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July 1973

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The following events occurred in July 1973:

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July 17, 1973: King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan overthrown, Mohammed Daoud proclaims himself President
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July 16, 1973: Surprise witness Alexander Butterfield reveals existence of Watergate tapes to the US Senate

July 1, 1973 (Sunday)

July 2, 1973 (Monday)

  • Match Game '73, the first and most successful revival of the NBC game show, made its debut on CBS. As with the NBC version, Gene Rayburn, was the host. Rather than having two celebrity panelists, the show had six, starting with Richard Dawson, Vicki Lawrence, Anita Gillette, Jack Klugman, Michael Landon and Jo Ann Pflug, and had been scheduled to start on June 25, but had been preempted by the testimony of John Dean before the Senate Watergate Committee. It would soon become the highest-rated daytime TV show on U.S. television.
  • Died:
    • Betty Grable, 56 American film actress and pin-up girl of World War II, died of lung cancer.
    • Swede Savage, 36, U.S. race car driver, died of injuries sustained in a crash during the Indianapolis 500 race in May.

July 3, 1973 (Tuesday)

  • The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy dismissed all charges that had been brought against seven former American prisoners of war in court-martial proceedings. The enlisted men — five Army and two Marines — had been charged with collaboration with the enemy. In addition to the lack of more than hearsay and circumstantial evidence, the servicemen had spent an average of five years confinement. This came seven days after the June 26 suicide of an eighth accused person.
  • David Bowie "retired" his Ziggy Stardust stage persona in front of a shocked audience at the Hammersmith Odeon at the end of his British tour.
  • Born:
  • Died:

July 4, 1973 (Wednesday)

July 5, 1973 (Thursday)

  • Grégoire Kayibanda, the first President of Rwanda, was overthrown 11 years after the central African nation had become independent, in a coup d'état led by his Minister of Defense, Juvénal Habyarimana.
  • The Isle of Man Post began to issue its own postage stamps.
  • In the U.S., 11 firefighters were killed in a catastrophic explosion of boiling liquid expanding vapor in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank. This explosion has become a classic incident, studied in fire department training programs worldwide.
  • Guerrillas in Rhodesia kidnapped 292 students and staff from the remote St. Albert's Mission, a Catholic school established by German Jesuits, and were pursued by Rhodesian troops and local trackers and hunters, to the border with Portuguese Mozambique, 21 miles (34 km) away. In the confusion of the chase, 214 of the captives escaped, but 46 students and 32 adults were taken into Mozambique.
  • Born: Róisín Murphy, Irish singer and songwriter; in Arklow, County Wicklow

July 6, 1973 (Friday)

 
The Flag of Flanders

July 7, 1973 (Saturday)

  • U.S. President Nixon sent a letter to U.S. Senator Sam Ervin the chairman of the U.S. Senate Watergate Investigation Committee, writing "In this letter I shall state the reasons why I shall not testify before the committee or permit access to Presidential papers. I want to strongly emphasize that my decision, in both cases is based on my constitutional obligation to preserve intact the powers and prerogatives of the Presidency and not upon any desire to withhold information relevant to your inquiry", and went on to justify his position. Nixon agreed five days later to meet with Senator Ervin at Ervin's request to avoid "a fundamental constitutional confrontation between the Congress and the Presidency."
  • The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB or Afrikaner Resistance Movement), a white nationalist terrorist organization in South Africa, was founded by former police officer Eugène Terre'Blanche and six other Afrikaners at a meeting in Heidelberg, Transvaal Province.
  • Uganda's dictator Idi Amin ordered the detention of 112 Peace Corps volunteers from the U.S. after their chartered East Africa Airlines flight stopped at the Entebbe International Airport near Kampala for refueling. The U.S. airplane had been on its way from London to Bukavu in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Amin, shouted "Bring them all back!" after he learned that Peace Corps members were on the Vickers VC10, told his cabinet the next day that he felt that the group "could be mercenaries trying to enter Rwanda", where the government had recently been overthrown. The airliner halted preparations for takeoff after being warned that it would be shot down by Ugandan Air Force fighters. The hostages were released two days later.
  • The 1973 Ethiopian general election, the last to be held under imperial rule in Ethiopia, ended as voters chose from more than 1,500 independent candidates for the 250 seats of the Chamber of Deputies (Yaheg Mamria Meker-beth). Aklilu Habte-Wold continued as prime minister.
  • Billie Jean King defeated Chris Evert, also from the U.S., in straight sets, 6-0 and 7–5, to win the women's singles title at the All-England Tennis Championship at Wimbledon. In the men's finals, Jan Kodeš of Czechoslovakia defeated Alex Metreveli of the Soviet Union, 6–1, 9–8 and 6–3 to win the title the same day.
  • Born: Kailash Kher, Indian composer and singer; in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
  • Died:
    • Veronica Lake (stage name for Constance Ockelmann), 50, American film actress, died of kidney failure brought on by hepatitis.
    • Seán Mac Eoin, 79, Irish Minister for Justice 1948–1951, Minister for Defence 1954–1957

July 8, 1973 (Sunday)

July 9, 1973 (Monday)

 
The hyperboloid Ještěd Tower
  • The Ještěd Tower, designed by architect Karel Hubáček as a hyperboloid-shaped hotel with a 94 metres (308 ft) tall TV transmission antenna, opened outside of the city of Liberec in Czechoslovakia.
  • The United States and Czechoslovakia agreed to establish direct diplomatic relations for the first time since the Communist Party had taken control of the Eastern European nation. U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers and Czechoslovakian Foreign Minister Bohuslav Chnoupek signed the agreement to open consulates in each other's nations during the visit by Rogers to Prague.
  • British serial killer Patrick Mackay committed the first of 13 murders to which he would later confess, stabbing a woman on a train as it passed near Catford in Greater London.
  • Born: Maxine Linehan, Northern Irish-born stage actress and singer; in Newry

July 10, 1973 (Tuesday)

 
July 10, 1973: Independence granted by the UK...
  • The Bahamas was granted independence by the United Kingdom, becoming a nation with Sir Lynden Pindling its first Prime Minister, and colonial governor Sir John W. Paul as its first Governor-General. The Caribbean archipelago nation remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.
  • Treasure hunter Mel Fisher announced at a press conference that he and his team of explorers had located the remains of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which had sunk in a hurricane in the Marquesa Keys on September 5, 1622, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Key West, Florida. The worth of the treasure at the time was estimated to be more than $600,000,000.
  • John Paul Getty III, the rebellious 16-year-old grandson of the wealthiest man in the world, was kidnapped from the Piazza Farnese in Rome, and held for $17 million ransom. His grandfather, J. Paul Getty, refused to pay the ransom, arguing that giving money to terrorists would put his 13 other grandchildren at risk. A ransom of $3.2 million would be paid in December, but only after the teenager's ear had been cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a Rome newspaper. Young Getty would be freed on December 15.
  • In the Czechoslovakian capital of Prague, Olga Hepnarová intentionally drove a rented truck into a crowd of people in Strossmayer Square, killing eight and injuring 12 others. Hepnarová would be convicted of murder and hanged in prison on March 12, 1975.
  • In Iceland, efforts to protect the island of Heimaey from the eruption of the Eldfell volcano were completed after 148 days of pumping seawater to cool the lava into stone. An estimated 7.3 million cubic meters of water were pumped at a cost of US$1,447,742.
  • Born: Oleksandr Yanukovych, Ukrainian multi-millionaire, son of former President of the Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych; in Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union.
  • Died: Wallace "Bud" Smith, 49, former world lightweight boxing champion 1955–1956 and 1948 Olympian, was shot to death after confronting a man who was beating up a woman.

July 11, 1973 (Wednesday)

July 12, 1973 (Thursday)

 
July 12, 1973: Aerial view of the National Personnel Records Center fire in progress
  • A major fire broke out that destroyed the entire sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center in the St. Louis suburb of Overland, Missouri. The blaze destroyed almost all (80 percent) of Veterans Administration service records for U.S. Army personnel who served between 1912 and 1960 (including those in World War I, World War II or the Korean War), and 75% of the U.S. Air Force service records stored on the sixth floor. None of the destroyed records had been microfilmed or had duplicate copies, and no index had been made.
  • University of Maryland basketball coach Lefty Driesell and two other men saved the lives of 10 children from a fire in several beachfront townhouses in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Coach Driesell's involvement went unnoticed until the Washington Star-News reported it on July 20. Paul Williamson, athletic director for the high schools in Durham, North Carolina, was one of the other heroes, and Driesell said he didn't know the name of the other man.
  • U.S. President Nixon was admitted to the Bethesda Naval Hospital after being diagnosed with viral pneumonia. Nixon remained in the hospital for a full week before being released on July 20. He said upon his return that he would not resign or slow down for health reasons, commenting "The health of a man is not nearly as important as the health of a nation and the health of the world."
  • Born: Yuan Li, Chinese film actress; in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province
  • Died: Lon Chaney Jr. (stage name for Creighton Chaney), 67, American film actor who was the son of Lon Chaney and followed a career of starring in horror films from 1941 to 1963, as well as other dramatic roles

July 13, 1973 (Friday)

July 14, 1973 (Saturday)

July 15, 1973 (Sunday)

  • The Soviet city of Alma-Ata in the Kazakh SSR (now Kazakhstan) was saved from destruction by a landslide when a massive torrent of mud was blocked by the Medeu Dam that had been constructed the year before. Persons above the Medeo Dam were killed when the mudslide, from the Tuiuk-Su glacier, sent 225,000 cubic meters of water into the valley below, shattering three other dams and killing about 50 vacationers and seven employees who had come to a tourist resort at the Gorelnik mountain.
  • The nation of Bangladesh amended its constitution for the first time so that it could pursue prosecution of war crimes arising from its fight for independence. Article 47 was changed to reflect prosecution or punishment of war crimes could not be declared unconstitutional. The change cleared the way for the government to begin prosecution of war criminals, whose attorneys had argued that they were protected by the Fundamental Rights guaranteed in Article III.
  • Born: Hassani Shapi, Kenyan-born film actor; in Mombasa
  • Died: Clarence White, 29, American bluegrass music guitarist for The Byrds and pioneer of country rock, was killed in Palmdale, California when he was struck by a drunk driver while loading equipment into his car after performing a concert.

July 16, 1973 (Monday)

  • FAA Administrator and former White House aide Alexander Butterfield revealed to the United States Senate Watergate Committee that President Richard Nixon had secretly recorded potentially incriminating conversations. Republican counsel Fred Thompson, later a U.S. Senator for Tennessee, posed the question, "Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?" and the surprise witness replied, "I was aware of listening devices. Yes, sir."
  • Canadian TV personality Alex Trebek made his U.S. television debut for as host of a short-lived game show on the NBC television network, The Wizard of Odds. Trebek had previously hosted the CBC game show Strategy for six months in 1969. Trebek would host several more game shows for NBC before becoming most famous for hosting a syndicated revival of Jeopardy! starting on September 10, 1984.

July 17, 1973 (Tuesday)

July 18, 1973 (Wednesday)

July 19, 1973 (Thursday)

  • Two of the 12 crew of the Panamanian supply vessel Nordic Service died after the ship collided with the Finnish ship Finn Trader and sank off Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom.

July 20, 1973 (Friday)

 
July 20, 1973: Martial arts film star Bruce Lee dies shortly before release of Enter the Dragon
  • Japan Air Lines Flight 404 was hijacked by five terrorists as a member of the Japanese Red Army and four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine combined to seize the a Boeing 747 with 140 other people on board, shortly after it took off from Amsterdam in the Netherlands for a flight to Anchorage, Alaska in the U.S. One of the PFLP members was killed when her hand grenade exploded during the hijacking. The surviving hijackers forced the plane to fly to multiple destinations before landing in Libya at Benghazi, released the passengers and crew 89 hours after the hijacking began; and then blew up the airliner.
  • Muammar Gaddafi announced his resignation as leader of Libya after his plans for uniting the north African nation with Egypt were rejected. He would reverse his decision three days later after his Cabinet announced that it would quit as well.
  • Born:
  • Died:
    • Bruce Lee (Lee Jun-fan), 32, U.S.-born Hong Kong martial artist and actor, less than a month before the August 19 U.S. release of his blockbuster film Enter the Dragon. Although speculation abounded that he had been killed by va move called "the vibrating palm", Lee's death was probably from an allergic reaction to the meprobamate, the active ingredient in the painkiller Equagesic.
    • Robert Smithson, 35, American sculptor and photographer, was killed along with a pilot in the crash of a small plane near Amarillo, Texas
    • Mikhail Isakovsky, 73, Soviet Russian poet and songwriter

July 21, 1973 (Saturday)

  • In a case of mistaken identity, Israeli Mossad agents assassinated a Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, in Lillehammer in Norway. The agents had confused Bouchiki with Ali Hassan Salameh, a leader of Black September's Munich Olympics massacre in 1972, who had been given shelter in Norway. Six Mossad agents were arrested by the Norwegian authorities and the incident, soon to be known as the "Lillehammer affair", forced Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir to suspend Operation Wrath of God. While the Israeli government never accepted responsibility for the murder of Bouchiki, it would pay an unspecified amount of money to his family 23 years later, in 1996.
  • France resumed atmospheric nuclear bomb tests in Mururoa Atoll, over the protests of Australia and New Zealand, with the explosion of an atomic bomb at 9:00 in the morning local time (1900 UTC).:
  • The Mars 4 planetary orbiter was launched from the Soviet Union, with a goal of orbiting Mars in February 1974. On July 30, two of its onboard navigational computers failed while attempting to perform a course correction, and Mars 4 would only be able to perform a fly-by mission for six minutes.

July 22, 1973 (Sunday)

July 23, 1973 (Monday)

July 24, 1973 (Tuesday)

July 25, 1973 (Wednesday)

July 26, 1973 (Thursday)

  • The paramilitary group Patria y Libertad, commissioned by the navy of Chile to carry out sabotage operations against President Salvador Allende, assassinated Allende's Navy adviser, Arturo Araya Peeters. Captain Araya had stepped onto the balcony of his home in the Santiago suburb of Providencia when he was shot by a sniper from building across the street.
  • The United States used its veto power in the United Nations Security Council after the UNSC members voted, 13 to 2 for a resolution that would have censured Israel for its failure to withdraw from the West Bank, the Sinai peninsula and the Golan Heights, territory gained in the 1967 Six-Day War. The veto was only the fifth ever for the U.S., but the fourth in the less than a year.
  • Candidates of the United Kingdom's Liberal Party defeated challengers from the much larger Conservative and Labour parties to win both of the by-elections scheduled to fill vacancies in the House of Commons, winning the constituencies of Ripon and the Isle of Ely. The victories increased its presence in Commons from six seats to eight.
  • In soccer, the Bangladesh national team played its first match ever, a 2–2 draw against Thailand at the Merdeka Cup tournament in Malaysia.
  • Born: Kate Beckinsale, English film actress and model in London, as Kathrin Romany Beckinsale
  • Died: Hans Albert Einstein, 69, Swiss-born American hydraulic engineering expert for whom the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) established an annual award, as well as being the oldest son of Albert Einstein

July 27, 1973 (Friday)

  • Operation End Sweep, the U.S. clearing of sea mines from the harbors of North Vietnam, came to an official end after having started on February 6. The minesweepers of U.S. Navy Task Force 78 departed North Vietnamese waters the next day to sail back to the Philippines.
  • Died: Mimi Wong, 34, and her husband Sim Wor Kum, 40, Singaporean convicted murderers were both executed for the 1970 murder of Ayako Watanabe.

July 28, 1973 (Saturday)

 
Skylab 3 astronauts Garriott, Lousma and Bean

July 29, 1973 (Sunday)

  • Voters in Greece abolished the monarchy in a nationwide vote taking place four weeks after Giorgios Papadopoulos declared himself as president and overthrew King Constantine II. The vote was more than 78% in favor of creating the Hellenic Republic.
  • In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis went through an elaborate early-morning procedure to transport its assets two and one-half blocks from its old location at 510 Marquette Avenue to its new headquarters at 250 Marquette Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The move of five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000) in currency, coins and securities took place between 2 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. after city police sealed off the 12-block area around both buildings and 76 policemen, U.S. Secret Service agents and U.S. Federal Reserve Bank security guards patrolled the area.
 
July 29, 1973: Aftermath of Roger Williamson's accident

July 30, 1973 (Monday)

  • Compensation of 20 million pounds sterling was paid to victims of Thalidomide following an 11-year court case.
  • Eighteen coal miners were killed at the coal mine near Staveley, Derbyshire, UK, when the brake mechanism on their elevator cage failed as they were descending underground.
  • The strangled body of 20-year-old Ronnie Wiebe was discarded beside an entrance ramp to the 405 Freeway, two days after the young man had disappeared. Welt marks on Wiebe's wrists and ankles suggest that he had been bound and suspended from a device before his murder. Wiebe would later be identified as one of the victims of serial killer Randy Steven Kraft, the so-called "Freeway Killer".
  • Born:

July 31, 1973 (Tuesday)

  • Delta Air Lines Flight 723, with 83 passengers and six crew, crashed while attempting to land at Boston's Logan Airport runway in poor visibility, striking a sea wall about 165 feet (50 m) to the right of the runway centerline and about 3,000 feet (910 m) short. All but one of the people on board died instantly. The survivor was seriously injured and died several months after the accident.
  • Militant Unionist protesters led by Ian Paisley disrupted the first sitting of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
  • London's famous Tower Bridge was shut down by police after a stockbroker's clerk flew an airplane twice between its towers, below a pedestrian walkway and 15 feet (4.6 m) above traffic, then turned toward the "buzzing" motor vehicles on the main roadway and by high rise buildings. Peter Martin, out on bail after being arrested for fraud for dealings on the London Stock Exchange, and had told his wife that he intended to commit suicide. He took off from the Blackbushe airport in Camberley, Surrey, and threatened to fly the Beagle Pup plane into a building. After two hours, Martin flew toward the plane toward the Lake District National Park, and was killed when he dived his plane into a forest near Keswick, Cumbria.
  • Born: Scott Moe, Canadian politician, Premier of Saskatchewan, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

References

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