BRITAIN AND THE WORLD SINCE 1953

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1970

Jan1 The age of majority is lowered in the UK from 21 to 18 years of age
Jan15 In Nigeria, Biafran forces under General Effiong formally surrendered to General Yakabu Gowon.
Jan16 Colonel Gaddafi becomes Prime Minister of Libya
Jan22 New York-London: Pan Am makes first Boeing 747 trans-Atlantic flight
Feb2 The philosopher Bertrand Russell dies of influenza in Plas Penrhyn, Merionethshire
Mar2 Rhodesia declares itself a republic
Mar16 Publication of complete New English Bible
Mar18 The first mass work stoppage in the 195-year history of the US Post Office Department began with a walkout of letter carriers in Brooklyn and Manhattan, soon involving 210,000 of the nation's 750,000 postal employees. President Nixon declared a state of national emergency and assigned military units to New York City post offices. The stand-off ended two weeks later.
Apr10 Paul McCartney announces that the Beatles have disbanded
Apr13 Apollo 13 is launched but a day later the crew discover an oxygen leak and are forced to return to earth (Apr17)
 Apr29 U.S. troops invade Cambodia. Massive protests against the war continue in the U.S
May4 At Kent State University, National Guards shoot four students dead and wound 11 during demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Five days later 100,000 people demonstrate in Washington against the war.
May17 Thor Heyerdahl crosses the Atlantic Ocean on reed raft Ra
May27 British expedition climbs south face of Annapurna I
  England soccer captain, Bobby Moore arrested in Bogata, Columbia for allegedly stealing a £600 diamond bracelet on the eve of the World Cup finals in Mexico. He is released the next day.  
May29 UK Parliament passes Equal Pay Act
Jun2 Norway announces that it has rich oil deposits off its North Sea coast
Jun17 Decimal postage stamps first issued for sale in Britain
Jun18 Edward Heath is elected Prime Minister defeating the Labour  government of Harold Wilson
Jun30 Brazil beats Italy 4-1 in soccer's Ninth World Cup at Mexico City - the finest game of soccer that has been my pleasure to watch
Jul4 Chartered Dan-Air Comet crashes into mountains north of Barcelona, Spain killing 112 Britons
Jul11 The first tunnel under the Pyrenees link the French and Spanish towns of Aranoutes and Biesma
Jul30 Damages awarded to Thalidomide victims
Aug6 The Tenth National Jazz Pop Ballads & Blues Festival was held (until 9th August) at Plumpton Racecourse Sussex.
Aug17-18 US sink 418 boxes of nerve gas into the gulf stream near the Bahamas
Aug26-28 Isle of Wight Pop Festival is held - the end of an era?
Sep6 A TWA and Swissair airliner are hijacked by the PFLP and landed in Dawson's Field in Jordan where they are destroyed by explosives
Sep13 In Mexico for the 1970 World Cup, England captain Bobby Moore was accused of stealing a diamond bracelet - he was eventually released and all charges dropped
Sep18 Jimi Hendrix dies in London from the effects of a drugs overdose. On Oct 4 Janis Joplin dies of a heroin overdose in the Landmark Hotel, Los Angeles
Sept25 Kamal Abdel Nasser dies of a heart attack and is succeeded on 15 October by Anwar Sadat
Oct8 Soviet author Alexander I Solzhenitsyn awarded Nobel Prize for Literature
Oct9 Khmer Republic (Cambodia) declares independence
Oct10 Fiji gains independence from Britain (National Day) 
Oct24 Salvador Allende Gossens elected President of Chile 
Nov4 Singer  Janis Joplin (27) dies in her Hollywood hotel room
Nov9 General Charles De Gaulle died at his home La Boisserie, at 7.25 in the evening. His death was sudden, caused by the breaking of a blood vessel and was kept secret for 14 hours so that the family could mourn in peace
Nov11 A grant of £100 million is made by the government to a stricken Rolls Royce company
Nov13 Lt Gen Hafez al-Assad becomes Prime Minister of Syria following a military coup
Nov17 The Sun pictured its first Page 3 girl, Stephanie Rahn.
Nov20 Ten shilling note goes out of circulation in Britain
Dec16 First successful landing on Venus (USSR)
Dec22  Franz Stangl the SS Commandant of Treblinka is sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes against humanity

 

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Last Updated 25/02/16 15:46

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