1971-1775

1971

1971 Idi Amin Seizes Power in Uganda In January, while the Ugandan President Milton Obote was out of the country, Colonel Idi Amin staged a coup to oust the President. Amin soon began a reign of terror under which hundreds of thousands of Ugandans were killed.
1971 Communist China Joins UN, Replacing Taiwan On October 25, the U.N. approved the membership of Communist China, thereby replacing Taiwan. For the first time, the United States did not use its veto power to block mainland China's admission. The change in US position came about as the result of a gradual thaw in US– Chinese relations. The US trade embargo was lifted, and a US table tennis team made the first semi-official visit to mainland China in twenty years.
1972
1972 Summit Meeting At a summit meeting held in Moscow, Soviet Prime Minister Brezhnev and President Nixon signed a strategic arms limitation agreement. The treaty limited both the US and U.S.S.R. to two sites for anti-ballistic missiles (A.B.M.'s). In addition, the treaty, for the first time, placed upper limits on the number of missiles that each side could possess.
1972 Arab Terrorists Murder 11 Athletes at the Olympic Games Palestinian terrorists who were members of the Black September Organization attacked the Israeli team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Two Israelis were murdered immediately, and nine were taken hostage. The hostages were killed when German troops attempted to capture the terrorists at Munich Airport.
1972 Britain Takes Direct Control over Northern Ireland With the situation in Northern Ireland worsening, the British government, under Prime Minister Heath, suspended the provincial government and parliament and took direct control of the province. The action was spurred by two daylight bombings that killed eight people and wounded over seventy.
1972 Congressman Ford Sworn in as Vice President With the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, President Nixon selected Congressman to be his new Vice President. Ford's appointment marked the first time that a Vice President came to office without standing for election.
1972 Managua leveled by Earthquake The capital of Nicaragua, Managua, was leveled by an earthquake. Between 10,000 and 12,000 people were killed. More than 300,000 people were made homeless.
1972 Nixon visits China In 1969, President Nixon began making moves to establish some level of relations with the China.
China responded to the American initiative after its border-dispute with the Soviet Union almost escalated into war. At the same time, the US removed the 19-year-old patrol of the Taiwan Straits.

In April, in what became known as "ping- pong diplomacy," the Chinese invited the American ping-pong team to China. In July 1971, the President's National Security Advisor, Dr. Henry Kissinger, traveled to China to negotiate an opening with the Chinese. Upon Kissinger's return, Nixon announced his upcoming summit in Peking.

On February 21, 1972, President Nixon arrived in Peking for a seven-day stay. While no major agreements were reached during the summit, its occurrence ushered in a new world of diplomacy for the United States.

1973

1973 US Completes Withdrawal from Vietnam On January 27, the United States and North Vietnam signed the Paris Peace Accords. Under its terms, US troops would withdraw from Vietnam. There would be a ceasefire, and US P.O.W.'s would be released. Two years later, the Communists achieved total victory in Vietnam.
1973 Severe Drought, Hundreds Perish A seven-year drought in sub-Saharan Africa brought starvation to 100,000 people in the countries of Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Burkina Faso.
1973 October War On October 6, 1973, which was the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Egyptians and the Syrians launched a surprise attack against Israel. The attack caught Israel almost totally by surprise. Although there were signs of imminent attack, Israeli analysts did not believe that the Arabs would actually invade until they had reached strategic parity.

On the morning of October 6, Israeli leaders received information confirming an impending attack. By then it was too late to mobilize the reserves. Due to American pressure, it was also decided not to strike first -- not to launch a pre-emptive attack. In the initial assault, the Egyptians successfully crossed the Suez Canal, and were able to capture most of the Israeli installations on the canal's East Bank. Attempts to counterattack were repulsed by the Egyptians via extensive use of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. Syrian troops managed to penetrate Israeli defenses on the Golan Heights. However, the hastily activated reserve forces were able to hold back the Syrian onslaught.

As the war continued, Israel was finally able to take the offensive on the Syrian front. Soldiers advanced to Sasa and captured the summit of Mt. Hermon. On the Egyptian front, Israeli troops successfully crossed the Suez Canal and surrounded the Egyptian Third Army. As the enormity of the Israeli threat became clear, the Arabs called for an immediate cease-fire. After a brief confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, a cease-fire went into effect on October 22.
1973 Allende Killed in Coup A military coup, purportedly supported by the American CIA, deposed President Allende of Chile and replaced him with Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. Pinochet was committed to the elimination of Communisim in Chile. Towards this end, he was responsible for the arrest of thousands.
1973 Bahamas given Independence Great Britain granted the Bahamas independence in 1973. The Bahamas became independent within the British Commonwealth.
1973 Bridge Over the Bosphorus A bridge was completed over the Bosphorus. It joined European and Asians sections of Turkey at Istanbul.
1973 Sears Tower Completed The Sears Tower in Chicago was completed. It became the tallest building in the world. It topped out at 1,445 feet.
1973 Cat Scan Developed The CAT Scan, which stands for Computerized Axial Tomography, was introduced to the medical world. The CAT Scan produces three-dimensional images of internal organs of the body.(8/25/73) The CAT Scan, which stands for Computerized Axial Tomography, was introduced to the medical world. The CAT Scan produces three-dimensional images of internal organs of the body.

1974

1974 Willy Brandt of West Germany Forced to Resign Willy Brandt resigned, after one of his top aides, Gunter Guillaume, was arrested on charges of spying for East Germany.
1974 Military Government of Greece Resigns The military junta in Greece resigned, turning control of the government over to Constantine Karamanlis. Martial law was lifted, and elections were held.
1974 Military Coup in Portugal A leftist military coup took place in Portugal. It unseated the right-wing dictatorship that held power for 40 years. The military immediately reversed the Portuguse policy of holding its African colonies, and began to grant the colonies independence quickly. In addition, the Portugese military leaders began the transition to civil democratic rule.
1974 Revolt in Cyprus, Turkey Invades Greek officers of the National Guard led a revolt that ousted Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios III. Turkish troops invaded the island and captured over half of it. A cease-fire was arranged, and Makarios returned. Cyprus, however, was virtually partitioned into Greek and Turkish territories.
1974 India Explodes Nuclear Device On May 18, the Indians detonated a nuclear bomb in an underground explosion. The bomb was small-- approximately 15 megatons. India thus became the sixth member of the "nuclear club."
1974 Guinea- Bissau Granted Independence by Portugal After a military revolt in Portugal that brought a Left-leaning government to power, the Portuguese government agreed to grant independence to Portuguese Guinea. The new country was renamed Guinea-Bissau, and its first President was Luis de Almeida Cabral.
1974 UN orders South Africa to turn over Prtectorate of Namibia The U.N. Security Council voted to give South Africa until May 30, 1975 to begin transferring power in Namibia to the Namibians. Ten days before the deadline, South African Premier Balthazar Vorster rejected the U.N. demand, saying that South Africa would not negotiate the transfer of power with the South West African People's Organization (the major Black nationalist group).
1974 Emperor Haile Selassie Deposed in Ethiopia The 44-year reign of Haile Selassie came to an end when he was deposed by the army. Selassie had begun his reign as an absolute monarch. However, during the last decades of his rule, he was a constitutional monarch whose powers were limited by a constitution and a legislature. The new government suspended the constitution and the legislature, and executed 60 former government officials. The new head of government was Aman Andom, but he was soon replaced by Teferi Benti who executed Andom.
1974 Disengagement Agreement Between Israel, Egypt and Syria In January, Israel agreed to a disengagement agreement under which its forces would withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal, as well as from an area on the east side of the Canal. In May, Israel and Syria also agreed to a disengagement plan. Under its terms, Israel withdrew from territory seized during the 1973 war as well as from the town of Kuneitra, seized in 1967.
1974 President Nixon Resigns On August 8, 1974, President Nixon became the first President in US history to resign. Nixon resigned as the House of Representatives was poised to vote on the articles of impeachment against him.
1974 Soyuz- Apollo Mission The meeting of the American Apollo and the Soviet Soyuz on July 19, 1975, marked the first cooperative space mission between the United States and the Soviet Union.

1975

1975 Helsinki Accords Thirty-five nations signed the Helsinki Accords. The Accords recognized the borders of Europe as they had been at the end of the World War II, thus recognizing Soviet domination of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). All nations, however, agreed to promote personal liberties in their own countries.
1975 Franco Dies, Juan Carlos Takes Over On November 20, Francisco Franco died. This ended a dictatorship that had lasted since the Spanish Civil War.
1975 Soviets Buy Grain from the US The Soviet Union began buying grain from the United States to prevent famine. The US soon signed a long-term contract for the sale of grain.
1975 Pol Pot Takes Over Cambodia On April 17, Communist forces captured Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The new communist regime was headed by Pol Pot, who ruthlessly tried to remake Cambodia. He implemented the forced relocation of millions of people, resulting in the deaths of at least hundreds of thousands of individuals. The world stood by as the deaths mounted.
1975 Communist Capture South Vietnam On April 30, communist forces captured Saigon, ending the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese began their offensive in early March when they captured Ban Me Thuot, the capital of Dariac province. The North Vietnamese attack was spearheaded by tanks and other heavy forces. As the North Vietnamese forces advanced, the South Vietnamese Army disintegrated. The United States' only intervention was to airlift key South Vietnamese personnel to safety.
1975 Mayaguez A US-registered merchant vessel was seized by the Cambodians and towed to Cambodia. The US responded by sending a 1,000-man force to free the Mayguez and its crew. The US forces arrived to find the crew gone. The Cambodians subsequently agreed to release the US personnel, but there had been a loss of 38 crewmen dead in the episode.

1975 Mozambique Gains Independence A further consequence of the changes in government policy in Portugal was the granting of independence to Mozambique on June 25. A Marxist state, with Samora Moises Machel as President, was declared.
1975 Angola Gains Independence Angola declared its independence from Portugal. Two separate governments were proclaimed: the Soviet-backed Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). A civil war ensued, during which the MPLA accepted Cuban troops to support its cause. UNITA received aid from South Africa, which hurt its cause in the West.
1975 Civil War In Lebanon In April, civil war broke out in Beirut. The war was triggered when 25 Palestinian Arabs were killed by Phalange-Lebanese Christian militiamen. The conflict spread throughout Beirut, which was soon divided into Christian and Muslim sectors. The Muslims quickly attained the upper hand in the conflict. In June 1976, however, the Syrian Army intervened on behalf of the Christians.
1975 King Faisel Assassinated King Faisal ibn Abd-al-Aziz of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his half brother, Faisal ibn Musad ibn Abd-al-Aziz. The King was succeeded by Crown Prince Khalid. The assassin was publicly beheaded.
1975 Suez Canal Reopened On June 5, the Suez Canal was reopened. The reopening followed the second disengagement agreement between Israel and Egypt, under which Israel pulled its forces further from the Canal Zone. For their part, the Egyptians pledged to open the Canal and rebuild the Canal cities.