Directory

1974 CE

The Watergate scandal forces Richard Nixon to resign; the Turkish invasion of Cyprus divides the island after a Greek-backed coup; the Ethiopian Revolution ends Haile Selassie's monarchy; the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany sees the host nation win their second title; the Ma'alot massacre leaves dozens dead in a school hostage crisis; Portugal's Carnation Revolution peacefully ends the Estado Novo dictatorship; the Bangladesh famine of 1974 kills hundreds of thousands; the Guillaume affair triggers political turmoil in West Germany; and the Joelma Building fire in São Paulo kills 179 people.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 25 – Bülent Ecevit of CHP forms the new government of Turkey (37th government, partner MSP).source
  • January 31 – The South Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong announced that they would resume prisoner of war exchanges on February 8, after a suspension of seven months.source
  • February 1 – Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is declared a Federal Territory.source
  • February 28 – The British election ended in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieves its biggest vote.source
  • March 4 – Following a hung parliament in the United Kingdom general election, Conservative prime minister Edward Heath resigns and is succeeded by Labour's Harold Wilson, who previously led the country from 1964 to 1970.source
  • March 18 – In West Germany, the Bundestag passes the Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz ("Federal Emission Control Act").source
  • May 7 – West German chancellor Willy Brandt, resigns after four years in office.source
  • May 16 – Helmut Schmidt becomes the new Chancellor of West Germany.source
  • May 18 – 1974 Australian federal election: Gough Whitlam's Labor government is re-elected with a reduced majority, defeating the Liberal/Country Coalition led by Billy Snedden. Whitlam consequently becomes the first Labor Prime Minister to be re-elected in his own right. The Democratic Labor Party meanwhile loses all five of their Senate seats, effectively wiping them out as a political force.source
  • June 27 – The head of the Chilean Military Junta, Army General Augusto Pinochet, assumes the office of "Supreme Chief of the Nation". On December 17, via a Supreme Decree amendment, he will be formally designated President of Chile.source
  • July 23 – The Greek military junta is replaced by a civilian government, the metapolitefsi.source
  • August 8 – U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation on August 8, effective at noon on August 9.source
  • August 9 – Vice President Gerald Ford becomes the 38th president of the United States upon Nixon's resignation.source
  • September 10 – The Portuguese military junta grants independence to Guinea-Bissau.source
  • October 11 – The UK Labour government of Harold Wilson wins the second general election of the year, forming a three-seat majority. Wilson, who has led the party for a total of 11 years, has now won four of the five general elections he has contested.source
  • November 5 – The Democratic Party makes big gains nationwide in House, Senate, and Gubernatorial elections.source
  • November 17 – The 1974 Greek legislative election, the first election since the fall of the Greek junta of 1967–1974, is held and the newly formed New Democracy party wins 220 of 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament.source
  • December 8 – 1974 Greek republic referendum: Greeks vote in a 2 to 1 margin to reject the monarchy, solidifying the country's republican form of government.source
  • December 9 – The Paris summit, reuniting the European Communities' heads of state and government, commences.source
  • December 13 – Malta becomes a republic.source

Conflict & Security

  • January 31 – The People's Republic of China released Gerald Emil Kosh, a U.S. civilian captured during the Battle of the Paracel Islands.source
  • March 29 – The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang is discovered at Xi'an, China.source
  • April 11 – The Kiryat Shmona massacre takes place in Israel.source
  • April 24 – Guillaume Affair: exposure of an East German spy Günter Guillaume within the West German government, leading to the resignation of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.source
  • April 25 – Carnation Revolution: A left-wing military coup in Portugal restores democracy, ending 41 years of the Estado Novo dictatorship in the country. Portuguese Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano flees to Brazil and is granted political asylum by Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel.source
  • May 17 – The Troubles: The Dublin and Monaghan bombings are carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force, when they explode four car bombs in counties Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The attacks kill 33 civilians and wound almost 300, the highest number of casualties in any single event during the conflict.source
  • June 17 – A bomb explodes in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the British Houses of Parliament. The hall's annex, housing offices, and a canteen are destroyed by the bombing, attributed by police to the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army.source
  • July 15 – The Greek military junta sponsors a coup d'état in Cyprus, replacing President Makarios III with Nikos Sampson. On that same day, reporter Christine Chubbuck commits suicide for the first-time-ever on live television.source
  • July 20 – The Turkish invasion of Cyprus occurs.source
  • August 14 – Turkey invades Cyprus for the second time, occupying 37% of the island's territory.source
  • August 14 – Greece withdraws its forces from NATO's military command structure, as a result of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.source
  • September 8 – President Gerald Ford signs Proclamation 4311, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor.source
  • September 12 – Ethiopian Revolution: Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed by the Derg, bringing an end to the Solomonic dynasty's rule since 1270. The Ethiopian Civil War begins.source
  • September 13 – Japanese Red Army members seize the French Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands.source
  • September 20 – The Kootenai War is declared, and 10-cent tolls are charged on U.S. Highway 95.source
  • October 26 – Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN) sets off 5 bombs in Manhattan, with their largest bomb set off in the Financial District.source
  • November 21 – Birmingham pub bombings: In Birmingham, England, two pubs are bombed, killing 21 people in an attack widely believed at the time to be linked to the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The Birmingham Six are later sentenced to life in prison for this, but their convictions are quashed after a lengthy campaign.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • May 4 – The Expo '74 world's fair opens in Spokane, Washington.source
  • May 4 – An all-female Japanese team summits Manaslu in Nepal, becoming the first women to climb an 8000 m ft peak.source

Economy & Finance

  • March 18 – End of five-month oil embargo by most OPEC nations against the United States, Europe, and Japan which had caused the 1973 oil crisis.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • March 29 – Launch of the Volkswagen Golf in West Germany, a modern front-wheel drive hatchback which is expected to replace the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, holder of the world record for the car with the most units produced.source
  • May 18 – Nuclear weapons testing: Under Project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon, becoming the 6th nation to do so.source

Science & Discovery

  • February 8 – After a record 84 days in orbit, the crew of Skylab 4 returns to Earth.source
  • November 16 – Arecibo message: The radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory on Puerto Rico sends an interstellar radio message towards Messier 13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. The message will reach its destination around the year 27,000.source
  • November 18 – The International Energy Agency is founded.source
  • November 22 – The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.source
  • November 24 – A skeleton from the hominid species Australopithecus afarensis is discovered and named Lucy.source
  • December 17 – The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) becomes a specialized agency of the United Nations.source
  • Skittles was created and released by a British company in the United Kingdom.source
  • Rubik's Cube puzzle is invented by Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik.source

Health & Medicine

  • June 1 - In an informal article in a medical journal, Henry Heimlich introduced the concept of abdominal thrusts, commonly known as the Heimlich maneuver, to treat victims of choking.source

Crime & Justice

  • January 31 – Two members of the Japanese Red Army (JRA) and two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) made a failed attempt to blow up oil tanks at the Shell oil refinery complex on Pulau Bukom at Singapore. The terrorists then hijacked the ferry Laju and took its five crew members hostage.source
  • November 13 – Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. shoots and kills all six of his family members while they sleep in their beds inside the family's Amityville, New York, home.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • February 1 – Fire breaks out in the Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil; 177 die, 293 are injured, 11 die later of their injuries.source
  • February 17 – Zamalek disaster: A soccer stampede occurs in Cairo, killing 49.source
  • March 3 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981, travelling from Paris to London, crashes in the woods near Paris, killing all 346 aboard. This was the deadliest aircraft accident in history up to this time, and remains the deadliest single aircraft accident with no survivors.source
  • July 19 – Railcar explosion in Decatur, Illinois. A tanker car collides with a Norfolk & Western boxcar. Seven people are killed, 349 are injured and $18 million in property damage.source
  • August 4 – A bomb explodes in a train between Italy and West Germany, killing twelve and wounding 48.source
  • August 30 – An express train bound for Germany from Belgrade derails in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), killing more than 150 passengers.source
  • August 30 – The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries building in Tokyo is bombed by radical far-left terrorists, killing 8 and wounding more than 376.source
  • September 8 – TWA Flight 841 crashes into the Ionian Sea 18 minutes after takeoff from Athens on an Israel–New York flight after a bomb explodes in the cargo hold, and kills 88 people.source
  • November 20 – Lufthansa Flight 540 crashes in Nairobi, Kenya, due to a mechanical failure, killing 59 of its 157 occupants.source

Climate & Environment

  • April 3–4 – An enormous tornado outbreak strikes the central parts of the United States, killing around 319 and injuring about 5,484.source
  • May 11 – A violent 7.1 earthquake shakes the Chinese city of Zhaotong causing between 1,600 and 20,000 deaths.source
  • December 24–25 – Darwin, Australia is almost completely destroyed by Cyclone Tracy.source

Culture & Society

  • March 26 – A group of peasant women in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, use their bodies to surround trees to prevent loggers from felling them, giving rise to the Chipko movement.source
  • April 5 – Carrie, the debut novel by Stephen King, is published.source
  • April 6 – Swedish pop group ABBA's song "Waterloo" wins the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England, UK.source
  • April 6 – The first California Jam festival takes place at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. Co-headlined by Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The festival set what were then records for the loudest amplification system ever installed, the highest paid attendance, and highest gross in history.source
  • April 8 – In Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run, surpassing Babe Ruth as the all-time home run king.source
  • June 13 – The 1974 FIFA World Cup Association football tournament began in West Germany.source
  • July 7 – West Germany beats the Netherlands 2–1 to win the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The West German football team is awarded the new FIFA World Cup Trophy.source
  • September 12 – African Youth Amílcar Cabral is founded in Guinea-Bissau.source
  • November 1 – The World Tourism Organization (WTO) is established.source
  • November 26 – Anneline Kriel is crowned as Miss World 1974, the second South African to hold the title after Penny Coelen in 1958, when Helen Morgan resigns four days after winning the 24th Miss World pageant.source
  • The first Standing Conference of Eastern, Central, and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL) occurred in Dar es Salaam.source

Births

  • January 9 – Farhan Akhtar, Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, singer, producer, and television hostsource
  • January 12 – Melanie C, English pop singer (Spice Girls)source
  • February 11 – Alex Jones, American radio host, conspiracy theorist, author and filmmakersource
  • February 25 – Dominic Raab, British politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdomsource
  • April 29 – Anggun, Indonesian-French singer-songwritersource
  • May 27 – Marjorie Taylor Greene, American politiciansource
  • June 7 – Helen Vollam, Principal Trombone Player for the BBC Symphony Orchestra.source
  • June 26 – Derek Jeter, American baseball playersource
  • August 6 – Todd Blanche, American attorney and prosecutor, Acting U.S. Attorney Generalsource
  • September 10 – Mirko Filipović, Croatian kickboxer; mixed martial arts fightersource
  • September 19 – Jimmy Fallon, American actor, comedian, and television personalitysource
  • September 23 – Matt Hardy, American professional wrestlersource
  • November 11 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor, producer and environmentalistsource
  • December 5 – Ben McAdams, American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021 in Utahsource

Deaths

  • January 21 – Lewis Strauss, American businessman, philanthropist, and naval officer (b. 1896)source
  • February 21 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and co-founder of the Tim Hortons restaurant chain (b. 1930)source
  • April 19 – Ayub Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 2nd President of Pakistan (b. 1907)source
  • May 15 – Guy Simonds, Canadian Lieutenant-General, commander of the Canadian Armed Forces in World War II (b. 1903)source
  • June 9 – Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemalan writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)source
  • July 9 – Earl Warren, American jurist and politician, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (b. 1891)source
  • July 13 – Patrick Blackett, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)source
  • July 17 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1910)source
  • July 22 – Wayne Morse, American lawyer, politician, and United States Senator from Oregon (1945–1969) (b. 1900)source
  • July 24 – Sir James Chadwick, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)source
  • August 15 – Clay Shaw, American businessman, best known for being the only person brought to trial for involvement in the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy.source
  • October 14 – Sattar Bahlulzade, Azerbaijani landscape painter (b. 1909)source
  • December 11 – María de las Maravillas de Jesús, Spanish Roman Catholic professed member of the Discalced Carmelites and saint (b. 1891)source
  • December 27 – Ned Maddrell, last surviving native speaker of the Manx language (b. 1877)source