1973 News and Interesting History Tidbits

Endangered Species Act of 1973
President Nixon signs the "Endangered Species Act" to protect species and also "the ecosystems upon which they depend." It encompasses plants and invertebrates as well as vertebrates. The Endangered Species Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) who play the predominant role in law enforcement of the Act and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

US Troops Leave Vietnam
The last United States troops left South Vietnam, ending America's direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.

The US had originally become involved by supplying 50 military advisers in 1960 /1961 and over the coming years escalated first the number of advisers and then direct military involvement.

The Vietnam war had started in 1959 and finally ended in 1975, and was fought between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) supported by communist allies and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) supported by the US and other western Allies. The war resulted in a North Vietnamese victory in 1975 when the North Vietnamese took over the capital Saigon.

Mississippi Floods 1973
The Mississippi River reaches its peak level in St. Louis during a record 77-day flood. During the flooding 33 died and and millions of acres of farm land were unusable for a full year following the flood, also because the area's affected were in a known flood plain many residents had no insurance and lost everything they had worked for, this is also why the 33 died as they refused to evacuate the area.

Roe Vs Wade
The legalization of abortion within the first three months of pregnancy was allowed as of this day. This decision was based on a ruling by the Supreme Court upon adjournment of the Roe Vs. Wade Case that women had a constitutional right to obtain an abortion.
One very interesting thing I have found is the use of both
Roe Vs. Wade and Rowe Vs Wade on the internet to refer to this case

McDonald's Egg McMuffin
In 1973 McDonalds realised people wanted a breakfast sandwich so the Egg McMuffin appeared consisting of a grill-cooked egg, Canadian bacon, and a slice of cheese on an English muffin. It Cost 90 cents when introduced
Another variation was the Sausage McMuffin with Egg

The Bahamas Gains Independence
The Bahamas After having been a British Colony since 1717 and became self governing in 1964, In 1973 The Bahamas gained full Independence but continued to be part of the British Commonwealth.

Secretariat Wins Triple Crown
Secretariat wins first Triple Crown ( Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes ) in 25 years. The previous triple crown winner was Citation in 1948.

Mid Air Collision France
A mid air collision between two Spanish aircraft over France happens when air traffic controllers are on strike, leaves 68 dead.

Pink Floyd the Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd the British Progressive rock band release the album "Dark Side of the Moon" which has became the 6th best selling album of all time with sales exceeding 40 million copies worldwide.

What many do not know is it was produced at the Beatles famous Abbey Road Studios in London.

Below are the tracks recorded on the original album


Speak to Me

Breathe

On the Run

Time

The Great Gig in the Sky

Money

Us and Them

Any Colour You Like

Brain Damage

Eclipse

Northern Ireland Referendum
In a referendum in Northern Ireland over the future of the province people vote to remain within the United Kingdom. But a boycott by the Roman Catholic population meant only 59% of the population had taken part in the vote.

New York's World Trade Center Completed
New York's World Trade Center The twin towers of the World Trade Center rising 1,350 feet above Manhattan officially became the world's tallest buildings.

Yom Kippur War and Oil Embargo
The United States and the Arab World headed for further confrontation over Palestinian Charges that there was US involvement in the Israel Raid on Beirut.

Egyptian and Syrian forces launch a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, beginning the Yom Kippur War. They were hoping to gain back territory lost during the earlier Arab Israeli war in 1967, This also led to further oil price increases and eventually to a worldwide recession

Members of OPEC announced an oil embargo and that they would discontinue all oil shipments to those countries that supported Israel in its war against Syria and would decrease oil production by 5 per cent a month until Israel gave up all territory it seized in the 1967 war and restores the rights of the Palestinian refugees. As oil prices rose American consumers sought out more fuel efficient cars mostly from Japanese car makers whose cars gave nearly twice the miles per gallon as the existing American built cars did.

Americans are urged to conserve energy in case the Arab boycott would continue for an extended period of time. Gas shortages also expected, and as a result a motion was made to lower speed limits to 55 MPH. also possibility of brownouts or blackouts in the U.S.

Israel Shoots Down Libyan Passenger Plane
Israeli warplanes shoot down a Libyan passenger plane over the Sinai Desert

Thalidomide Settlement after 11 years in UK
Eleven years after the start of parents fight for compensation for children born with birth defects caused through the use of the thalidomide drug ( 1958 - 1961 ) to ease morning sickness during pregnancy, The Distillers drugs company who marketed thalidomide have agreed to pay more than £20 million in compensation.

Bangladesh First Elected Prime Minister
Sheikh Mujib Rahman becomes the first prime minister of Bangladesh winning a landslide victory in the country's first general elections.

Belize Gains Independence
British Honduras in Central America gains it's independence from Britain and changes it's name to Belize in 1973 but is still part of the British Commonwealth.

Skylab Launched
Skylab, the first U.S. space station measuring 118 ft tall and weighing 77 tons, is launched into orbit around the earth.

British Governor Assasinated Bermuda
The British governor and his assistant are assassinated in Bermuda

American Indian Movement
More than 200 members from the American Indian Movement moved in to take the reservation area of Wounded Knee by force beginning an occupation that lasted until May

Terrorists Kill Spanish Prime Minister
The Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, is killed in a terrorist car bomb attack in Madrid. The bomb was believed to have been planted by Basque nationalists

Hostages Taken In Sudan
The Palestinian terrorist group Black September storm the Saudi Arabian embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, taking diplomats hostage. ( this was the same terrorist organization that murdered nine Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.

Sunningdale Agreement
Tripartite talks on Northern Ireland have ended with the signing of the Sunningdale Agreement the historic agreement to set up a Council of Ireland. After less than 12 months following strikes and paramilitary involvement the Council of Ireland collapsed and direct rule was imposed.

England Joins EEC
The United Kingdom becomes part of the EEC

Spiro Agnew
Spiro Agnew Vice President of the United States resigns in disgrace over charges of federal income tax evasion .

I Am Not A Crook
In a televised appearance President Richard Nixon told the nation today, “I am not a crook.” referring to allegations concerning his involvement in the Watergate scandal.

Soviet Union refuses to play Chile
The Soviet Union refuses to play a World Cup Soccer match against the Chilean football team on November 21 if the match is held in Santiago. The International Football Federation had given the Soviets until the 11th November to decide whether they would play the game and the Federation disqualified the Soviet team from further participation in the World Cup .

Princess Anne Marriage
Princess Anne, married Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey . The marriage ceremony was televised around the world with an estimated 100 million viewers.

Slaughterhouse Five
Newspapers in North Dakota report that over 35 copies of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five” are burned. Many residents felt that the book was too pessimistic and it was not appropriate for school-aged children.

Following Large Increases in Gas Prices Japanese Imports Increase Causing US Car Companies To Close Factories
Following the price of Gas increasing by 400% and long queues at Gas Stations during the 1973 Oil Crisis caused by the war in the Middle East and OPEC cutting oil supplies as a way of forcing the rest of the world to stop support for Israel. Toyota who had specialized in making smaller fuel efficient cars holds it's first national news conference in Los Angeles, California extolling the remarkable fuel efficiency of Toyota cars, the average American Car gave 15 MPG whereas the Japanese cars were achieving 25 MPG Plus. This provided the major Japanese manufacturers the springboard needed to make significant inroads into both the American and European cars markets.
Chrysler joins other US car makers in closing a number of plants affecting 38,000 workers and announced it was changing the focus to manufacturing smaller more efficient cars to combat the Japanese imports. General Motors had made similar cuts 1 week before.

Church Takes Credit Card Donations
A roman catholic church in Buffalo New York has started accepting donations via credit cards in an attempt to increase it's income, A senior member of the Coronation of the Blessed Mary Church has explained that donations of 50 cents which is all it's parishioners have left after paying weekly bills is not enough to fund the churches budget and it is already proving a success as donations of $10 to $25 are forthcoming, people need to consider donations to the church similar to any other weekly bills like groceries or gas bills.

Alaska Oil Pipeline
In the wake of the war in the middle east President Richard Nixon urges Congress to pass Senate Bill 1081, which would authorize the construction of a pipeline to access oil from the North Slope of Alaska,

Hitler's Car Sells
The car that Hitler was said to have used in a parade march was sold today. The going price at an auction was $153,000,000. This car was a Mercedes-Benz 770K Sedan.

1972 Previous Year ---- ( Current Year Is 1973 ) ---- Following Year 1974