1972

1972
January
• The first scientific hand-held calculator was introduced on 4th January. It went on sale for $395.

• The first woman judge at the Old Bailey in London was Rose Heibron. She claimed this achievement on 4th January.

• U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered the development of a space shuttle program on 5th June.

• Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia of Ghana was overthrown in a military coup on 13th January.

• President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto announced on 20th January that Pakistan will immediately begin a nuclear weapons programme.

• Pakistan withdrew from the Commonwealth of Nations on 30th January.

• King Birendra became the King of Nepal on 31st January.
February
• Mariner 9 took pictures from Mars on 4th February.

• U.S. airlines began mandatory inspection of passengers and baggage on 5th February.

• Phono records were granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time on 15th February.

• Luna 20, the Soviet unmanned spaceship, landed on the Moon on 21st February.

• The Luna 20 came back to Earth with 55 grams of lunar soil on 26th February.
March
• The Pioneer 10 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy on 2nd March. This was the first man-made satellite to leave the solar system.

• Libya and the Soviet Union signed a cooperation treaty on 4th March.

• On 13th March, New York court received a confession from Clifford Irving that he had fabricated Howard Hughes “autobiography”.

• India and Bangladesh signed a friendship treaty on 29th March.

• The Godfather was released on 24th March in the United States.

• Bewitched starring Elizabeth and Dick Sargent aired its final episode, “The Truth, Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me Sam” on ABC on 25th March.
April
• The 44th Annual Academy Awards were held on 10th April, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.

• Astronauts achieved a lunar rover speed record of 18km/h during their mission on Apollo 16, which was launched on 16th April.

• The first Boston Marathon in which women were allowed to compete was on 17th April.

• The 4th Anniversary of the Broadway musical Hair was celebrated with a free concert at a Central Park bandshell on 29th April. This was followed by a dinner at the Four Seasons.
May
• The dawn of the video game age began on 1st May with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey.

• Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka under the Prime Minister on Sitimavo on 22nd May.

• On 26th May, Wernher von Braun retired from NASA. This was due to frustration that he experience because of the agency’s unwillingness to pursue a manned trans-orbital space program.

• Willandra National Park in Australia was established on 26th May.
June
• Iraq nationalised the Iraq Petroleum Company in June.

• The first U.S. rabbi was Sally Priesand, who took this title on 3rd June.

• The first U.S. Liberation Party National Convention was held in Denver, Colorado between 15th and 18th June.

• Atari was co-found by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney on 26th June.

• The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional on 29th June.

• On 30th June an extra leap second was added to the end of the month.
July
• Jane Fonda, an American actress, toured North Vietnam in July. During her tour she was photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.

• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms became independent from the IRS on 1st July.

• The Simla Agreement was signed by both Pakistan and India. This was an agreement to settle their disputes bilaterally following Pakistan’s surrender to India. The agreement was signed on 2nd July.

• The first Rainbow Gathering was held in Colorado on 4th July.

• It was reported on 10th July by India’s new s agency that at least 24 people had been killed by elephants, in the Chandka Forest in India.

• The first Earth–resources satellite, Landsat 1, was launched by the United States on 23rd July.

• U.S. health official admitted on 25th July that African Americans were used as guinea pigs in the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.

August
• Dictator Idi Amin declared on 4th August that Uganda would expel, 50,000 Asians with British passports to Britain within 3 months.

• A daytime meteor skipped off the Earth’s atmosphere on 10th August. This was due to an Apollo asteroid streaking over the western US into Canada.

• The last U.S. ground troops were withdrawn from Vietnam on 12th August.

• West Germany hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics between 26th August and 11th September in Munich.

September
• The first episode of “The Price Is Right” was hosted on CBS by Bob Barker on 4th September.

• West Germany and Poland renewed diplomatic relations on 14th September.

• It was announced on 17th September that there were Tanzanian troops in Uganda’s territory.
October
• The government of former President of Somalia Mohamed Siad Barre introduced the Somali alphabet as Somalia’s official writing script.

• The birth of molecular biology methodology began on 1st October, when the first publication reporting the production of recombinant DNA was announced.

• The United Reformed Church was founded out of the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches on 5th October.

• The first female FBI agents were hired on 25th October.

• The Airbus A300 flew for the first time on 28th October.
November
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on 16th November.

• Atari kicked off the first generation of video games on 29th November. They released the seminal arcade version of Pong. This was the first game to achieve commercial success.
December
• The last manned Moon mission to date was launched on 7th December.

• The United Nations proclaimed International Human Rights Day on 8th December.

• Apollo 17 landed on the Moon on 11th December.

• Eugene Cernan was the last person to walk on the moon on 14th December. After this he can Harrison Schmitt completed the third and final Extra-vehicular activity of Apollo 17. This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th Century.

• The Commonwealth of Australia ordained equal pay for women on 15th December.

• The constitution of Bangladesh came into effect on 16th December.

• Apollo 17 returned to Earth on 19th December. This concluded the program of lunar exploration.

• An extra leap second was added to the end of the year on 31st December.

• The US ban on the pesticide DDT took effect on 31st December.