1973

Facts and Events That Happened in This Year

Dec 28

President Richard Nixon signed the US Endangered Species Act into law.

Dec 26

The horror film 'The Exorcist,' based on book and screenplay by William Peter Blatty, premiered.

Dec 17

Terrorists attacked Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino International Airport, leaving thirty dead.

Dec 16

O.J. Simpson became the first NFL running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

Dec 15

The American Psychiatric Association officially declared that homosexuality is not a mental illness.

Nov 16

The Skylab 4 mission was launched by NASA, taking a crew of three astronauts to the US space station.

Nov 3

NASA launched the last space probe in the Mariner Program, Mariner 10.

Oct 30

The Bosphorus Bridge was completed in Turkey.

Oct 24

When 65 cars collided during thick fog on the New Jersey Turnpike, nine people were killed.

Oct 20

Queen Elizabeth II led the Sydney Opera House's grand opening.

Oct 16

Maynard Jackson was elected as the first black Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

Oct 5

Elton John's 7th album, 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,' was released.

Sep 27

Barbra Streisand released her single 'The Way We Were.'

Sep 26

Concorde made its first nonstop trip across the Atlantic from Washington, DC, to Paris, France, in a record-breaking time of 3 hours and 32 minutes.

Aug 9

The USSR launched the Mars 7 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in modern-day Kazakhstan.

Aug 5

The Soviet spacecraft Mars 6 was launched.

Jul 14

The Everly Brothers broke up after Phil Avery smashed guitar and stormed off stage.

Jun 27

James Bond's eighth movie, 'Live and Let Die,' was released in the US.

Jun 26

Musical 'Grease' opened at the New London Theatre.

Jun 14

President Richard Nixon implemented a 60-day price freeze across the US.

Jun 10

NASA's Explorer 49 was launched into Earth's orbit to research long-range radio waves within the Milky Way.

Jun 4

Trio inventors were granted the patent to the ATM.

May 29

The people of Los Angeles elected Tom Bradley as their first Black mayor.

May 14

The USA's first space station, Skylab, was launched into Earth's orbit.

May 5

Secretariat made history when he finished the Kentucky Derby in record time.

Apr 17

FedEx officially began its operations and flew 186 packages to 25 cities on the US's East Coast.

Apr 6

NASA launched the Pioneer 11 space probe to study the asteroid belt & the environment around Jupiter and Saturn.

Apr 4

New York City's Twin Tower World Trade Center was officially opened.

Apr 3

Motorola employee, Martin Cooper, made the first public call from a cell phone.

Mar 23

John Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, was granted permanent residence in the United States.

Mar 20

Baseball player Roberto Clemente was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Mar 17

London Bridge, designed by Lord Holford, was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

Mar 17

Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' debuted on Billboard's Top 200 chart.

Jan 28

Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather won five Golden Globe awards.

Jan 27

The Vietnam War officially ended, for the US at least, after the Paris Peace Accords were signed.

Jan 18

The final episode of Monty Python's 'Flying Circus' season 3 was aired on BBC.

Jan 8

The unmanned space mission Luna 21 was launched.