July 1972
Encyclopedia
January
– February
– March
. – April
– May
– June
– July – August
– September
– October
– November
– December
The following events occurred in July 1972.
January 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1972.-January 1, 1972 :...
– February
February 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in February 1972.-February 1, 1972 :...
– March
March 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November-DecemberThe following events occurred in March, 1972.-March 1, 1972 :...
. – April
April 1972
January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November –DecemberThe following events occurred in April 1972.-April 1, 1972 :...
– May
May 1972
January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November –DecemberThe following events occurred in May 1972.-May 1, 1972 :...
– June
June 1972
January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in June 1972.-June 1, 1972 :...
– July – August
August 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in August 1972.-August 1, 1972 :...
– September
September 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in September 1972:-September 1, 1972 :...
– October
October 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November–DecemberThe following events occurred in October 1972:-October 1, 1972 :...
– November
November 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in November 1972.-November 1, 1972 :...
– December
December 1972
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in December 1972.-December 1, 1972 :...
The following events occurred in July 1972.
July 1, 1972 (Saturday)
- John N. MitchellJohn N. MitchellJohn Newton Mitchell was the Attorney General of the United States from 1969 to 1972 under President Richard Nixon...
, who had resigned as the United States Attorney GeneralUnited States Attorney GeneralThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
to head the Committee to Re-elect the PresidentCommittee to Re-elect the PresidentThe Committee for the Re-Election of the President, abbreviated CRP but often mocked by the acronym CREEP, was a fundraising organization of United States President Richard Nixon's administration...
, quit that job, ostensibly to reconcile with his wife, Martha. Mitchell was later convicted of conspiracy arising from his role in the Watergate scandal during his tenure at CRP.
July 2, 1972 (Sunday)
- The musical Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
closed on Broadway after a record 3,242 performances. With music by Jerry BockJerry BockJerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with...
and lyrics by Sheldon HarnickSheldon HarnickSheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
, Fiddler had first been performed on September 22, 1964. - The North Slope Borough, AlaskaNorth Slope Borough, Alaska-National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Cape Lisburne** Cape Thompson* Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ** Mollie Beattie Wilderness * Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve...
, was created. Lying above the Arctic Circle, the borough, similar to a county, is the northernmost state subdivision in the United States.
July 3, 1972 (Monday)
- Prime Minister of IndiaPrime Minister of IndiaThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
Indira GandhiIndira GandhiIndira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
and President of PakistanPresident of PakistanThe President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
Zulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
signed the Simla Agreement, resolving to peacefully negotiate future disputes, releasing prisoners of war, and withdrawing their military forces behind their sides of a 460-mile long border.
July 4, 1972 (Tuesday)
- At 10:00 a.m., announcements were made simultaneously in North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
that the two nations had secretly negotiated an agreement to discuss reunificationKorean reunificationKorean reunification refers to the hypothetical future reunification of North Korea and South Korea under a single government...
. - Born: Craig SpearmanCraig SpearmanCraig Murray Spearman played 19 Tests and 51 One Day Internationals for New Zealand from 1995 - 2001.A right-handed opening batsman, Spearman made his international debut for New Zealand in a Test Match in December 1995 against Pakistan at Christchurch...
, New Zealand cricketer, in AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
July 5, 1972 (Wednesday)
- In a vote to replace outgoing Prime Minister Eisaku SatoEisaku SatoThis article is about the Prime Minister of Japan. For the governor of Fukushima Prefecture of Japan of the same name, see Eisaku Satō ....
, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party leaders selected Kakuei TanakaKakuei Tanakawas a Japanese politician and the 64th and 65th Prime Minister of Japan from 7 July 1972 to 22 December 1972 and from 22 December 1972 to 9 December 1974 respectively...
over Sato's protege, Foreign Minister Takeo FukudaTakeo Fukudawas a Japanese politician and the 42d Prime Minister of Japan from December 24, 1976 to December 7, 1978.He was born in Gunma Prefecture and attended Tokyo Imperial University. Before and during World War II, he served as a bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry and as Chief Cabinet Secretary...
, on the second ballot by a 282–190 majority. Masayoshi OhiraMasayoshi Ohirawas a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University....
, who threw his support to Tanaka after a first ballot bid, replaced Fukuda as Foreign Minister. Fukuda, Ohira, and the other original candidate, Takeo MikiTakeo Mikiwas a Japanese politician and the 41st Prime Minister of Japan.-Background summary:Born in Awa, Tokushima, Miki graduated from Meiji University in Tokyo...
, would all eventually attain the Prime Minister post. As the new LDP leader, Tanaka received majority approval in both Houses of the Diet the following day. - France's President Georges PompidouGeorges PompidouGeorges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
fired Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-Delmas was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. In addition, for almost half a century, he was Mayor of Bordeaux and a deputy for the Gironde département....
, who had been under investigation because of income taxes. Pompidou then exercised his right to select a new Premier, picking Pierre MessmerPierre MessmerPierre Joseph Auguste Messmer was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under Louis XV – and then as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1972 to 1974...
to succeed him. - In San Francisco, a team of FBI agents stormed a hijacked Pacific Southwest AirlinesPacific Southwest AirlinesPacific Southwest Airlines was a United States airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. It was one of the first large discount airlines in the United States and is considered a precursor to Southwest Airlines...
jet, and killed the two men who had been holding 86 persons on board Flight 710 hostage. One passenger, E.H. Stanley Carter of Quebec, was killed in the crossfire and two other men were wounded, including actor Victor Sen YungVictor Sen YungVictor Sen Yung was an American character actor. He was given billing under a variety of names, including Sen Yung, Sen Young, Victor Sen Young, and Victor Young.- Career :...
, who portrayed Hop Sing on the TV series Bonanza.
July 6, 1972 (Thursday)
- The first payment of "hush moneyHush moneyHush money is an informal term for financial incentives or rewards offered in exchange for not divulging information.Hush Money may also refer to:* Hush Money , a 1921 silent film directed by Charles Maigne...
", via the Committee to Re-Elect the President, to the Watergate burglars, was made. Over eight months, lasting until March 22, 1973, almost $430,000 was paid to the men to keep them from implicating the White House in the break-in of DNC headquarters. - Died: Athenagoras I, 86, Patriarch of Greek Orthodox Church since 1948; and Brandon De WildeBrandon De WildeAndre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child...
, 30, child actor; Oscar nominee at age 10 for Shane; in a car accident
July 7, 1972 (Friday)
- Harold B. LeeHarold B. LeeHarold Bingham Lee was eleventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from July 1972 until his death.- Early life :...
was formally ordained as the 11th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), succeeding Joseph Fielding SmithJoseph Fielding SmithJoseph Fielding Smith, Jr. was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1970 until his death. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith, who was the sixth president of the LDS Church...
, who had died five days earlier. At 73, Lee was the youngest church president in 40 years. - United Nations Secretary-General Kurt WaldheimKurt WaldheimKurt Josef Waldheim was an Austrian diplomat and politician. Waldheim was the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and the ninth President of Austria, from 1986 to 1992...
, who was later shown to have been an active participant in the Holocaust, visited the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz - Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
leaders were secretly flown to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to meet with British officials to discuss a settlement in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. - Born: Lisa LeslieLisa LeslieLisa Deshaun Leslie-Lockwood is a former American professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner...
, American pro basketball star, Los Angeles Sparks (1997-); MVP of WNBA '01,'04,'06; in Gardena, CA - Died: TalalTalal of JordanTalal I bin Abdullah 26 February 1909 – 7 July 1972) was the second King of Jordan from 20 July 1951 until forced to abdicate in favour of his son Hussein due to health reasons on 11 August 1952....
, 63, King of Jordan 1951–1952 until his forced abdication
July 8, 1972 (Saturday)
- A three year, $750,000,000 deal, for the Soviet Union to purchase grain from the United States, was announced between the United States and the Soviet Union was announced by Henry Kissinger from the "Western White House" at San Clemente. The Soviets, who needed to make up for agricultural shortfalls, agreed to purchase the grain on credit at 6⅛% annual interest, the standard rate for the Commodity Credit CorporationCommodity Credit CorporationThe Commodity Credit Corporation is a wholly owned government corporation created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices"...
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whose Secretary, Earl ButzEarl ButzEarl Lauer "Rusty" Butz was a United States government official who served as Secretary of Agriculture under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.- Background :...
, had conferred with his counterpart, Soviet Agriculture Minister Vladimir Matskevich. - Palestinian author and spokesman Ghassan KanafaniGhassan KanafaniGhassan Kanafani was a Palestinian writer and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was assassinated by car bomb in Beirut, allegedly by the Mossad.- Early years :Ghassan Fayiz Kanafani was born in 1936 in the then Acre , British Mandate of Palestine...
was assassinated in BeirutBeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, when a bomb destroyed his car shortly after he started it. The blast, which was believed to have been arranged by Israeli forces in retaliation for the Lod Airport massacre, killed Kanafani's 18 year old niece as well. - Born: Sourav GangulySourav GangulySourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
, Indian cricketer, in Calcutta
July 9, 1972 (Sunday)
- The body of the late Kwame NkrumahKwame NkrumahKwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
was returned to GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
for burial in his home vilalge of NkrofulNkrofulNkroful is a village in Ghana, located near Axim in the Western Region. It stands inland 5 km from the coastal highway, from the Essiama village junction turnoff....
. Nkrumah, who had been Ghana's first President before being deposed and exiled, had died on April 27. - A ceasefire between the Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
and British forces effectively came to an end when British troops killed five civiliansSpringhill MassacreThe Springhill Massacre was a shooting incident on 9 July 1972 in the Springhill estate in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. Five civilians were killed by British Army snipers who were in a timber yard.-Background:...
in Belfast, three of whom were teenagers.
July 10, 1972 (Monday)
- The Indian News Agency reported that at least 24 people had been killed during the past month in the Chandaka Forest in the Orissa state of India.
- An intentionally set fire on board the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal as it sat in port in NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, causing seven million dollars worth of damage, and was the largest single act of sabotage in United States Navy history. Seaman apprentice Jeffrey Allison was later convicted of having started the blaze. The Forrestal had been the site of a fire in 1967 that had killed 132 persons. - A total solar eclipse was visible over northeastern Asia and northwestern America.
July 11, 1972 (Tuesday)
- The long anticipated chess match between world champion Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
of the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and United States champion Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
, began in IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
at ReykjavikReykjavíkReykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, nine days and seven minutes after the original start date. With no opponent present, Spassky made his opening move at by moving his queen's pawn forward two spaces in the first of 24 games. Fischer walked into the 2,500 seat Reykjavik Sports Hall minutes later. - U.S. Senator George McGovernGeorge McGovernGeorge Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
of South Dakota was assured the Democratic presidential nomination after his chief rivals, Hubert H. Humphrey and Edmund S. Muskie announced that they would release their delegates to him. - Apollo 15Apollo 15Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the American Apollo space program, the fourth to land on the Moon and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long duration stays on the Moon with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous...
astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin were reprimanded for carrying 400 stamped envelopes to the Moon and back as a favor for West German stamp dealer Herman Sieger.
July 12, 1972 (Wednesday)
- The "IntersputnikIntersputnikThe Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications commonly known as Intersputnik is an international satellite communications services organization founded on November 15, 1971, in Moscow by the Soviet Union along with a group of eight formerly socialist states...
" Treaty took effect, formally creating the "Organization for Cooperation of Socialist Countireies in Telephone and Postal Communications". The agreement, which included sharing of communications and satellite technology between Communist nations, had been signed on November 15, 1971, by representatives from Albania, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, North Korea, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, the USSR, and North Vietnam. - Died: Drana Bojaxhiu, mother of Mother TeresaMother TeresaMother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
July 13, 1972 (Thursday)
- The British House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
narrowly approved the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic CommunityEuropean Economic CommunityThe European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
, voting to ratify the Treaty of Accession on its third reading, 301–284 - At the 1972 Democratic National Convention1972 Democratic National ConventionThe 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida on July 10–13, 1972....
in Miami Beach, delegates formally nominated George McGovernGeorge McGovernGeorge Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
as their candidate for President of the United States. McGovern was not able to find a running mate until late in the afternoon, when U.S. Senator Thomas F. Eagleton of MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
agreed to join the ticket. The formal nomination of Eagleton as the Democratic candidate for Vice-President went on throughout the evening and past midnight, with frivolous votes being cast, and Eagleton did not receive the nomination until 1:51 the next morning. As a result, Senator McGovern was not able to deliver his acceptance speech on live national television until after most viewers had gone to bed. - NFL owners Robert IrsayRobert IrsayRobert Irsay , was an American professional football team owner. He owned the National Football League's Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts franchise and, briefly, the former Los Angeles Rams.-Biography:...
(who owned the Los Angeles Rams) and Carroll RosenbloomCarroll RosenbloomCarroll Rosenbloom was an American entrepreneur and former owner of two professional football teams, the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams....
(owner of the Baltimore ColtsIndianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
) swapped franchises. "We avoided capital gains taxes by doing it this way," Rosenbloom explained, adding that the value of each team was $19,000,000. The teams and their players did not move when the ownership changed. Later, Irsay would move the Colts to Indianapolis and Rosenbloom's widow would move the Rams to St. Louis.
July 14, 1972 (Friday)
- Because of delays on the night of July 13 in the nomination for his running mate, Democratic Party presidential nominee George McGovernGeorge McGovernGeorge Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
was not able to give his acceptance speech until 2:30 in the morning Eastern Time. McGovern would say later, "I finished at 3:15. Probably the best speech I ever gave in my life ... But how many people saw it at 2:30 or 3 in the morning? I think my wife did. Maybe my mother if she didn't get too sleepy ... But a crowd of viewers at 9 o'clock ... probably dwindled down to about ."
July 15, 1972 (Saturday)
- Actress Jane FondaJane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
posed for photographs at a North VietnamNorth VietnamThe Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese anti-aircraft gun at HanoiHanoiHanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, and the first images were printed in a newspaper in Poland. Pictures of the actress, gazing through the gunsight of a weapon used to shoot down American planes during the ongoing Vietnam War, ran worldwide the next day. - "Modern Architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 15, 1972, at (or thereabouts) when the infamous Pruitt–Igoe scheme, or rather several of its slab blocks, were given the final coup de grace by dynamite," Charles JencksCharles JencksCharles Alexander Jencks is an American architectural theorist, landscape architect and designer. His books on the history and criticism of Modernism and Postmodernism were widely read in architectural circles and beyond....
would write later in an oft-quoted essay that began, "Happily, it is possible to date the death of Modern Architecture to a precise moment in time." Jencks was referring to the tearing down of the Pruitt–Igoe housing project that had won awards for modern design 20 years earlier, but had to be demolished when it proved to be unsuitable to live in. - Four months after its launch toward the planet Jupiter, Pioneer 10Pioneer 10Pioneer 10 is a 258-kilogram robotic space probe that completed the first interplanetary mission to Jupiter, and became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. The project was managed by the NASA Ames Research Center and the contract for the construction of the...
became the first man-made object to journey through the asteroid beltAsteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
. On Earth, NASA scientists estimated that there was a 10% chance that the satellite would not survive the seven month trip. Pioneer would make it through and reach Jupiter by late 1973. - The ground temperature in Death ValleyDeath ValleyDeath Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
, at Furnace Creek, reached a record high of 201 °F (95 °C) on a day when the air temperature was 128 °F.
July 16, 1972 (Sunday)
- Metropolitan Bishop Demetrios Papadopoulos was selected as the 263rd Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and leader of the Eastern Orthodox ChurchEastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, taking the name of Demetrios I. During his reign, which lasted until his death in 1991, he worked toward repairing relations with the Roman Catholic Church and the East–West SchismEast–West SchismThe East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...
of 1054. - Mafia kingpin Thomas EboliThomas EboliThomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli was a New York City mobster who eventually became the acting boss of the Genovese crime family.-Early life:...
, alias "Tommy Ryan", was shot five times and killed in a drive-by shooting as he left his girlfriend's apartment on Lefferts Avenue in Crown Heights, BrooklynCrown Heights, BrooklynCrown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
. As boss of the Genovese family since 1969, Eboli had borrowed money from fellow mobster Carlo GambinoCarlo Gambino"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
to fund a drug operation that had been busted by the police. Frank Tieri succeeded as leader
July 17, 1972 (Monday)
- The American destroyer USS WarringtonUSS Warrington (DD-843)USS Warrington was a destroyer that served the U.S. Navy from the end of World War II to the Vietnam War, when she was damaged by two underwater explosions, causing her to be listed as “beyond repair” and excessed to the Navy of the Republic of China.-Built in Bath, Maine:The third U.S...
was damaged beyond repair by two underwater explosions while in the Gulf of TonkinGulf of TonkinThe Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
. The blasts were believed to have been caused by American mines that had washed away after having been laid in North Vietnam's ports. The Warrington became the only American warship to be lost in the Vietnam War
July 18, 1972 (Tuesday)
- EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
's President Anwar SadatAnwar SadatMuhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
surprised the world with the announcement that he had asked the Soviet Union to withdraw all of their military advisors and other personnel. Sadat, who had concluded that the presence of the Soviets hindered his ability to, had informed Ambassador Vladimir Vinogradov of his decision ten days earlier, then sent Prime Minister Aziz SedkiAziz SedkiAziz Sedki was an Egyptian politician and engineer. Sedki served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from January 17, 1972 until March 23, 1976. He was nicknamed the "father of Egyptian industry."-Early life:...
to MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on July 13 to inform the leadership there. More than 20,000 Soviets left the country after Sadat's order. - Died: Göran GenteleGöran GenteleGöran Gentele was a Swedish actor, director, and opera manager.Born in Stockholm, Gentele studied from 1944 until 1946 at the Dramatens elevskola, beginning a brief career as a film actor not long afterwards...
, 54, recently appointed director of the Metropolitan Opera; in an auto accident
July 19, 1972 (Wednesday)
- In the Battle of MirbatBattle of MirbatThe Battle of Mirbat took place on 19 July 1972 during the Dhofar Rebellion in Oman, which was supported by Communist guerrillas from South Yemen...
, eight British Special Air ServiceSpecial Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
troopers, commanded by Captain Mike KealyMike KealyMike Kealy was the 27 year old Captain at the Battle of Mirbat in 1972. After the battle he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.He died ofhypothermia in February 1979 on a training exercise in the Brecon Beacons.-References:...
, successfully repelled an invasion by more than 250 guerrillas seeking to overthrow the government of OmanOmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
. - The Salvadoran military sent troops and armor into the University of El SalvadorUniversity of El SalvadorThe University of El Salvador or Universidad de El Salvador is the oldest and one of the most prominent university institutions in El Salvador. It serves as the national university of the country...
and arrested more than 800 students and members of the faculty. The University was closed for two years.
July 20, 1972 (Thursday)
- Sun Pinghua of the People's Republic of China arrived in Tokyo to meet with Japan's Foreign Minister Masayoshi OhiraMasayoshi Ohirawas a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University....
, renewing Chinese-Japanese relations for the first time since the end of World War II. - Lynne CoxLynne CoxLynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer and writer. In 1971, she and her teammates were the first group of teenagers to complete the crossing of the Catalina Island Channel in California. She was always the slowest swimmer in her swim classes...
, a 15 year old girl, set a new record for swimming the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, becoming the first person to make the crossing from England to France in less than ten hours. Her record of 9 hours and 57 minutes would be broken later in the year by Richard Hart, whose record she would break the following years. - Police in CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
destroyed the Aboriginal Tent EmbassyAboriginal Tent EmbassyThe Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a controversial semi-permanent assemblage claiming to represent the political rights of Australian Aborigines. It is made of a large group of activists, signs, and tents that reside on the lawn of Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital...
that had been set up on the grounds of the Australian Parliament in January. A new set of structures was put up within a week. - Died: Friedrich Flick, 89, German billionaire who used slave labor in World War II
July 21, 1972 (Friday)
- At 2:10 pm, a car bomb exploded at a bus station in BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, followed six minutes later by a bomb that wrecked a hotel. Over the next hour, explosives went of across the city at train stations, bus stops, and other civilian targets. Nine people were killed and 130 injured in what became known as "Bloody Friday"Bloody Friday (1972)Bloody Friday is the name given to the bombings by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Belfast on 21 July 1972. Twenty-two bombs exploded in the space of eighty minutes, killing nine people and injuring 130....
, a retaliation for January's "Bloody Sunday"Bloody Sunday (1972)Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
. The next day, British troops began a new offensive against the Irish Republican Army. - A malfunctioning signal at El Cuervo de SevillaEl Cuervo de SevillaEl Cuervo de Sevilla is a Spanish municipality located in the province of Seville, in Andalusia. It has a population of 7745 and an area of 31 km². It's 72 km from the provincial capital, Seville.-External links:*...
led to SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's worst railroad accident ever. At , an express train bound from Seville to Cadiz crashed head-on into a local passenger train coming the opposite direction. Seventy-six people were killed and another 130 were injured. - Jigme Dorji WangchuckJigme Dorji WangchuckJigme Dorji Wangchuck was the Third Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first steps toward democratization...
, the King of Bhutan, died while on a visit to KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. After a brief dispute over succession, his 16-year-old son, Jigme Singye WangchuckJigme Singye WangchuckJigme Singye Wangchuck is the former King of Bhutan. He was the fourth Dragon King of Bhutan from 1972 until his abdication in favour of his eldest son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in 2006...
, assumed the throne of the Himalayan nation. - Born: Catherine NderebaCatherine NderebaWincatherine Nyambura Ndereba is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon...
, Kenyan marathon runner, world champion '03, '07; in GatungangaGatungangaGatunganga is a settlement in Kenya's Central Province.... - Died: Jigme Dorji WangchuckJigme Dorji WangchuckJigme Dorji Wangchuck was the Third Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first steps toward democratization...
, 44, King of Bhutan since 1952; and Ralph CraigRalph CraigRalph Cook Craig was an American athlete, winner of the sprint double at the 1912 Summer Olympics.Craig was born in Detroit, Michigan. Initially a hurdler, he developed into a sprinter at the University of Michigan...
, 83, American runner, 1912 Olympic gold medalist;
July 22, 1972 (Saturday)
- The Soviet space probe Venera 8Venera 8Venera 8 was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.Venera 8 was a Venus atmospheric probe and lander. Its instrumentation included temperature, pressure, and light sensors as well as an altimeter, gamma ray spectrometer, gas analyzer, and radio transmitters...
landed on the planet VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
at Moscow time (1029 GMT). With an improved cooling system and structure, the satellite transmitted data for 50 minutes before temperatures of 470 °C (almost 900 °F) and an atmospheric pressure of 90 barsBar (unit)The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. Other units derived from the bar are the megabar , kilobar , decibar , centibar , and millibar...
caused a shutdown. The Venera 7Venera 7The Venera 7 was a Soviet spacecraft, part of the Venera series of probes to Venus. When it landed on the Venusian surface, it became the first man-made spacecraft to successfully land on another planet and to transmit data from there back to Earth.*Launch date/time: 1970 August 17 at 05:38...
probe in 1970 had been the first man-made object to land on Venus, but tipped over and sent only limited data. - Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Spiro AgnewSpiro AgnewSpiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
would officially be a candidate for re-election, as President Richard M. Nixon announced from the White House that Agnew would be his running mate in 1972. The selection ended speculation that a more moderate candidate would be picked, and Agnew was considered by some to be the front runner for the Presidency in 1976. - TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
's President Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
fell into a coma a few days after what would prove to be his last public appearance. The 84 year old leader, who had first presided over China in 1925, never made a full recovery, and would die in 1975. - Cincinnati RedsCincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
pitcher Wayne SimpsonWayne SimpsonWayne Kirby Simpson , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1970-1977. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Philadelphia Phillies, and California Angels. Hank Aaron got his 3,000th career hit off Simpson.Simpson was 14-3 with a 3.02 Earned...
was offered a $2,000 bribe, by an anonymous caller, to ensure a loss in his game against the Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
. Simpson reported the bribe offer and went on to pitch the game, a 6–3 win for the Reds. - Born: Keyshawn JohnsonKeyshawn JohnsonJoseph Keyshawn Johnson is a former American football wide receiver, interior designer, business executive, author and current television broadcaster for sports channel ESPN. He retired from football on May 23, 2007 after an eleven-year career in the National Football League...
, NFL wide receiver, 1996–2006; in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... - Died: Chi ChiChi Chi (giant panda)Chi Chi was a well-known giant panda at London Zoo in England.Chi Chi was not London Zoo's first giant panda; Ming was one of four that arrived in 1938...
, 14, London Zoo's giant panda
July 23, 1972 (Sunday)
- The Earth Resources Technology Satellite, ERTS 1Landsat 1Landsat 1, originally named "Earth Resources Technology Satellite 1", was the first satellite of the United States' Landsat program. It was a modified version of the Nimbus 4 meteorological satellite and was launched on July 23, 1972 by a Delta 900 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California...
, was launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force BaseVandenberg Air Force BaseVandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
at (1908 GMT). Designed at a cost of , the satellite, first of the series of Landsat vehicles, was placed at an altitude of (567 miles) into a polar orbitPolar orbitA polar orbit is an orbit in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the equator...
that would carry it over every part of the globe over a period of 18 days, and transmit photographs at a resolution of 80 meters. The first Landsat was operational until January 6, 1978. - Born: Marlon WayansMarlon WayansMarlon L. Wayans is an American actor, model producer, comedian, writer, and director of movies, beginning with his role as a pedestrian in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988...
, American comedian, in New York
July 24, 1972 (Monday)
- Pharmacologist David Wong of Eli Lilly and CompanyEli Lilly and CompanyEli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
tested Bryan Molloy's chemical compound #L-110,140 and found that it inhibited uptake of serotonin without uptake of norepinephrine. The compound, fluoxetineFluoxetineFluoxetine is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class. It is manufactured and marketed by Eli Lilly and Company...
was first tested on human volunteers in 1976, given U.S. patent No. 4,314,081 in 1982, and put on the market in 1988 as the antidepressant drug Prozac. - Died: Lance ReventlowLance ReventlowLance Reventlow, born Lawrence Graf von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow was a wealthy playboy, entrepreneur, and racing driver....
, 36, millionaire playboy and race car driver, in an airplane crash
July 25, 1972 (Tuesday)
- The Washington StarWashington StarThe Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...
broke the headline "Syphilis victims in U.S. Study Went Untreated for 40 Years", as reporter Jean HellerJean HellerJean Heller is a writer and a journalist. She is known for her reporting on the Tuskegee experiment in 1972 and that the United States claims of an Iraqi buildup on the Saudi Arabian border during the Gulf War in 1990 was not accurate. She has reported for the St...
broke the story of the infamous Tuskegee Study. Peter Buxtun, who had worked for the Public Health Service first told the story to Edith Lederer, who then assigned the story to Heller. The next day, an assistant secretary with the HEW held a press conference to announce that he was shocked and horrified that the study had gone on since 1932. The study was not stopped until 1972. More than 100 men infected with syphilis died while believing that they were being treated. As suit was settled in 1974 for $10,000,000 divided among 600 survivors and decedent's families. A personal apology was made to the last five survivors on May 16, 1997. - At a press conference in Custer, South DakotaCuster, South DakotaCuster is a city in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,067 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Custer County.-History:...
, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Thomas F. Eagleton disclosed that he had three psychiatric hospitalizations between 1960 and 1966, conceding that "I was on my own admission hospitalized at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis ... probably four weeks," and that he had undergone electric shock therapyElectroconvulsive therapyElectroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
. Although presidential nominee George S. McGovern declared that "I am 1,000 percent for Tom Eagleton and I have no intention of dropping him from the ticket," the press raised questions about whether Senator Eagleton would be emotionally fit, if necessary, to become President of the United States. Eagleton withdrew from the ticket and was replaced by Sargent ShriverSargent ShriverRobert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
.
July 26, 1972 (Wednesday)
- The lucrative contract for construction of the American space shuttle orbiter was awarded to North American Rockwell Corporation.
- President Richard M. Nixon personally asked Alabama Governor George C. Wallace to not run as an independent candidate for the United States presidency in 1972.
- Born: Nathan BuckleyNathan BuckleyNathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
, Australian rules football star for Collingwood, in AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... - Died: Diane ArbusDiane ArbusDiane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
, 48, American photographer, by suicide
July 27, 1972 (Thursday)
- Test pilot Irving Burroughs flew the first F-15A jet fighter, at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
- Born: :Maya RudolphMaya RudolphMaya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedienne and singer known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007, and for appearing in films such as Away We Go, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups, A Prairie Home Companion and MacGruber...
, American comedienne on Saturday Night Live, in Gainesville, FloridaGainesville, FloridaGainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
; Takashi ShimizuTakashi ShimizuTakashi Shimizu is a Japanese film director, best known for the Ju-on series of horror films.-Filmography:...
, Japanese director of Ju-OnJu-onis the title of a series of horror films by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Shimizu attended the Film School of Tokyo, where he studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa helped Shimizu shepherd the Ju-on projects to fruition.-History:...
film series, in Maebashi; and Takako FujiTakako Fujiis a Japanese actress and seiyū with strong ties to theatre.-Biography:A native of Tokyo, Honshū Island, Japan who was born there in 1972, Fuji studied acting at the Aoyama Gakuin University, and subsequently joined the Ein Theatrical Company. Her work was usually on-stage or in voice-over studios,...
, Japanese actress in Ju-OnJu-onis the title of a series of horror films by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Shimizu attended the Film School of Tokyo, where he studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa helped Shimizu shepherd the Ju-on projects to fruition.-History:...
film series, in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... - Died: Allen J. EllenderAllen J. EllenderAllen Joseph Ellender was a popular U.S. senator from Houma, Louisiana , who served from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr.. As Senator he compiled a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative...
, 81, U.S. Senator from Louisiana since 1937
July 28, 1972 (Friday)
- China, through its embassy in AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, cleared up speculation about what had happened to Defense Minister Lin BiaoLin BiaoLin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
, who had not been seen in public, or referred to by the Beijing government in more than a year. "Lin Piao died September 13, 1971," the official statement began, adding that "He attempted a coup d'etat and sought to assassinate Chairman Mao Tse-tung. His plot was foiled and he fled on September 12 toward the Soviet Union in an aircraft which crashed in the People's Republic of Mongolia." - Born: Elizabeth BerkleyElizabeth BerkleyElizabeth Berkley is an American television, film, and theatre actress. Berkley's most notable roles were in the television series Saved by the Bell, as brainy feminist Jessie Spano, and the 1995 Paul Verhoeven film Showgirls, as exotic dancer Nomi Malone.-Early life:Berkley was born and raised...
, American actress, in Farmington Hills, MI - Died: Helen TraubelHelen TraubelHelen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the Metropolitan...
, 73 American soprano
July 29, 1972 (Saturday)
- A second Soviet attempt to launch a space station failed when one of the second stage rockets misfired 162 seconds after launch. The station did not reach orbit and fell into the Pacific Ocean, and two manned space missions were stood down.
- Born: Wil WheatonWil WheatonRichard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
, American actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation), in Burbank, CA; and Anssi KelaAnssi KelaAnssi Kela is a Finnish singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist who has published five albums. The first, Nummela, is one of the best-selling Finnish records – it has sold over 150,000 copies . The album is named after Kela's former hometown Nummela, in Vihti. Kela became famous with his hit...
, Finnish rock musician, in KeravaKeravaKerava is a town and municipality in Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...
July 30, 1972 (Sunday)
- The Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and the Chinese government controlled Xinhua News AgencyXinhua News AgencyThe Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
reached an agreement to regularly exchange news and photos, marking the first time in 22 years that any American news agency would have a channel with the People's Republic of China.
July 31, 1972 (Monday)
- Operation MotormanOperation MotormanOperation Motorman was a large operation carried out by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The operation took place in the early hours of 31 July 1972 with the aim of retaking the "no-go areas" that had been established in Belfast, Derry and other large towns.-Background:The...
began at 4:00 in the morning, as 13,000 British troops rolled into the "no go" areas of BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, DerryDerryDerry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, LurganLurganLurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...
, ArmaghArmaghArmagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
, PortadownPortadownPortadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
, CoalislandCoalislandCoalisland is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 4,917 people . As its name suggests, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.-History:...
and DungannonDungannonDungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...
. At 7:00, administrator William Whitelaw announced, "The British army are now in occupation and control throughout Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
." Although violence continued in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, it was greatly reduced and never again reached the levels of July 1972. The number of shooting incidents in the three weeks before the operation had been 2,595. In the three weeks that followed, the number dropped to 380. - Dick AllenDick AllenRichard Anthony Allen is a former Major League Baseball player and R&B singer. He played first and third base and outfield in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s...
of the Minnesota TwinsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
became only the second minor league player in modern times to hit two inside-the-park home runInside-the-park home runIn baseball parlance, an inside-the-park home run, "leg home run", or "quadruple", is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of play.-Discussion:...
s in a single game, and the first since Ben Chapman in 1932, as the Twins beat the visiting Chicago White SoxChicago White SoxThe Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, 8–1. - The "McGovern-Eagleton '72" campaign ended as Democratic vice-presidential nominee Thomas F. Eagleton resigned from the ticket.
- Delta Airlines Flight 841 from Detroit was hijacked by five members of the Black Liberation ArmyBlack Liberation ArmyThe Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
as it was approaching Miami. After receiving $1,000,000 ransom, the 86 hostage/passengers were released and the hijackers commandeered the plane to Boston, and then flew 5,000 miles to Algeria. Four of the hijackers were captured and convicted in 1976, while the elusive fifth, George Wright (who identified himself on the passenger manifest as "Rev. L. Burgess") was on the run for the next 39 years. Wright was finally found and arrested in LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, on September 26, 2011. - Died: Paul Henri Spaak, 73, first President of UN General Assembly