Information for the Year 1974

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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.
  • 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).
  • Population:  4.012 billion
  • Nobel Peace Prize:  Eisaku Sato (Japan) and Sean MacBride (Ireland)
  • 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).
  • President:  Richard M. Nixon
  • Vice President:  Gerald R. Ford
  • Population:  213,853,928
  • Life expectancy:  72.0 years
  • 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)
  • Super Bowl  Miami Dolphins defeated Minnesota Vikings (SCORE 24-7)
  • World Series of Baseball  Oakland A's defeated Los Angeles Dodgers
  • National Basketball Association Championship  Boston defeated Milwaukee
  • National Hockey League Stanley Cup  Philadelphia Flyers defeated Boston Bruins
  • Women Wimbledon Tennis  Chris Evert defeated O. Morozova (6-0 6-4)
  • Men Wimbledon Tennis  Jimmy Connors defeated K. Rosewall (6-1 6-1 6-4)
  • Kentucky Derby Horse Race Champion  Cannonade
  • National College Athletic Association Basketball Championship  N.C. State defeated Marquette (SCORE 76-64)
  • National College Athletic Association Football Champions  Oklahoma (RECORD 11-0-0) and USC (RECORD 10-1-1)
  • World Cup Soccer  W. Germany defeated Holland
  • People magazine debuts, with Mia Farrow gracing the cover.
  • Premier Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects and joins the American Ballet Theatre.
  • Academy Award, Best Picture:  The Sting
  • Grammy Award - Record of the Year  Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack
  • Emmy Award - Best Television Comedy  M*A*S*H - CBS
  • Miss America:  Rebecca Ann King (Colorado)
  • A new elementary particle psi (now called J) is discovered by Burton Richter of Stanford University.

 

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