This Year in History:
1973
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
Roseann Quinn, a 27‑year‑old New Yorker, visits Tweed’s Bar on the Upper West Side and is picked up by her soon‑to‑be killer. The incident inspires the cautionary novel and subsequent…
On January 3, 1973, James Abourezk, a Congressperson representing South Dakota’s 2nd District, takes office in his newly elected role in the U.S. Senate, once again representing his home state.…
On January 3, 1973, a 12‑member group headed by George Steinbrenner purchases the New York Yankees for $10 million from Columbia Broadcasting System, which owned the team since 1964. The…
On January 11, 1973, the owners of America’s 24 major league baseball teams vote to allow teams in the American League to use a “designated pinch‑hitter” who could bat for…
On January 14, 1973, the Miami Dolphins achieve something no NFL team has repeated: a perfect season. Despite a gaffe by kicker Garo Yepremian that has earned its own place…
Years after he was known as “The Killer,”, a rock pioneer who released such rock standards as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless,” Jerry Lee Lewis made a name for…
Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that established a woman’s legal right to an abortion, is decided on January 22, 1973. The Court ruled, in a 7‑2 decision, that…
On January 22, 1973, former President Lyndon Baines Johnson dies in Johnson City, Texas, at the age of 64. After leaving the White House in 1968, L.B.J. returned to his…
The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong and North Vietnam formally sign “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” in Paris. Due to South Vietnam’s unwillingness to…
A cease‑fire in the Vietnam War goes into effect at 8 a.m., Saigon time (midnight on January 27, Greenwich Mean Time). When the cease‑fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about…
The release of U.S. POWs begins in Hanoi as part of the Paris peace settlement. The return of U.S. POWs began when North Vietnam released 142 of 591 U.S. prisoners…
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…
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…
On March 17, 1973, Associated Press photographer Slava “Sal” Veder captures a heartwarming scene on the tarmac of California’s Travis Air Force Base as a recently freed American prisoner of…
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…
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…
The “Twin Towers” of the World Trade Center officially open in New York City. The buildings replaced the Empire State Building as the world’s tallest building. Though they would only…
On April 21, 1973, Tony Orlando and Dawn’s “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” tops the U.S. pop charts. The yellow ribbon has long been a symbol…
On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, armed members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) surrender to federal authorities, ending their 71‑day siege of Wounded Knee, site of the…
On May 13, 1973, during the early years of the women’s liberation movement, tennis stars Bobby Riggs and Margaret Court face off in a $10,000 winner‑take‑all challenge match. The 55‑year‑old…
