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News and Events of 1974

Year by Year: 1900-2012 View a 1974 calendar

World Events

World Statistics

Population: 4.012 billion
population by decade

Nobel Peace Prize:
Eisaku Sato (Japan); Sean MacBride (Ireland)

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OPEC ends the oil embargo begun in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War (Mar. 18).
Nixon and Brezhnev meet in Moscow to discuss arms limitation agreements. Background: nuclear disarmament
Leftist revolution ends almost 50 years of dictatorial rule in Portugal (launched Apr. 25).
India successfully tests an atomic device, becoming the world's sixth nuclear power (May 18).
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed. A collective military dictatorship assumes power (Sept. 12).

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U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: Richard M. Nixon
Vice President: Gerald R. Ford
Population: 213,853,928
Life expectancy: 72.0 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 48.5
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 43.9

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Patricia Hearst, 19-year-old daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army (Feb. 5).
House Judiciary Committee adopts three articles of impeachment charging President Nixon with obstruction of justice, failure to uphold laws, and refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee (July 30).
Richard M. Nixon announces he will resign the next day, the first President to do so (Aug. 8).
Vice President Gerald R. Ford of Michigan is sworn in as 38th President of the US (Aug. 9).
Ford grants "full, free, and absolute pardon" to ex-President Nixon (Sept. 8).

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Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars):   $1,496.90 billion
Federal spending:   $269.36 billion
Federal debt:   $483.9 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars):  $11,197
Consumer Price Index:   49.3
Unemployment:   5.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.08 ($0.10 as of 3/2/74)

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Sports

Sports Links

Pro Football Summary

Pro Basketball Summary

Pro Baseball Summary

Super Bowl

Miami d. Minnesota (24-7)

World Series

Oakland A's d. LA Dodgers (4-1)

NBA Championship

Boston d. Milwaukee (4-3)

Stanley Cup

Philadelphia d. Boston (4-2)

Wimbledon

Women: Chris Evert d. O. Morozova (6-0 6-4)
Men: Jimmy Connors d. K. Rosewall (6-1 6-1 6-4)

Kentucky Derby Champion

Cannonade

NCAA Basketball Championship

N.C. State d. Marquette (76-64)

NCAA Football Champions

Oklahoma (AP) (11-0-0) & USC (UPI, FW, NFF) (10-1-1)

World Cup

W. Germany d. Holland (2-1)

Entertainment

Entertainment Awards

Pulitzer Prizes
Music: Notturno, Donald Martino

Oscars awarded in 1974
Academy Award, Best Picture: The Sting, Tony Bill, Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips, producers (Universal)

Nobel Prize for Literature: Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson (both Sweden)

1974 Emmy Awards

1974 Tony Awards

Grammys awarded in 1974
Record of the Year: "Killing Me Softly With His Song," Roberta Flack
Album of the Year: Innervisions, Stevie Wonder (Tamla/Motown)
Song of the Year: "Killing Me Softly With His Song," Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox, songwriters

Miss America: Rebecca Ann King (CO)

More Entertainment Awards...

Events

Patti Smith releases what is considered to be the first punk rock single, "Hey Joe."
People magazine debuts, with Mia Farrow gracing the cover.
Premier Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects and joins the American Ballet Theatre.

Movies

Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, Day for Night, Blazing Saddles, The Towering Inferno

Music

Patti Smith, "Hey Joe"

Books

Robert Creeley, Sitting Here
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Gail Godwin, The Odd Woman
Stephen King, Carrie
Toni Morrison, Sula
Grace Paley, Enormous Changes at the Last Minute
Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Gary Snyder, Turtle Island

Science

Nobel Prizes in Science

Chemistry: Paul J. Flory (US), for developing analytic methods to study properties and molecular structure of long-chain molecules

Physics: Antony Hewish (UK), for discovery of pulsars; Martin Ryle (UK), for using radiotelescopes to probe outer space with high degree of precision

Physiology or Medicine: George E. Palade, Christian de Duve (both US), and Albert Claude (Belgium), for contributions to understanding inner workings of living cells

For safety reasons, the National Academy of Sciences calls for a temporary ban on some types of genetic engineering research.
A new elementary particle psi (now called J) is discovered by Burton Richter of Stanford University.