31/01)
1971 Jul, In Argentina Gen’l. Lanusse met with Chile’s Marxist
Pres. Salvadore Allende.
(SFC, 8/27/96, p.A17)
1971 Aug 15, Pres. Nixon suspended conversion of dollars to gold
and imposed a 90-day price, wage and rents freeze and 10% import charge.
He also cut various taxes and expenditures. The marked the end of the gold
standard and fixed exchange rates.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(WSJ, 8/15/96, p.A12)(AP, 8/15/97)(WSJ, 1/11/99,
p.R42)
1971 Aug 20, The Cambodian military launched a series of operations
against the Khmer Rouge.
(HN, 8/20/98)
1971 Aug 21, Three prisoners, George Jackson (29), Ronald Kane
(28), John Lynn (29), and 3 guards, Jere Graham (39), Frank DeLeon (44)
and Paul Krasenes (52), were killed during an attempted prison escape at
San Quentin, California. Jackson after meeting with his lawyer, Stephen
Bingham, pulled a hidden automatic pistol from his hair and began to release
other prisoners. Jackson’s prison letters were published as "Soledad Brother."
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFC, 8/25/96, z1 p.5)(SSFCM, 8/19/01, p.7)
1971 Aug 21, In the Philippines there was a grenade attack on
a political rally of the opposition Liberal party. It nearly wiped out
the party's senatorial slate running against Marcos' Nacionalista Party.
Marcos blamed the communists, but others believed that Marcos planned the
attack.
(SFC, 3/21/00, p.A23)
1971 Aug 22, In Bolivia a coup led by Col. Hugo Banzer Suarez
deposed leftist army Gen’l. Juan Jose Torres, who had created a Soviet-style
legislature.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFC, 3/15/97, p.A11)
1971 Aug 26, New Jersey Gov. William T. Cahill announced that
the New York Giants football team had agreed to leave Yankee Stadium for
a new sports complex to be built in East Rutherford.
(AP, 8/24/01)
1971 Aug 27, Bennett Cerf (73) of Random House, panelist (What's
My Line), died.
(MC, 8/27/02)
1971 Aug 27, Margaret Bourke-White (67), US photographer, died.
(MC, 8/27/02)
1971 Aug 28, Nathan Leopold, US kidnapper, murderer of Bobby Franks
(1924), died.
(MC, 8/28/01)
1971 Aug, CBS showed the "Six Wives of Henry VIII."
(WSJ, 7/15/96, p.A9)
1971 Aug, The English began a policy of interning Irish Catholics
without trial. This led to the civil rights march of Jan 30, 1972 and Bloody
Sunday.
(SFC, 1/30/97, p.A18)
1971 Sep 1, Qatar declared independence from Britain.
(SC, 9/1/02)
1971 Sep 3, The Watergate team broke into Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's
office.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1971 Sep 3, John Lennon left UK for NYC, never to return.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1971 Sep 3, A 4-power agreement on Berlin ended a long time source
of tension.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Sep 4, "The Lawrence Welk Show" was seen for the last time
on ABC-TV.
(MC, 9/4/01)
1971 Sep 4, An Alaska Airlines jet crashed near Juneau, killing
111 people.
(AP, 9/4/97)
1971 Sep 6, In Montevideo, Uruguay, a hundred Tupamaro guerrillas
escaped from prison.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Sep 8, The Kennedy Center opened in Washington, DC with a
performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass. The $71 million structure was
designed by Edward Durell. The cultural center was promoted at Kennedy’s
request by Roger L. Stevens (d.1998 at 87). Congress designated it a national
monument to Pres. Kennedy following his assassination.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A21)(HN, 9/8/00)(SFC, 8/27/01, p.E4)
1971 Sep 8, Pres. Nixon told John Ehrlichman to investigate the
tax returns of rich Jews contributing to the democratic campaigns of Humphrey
and Muskie.
(SFEC, 12/8/96, p.A14)
1971 Sep 9, Hockey legend Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings
retired from the National Hockey League (NHL) on this day.
(MC, 9/9/01)
1971 Sep 9-13, Some 1,000 prisoners seized control of the maximum-security
Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y. In 2000 a federal judge
ordered an $8 million settlement to some 400 inmates to settle a prisoner
class action suit. $4 million was for lawyers. [see Sep 13]
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFC, 6/6/97, p.A3)(AP, 9/9/97)(SFC, 1/5/00,
p.A3)(MC, 9/9/01)
1971 Sep 10, Pres. Nixon was informed and approved of John Ehrlichman’s
plan to steal Vietnam War records from the National Archives building.
(SFEC, 12/8/96, p.A1,14)
1971 Sep 11, Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev died at age
77. In 2003 William Taubman authored "Khrushchev: The Man and His Era."
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(AP, 9/11/97)(SSFC, 4/27/03, M3)
1971 Sep 13, State troopers and prison guards stormed Attica Correctional
Facility in New York. The four-day inmates' rebellion over poor living
conditions claimed 43 lives, 11 guards and 32 prisoners. Inmate Frank Smith
was beaten tortured and abused by guards. In 1997 a federal jury awarded
him $4 million. Another 1,280 inmates were seeking $2.8 billion in damages
against the state. In 2000 a federal court described the guards' reaction
as an "orgy of brutality" and ordered the state to pay $8 million to inmates
who were tortured after the uprising.
(SFC, 6/6/97, p.A3)(AP, 9/13/97)(SFC, 2/16/00, p.A5)
1971 Sep 13, Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet premier, was buried in
Moscow.
(MC, 9/13/01)
1971 Sep 15, The 1st broadcast of "Columbo" on NBC-TV.
(MC, 9/15/01)
1971 Sep 15, The environmental group Greenpeace was founded.
A group of activists set sail for Alaska from Vancouver, Canada, to stop
a US nuclear weapons test in the Aleutian Islands. [see 1969]
(HFA, '96, p.38)(GQ, summer ‘96, p.18)(SFC, 4/30/97, p.A9)
1971 Sep 21, The American League Ok'd the Washington Senator move
to Arlington (Texas Rangers).
(WSJ, 4/7/99, p.B1)(MC, 9/21/01)
1971 Sep 24, 90 Russian diplomats were expelled from Britain for
spying.
(MC, 9/24/01)
1971 Sep 28, Cardinal Josef Mindszenty of Hungary who sought refuge
in US Embassy in Budapest, ended his exile and flew to Rome.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1971 Oct 1, Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Fla. Disney opened
The Magic Kingdom in Florida. [see Oct 7]
(AP, 10/1/97)(Sp., 5/96, p.64)
1971 Oct 3, Pres. Nguyen Van Thieu of South Vietnam was re-elected
in an election in which he was the only candidate. Vice-President Nguyen
Cao Ky refused to participate.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Oct 6, The LA Times reported that federal agents had caught
36 illegal immigrants in a raid on a food processing plant owned by Romana
Banuelos who had 3 weeks earlier been named by Pres. Nixon to be treasurer
of the US. Nixon was infuriated and he said on tape "I want Otis Chandler’s
income tax." Chandler was the publisher of the LA Times.
(SFC, 3/22/97, p.A7)
1971 Oct 7, Disney World opened in Orlando. [see Oct 1]
(MC, 10/7/01)
1971 Oct 8, John Lennon released his mega hit "Imagine."
(MC, 10/8/01)
1971 Oct 11, Ralph J. Bunche, 1st black US diplomat (Nobel 1950),
died at 67.
(MC, 10/11/01)
1971 Oct 11, Switzerland recognized North Vietnam.
(MC, 10/11/01)
1971 Oct 12, The rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" opened at
the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway.
(AP, 10/12/97)
1971 Oct 12, The House of Representatives passed the Equal Rights
Amendment 354-23.
(HN, 10/12/98)
1971 Oct 12, Dean G. Acheson, US secretary of state (1949-53),
died at 78.
(MC, 10/12/01)
1971 Oct 19, The last issue of "Look" magazine was published.
(MC, 10/19/01)
1971 Oct 20, Willy Brandt, West German Chancellor, was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize for beginning the German reunification.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(MC, 10/20/01)
1971 Oct 21, Nobel prize for literature was awarded to Chilean
poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).
(MC, 10/21/01)(SSFC, 8/31/03, p.M3)
1971 Oct 21, President Nixon nominated Lewis F. Powell and William
H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court following resignations of Justices
Hugo Black and John Harlan.
(AP, 10/21/97)(MC, 10/21/01)
1971 Oct 25, Midori Goto, violinist, was born.
(HN, 10/25/00)(MC, 10/25/01)
1971 Oct 25, The UN General Assembly voted to admit the People’s
Republic of China and expel Nationalist China (Taiwan).
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(AP, 10/25/97)
1971 Oct 27, Congo-Kinshasa was renamed Zaire.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Oct 28, Britain voted to join the EEC, European Economic
Community.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Oct 31, Saigon began the release of 1,938 Hanoi POW’s.
(HN, 10/31/98)
1971 Oct 31, On the east coast of India a tidal wave and
cyclone on Orissa killed more than 15,000 people.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Oct, In Argentina an armed uprising challenged Gen’l’. Lanusse
but he secured the backing of the Navy and Air Force and broke the challenge.
(SFC, 8/27/96, p.A17)
1971 Nov 1, The Eisenhower dollar was put into circulation.
(MC, 11/1/01)
1971 Nov 3, "Play Misty For Me" premiered.
(MC, 11/3/01)
1971 Nov 5, Bolivia passed the death penalty for political kidnapping.
(MC, 11/5/01)
1971 Nov 6, The US Atomic Energy Commission exploded a 5-megaton
bomb beneath Amchitka Island, Alaska, just 87 miles from the Petropavlovsk
Russian naval base. It registered as a magnitude-7 earthquake.
(SFC, 12/17/01, p.A4)
1971 Nov 8, Gen’l. John D. Lavelle, Seventh Air Force Commander
in Vietnam, markedly increased the number of bombing raids against North
Vietnam. The raids lasted until Mar 8, 1972, when he became the target
of a congressional investigation.
(SFEC, 10/18/98, BR p.8)
1971 Nov 10, Two women were tarred and feathered in Belfast for
dating British soldiers, while in Londonderry, Northern Ireland a Catholic
girl was also tarred and feathered for her intention of marrying a British
soldier.
(HN, 11/10/98)
1971 Nov 11, Neil Simon's "Prisoner of Second Avenue," premiered
in NYC.
(MC, 11/11/01)
1971 Nov 12, Pres. Nixon announced that he would withdraw 45,000
more troops from Vietnam by Feb, 1972.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(HN, 11/12/98)
1971 Nov 13, The U.S. space probe Mariner 9 went into orbit around
Mars. NASA's Mariner 9 circled Mars and revealed dried beds of rivers that
flowed billions of years ago.
(SFC, 8/7/96, p.A9)(TMC, 1994, p.1971)(AP, 11/13/01)
1971 Nov 15, Intel advertised its 4004-processor.
(MC, 11/15/01)
1971 Nov 20, U.S. planned to give Turkey $35 million for farmers
who agreed to stop growing opium poppies.
(HN, 11/20/98)
1971 Nov 22, The US Supreme Court struck down dozens of state
laws that discriminated against women when it ruled that an Idaho law violated
the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection.
(SFC, 10/12/02, p.A21)
1971 Nov 22, Guerrilla fighting escalated on the border of East
Pakistan. India massed 12 divisions near the border.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Nov 23, The People's Republic of China was seated in the
U.N. Security Council. [The UN vote to admit was Oct 25]
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(AP, 11/23/97)
1971 Nov 24, On Thanksgiving Eve DB Cooper boarded Flight 305
in Portland, Or., and demanded $200,000 with the threat of a bomb. He parachuted
from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 with the money over the Cascade Mountains
near Ariel, Wash., and was never seen again. FBI agent Ralph Himmelsbach
wrote the book NORJAK that described the case. A packet containing $5,880
of the ransom money was found in 1980 on the north shore of the Columbia
River, just west of the Washington city of Vancouver.
(SFEC, 11/17/96, zone 1 p.5)(AP, 11/24/97)
1971 Nov 24, A prison rebellion took place at Rahway State Prison,
NJ.
(MC, 11/24/01)
1971 Nov 27, Eric Menendez, accused of killing his parents (Menendez
Brothers), was born in NY.
(MC, 11/27/01)
1971 Nov 27, Three people were shot dead in Belfast, Ireland.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Nov 28, The Anglican Church ordains the first two women as
priests.
(HN, 11/28/98)
1971 Nov 30, TV movie "Brian's Song," aired for the 1st time on
ABC-TV.
(MC, 11/30/01)
1971 Nov, Intel introduced the 4004 microprocessor.
(SFC, 10/18/96, C9)
1971 Dec 1-2, In Santiago, Chile, students rioted against the
Allende government. The government banned public demonstrations and declared
a state of emergency.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Dec 2, The British pulled out of the Trucial States (7 coastal
Arab sheikhdoms that included Sharjah) in the Persian Gulf and these states
formed the United Arab Emirates (UAR). Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al
Khaimah, Umm al Qaiwain, Ajman and Fujairah merged to form the new federation.
(NG, 5/88, p.662)(HFA, '96, p.20)(SFC,12/16/97, p.B1)(WSJ, 5/7/98,
p.B16)
1971 Dec 2, The Mars 3 landed on Mars and failed after 20 seconds
of video data. The orbiter returned date until August 1972.
(SFC, 11/19/96, p.B1)
1971 Dec 3, President Nixon commuted Jimmy Hoffa's jail term.
(MC, 12/3/01)
1971 Dec 3, The 3rd Indo-Pakistani war began when India intervened
in the Pakistani civil war. Pakistan attacked Indian airfields and India
mobilized its army after nearly 10 million refugees poured into India.
The India-Pakistani civil war ended with independence for East Pakistan,
now Bangladesh.
(TMC, 1994, p.1971)(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFEC, 8/3/97, p.A15)(SFC,
6/12/99, p.A12)(SSFC, 12/30/01, p.A22)
1971 Dec 4, India joined East Pakistan in its war for independence
from West Pakistan. East Pakistan would become the republic of Bangladesh,
at the top of the Bay of Bengal. [see Dec 3]
(MC, 12/4/01)
1971 Dec 6, Lewis Franklin Powell was confirmed as a US Supreme
Court justice.
(MC, 12/6/01)
1971 Dec 6, India recognized the Democratic Republic of Bangladesh
and Pakistan broke off diplomatic relations. Bangladesh became independent
from Pakistan following a 9-month war. Bangladesh later accused Pakistan
of war atrocities that led to the death of some 3 million people during
the 9-month war.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(SFC, 12/31/00, p.B3)
1971 Dec 6, Bangladesh became independent after a struggle led
by Sheik Mujibar Rahman. Sheik Rahman was nominated as president on Dec
20 and released from prison on Dec 22; he returned to Bangladesh Jan 10.
(SFC, 5/21/96, p.A-10)
1971 India intervened in the Pakistani civil war, which ended
with independence for East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Pakistan held its
first free elections since 1958.
(TMC, 1994, p.1971)(SFEC, 8/3/97, p.A15)
1971 Pakistan was defeated by India in the Bangladesh war. Following
this defeat Pakistan decided to develop a nuclear weapons program.
(SFC, 5/28/98, p.A9)
1971 Dec 9, Ralph J. Bunche (67), UN delegate and Nobel Prize
winner, died in NYC.
(MC, 12/9/01)
1971 Dec 10, John Lennon made a public appearance at a benefit
concert for poet John Sinclair who was in jail for possession of marijuana.
Three days later Sinclair was released.
(SFEC, 7/21/96, DB p.35)
1971 Dec 10, William H. Rehnquist was confirmed as Supreme Court
justice.
(MC, 12/10/01)
1971 Dec 12, David Sarnoff (80), US TV pioneer (RCA), died. He
was a Russian immigrant who transformed NBC from a radio to a TV network
(SFC, 8/2/99, p.B3)(MC, 12/12/01)
1971 Dec 16, Bahrain won independence from Britain.
(SFEC, 3/7/99, p.D8)(AP, 12/17/02)
1971 Dec 17, A cease fire began between India and Pakistan in
Kashmir.
(MC, 12/17/01)
1971 Dec 17-18, The US dollar went off the gold standard and was
devalued by 7.9%. The 10% import surcharge was lifted.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)(TMC, 1994, p.1971)
1971 Dec 18, Reverend Jesse Jackson announced in Chicago the founding
of Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity).
(AP, 12/18/99)
1971 Dec 18, North Vietnamese troops captured the Plain
of Jars in Laos.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 Dec 19, Stanley Kubrick's X-rated "A Clockwork Orange" premiered.
(MC, 12/19/01)
1971 Dec 20, French physicians created a team that later became
known as "Doctors Without Borders" (Medecins Sans Frontreres) to help the
people in the Nigerian region of Biafra. Ten doctors formed the group in
frustration with the neutrality of the Int'l. Committee of the Red Cross.
(SFC, 10/16/99, p.A17)(SFEC, 12/19/99, p.A14)
1971 Dec 21, The U.N. Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to
succeed U Thant as the 4th Secretary-General.
(AP, 12/21/97)(MC, 12/21/01)
1971 Dec 22, The U.N. General Assembly voted to ratify the election
of Kurt Waldheim as secretary-general.
(AP, 12/22/99)
1971 Dec 28, Maximilian Raoul Walter Steiner (83), composer, died.
(MC, 12/28/01)
1971 Dec 31, Dr. Kurt Waldheim succeeded U Thant as Secretary-General
of the UN.
(WUD, 1994, p. 1688)
1971 There was an exhibition of Musicalist art at the Salpetriere
Basilica in Paris.
(Exc, 6/96, p.118)
1971 Claudio Bravo, Chilean-born Moroccan based artist, created
a surrealist still life of an assemblage of light bulbs.
(WSJ, 3/17/00, p.W12)
1971 Fritz Koenig, German Sculptor, created a 27-foot-tall brass
ball and called it "The Sphere." It was installed at the NYC World Trade
Center and was the only piece of art to survive.
(WSJ, 3/7/02, p.A22)
1971 Samuel Beckett wrote his play "Not I."
(SFEC, 1/17/99, BR p.7)
1971 John Guare wrote his play "The House of Blue Leaves."
(SFEC, 5/30/99, DB p.37)
1971 A. Alvarez authored the best seller "The Savage God: A Study
of Suicide."
(WSJ, 12/27/00, p.A10)
1971 Dee Brown published "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."
(SFEC, 4/12/98, BR p.7)
1971 Prof. Carl Cohen of U of M published "Civil Disobedience."
(MT, Fall. ‘97, p.10)
1971 Ram Dass published his best-seller "Be Here Now." It was
about his trek through India. He was accompanied in part by Bhagavan Das,
Michael Riggs. Riggs had set off for India in 1963 at age 18. Bhagavan
Das wrote his own memoir in 1997 titled "It’s Here Now (Are You?): A Spiritual
Memoir.
(SFC, 12/1/97, p.E5)
1971 John Evans published the comprehensive survey: "The Prehistoric
Antiquities of the Maltese Islands."
(AM, 7/97, p.48)
1971 John Gardner authored his novel "Grendel" based on the Beowulf
poem. It retold the story from the monster’s point of view.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R53)
1971 M. Goffart wrote the standard book on sloths: "Function and
Form in the Sloth."
(Nat. Hist., 4/96, p.21)
1971 Philip Jones Griffiths, photographer, published "Vietnam
Inc," a collection of black-and-white photos from his 3 years there as
a freelancer.
(SSFM, 4/20/03, p.A15)
1971 Dr. Mary C. Raugust Howell (d.1998 at 65) contributed to
the women’s medical guide: "Our Bodies, Ourselves."
(SFC, 2/6/98, p.A23)
1971 Dec 2, Ivan Illich (d.2002), former Catholic priest, authored
"De-Schooling Society."
(SFC, 12/4/02, p.A28)
1971 Edward James and his wife, Janet Wilson James, co-edited
"Notable American Women, 1607-1950."
(SFC, 4/20/01, p.D5)
1971 John McPhee wrote his book: "Encounters with the Archdruid."
(SFC, 5/25/96, p.A13)
1971 Donald Richie authored his novel ""The Inland Sea," about
a lonely American island-hopping across Japan’s Inland Sea.
(SSFC, 11/10/02, p.C8)
1971 Mike Royko, Chicago newspaper columnist, wrote "Boss," a
book on Mayor Richard M. Daley.
(SFC, 4/30/97, p.A6)
1971 Anne Sexton wrote "Transformations." It retold classic fairy
stories with a Freudian twist and personal references. It formed the basis
for Conrad Susa’s 1973 opera of the same name. Diane Middlebrook wrote
"Anne Sexton: A Biography" in 1991.
(WSJ, 7/2/97, p.A12)(SFC, 6/23/98, p.D1)
1971 Frederick Forsyth published his thriller novel "The Day of
the Jackal." It was made into a film in 1973. It was about a plot to assassinate
Charles de Gaulle. It was remade into a 1997 film called "The Jackal" and
another film about Carlos the Jackal, unrelated to the book, called "The
Assignment."
(SFC, 11/6/96, p.B8)(SFC, 3/15/97, p.A19)(WSJ, 4/18/97, p.A16)(SFEC,
8/24/97, DB p.65)
1971 Ursula LeGuin authored "The Lathe of Heaven," a science fiction
novel where all the dreams of the main character come true.
(WSJ, 1/1/00, p.R8)
1971 James Michener (d.1997 at 90) wrote "Kent State," and "The
Drifters."
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A17)
1971 Wayne Oates (d.1999 at 82) authored "Confessions of a Workaholic:
The Facts About Work Addiction." Prof. Oates coined the term workaholic.
(SFC, 10/27/99, p.C4)
1971 Conrad (d.1999 at 93) and Irene Taeuber wrote "People of
the United States in the 20th Century." Mr. Taeuber had directed the federal
census in 1960 and 1970.
(SFC, 9/25/99, p.A21)
1971 Robert Ludlum (d.2001 at 73) authored "The Scarlatti Inheritance,"
his 1st suspense novel.
(SFC, 3/13/01, p.A25)
1971 Walker Percy authored his novel "Love in the Ruins."
(SSFC, 4/20/03, p.M3)
1971 Hunter S. Thompson, "gonzo journalist," wrote "Fear and Loathing
in Las Vegas." It was made into a film in 1998.
(SFC, 5/22/98, p.C1)
1971 The film "Behind the Green Door" with Marilyn Chambers was
a landmark pornographic film made by the Mitchell brothers. It cost $60,000
and grossed more than $25 million.
(SFC, 10/3/97, p.A15)
1971 George C. Scott refused an Oscar nomination for "Patton"
on grounds that actors should not have to compete against each other. He
had refused it before in 1962 for his performance in "The Hustler."
(WSJ, 5/13/96, p.A-16)
1971 The radio show "All Things Considered" premiered on National
Public Radio (NPR).
(SFC, 12/30/99, p.E3)
1971 "Oh, Calcutta" stormed the Belasco Theater.
(SFEC, 11/3/96, DB p.38)
1971 The TV show The Electric Company provided an advance for
children raised on Sesame Street.
(NW, 11/11/02, p.56)
1971 Vera Brodsky Lawrence (1909-1996), pianist, editor and historian
of American music, published "The Collected Works of Scott Joplin." Joplin
had composed the opera "Treemonisha."
(SFC, 9/22/96, C12)(SFC, 1/27/97, p.A20)
1971 Gottfried von Einem composed the opera "The Visit of the
Old Lady," based on the 1956 play by Friedrich Dürenmatt.
(WSJ, 4/16/97, p.A16)
1971 Former Beatle John Lennon wrote his song "Imagine," and released
his "Imagine" album. A film was made of his recording work and in 1999
a 56 version titled "Gimme Some Truth" was reported to be released on DVD
in 2000.
(SFC, 8/10/96, p.E1)(SFC, 10/7/99, p.E3)
1971 Leonard Bernstein composed his "Mass." It combined Latin
liturgy with a new English libretto with strains of pop, rock, jazz and
classical sound.
(SFC, 8/10/99, p.B1)
1971 Aaron Copland composed "Threnody I for Flute and Strings" in honor of Stravinsky.
1971 John Denver (d. 1997 at 53) released his album "Poems, Prayers
and Promises," that contained the song "Take me Home, Country Roads."
(SFC, 10/14/97, p.A10)
1971 Carole King won 4 Grammys for her album "Tapestry."
(SFC, 2/25/99, p.D1)
1971 Don McLean recorded his hit "American Pie."
(WSJ, 3/2019/98, p.W13)
1971 Santana made a hit with "Oye Como Va."
(SFC, 11/30/02, p.D1)
1971 Stephen Sondheim composed his musical show "Follies." The
book was written by James Goldman (d.1998 at 71).
(SFEC, 1/11/98, DB p.13)(SFC, 1/20/98, p.E1)(SFC, 10/30/98, p.D4)
1971 The group Three Dog Night made a hit with "Joy to the World,"
written by Hoyt Axton.
(SFC, 10/27/99, p.C4)
1971 Faron Young sang the country hit "It’s 4 in the Morning."
(SFC, 12/12/96, p.C8)
1971 John Duffey (1934-1996) formed his Seldom Scene bluegrass
group. He had played with Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen.
(SFC, 12/12/96, p.C8)
1971 The $70 million Kennedy Center in Washington DC, was completed.
The cultural center promoted at Kennedy’s request by Roger L. Stevens (d.1998
at 87). Congress designated it a national monument to Pres. Kennedy following
his assassination.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A21)
1971 Pope John Paul [It was Pope Paul VI and he was Italian] made
his first visit as Pope to his Polish homeland.
(SFC, 11/20/96, p.C1)
1971 The Unification Church of Rev. Sun Myung Moon (51) of Korea
burst on the US scene.
(SFEC,11/30/97, p.A12)
1971 Bikram yoga, developed by master yogi Bikram Choudhury in
India, was brought to the US. The practice included exercises in sweat
lodge conditions.
(SSFC, 4/29/01, p.C6)
1971 Pamela Churchill Harriman (51) married her former lover and
former New York Governor Averell Harriman (79).
(SFC, 10/23/96, p.E6)
1971 The Consultative Group on Int’l. Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
was founded.
(Hem., 12/96, p.82)
1971 Peter Brook, stage and film director, founded his Int’l.
Center for Theater Research in Paris. In 1998 Brook published his memoir
"Threads of Time: Recollections."
(SFEC, 6/14/98, BR p.5)
1971 Stephen Gaskin and 300 hundred San Francisco hippies started
the Tennessee rural commune called The Farm. It was on a 1,750 acre property
in Lewis Ct. and based not on rules but on agreements.
(Wired, 5/97, p.110)
1971 The fabled stockyards of Chicago closed.
(Hem., 12/96, p.89)
1971 The American Tinnitus Association, a mutual support group,
was founded.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.E10)
1971 The Berkeley Int’l. Bird Rescue Research Center was founded
by Alice Berkner.
(SFC, 8/17/96, p.A17-18)
1971 Michael S. Hart began Project Gutenberg, an effort to put
US historical documents on line. It was later expanded to include books
out of copyright.
(WSJ, 11/21/96, p.B12)
1971 John Belton Dewitt (1937-1996) became the executive director
of the Save-the-Redwoods League. Under his 24-years as secretary and director
$65 million was raised and 30,000 acres of virgin forest was acquired for
public parks and preserves.
(SFC, 8/29/96, p.C4)
1971 Roger Chappin founded Help Hospitalized Veterans (HHV), a
non-profit organization to provide craft kits for hospitalized vets.
(SFEC, 8/25/96, Par p.8)
1971 Mimi Silbert and John Maher founded Delancey Street in San
Francisco, a foundation to help ex-cons re-integrate into society.
(SFEM, 10/20/96, p.11,17)
1971 The conservative John Birch Society began to sponsor summer
camps for youth across the US to rebuild the society.
(SFC, 8/5/96, p.A5)
1971 The first Ralph Lauren Polo store opened on Beverly Hills’
Rodeo Drive.
(SFC, 4/14/96, EM, p.10)
1971 Earl W. Sutherland Jr. (d.1974), US pharmacologist, won the
Nobel Prize.
(MC, 3/9/02)
1971 Keith Wylie (d.1999 at 54), croquet star, in the Open Championship
completed "the sextuple peel," which involved knocking a ball through 6
hoops using another ball. He authored "Expert Croquet Tactics" in 1985.
(SFC, 12/7/99, p.B4)
1971 The Washington Senators baseball team left Washington DC.
(WSJ, 4/7/99, p.B1)
1971 The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic
Works was signed.
(PNI, 2/5/97, p.4)
1971 Pres. Nixon declared war on cancer.
(WSJ, 5/6/98, p.A1)
1971 Spiro Agnew, US Vice-President, visited Greece and called
the ruling junta the country's best leaders since Pericles.
(SFEC, 11/21/99, p.A20)
1971 Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act.
An $18 million Wild Horse and Burro Program, headed by the Bureau
of Land Management, was begun. The program was designed to find homes for
wild horses. "Excess" animals were annually culled. The 10-17,000 wild
horses grew to some 43,000 in 1998.
(SFC, 2/7/97, p.A26)(SFEC, 8/3/97, p.T1)(WSJ, 8/25/98, p.A1)
1971 An Animal Welfare Act was passed and included guidelines
for the use and care of laboratory animals.
(SFC, 4/20/02, p.A2)
1971 The US Revenue Act launched the income tax checkoff system
for campaign contributions and paved the way for public funding.
(SFEC, 10/5/97, p.D9)
1971 The Bretton Woods agreement, that defined the post World
War II economic environment collapsed under the weight of US deficit spending.
In the wake of this exchange rates were allowed to float under the watchful
eye of central bankers.
(WSJ, 5/28/96, p. R-44)(WSJ, 10/1/98, p.A16)
1971 The US Supreme Court ruled in Lemon vs. Kurtzman that public
aid to parochial schools in unconstitutional.
(SFC, 8/6/99, p.D4)
1971 Jimmy Carter was elected as the 76th governor of Georgia.
(SFEC, 1/12/97, zone 3 p.3)
1971 US CIA funding for Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty was
disclosed. In 2000 Arch Puddington, deputy director of RFE/RL’s new York
bureau from 1985 to 1993, authored "Broadcasting Freedom." The Munich headquarters
were closed in 1994 and the organization moved to an afterlife in Prague.
(WSJ, 6/5/00, p.A30)
1971 Arizona indicted Weather Underground members John Allen Fuerst
(25) and Roberta Brent Smith (25).
(SFC, 1/21/02, p.E3)
1971 Chavis Muhammed, as a member of the Wilmington 10, was convicted
in the fire-bombing of a white-owned grocery store in Wilmington, N.C.
He spent 4 years in prison before his conviction was overturned on appeal.
(SFC, 2/25/97, p.A10)
1971 The US government set strict federal safety standards for
the auto industry that included passive restraints, i.e. air bags.
(WSJ, 6/19/96, Adv. Supl)
1971 The US government changed the Post Office to a quasi-government
body with a mandate to be financially self-sustaining.
(SFEC, 9/29/96, C13)
1971 Congress cancelled the supersonic SST airplane program.
(WSJ, 7/26/00, p.A26)
1971 Dr. David A. Wood (1905-1996) helped draft the National Cancer
Act passed in this year.
(SFC, 11/13/96, p.C3)
1971 Court ordered school bussing began in Champaign, Ill.
(SFEC, 7/13/97, p.D1)
1971 H. Rap Brown was captured following a shootout with police
in NYC. He was charged with inciting a riot and carrying a gun across state
lines. Brown converted to Islam in jail and became Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin.
(SSFC, 1/6/02, p.A13)
1971 Fred Speaker (1930-1996), attorney general of Pennsylvania,
dismantled the electric chair at the Rockview Correctional Institution
on his last day in office.
(SFC, 9/17/96, p.A22)
1971 Robert Lee Vesco fled the US to avoid charges of bilking
mutual fund investors of $224 million.
(SFC, 8/21/96, p.A8)
1971 The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act gave large portions
of prime bear habitat to the Alutiiq people, who have hunted and fished
on the island for 7,000 years. 44 million acres of land was ceded to native
tribes, 10% of the state of Alaska.
(NG, Jan. 94, p.141)(SFC, 6/28/96, p.A6)
1971 An Arizona law under Gov. Jack Williams outlawed secondary
boycotts and harvest-time strikes, tools used by the growing UFW.
(SFEM, 4/13/97, p.12)
1971 Sister Jogues Egan (d.1998 at 79) was charged as a unindicted
co-conspirator with the Harrisburg Six, in the so-called Kissinger plot
that included Phillip Berrigan and other Catholic peace protestors. They
were charged by the government to have conspired to blow up federal property
and to kidnap Henry Kissinger.
(SFC, 4/18/98, p.A20)
1971 AT&T Bell Labs conducted its first cellular phone test
in Chicago.
(WSJ, 12/6/99, p.A3)
1971 Leonard Riggio bought the single New York store Barnes &
Noble company (1873). He then expanded by buying mall chains such as B.
Dalton and Doubleday. The superstore concept came with the purchase of
Bookstop in 1989.
(WSJ, 9/3/96, p.A6)
1971 Tom and Louis Borders opened their used-bookstore in Ann
Arbor. They developed a state of the art inventory system and expanded
to superstores in Birmingham, Mich., and Atlanta. In 1989 they brought
in Robert DiRomualdo to run the company and it was sold to Kmart in 1992.
Kmart spun if off in 1995.
(WSJ, 9/3/96, p.A6)
1971 Levi went public.
(SFC, 4/29/03, B1)
1971 General Mills introduced Hamburger Helper. It helped families
stretch a pound of meat into a family meal as beef prices soared under
weak economic growth. In 2001 it was heralded as part of a family of "convenient-involvement
products."
(WSJ, 3/7/00, p.A1)
1971 Stanford opened up about 700 acres for development and Hewlett-Packard
was among the earliest tenants.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W6)
1971 McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Japan.
(SFC, 7/6/96, p.D1)
1971 Nasdaq, a unit of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, hit the trading scene.
(WSJ, 1/11/00, p.C1)
1971 National Lead changed its name to NL Industries. It is now
a world-wide producer and marketer of pigments, dyes, and specialty chemicals.
It was incorporated in 1891.
(WSJ, 5/28/96, R45)
1971 Southwest Airlines began operations. The stewardesses wore
white boots and orange hot pants.
(SFC, 5/12/96, Mag. p.4)
1971 Starbucks began in Seattle as a single coffee shop. By 1996
there were 1,115 stores. Gordon Bowker, Zev Siegl and Jerry Baldwin, former
students of the Univ. of SF, opened Starbuck's Coffee, Tea and Spice with
coffee supplied from Peet's Coffee in Berkeley. Howard Shultz, a marketing
director hired in 1982, later published "Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks
Built a Company One Cup at a Time."
(SFC, 5/4/99, p.C6)(SFEM, 8/1/99, p.8)
1971 Ray Tomlinson, computer engineer, put the @ sign into the
first e-mail message sent from one machine to another at BBN, a computer
consulting firm.
(SFC, 10/23/96, p.B1)
1971 Dr. Judah Folkman proposed that tumor growth might be prevented
if a way could be found to keep blood vessels from forming around them
to supply nutrients and oxygen. Proteins were later discovered that spurred
angiogenesis and antibodies were found to block them.
(SFC, 6/2/03, p.A11)
1971 Harold S. Johnston was the first scientist to warn that trace
amounts of nitrogen emitted to the upper atmosphere could profoundly damage
the ozone layer. He earned a national Medal of Science in 1997. His discovery
led Congress to initiate the CIAP.
(SFC,12/16/97, p.A20)
1971 The US government initiated a $21 million study called the
Climactic Impact Assessment Program (CIAP). Its purpose was to study the
impact of high-flying airplanes on the upper atmosphere, i.e. the stratosphere.
(NOHY, 3/90, p.138)
1971 Non-renewable sources of energy accounted for 90% of energy
use. Hydro-electric and wood sources produced less than 6%. Solar and wind
energy produced 0.2% of energy use in the USA.
(Smith., 4/95, p.30)
1971 The US census counted 208 million Americans.
(TMC, 1994, p.1971)
1971 Hydro-Quebec began flooding Cree land as part of the initial
phase of its plan, known as the La Grande Project. The James Bay Dam Project
would inundate vast tracts of pristine land, flooding spawning grounds,
drying up river beds, and destroying wetlands vital to migratory birds.
(CNT, Nov., 1994, pp.120,124)
1971 An international convention on wetlands took place in Ramsar,
Iran, and established guidelines for identifying wetlands of international
importance. The US ratified the Ramsar agreement in 1986.
(NH, 5/01, p.35)
1971 The largest pterosaur known, Quetzalcoatlus, was discovered
in Texas. Its wingspan was about 12 meters, and it lived on open flat-land
probably as a scavenger. Its body was covered with hair, but its head and
neck were probably naked.
(T.E.-J.B. p.20)
1971 Two San Francisco brothers, aged 7 & 10, confessed to
the crucifixion murder of 20-month-old Noah Alba. They were never charged
but were placed in foster care and given intense therapy.
(SFC, 5/6/96, p.A-1)
1971 Giacomo Alberione, a priest who also believed in using modern
means to bring God to the faithful, died. He had founded the Paoline Family,
which includes a publishing operation printing many religious books as
well as Famiglia Cristiana, a top-selling weekly that covers issues of
daily life, from homemaking to education, and religious life.
(AP, 4/27/03)
1971 Larry Burrows, US war photographer, was killed over Laos.
(WSJ, 5/22/98, p.W12)
1971 Zez Confrey (b.1895), composer and pianist, died. His compositions
included "Kitten on the Keys" (1921) and "Dizzy Fingers" (1923).
(WSJ, 6/3/03, p.D5)
1971 Philo T. Farnsworth (65), inventor of television, died. Later
Prof. Donald Godfrey authored "Philo T. Farnsworth: The Father of Television"
and Evan I. Schwartz authored "The Last Lone Inventor."
(SFC, 9/7/02, p.D1)
1971 The Chilean government confiscated the Chuquicamata mine
from the US Anaconda Copper Co. Anaconda lost two-thirds of its copper
production. A unit of Atlantic Richfield purchased the company for $700
mil. ARCO later sold most of its interests in Anaconda except for ARCO
aluminum.
(WSJ, 5/28/96, p. R46)
1971 The Kodo drummers from Sado Island, Japan, formed into a
performance company. Kodo means "heartbeat" and "children of the drum."
(SFEC,1/19/97, DB p.9)
1971 Red China got a seat at the UN.
(TMC, 1994, p.1971)
1971 In France Jean Poperen (1925-1997) was present at the inception
of the modern-day Socialist Party. He served twice as a minister of parliamentary
relations and as a deputy for more than 15 years.
(SFC, 8/25/97, p.A8)
1971 In France Franklin Louffrani registered the trademark for
his yellow "smiley face," which he began using in 1968 to show good news
after the student riots.
(WSJ, 7/1/98, p.B1)
1971 In Haiti Francis "Papa Doc" Duvalier, dictator, died. He
was succeeded by his teenage son under the guidance of Simone Duvalier,
aka "Mama Doc."
(SFC,12/31/97, p.A9)
1971 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India proclaimed the established
royalty to be ordinary citizens and abolished their government perks. She
made them pay taxes on their property or pass it to the state.
(WSJ, 1/9/95, Aa-8)
1971 India intervened in the Pakistani civil war, which ended
with independence for East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Pakistan held its
first free elections since 1958.
(SFEC, 8/3/97, p.A15)
1971 In Indonesia in south central Kalimantan, Borneo, Birute
Galdikas established a research center and rehabilitation station for ex-captive
orangutans. The animals are only found in Sumatra and Borneo.
(SFC, 1/6/98, p.A19)
1971 In Italy Giovanni Leone (d.2001 at 93) became president.
He resigned 6 months before the end of his 7-year term amid allegations
of links to a payoff scandal involving Lockheed Corp.
(SFC, 11/12/01, p.A19)
1971 In Latvia the top secret Russian Skrunda radar station was
opened.
(BN, 10/98, p.1)
1971 In Malawi Kamuzu Banda named himself president for life.
(SFC,11/27/97, p.B8)
1971 Vasilios Basil Choulos (d.2003), SF lawyer, plotted out a
helicopter jailbreak for Joel David Kaplan, who was allegedly framed and
serving 28 years for murder in the Santa Maria Acatitla Federal Prison
in Mexico. The successful break led to the book ""Ten-Second Jailbreak"
and the 1975 film "Breakout."
(SFC, 1/21/02, p.A21)
1971 Pvt. Rogelio Roxas, a former Filipino soldier, claimed to
have discovered the war treasure of Japanese Gen’l. Tomoyuki Yamashita
in caves near Baguio. Roxas was arrested and jailed for 5 years and the
gold bullion was reportedly taken away by Pres. Marcos.
(SFC, 10/12/97, p.A18)(SSFC, 3/4/01, p.A28)
1971 Manuel Elizalde described the Tasaday on Mindanao Island
as a lost Stone Age tribe.
(SSFC, 6/22/03, p.M1)
1971 In South Africa "Umabatha" by Welcome Msomi, playwright
and director, premiered at the Amphitheater of the Univ. of Natal and then
in the US. It was a recast of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the context of 19th
century Zulu history.
(WSJ, 7/25/97, p.A12)(SFEC, 9/21/97, DB p.35)
1971 A Soviet field test of weaponized smallpox caused an outbreak
that killed 2 young children and a woman at the port of Aralsk in the Kazak
Republic. This was not made public until 2002.
(SFC, 6/15/02, p.A8)
1971 Sweden moved to keep out foreign shoes on the grounds of
national security.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R50)
1971 In Switzerland "The World Economic Forum" at Davos was founded
by Klaus Schwab. By 2000 it became a powerful player in global economic
affairs.
(WSJ, 1/27/00, p.A18)
1971 In Turkey there was a military coup.
(WSJ, 3/7/97, p.A10)
1971 In Zaire Joseph-Desire Mobutu changed his name to Mobutu
Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga, which meant "the all-powerful warrior
who, because of his inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest
leaving fire in his wake.
(SFC, 9/8/97, p.A8)
1971-1973 From Feb to July Pres. Nixon kept over 3000 hours of tapes
that were ordered to be released by Congress in 1975. Univ. of Wisconsin
historian Stanley Kutler won release of the tapes and had 201 hours transcribed
for his 1997 book "Abuse of Power."
(SFC, 4/13/96, p.A-2)(LVRJ, 11/1/97, p.4A)
1971-1976 "All in the Family" was the top ranking network show on television
for five seasons with rankings of 34, 33.3, 32.2, 30.2, and 30.1%.
(WSJ, 4/24/95, p.R-5)
1971-1977 Bella Savitzky Abzug (1920-1998), radical feminist and anti-war
activist, served as a Democratic Congress representative from New York.
(SFC, 4/1/98, p.A5)
1971-1978 In Bolivia Colonel Hugo Banzer Suarez ruled the country through
repression and torture.
(SFC, 3/15/97, p.A10)
1971-1980 William Tolbert succeeded William Tubman in Liberia and continued
his policies.
(SFC, 4/16/96, p.A-9)
1971-1988 Peter Bronfman (1929-1996) and his brother Edward Bronfman
co-owned the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. Their uncle, Samuel, was the
founder of the liquor company, Seagram Co. Ltd. The brothers acquired holdings
in Brascan Ltd., a property mgmt. company, Noranda Inc., a natural resource
company, and John Labatt Ltd., one of Canada’s 2 biggest brewers.
(SFC, 12/3/96, p.D2)