January
January 2
Ibrox disaster: A stairway crush at the Rangers vs. Celtic football match in Glasgow, Scotland kills 66.
A ban on radio and television cigarette advertisements goes into effect in the United States.[2]
January 3 – BBC Open University begins in the United Kingdom.
January 5 – The 1st ever ODI cricket match is played between Australia & England at the M.C.G.
January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September.
January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings, and receives them the next day.
January 12 – The landmark television sitcom All In The Family, starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, debuts on CBS.
January 14 – Seventy Brazilian political prisoners are released in Santiago, Chile; Giovanni Enrico Bucher is released January 16.
January 15 – The Aswan High Dam officially opens in Egypt.
January 17 – The Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, in Super Bowl V. The game is plagued by a record combined 11 turnovers, and is not decided until Jim O'Brien kicks a 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining. Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley becomes the first player from a losing team to be named Super Bowl MVP.
January 18 – Strikes in Poland demand the resignation of Interior Minister Kazimierz Switala. He resigns January 23 and is replaced by Franciszek Szlachcic.
January 19 – Representatives of 23 western oil companies begin negotiations with OPEC in Tehran to stabilize oil prices; February 14 they sign a treaty with 6 Khalij el-Arab countries.
January 24 – The Guinean government sentences to death 92 Guineans who helped Portuguese troops in the failed landing attempts in November 1970; 72 are sentenced to hard labor for life; 58 of the sentenced are hanged the next day.
January 25
In Uganda, Idi Amin deposes Milton Obote in a coup, and becomes president.
In Los Angeles, Charles Manson and 3 female "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.
Intelsat IV (F2) is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean March 26.
January 31 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 (carrying astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell) lifts off on the third successful lunar landing mission.
January 15: Aswan Dam opens in Egypt.
February
February 4 – In Britain, Rolls-Royce goes bankrupt and is nationalised.
February 5 – Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.
February 7
An earthquake in the city of Tuscania, Italy kills 31.
Switzerland gives women voting rights in state elections, but not in all canton-specific ones.
Władysław Gomułka is expelled from the Central Council of the Polish Communist Party.
February 8 – A new stock market index called the Nasdaq Composite debuts.
February 9
The Sylmar earthquake (6.4 on the Richter scale) hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to become voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame from the Negro League (Jackie Robinson was inducted July 23, 1962.)
Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
February 11 – The US, UK, USSR and others sign the Seabed Treaty, outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor.
February 11–February 12 – Palestinian and Jordanian fighters clash in Amman.
February 13 – Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.
February 15
Decimalisation Day: – The United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency (see also decimalisation).
Protesting Belgian farmers bring 3 live cows to crash the EEC meeting in Brussels.
February 16 – In Italy, a local parliament elects the city of Catanzaro as the capital of Calabria; residents of Reggio di Calabria riot for 5 days because of the decision.
February 20
Fifty tornadoes rage in Mississippi, killing 74 people.
The U.S. Emergency Broadcast System sends an erroneous warning, meant to be a standard weekly test conducted by NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado; many radio stations just ignore it. The most notorious warning was of WOWO (AM) in Fort Wayne, IN.
February 21 – The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
February 26 – Secretary General U Thant signs the United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
February 27 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform abortus provocatus.
February 28 – Evel Knievel sets a world record and jumps 19 cars in Ontario, California.
February 20: Tornadoes kill 74 in Mississippi.
February 5: Apollo 14 on Moon
February 7: Earthquake kills 31 in Tuscania, Italy.
March
March 1
A bomb explodes in the men's room at the United States Capitol; the Weather Underground Organization claims responsibility.
Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending National Assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
Canadian John Robarts ends his term of office as the 17th Premier of Ontario.
March 4 – The southern part of Quebec, and especially Montreal, receive 16½" (42 cm) of snow in what becomes known as the Century's Snowstorm (la tempête du siècle).
March 5 – The Pakistani army occupies East Pakistan.
March 6 – A fire in a mental hospital at Burghölzli, Switzerland, kills 28 people.
March 7
The British postal workers' strike, led by UPW General Secretary Tom Jackson, ends after 47 days.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, political leader of then East Pakistan (present day-Bangladesh), delivers his famous speech in the Racecourse Field in Dhaka, calling on the masses to be prepared to fight for national independence.
March 8
The Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI breaks into the Media, Pennsylvania offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and removes all the files.
'Fight of the Century': Boxer Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden.
March 12 – Hafez al-Assad becomes president of Syria.
March 12–March 13 – The Allman Brothers Band plays their legendary concert at the Fillmore East.
March 16 – Trygve Bratteli forms a government in Norway.
March 18 – A landslide at Chungar, Peru crashes into Yanawayin Lake, killing 200.
March 23 – General Alejandro Lanusse of Argentina takes power in a military coup.
March 25 – The Pakistani army starts Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan from midnight, after President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, a military ruler, voids election results that gave the Awami League an overwhelming majority in the parliament.
March 26
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) independence is declared by Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from Kalurghat Radio Station in Chittagong.
Nihat Erim (a former CHP member) forms the new government of Turkey (33rd government,composed mostly of technocrats).
March 27 – East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) independence is repeatedly declared by Army Major (later President of Bangladesh) Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Kalurghat Radio Station, Chittagong.
March 28 – The Ed Sullivan Show airs its final episode.
March 29
U.S. Army Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty of 22 murders in the My Lai Massacre and sentenced to life in prison (he is later pardoned).
A Los Angeles jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and 3 female followers.
April
April 1 – The United Kingdom lifts all restrictions on gold ownership.
April 3 – Un banc, un arbre, une rue by Séverine (music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, text by Yves Dessca) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 for Monaco.
April 5
In Ceylon, a group calling themselves the People’s Liberation Front begins a rebellion against the Bandaranaike government.
Chile and East Germany establish diplomatic relations.
Mount Etna erupts in Sicily.
April 7 – Greece releases 261 political prisoners, 50 of whom are sent into internal exile.
April 8 – A right-wing coup attempt is exposed in Laos.
April 9 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death; in 1972, the sentence for all California Death Row inmates is commuted to life imprisonment.
April 12 – Palestinians retreat from Amman to the north of Jordan.
April 17
The People's Republic of Bangladesh forms, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at Mujibnagor.
Libya, Syria and Egypt sign an agreement to form a confederation.
April 19
The government of Bangladesh flees to India.
Sierra Leone becomes a republic.
The Soviet Union launches Salyut 1.
Followers of Charles Manson, the Manson Family, are sentenced to the gas chamber.
April 20
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education: The Supreme Court of the United States rules unanimously that busing of students may be ordered to achieve racial desegregation.
Cambodian Prime Minister Lon Nol resigns, but remains effectively in power until the next elections.
April 21
Siaka Stevens is elected the first president of Sierra Leone.
François Duvalier, president of Haiti, dies; his son Jean-Claude Duvalier follows him as president-for-life.
April 24
Soyuz 10 docks with Salyut 1.
Five hundred thousand people in Washington, D.C. and 125,000 in San Francisco march in protest against the Vietnam War.
A tsunami 85 m high rises over the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. It throws a 750-ton block of coral 2.5 km inland.
April 25
Todor Zhivkov is re-elected as the leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party.
Franz Jonas is re-elected as president of Austria.
April 26 – The government of Turkey declares a state of siege in 11 provinces, Ankara included, due to violent demonstrations.
April 28 – The first number of Il Manifesto is issued in Italy.
April 29 – Bolivia nationalizes the American-owned Matilde zinc mine.
April 30 – The Milwaukee Bucks win the NBA World Championship, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in 4 straight games.
May
May 1
Amtrak begins inter-city rail passenger service in the United States.
The Ceylonese government promises amnesty for those guerillas who surrender before April 5.
May 2 – In Ceylon, left-wing guerillas launch a series of assaults against public buildings.
May 3
Arsenal FC wins the English Division 1 football league championship at the home of their bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, with Ray Kennedy scoring the winner. (Arsenal FC will go on to win the league and cup 'double' 6 days later by defeating Liverpool in the FA Cup final).
The Harris Poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the Vietnam War.
East German leader Walter Ulbricht resigns as Communist Party leader but retains the position of head of state.
1971 May Day Protests: Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington, D.C.; police and military units arrest as many as 12,000, most of whom are later released.
May 5 – The US dollar floods the European currency markets and threatens especially the Deutsche Mark; the central banks of Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland stop the currency trading.
May 6 – The Ceylon government begins a major offensive against the People's Liberation Front.
May 9
Arsenal FC beats Liverpool F.C. 2-1 to win the English FA Cup, thus completing the league and cup 'double'.
Mariner 8 fails to launch.
May 12 – An earthquake in Turkey destroys most of the city of Burdur.
May 15 – Efraim Elrom, Israeli ambassador to Turkey, is kidnapped; he is found killed in Istanbul May 25.
May 16 – A coup attempt is exposed and foiled in Egypt.
May 18
The U.S. Congress formally votes to end funding for the American Supersonic Transport program.
The Montréal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Canadiens became only the second team in NHL history to win the Cup in game 7 on the road. This also marked the last NHL game that the late Jean Béliveau played.
May 19 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
May 21 Marvin Gaye releases his unified concept album What's Going On.
May 22 – An earthquake lasting 20 seconds destroys most of Bingöl, Turkey – more than 1,000 are killed, 10,000 made homeless.
May 23 – An air crash at Rijeka Airport, Yugoslavia kills 78 people, mostly British tourists.
May 26
Austria and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations.
Qantas agrees to pay $500,000 to bomb hoaxer-extortionist Mr. Brown (Peter Macari), who is later arrested.
May 27
Six armed passengers hijack a Romanian passenger plane and force it to fly to Vienna.
Christie's auctions a diamond known as Deepdene; it is later found to be artificially colored.
De Borah Smith was born, later to become manager of game operations for the Chicago Bulls during the second 3-peat period.
May 28 – Portugal resigns from UNESCO.
May 29 – Six Flags Magic Mountain (Originally opened as Magic Mountain) opens in Valencia, California
May 30 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars.
May 31 – The birth of Bangladesh is declared by the government in exile, in territory formerly part of Pakistan.
June
June – Massachusetts passes its Chapter 766 laws enacting Special Education.
June 1 – Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace, claiming to represent the majority of U.S. veterans who served in Southeast Asia, speak against war protests.
June 6
Soyuz program: Soyuz 11 (Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev) is launched.
A midair collision between Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a U.S. Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom jet fighter near Duarte, California, claims 50 lives.
June 10
The U.S. ends its trade embargo of China.
Corpus Thursday: A student rally on the streets of Mexico City is roughly dispersed.
June 11 – Neville Bonner becomes the first Indigenous Australian to sit in the Australian Parliament.
June 13
Vietnam War: The New York Times begins to publish the Pentagon Papers. [1]
.
Gijs van Lennep (The Netherlands) and co-driver Helmut Marko (Austria) win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Martini Racing Porsche 917K.
June 14 – Norway begins oil production in the North Sea.
June 17
Representatives of Japan and the United States sign the Okinawa Reversion Agreement, whereby the U.S. will return control of Okinawa.[3]
President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
June 18 – Southwest Airlines, a low cost carrier, begins its first flights between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
June 20 – Britain announces that Soviet space scientist Anatoli Fedoseyev has been granted asylum.
June 21 – Britain begins new negotiations for EEC membership in Luxembourg.
June 25 – Madagascar accuses the U.S. of being connected to the plot to oust the current government; the U.S. recalls its ambassador.
June 27 – Concert promoter Bill Graham closes the legendary Fillmore East, which first opened on 2nd Avenue (between 5th and 6th Streets) in New York City on March 8, 1968.
June 28 – Assassin Jerome A. Johnson shoots Joe Colombo in the head in a middle of an Italian-American rally, putting him in a coma.
June 30
After a successful mission aboard Salyut 1, the world's first manned space station, the crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply leaks out through a faulty valve.
New York Times Co. v. United States: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Pentagon Papers may be published, rejecting government injunctions as unconstitutional prior restraint.
July
July – Nordic Council secretariat inaugurated.
July 3 – Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors is found dead in his bathtub in Paris, France.
July 4 – Michael S. Hart posts the first e-book, a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, on the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign's mainframe computer, the origin of Project Gutenberg.[4]
July 5 – Right to vote: The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution, formally certified by President Richard Nixon, lowers the voting age from 21 to 18.
July 6 – Hastings Banda is proclaimed President for Life of Malawi.
July 9 – The United Kingdom increases its troops in Northern Ireland to 11,000.
July 10–July 11 – Coup attempt in Morocco: 1,400 cadets take over the king's palace for 3 hours and kill 28 people; 158 rebels die when the king's troops storm the palace (10 high-ranking officers are later executed for involvement).
July 10 – Gloria Steinem makes her Address to the Women of America.
July 11 – Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
July 13
Ólafur Jóhannesson forms a government in Iceland.
Jordanian army troops launch an offensive against Palestinian guerillas in Jordan.
The Yugoslavian government begins allowing foreign companies to take their profits from the country.
Paced by a prodigious home run by Reggie Jackson, which hits a transformer on the roof of Tiger Stadium, the American League defeats the National League 6-4 in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Detroit.
July 14 – Libya severs its diplomatic ties with Morocco.
July 15 – American President Richard Nixon announces his 1972 visit to China.
July 16 – Spanish dictator and head of state Francisco Franco makes Prince Juan Carlos his successor.
July 17 – Italy and Austria sign a treaty that ends the schism about South Tyrol.
July 18 – The Trucial States are formed in the Persian Gulf.
July 19 – The South Tower of the World Trade Center is topped out at 1,362 feet (415 m), making it the second tallest building in the world.
July 19–July 23 – Major Hashem al-Atta ousts Jaafar Muhammad al-Nimeiri in a military coup in Sudan. Fighting continues until on July 22, when pro-Nimeiri troops win. Al-Atta and 3 officers are executed.
July 25–July 30 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli records in Munich two Debussy works for Deutsche Grammophon; it's his fifth recording.
July 26 – Apollo 15 (carrying astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin) is launched.
July 28 – Abdel Khaliq Mahjub, Sudanese communist leader, is hanged.
July 29 – The United Kingdom opts out of the Space Race, with the cancellation of its Black Arrow launch vehicle.
July 30 – In Japan, an All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 collides with a Japanese fighter jet; 162 people are killed.
July 31 – Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin become the first to ride in a lunar rover, a day after landing on the Moon.
August
August – Camden, New Jersey erupts in race riots following the beating death of a Puerto Rican motorist by city police. Looting and arson occurred. This is a turning point in Camden's decline to one of the poorest and highest-crime municipalities in the United States. Camden was, however, the site of a 1949 shooting rampage by Howard Unruh, considered by some to be the first mass murderer in the United States. The riots result in the demise of Camden's Sears and A&P branches. Also in 1971, Philadelphia International Records is established, with Camden native Leon Huff as co-founder.
August 1 – In New York City, 40,000 attend the Concert for Bangladesh.
August 2 – J. C. Penney debuts its trademark Helvetica wordmark which has been used ever since.
August 5 – The South Pacific Forum (SPF) is established.
August 6 – A lunar eclipse lasting 1 hour, 40 minutes, and 4 seconds is observed.
August 7 – Apollo 15 returns to Earth.
August 9
India signs a 20-year treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union.
Internment in Northern Ireland: British security forces arrest hundreds of nationalists and detain them without trial in Long Kesh prison; 20 people die in the riots that follow.
August 11 – Construction begins on the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
August 12
Three thousand people from Belfast and Derry flee to the Republic of Ireland because of the violence.[citation needed]
Syria severs diplomatic relations with Jordan because of border clashes.
August 14
British troops are stationed on the Ireland border to stop arms smuggling.
Bahrain declares independence as the State of Bahrain (Kingdom of Bahrain as of February 2002).
August 15
John Stewart becomes Formula One World Drivers' Champion in the Tyrrell 003-Cosworth.
The number of British troops in Northern Ireland is raised to 12,500.
President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system. He also imposes a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents.
August 18
Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
British troops are engaged in a firefight with the IRA in Derry, Northern Ireland.
August 19–August 22 – A right-wing coup ignites a rebellion in Bolivia. Miners and students join troops to support president Juan José Torres, but eventually Hugo Banzer takes over.
August 20
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat) (effective 12 February 1973).
The USS Manatee (AO-58) spills 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L) of fuel oil on President Nixon's Western White House beach in San Clemente, California.
August 21
The first orca to be named, Shamu, dies.
A bomb made of two hand grenades by communist rebels explodes in the Liberal Party campaign party in Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila the Philippines, injuring several anti-Marcos political candidates.
August 25
Border clashes occur between Tanzania and Uganda.
Bangladesh and eastern Bengal are flooded; thousands flee the area.
August 26 – A civilian government takes power in Greece.
August 30 – The Progressive Conservatives under Peter Lougheed defeat the Social Credit government under Harry E. Strom in a general election, ending 36 years of uninterrupted power for Social Credit in Alberta.
September
September 3
Qatar gains independence from the United Kingdom. Unlike most nearby emirates, Qatar declines to become part of either the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.
Manlio Brosio resigns as NATO Secretary General.
September 4 – A Boeing 727 (Alaska Airlines Flight 1866) crashes into the side of a mountain near Juneau, Alaska, killing all 111 people on board.
September 8 – In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated, with the opening feature being the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.
September 9 – September 13 – Attica Prison riots: – A revolt breaks out at the maximum-security prison in Attica, New York. In the end, state police and the United States National Guard storm the facility; 42 are killed, 10 of them hostages.
September 19 – The electric tram system closes in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
September 20 – Hong Kong Shue Yan College was founded Dr Henry H.L. Hu and Dr Chung Chi-Yung
September 21 – Pakistan declares a state of emergency.
September 24 – Britain expels 90 KGB and GRU officials; 15 are not allowed to return.
September 27–October 11 – Japanese Emperor Hirohito travels abroad.
September 28 – Cardinal József Mindszenty, who has taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Budapest since 1956, is allowed to leave Hungary.
September 29 – A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, in the Indian state of Odisha, kills 10,000.
October
October 1 – Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida.
October 14 – Greenpeace is founded in Vancouver, Canada.
October 15 – The 2,500 Year Celebration of Iran begins, celebrating the birth of Persia.
Sylvester Magee, considered by many to be America's last slave, dies at the age of 130, also making him unofficially the oldest known person to have ever lived.
October 17 – The Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series in 7 games against the Baltimore Orioles. The Pirates' Roberto Clemente, who turned into a one-man gang in the Series, becomes the first Latino player to earn World Series MVP honors. Game 4 of the Series is also the first night game ever to be played in the World Series.
October 18 – In New York City, the Knapp Commission begins public hearings on police corruption.
October 21
U.S. President Richard Nixon nominates Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Clarkston explosion in Scotland kills 22 people.
October 25 – The United Nations General Assembly admits the People's Republic of China and expels the Republic of China (or Taiwan).
October 27 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.
October 28
The British House of Commons votes 356–244 in favour of joining the European Economic Community.
The United Kingdom becomes the 6th nation to launch a satellite into orbit, the Prospero X-3, using a Black Arrow carrier rocket.
The Egyptian Opera House (Khedivial Opera House) burns down in Cairo.
October 29 – Vietnam War – Vietnamization: The total number of American troops still in Vietnam drops to a record low of 196,700 (the lowest since January 1966).
October 30 – Rev. Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party is founded in Northern Ireland.
October 31 – A bomb explodes at the top of the Post Office Tower in London.
November
November 3 – The UNIX Programmer's Manual is published.
November 6 – Operation Grommet: The U.S. tests a thermonuclear warhead at Amchitka Island in Alaska, code-named Project Cannikin. At around 5 megatons, it is the largest ever U.S. underground detonation.
November 8 – Led Zeppelin releases their Fourth Studio album "Led Zeppelin IV", which goes on to sell 23,000,000 copies.
November 9 – A Royal Air Force C-130 crashes into the Ligurian Sea near Leghorn, Italy, killing all 51 people on board.
November 10 – In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack Phnom Penh and its airport, killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging 9 airplanes.
November 12 – Vietnam War – Vietnamization: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972, as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam.
November 13 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 becomes the first spacecraft to enter Mars orbit successfully.
November 14 – Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria is enthroned.
November 15
Intel releases the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.
International Organization and System of Space Communications (Intersputnik) (effective 12 July 1972).
November 20 – A bridge still in construction, called Elevado Engenheiro Freyssinet, falls over the Paulo de Frontin Avenue, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 48 people are killed and several injured. Reconstructed, the bridge is currently a part of the Linha Vermelha elevate.
November 23 – The People's Republic of China takes the Republic of China's seat on the United Nations Security Council (see China and the United Nations).
November 24
During a severe storm over Washington State, a man calling himself D. B. Cooper parachutes from the Northwest Orient Airlines plane he hijacked, with US$200,000 in ransom money, and is never seen again (as of March 2008, this case remains the only unsolved skyjacking in history).
A Brussels court sentences pretender Alexis Brimeyer to 18 months in jail for falsely using a noble title; Brimeyer has already fled to Greece.
November 28 – The 59th Grey Cup Game sees the Calgary Stampeders beat the Toronto Argonauts 14-11.
December
December 1 – Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray, 10 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh.
December 2 – Six Persian Gulf sheikdoms found the United Arab Emirates.
December 3 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 begins as Pakistan launches preemptive attacks on 9 Indian airbases. The next day India launches a massive invasion of East Pakistan.
December 3–December 4 – The Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi (former USS Diablo) sinks mysteriously near Indian coast while laying mines.
December 4
The Montreux Casino burns down during a Frank Zappa concert (the event is memorialized in the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water"). The casino is rebuilt in 1975.
The McGurk's Bar bombing by the UVF in Belfast kills 15.
December 8 – U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the 7th Fleet to move towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
December 10 – The John Sinclair Freedom Rally in support of the imprisoned activist features a performance by John Lennon at Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
December 11 – Nihat Erim forms the new government of Turkey (34th government, Nihat Erim had served two times as prime minister).
December 16 – Victory Day of Bangladesh: The Pakistan Army in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) surrenders to the freedom fighters of Bangladesh, ending the Bangladesh Liberation War.
December 18
The U.S. dollar is devalued for the second time in history.
The world's largest hydroelectric plant in Krasnoyarsk, Soviet Union, begins operations.
December 19
The Clube Atletico Mineiro wins the Brazil Football Championship.
Intelsat IV (F3) is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean February 18, 1972.
December 24
Giovanni Leone is elected President of the Italian Republic.
Juliane Koepcke survives a fall of 10,000 feet following disintegration of LANSA Flight 508.
December 25
In the longest game in NFL history, the Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
A fire at a 22-story hotel in Seoul, South Korea kills 158 people.
December 29 – The United Kingdom gives up its military bases in Malta.
January 2
Ibrox disaster: A stairway crush at the Rangers vs. Celtic football match in Glasgow, Scotland kills 66.
A ban on radio and television cigarette advertisements goes into effect in the United States.[2]
January 3 – BBC Open University begins in the United Kingdom.
January 5 – The 1st ever ODI cricket match is played between Australia & England at the M.C.G.
January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September.
January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings, and receives them the next day.
January 12 – The landmark television sitcom All In The Family, starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, debuts on CBS.
January 14 – Seventy Brazilian political prisoners are released in Santiago, Chile; Giovanni Enrico Bucher is released January 16.
January 15 – The Aswan High Dam officially opens in Egypt.
January 17 – The Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, in Super Bowl V. The game is plagued by a record combined 11 turnovers, and is not decided until Jim O'Brien kicks a 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining. Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley becomes the first player from a losing team to be named Super Bowl MVP.
January 18 – Strikes in Poland demand the resignation of Interior Minister Kazimierz Switala. He resigns January 23 and is replaced by Franciszek Szlachcic.
January 19 – Representatives of 23 western oil companies begin negotiations with OPEC in Tehran to stabilize oil prices; February 14 they sign a treaty with 6 Khalij el-Arab countries.
January 24 – The Guinean government sentences to death 92 Guineans who helped Portuguese troops in the failed landing attempts in November 1970; 72 are sentenced to hard labor for life; 58 of the sentenced are hanged the next day.
January 25
In Uganda, Idi Amin deposes Milton Obote in a coup, and becomes president.
In Los Angeles, Charles Manson and 3 female "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.
Intelsat IV (F2) is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean March 26.
January 31 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 (carrying astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell) lifts off on the third successful lunar landing mission.
January 15: Aswan Dam opens in Egypt.
February
February 4 – In Britain, Rolls-Royce goes bankrupt and is nationalised.
February 5 – Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.
February 7
An earthquake in the city of Tuscania, Italy kills 31.
Switzerland gives women voting rights in state elections, but not in all canton-specific ones.
Władysław Gomułka is expelled from the Central Council of the Polish Communist Party.
February 8 – A new stock market index called the Nasdaq Composite debuts.
February 9
The Sylmar earthquake (6.4 on the Richter scale) hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to become voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame from the Negro League (Jackie Robinson was inducted July 23, 1962.)
Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
February 11 – The US, UK, USSR and others sign the Seabed Treaty, outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor.
February 11–February 12 – Palestinian and Jordanian fighters clash in Amman.
February 13 – Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.
February 15
Decimalisation Day: – The United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency (see also decimalisation).
Protesting Belgian farmers bring 3 live cows to crash the EEC meeting in Brussels.
February 16 – In Italy, a local parliament elects the city of Catanzaro as the capital of Calabria; residents of Reggio di Calabria riot for 5 days because of the decision.
February 20
Fifty tornadoes rage in Mississippi, killing 74 people.
The U.S. Emergency Broadcast System sends an erroneous warning, meant to be a standard weekly test conducted by NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado; many radio stations just ignore it. The most notorious warning was of WOWO (AM) in Fort Wayne, IN.
February 21 – The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
February 26 – Secretary General U Thant signs the United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
February 27 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform abortus provocatus.
February 28 – Evel Knievel sets a world record and jumps 19 cars in Ontario, California.
February 20: Tornadoes kill 74 in Mississippi.
February 5: Apollo 14 on Moon
February 7: Earthquake kills 31 in Tuscania, Italy.
March
March 1
A bomb explodes in the men's room at the United States Capitol; the Weather Underground Organization claims responsibility.
Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending National Assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
Canadian John Robarts ends his term of office as the 17th Premier of Ontario.
March 4 – The southern part of Quebec, and especially Montreal, receive 16½" (42 cm) of snow in what becomes known as the Century's Snowstorm (la tempête du siècle).
March 5 – The Pakistani army occupies East Pakistan.
March 6 – A fire in a mental hospital at Burghölzli, Switzerland, kills 28 people.
March 7
The British postal workers' strike, led by UPW General Secretary Tom Jackson, ends after 47 days.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, political leader of then East Pakistan (present day-Bangladesh), delivers his famous speech in the Racecourse Field in Dhaka, calling on the masses to be prepared to fight for national independence.
March 8
The Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI breaks into the Media, Pennsylvania offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and removes all the files.
'Fight of the Century': Boxer Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden.
March 12 – Hafez al-Assad becomes president of Syria.
March 12–March 13 – The Allman Brothers Band plays their legendary concert at the Fillmore East.
March 16 – Trygve Bratteli forms a government in Norway.
March 18 – A landslide at Chungar, Peru crashes into Yanawayin Lake, killing 200.
March 23 – General Alejandro Lanusse of Argentina takes power in a military coup.
March 25 – The Pakistani army starts Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan from midnight, after President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, a military ruler, voids election results that gave the Awami League an overwhelming majority in the parliament.
March 26
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) independence is declared by Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from Kalurghat Radio Station in Chittagong.
Nihat Erim (a former CHP member) forms the new government of Turkey (33rd government,composed mostly of technocrats).
March 27 – East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) independence is repeatedly declared by Army Major (later President of Bangladesh) Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Kalurghat Radio Station, Chittagong.
March 28 – The Ed Sullivan Show airs its final episode.
March 29
U.S. Army Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty of 22 murders in the My Lai Massacre and sentenced to life in prison (he is later pardoned).
A Los Angeles jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and 3 female followers.
April
April 1 – The United Kingdom lifts all restrictions on gold ownership.
April 3 – Un banc, un arbre, une rue by Séverine (music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, text by Yves Dessca) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 for Monaco.
April 5
In Ceylon, a group calling themselves the People’s Liberation Front begins a rebellion against the Bandaranaike government.
Chile and East Germany establish diplomatic relations.
Mount Etna erupts in Sicily.
April 7 – Greece releases 261 political prisoners, 50 of whom are sent into internal exile.
April 8 – A right-wing coup attempt is exposed in Laos.
April 9 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death; in 1972, the sentence for all California Death Row inmates is commuted to life imprisonment.
April 12 – Palestinians retreat from Amman to the north of Jordan.
April 17
The People's Republic of Bangladesh forms, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at Mujibnagor.
Libya, Syria and Egypt sign an agreement to form a confederation.
April 19
The government of Bangladesh flees to India.
Sierra Leone becomes a republic.
The Soviet Union launches Salyut 1.
Followers of Charles Manson, the Manson Family, are sentenced to the gas chamber.
April 20
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education: The Supreme Court of the United States rules unanimously that busing of students may be ordered to achieve racial desegregation.
Cambodian Prime Minister Lon Nol resigns, but remains effectively in power until the next elections.
April 21
Siaka Stevens is elected the first president of Sierra Leone.
François Duvalier, president of Haiti, dies; his son Jean-Claude Duvalier follows him as president-for-life.
April 24
Soyuz 10 docks with Salyut 1.
Five hundred thousand people in Washington, D.C. and 125,000 in San Francisco march in protest against the Vietnam War.
A tsunami 85 m high rises over the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. It throws a 750-ton block of coral 2.5 km inland.
April 25
Todor Zhivkov is re-elected as the leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party.
Franz Jonas is re-elected as president of Austria.
April 26 – The government of Turkey declares a state of siege in 11 provinces, Ankara included, due to violent demonstrations.
April 28 – The first number of Il Manifesto is issued in Italy.
April 29 – Bolivia nationalizes the American-owned Matilde zinc mine.
April 30 – The Milwaukee Bucks win the NBA World Championship, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in 4 straight games.
May
May 1
Amtrak begins inter-city rail passenger service in the United States.
The Ceylonese government promises amnesty for those guerillas who surrender before April 5.
May 2 – In Ceylon, left-wing guerillas launch a series of assaults against public buildings.
May 3
Arsenal FC wins the English Division 1 football league championship at the home of their bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, with Ray Kennedy scoring the winner. (Arsenal FC will go on to win the league and cup 'double' 6 days later by defeating Liverpool in the FA Cup final).
The Harris Poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the Vietnam War.
East German leader Walter Ulbricht resigns as Communist Party leader but retains the position of head of state.
1971 May Day Protests: Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington, D.C.; police and military units arrest as many as 12,000, most of whom are later released.
May 5 – The US dollar floods the European currency markets and threatens especially the Deutsche Mark; the central banks of Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland stop the currency trading.
May 6 – The Ceylon government begins a major offensive against the People's Liberation Front.
May 9
Arsenal FC beats Liverpool F.C. 2-1 to win the English FA Cup, thus completing the league and cup 'double'.
Mariner 8 fails to launch.
May 12 – An earthquake in Turkey destroys most of the city of Burdur.
May 15 – Efraim Elrom, Israeli ambassador to Turkey, is kidnapped; he is found killed in Istanbul May 25.
May 16 – A coup attempt is exposed and foiled in Egypt.
May 18
The U.S. Congress formally votes to end funding for the American Supersonic Transport program.
The Montréal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Canadiens became only the second team in NHL history to win the Cup in game 7 on the road. This also marked the last NHL game that the late Jean Béliveau played.
May 19 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
May 21 Marvin Gaye releases his unified concept album What's Going On.
May 22 – An earthquake lasting 20 seconds destroys most of Bingöl, Turkey – more than 1,000 are killed, 10,000 made homeless.
May 23 – An air crash at Rijeka Airport, Yugoslavia kills 78 people, mostly British tourists.
May 26
Austria and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations.
Qantas agrees to pay $500,000 to bomb hoaxer-extortionist Mr. Brown (Peter Macari), who is later arrested.
May 27
Six armed passengers hijack a Romanian passenger plane and force it to fly to Vienna.
Christie's auctions a diamond known as Deepdene; it is later found to be artificially colored.
De Borah Smith was born, later to become manager of game operations for the Chicago Bulls during the second 3-peat period.
May 28 – Portugal resigns from UNESCO.
May 29 – Six Flags Magic Mountain (Originally opened as Magic Mountain) opens in Valencia, California
May 30 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars.
May 31 – The birth of Bangladesh is declared by the government in exile, in territory formerly part of Pakistan.
June
June – Massachusetts passes its Chapter 766 laws enacting Special Education.
June 1 – Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace, claiming to represent the majority of U.S. veterans who served in Southeast Asia, speak against war protests.
June 6
Soyuz program: Soyuz 11 (Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev) is launched.
A midair collision between Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a U.S. Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom jet fighter near Duarte, California, claims 50 lives.
June 10
The U.S. ends its trade embargo of China.
Corpus Thursday: A student rally on the streets of Mexico City is roughly dispersed.
June 11 – Neville Bonner becomes the first Indigenous Australian to sit in the Australian Parliament.
June 13
Vietnam War: The New York Times begins to publish the Pentagon Papers. [1]
.
Gijs van Lennep (The Netherlands) and co-driver Helmut Marko (Austria) win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Martini Racing Porsche 917K.
June 14 – Norway begins oil production in the North Sea.
June 17
Representatives of Japan and the United States sign the Okinawa Reversion Agreement, whereby the U.S. will return control of Okinawa.[3]
President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
June 18 – Southwest Airlines, a low cost carrier, begins its first flights between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
June 20 – Britain announces that Soviet space scientist Anatoli Fedoseyev has been granted asylum.
June 21 – Britain begins new negotiations for EEC membership in Luxembourg.
June 25 – Madagascar accuses the U.S. of being connected to the plot to oust the current government; the U.S. recalls its ambassador.
June 27 – Concert promoter Bill Graham closes the legendary Fillmore East, which first opened on 2nd Avenue (between 5th and 6th Streets) in New York City on March 8, 1968.
June 28 – Assassin Jerome A. Johnson shoots Joe Colombo in the head in a middle of an Italian-American rally, putting him in a coma.
June 30
After a successful mission aboard Salyut 1, the world's first manned space station, the crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply leaks out through a faulty valve.
New York Times Co. v. United States: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Pentagon Papers may be published, rejecting government injunctions as unconstitutional prior restraint.
July
July – Nordic Council secretariat inaugurated.
July 3 – Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors is found dead in his bathtub in Paris, France.
July 4 – Michael S. Hart posts the first e-book, a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, on the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign's mainframe computer, the origin of Project Gutenberg.[4]
July 5 – Right to vote: The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution, formally certified by President Richard Nixon, lowers the voting age from 21 to 18.
July 6 – Hastings Banda is proclaimed President for Life of Malawi.
July 9 – The United Kingdom increases its troops in Northern Ireland to 11,000.
July 10–July 11 – Coup attempt in Morocco: 1,400 cadets take over the king's palace for 3 hours and kill 28 people; 158 rebels die when the king's troops storm the palace (10 high-ranking officers are later executed for involvement).
July 10 – Gloria Steinem makes her Address to the Women of America.
July 11 – Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
July 13
Ólafur Jóhannesson forms a government in Iceland.
Jordanian army troops launch an offensive against Palestinian guerillas in Jordan.
The Yugoslavian government begins allowing foreign companies to take their profits from the country.
Paced by a prodigious home run by Reggie Jackson, which hits a transformer on the roof of Tiger Stadium, the American League defeats the National League 6-4 in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Detroit.
July 14 – Libya severs its diplomatic ties with Morocco.
July 15 – American President Richard Nixon announces his 1972 visit to China.
July 16 – Spanish dictator and head of state Francisco Franco makes Prince Juan Carlos his successor.
July 17 – Italy and Austria sign a treaty that ends the schism about South Tyrol.
July 18 – The Trucial States are formed in the Persian Gulf.
July 19 – The South Tower of the World Trade Center is topped out at 1,362 feet (415 m), making it the second tallest building in the world.
July 19–July 23 – Major Hashem al-Atta ousts Jaafar Muhammad al-Nimeiri in a military coup in Sudan. Fighting continues until on July 22, when pro-Nimeiri troops win. Al-Atta and 3 officers are executed.
July 25–July 30 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli records in Munich two Debussy works for Deutsche Grammophon; it's his fifth recording.
July 26 – Apollo 15 (carrying astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin) is launched.
July 28 – Abdel Khaliq Mahjub, Sudanese communist leader, is hanged.
July 29 – The United Kingdom opts out of the Space Race, with the cancellation of its Black Arrow launch vehicle.
July 30 – In Japan, an All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 collides with a Japanese fighter jet; 162 people are killed.
July 31 – Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin become the first to ride in a lunar rover, a day after landing on the Moon.
August
August – Camden, New Jersey erupts in race riots following the beating death of a Puerto Rican motorist by city police. Looting and arson occurred. This is a turning point in Camden's decline to one of the poorest and highest-crime municipalities in the United States. Camden was, however, the site of a 1949 shooting rampage by Howard Unruh, considered by some to be the first mass murderer in the United States. The riots result in the demise of Camden's Sears and A&P branches. Also in 1971, Philadelphia International Records is established, with Camden native Leon Huff as co-founder.
August 1 – In New York City, 40,000 attend the Concert for Bangladesh.
August 2 – J. C. Penney debuts its trademark Helvetica wordmark which has been used ever since.
August 5 – The South Pacific Forum (SPF) is established.
August 6 – A lunar eclipse lasting 1 hour, 40 minutes, and 4 seconds is observed.
August 7 – Apollo 15 returns to Earth.
August 9
India signs a 20-year treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union.
Internment in Northern Ireland: British security forces arrest hundreds of nationalists and detain them without trial in Long Kesh prison; 20 people die in the riots that follow.
August 11 – Construction begins on the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
August 12
Three thousand people from Belfast and Derry flee to the Republic of Ireland because of the violence.[citation needed]
Syria severs diplomatic relations with Jordan because of border clashes.
August 14
British troops are stationed on the Ireland border to stop arms smuggling.
Bahrain declares independence as the State of Bahrain (Kingdom of Bahrain as of February 2002).
August 15
John Stewart becomes Formula One World Drivers' Champion in the Tyrrell 003-Cosworth.
The number of British troops in Northern Ireland is raised to 12,500.
President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system. He also imposes a 90-day freeze on wages, prices and rents.
August 18
Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
British troops are engaged in a firefight with the IRA in Derry, Northern Ireland.
August 19–August 22 – A right-wing coup ignites a rebellion in Bolivia. Miners and students join troops to support president Juan José Torres, but eventually Hugo Banzer takes over.
August 20
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat) (effective 12 February 1973).
The USS Manatee (AO-58) spills 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L) of fuel oil on President Nixon's Western White House beach in San Clemente, California.
August 21
The first orca to be named, Shamu, dies.
A bomb made of two hand grenades by communist rebels explodes in the Liberal Party campaign party in Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila the Philippines, injuring several anti-Marcos political candidates.
August 25
Border clashes occur between Tanzania and Uganda.
Bangladesh and eastern Bengal are flooded; thousands flee the area.
August 26 – A civilian government takes power in Greece.
August 30 – The Progressive Conservatives under Peter Lougheed defeat the Social Credit government under Harry E. Strom in a general election, ending 36 years of uninterrupted power for Social Credit in Alberta.
September
September 3
Qatar gains independence from the United Kingdom. Unlike most nearby emirates, Qatar declines to become part of either the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia.
Manlio Brosio resigns as NATO Secretary General.
September 4 – A Boeing 727 (Alaska Airlines Flight 1866) crashes into the side of a mountain near Juneau, Alaska, killing all 111 people on board.
September 8 – In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated, with the opening feature being the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.
September 9 – September 13 – Attica Prison riots: – A revolt breaks out at the maximum-security prison in Attica, New York. In the end, state police and the United States National Guard storm the facility; 42 are killed, 10 of them hostages.
September 19 – The electric tram system closes in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
September 20 – Hong Kong Shue Yan College was founded Dr Henry H.L. Hu and Dr Chung Chi-Yung
September 21 – Pakistan declares a state of emergency.
September 24 – Britain expels 90 KGB and GRU officials; 15 are not allowed to return.
September 27–October 11 – Japanese Emperor Hirohito travels abroad.
September 28 – Cardinal József Mindszenty, who has taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Budapest since 1956, is allowed to leave Hungary.
September 29 – A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, in the Indian state of Odisha, kills 10,000.
October
October 1 – Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida.
October 14 – Greenpeace is founded in Vancouver, Canada.
October 15 – The 2,500 Year Celebration of Iran begins, celebrating the birth of Persia.
Sylvester Magee, considered by many to be America's last slave, dies at the age of 130, also making him unofficially the oldest known person to have ever lived.
October 17 – The Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series in 7 games against the Baltimore Orioles. The Pirates' Roberto Clemente, who turned into a one-man gang in the Series, becomes the first Latino player to earn World Series MVP honors. Game 4 of the Series is also the first night game ever to be played in the World Series.
October 18 – In New York City, the Knapp Commission begins public hearings on police corruption.
October 21
U.S. President Richard Nixon nominates Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Clarkston explosion in Scotland kills 22 people.
October 25 – The United Nations General Assembly admits the People's Republic of China and expels the Republic of China (or Taiwan).
October 27 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.
October 28
The British House of Commons votes 356–244 in favour of joining the European Economic Community.
The United Kingdom becomes the 6th nation to launch a satellite into orbit, the Prospero X-3, using a Black Arrow carrier rocket.
The Egyptian Opera House (Khedivial Opera House) burns down in Cairo.
October 29 – Vietnam War – Vietnamization: The total number of American troops still in Vietnam drops to a record low of 196,700 (the lowest since January 1966).
October 30 – Rev. Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party is founded in Northern Ireland.
October 31 – A bomb explodes at the top of the Post Office Tower in London.
November
November 3 – The UNIX Programmer's Manual is published.
November 6 – Operation Grommet: The U.S. tests a thermonuclear warhead at Amchitka Island in Alaska, code-named Project Cannikin. At around 5 megatons, it is the largest ever U.S. underground detonation.
November 8 – Led Zeppelin releases their Fourth Studio album "Led Zeppelin IV", which goes on to sell 23,000,000 copies.
November 9 – A Royal Air Force C-130 crashes into the Ligurian Sea near Leghorn, Italy, killing all 51 people on board.
November 10 – In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack Phnom Penh and its airport, killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging 9 airplanes.
November 12 – Vietnam War – Vietnamization: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972, as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam.
November 13 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 becomes the first spacecraft to enter Mars orbit successfully.
November 14 – Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria is enthroned.
November 15
Intel releases the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.
International Organization and System of Space Communications (Intersputnik) (effective 12 July 1972).
November 20 – A bridge still in construction, called Elevado Engenheiro Freyssinet, falls over the Paulo de Frontin Avenue, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 48 people are killed and several injured. Reconstructed, the bridge is currently a part of the Linha Vermelha elevate.
November 23 – The People's Republic of China takes the Republic of China's seat on the United Nations Security Council (see China and the United Nations).
November 24
During a severe storm over Washington State, a man calling himself D. B. Cooper parachutes from the Northwest Orient Airlines plane he hijacked, with US$200,000 in ransom money, and is never seen again (as of March 2008, this case remains the only unsolved skyjacking in history).
A Brussels court sentences pretender Alexis Brimeyer to 18 months in jail for falsely using a noble title; Brimeyer has already fled to Greece.
November 28 – The 59th Grey Cup Game sees the Calgary Stampeders beat the Toronto Argonauts 14-11.
December
December 1 – Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray, 10 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh.
December 2 – Six Persian Gulf sheikdoms found the United Arab Emirates.
December 3 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 begins as Pakistan launches preemptive attacks on 9 Indian airbases. The next day India launches a massive invasion of East Pakistan.
December 3–December 4 – The Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi (former USS Diablo) sinks mysteriously near Indian coast while laying mines.
December 4
The Montreux Casino burns down during a Frank Zappa concert (the event is memorialized in the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water"). The casino is rebuilt in 1975.
The McGurk's Bar bombing by the UVF in Belfast kills 15.
December 8 – U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the 7th Fleet to move towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
December 10 – The John Sinclair Freedom Rally in support of the imprisoned activist features a performance by John Lennon at Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
December 11 – Nihat Erim forms the new government of Turkey (34th government, Nihat Erim had served two times as prime minister).
December 16 – Victory Day of Bangladesh: The Pakistan Army in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) surrenders to the freedom fighters of Bangladesh, ending the Bangladesh Liberation War.
December 18
The U.S. dollar is devalued for the second time in history.
The world's largest hydroelectric plant in Krasnoyarsk, Soviet Union, begins operations.
December 19
The Clube Atletico Mineiro wins the Brazil Football Championship.
Intelsat IV (F3) is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean February 18, 1972.
December 24
Giovanni Leone is elected President of the Italian Republic.
Juliane Koepcke survives a fall of 10,000 feet following disintegration of LANSA Flight 508.
December 25
In the longest game in NFL history, the Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
A fire at a 22-story hotel in Seoul, South Korea kills 158 people.
December 29 – The United Kingdom gives up its military bases in Malta.