1970s
Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s - 1970s - 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Events and trends
Computers, technology
- Microprocessors are developed - used first in industrial applications and after that also in consumer products
- Pocket calculators make the slide rule obsolete.
- Home computer revolution starts
- Unix created along with C programming language
- Microsoft is founded (1975)
Science
- Viking missions to Mars
- Voyager spacecraft launched to explore the outer solar system
- Homo ergaster discovered; Homo rudolfensis skull unearthed at Koobi Fora but identified as Homo habilis
- Skylab and Salyut space stations
- Discovery of the bottom quark; theory of quantum chromodynamics postulated to describe the strong interaction, one of the four fundamental forces of nature
- Southern blot genetics technique developed
War, peace and politics
- fear of nuclear war despite détente, SALT treaties.
- Watergate break-in, cover-up, and scandal, leading to U.S. president Richard Nixon's resignation.
- Yom Kippur War of 1973; Egypt and Israel establish diplomatic relations through Camp David Accords of 1978.
- Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. East Pakistan wins independence as Bangladesh. Martial law declared in Pakistan. Indira Gandhi suspends constitution in India.
- U.S. expansion of, then withdrawal from Vietnam War. Saigon falls to North Vietnamese forces in 1975.
- Genocide in Cambodia under Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot deposed by Vietnamese troops.
- widespread strikes and industrial unrest in the United Kingdom throughout decade; Conservative Party's Margaret Thatcher elected first female prime minister.
- Coup in Chile topples government of Salvador Allende, who is replaced by Augusto Pinochet. Coups and revolutions topple governments of Afghanistan, Argentina, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nicaragua among others. Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis. Assassination of South Korea's Park Chunghee.
- USSR begins disastrous military campaign in Afghanistan.
- Spain establishes democracy after death of dictator Francisco Franco; withdraws from Western Sahara to see it occupied by Morocco
- Portugal's decolonization from Mozambique, Angola, Portuguese Guinea, and East Timor; Indonesia invades the last. Carnation Revolution.
- Torrijos-Carter Treaties promise U.S. withdrawal from Panama Canal.
- Rise of environmental awareness and green movements, peace movement and women's liberation in Europe and the USA. First Earth Day (1970). Whole Earth Catalog becomes widely popular and wins National Book Award. Decline of the Black Panther Party. Peak of activity of the Japanese Red Army, Red Army Faction, Red Brigades, Symbionese Liberation Army, and Weathermen.
Economics
- high inflation, unemployment, and interest rates produce stagflation among industrialized nations; most OECD economies fall into chronic budget deficit.
- collapse of the Bretton Woods system and macroeconomic consensus. U.S. leaves the gold standard; gold commodity prices soar.
- OPEC oil embargo (see 1973 energy crisis) and Iranian Revolution (see 1979 energy crisis) spark petroleum crises.
- the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark join Common Market in 1973.
- rise of supply-side economics and resurgence of the Austrian school; Robert Lucas Jr. and the "New Classical" school challenge Keynesian economics; monetarist Paul Volcker appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve.
- Eurocommunism peaks under Enrico Berlinguer; neoliberal policies implemented under Pinochet and Thatcher.
- U.S. government deregulates airlines, bails out Chrysler, creates Conrail and Amtrak.
Culture
- Funk, Disco, Punk rock, Gothic rock music,
- Star Wars
- An age of superstars and idols in sports, music, literature and film.
- Jamaican reggae music begins to gain an international audience, while dub music influences African Americans in New York City, leading to the development of hip hop
- In design, 1970s forms tended to be squared off and voluminous.
Others
- Indonesian Archaeological Service and UNESCO restore Borobodur stupa.
World leaders
- Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (Australia)
- Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (Canada)
- Chairman Mao Zedong (People's Republic of China)
- Deng Xiaoping (People's Republic of China)
- President Chiang Kai-shek (Republic of China on Taiwan)
- President Yen Chia-kan (Republic of China on Taiwan)
- President Anwar Sadat (Egypt)
- President Urho Kekkonen (Finland)
- President Georges Pompidou (France)
- President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (France)
- Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (India)
- President Suharto (Indonesia)
- Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Iran)
- President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (Iraq)
- President Erskine Hamilton Childers (Ireland)
- President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (Ireland)
- President Patrick Hillery (Ireland)
- Taoiseach Jack Lynch (Republic of Ireland)
- Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave (Republic of Ireland)
- Taoiseach Charles Haughey (Republic of Ireland)
- Prime Minister Golda Meir (Israel)
- Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Israel)
- Prime Minister Menachem Begin (Israel)
- Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
- Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka (Japan)
- Pope Paul VI
- Pope John Paul I
- Pope John Paul II
- Prime Minister Keith Holyoake (New Zealand)
- Prime Minister John Ross Marshall (New Zealand)
- Prime Minister Norman Eric Kirk (New Zealand)
- Prime Minister Wallace Rowling (New Zealand)
- Prime Minister Robert Muldoon (New Zealand)
- Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark (Northern Ireland)
- Prime Minister Brian Faulkner (Northern Ireland)
- Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Pakistan)
- First Secretary Edward Gierek (Poland)
- King Faisal (Saudi Arabia)
- Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore)
- Prime Minister and President B.J. Vorster (South Africa)
- President Park Chunghee (South Korea)
- Leonid Brezhnev (Soviet Union)
- Generalísimo Francisco Franco (Spain)
- Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Edward Heath (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Harold Wilson (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister James Callaghan (United Kingdom)
- President Richard Nixon (United States)
- President Gerald Ford (United States)
- President Jimmy Carter (United States)
- Chancellor Willy Brandt (West Germany)
- Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (West Germany)
- President Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia)
Sports figures
- Henry Aaron (U.S. baseball player)
- Muhammad Ali (U.S. boxer)
- Rick Barry (U.S. basketball player)
- Franz Beckenbauer (West German soccer player)
- Wilfred Benitez (Puerto Rican boxer)
- George Best (Northern Irish soccer player)
- Larry Bird (U.S. basketball player)
- Bjorn Borg (Swedish tennis player)
- Terry Bradshaw (U.S. American football player)
- Rod Carew (Panamanian baseball player)
- Nadia Comaneci (Romanian gymnast)
- Jimmy Connors (U.S. tennis player)
- Johan Cruijff (Dutch soccer player)
- Roberto Duran (Panamanian boxer)
- Gareth Edwards (Welsh rugby player)
- Julius Erving (U.S. basketball player)
- George Foreman (U.S. boxer)
- Joe Frazier (U.S. boxer)
- Wilfredo Gómez (Puerto Rican boxer)
- Bobby Hull (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Kareem Abdul Jabbar (U.S. basketball player)
- Reggie Jackson (U.S. baseball player)
- Barry John (Welsh rugby player)
- Billie Jean King (U.S. tennis player)
- Olga Korbut (Russian gymnast)
- Guy Lafleur (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Niki Lauda (Austrian racing driver)
- Clive Lloyd (Guyanan cricketer)
- Pete Maravich (U.S. basketball player)
- Leigh Matthews (Australian Australian Rules Football player)
- Willie Mays (U.S. baseball player)
- Eddie Merckx (Belgian cyclist)
- Carlos Monzon (Argentinian boxer)
- Gerd Müller (West German soccer player)
- Joe Namath (U.S. American football player)
- Jack Nicklaus (U.S. golfer)
- Jim Palmer (U.S. baseball player)
- Pelé (Brazilian soccer player)
- Richard Petty (U.S. racing driver)
- Pete Rose (U.S. baseball player)
- Red Rum (racehorse)
- Secretariat (racehorse)
- Barry Sheene (English motorcycle racer)
- O.J. Simpson (U.S. American football player)
- Mark Spitz (U.S. swimmer)
- Roger Staubach (U.S. American football player)
- Bill Walton (U.S. basketball player)
Entertainers
- Alan Alda (M*A*S*H)
- David Cassidy (The Partridge Family)
- Gary Coleman (Diff'rent Strokes)
- Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, American Graffiti)
- Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry, Escape from Alcatraz)
- Mark Hamill (Star Wars`)
- Goldie Hawn (Butterflies Are Free, Shampoo, $)
- George Lucas (Star Wars, American Graffiti, THX 1138)
- Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown, The Last Detail, Five Easy Pieces)
- Sylvester Stallone (Rocky)
- Henry Winkler (The Fonz on Happy Days)
- Harrison Ford
- Redd Foxx
- Louis de Funes
- Serge Gainsbourg
- Mel Gibson
- Ron Howard
- Jack Lemmon
- Steve Martin
- Robert De Niro
- Bob Newhart
- The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players
- Carroll O'Connor
- Al Pacino
- Robert Redford
- Sony
- Barbra Streisand
- John Travolta
- Mary Tyler Moore
- Johnny Whitaker
Music
- ABBA
- Aerosmith
- Allman Brothers Band
- Bachman-Turner Overdrive
- Black Sabbath
- Blue Öyster Cult
- Dar Bandar
- David Bowie
- Jackson Browne
- Budgie
- Jimmy Buffett
- Carpenters
- Johnny Cash
- Cher
- Chicago
- Eric Clapton
- The Clash
- Alice Cooper
- Elvis Costello
- Crass
- The Damned
- Deep Purple
- Neil Diamond
- The Eagles
- Electric Light Orchestra
- Fleetwood Mac
- Gloria Gaynor
- Genesis
- Gary Glitter
- Grateful Dead
- Merle Haggard
- Waylon Jennings
- Billy Joel
- Elton John
- Journey
- Kiss
- DJ Kool Herc
- Led Zeppelin
- John Lennon
- Loretta Lynn
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Barry Manilow
- Bob Marley & the Wailers
- Steve Miller Band
- Motörhead
- Willie Nelson
- P Funk (Parliament/Funkadelic)
- Pink Floyd
- Queen
- Rainbow
- Rush
- Sex Pistols
- Bruce Springsteen
- Styx
- Donna Summer
- James Taylor
- T. Rex
- Television (band)
- Triumph
- UFO
- Van Halen
- War
- Neil Young
- Warren Zevon
See also: List of rock and roll albums in the 1970s
Writers
- Chinua Achebe
- Ai
- Edward Albee
- Kingsley Amis
- Mulk Raj Anand
- J. G. Ballard
- Saul Bellow
- Anthony Burgess
- A. S. Byatt
- Amy Clampitt
- Anita Desai
- E. L. Doctrow
- Margaret Drabble
- Janet Frame
- John Gardner
- Zulfikar Ghose
- William Golding
- Thom Gunn
- Alamgir Hashmi
- Seamus Heaney
- Ted Hughes
- Philip Larkin
- Robert Lowell
- Norman Mailer
- Kamala Markandaya
- Arthur Miller
- Iris Murdoch
- R. K. Narayan
- Harold Pinter
- Thomas Pynchon
- Salman Rushdie
- Anne Sexton
- Louis Simpson
- Wole Soyinka
- William Stafford
- Anne Stevenson
- Tom Stoppard
- Mark Strand
- John Tranter
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Gore Vidal
- Alice Walker
- Judith Wright
Film
- Woody Allen
- Peggy Ashcroft
- Alan Bates
- Ingmar Bergman
- Ingrid Bergman
- Jean-Paul Belmondo
- Humphrey Bogart
- Kenneth Branagh
- Richard Burton
- Claudia Cardinale
- Sean Connery
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Marlene Dietrich
- Greta Garbo
- Ava Gardner
- John Gielgud
- Gene Hackman
- Rex Harrison
- Audrey Hepburn
- Katharine Hepburn
- Dustin Hoffman
- William Holden
- Rock Hudson
- Diane Keaton
- David Niven
- Peter O'Toole
- Laurence Olivier
- Gregory Peck
- Anthony Quinn
- Robert Redford
- Vanessa Redgrave
- Diana Rigg
- George C. Scott
- Meryl Streep
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Liv Ullmann
- Peter Ustinov
- John Wayne
- Norman Wisdom
- Franco Zeffirelli
bg:1970-те
ca:Dčcada de 1970
cy:1970au
da:1970'erne
de:1970er
et:1970. aastad
el:Δεκαετία 1970
es:Ańos 1970
eo:1970-oj
fr:Années 1970
it:Anni 1970
nl:1970-80
ja:1970年代
no:1970-ĺrene
pl:Lata 70. XX wieku
pt:Década de 1970
ro:Anii 1970
simple:1970s
sl:1970.
fi:1970-luku
sv:1970-talet
wa:Anęyes 1970
zh:1970年代