Darcy Press is a publisher of books, both Fiction and Non-fiction, featuring the history of the twentieth century. Please look at the rest of the website by clicking the Home tab above. Below is Mr Darcy's own timeline of his selection of events that interest him and is not intended to be completely comprehensive. He offers it here for information and for others to enjoy.   1900s  |  1910s  |  1920s  |  1930s  |  1940s  |  1950s  |  1960s  |  1970s  |  1980s  |  1990s   1970 The UK age of majority is lower from 21 to 18 1 Jan 16 Jan In Britain 2850 people die of Hong Kong flu in one week First Jumbo aircraft lands at Heathrow airport 23 Jan 1 Mar American planes bomb the Ho Chi Minh trail in eastern Laos that the North Vietnamese use to supply the south The crippled spacecraft Apollo 13 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean 17 Apr 30 Apr American President Nixon sends troops into Cambodia Edward Heath's Tories win a surprise victory in the British General Election 19 Jun 3 Jul British army fights gun battles with IRA snipers in Belfast The Aswan dam in Upper Egypt is completed 21 Jul 27 Jul Portuguese dictator Salazar dies Salvador Allende elected president of Chile 4 Sep 12 Sep Three hijacked airliners are blown up in the desert by Palestinian terrorists Leila Khaled exchanged for the hostages from the blown up planes 30 Sep 5 Oct Anwar Sadat succeeds Abdel Nasser after his death in Egypt Major Oilfield found in the British Sector of the North Sea 19 Oct 12 Nov Charles de Gaulle dies Tidal wave in East Pakistan kills more than 150,000 people 20 Nov 8 Dec Election of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in West Pakistan and Shaikh Mujibur Rahman in East Pakistan threatens to divide the country Anti government riots over food prices which began in Gdansk rock Poland 20 Dec 1971 Sixty-six people die as crowd barriers collapse at Ibrox Park in Glasgow 2 Jan 14 Jan Angry Brigade bomb the house of Robert Carr, Secretary of State for Employment Milton Obote is deposed by Idi Amin in a coup in Uganda 25 Jan 4 Feb Rolls Royce goes bankrupt Britain replaces its old Pounds, Shillings and Pence with a Pounds and Pence Decimal Currency 15 Feb 26 Mar Civil war breaks out in East Pakistan Astronauts from Apollo 15 go for a drive on the moon in their Lunar Roving Vehicle 31 Jul 11 Aug Riots flare in Ulster after Internment without Trial introduced Britain expels 90 Russians for spying 24 Sep 25 Oct China Takes Formosa's seat in the United Nations India and Pakistan clash on the borders of East Pakistan 23 Nov 3 Dec Pakistan launches war against India Pakistan loses war with India and East Pakistan becomes independent as Bangladesh 17 Dec 1972 IRA bomb in a Belfast department store injures 55 women and children 3 Jan 22 Jan Britain, together with Ireland, Denmark, and Norway sign the treaty to join the European Economic Community Bloody Sunday as paratroopers fire on marchers in Derry's Bogside 30 Jan 16 Feb Electricity blackouts imposed as the British Miner's strike begins to bite American President Nixon signs a treaty with the Chinese 22 Feb 22 Feb IRA bombs to Headquarters of the Parachute Regiment in Aldershot, killing seven Prime Minister Heath imposes Direct Rule on Ulster amid mounting violence 25 Mar 30 Mar North Vietnam launches its heaviest attack on the South for 4 years Nixon steps up the bombing of North Vietnam 14 Apr 20 Apr Apollo 16 spacecraft lands on the Moon President Nixon and the leader of the Soviet Communist Party sign a pact in Moscow 29 May 17 Jun Burglars caught in the Democrats office in the Watergate complex Ugandan dictator Idi Amin announces the expulsion of 50,000 Asians to Britain 6 Aug 11 Aug Last American troops leave Vietnam Twentieth Olympic games opens in Munich 26 Aug 5 Sep Israeli compound at the Olympic games in Munich is stormed by 'Black September' Arab guerrillas – 11 killed Nixon aides are charged over the Watergate break-in 15 Sep 6 Nov British government introduces an immediate 90 day compulsory prices and wages freeze American President Nixon is re-elected 7 Nov 11 Dec Apollo 17 spacecraft lands on the Moon Managua, capital of Nicaragua is devastated by an earthquake killing 10,000 people 25 Dec 1973 Britain, Ireland and Denmark join the European Economic Community. Norway stays out after a referendum 1 Jan 23 Jan Ceasefire is agreed in Vietnam between the North and the Americans White House aids found guilty of involvement in the Watergate break-in 30 Jan 3 Mar IRA bombs kill one and injure 250 in London Top Nixon aids Haldeman and Ehrlichman resign over Watergate and the cover-up 30 Apr 4 Jun Russian supersonic plane 'Concordski' crashes at Paris air show Democratically-elected Marxist President Allende of Chile is killed in a military coup 11 Sep 6 Oct Egypt and Syria attack Israel on Yom Kippur American Vice- President Spiro Agnew resigns and is replaced by Gerald Ford, Republican Leader of the House of Representatives 12 Oct 17 Oct Oil States increase price of Oil by 70% in protest against US support for Israel in the Yom Kippur war Arab oil producers make further 25% cut in supplies 4 Nov 22 Nov Power sharing deal agreed in Ulster Britain goes on to a 3 day week due to shortages of electricity caused by the miners and other industrial actions 17 Dec 20 Dec Spanish Prime Minister Carrero Blanco is killed by an ETA bomb which blows his car over the top of a building 1974 Military separation Agreement signed between Israel and Egypt 18 Jan 25 Jan Major oilfield found by British Petroleum in the North Sea Miners in Britain vote to go on strike worsening the fuel crisis 4 Feb 28 Feb General election over who governs Britain yields almost a dead heat between Labour and the Tories Ted Heath gives up attempt to form a government and Harold Wilson's Labour takes over as minority 6 Mar 6 Mar Miners strike ends with 35% pay increase Return to 5 day working week 8 Mar 25 Apr A bloodless revolution in Portugal sweeps away Dr Caetano's right wing dictatorship Israel signs truce with Syria on the Golan Heights 31 May 2 Jun Huge chemical explosion destroys the Flixborough chemical plant on Humberside Franco hands over power in Spain to Prince Juan Carlos 19 Jul 24 Jul Military rule in Greece ends and Civilian power returns President Nixon Resigns over Watergate cover-up and is replaced by Gerald Ford 8 Aug 11 Oct In the second election of the year Harold Wilson's Labour party wins a narrow majority Seventeen people killed in IRA bomb blasts in Birmingham pubs 17 Nov 31 Dec Inflation reaches new heights with prices up 20% on the year and wages up 26%. The price of Petrol nearly doubles 1975 Communist Khmer Rouge forces begin a siege of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh 4 Jan 27 Jan Five IRA bombs go off in London, and one in Manchester where 19 are injured A tube train crashes into the dead end of a tunnel at Moorgate in London killing the driver and 34 passengers 28 Feb 25 Mar King Faisal of Saudi Arabia is killed by his mentally deranged nephew. The King's younger brother Khalid succeeds to the throne The North Vietnamese army takes Da Nang, South Vietnam's second largest city 29 Mar 17 Apr Communist Khmer Rouge forces take control of Phnom Penh taking effective control of Cambodia The war in Vietnam ends as the North Vietnamese seize control of Saigon. The US embassy is evacuated by helicopter 31 Apr 13 May UK inflation rate reaches 21% while the pound falls sharply The Suez canal reopens after eight years 5 Jun 6 Jun British people vote overwhelmingly in a Referendum to remain in the Common Market The first oil from the North Sea is brought ashore in Britain 18 Jun 24 Jun Mozambique becomes independent from Portugal Chinese archaeologists uncover a terracotta army of warriors in Xian the ancient capital 11 Jul 17 Jul Russians and Americans handshake in space as Soyuz and Apollo spacecrafts dock with each other Human Right pact signed in Helsinki 1 Aug 16 Sep Civil war breaks out in Lebanon between Christians and Moslems Russian dissident Andrei Sakharov wins the Nobel Peace Prize 9 Oct 10 Nov Angola gains its independence from Portugal General Franco dies and King Juan Carlos takes over in Spain 20 Nov 24 Nov Civil war breaks out in Angola with 3 factions fighting it out South Moluccans seize the Indonesian consulate in Amsterdam 4 Dec 6 Dec IRA take a married couple hostage in Balcombe Street 1976 Frigate HMS Andromeda is rammed by an Icelandic gunboat 7 Jan 21 Jan Concorde enters commercial service with simultaneous flight from London and Paris The factions in the Civil War in Lebanon reach a peace agreement 22 Jan 8 Feb The Dutch government launches an enquiry into claims by Lockheed that it paid a bribe to Prince Bernard husband of Queen Juliana Harold Wilson suddenly steps down as British Prime Minister without giving a reason 16 Mar 5 Apr James Callaghan becomes the new Prime Minister after the Labour party elects him leader Mario Soares becomes the first elected Prime minister of Portugal following the coup 2 years ago 25 Apr 14 May Inflation in the UK has dropped to 18.9% Fighting breaks out again in Lebanon 16 May 1 Jun Britain and Iceland sign an agreement to end the third Cod War The white government in South Africa tries to restore order after rioting in Soweto protesting against the schools having to teach in Afrikaans 18 Jun 4 Jul Israeli commandos free 100 hostages from a hijacked plane at Entebbe airport Accident at a Chemical Factory at Seveso, Italy releases a cloud of poisonous Dioxin 10 Jul 17 Jul The Olympic games is opened in Montreal by the Queen Dennis Howell is put in charge of government measures as the serious drought begins to bite 24 Jul 9 Sep Chairman Mao Tse-tung, leader of the Chinese Communists, dies Ian Smith announces a 2 year transition to black majority rule in Rhodesia 24 Sep 4 Oct British Railways introduces its HS-125 diesel train capable of 125 mph Jimmy Carter is elected US President beating Gerald Ford to the post 2 Nov 27 Nov Ulster's Peace Women lead a 30,000 strong peace march in London Ulster peace activists Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams receive the Nobel Peace Prize 10 Dec 1977 240 Czech scholars, writers and former politicians sign the Charter 77 calling for civil rights for the people 9 Jan 6 Feb Silver Jubilee of the accession of Queen Elizabeth Two Jumbo jets collide on the ground in Tenerife in the Canary Islands killing 574 people 27 Mar 2 Apr Red Rum becomes the first horse to win the Grand National three times Blow out at a drilling rig in the Ecofisk field in the North Sea causes a massive oil slick before being capped 30 Apr 23 May South Moluccan terrorists sieze a school and a train with 161 passengers A week of festivities begins celebrating the Queen's Silver Jubilee 7 Jun 11 Jun Dutch Marines storm the train seized by the South Moluccans Adolfo Suarez is elected Prime Minister of Spain in the first elections for 41 years 15 Jun 5 Jul Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is overthrown as Prime Minister of Pakistan by a military coup headed by General Zia ul-Haq The American Space Shuttle makes its first test flight 12 Aug 16 Aug Elvis Presley the 'King' of Rock and Roll dies at Graceland, Memphis Tennessee at the age of 42 The Americans launch the Voyager 2 space probe towards Jupiter and Saturn 20 Aug 12 Sep Black Rights leader Steve Biko dies in detention in South Africa German anti-terrorist troops storm a Lufthansa airliner in Mogadishu airport freeing the hostages and killing 3 out of the 4 Palestinian hijackers 18 Oct 21 Nov President Sadat of Egypt visits Israel and addresses the Knesset Refugees are fleeing the Communist regime in Vietnam in boats hoping to find a country that will accept them 3 Dec 1978 Donald Woods the dissident South African newspaper editor, who attacked the government over the death of Steve Biko, escapes to Lesotho and then to London 1 Jan 14 Mar Dutch Marines storm a government building in Assen to free the 71 hostages taken by the South Moluccan terrorists the previous day Former Italian Premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by Red Brigade terrorists 16 Mar 24 Mar The supertanker Amoco Cadiz breaks up on the coast of Brittany spilling 220,000 tons of crude oil into the Channel The body of Aldo Moro the Italian ex-premier is found in a car in Central Rome 9 May 11 May Large demonstrations march through Teheran protesting at the Shah's rule The world's first 'Test Tube' baby is born 26 July 26 Aug Cardinal Luciani is elected Pope, taking the name John Paul I after the death of Pope Paul VI Three Americans, Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman make the first crossing of the Atlantic in their helium filled balloon Double Eagle from Maine to Paris 19 Aug 18 Sep President Carter manages to bring Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin to an agreement Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days in office 30 Sep 16 Oct Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla is elected Pope and takes the name John Paul II 913 members of the American religious sect the People's Temple commit suicide in the jungle in Guyana 29 Nov 10 Dec Millions march in protest against the Shah in Iran President Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Begin of Israel share the Nobel Peace Prize 10 Dec 1979 Cambodia is taken over by the Vietnamese as tanks roll into Phnom Penh overpowering the Khmer Rouge troops 8 Jan 16 Jan The Shah of Iran is driven into exile by supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini Rubbish piles up in the streets of Britain as strikes of the 'winter of discontent' begin to bite 31 Jan 1 Feb Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran Chinese and Vietnamese troops clash on their border 17 Feb 26 Mar Egypt and Israel sign a peace treaty Dangerous incident at the 'Three Mile Island' Nuclear Power Station in Pennsylvania causes radioactive leak 27 Mar 28 Mar Government of James Callaghan loses vote of confidence and calls an election Idi Amin's regime falls in Uganda and he flees from the Tanzanian troops 29 Mar 2 Apr Vietnamese reveal the mass graves of the murders carried out by the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia Abel Muzorewa is elected the first black Prime Minister of Rhodesia 24 Apr 4 May Margaret Thatcher's Tories win the British General Election All DC10 airliners are grounded after plane loses an engine 29 May 8 Jun First direct elections for the European Parliament President Carter and Premier Brezhnev sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT-2) in Vienna 18 Jun 20 Jul Sandanistas victorious in Nicaragua as General Debayle flees Sebastian Coe completes his hat trick of World Records to hold those for the 800m, 1500m and 1 mile to become the first man to do so 15 Aug 27 Aug Lord Mountbatten, cousin of the Queen, is blown up in his boat by an IRA bomb Fanatical supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini storm the US Embassy in Tehran and take nearly 100 people hostage 4 Nov 20 Nov Shi'ite gunmen take over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest shrine Saudi troops recapture the Grand Mosque 24 Nov 10 Dec Mother Teresa wins the Nobel Peace Prize Godfrey Hounsfield gets the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his invention of the CAT scanner 10 Dec 27 Dec The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan as the government falls and Babrak Karmal is installed as the new leader   1900s  |  1910s  |  1920s  |  1930s  |  1940s  |  1950s  |  1960s  |  1970s  |  1980s  |  1990s