Information for the Year 1976

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  • Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot becomes prime minister (and virtual dictator) of Cambodia after Prince Sihanouk steps down (April 2).
  • Israeli airborne commandos attack Uganda's Entebbe Airport and free 103 hostages held by pro-Palestinian hijackers of Air France plane; one Israeli and several Ugandan soldiers killed in raid (July 4).
  • 19-month civil war ends in Lebanon after threatening to escalate to global level (Nov.).
  • Population:  4.158 billion
  • Nobel Peace Prize:  Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams (both Northern Ireland)
  • US Supreme Court rules that blacks and other minorities are entitled to retroactive job seniority (March 24).
  • Ford signs Federal Election Campaign Act (May 11).
  • US Supreme Court rules that death penalty is not inherently cruel or unusual and is a constitutionally acceptable form of punishment (July 3).
  • President:  Gerald R. Ford
  • Vice President:  Nelson A. Rockefeller
  • Population:  218,035,164
  • Life expectancy:  72.9 years
  • US GDP (1998 dollars):   $1,819.00 billion
  • Federal spending:   $371.79 billion
  • Federal debt:   $629.0 billion
  • Median Household Income(current dollars): $12,686
  • Consumer Price Index:   56.9
  • Unemployment:   7.7%
  • Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.13
  • Super Bowl  Pittsburgh Steelers defeated Dallas Cowboys (SCORE 21-17)
  • World Series of Baseball  Cincinnati Reds defeated New York Yankees
  • National Basketball Association Championship  Boston defeated Phoenix
  • National Hockey League Stanley Cup  Montreal Canadiens defeated Philadelphia Flyers
  • Women Wimbledon Tennis  Chris Evert defeated E. Cawley (6-3 4-6 8-6)
  • Men Wimbledon Tennis   Bjorn Borg defeated I. Nastase (6-4 6-2 9-7)
  • Kentucky Derby Horse Race Champion  Bold Forbes
  • National College Athletic Association Basketball Championship  Indiana defeated Michigan (SCORE 86-68)
  • National College Athletic Association Football Champions  University of Pittsburgh (RECORD 12-0-0)
  • 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, Canada
  • 1976 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria
  • The Steadicam is used for the first time in Rocky.
  • NBC broadcasts Gone with the Wind and scores record-breaking ratings.
  • Academy Award, Best Picture:  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
  • Grammy Award - Record of the Year  Love Will Keep Us Together by Captain and Tennille
  • Emmy Award - Best Television Comedy   The Mary Tyler Moore Show - CBS
  • Miss America:  Tawney Elaine Godin (New York)
  • Air France and British Airways begin the first regularly scheduled commercial supersonic transport (SST) flights.
  • Viking I lands on Mars.
  • The US Navy tests the Tomahawk cruise missile.

 

All of the Information on this site is from Fact Monster