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1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday.
[edit] Events
[edit] January
Pro-life activists in 2004 against the
Roe v. Wade decision in Washington, DC stage a silent demonstration before the
Supreme Court.
[edit] February
- April 2 - The LexisNexis computerized legal research service begins.
- April 3 - The first handheld cellular phone call made by Martin Cooper, who conceived the phone, in New York City.
- April 4 - The World Trade Center officially opens in New York City with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
- April 6 - Pioneer 11 is launched on a mission to study the solar system.
- April 6 - Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball.
- April 7 - Tu te reconnaîtras by Anne-Marie David (music by Claude Morgan, text by Vline Buggy) wins Eurovision Song Contest 1973 for Luxembourg.
- April 10 - Israeli commandos raid Beirut, assassinating 3 leaders of the Palestinian Resistance Movement. The Lebanese army's inaction brings the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Saib Salam, a Sunni Muslim.
- April 11 - The British House of Commons voted against restoring capital punishment by a margin of 142 votes.
- April 12 - The Labour Party wins control of the Greater London Council.
- April 17 - The German counter-terrorist force GSG 9 is officially formed.
- April 17 - Federal Express officially begins operations, with the launch of 14 small aircraft from Memphis International Airport. On that night, Federal Express delivers 186 packages to 25 U.S. cities from Rochester, NY, to Miami, Fla.
- April 20 - An Indian Pacific train en route to Perth, derails near Broken Hill, New South Wales. The train destroyed a quarter mile of track when it left the rails.
- April 28 - Six Irishmen, including Joe Cahill, are arrested by the Irish Naval Service off County Waterford on board a coaster carrying five tons of weapons destined for the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
- May 1 - An estimated 1,600,000 workers in the United Kingdom stopped work in support of a Trade Union Congress "day of national protest and stoppage" against the Government's anti-inflation policy.
- May 3 - The Sears Tower in Chicago is finished, becoming the world's tallest building.
- May 5 - Shambu Tamang becomes the youngest person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
- May 5 - Sunderland AFC defeats Leeds United AFC in the FA Cup final.
- May 5 - Secretariat wins the Kentucky Derby.
- May 8 - A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement who were occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
- May 10 - The Polisario Front,a Sahrawi movement dedicated to the independence of Western Sahara, is formed.
- May 14 - Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.
- May 14 - The British House of Commons votes to abolish capital punishment in Northern Ireland.
- May 17 - Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
- May 18 - Cod War: Joseph Godber, British Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, announces that Royal Navy frigates will protect British trawlers fishing in the disputed 50-mile limit round Iceland.
- May 19 - Secretariat wins the Preakness Stakes.
- May 22 - Lord Lambton resigned from the British government over a 'call girl' scandal.
- May 22 - Ethernet is invented by Robert Metcalfe.
- May 24 - Earl Jellicoe, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords in Britain, resigned over a separate prostitution scandal.
- May 25 - Skylab 2 (Pete Conrad, Paul Weitz, Joseph Kerwin) is launched on a mission to repair the Skylab space station.
- May 27 - By virtue of the non-retroactivity of Soviet copyright laws, all works published before this date are public domain. This applies worldwide.Confirmation needed
- July 1 - The United States Drug Enforcement Administration is founded.
- July 2 - Congress passes the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) mandating Special Education federally.
- July 5 - The Isle of Man Post begins to issue its own postage stamps.
- July 5 - The catastrophic BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills 11 firefighters. This explosion has become a classic incident, studied in fire department training programs worldwide.
- July 10 - The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.
- July 10 - Polish football club Korona Kielce is founded
- July 11 - Varig Flight 820 disaster near Orly, France - 123 killed.
- July 12 - 1973 National Archives Fire: A major fire destroys the entire 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
- July 16 - Watergate Scandal: Former White House aide Alexander Butterfield informs the United States Senate Watergate Committee that President Richard Nixon had secretly recorded potentially incriminating conversations.
- July 20 - France resumes nuclear bomb tests in Mururoa Atoll, over the protests of Australia and New Zealand.
- July 20 - Chinese actor Bruce Lee dies of brain swelling in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong.
- July 21 - The Philippines receives its second Miss Universe title, with Margarita Moran as the winner.
- July 23 - The Avianca Building in Bogota, Colombia suffers a serious fire.
- July 25 - The Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched.
- July 28 - The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, a massive rock festival featuring The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band and The Band, attracts over 600,000 music fans.
- July 28 - Skylab 3 (Owen Garriott, Jack Lousma, Alan Bean) is launched, to conduct various medical and scientific experiments aboard Skylab.
- July 29 - Formula One racing driver Roger Williamson dies in an accident, witnessed live on European television, during the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix.
- July 30 - An 11-year legal action for the victims of Thalidomide ends.Confirmation needed
- July 31 - Militant protesters of Ian Paisley disrupt the first sitting of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
- July 31 - A Delta Air Lines Flight 173 DC9-31 aircraft lands short of Boston's Logan Airport runway in poor visibility, striking a sea wall about 165 feet (50 m) to the right of the runway centerline and about 3000 feet (914 m) short. All 6 crew members and 83 passengers are killed, 1 of the passengers dying several months after the accident.
[edit] August
[edit] September
- September 3 - The British Trade Union Congress expelled 20 members for registering under the Industrial Relations Act 1971.
- September 11 - Chile's democratically-elected government is overthrown in a military coup after serious instability. President Salvador Allende dies, and General Augusto Pinochet heads a U.S.-backed military junta that will govern Chile for the next 16 years.
- September 15 - Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden dies. His grandson, Carl XVI Gustav, becomes king.
- September 18 - The two German Republics, West Germany (unofficial abbreviated as "BRD") and the German Democratic Republic (also called "East Germany", "DDR" or "GDR"), are admitted to the United Nations.
- September 20 - The Battle of the Sexes: Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in a televised tennis match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
- September 22 - Henry Kissinger, United States National Security Advisor, starts his term as United States Secretary of State.
- September 27 - Soviet space programme: Launch of Soyuz 12, the first manned flight since 1971.
- September 28 - ITT is bombed in New York City to protest their involvement with the coup in Chile.
[edit] October
- October 6 - Yom Kippur War: The fourth and largest Arab-Israeli conflict begins, as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel on Yom Kippur.
- October 10 - Spiro T. Agnew resigns as Vice President of the United States and then, in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, pleads no contest to charges of income tax evasion on $29,500 he received in 1967, while he was governor of Maryland. He is fined $10,000 and put on 3 years' probation.
- October 17 - The Arab Oil Embargo against several countries which support Israel triggers the 1973 energy crisis.
- October 20 - The Saturday Night Massacre: U.S. President Richard Nixon orders Attorney General Elliot Richardson to dismiss Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refuses and resigns, along with Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Solicitor General Robert Bork, third in line at the Department of Justice, then fires Cox. The event raises calls for Nixon's impeachment.
- October 20 - The Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction work.
- October 26 - The Yom Kippur War ends.
- October 27 - The Canyon City meteorite, a 1.4 kilogram chondrite type meteorite, strikes Earth in Fremont County, Colorado.Confirmation needed
- October 30 - The Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time in history.
[edit] November
- November 1: Watergate scandal: Acting Attorney General Robert Bork appoints Leon Jaworski as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor.Confirmation needed
- November 3 - Mariner program: NASA launches Mariner 10 toward Mercury (on March 29, 1974 it becomes the first space probe to reach that planet).
- November 7 - The Congress of the United States overrides President Richard M. Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.
- November 11 - Egypt and Israel sign a United States-sponsored cease-fire accord.
- November 14 - In the United Kingdom, Princess Anne marries a commoner, Captain Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey (they divorce in 1992).
- November 16 - Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 (Gerald Carr, William Pogue, Edward Gibson) from Cape Canaveral, Florida on an 84-day mission.
- November 16 - U.S. President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
- November 17 - Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."
- November 17 - A student uprising occurs against the military regime in Athens, Greece.
- November 21 - President Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, reveals the existence of an 18½-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
- November 25 - Greek Dictator George Papadopoulos is ousted in a military coup led by Lieutenant General Phaidon Gizikis.
- November 27 - The United States Senate votes 92-3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States.
- November 29 - Over 100 die in a department store fire in Kumamoto, Japan.
[edit] December
[edit] Unknown dates
[edit] Fictional events
[edit] Births
[edit] January
- January 1 - Danny Lloyd, American actor
- January 6 - Scott Ferguson, Canadian ice hockey player
- January 7 - Jonna Tervomaa, Finnish singer
- January 8 - Sean Paul, Jamaican singer
- January 11 - Joanna Brodzik, Polish actress
- January 11 - Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer
- January 13 - Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian hockey player
- January 14 - Giancarlo Fisichella, Italian race car driver
- January 15 - Tomáš Galásek, Czech football player
- January 16 - Josie Davis, American actress
- January 17 - Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican football player
- January 18 - Crispian Mills, British musician (The Jeevas and Kula Shaker)
- January 19 - Karen Lancaume, French actress (d. 2005)
- January 19 - Ann-Kristin Aarønes, Norwegian footballer
- January 21 - Chris Kilmore, DJ of the American alternative rock band Incubus
- January 29 - Jason Schmidt, baseball player
- January 30 - Jalen Rose, American basketball player
[edit] February
- February 1 - Nick Mitchell, American wrestler.
- February 2 - Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
- February 3 - Ilana Sod, Mexican journalist
- February 4 - Oscar de la Hoya, American boxer
- February 8 - Sonia Deol, presenter
- February 9 - Svetlana Boginskaya, Soviet gymnast
- February 11 - Varg Vikernes, Norwegian musician (Burzum)
- February 14 - Steve McNair, American football player
- February 15 - Amy Van Dyken, American swimmer
- February 16 - Cathy Freeman, Australian athlete
- February 20 - Kimberley Davies, Australian actress
- February 22 - Shota Arveladze, Georgian football player
- February 22 - Gustavo Assis-Brasil, Brazilian guitarist
- February 24 - Jordan Jovtchev, Bulgarian gymnast
- February 24 - Richard Clapp, Canadian baseball player
- February 26 - Marshall Faulk, American football player
- February 26 - Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
- February 28 - Eric Lindros, Canadian hockey player
- March 1 - Ryan Peake, Canadian musician (Nickelback)
- March 1 - Chris Webber, American basketball player
- March 4 - Len Wiseman, American director and screenwriter
- March 4 - Summer Cummings, American actress
- March 5 - Ryan Franklin, baseball pitcher
- March 9 - Aaron Boone, baseball player
- March 10 - John LeCompt, American musician
- March 13 - Edgar Davids, Dutch footballer
- March 17 - Caroline Corr, Irish musician (The Corrs)
- March 19 - Magnus Hedman, Swedish footballer
- March 23 - Jason Kidd, American basketball player
- March 24 - Jacek Bąk, Polish footballer
- March 29 - Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer
- March 30 - Adam Goldstein, American DJ
- April 1 - Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricket captains
- April 2 - Roselyn Sanchez, Puerto Rican actress
- April 3 - Matthew Ferguson, Canadian actor
- April 4 - David Blaine, American magician
- April 5 - Pharrell Williams, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
- April 6 - Rie Miyazawa, Japanese actress and singer
- April 10 - Roberto Carlos, Brazilian football player
- April 11 - Jennifer Esposito, American actress
- April 16 - Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
- April 24 - Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
- April 25 - Fredrik Larzon, Swedish musician (Millencolin)
- April 28 - Elisabeth Röhm, American actress
- April 28 - Melissa Fahn, American actress
- April 30 - Jeff Timmons, American singer
- May 1 - Oliver Neuville, German footballer
- May 1 - Paul Burke, Irish rugby player
- May 3 - Michael Reiziger, Dutch footballer
- May 7 - Paolo Savoldelli, Italian professional road racing cyclist
- May 10 - Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
- May 12 - Forbes March, American actor
- May 14 - Natalie Appleton, Canadian singer
- May 16 - Jason Acuna, American skateboarder and actor also known as Wee-Man
- May 16 - Tori Spelling, American actress
- May 17 - Josh Homme, American musician
- May 21 - Noel Fielding, British comedian
- May 23 - Jacopo Gianninoto, Italian musician
- May 24 - Dermot O'Leary, British TV star
- May 25 - Demetri Martin, American comedian
- May 25 - Jean-Pierre Canlis, American glass artist
- May 30 - Leigh Francis, British comedian
- May 31 - Dominique van Roost, Belgian tennis player
- June 1 - Fred Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
- June 1 - Heidi Klum, German model
- June 1 - Derek Lowe, baseball player
- June 8 - Lexa Doig, Canadian actress
- June 9 - Tedy Bruschi, American football player
- June 9 - Iain Lee, British comedian and radio and television presenter
- June 10 - Faith Evans, American singer
- June 12 - Darryl White, Australian footballer
- June 13 - Sam Adams, American football player
- June 14 - Ceca Raznatovic, Serbian singer
- June 15 - Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
- June 15 - Greg Vaughan, American actor
- June 19 - Yuko Nakazawa, Japanese singer
- June 20 - Chino Moreno, American musician
- June 21 - Juliette Lewis, American actress
- June 22 - Carson Daly, American talk show host
- June 24 - Alexander Beyer, German actor
- June 26 - Gretchen Wilson, American singer
- June 26 - Paweł Małaszyński, Polish actor
- June 28 - Adrian Annus, Hungarian athlete
- June 30 - Chan Ho Park, Korean Major League Baseball player
- July 3 - Emma Cunniffe, British actress
- July 9 - Kelly Holcomb, American football player
- July 11 - Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek athlete
- July 15 - John Dolmayan, Lebanese-born drummer (System of a Down)
- July 16 - Stefano Garzelli, Italian professional road racing cyclist
- July 17 - Eric Moulds, American football player
- July 20 - Peter Forsberg, Swedish hockey player
- July 20 - Haakon Magnus, Crown Prince of Norway
- July 22 - Daniel Jones, Australian musician and record producer
- July 23 - Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player
- July 23 - Fran Healy, British singer (Travis)
- July 23 - Monica Lewinsky, White House intern
- July 25 - Dani Filth, Israeli- born musician (Cradle of Filth)
- July 26 - Kate Beckinsale, English actress
- July 27 - Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player
- July 28 - Steve Staios, Canadian ice hockey player
[edit] August
- August 1 - Tempestt Bledsoe, American actress
- August 6 - Asia Carrera, American actress
- August 8 - Senta Moses, American actress
- August 8 - Scott Stapp, American singer (Creed)
- August 12 - Richard Reid, English terrorist
- August 14 - Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer
- August 16 - Damian Jackson, baseball player
- August 19 - Mette-Marit Tjessem-Høiby, Crown Princess of Norway
- August 20 - Todd Helton, American baseball player
- August 21 - Steve McKenna, hockey player
- August 21 - Nikolai Valuev, Russian heavyweight boxing champion
- August 22 - Howie Dorough, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- August 24 - Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer
- August 25 - Dave Chappelle, American actor, comedian
- August 28 - DJ Assault, American musician
- August 28 - Kirby Morrow, Canadian voice actor
- August 30 - Echo Chernik, American illustrator
[edit] September
- September 1 - J.D. Fortune, Canadian singer and new frontman of INXS
- September 4 - Jason David Frank, American actor
- September 5 - Rose McGowan, American actress
- September 7 - Shannon Elizabeth, American actress
- September 12 - Darren Campbell, British athlete
- September 13 - Fabio Cannavaro, Italian footballer
- September 14 - Nas, American rapper
- September 15 - Julie Cox, English actress
- September 17 - Anastacia, American singer
- September 18 - Paul Brousseau, Canadian ice hockey player
- September 18 - Mark Shuttleworth, South African entrepreneur
- September 18 - Ami Onuki, famous Japanese singer, part of Puffy Amiyumi
- September 19 - José Azevedo, Portuguese cyclist
- September 22 - Craig McRae, Australian footballer
- September 25 - Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, American actress
- September 29 - Joe Hulbig, American ice hockey player
[edit] October
- October 2 - Proof, American rapper (d. 2006)
- October 3 - Neve Campbell, Canadian actress
- October 5 - Annabelle Chvostek, Canadian singer/songwriter/singer
- October 9 - Terry Balsamo, American guitarist
- October 10 - Mario López, American actor
- October 11 - Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chinese/Japanese actor
- October 13 - Nanako Matsushima, Japanese actress
- October 13 - Matt Hughes, American mixed martial arts fighter
- October 19 - Joaquin Gage, Canadian ice hockey player
- October 21 - Beverly Turner, British TV and radio presenter
- October 22 - Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
- October 24 - Levi Leipheimer, American professional cyclist
- October 26 - Seth MacFarlane, American animator and voice actor
- October 29 - Robert Pirès, French football player
- October 30 - Silvia Corzo, Colombian newsreader
- October 30 - Edge, Canadian professional wrestler, two time WWE Champ
[edit] November
- November 1 - Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress
- November 3 - Mick Thomson, lead guitarist for Slipknot
- November 5 - Johnny Damon, baseball player
- November 7 - Ryan J. Downey, musician/TV reporter
- November 9 - Nick Lachey, American singer
- November 10 - Jacqui Abbott, English singer (The Beautiful South)
- November 11 - Jason White, musician touring member with Green Day
- November 12 - Martin M. Weiss, American author
- November 14 - Lawyer Milloy, American football player
- November 14 - Dana Snyder, American voice actor
- November 26 - Peter Facinelli, American actor
- November 28 - Jade Puget, American guitarist (AFI)
- November 28 - Rob Conway, American professional wrestler
- November 29 - Ryan Giggs, Welsh footballer
- November 29 - Raphael Smith, South African screenwriter and songwriter
- November 30 - Christian Cage, Canadian professional wrestler
[edit] December
- December 2 - Monica Seles, Yugoslavian-born tennis player
- December 2 - Jan Ullrich, German professional road bicycle racer
- December 3 - Holly Marie Combs, American actress
- December 4 - Tyra Banks, American supermodel and talk show host
- December 4 - Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league player
- December 7 - Terrell Owens, American football player
- December 8 - Corey Taylor, vocalist for Slipknot and Stone Sour
- December 14 - Thuy Trang, Vietnamese-born actress (d. 2001)
- December 14 - Tomasz Radzinski, Canadian footballer
- December 15 - Surya Bonaly, French figure skater
- December 16 - Scott Storch, American hip-hop producer
- December 17 - Paula Radcliffe, British athlete
- December 18 - Darryl Brown, Trinidad and West Indian cricketer
- December 27 - Dee Ferris, British painter
- December 29 - Theo Epstein, baseball general manager
- December 30 - Jason Behr, American actor
- December 30 - Ato Boldon, West Indian athlete
- December 31 - Nikolay Tsiskaridze, Russian dancer
[edit] Unknown date
[edit] Deaths
[edit] January
[edit] February
[edit] August
- August 1 - Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer (b. 1882)
- August 1 - Walter Ulbricht, East German Statesman (b. 1893)
- August 6 - James Beck, British actor (b. 1929)
- August 6 - Fulgencio Batista, Cuban dictator (b. 1901)
- August 11 - Karl Ziegler, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- August 12 - Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
- August 16 - Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1888)
- August 17 - Conrad Aiken, American writer (b. 1889)
- August 17 - Jean Barraqué, French composer (b. 1928)
- August 17 - Paul Williams, American singer (The Temptations) (b. 1939)
- August 31 - John Ford, American film director (b. 1895)
[edit] September
[edit] October
[edit] November
[edit] December
[edit] Unknown date
[edit] Nobel prizes
[edit] Templeton Prize
[edit] External links