>World History 1972-1973ָ
Summit Meeting, Arab Terrorists Murder 11 Athletes, Bosphorus Bridge, Sear Tower, Yom Kippur War, Britain Controls Northern Ireland, Nixon visits China, Managua leveled by Earthquake, Ford Sworn in as Vice President, US Withdraws from Vietnam, Cat Scan, Severe Drought in Africa, Bahamas Independent, President Allende Killed
| 1972 Summit Meeting At a summit meeting held in Moscow, Soviet Prime Minister Brezhnev and President Nixon signed a strategic arms limitation agreement. The treaty limited both the US and U.S.S.R. to two sites for anti-ballistic missiles (A.B.M.'s). In addition, the treaty, for the first time, placed upper limits on the number of missiles that each side could possess. |
| 1972 Arab Terrorists Murder 11 Athletes at the Olympic Games Palestinian terrorists who were members of the Black September Organization attacked the Israeli team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Two Israelis were murdered immediately, and nine were taken hostage. The hostages were killed when German troops attempted to capture the terrorists at Munich Airport. |
| 1972 Britain Takes Direct Control over Northern Ireland With the situation in Northern Ireland worsening, the British government, under Prime Minister Heath, suspended the provincial government and parliament and took direct control of the province. The action was spurred by two daylight bombings that killed eight people and wounded over seventy. |
| 1972 Nixon visits China In 1969, President Nixon began making moves to establish some level of relations with the China. China responded to the American initiative after its border-dispute with the Soviet Union almost escalated into war. At the same time, the US removed the 19-year-old patrol of the Taiwan Straits. In April, in what became known as "ping- pong diplomacy," the Chinese invited the American ping-pong team to China. In July 1971, the President's National Security Advisor, Dr. Henry Kissinger, traveled to China to negotiate an opening with the Chinese. Upon Kissinger's return, Nixon announced his upcoming summit in Peking. On February 21, 1972, President Nixon arrived in Peking for a seven-day stay. While no major agreements were reached during the summit, its occurrence ushered in a new world of diplomacy for the United States. |
| 1972 Managua leveled by Earthquake The capital of Nicaragua, Managua, was leveled by an earthquake. Between 10,000 and 12,000 people were killed. More than 300,000 people were made homeless. |
| 1972 Congressman Ford Sworn in as Vice President With the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, President Nixon selected Congressman to be his new Vice President. Ford's appointment marked the first time that a Vice President came to office without standing for election. |
1973
| 1973 US Completes Withdrawal from Vietnam On January 27, the United States and North Vietnam signed the Paris Peace Accords. Under its terms, US troops would withdraw from Vietnam. There would be a ceasefire, and US P.O.W.'s would be released. Two years later, the Communists achieved total victory in Vietnam. |
| 1973 Severe Drought, Hundreds Perish A seven-year drought in sub-Saharan Africa brought starvation to 100,000 people in the countries of Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Burkina Faso. |
| 1973 October War On October 6, 1973, which was the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Egyptians and the Syrians launched a surprise attack against Israel. The attack caught Israel almost totally by surprise. Although there were signs of imminent attack, Israeli analysts did not believe that the Arabs would actually invade until they had reached strategic parity. On the morning of October 6, Israeli leaders received information confirming an impending attack. By then it was too late to mobilize the reserves. Due to American pressure, it was also decided not to strike first -- not to launch a pre-emptive attack. In the initial assault, the Egyptians successfully crossed the Suez Canal, and were able to capture most of the Israeli installations on the canal's East Bank. Attempts to counterattack were repulsed by the Egyptians via extensive use of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. Syrian troops managed to penetrate Israeli defenses on the Golan Heights. However, the hastily activated reserve forces were able to hold back the Syrian onslaught. As the war continued, Israel was finally able to take the offensive on the Syrian front. Soldiers advanced to Sasa and captured the summit of Mt. Hermon. On the Egyptian front, Israeli troops successfully crossed the Suez Canal and surrounded the Egyptian Third Army. As the enormity of the Israeli threat became clear, the Arabs called for an immediate cease-fire. After a brief confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, a cease-fire went into effect on October 22. |
| 1973 Allende Killed in Coup A military coup, purportedly supported by the American CIA, deposed President Allende of Chile and replaced him with Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. Pinochet was committed to the elimination of Communisim in Chile. Towards this end, he was responsible for the arrest of thousands. |
| 1973 Bahamas given Independence Great Britain granted the Bahamas independence in 1973. The Bahamas became independent within the British Commonwealth. |
| 1973 Cat Scan Developed The CAT Scan, which stands for Computerized Axial Tomography, was introduced to the medical world. The CAT Scan produces three-dimensional images of internal organs of the body.(8/25/73) The CAT Scan, which stands for Computerized Axial Tomography, was introduced to the medical world. The CAT Scan produces three-dimensional images of internal organs of the body. |
| 1973 Sears Tower Completed The Sears Tower in Chicago was completed. It became the tallest building in the world. It topped out at 1,445 feet. |
| 1973 Bridge Over the Bosphorus A bridge was completed over the Bosphorus. It joined European and Asians sections of Turkey at Istanbul. |
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