The 1970s

1976 50 years ago

The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain

The Great American Revolution(formerly known as Revolution, The New Revolution and La Revolución) is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Califor…

The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain

1976 50 years ago

The Teton Dam in Idaho, United States, collapses

The Teton Dam was an earthen dam in the western United States, on the Teton River in eastern Idaho. It was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, one of eight federal agencies au…

The Teton Dam in Idaho, United States, collapses

1976 50 years ago

Soweto uprising: A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa, turns into days of rioting when police

The Soweto uprising, also known as the Soweto riots or the Soweto rebellion, was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in South Africa during aparthe…

Soweto uprising: A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa, turns into days of rioting when police

1976 50 years ago

The Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe convenes in East Berlin

The Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe was an international meeting of communist parties, held in the city of East Berlin, capital of the communist-governed East…

The Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe convenes in East Berlin

1976 50 years ago

Twenty-nine people are killed in the Yuba City bus disaster in Martinez, California

The Yuba City bus disaster occurred on May 21, 1976, in Martinez, California, United States. A chartered school bus transporting 52 passengers came off an elevated off ramp left th…

Twenty-nine people are killed in the Yuba City bus disaster in Martinez, California

1976 50 years ago

The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine

The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, also known as the Judgment of Paris, was a wine competition, to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, organized in Paris, France, on 24 May 1…

The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine

1976 50 years ago

Chief Minister of Sabah Faud Stephens, Peter Joinud Mojuntin, and several other politicians are killed in a plane crash

The chief minister of Sabah is the head of government of Sabah, Malaysia. Since September 2020, the position has been held by Hajiji Noor from the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah from t…

Chief Minister of Sabah Faud Stephens, Peter Joinud Mojuntin, and several other politicians are killed in a plane crash

1976 50 years ago

Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf

Missouri is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east,…

Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf

1976 50 years ago

Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira.

Madeira, officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira, is an autonomous region of Portugal, in the Atlantic Ocean about 805 km southwest of mainland Portugal. Together with the Azor…

Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira.

1976 50 years ago

Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.

Sagarmāthā National Park is a national park in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that was established in 1976 and encompasses an area of 1,148 km2 (443 sq mi) in the Solukhumbu Distri…

Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.

1976 50 years ago

Armenian champion swimmer Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from a trolleybus that had fallen into a Yerevan…

Shavarsh Vladimiri (Vladimirovich) Karapetyan is a Soviet-Armenian former finswimmer. He was best known for saving the lives of 20 people in a 1976 incident in Yerevan.

Armenian champion swimmer Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from a trolleybus that had fallen into a Yerevan…

1976 50 years ago

The Space Shuttle Enterprise is unveiled by NASA.

Space Shuttle Enterprise is the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform a…

The Space Shuttle Enterprise is unveiled by NASA.

1976 50 years ago

Air France Flight 139 (Tel Aviv-Athens-Paris) is hijacked en route to Paris by the PFLP and redirected to Entebbe, Ugand

Air France, stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and is one of …

Air France Flight 139 (Tel Aviv-Athens-Paris) is hijacked en route to Paris by the PFLP and redirected to Entebbe, Ugand

1976 50 years ago

The Angolan court sentences US and UK mercenaries to death sentences and prison terms in the Luanda Trial

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the western coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country after Brazil in bo…

The Angolan court sentences US and UK mercenaries to death sentences and prison terms in the Luanda Trial

1976 50 years ago

The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom

Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelagic country consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, is 1,500 kilome…

The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom

1976 50 years ago

End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic…

The Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, was formed on 8 June 1969, by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, as an armed rival government opposing t…

End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic…

1976 50 years ago

Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France…

The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service bra…

Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France…

1976 50 years ago

TWA Flight 355 is hijacked by five Croatian nationalists. The hijackers surrender upon landing in Paris.

Trans World Airlines Flight 355 was a domestic Trans World Airlines flight that was hijacked on September 10, 1976, by five "Fighters for Free Croatia", a group seeking Croatian in…

TWA Flight 355 is hijacked by five Croatian nationalists. The hijackers surrender upon landing in Paris.

1976 50 years ago

Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumors in the…

Scarlet GN, or C.I. Food Red 2, FD&C Red No. 4, or C.I. 14815 is a red azo dye once used as a food dye. As a food additive, it has the E number E125. It is usually used as a disodi…

Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumors in the…

1976 50 years ago

Lukas Haas, American actor and musician

Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor and musician. His acting career has spanned four decades, during which he has appeared in more than 50 feature films and a number of televisi…

Lukas Haas, American actor and musician

1976 50 years ago

Kelli O'Hara, American actress and singer

Kelli Christine O'Hara is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages.

Kelli O'Hara, American actress and singer

1976 50 years ago

Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the western coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country after Brazil in bo…

Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.

1976 50 years ago

East Timor is annexed and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.

Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the …

East Timor is annexed and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.

1976 50 years ago

The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the games because of New…

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad and officially branded as Montreal 1976, were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to Au…

The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the games because of New…