1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1974

1974 saw the world population reach 4 billion people, according to an estimation by the U.S. Census Bureau released in April.

On March 18th, the oil crisis caused by the embargo on oil sales to the U.S, Europe, and Japan ended as most of the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lifted the embargo.

In Portugal, a right-wing military coup referred to as the Carnation Revolution conducted on April 25thended 48 years of dictatorship in the country. In the same vein, the Greek military junta was replaced by a civilian government on July 23rd after seven years of military rule.

In the United States, President Richard Nixon announced his resignation following the Watergate Scandal on August 8, one day after French high-wire artist completed his famed high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon as 38th President of the United States and pardoned his predecessor a month later.

In sports, on April 8th baseball player Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth for the all-time number of home runs with his 714th, a record he would break four days later in Atlanta. At the international level, West Germany won the 1974 FIFA world cup by defeating the Netherlands 2-1 on July 7th.

English rock group Queen released the first of a string of hit singles, “Seven Seas of Rhye” on March 8th and the Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubikinvented the famous Rubik’s Cube Puzzle. George Roy Hill’s The Sting won the Oscar for Best Picture. In science, the skeleton of a member of the Australopithecus afarensis, nicknamed “Lucy” was discovered on November 24th.

Notable births in 1974 include English Actor Christian Bale, English singer Victoria Beckham and Spanish actress Penélope Cruz.

Discover how the world looked like in 1974

Movies

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Books

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Popular names

Which were the top popular names given to babies born in 1974 in the USA ?

Top #10 male names

Michael
Jason
Christopher
David
James
John
Robert
Brian
Matthew
William

Top #10 female names

Jennifer
Amy
Michelle
Heather
Angela
Kimberly
Melissa
Lisa
Stephanie
Rebecca

Historical Events

Which were the important events of 1974?

Events

01 Jan World Population Year begins
02 Jan 55 mph speed limit imposed by Richard Nixon
03 Jan Arias Navarro succeeds Carrero Blanco as premier of Spain.
04 Jan United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
05 Jan Raul Julia appears on Bob Newhart Show in Oh, Brother
06 Jan CBS Mystery Theater, premieres on radio
07 Jan Dutch rations gasoline
08 Jan Loch Ness Monster photographed
11 Jan ABC airs final episode of Love, American Style
12 Jan Libya and Tunisia announces they are merging as "Islamic Arab Republic".
13 Jan Super Bowl VIII: Miami Dolphins beat Minnesota Vikings, 24-7 in Houston, Texas; Most Valuable Player: Larry Csonka, running back.
14 Jan World Football League founded.
15 Jan Happy Days begins an 11 year run on ABC
16 Jan Jaws by Peter Benchley is published
18 Jan $6 Million Man starring Lee Majors premieres on ABC TV
19 Jan Notre Dame beats UCLA, ends NCAA-record 88-game basketball win streak.
20 Jan A college basketball game ends 210-67
21 Jan Gold hits record $161.31 / silver hits record $3.97 an ounce in London
25 Jan Christian Barnard transplants 1st human heart without removal of old
26 Jan Bülent Ecevit, of CHP forms the new government of Turkey (37th government, partner MSP )
27 Jan Lorelei opens at Palace Theater NYC for 320 performances
28 Jan Sam Thompson, Jim Bottomley, and Jocko Conlan elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.
29 Jan 27th NHL All-Star Game: West beat East 6-4 at Chicago.
01 Feb Good Times (spinoff from Maude) premieres on CBS TV
02 Feb Pope Paul VI encyclical "To Honor Mary".
03 Feb Pajama Game closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 65 performances
04 Feb Benzine rationing ends in the Netherlands
05 Feb British mine strike
06 Feb 3rd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
07 Feb Grenada gains independence from Britain (National Day)
08 Feb Good Times, debuts on CBS TV
09 Feb Daddy What If by Bobby Bare peaks at #41
10 Feb Gigi closes at Uris Theater NYC after 103 performances
11 Feb Titan-Centaur test launch fails.
12 Feb Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
13 Feb Rainbow Jones opens and closes at Music Box Theater, New York City
17 Feb Carol Mann wins LPGA Naples Lely Golf Classic.
18 Feb NASA launches Italian satellite San Marcos C-2 (235 / 843 km)
19 Feb 1st American Music Award
20 Feb Cher files for separation from husband Sonny Bono
21 Feb Israeli forces leave western Suez.
22 Feb Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate U.S. President Richard Nixon.
23 Feb Patty Hearst, Daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by SLA
24 Feb Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes world champion all-round skater.
25 Feb Veronica and Colin Scargill (England) begin tandem bicycle ride a record 18,020 miles around the world, completed on August 27, 1975.
26 Feb Gold hits record US$188 an ounce in Paris, France. Silver peaks at US$6.70 per ounce.
27 Feb US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
28 Feb Taiwan police shoots into crowd
01 Mar George Harrison announces his concert tour of US in November
02 Mar 1st class postage raised to 10 cents from 8 cents
03 Mar Sextet opens at Bijou Theater NYC for 9 performances
04 Mar People magazine is published for the first time.
05 Mar Candide opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 740 performances
06 Mar Over Here opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 341 performances
07 Mar Monitor (US Civil War Ship) restored at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
08 Mar Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
09 Mar Last Japanese soldier, a guerrilla operating in Philippines, surrenders, 29 years after World War II ended.
10 Mar Sextet closes at Bijou Theater NYC after 9 performances
11 Mar Mount Etna in Sicily erupts.
12 Mar Bundy victim Donna Manson disappears, Evergreen SC, Olympia, Washington
13 Mar Charles de Gaulle Airport opens near Paris, France.
16 Mar First performance at new Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee.
17 Mar Jane Blalock wins LPGA Bing Crosby Golf Classic International.
18 Mar Most Arab oil-producing nations end embargo against US.
19 Mar Jefferson Starship begins their first tour.
20 Mar Ian Ball attempts, but fails, to kidnap Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips in The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace, London.
24 Mar 36th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina State beats Marquette 76-64; this ends UCLA's 7-year reign as NCAA basketball champions.
25 Mar Barbra Streisand records the album Butterfly
26 Mar Romanian communist party names party leader Nicolae Ceausescu President.
28 Mar Rock group Raspberries breakup
29 Mar NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first spaceprobe to fly by Mercury. It was launched on November 3, 1973.
01 Apr Pioneer Hall opens
02 Apr 46th Academy Awards - The Sting, Glenda Jackson and Jack Lemmon win.
03 Apr 148 tornadoes are reported over an area covering a dozen states
05 Apr World's tallest building, the World Trade Center opens in New York City (110 stories).
06 Apr 200,000 attend rock concert California Jam
08 Apr Discovery Island opens
10 Apr American Boccaccio Association forms
11 Apr WW II war criminal JP Philippa arrested
13 Apr Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the United States' first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1.
14 Apr 38th Golf Masters Championship: Gary Player wins, shooting a 278.
15 Apr 78th Boston Marathon won by Neil Cusack of Ireland in 2:13:39.
16 Apr Words & Music opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 127 performances
17 Apr Bundy victim Susan Rancourt disappears from CWU, Ellensburg, Washington
18 Apr Red Brigade kidnaps Italian Attorney General Mario Sossi.
19 Apr Oriole Al Bumbry hits an inside-the-park HR against New York Yankees
20 Apr Paul McCartney releases Band on the Run
21 Apr 28th Tony Awards: River Niger and Raisin win.
22 Apr Barbara Walters becomes news co-anchor of Today Show
23 Apr Carl Barnett dies at age 59 of a heart attack while conducting Bach's Come, Sweet Death at the Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
24 Apr NFL grants franchise to Tampa Bay (Buccaneers).
25 Apr NFL moves the goal posts and adopts sudden-death playoff.
26 Apr Landslide in Huancavelica Province, Peru creates a natural dam.
27 Apr Pan Am 707 crashes into mountains of Bali, killing 107.
28 Apr Jane Blalock wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic.
29 Apr President Nixon said he will release edited tapes made in White House
30 Apr US President Richard Nixon hands over partial transcripts of Watergate tape recordings.
02 May Former VP Spiro Agnew disbarred
04 May 100th Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr aboard Cannonade wins in 2:04.
05 May Sandra Spuzich wins LPGA Lady Tara Golf Classic.
06 May Bundy victim Roberta Parks disappears from OSU, Corvallis, Ore
07 May Pulitzer prize awarded to Robert Lowell (Dolphin).
08 May FC Magdenburg wins 14th Europe Cup II.
09 May House Judiciary Committee begins formal hearings on President Richard Nixon impeachment.
10 May 7th ABA championship: New York Nets beats Utah Stars, 4 games to 1.
11 May Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Frank Sinatra hits #83
12 May 28th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Milwaukee Bucks, 4 games to 3.
14 May Symbionese Liberation Army destroyed in shoot-out, six killed.
15 May Walter Scheel succeeds Heinemann as president of Germany.
16 May Helmut Schmidt is elected German Chancellor after Willy Brandt resigns due to the spy in his office. Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP) becomes vice chancellor and foreign minister.
17 May Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 15th String quartet
18 May 100th Preakness: Miguel Rivera aboard Current Little wins in 1:54.6.
19 May Joanne Carner Golf Invitational wins LPGA Bluegrass
20 May Soyuz 14 returns to Earth.
22 May US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
23 May Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
24 May Dean Martin Show, last airs on NBC-TV
26 May During a David Cassidy concert in London a 14 year old is trampled
28 May Magic Show opens at Cort Theater NYC for 1859 performances
29 May Northern Ireland is brought under direct rule from Westminster.
30 May NASA's ATS-6 satellite is launched.
31 May Israel and Syria sign an agreement concerning Golan Heights.
01 Jun My Girl Bill by Jim Stafford hits #12
02 Jun Judy Rankin wins LPGA Baltimore Golf Classic
03 Jun Yitzhak Rabin forms a new Israeli government
04 Jun 10 cent Beer Night at Cleveland, unruly fans stumble onto field and cause Indians to forfeit the game to Rangers with score tied 5-5 in 9th
06 Jun 47th National Spelling Bee: Julie Ann Junkin wins spelling hydrophyte
07 Jun Padres draft Brown University shortstop Bill Almon #1
08 Jun 106th Belmont: Miguel Rivera aboard Little Current wins in 2:29.2
09 Jun Joanne Carner wins LPGA Desert Inn Golf Classic
10 Jun Mike Schmidt hits a ball off public address speaker on Astrodome roof
11 Jun Bundy victim Georgann Hawkins disappears from UW, Seattle, Washington
13 Jun Henry Aaron addresses House of Representatives
15 Jun Streak by Ray Stevens hit #1 on UK pop chart
16 Jun 74th US Golf Open: Hale Irwin shoots a 287 at Winged Foot Golf Club - New York
18 Jun Gaston Thorn forms Luxembourg government
19 Jun Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) suspends constitution
21 Jun Francine Irving Neff begins term as 35th Treasurer of the US.
23 Jun 1st extraterrestrial message sent from Earth into space
24 Jun Steve Busby retires 1st 9 White Sox to set AL record with 33 consecutive batters retired
26 Jun The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio
27 Jun Flip Wilson Show, last airs on NBC-TV
28 Jun Fall of earth and rocks kill 200 (Quebrada Blanca Canyon, Colombia)
29 Jun Military coup in Ethiopia
30 Jun 2nd du Maurier Golf Classic (Peter Jackson Classic): Carole Jo Skala
01 Jul 1st Laura Ashley-store in US opens (San Francisco)
02 Jul Fernando Mameda of Portugal sets record for 10,000 m (27:13.81)
03 Jul Pitching in major league-record 13th consecutive game for Dodgers
04 Jul Mike Marshall goes 9-0 with 3 saves in 20 appearances in 30 days
05 Jul 81st Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Chris Evert beats Olga Morzova (60 64)
06 Jul 88th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Jimmy Connors beats K Rosewall (61 61 64)
07 Jul Brewer Don Money sets record of consecutive errorless games at 3rd (78)
10 Jul OPEC ends oil boycott against Netherlands
11 Jul US House Judiciary Committee releases evidence on Watergate inquiry.
13 Jul 103rd British Golf Open: Gary Player shoots a 282 at Royal Lytham
14 Jul Billy Martin is 1st AL manager ejected by ump from 2 games in 1 day
15 Jul Military coup on Cyprus: Archbishop / President Makarios flees
17 Jul Bob Gibson becomes 2nd pitcher to strike-out 3,000 (Cesar Geronimo)
19 Jul Soyuz 14 lands
20 Jul Heng Yo and Heng Ju, completes 1,000 mile (SF-Seattle) pilgrimage
21 Jul Eddy Merckx wins his 5th Tour de France
23 Jul 45th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-2 at 3 Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh
24 Jul Supreme Court unanimously rules Nixon must turn over Watergate tapes
26 Jul Greek Prime Minister Constantinos Karamanlis forms the country's first civil government after seven years of military rule.
27 Jul Kanhai and Jameson add 465 for 2nd wicket, Warwickshire vs. Gloucs
28 Jul Carole Jo Skala wins LPGA Wheeling Ladies Golf Classic
29 Jul Episcopal Church ordained female priests
30 Jul House Judiciary Committee votes on 3rd and last charge of high crimes and misdemeanors to impeach President Nixon in the Watergate cover-up
31 Jul Congress passes legislation giving the president authority to legalize private ownership of gold.
01 Aug Virginia Squires trade Julius "Dr J" Erving to the New York Nets.
03 Aug Little Night Music closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 601 performances
04 Aug Sandra Haynie wins LPGA George Washington Golf Classic
05 Aug Joan Jett forms her rock group Runaways
06 Aug Explosion and fire destory Great Northern railroad yard in Wenatchee, Washington.
07 Aug Actress Faye Dunaway weds Peter Wolf of J Geils Band
08 Aug President Richard M Nixon announces he will resign his office 12PM August 9.
09 Aug US President Richard Nixon resigns presidency, Vice President Gerald Ford becomes 38th president.
10 Aug Judy Rankin wins LPGA Colgate-European American Golf Open
11 Aug 56th PGA Championship: Lee Trevino shoots a 276 at Tanglewood, North Carolina
12 Aug Nolan Ryan strikes out 19 and walks only 2 as Angels top Red Sox, 4-2
14 Aug Congress authorizes US citizens to own gold
15 Aug Hurricane / floods ravage Bangladesh, 4,000 killed
18 Aug Joanne Carner wins LPGA St. Paul Keller Golf Open
20 Aug Brooklyn pitcher Dan Bankhead is 1st black to homer in his 1st at bat
23 Aug John Lennon reports seeing a UFO in New York City
24 Aug Sandra Haynie wins LPGA National Jewish Hospital Golf Open
26 Aug Guinee-Bissau becomes independent of Portugal
27 Aug New York Mets' Benny Ayala hits a home run in his first at bat.
28 Aug Soyuz 15 returns to Earth.
29 Aug USSR performs underground nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
30 Aug Launching of 1st Dutch satellite, ANS, from Vandenberg
31 Aug Pirate Radio Veronica moves into Scheveningen harbor
01 Sep Dutch law against pirate radio goes into effect
02 Sep Prest Gerald Ford signs Employee Retirement Income Security Act
03 Sep Giants John Montefusco makes his major league debut
04 Sep Emmy News and Documentaries Award presentation
07 Sep Irene closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 605 performances
08 Sep 88th US Womens Tennis: Billie J King beats Evonne Goolagong (36 63 75)
09 Sep 88th US Womens Tennis: B J M King beats E Goolagong Cawley (36 63 75)
10 Sep New York Dolls disband
11 Sep Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew.
12 Sep Coup overthrows Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia (National Day)
13 Sep 1st broadcast of Rockford Files on NBC-TV
14 Sep Charles Kowal discovers Leda, 13th satellite of Jupiter.
15 Sep Market Square Arena in Indianapolis opens
16 Sep BART begins regular transbay service
17 Sep Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.
18 Sep Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people.
21 Sep US Mariner 10 makes 2nd fly-by of Mercury
23 Sep Gypsy opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 120 performances
24 Sep Al Kaline, Detroit Tiger, is 12th to get 3,000 hits
28 Sep Live It Up Part 1 by Isley Brothers peaks at #52
29 Sep 5th NYC Marathon won by Norbert Sander in 2:26:30
01 Oct Watergate cover-up trial opens in Washington DC
03 Oct Pele retires as soccer player
04 Oct John Lennon releases Walls & Bridges album
05 Oct Guildford pub bombings: bombs planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) kill four British soldiers and one civilian.
06 Oct Mack & Mabel, opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 66 performances
07 Oct German DR amends constitution
08 Oct Franklin National Bank collapses due to fraud and mismanagement; at the time it is the largest bank failure in the history of the United States.
09 Oct Frank Robinson became 1st Black baseball manager (Cleveland Indians)
10 Oct Canadian John Hathaway begins two-year ride of 50,600 miles.
11 Oct 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.
14 Oct 8th Country Music Association Award: Charlie Rich
15 Oct Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to Paul J Flory (macro molecules)
17 Oct NBA New Orleans Jazz begin a 28 game road losing streak
18 Oct 1st NBA game at Market Square Arena - Pacers beat Spurs 129-121
19 Oct Detroit Pistons beat Trailblazers in Portland (next win 6-1-90)
20 Oct 1st broadcast of Derrick on ZDF
21 Oct 1st Islander shut-out opponent-Billy Smith 5-0 vs. Caps
22 Oct Yanks trade Bobby Murcer to Giants for Bobby Bonds
24 Oct Billy Martin named American League Manager of the Year (Texas Rangers).
25 Oct Air Force fires 1st ICBM
27 Oct Chantal Langlace runs female world record marathon (2:46:24)
28 Oct Luna 23 launched (landing on Moon)
29 Oct Law bans discrimination of sex or marital status in credit application
30 Oct California Angel Nolan Ryan throws fastest recorded pitch (100.9 mph)
31 Oct Marines terminate gijzelingsactie in strafgevangenis Scheveningen
01 Nov UN affirms independence of Cyprus
02 Nov Art Modell gets snowed in and misses his 1st Cleveland Brown game in 33 yrs
03 Nov Lorelei closes at Palace Theater NYC after 320 performances
05 Nov Dmitri Sjotakovitch completes Michelangelo-liederen
06 Nov Dodger Mike Marshall is 1st relief pitcher to win Cy Young Award
07 Nov 63rd Davis Cup: South Africa beats India in (w / o)
08 Nov British Lord Lucan disappears
10 Nov 2nd meeting of Giants-Jets, Jets even series at 1 with 26-20 OT win
12 Nov South Africa suspended from UN General Assembly over racial policies
13 Nov Dodgers Steve Garvey wins NL MVP
15 Nov Ringo releases Goodnight Vienna andOnly You in the UK
16 Nov Milwaukee Bucks lose their 11th straight NBA game (team record).
17 Nov Bonnie Bryant wins Bill Branch LPGA Golf Classic
20 Nov The US files antitrust suit to break-up AT&T
21 Nov In Birmingham, England, 2 pubs are bombed, killing 21 people (the Birmingham Six are later sentenced to life in prison for this).
22 Nov Lake Buena Vista Club opens
23 Nov 60 Ethiopia government officials executed
24 Nov 2 truck hijackers freed (3 / 3 / 1974)
25 Nov Irish Republican Army is outlawed in Britain following deaths of 21
26 Nov Catfish Hunter and Charlie Finley meet in arbitration
27 Nov Cardinals outfielder Bake McBride wins NL Rookie of Year
28 Nov Bowie Kuhn suspends George Steinbrenner for 2 years
30 Nov Good Evening closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 438 performances
01 Dec LA Skid Row slasher kills 1st of 8
02 Dec Cowhide, rather than just horsehide, can be used to make baseballs
04 Dec Dutch DC-8 charter crashes in Sri Lanka killing 191 Muslim pilgrims.
05 Dec 1st Washington Capitals penalty shot, Tom Williams unsuccessful vs. Buff Sabres
06 Dec George Harrison releases Ding Dong, Ding Dong
08 Dec Sandra Post wins LPGA Colgate Far East Golf Open.
09 Dec Dow Jones index hits 570.01
10 Dec Space probe Helios 1 launched
13 Dec Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations
16 Dec US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
17 Dec WIPO becomes a specialized agency of the United Nations.
18 Dec San Francisco Visitors Center at City Hall opens
19 Dec Man With Golden Gun premieres in US
20 Dec George Harrison releases his Dark Horse album in the UK
22 Dec 2nd cease-fire between IRA and British; lasts until approximately April 1975
23 Dec Good News opens at St. James Theater NYC for 16 performances
24 Dec Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
25 Dec Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory Australia.
26 Dec Washington Capitals 1st NHL sellout
27 Dec Dear Abby show ends run on CBS radio after 11 years
28 Dec 6.3 earthquake strikes Pakistan: 5200 killed
30 Dec Japanese soldier Teruo Nakamura surrenders on the Indonesian island of Morota, 34 years after beginning service in World War II
31 Dec New York Yankees sign Jim Catfish Hunter to 5 yrs for record $3.75 million

1974

What the sky looked like on 1974

Vintage Magazines

Movies

The Godfather: Part II

Dial M for Murder

Chinatown

A Woman Under the Influence

The Mirror

Books

The Memory Book

Times To Remember

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Watership Down

Burr

Unlock the messages hidden in your date of birth

Discover our US newspaper digital archive from 1974

Music charts

Popular names

Top #10 male names

Top #10 female names

Historical Events