Interesting Things that Happened in 1973

There seemed to be a great deal that went on in the 12 months of 1973. 1973 started off with the expansion of the European Economic Community with the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark joining on January 1. The European Economic Community eventually becomes the European Union. Peace talks carried on from last year over the war in Vietnam. On January 15th the United States President, Richard Nixon announces the suspension of war action in North Vietnam mentioning progress with the peace discussions. By March 17th, most of the remaining USA military begin to depart Vietnam. On January 22nd, the fighter George Foreman overcome Joe Frazier in one of the all-time classic battles to secure the heavyweight world boxing championship. In the Chinese region of Sichuan on February 6th, a 7.6 magnitude quake kills 2200 people and injuring 2700 others. On April 1st Great Britain introduces the Value Added Tax (VAT) within the taxation method.

One of the continuing sagas of 1973 had been just what became referred to as Watergate controversy that started in 1972 with the burglary at the Democratic party head office. On April 30, US president Richard Nixon states that the White House Counsel John Dean has been terminated and that Attorney General Richard Kleindienst has also resigned together with staffers H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. I thought this was carried out by President Nixon in order to divert some of the blame off him. However, on July 16 the former White House assistant Alexander Butterfield explains to the United States senate committee examining the Watergate breaking and entering that President Richard Nixon had privately taped potentially incriminating discussions. On October 20th in what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre, Richard Nixon directs that the Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson declined to accomplish this and along with the Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus quits. The Solicitor General Robert Bork who was next in line with the Department of Justice, next fires Cox. This affair increases calls for Richard Nixon’s impeachment. On November 1 the acting Attorney General Robert Bork names Leon Jaworski as being the fresh Watergate Special Prosecutor. In Orlando, Florida on November 17th Richard Nixon tells the Associated Press managing editors with his now famous quotation: “I am not a crook.” Following a lot more events in this case, President Nixon stepped down from the presidency on August 9, 1974.

Other incidents that happened in 1973 involved the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis game on September 20. In this Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs with the televised tennis game, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, played out at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. There was an attendance of 30,492 folks making it the biggest live audience ever to see a tennis match in USA history, a record which still exists at this time. The global viewers that viewed this tennis game on television in 36 nations is calculated in excess of 90 million people. Elton John releases his most successful album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road on October 5. On October 20 the legendary Sydney Opera House is launched by Queen Elizabeth II after taking fourteen years to construct.

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