Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
Jan
11
Jan
22
Jan
28
Feb
27
On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, some 200 members of the Oglala Lakota tribe, led by members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), occupy Wounded Knee, the site of the infamous 1890 massacre of 300 Sioux by the U.S. Seventh Cavalry. The AIM members, some of them armed, took 11 residents of the historic Oglala Sioux settlement hostage as local authorities and federal agents descended on the reservation.
Several AIM members stand next to a sweat lodge erected on a hill below the Sacred Heart Church during the occupation of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, 1973.
Getty Images
Mar
11
On March 11, 1973, the first formal meeting of “Parents of Gays,” co-founded by the parents of a gay son, is held in a church in Greenwich Village in New York. In 1982, it became a national organization called “Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays,” or PFLAG—the largest family and ally organization in the United States for the LGBTQ community.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: A general view of atmosphere during the PFLAG National Memorial for founder Jeanne Manford at The Church of the Village on April 3, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for PFLAG)
Mar
27
On March 27, 1973, the actor Marlon Brando declines the Academy Award for Best Actor for his career-reviving performance in The Godfather. The actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather attended the ceremony in Brando’s place, stating that the actor “very regretfully” could not accept the award, as he was protesting Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans in film.
27th March 1973: Sacheen Littlefeather (born Marie Louise Cruz, 1946 - 2022) holds a written statement from actor Marlon Brando refusing his Best Actor Oscar on stage at the Academy Awards, Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Mar
29
March 29, 1973: Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees many of the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America’s direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end.
(Original Caption) Infantrymen of the Ninth Division line up at Ton Son Nhut Airport here on July 8th to board C141 jet transports for their flight back to the U.S. 814 soldiers were making the trip home. It was the beginning of President Nixon's plan to withdraw 25,000 troops from South Vietnam.
Bettmann Archive
Jun
09
With a spectacular victory at the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat becomes the first horse since Citation in 1948 to win America’s coveted Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. In one of the finest performances in racing history, Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, completed the 1.5-mile race in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, a dirt-track record for that distance.
Elmont, N.Y.: Jockey Ron Turcotte aboard Secretariat looks behind for the other horses on his way to a 31-lengths victory in the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York on June 9, 1973, to complete the first Triple Crown in 25 years. Over 69,000 spectators in the grandstand witnessed history being made. (Photo by Joe Dombroski/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Newsday RM via Getty Images
Sep
18
Sep
20
On September 20, 1973, in a highly publicized “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, top women’s player Billie Jean King, 29, beats Bobby Riggs, 55, a former No. 1 ranked men’s player. Riggs (1918-1995), a self-proclaimed male chauvinist, had boasted that women were inferior, that they couldn’t handle the pressure of the game and that even at his age he could beat any female player. The match was a huge media event, witnessed in person by over 30,000 spectators at the Houston Astrodome and by another 50 million TV viewers worldwide. King made a Cleopatra-style entrance on a gold litter carried by men, while Riggs arrived in a rickshaw pulled by female models. Legendary sportscaster Howard Cosell called the match, in which King beat Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. King’s achievement not only helped legitimize women’s professional tennis and female athletes, but it was seen as a victory for women’s rights in general.
HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 20: Billie Jean King holds up her trophy after defeating Bobby Riggs during the Battle of the Sexes Challenge Match at the Astrodome on September 20, 1973 in Houston, Texas. (Focus on Sport via Getty Images)
Focus on Sport via Getty Images
Oct
15
Oct
24
Nov
10
Nov
17
Dec
16
Dec
24
Dec
26
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