In this post we make a list of the most important events from 1973.
1. Elvis Presley's Aloha From Hawaii Is Broadcast
Elvis Presley made history as he became first solo performer to hold a live concert which was simulcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973. The concert took place at the Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was seen live by a billion people worldwide, and on delay by a further 500 million, which comprised an audience from more than 40 countries across Asia and Europe
2. Richard Nixon is sworn in for the second term as President of USA
Richard Nixon was sworn in as the president of the United States on Saturday, January 20, 1973. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Spiro Agnew swore in as the vice president. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered both the presidential and vice presidential oaths of office.
3. Roe v. Wade
Norma McCorvey with Gloria Allred
In a landmark and controversial decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on 22 January, 1973, that individual state laws banning abortion were unconstitutional. The case was brought by plaintiff Norma McCorvey under the legal pseudonym Jane Roe. Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, were the lawyers who filed the lawsuit on her behalf. The Supreme Court issued a 7–2 decision in McCorvey’s favor.
4. The Godfather wins The Oscar for best picture
At the 45th Academy Awards which was held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, on March 27, 1973, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather won the Oscars for Best Picture. The ceremony also witnessed Marlon Brando’s boycotting the Oscars as a protest against Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans and sending Sacheen Littlefeather to decline the award on his behalf. It was later revealed after Littlefeather’s death that she was not Native American.
5. Bahamas gains independence from the United Kingdom
The tiny island nation of Bahamas gains independence from the United Kingdom on 10 July, 1973. Sir Lynden O. Pindling, who was serving as the first black Premier of the Colony of the Bahama Islands, led Bahamas to independence. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first governor-general of The Bahamas.
6. Bruce Lee Passes Away
On July 20, 1973, the actor and martial-arts expert Bruce Lee dies in Hong Kong at age 32 from a brain edema. He went to take a nap after complaining of a headache and never woke up. An ambulance was called after he was found unconscious, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Lee’s body was buried in Lake View Cemetery in Seattle on July 25, 1973.
7. Hip Hop Is Born
On August 11, 1973, 18-year old DJ Kool Herc who was hosting a party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, to earn some extra cash for his younger sister Cindy’s back-to-school clothes, used two turntables to create a break beat, which historians now say was when hip hop was born.
8. Augusto Pinochet seizes power
On 11 September 1973, the president of Chile, Salvador Allende, was overthrown in a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Allende’s corpse was found in the presidential palace. Prior to his death from gunshot wounds he had given a farewell speech to Chileans on live radio, with gunfire and explosions clearly audible in the background.
9. Yom Kippur War
The Fourth Arab–Israeli War was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria, after the coalition forces made a surprise attack on Israel on October 6, which was the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The combat took place at the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights, which were occupied Israel since 1967, which Egypt wanted back. The heavy fighting stopped on October 25 after a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations.
10. Oil Embargo
Oil-producing Arab countries led by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, ceased the oil shipments from the Middle East to the United States, the Netherlands, Portugal, Rhodesia, and South Africa, in retaliation for their support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The embargo had drastic impact on the American and global economy. The embargo was ended in March 1974 by King Faisal, after Henry Kissinger had promised to sell Saudi Arabia weapons that it had previously denied under the grounds that they might be used against Israel.
11. The Sydney Opera House in Australia is opened
Sydney Opera House, one of the masterpieces of 20th-century architecture, was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October, 1973. It was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and took 16 years for completion at an expense of A$102 million. An estimated 1 million people filled the streets of Sydney on the day of its opening.
12. Spanish prime minister is assassinated
The Prime Minister of Spain and right-hand man of dictator Francisco Franco, Luis Carrero Blanco, was killed in Madrid while he was returning from Mass in his car by the Basque separatist group ETA on 20 December 1973. The assassination is the biggest attack against the Francoist State since the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939.
