1972 - What happened in 1972 ?

January 1972

Tuesday 04:

Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London.

Sunday 09:

RMS Queen Elizabeth is destroyed by fire (Hong Kong harbor).

Thursday 13:

Prime Minister Kofi Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana were ousted in a bloodless military coup by Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.

Monday 24:

Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier, is discovered on Guam.

Sunday 30:

1980 - Australian Sitcom Kingswood Country starts on ATN-7.

February 1972

Wednesday 16:

NBA basketball player Wilt Chamberlain scores 30,000th point.

Thursday 17:

Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model-T.

Monday 21:

The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.

Saturday 26:

Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia.

Monday 28:

Sino-American relations: The United States and People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.

March 1972

Friday 03:

The space probe Pioneer X is launched by NASA.

Thursday 16:

The first building of the Pruitt-Igoe housing complex is demolished.

Sunday 19:

India and Bangladesh sign a friendship treaty.

Saturday 25:

In Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, Vicky Leandros wins the seventeenth Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg singing "Après toi" (After you).

Thursday 30:

Vietnam War: The Eastertide Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.

April 1972

Sunday 02:

North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division take the northern half of Quang Tri Province.

Thursday 13:

The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.

Sunday 16:

Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – Prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.

Tuesday 18:

The Roland Corporation is founded in Osaka, Japan.

Saturday 22:

Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts antiwar protests in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

May 1972

Monday 01:

Vietnam War: Easter Offensive – North Vietnamese troops capture Quang Tri City, effectively giving them control Quang Tri Province.

Tuesday 02:

Buddy Baker became the first stock car driver to finish a 500-mile race in less than three hours en route to winning the Winston Select 500 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

Friday 12:

The Rolling Stones release Exile On Main Street, often considered their best album.

Monday 22:

Ceylon adopts a new constitution, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the British Commonwealth.

Tuesday 30:

In Tel Aviv, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport Massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.

June 1972

Tuesday 06:

David Bowie releases the classic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Friday 16:

Largest single-site hydro-electric power project starts at Churchill Falls Newfoundland

Saturday 17:

Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.

Friday 23:

Watergate Scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House chief of staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins.

Tuesday 27:

ATARI is established by Nolan Bushnell.

July 1972

Saturday 01:

Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Holger Meins of the Red Army Faction are captured in Frankfurt after a shootout with the police.

Thursday 13:

The United States Democratic Party nominates George McGovern for president at its convention in Miami Beach, Florida but, because of an impassioned platform dispute, McGovern does not give his acceptance speech until the early morning hours of the 14th.

Thursday 20:

The cabinet of Prime Minister of the Netherlands Barend Biesheuvel resign in a dispute over the budget.

Sunday 23:

The United States launches Landsat 1, first Earth-resources satellite.

August 1972

Thursday 03:

U.S. Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

Monday 14:

An East German Ilyushin Il-62 crashes during takeoff from East Berlin, killing 156

Wednesday 16:

The Royal Moroccan Air Force mistakenly fires upon, but fails to bring down, Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.

Tuesday 22:

Rhodesia is expelled by the IOC for its racist policies

Saturday 26:

Games of the XX Olympiad open in Munich, Germany.

September 1972

Friday 01:

In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.

Sunday 10:

The United States loses its first international basketball game in a disputed match versus the Soviet Union at Munich, Germany.

Monday 11:

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in America begins regular service.

Friday 15:

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake shakes Northern Illinois.

Thursday 28:

Paul Henderson scores The Goal to win the Canada/USSR (ice hockey) "Summit Series".

October 1972

Thursday 12:

En route to her station in the Gulf of Tonkin, a racial brawl involving more than 100 sailors breaks out aboard the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk

Friday 13:

Andes flight disaster: Fairchild passenger plane transporting a rugby team crashes in Andes. They are found alive December 20 but they have had to resort to cannibalism to survive, as chronicled in the 1993 film '.

Monday 16:

Rainbow, a British television programme for children, debuts.

Sunday 22:

Vietnam War: In Saigon, Henry Kissinger and South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu meet to discuss a proposed cease-fire that had been worked out between Americans and North Vietnamese in Paris. Thieu rejects the proposal and accused the United States of conspiring to undermine his regime

Monday 30:

US President Richard Nixon approves legislation to increase Social Security spending by US$5.3 billion.

November 1972

Tuesday 07:

U.S. presidential election, 1972: Republican Party (United States) incumbent Richard Nixon defeats Democratic Senator George McGovern.

Saturday 11:

The United States Army turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam.

Tuesday 14:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,000 (1,003.16) for the first time.

Wednesday 22:

Vietnam War: The United States loses its first B-52 Stratofortress of the war.

Thursday 30:

Vietnam War: White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler tells the press that there will be no more public announcements concerning American troop withdrawals from Vietnam due to the fact that troop levels are now down to 27,000.

December 1972

Saturday 02:

Gough Whitlam becomes the first Australian Labor Party Prime Minister of Australia for 23 years.

Sunday 10:

Professional Wrestler Ric Flair has his first match against against George "Scrap Iron" Gadaski. It was a 10 minute draw.

Monday 11:

Apollo 17 became the sixth and last mission to date to land on the ].

Friday 29:

An Eastern Airlines Lockheed Tristar crashed on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101

Sunday 31:

Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.