Britain and the World 1971

BRITAIN AND THE WORLD SINCE 1953

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	1971
Jan1	Divorce Reform Act (1969) comes into force
Jan2	A barrier collapses at Ibrox Park Glasgow killing 66 people.
Jan3	Open University commences
Jan8	Sir Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador in Uruguay, was kidnapped by Tupamaros guerrillas; he was held captive until September.
Jan15	Aswan Dam was opened by President Sadat of Egypt and President Podgorny of the Soviet Union.
Jan25	Charles Manson was found guilty of murdering Sharon Tate and six others.
Feb2	In Uganda, army officers led by Idi Amin deposed Milton Obote in a coup and named himself President.
Feb6	First time a golf ball is hit on the Moon (by Alan Shepard)
Feb7	Swiss women are given the right to vote
Feb15	After 1200 years Britain abandons shilling system for decimal
Mar8	Boxer Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali in Madison Square Garden on points to become World Heavyweight Champion.
Mar26	Bangladesh (East Pakistan) declares its independence
Mar29	Army Lieutenant William L. Calley, Junior was convicted of murdering at least 22 Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre. (Calley, ended up spending three years under house arrest.)
Mar29	A Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. (The sentences were later commuted.)
Apr1	United Kingdom lifts all restrictions on gold ownership
Apr19	The first 'space station' is launched. The Russian craft - Salyut 1 - was used to conduct experiments using optical and radio telescopes. Tragedy struck the crew of the second craft to man the space station when they were killed by de-pressurisation on their return to Earth.
May12	Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, marries Bianca Perez Morena de Macias in a dual civil/church ceremony The wedding was a chaotic affair with over 100 photographers and onlookers crowding the area and is an early example of today's paparazzi-induced madness.
May30	U.S. space probe Mariner 9 was launched on its mission to Mars. It became the first artificial satellite of Mars, sending back more than 7,000 pictures.
Jul3	The Doors singer Jim Morrison dies of a suspected heart attack in the Hotel Marois in Paris
Aug9	Security forces in Northern Ireland detained hundreds of guerrilla suspects and put them in the Maze prison, the beginning of an internment without trial policy. Over 20 died in riots which followed
Sep3	Watergate team breaks into Daniel Ellsberg's doctor's office
Sep13	The four-day revolt at the maximum security prison in Attica, New York, ended when state police and National Guardsmen stormed the facility. Forty-two people died
Sept24	105 Soviet Embassy officials are told that they are to leave Britain with immediate effect as their activities are incompatible with those of a diplomat
Oct1	Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opens
Oct28	By a vote of 356-244, the British House of Commons voted in favour of joining the European Economic Community.
Oct30	Democratic Unionist Party founded in Northern Ireland
Oct31	A terrorist bomb exploded at the top of the Post Office Tower in London
Dec31	Pete Duel the actor in the TV series "Alias Smith and Jones" commits suicide at the age of 31
	The last British troops leave Singapore

Last Updated 19/09/07 09:55

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