1970s in music, North America, Country, Country rock and Southern rock
During the 1970s, a similar style of country rock called southern rock (fusing rock, country, and blues music, and focusing on electric guitars and vocals) was enjoying popularity with country audiences, thanks to such non-country acts as The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Marshall Tucker Band.


1970s in music, North America, Country, Country rock and Southern rock
It was with both country rock and southern rock that Hank Williams Jr., a longtime stalwart of country music, used to resurrect his career. The son of pioneering legend Hank Williams, the younger Williams (who adopted the nickname "Bocephus," an affectionate nickname given to him by his father) recorded in a primarily countrypolitan style in the 1960s and early 1970s, including many of his famous father's songs and often performed in his father's style. By the mid-1970s, several career- and life-changing events shaped his future.


1970s in music, North America, Country, Country rock and Southern rock
He began recording and performing with recording artists including Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Charlie Daniels, and recorded a Southern rock-heavy album showcasing his new style called Hank Williams Jr. and Friends. On August 8, 1975, Williams was nearly killed in a mountain climbing accident on the Ajax Peak in southwestern Montana; his recovery took two years, and it was thereafter that he adopted his signature look – a beard, sunglasses, and a cowboy hat.


1970s in music, North America, Country, Country rock and Southern rock
In 1979, after a string of modestly-performing singles in his new style, he broke through with "Family Tradition," an autobiographical song about his heritage and new musical identity. Williams went on to become one of country music's top superstars of the 1980s and beyond with his blend of country, rock, Southern rock and blues, and with songs having themes of soul-searching, rebellion, wild living, and political and societal activism.


1970s in music, North America, Country, Notable deaths in country music
The decade saw the deaths of several country music performers, many who would come to be regarded as classic stars of the genre. The year 1975 was a particularly difficult year for the genre, as three key performers – Bob Wills, George Morgan, and Lefty Frizzell—all died within a two-month timespan. In 1977, Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby, two performers not directly identified as country but were vastly influential in and/or had substantial successes and fanbases in the genre, died within six weeks of each other.


1970s in music, North America, Country, Notable deaths in country music
Within a seven-month time span from October 1978 to May 1979, four other notable performers died: Mel Street, a relative newcomer whose honky tonk stylings made him one of the decade's most promising new artists; "Mother" Maybelle and Sara Carter, of the pioneering Carter Family; and Lester Flatt, an early bluegrass pioneer who formed a successful partnership with Earl Scruggs.


1970s in music, North America, Other developments
The decade saw commercial success for blue-eyed soul artists, such as David Bowie who released the successful albums Young Americans (1975), which included the number one hit "Fame", and Station to Station (1976).


1970s in music, North America, Other developments
In the second half of the decade, a 1950s nostalgia movement prompted the Rockabilly Revival fad. The Stray Cats led the revival into the early 1980s. Queen participated through their hit "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Also symbolizing this trend was the hit movie Grease in 1978, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.


1970s in music, North America, Other developments
Tying in with the nostalgia craze, several stars of the late 1950s and early 1960s successfully revived their careers during the early- to mid-1970s after several years of inactivity. The most successful of these were Ricky Nelson ("Garden Party", 1972), Paul Anka ("(You're) Having My Baby", 1974), Neil Sedaka ("Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood", both 1975), and Frankie Valli as both a solo artist (1975's "My Eyes Adored You") and with The Four Seasons (1976's "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)").


1970s in music, North America, Other developments
In addition, Perry Como—one of the most successful pre-rock era artists—enjoyed continued success, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale (as most of his fans were adults who grew up during the 1940s and early 1950s, and not the rock record-buying youth); his most successful hits of the decade were "It's Impossible" (1970) and the Don McLean song "And I Love You So" (1973).


1970s in music, North America, Other developments
Two of popular music's most successful artists died within eight weeks of each other in 1977. Elvis Presley, the best-selling singer of all time, died on August 16, 1977. Presley's funeral was held at Graceland, on Thursday, August 18, 1977.


1970s in music, North America, Other developments
Bing Crosby, who sold about half a billion records, died October 14, 1977. His single, "White Christmas", remains as the best selling single of all time, confirmed by the Guinness Records.


1970s in music, North America, Other developments
The early seventies also marked the deaths of rock legends Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, gospel great Mahalia Jackson, and Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas. The decade also saw the plane crash in 1977 in which three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Pop
Elton John became the decade's biggest solo pop star, releasing diverse styles of music that ranged from ballads to arena rock; some his most popular songs included "Crocodile Rock", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Bennie and the Jets", "Philadelphia Freedom", and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (the latter a duet with Kiki Dee). Other European soft rock major artists of the decade included Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, and Joan Armatrading. (See the country music section of this article for more about country music that crossed over onto the pop charts.)


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Pop
One of the biggest bands of the 1970s were the UKs Bee Gees who dominated the 1970s music scene having a string of number one hits and albums in the U.K. the U.S. and Europe they have generally been considered one of the most important acts of the 1970s and one of the most influential and important acts of all time, selling over 220 million albums worldwide to date and have generally been regarded as the decades biggest band.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Pop
One of the most successful European groups of the decade, and one of the best-selling acts of all time with 380 million records sold, was the quartet ABBA. The most successful Swedish group of all time, ABBA first found fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. They became one of the most widely known European groups ever, as well as one of the few groups from a non-English speaking country to gain international success with several back-to-back No. 1 albums and singles in most of the major music markets. "Waterloo", "Mamma Mia", "Take a Chance on Me", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Dancing Queen", and "The Winner Takes It All" are just some of ABBA's most popular and most successful songs.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Pop, New wave
In the late 1970s, many bands in the United Kingdom began experimenting with synthesizers, forming the new wave style known as synthpop. Major synthpop bands around this time included Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, the Buggles, the Human League, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Other successful British new wave bands in the late 1970s included the Police, Echo & the Bunnymen, Adam and the Ants, Roxy Music, Squeeze, XTC, the Cure, the Stranglers, Joy Division, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock
One of the first events of the 1970s was the break-up of The Beatles in the spring of 1970. Paul McCartney formed a new group, Wings, and continued to enjoy great mainstream success. The three other former Beatles — John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — all continued hugely successful recording careers throughout the decade and beyond. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison all released extremely successful solo albums in 1970, Imagine, McCartney, and All Things Must Pass, and several of their songs are listed among the biggest hits of the 1970s: Wings' "Silly Love Songs" and "My Love," and Harrison's "My Sweet Lord"."


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Hard rock
Heavy metal music gained a cult following in the 1970s, led by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, with their styles later influencing other bands like Judas Priest and Motörhead, which eventually started the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the 1980s.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Hard rock
Black Sabbath, formed in 1968 (as The Polka Tulk Blues Band, then Earth), is often credited with inventing the metal genre as well as stoner rock, doom metal, as well as sparking a revolution with much darker lyrics than were the norm in rock at that time.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Progressive rock
Progressive or prog rock developed out of late 1960s blues-rock and psychedelic rock. Dominated by British bands, it was part of an attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility. Progressive rock bands attempted to push the technical and compositional boundaries of rock by going beyond the standard verse-chorus-based song structures. The arrangements often incorporated elements drawn from classical, jazz, and world music. Instrumentals were common, while songs with lyrics were sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based in fantasy.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Progressive rock
Progressive rock bands sometimes used "concept albums that made unified statements, usually telling an epic story or tackling a grand overarching theme." King Crimson as well as the Moody Blues have been seen as the bands who established the concept of "progressive rock". The term was applied to the music of bands such as Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Rush, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It reached its peak of popularity in the mid-1970s, but had mixed critical acclaim and the punk movement can be seen as a reaction against its musicality and perceived pomposity.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Progressive rock
Nevertheless, Pink Floyd's 1973 release, The Dark Side of the Moon, was an immediate success, remaining in the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988, with an estimated 50 million copies sold. It is Pink Floyd's most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It has twice been remastered and re-released, and has been covered in its entirety by several other acts. It spawned two singles, "Money" and "Time". In addition to its commercial success, The Dark Side of the Moon is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Glam rock
Glam or glitter rock developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s. It was characterized by outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. The flamboyant lyrics, costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a campy, playing with categories of sexuality in a theatrical blend of nostalgic references to science fiction and old movies, all over a guitar-driven hard rock sound. Pioneers of the genre included David Bowie, Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, Marc Bolan, and T.Rex.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Glam rock
These, and many other acts straddled the divide between pop and rock music, managing to maintain a level of respectability with rock audiences, while enjoying success in the singles chart, including Queen and Elton John. Other performers aimed much more directly for the popular music market, where they were the dominant groups of their era, including Slade, Sweet, and Mud. The glitter image was pushed to its limits by Gary Glitter and The Glitter Band. Largely confined to the British, glam rock peaked during the mid-1970s, before it disappeared in the face of punk rock and new wave trends.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Soft rock
From the late 1960s it became common to divide mainstream rock music into soft rock and hard rock. Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. It reached its commercial peak in the mid- to late-1970s with acts like the reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade. Major British soft rock artists of the 1970s included 10cc, Mungo Jerry, the Hollies, and Rod Stewart. Some of the most successful singers and songwriters were Cat Stevens, Steve Winwood, and Elton John.


1970s in music, The UK and the rest of Europe, Rock, Punk rock
The mid-1970s saw the rise of punk music from its protopunk-garage band roots in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Sex Pistols and The Clash were some of the earliest British acts to make it big in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Groups like the Clash were noted for the experimentation of style, especially that of having strong ska influences in their music. Punk music has also been heavily associated with a certain punk fashion and absurdist humour which exemplified a genuine suspicion of mainstream culture and values. The Sex Pistols caused a major sensation in 1977 and were the first serious challenge to the established rock groups like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, although the punk era in Britain lasted only three years and effectively ended with the Pistols' breakup.


1970s in music, Australia and New Zealand
The mid-to-late 1970s Australian band AC/DC became one of the most popular and successful acts in Australia, scoring a string of hits, albums and singles. They made their international debut in 1976 with High Voltage. The band quickly became successful outside their home country; the Highway to Hell album from 1979 peaked at number 13 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart and they would continue as one of the most popular rock groups in the world through the following decade.


1970s in music, Australia and New Zealand
The Bee Gees were an English-Australian group which consisted of brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb — was a successful harmonic act as the 1970s dawned. Aside from the chart-topping How Can You Mend a Broken Heart in 1971, the brothers did not make much impact in the US during the first half of the decade and most of their record sales were in Europe, especially on the continent. With the failure of their 1973 album Life in a Tin Can, the Bee Gees appeared washed up.


1970s in music, Australia and New Zealand
But in 1975, they rebounded with Main Course which added more of a beat to their songs and they began embracing the new disco sound in their next album Children of the World (1976). The musical movie Saturday Night Fever (1977) finally propelled the Bee Gees to global superstar status with Stayin' Alive, More Than a Woman, and Night Fever (from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack). The Gibbs' youngest brother, Andy, was a sensation with his own solo career. He made occasional appearances with his brothers and hit the jackpot with his songs I Just Want to Be Your Everything and Shadow Dancing.


1970s in music, Australia and New Zealand
The most successful Australian female artist of the decade, Olivia Newton-John, became a leading singer in the 1970s in both the popular and country genres and realized several number one hits, including the songs, Let Me Be There and I Honestly Love You for which she received three Grammys.


1970s in music, Australia and New Zealand
Additional top music acts in Australia and New Zealand included: Little River Band, Sherbet, Skyhooks, John Paul Young, Marcia Hines, Jon English, Stevie Wright, Richard Clapton, Dragon, Hush, and the Ted Mulry Gang.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa
Jose Jose big break came on 15 March 1970, when he represented Mexico in the international song festival the II Festival de la Canción Latina (Latin Song Festival II, predecessor of the OTI Festival) with a performance of the song "El Triste". Although José José finished in third place, his performance helped launch his music career to a wider audience. In 1971, Juan Gabriel released his first studio album El Alma Joven..., which included the song "No Tengo Dinero", which became his debut single and his first hit. Vicente Fernández's greatest hit was "Volver, volver," released in 1972; his first million-selling album was 1983's 15 Grandes con el número uno. Rolando Villazón is born.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Nueva canción
During the 1970s in Latin America, the 1960s music influence remained strong and two styles developed from it one that followed the European and North American trends and Nueva Canción that focused on the renewal of folklore including Andean music and cueca. Some bands such as Los Jaivas from Chile mixed both streams and created a syncretism between folklore and progressive rock. The Nueva Canción movement got an even more marked protest association after all countries in the Southern Cone became (or were already) military dictatorships in the 1970s. In Chile, the Nueva canción styles developed through the 1970s would remain popular until the return to democracy in 1990.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Rock
In the 1970s, rock en Español began to emerge (especially in Argentina), and as imitation bands became fewer, rock music started to develop more independently from the outside, although many rock bands still preferred to sing in English. The Argentine defeat in the Falklands War in 1982 followed by the fall of the military junta that year diminished need of Nueva Canción as protest music there in favour of other styles.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Tropical
Sonora Santanera is an orchestra playing tropical music from Mexico with over 60 years of history.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Reggae and AfroBeat
The Wailers, a band started by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer in 1963 which used to play ska and rocksteady music during the 1960s, became popular in the Caribbean, Europe and Africa since the early 1970s after they started playing reggae music. Later on, the band became very popular in the U.S. The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers. Despite the break-up, Marley continued recording music under the name Bob Marley & The Wailers. In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry", from the Natty Dread album. The success of the album Exodus (1977), which included the major international hits "Jamming", "Turn Your Lights Down Low", and "One Love", propelled Marley to international stardom.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Reggae and AfroBeat
In addition to the Wailers, other significant pioneers include Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Jackie Mittoo, and several others.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Reggae and AfroBeat
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, or simply Fela, was a Nigerian human rights activist, political maverick, multi-instrumentalist, musician, and pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre. He has been called "superstar, singer, musician, Panafricanist, polygamist, mystic, legend." During the height of his popularity, he was often hailed as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers."


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Cumbia
It was during the 1970s the cumbia became widely popular outside Colombia. Several bands brought Cumbia to Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Chile places that later became major scenes for further developments of cumbia music. While Nueva Canción was the music of the New Left and the rock developments of Argentina reflected the European oriented youth, cumbia became widely popular among the large poor sectors of Latin American countries, to such degree that it came to be associated with shantytowns and low-prestige Native American populations.


1970s in music, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Salsa and merengue
Salsa music developed in the 1960s and 1970s by Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrants to the New York City area but did not enter into mainstream popularity in Latin America until the late 1980s. The merengue music experienced during the late 1970s was a golden age of productivity characterized by the rise of a new generation of musicians.


1970s in music, Other trends
The commercial cinemas around the world tended to imitate nuances of disco beats in their movies to present their movies as western and upbeat. These included the increasingly popular kung-fu movies in far East Asia and Bollywood movies from India. These trends are essential in proving that commercial cinemas were a beneficial investment for the community.


1970s in science and technology
This article is a summary of the 1970s in science and technology.


1970s in science and technology, Science
The 1970s in science and technology reached its height with the ambitious Voyager Program, which sent the Voyager I and Voyager II uncrewed expeditions to several of the outer planets in the solar system. The program also included a Voyager Golden Record with the spaceships in hopes of presenting aspects of life on Earth to intelligent alien life forms. The record contained pictures and other data about human beings and other living beings on earth. It also had an assortment of music from across cultures.


1970s in science and technology, Science
Coupled with the zenithal achievements of the Voyagers as the end of NASA's Apollo lunar spacecraft program, with the final flight, Apollo 17, in 1972. The Apollo-Soyuz and Spacelab programs ended in 1976, and there would be a five-year hiatus in American crewed spaceflight until the flight of the Space Shuttle. The Soviet Union developed vital technologies involving long-term human life in free-fall on the Salyut and later Mir space stations.


1970s in science and technology, Science
The 1970s witnessed an explosion in the understanding of solid-state physics, driven by the development of the integrated circuit and the laser. The evolution of the computer produced an interesting duality in the physical sciences at this period — analogue recording technology had reached its peak and was incredibly sophisticated. However, digital measurement and mathematical tools, now becoming cheaper (though still out of reach for the general public) allowed discrete answers and imaging of physical phenomena, albeit at a low resolution and a low bandwidth of data. This tendency was to reach its peak in 1982, though the period 1974–1982 represents the 'period of dichotomy' in the metrication of the sciences.


1970s in science and technology, Science
Deep understanding of physics became important in the 1970s. At CERN, the Irs proton collider and the Super Proton Synchrotron started operation in this decade, and Stephen Hawking developed his theories of black holes and the boundary-condition of the universe. The biological sciences, spurred by social concerns about the environment and life, gained tremendous detail. The elucidation of molecular biology, bacteriology, virology and genetics achieved their modern forms in this decade. Discrete quantum interactions within living systems became amenable to analysis and manipulation. Genetic Engineering became a commercially viable technology.


1970s in science and technology, Technology
The birth of modern computing was in the 1970s. The world's first general microprocessor, the Intel 4004, came out in November 1971. The C programming language was developed early in the decade and the Unix operating system was rewritten into it in 1973. With "large-scale integration" possible for integrated circuits (microchips) rudimentary personal computers began to be produced along with pocket calculators. Notable home computers released in North America of the era are the Apple II, the TRS-80, the Commodore PET, and Atari 400/800 and the NEC PC-8001 in Japan.


1970s in science and technology, Technology
The availability of affordable personal computers led to the first popular wave of internetworking with the first bulletin board systems. In 1976, Cray Research, Inc. introduced the first supercomputer, the Cray-1, which could perform 230,000,000 calculations per second. Supercomputers designed by Cray continued to dominate the market throughout the 1970s. The 1970s was also the beginning of the video game era. Atari established itself as the dominant force in home video gaming, first with its home version of the arcade game Pong and later in the decade with the Atari 2600 console (originally called the "VCS", or Video Computer System). By 1979, the scene was set for the Golden Age of Arcade Games.


1970s in science and technology, Technology
The 1970s were also the start of fiber optics. In 1970 Corning Glass announced that it had created a glass fiber so clear that it could be used to communicate pulses of light. Soon after GTE and AT&T began experiments to transmit sound and image data using fiber optics, and transformed the communications industry. After 1973 both the United States and Europe turned away from the large and heavy mainstream automobiles, and towards lightweight, fuel-efficient and environmentally-conscious vehicles, already beginning to be produced by Japan. The Lotus Esprit was an example of a 1970s super car, producing high performance from a small engine. The Volkswagen Golf GTI of 1974 made the concept of a performance hatchback part of automotive mainstream thinking, though it had many precedents.


1970s in science and technology, Technology
The United States lagged badly in the development of compact and fuel-efficient vehicles, a side effect of industrial inexperience on the part of the manufacturers in Detroit. Two giants of the industry, GM and Ford both produced vehicles that fell drastically short of customer desires and economic demands; in the case of GM the Vega and for Ford the Pinto. Automotive historians have also described the period as 'the era of poor quality control', and manufacturers internationally produced vehicles that have since become by-words for poor technological integration.


1970s in science and technology, Technology
Notably, the 1970s saw the introduction in the automotive field of novel technologies, particularly from Japan and Germany, that would begin to mature in the 1990s and 2000s as viable alternative propulsion sources, such as hybrid vehicles, Stirling engines, as well as solar-electric and pure-electric vehicles.


1970s in science and technology, Technology
The integration of the computer and robot, particularly in Japan, saw unprecedented improvements in mass-produced automotive quality. Japanese advanced lightweight, fuel efficient and environmentally-conscious vehicles dramatically increased in demand, and such cars as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla became some of the most popular and iconic vehicles of the 1970s. Japanese manufacturers dramatically made their presence felt in international markets during the decade.


1970s in science and technology, Technology
During the 1970s, microwave ovens experienced a surge in popularity as price and size decreased rapidly towards the end of the decade. Cassette tapes continued to surge in popularity after their introduction in the 1960s. JVC's VHS and Sony's Betamax waged a videotape format war as the primary recording and video devices beginning in 1976, but by the end of the decade VHS had become the dominant format. Also introduced to the home market was the Laserdisc, the first optical disc format used primarily for high quality video.


1970s in sociology
The following events related to sociology occurred in the 1970s.


1970s in sports, Olympics
During the 1970s, the Olympics took place four times, with Munich hosting the games in 1972 and Montreal playing host in 1976. The 1972 Summer games became victim to both terrorism and international controversy with ties to the ongoing Cold War situation. During the games, Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli athletes and took nine hostages. After a failed rescue attempt, all hostages and all but three of terrorists were killed. The United States-Soviet Union basketball game was also embroiled in controversy. The U.S. basketball Olympic winning streak, which started in 1936, was ended by the Soviet Union team's close victory game.


1970s in sports, Olympics
The U.S. complained about errors in officiating but the victory by the Soviet Union was upheld. Among the 1972 Summer Olympic highlights was the performance of swimmer Mark Spitz, who set seven World Records to win a record seven gold medals in one Olympics, bringing his total to nine. Other notable athletes at the 1972 games were sixteen-year-old Olga Korbut, whose success in women's gymnastics earned three gold medals for the Soviet Union, and British athlete Mary Peters, who took home the gold in the women's pentathlon.


1970s in sports, Olympics
The 1976 Summer games in Montreal marked the first time the Olympic games were held in Canada. Mindful of the tragedy during the 1972 games, security was high during the Montreal games. Due to its policy on apartheid, South Africa was banned from the games. Even so, twenty-two other African countries sat out to protest. The 1976 Summer Olympics were highlighted by the legendary performance of 14-year-old Romanian female gymnast Nadia Comăneci, who scored seven perfect 10s and won 3 gold medals, including the prestigious All Around in women's gymnastics.


1970s in sports, Olympics
The performance by Comăneci also marked the rise of legendary women's gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi, who went on to coach the U.S. team in both the 1988 and 1992 summer Olympic games. The 1976 Summer games also featured the strong U.S. boxing team, which consisted of Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph and Howard Davis Jr. The team won five gold medals and was arguably the greatest Olympic boxing team ever. In wrestling, Dan Gable won the gold medal in the 149-pound weight class without having a single point scored against him. Amazingly, this was done with a painful shoulder injury.


1970s in sports, Olympics
The Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, Japan, in 1972 and Innsbruck, Austria, in 1976. Originally, Denver, Colorado, was supposed to host the '76 games, but voters rejected a plan to finance the venues needed and the IOC chose Innsbruck instead; the city had already had venues from hosting the 1964 Winter Olympics.


1970s in television
The decade of the 1970s saw significant changes in television programming in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The trends included the decline of the "family sitcoms" and rural-oriented programs to more socially contemporary shows and "young, hip and urban" sitcoms in the United States and the permanent establishment of colour television in the United Kingdom.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
In 1967, BBC Two had started trials of their new colour service, and it was gradually rolled out over the next few years. BBC One and ITV followed suit in 1969, so by 1970 the viewer had three colour channels from which to choose: BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. Although U.S. imports occupied a significant proportion of airtime, there was a substantial amount of high quality in-house production too.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
The BBC, supported by its licence fee and with no advertisers to placate, continued fulfilling its brief to entertain and inform. The Play for Today was a continuation of the Wednesday Play which had run from the mid-1960s. As the title implied, it presented TV drama which had relevance to current social and economic issues, done in a way calculated to intrigue or even shock the viewer.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
As well as using established writers, it was effectively an apprenticeship for new ones who were trying to make a name for themselves; Dennis Potter, John Mortimer, Arthur Hopcraft and Jack Rosenthal all served time on Play for Today before going on to write their own independent series. In style, the plays could go from almost documentary realism (of which Cathy Come Home is the best known example) to the futuristic or surrealist (The Year of the Sex Olympics, House of Character).


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
Potter went on to write Pennies from Heaven, one of the landmarks of 1970's television drama. It had the now familiar elements of Potter's style: sexual explicitness, nostalgia, fantasy song and dance scenes, all overlaying a dark and pessimistic view of human motivation. The series was a success, but the BBC was not yet ready for Brimstone and Treacle, a story of the rape of a physically and mentally handicapped young woman. After viewing it, the BBC's Director Of Programs Alasdair Milne, pronouncing it to be "brilliantly written ... but nauseating", withdrew it, and it would not be shown on British television until 1987.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
Things had begun to change in the 1960s, with Till Death Us Do Part, and the series continued during 1972–75. The rantings of Alf Garnett on race, class, religion, education and anything else at all definitely touched a nerve. Although the show was in fact poking fun at right-wing bigotry, not everyone got the joke. Some — including, notably, Mary Whitehouse — complained about the language (although the level of profanity was quite light) and resented the racial epithets like "wog" and "coon" and the attitudes underlying them.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
Others, completely missing the point of the show, actually adopted Alf as their hero, thinking he was uttering truths that others didn't dare to — apparently oblivious to the fact that he never got the best of any argument and was regularly shown up to be stupid and ill-informed. The series regularly provoked controversy in the media, and for millions it became a common gossiping point at work or in the pub.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
Many popular British situation comedies (sitcoms) were gentle, innocent, not challenging portrayals of middle-class life, avoiding or only hinting at controversial issues; typical examples were Happy Ever After (later succeeded by Terry and June), Sykes and The Good Life. Set in a hotel in Torquay, Fawlty Towers was a massive success for the BBC, despite only twelve episodes being made.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
More nostalgic in tone were Last of the Summer Wine, about the escapades of pensioners in a Yorkshire town, Dad's Army, about a Home Guard unit during World War II and It Ain't Half Hot Mum about a Royal Artillery Concert Party stationed in India/later Burma also during (and after) World War II.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
A more diverse view of society was offered by series like Porridge, a comedy about prison life, and Rising Damp, set in a lodging house inhabited by two students, a lonely spinster and a lecherous landlord. Taking a softer approach to race than Till Death Us Do Part, ITV's Mind Your Language (1977–79) represented several foreign nations personified as English language students attending an evening class. Despite LWT ending the show after its third series in objection to the undeniable stereotyping, Mind Your Language did later return for a fourth series in the 1980s.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
In police dramas, there was a move towards increasing realism. Dixon of Dock Green continued until 1976, but it was essentially a nostalgic look back to an earlier time when police officers were depicted as a mix of strict but fair law enforcer, and kindly social worker. On the other hand, detective series such as Softly, Softly (a spin-off from the earlier Z-Cars) began to show police work done by fallible human beings with their own personal failings and weaknesses, constantly frustrated by the constraints under which they worked.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
Such series showed crime at the level of petty larceny and fraud, being tackled by ordinary coppers on the beat. Serious organised crime, on the other hand, was the province of various elite units, and one show in the 1970s set a new standard. The Sweeney presented a hard, gritty picture of an armed police unit — members of Scotland Yard's elite Flying Squad. Violence was routine, as were fast car chases; Regan and Carter were hard-hitting coppers, who when they weren't catching villains were likely to be on a drunken binge or womanizing.#2323123


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
Although this was a truer picture of British policing, it was not always to the liking of senior police officers, who felt that the confidence of the public in the police force would be diminished as a result. In police dramas, through most of the 1970s however, corruption was rare, the detection rate was unrealistically high, and the criminals arrested were always convicted on solid evidence.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United Kingdom
Although the officers in The Sweeney were no angels, and there were occasional hints that police who inhabited a world where informants were necessary could not completely avoid compromises, these never amounted to more than turning a blind eye to minor misdemeanours. It would not be until 1978 that a police drama (the miniseries Law and Order) would depict a police officer fabricating evidence to secure a conviction, with the collusion of his colleagues.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Long-standing trends reach the end of the road
At the start of the decade, long-standing trends in American television were finally reaching the end of the road. The Red Skelton Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, long-revered American institutions, were finally canceled after multi-decade spans. The "family sitcom", popularized by the travails of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in the 1950s and 1960s, saw its last breath at the start of the new decade with The Brady Bunch, which ran for five seasons.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Long-standing trends reach the end of the road
Although the show was never highly rated during its original run, it has been broadcast in syndication continuously since 1974, and many children have grown up with it, causing them to think of the Bradys as the quintessential family — not only in 1970s television, but quite possibly all of American television. In the early 1970s the high concept sitcoms like I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched began to lose American interest with I Dream of Jeannie ending its run in 1970 and Bewitched ending in 1972.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The death of rural-oriented programming and the rise of "socially conscious" programming
In 1971; CBS, tired of being ridiculed as the "Hillbilly Network" because the majority of its hit shows were rural-oriented, cancelled The Beverly Hillbillies, Hee Haw, Green Acres and Mayberry RFD plus every show "that had a tree in it" as described by actor Pat Buttram. In its place, shows that appealed to a younger, more urban demographic became commonplace. It was transformed by what became termed as "social consciousness" programming, spearheaded by television producer Norman Lear. All in the Family, his adaptation of the British television series Till Death Us Do Part, broke down television barriers.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The death of rural-oriented programming and the rise of "socially conscious" programming
When the series premiered in 1971, Americans heard the words "fag," "jigaboo," and "spic" on national television programming for the first time. All in the Family was the talk of countless dinner tables throughout the country; Americans hadn't seen anything like it on television before. The show became the highest-rated program on U.S. television schedules in the fall of 1971 and stayed in the top slot until 1976 — to date, only one other series has tied All in the Family for such a long stretch at the top of the ratings. All in the Family spawned numerous spin-offs, such as Maude, starring Bea Arthur.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The death of rural-oriented programming and the rise of "socially conscious" programming
Maude was Edith Bunker's cousin and Archie's archenemy. She stood for everything liberal and was an outspoken advocate of civil rights and feminism. Like All in the Family, Maude broke new ground in television and presented American audiences with something they had never encountered on television before when Maude admitted, without guilt or shame, to planning to have an abortion. Maude felt most comfortable, however, hiring a black woman as her housekeeper.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The death of rural-oriented programming and the rise of "socially conscious" programming
Maude's housekeeper, Florida Evans (played by Esther Rolle), became popular in her own right and was given her own television series in 1974, Good Times, which proved to be another hit for Lear's production company. Lear developed two shows in 1975: The Jeffersons, a spin-off of All in the Family in which Archie Bunker's black next-door neighbors moved to a luxury apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and One Day at a Time, about a single mother raising her two teenage daughters in Indianapolis.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The decline of the western
With the rise in socially responsible programming, the television western, a very popular genre in the 1960s, slowly died out. The first casualties were The High Chaparral and The Virginian, both NBC staples, in the spring of 1971. Bonanza suffered a blow when actor Dan Blocker died during surgery in 1972, and the show quietly ended its run the next year. CBS's Gunsmoke outlasted them all, and finally ended its run with a star-studded series finale in 1975. In the meantime, Kung Fu, airing from 1972 to 1975, offered a mix of the genre with Eastern philosophy and martial arts.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The decline of the western
Bonanza actor Michael Landon helped popularize a television adaptation of the popular children's book series Little House on the Prairie. Debuting in 1974, the series ran for eight years. Little House's competitor family drama was CBS's The Waltons, which revolved around family unity but during a different time and place — Virginia during the Great Depression.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Medical shows
Medical shows were popular in the early 1970s; Marcus Welby, M.D. was the first medical drama ever to tackle many subjects on television for ABC, the same for Medical Center for CBS, those shows aired for 7 seasons. Other shows such as Emergency!, was also the first series ever to feature both the paramedic and the emergency hospital, starring Robert Fuller and Julie London, which also launched the career of Randolph Mantooth, and M*A*S*H, starring Alan Alda, focused on the days of the Korean War, combined both comedy and drama.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Jiggle television and crime shows
By the mid-to-late 1970s, viewers tired of socially responsible sitcoms. Former CBS head of programming Fred Silverman defected to struggling ABC started the trend of TV centred on sexual gratification and bawdy humor and situations, nicknamed "jiggle television." Jiggle TV shows included the crime-fighting television series Charlie's Angels, which starred up-and-coming sex symbols Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, and Kate Jackson and the risqué sitcom such as Three's Company, modeled after the British series Man About the House, in which swinging single-man Robin Trip pretended to be gay in order to live in an apartment with two single women. Mildly controversial at the time, the show quickly became a Top Ten hit in the ratings.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Jiggle television and crime shows
The aforementioned Charlie's Angels was one of many crime shows to prosper during the 1970s. Another show, Police Woman starring Angie Dickinson, was the first show, ever to have a female lead in the title role, also became a sex symbol. Other successful TV crime dramas of the decade included The Streets of San Francisco, Columbo, Barnaby Jones, The Rockford Files, Starsky & Hutch, Kojak and, above all, Hawaii Five-O, for many years considered the longest-running police show in the history of American television.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Jiggle television and crime shows
However, crime shows often came under fire during the 1970s from various groups decrying the programs' often-violent content and demanded that companies pull their ads from such programs. 1977 saw the debut of CHiPs, an action-packed police show where the cops very seldom drew their guns. One year earlier, Quincy, M.E., a mystery-crime show centered around an inquisitive medical examiner who often immersed himself in contemporary hot-button issues, had bowed on NBC.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Science-fiction
A science-fiction trend accelerated as the 1970s decade progressed. A number of sci-fi shows, many of them from Universal TV, achieved at least a measure of popularity during this period. They included The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Battlestar Galactica, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk and Fantasy Island.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The soap opera boom
Another popular medium in U.S. television moving into the 1970s was the soap opera, which moved from being a genre watched exclusively by housewives to having a sizable audience of men (who largely watched The Edge of Night) and college students; the latter audience helped All My Children gain a devoted following, as it was on during many universities' traditional "lunch period." In a TIME article written about the genre in 1976, it was estimated that as many as 35 million households tuned into at least one soap opera each afternoon, the most popular being As the World Turns, which routinely grabbed viewing figures of twelve million or higher each day.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The soap opera boom
The soap boom spawned a nighttime soap parody, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, which made a quick star out of Louise Lasser, who played the eponymous heroine. A rising soap opera toward the decade's end was Ryan's Hope, which capitalized on the everyman success of the film Rocky (despite Ryan's Hope debuting earlier; the show's success came a while after the movie's release). The serial was about an Irish-American family running a pub in New York City, and earned critical acclaim from television critics for its realistic portrayal of an "ethnic" middle-class family in a contemporary setting.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The soap opera boom
The show's matriarch, played by Helen Gallagher, won two Daytime Emmys by decade's end. Also during the decade General Hospital, a soap that spent most of the decade with bad ratings (It was almost canceled in 1976) saw a rise in popularity around late 1978 due to its more youthful focus. However, it would not yet become a ratings giant until the 1980s.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The soap opera boom
ABC aired Soap, a sitcom that parodied soap operas, and garnered controversy by writing in one of the first gay characters on U.S. television. Many stations refused to air the series (another storyline consisted of heroine Corinne Tate, played by Diana Canova, lusting after a priest who eventually left the priesthood to marry her). Silverman's legacy also included the escapist "fantasy" genre, which started in 1977 with The Love Boat. The series involved popular movie and television stars in guest roles as passengers on a luxury cruise liner that sailed up and down the Pacific Coast. Silverman followed up in 1978 with Fantasy Island, starring Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize. Montalban and Villechaize were the owner and sidekick, respectively, of a luxury island resort where peoples' wishes came true.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Daytime game shows
Daytime television was consumed with several game shows, airing alongside soap operas during the mornings and afternoons. During the early years of the decade, The Hollywood Squares (NBC) was the most popular, winning numerous Emmy awards. Hosted by masterly emcee Peter Marshall, nine celebrities in a large tic-tac-toe board — among them, archetypical center square Paul Lynde — responded to miscellaneous questions. Contestants must state whether they "agree" or "disagree" with the answers and if they are correct, their "X"/"O" symbol lights up in the celeb's box.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Daytime game shows
The first to get three in a row or a five-square win succeeds and wins money. Bluffs and zingers made this the essential show to watch on afternoons. In the mid-1970s Match Game (CBS) was the most popular game show (it was #1 among them from 1973 to 1977), in a time when there were many of them. Players must match the answers of panelists like Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Daytime game shows
Fill-in-the-blank questions involving crude humor, zany panelists, several hilarious incidents, and pure "fun" between the panel and "ringmaster" host Gene Rayburn made it popular. At one point, it broke records as the highest-rated daytime TV show in U.S. history. The show launched a spin-off, Family Feud (ABC), an enormously prominent game which prevailed as the #1 game show of the late 1970s. Two families squared off in assuming the most common answers to surveys of 100 people across the nation with such questions as, "name a public figure most Americans dislike."


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Daytime game shows
The simple concept was the main cause of its success, but interesting answers and the clever wit of Richard Dawson fueled the show's amazingly high ratings. Other successful game shows during this decade included The Price Is Right (still on the air to this day), Let's Make a Deal, The $20,000 Pyramid, The Gong Show, The Newlywed Game, Password, Tattletales, Tic Tac Dough, Bowling for Dollars, Break the Bank and The Joker's Wild.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Television newscasts
Another influential genre was the television newscast, which built on its initial widespread success in the 1960s. Each of the three television networks had widely recognizable and respected journalists helming their newscasts: CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, who was voted "The Most Trusted Man in America" many times over, led in the nightly ratings. NBC's John Chancellor and David Brinkley were a strong second, while ABC, perennially third place in the news department until the 1990s, had a newscast helmed by Howard K. Smith.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, The rise of telefilms
The success of the 1971 telefilm Duel signaled the rise of movies produced specifically for television. Some featured a hero or heroine whose life was in jeopardy, while others were pilots for proposed TV series to be picked up by a network. (Some sold; many did not.) Still others centered on the destructiveness of a certain disease, whether medical or social. Roots, a multi-part miniseries that ran on a number of consecutive nights in early 1977, proved to be a huge hit in the ratings and thus paved the way for others of its kind like Shogun and The Thorn Birds.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Variety shows
The variety show received its last hurrah during this decade. Popular during the 1950s and 1960s, variety shows carried on in the 1970s with The Carol Burnett Show. With a repertory company that included Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman and Lyle Waggoner, the veterans' series continued to be successful and ran well into the mid-1970s. NBC aired a variety show of its own, starring African-American comedian Flip Wilson. The Flip Wilson Show became a success and became the first show headed by an African-American comedian to become a ratings winner.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Variety shows
In 1971, while Fred Silverman was still working for CBS, he spotted singing duo Sonny & Cher doing a stand-up concert and decided to turn it into a weekly variety show. In addition to some entertaining stand-up banter between the husband and wife, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour would also have skits and music (mostly sung by Cher). The show was a ratings winner from the first episode and ran for three years. It was followed in the same vein shortly after by singing group Tony Orlando and Dawn.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Variety shows
Another group of singers who received a variety show in the 1970s were two of the famous singing Osmonds — Donny and his sister Marie. Sid & Marty Krofft set to work on the siblings' series and Donny & Marie premiered on ABC in the winter of 1976. Although the show became very popular, the Osmonds were equally ridiculed for their wholesome image and Mormon moral reputation (on an episode of Good Times, the lead character, Florida, listed three things in the world you just can't do, and one was "smile wider than Donny and Marie").


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Producers of 1970s television
Many prime-time programs of the 1970s were helmed by independent producers, often in association with a major Hollywood studio. A particularly successful independent producer at the dawn of the decade was Quinn Martin, who produced such crime shows as The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, and Dan August (a one-season cop series starring an up-and-coming Burt Reynolds that would find greater popularity after its star had hit it big at the cinema).


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Producers of 1970s television
Martin's success would fade during the latter half of the decade, however; by the end of 1980, the erstwhile mega-producer would be left without a single prime-time network series on the air. As for other producers during the period, Norman Lear produced the socially relevant All in the Family as well as more innocuous fare such as One Day at a Time. Jack Webb, a holdover from previous decades, oversaw Adam-12 and Emergency!, the latter highly popular with young children.


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Producers of 1970s television
Glen A. Larson produced a number of series in association with Universal TV (McCloud, Switch, etc. ), while David Gerber made a name for himself with such fare as Police Woman and Police Story. (The latter was a one-hour anthology series with no real regulars.) Among 1970s TV producers, however, it was Aaron Spelling who would go on to be perhaps, according to an article written by Michael Idato for The Sydney Morning Herald, "the most prolific producer in TV history." Like Quinn Martin, Spelling was known for producing crime dramas (S.W.A.T., Starsky & Hutch).


1970s in television, Overall trends, United States, Producers of 1970s television
However, Spelling also produced more escapist fare as represented by the likes of The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and even the private-eye opus Charlie's Angels. There was also Family, a socially relevant hour-long series which would win a number of Emmys during its four-year run. Spelling's success would continue well into the 1990s.


1970s in video games
The 1970s was the first decade in the history of the video game industry. The 1970s saw the development of some of the earliest video games, chiefly in the arcade game industry, but also several for the earliest video game consoles and personal computers.


1970s in video games, Arcade history
Notable early arcade video games of the early-to-mid-1970s include Computer Space (1971), Pong (1972), Space Race (1973), Speed Race (1974), Gun Fight (1975), Heavyweight Champ (1976), Fonz (1976), Night Driver (1976), Breakout (1976), Death Race (1976) and Space Wars (1977).


1970s in video games, Arcade history, Golden age of arcade video games (1978–1979)
Classic arcade games of the late 1970s include Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979), Asteroids (1979), Barrier (1979), Speed Freak (1979), Warrior (1979), Tail Gunner (1979) and Lunar Lander (1979).


1970s in video games, Consoles of the 1970s, First-generation consoles (1972–1979)
The so-called first generation of consoles were on sale between 1972 and 1980 and included the Magnavox Odyssey, Telstar, Home Pong and Color TV-Game.


1970s in video games, Consoles of the 1970s, Second-generation consoles (1976–1979)
The second generation of consoles, on sale between 1976 and 1988, made several leaps forward technologically. Consoles first available in the late 1970s included the Fairchild Channel F, Atari 2600, Bally Astrocade and Magnavox Odyssey². The first handheld console, the Microvision, was released in 1979.


1970s in video games, Best-selling arcade games of the decade
The following titles were the best-selling arcade video games of each year in the 1970s.


1970s operation in Balochistan
The 1970s operation in Balochistan was a five-year military conflict in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, between the Pakistan Army and Baloch separatists and tribesmen that lasted from 1973 to 1978.


1970s operation in Balochistan
The operation began in 1973 shortly after then-Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dismissed the elected provincial government of Balochistan on the pretext that arms had been discovered in the Iraqi Embassy, ostensibly for Baloch rebels. The ensuing protest against the dismissal of the duly elected government also led to calls for Balochistan's secession, met by Bhutto's ordering the Pakistan Army into the province. Akbar Khan Bugti served as provincial governor during the early stages of the conflict. The operation itself was led by General Tikka Khan against an unknown number of militants coordinated by their Baloch sardars, or tribal chiefs, most notably Khair Bakhsh Marri and Ataullah Mengal. Iran provided military support to the operation.


1970s operation in Balochistan
Fighting was intermittent throughout the conflict, climaxing in 1974 with drawn-out battles. The Bhutto regime was overthrown by General Zia-ul-Haq on 5 July 1977, and martial law was imposed. A general amnesty was declared by military governor Rahimuddin Khan. Army action ended by 1978, replaced by development and educational policies to conciliate the province.


1970s operation in Balochistan
The conflict took the lives of 3,300 Pakistani troops, 5,300 Baloch, and thousands of civilians. Most civilian casualties were inflicted by militants targeting local Baloch populations whom the militants believed were loyal to the government.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Calls for independence
The 1971 Indo-Pakistani War had ended with the defeat of Pakistan at the hands of Bangladesh and India. East Pakistan declared itself to be independent. It became a new sovereign state called Bangladesh, to be ruled by Bengali leader Shaikh Mujibur Rahman. Mujib had been a major personality in the events that had led to the war, having called for greater provincial autonomy and rights for what was then East Pakistan, only to be met with utter disapproval by the then military ruler Yahya Khan and his West Pakistan-based political opponent Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Calls for independence
Despite Mujib's having won the federal elections of 1970, both Yahya and Bhutto refused to let Mujib form the central government. The ensuing unrest gradually deteriorated into civil war, and ultimately the secession of Bangladesh after the India-Pakistan War of 1971. India also played a large part in the independence of Bangladesh by arming and financing the separatist group Mukti Bahini which rebelled against the Pakistani State after the injustice done to the then East Pakistan. Most importantly, India sent its troops into East Pakistan to aid the Bengali separatists in suppressing the Pakistan army.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Calls for independence
This greatly influenced Balochistan's leading political party, the National Awami Party (NAP). Led by ethnic nationalists and feudal leaders such as Sardar Ataullah Mengal and Khan Wali Khan, the party dominated the province due to the large amount of individual political influence its leaders held. Emboldened by the secession of Bangladesh, the party demanded greater autonomy from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who had become the new President of Pakistan following his predecessor Yahya Khan's resignation in December 1971, in return for a consensual agreement on Bhutto's Pakistan Constitution of 1973. Bhutto, however, refused to negotiate on any terms that might have involved a reduction in his powers, with chief minister Ataullah Mengal in Quetta and Mufti Mahmud in Peshawar. The already significant civil unrest now turned volatile as tensions between the NAP and Bhutto erupted.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Launch of Bhutto's military operation
The ethno-separatist rebellion of Balochistan of the 1970s, the most threatening civil disorder to Pakistan since Bangladesh's secession, now began. Surveying the political instability, Bhutto's central government sacked two provincial governments within six months, arrested the two chief ministers, two governors, forty-four Members of the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly, obtained an order from the Supreme Court banning the NAP, and charged everyone with high treason to be tried by a specially constituted Hyderabad Tribunal of handpicked judges. Following the alleged discovery of Iraqi arms in Islamabad in February 1973, Bhutto dissolved the Balochistan Provincial Assembly and infuriated Balochistan's political oligarchs.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Launch of Bhutto's military operation
In time, the nationalist insurgency, which had been steadily gathering steam, now exploded into action, with widespread civil disobedience and armed uprisings. Bhutto now sent in the army to maintain order and crush the insurgency. This essentially pitted the ethno-separatists against the central government. As casualties rose, the insurgency became a full-fledged armed struggle against the Pakistan Army. The sporadic fighting between the insurgency and the army started in 1973 with the largest confrontation taking place in September 1974 when around 15,000 ethno-separatists fought the Pakistan Army and Air Force.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Launch of Bhutto's military operation
Sensing the seriousness of the conflict, the Pakistan Navy dispatched units under Vice-Admiral Patrick Simpson—Commander of the Southern Naval Command—to provide logistic and intelligence support to the Army and Air Force from the sea. The navy applied an effective blockade in Balochistan's waters and stopped the illegal arms trade and aid to Baloch rebel groups. In a separate operation, the navy seized and destroyed vessels that were trying to aid the Baloch rebel groups. The army suffered more than 3,000 casualties in the fight while the militants lost some 5,000 fighters as of 1977. After three years of fighting the separatists were running out of ammunition and so withdrew by 1976.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Foreign Support, India
Pakistan asserted India was covertly intervening in Balochistan in the same way it had intervened in East Pakistan before the secession of Bangladesh. India denied the assertions, replying that it was fearful of further balkanisation of the subcontinent after Bangladesh. In retrospect, Avinash Paliwal, in his book My Enemy's Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal, cites a junior Indian intelligence officer participant in these operations who recalled that "we gave Baloch everything, from money to guns, during the 1970s, everything".


1970s operation in Balochistan, Foreign Support, India
Paliwal further claims that just as Pakistan and India were bitter rivals, so were Iran and Iraq. In the pursuit of their respective rivalries, Pakistan and Iran developed closer relations, as did India and Iraq. Arming Baloch insurgents in Iran and Pakistan was in the interest of both Iraq and India. The militant group Pasthun Zalmay was responsible for a series of bomb blasts and other insurgent activities in Pakistan; it comprised Balochs and Pashtuns and was in direct contact with Kabul as well as with the Indian and Iraqi missions in Afghanistan.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Foreign Support, India
As a consequence, relations between Iran and India deteriorated so much that in 1975, Indian diplomat Ram D. Sathe sent a secret letter to the Indian ambassador in Tehran in which Sathe predicted that "it will be a few more days before the Iranians will stridently back the Pakistanis (on Kashmir) ... Personally I do not think we should be under any illusion about this matter. I think Iranians will definitely back the Pakistanis".


1970s operation in Balochistan, Foreign Support, Iran
It was after visiting Iran in 1973 that President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had dissolved Balochistan's provincial government in the run-up to the operation. When the operation was begun, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran and Bhutto ally, feared a spread of Baloch ethnic resistance into Iran. The Imperial Iranian Army began providing Pakistan with military hardware and financial support. Among Iran's contributions were 30 HueyCobra attack helicopters and $200 million in aid.


1970s operation in Balochistan, Foreign Support, Republic of Afghanistan
The Republic of Afghanistan under the leadership of Mohammed Daoud Khan provided covert support to Baloch militants. In the 1970s Daoud Khan had ordered the construction of military training camps for Baloch militants in Kabul and in Kandahar. Camps in Kabul were under the supervision and control of Republican Guards. Baloch militants were provided with arms, ammunition, and training in insurgent warfare so that they would fight against Pakistan.


1970s operation in Balochistan, End of action
Although major fighting had broken down, ideological schisms caused splinter groups to form and steadily gain momentum. On 5 July 1977, the Bhutto government was overthrown by General Zia-ul-Haq and martial law was imposed. With the civil disobedience in Balochistan remaining widespread, the military brought in Lieutenant General Rahimuddin Khan as governor under martial law. Rahimuddin declared a general amnesty for belligerents willing to give up arms and oversaw military withdrawal. Ataullah Mengal and Khair Bakhsh Marri, sardars that had been active in the conflict, were isolated by Rahimuddin from provincial affairs, and left the province for foreign countries. Marri later said the Baloch independence movement was 'at a virtual standstill', and Marri tribesmen granted amnesty laid down their arms. Akbar Bugti, having sided with Tikka Khan and now being marginalised by Rahimuddin Khan, went into self-imposed seclusion. Civil disobedience movements and anti-government protests died down.


1970s operation in Balochistan, End of action
Rahimuddin's tenure also ushered in sustained development. Following the Soviet invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan in 1979, Rahimuddin used the resultant foreign attention on Balochistan by introducing an externally financed development programme for the area. Forty million dollars (USD) were committed to the programme by the end of 1987, by which time Rahimuddin had resigned. He expedited the regulation of Pakistan Petroleum Limited, the exploration company charged with the Sui gas field. He consolidated the then-contentious integration of Gwadar into Balochistan, which had earlier been notified as a district in 1977.


1970s operation in Balochistan, End of action
Addressing the province's literacy rate, the lowest in the country for both males and females, he administered the freeing up of resources towards education, created girls' incentive programs, and had several girls' schools built in the Dera Bugti District. As part of his infrastructure schemes, he also forced his way in extending electricity to vast areas with subsoil water.


1970s operation in Balochistan, End of action
Tensions have resurfaced in the province with the Pakistan Army being involved in attacks against ethnic Baloch separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army, the Baloch Liberation Front and the Baloch Republican Army. Attempted uprisings have taken place as recently as 2006.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand
Thailand witnessed several uprisings by farmers from several central Thai provinces in the mid-1970s. Thailand, transitioning to democratic government after nearly forty years of dictatorship, was beset by revolution involving several segments of the population. Farmers were one of several politicized groups that rioted on the streets. They implored Thai Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn to reduce their debt and to ensure fair rice prices.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand
These appeals were ignored, with the prime minister refusing to meet with farmers. In their desperation, farmers tried to enact change by themselves. Unafraid of creditors and other capitalists, they hoped for a change which would free them from debt-bondage. They announced their intention to cease paying taxes and refused to recognise the authority of Thai state leadership. By setting up an autonomous liberated zone, the farmers sought greater freedom and the ability to better influence rice crop prices in order to better sustain themselves.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand
The aims of the farmer's revolt were to be recognised for their contributions to the state and subsequently to be treated with respect equal to that of their landlords. From the revolt, the Farmers Federation of Thailand (FFT), a national, autonomous Thai farmers organisation, emerged. The FFT led the struggle in northern Thailand to pass a law which standardised and lowered the level of rents on rice land, the Land Rent Control Act (LRCA) of December 1974.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand
What followed in the wake of the 14 October 1973 movement were mass protests by farmers and their allies such as students and professional classes who challenged the ruling elite to improve the lives of farmers. The revolt antagonized landowners and state officials. In response, activists were harassed and murders were to follow. Between March 1974 and September 1979, 21 FTT leaders were assassinated with the killings concentrated in the Chiang Mai region. The assassination of FTT leaders created an environment of pervasive fear in the countryside and ended the revolutionary efforts of the FTT.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Social and economic situation
How easy to thresh from these stalks a stream of grain. Who but the farmer knows all the hardships involved? Drops of sweat, who cares to count how many. But drop by drop I can count every one of my worries. How many bulging sinews of mine, tear up from the earth what you put in your mouth?


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Social and economic situation
Major issues in Thai society were rural poverty and regional underdevelopment. Cities enjoyed sharp growth and along with it, a growing and prospering urban middle class. Composing up to 78 percent of Thailand's total labour force, peasant farmers formed the largest occupational group in Thailand. Agricultural output, mainly rice, accounted for nearly 30 percent of Thailand's GDP.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Social and economic situation
The producers of these commodities, however, were not among the beneficiaries. Farmers depended on rice sales to survive. To better protect themselves, they organised themselves and formed a national coalition of farmers against exploitative market conditions. Though the farmers attempted in vain to defend their livelihood and source of income, their efforts were systematically frustrated by governmental authorities in collusion with landlords and others with vested interests in ensuring that rice prices remained low. In the 1970s a Thai farmer's average per capita income was only US$49. In contrast, the average national per capita income was US$125, and that of urban residents stood at US$428.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Social and economic situation, The growing income gap
Source: News report in Prachtnippatai, 23 Jul 1974. quoted from Akira Takahashi, "Thailand: Growing Land Problems", in Z. M. Ahmadi, ed., Land Reform in Asia, Geneva, 1976, p. 118.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Social and economic situation, The growing income gap
Thailand had not previously suffered from the runaway population growth found in most developing nations. The productivity of its soil, along with its external environment, combined with a non-existent political culture, based on the tenets of respect and love for a hereditary monarch, had the effect of creating political passivity in Thailand's rural population. But several policy changes enacted by the government had an adverse effect on rural Thailand, particularly during the period of open politics from 1973-1976. The combination of a sudden uptick in Thailand's population along with the increasing scarcity of arable land led to increasing political and social conflict.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Social and economic situation, The growing income gap
Invariably, tenancy and debts increased among farmers, especially in the north and central plains. Though there was increased interaction between farmers and governmental officials due to improved infrastructure and the increasing presence of the government in the countryside, the nature of these interactions was frequently negative. Farmers were distrustful and over a period of time finally reached their breaking point. They turned to  political action to make their grievances known to the government. In an era of more open politics, there were instances of petitions against land rents and demonstrations leading to the emergence of the Farmer Federation of Thailand (FFT). The FFT frequently clashed with the ruling elite in its attempt to improve the lives of the Thai farmers.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Rice production policies
Rice is central to Thailand's economy and culture. Cultivation occupies approximately 55 percent of Thailand's arable land and is the staple food across all income brackets. Thailand in the 1970s invested heavily in infrastructure improvements, agricultural research, and road networks to increase its rice production. The use of technology, combined with advanced knowledge of rice strains and fertilisers, along with helpful governmental policies, increased rice production. From the 1950s to the 1970s, rice production per unit of land increased by almost 50 percent.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Rice production policies
Concomitantly, the government sought to accelerate growth in urban areas. One of its policies was to tax the rice industry and use the profits to fund much-needed projects in the larger cities. Thai authorities levied taxes on rice exports known as the "rice premium". This increased tax revenues, while at the same time decreasing the price of rice domestically. The government, in enacting this policy, shifted from protecting the farmers to leaving the rice industry to market forces, often leading to unbridled profit taking.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Rice production policies
Though technology had greatly improved rice production, it had not translated into success for peasant farmers. Escalating prices left many farmers unable to hold onto their lands. Many had to become tenants to sustain themselves. Despite uncertainty in the Thai economy, the government appeared unconcerned. Taxes were collected good year or bad, which further drove down farming profits.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Rice production policies
The introduction of new technology meant that rice farming barriers to entry mounted, leaving most peasant farmers unable to own their land outright. Larger farming operations were able to meet the rising costs of these new technologies and were able to purchase fertiliser, improved rice strains, and machinery without much problem. The average farmer though, had to make a living as a manual labourer on a farm earning barely enough to feed himself and his family.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt
The construction of new rural infrastructure was initiated and managed by the bureaucratic elite in Bangkok rather than by rural villagers. At the top, corruption was prevalent. High-ranking officials received kickbacks. While the government sought to implement measures to improve agricultural output, these projects in general did relatively little to improve farmer's lives. Instead, the agricultural sector was plagued by the growing issues of indebtedness and land shortages. The country's total agricultural debt was estimated at 143 million baht, with the bulk of the debt (78 percent) concentrated in Chiang Mai and the central plains.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt
Though indebtedness in rural areas was present as early as the 1930s, farmers during that period still owned their lands outright. Tenant farmers and absentee landlords were non-existent. A survey conducted by the National Statistical Office found that 40 percent of farmers were renting out part or all of their land they farmed in the central plains. In Chiang Mai and other northern regions, up to 18 percent of farmers were tenants, whereas in other areas of Thailand the figures were comparatively lower.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt
Eight years later, another study was conducted which found 56 percent of farmers in the central plains rented some of the lands they tilled while 27 percent did not own any land at all. In a decade, the rate of tenancy in the central area had more than doubled with only approximately 17 percent of farmers fully independent of landlords. The report also found that four of every five farming families were in debt for an aggregate sum of 16 billion baht. The average farm family debt was US$200, compared to an average family income of less than US$300 a year. Some of the families lived on US$25 or less a year.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt
A number of significant factors contributed to the higher rates of tenancy, rural indebtedness, and land rents in the north and central plains. It was found that the land holdings in the north were smaller than in any other region of the country, thus reducing efficiency. Farming was done on a much smaller scale, which combined with lower productivity, yielded low incomes.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt, Population growth in Thailand
As the Thai economy evolved with higher standards of living, farmers saw their incomes shrink. Small scale farming operations had to borrow from money lenders, usually middlemen involved in the rice trade or owners of rice mills. The loans made at high interest rates. The problems of land fragmentation and subdivision also contributed to problems in the north. A report submitted by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) found that subdivision of land holdings was growing rapidly in Thailand. Sub-divisions occurred mostly following the death of the landholder.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt, Population growth in Thailand
Source: Compiled from National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), Bangkok.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt, Population growth in Thailand, Relations between farmers and landlords
Aggravating the situation, farmers, often illiterate, were often cheated. When harvests were poor, farmers had no choice but to mortgage their land as collateral to obtain a loan. Should the farmer fail to repay the loan, he would forfeit his land. Farmers with a run of bad harvests, combined with high interest rates, would lose ownership of their land.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Problems of tenancy and rural debt, Population growth in Thailand, Relations between farmers and landlords
Farmers in the central and northern plains have suffered from severe indebtedness since the 1930s. By the 1970s, most of the farmers had lost their land to creditors. The government ignored this issue as Thai farmers lacked political clout. Farmers were seen as disorganised, scattered, and politically apathetic, accepting misfortune and poverty as their lot in life. This all changed in 1973, when farmers decided to take matters into their own hands and sought to change their lives.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, The political mobilization of farmers
1973 was a watershed year for Thai politics. The government transitioned from a military dictatorship to a moderate civilian government. This provided an opening for the political mobilisation and participation of various segments of society in the political affairs of the country. Social discontent and the urgent needs of oppressed classes formerly subjugated by authoritarian rule, were thrust into the forefront and these issues were openly raised. Labour disputes were suddenly discussed with great vigour.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, The political mobilization of farmers
Students and professional classes such as teachers and lawyers, fearful for their own long-term political survival, joined farmers to air their grievances. Student activists convinced farmers to organise themselves into a political body in order to pressure the government to act on their behalf. During 1973 and 1974, farmers took to the streets and protested against local district officers and other officials.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, The political mobilization of farmers
Tenant farmers in the north and on the central plains were particularly demonstrative. Activists helped to organise several complaints against land owners over land mortgages and unfair land rents and also against local officials for corruption. Thousands of farmers marched to the prime minister's office in Bangkok to demand the return of their lands from landlords, middlemen, and creditors. The demonstrations signaled the farmers' will and determination to implement policies which would change the landscape of the agricultural sector after years of abuse and neglect by Thai authorities.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, The political mobilization of farmers
In March 1974, farmers, supported by the NSCT (National Students Center of Thailand), staged their first large-scale protest, gaining nationwide attention for their demands to increase rice prices. From August to November 1974, land disputes were widespread and discontent was vented. Newspaper reports reported that approximately 7,000 farmers from eight different provinces threatened to relinquish their Thai identification cards and go about setting up a "liberated area" unless the government met their demands.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, The political mobilization of farmers
On 19 November 1974, the assembled farmer representatives in Bangkok declared the formation of the Farmers Federation of Thailand (FFT). FFT then handed the government a list of demands. The government acceded to some of the demands of the FFT, albeit slowly. A few half-hearted agrarian reform laws were passed, including the seed certification law, a land rental law, and a moderate land reform law. The FFT clamoured for the Land Rent Control Act (LRCA) to be ratified and its laws to be made applicable to the whole country. It was finally enacted in December 1974.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, The political mobilization of farmers
The 1974 act was more extensive and differed from an earlier 1950 law in terms of application, terms of rent, and terms of enforcement. The 1974 act stipulated the establishment of provincial and district committees to oversee its implementation and administration and also to mediate conflicts between tenants and farmers. The officials on these committees were to be selected from the sub-districts where there was land tenancy. By involving farmers directly in the administration of the law, farmers were to be entitled to a fair hearing from fellow farmers rather than government bureaucrats.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, The political mobilization of farmers
The 1974 act also established the need to assess land quality and harvest success when determining rental amounts, as opposed to the 1950s act which stipulated rental amounts from 5 to 25 percent of the harvest irrespective of other factors. The act thus brought welcome relief from exorbitant rents.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Assassinations of FFT leaders
The three years between 14 October 1973 and 6 October 1976 were a tumultuous period filled with political possibilities and change in Thailand. Groups whose political action was restricted under military rule organised and protested in unprecedented numbers. Thais from all walks of life transcended class and social status to challenge injustice. But throughout 1975 and 1976, students, journalists, socialists, employees, and farmers were subject to growing harassment, intimidation, threats, and finally assassination. From March 1974 to August 1975, approximately 21 FFT leaders were murdered.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Assassinations of FFT leaders
It was thought that these murders were committed to intimidate. All those murdered were active FFT members. The killings took place within a short span of time. In many instances, the murders pointed to the work of a highly professional assassin and not to random murder by an angry villager motivated by revenge.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Assassinations of FFT leaders, Murdered FFT activists
Source: David Morell: Political Conflict in Thailand: Reform, Reaction, Revolution.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Assassinations of FFT leaders, Murdered FFT activists
Assassinated early were ordinary members of the FFT. As the killings continued, top leaders such as Intha became targets. The killings were a clear warning to FFT leaders to cease their activities if they wished to remain alive. The murder campaign ultimately derailed FFT efforts. The organisation ceased growing and diminished as a political party. By 1976, the party was seldom heard of again. The FFT had a small group of important individuals who were experienced and familiar with the complexities of the Land Control Act. With their murders and others afraid for their lives, the FFT collapsed.


1970s peasant revolts in Thailand, Assassinations of FFT leaders, Murdered FFT activists
Thirty years on, various issues surrounding this period of political possibility, the imaginings of a different and fair future for the ordinary people of Thailand and the death of those dreams, remains unresolved and understudied. Thongchai Winichakul, a prominent Southeast Asian scholar, argues that the massacre that took place at Thammasat University and the assassinations of FFT farmers continue to be shrouded in silence and fear.


1970–1979 world oil market chronology
For further details see the "Energy crisis" series by Facts on File.


1970–71 1. Slovenská národná hokejová liga season
The 1970–71 1. Slovenská národná hokejová liga season was the 2nd season of the 1. Slovenská národná hokejová liga, the second level of ice hockey in Czechoslovakia alongside the 1. Česká národní hokejová liga. 12 teams participated in the league, and AŠD Dukla Trenčín won the championship. TJ ZPA Prešov and TJ Strojárne Martin relegated.


1970–71 1.Lig
The following are the statistics of the Turkish First Football League for the 1970–71 season.


1970–71 1.Lig, Overview
It was contested by 16 teams, and Galatasaray S.K. won the championship.


1970–71 1re série season
The 1970–71 1re série season was the 50th season of the 1re série, the top level of ice hockey in France. 10 teams participated in the league, and Chamonix Hockey Club won their 26th league title.


1970–71 A Group
Statistics of Bulgarian A Football Group in the 1970–1971 season.


1970–71 A Group, Overview
It was contested by 16 teams, and CSKA Sofia won the championship.


1970–71 ABA season
The 1970–71 ABA season was the fourth season of the American Basketball Association.


1970–71 ABA season
The Utah Stars, led by Zelmo Beaty and Willie Wise, won the championship, defeating the Kentucky Colonels, 4 games to 3, in the ABA Finals.


1970–71 ABA season, Western Division
Asterisk denotes playoff team (the Rockets and the Chaparrals played a one game playoff to settle the tie for the final playoff spot, which the Chaparrals won)


1970–71 AHL season
The 1970–71 AHL season was the 35th season of the American Hockey League. Eight teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Baltimore Clippers finished first overall in the regular season. The Springfield Kings won their first Calder Cup championship, since being renamed from the Indians.


1970–71 AHL season, Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;


1970–71 AHL season, Final standings
†The Springfield Kings defeated the Quebec Aces by a score of 4-3 in overtime in a one game playoff to determine the last playoff spot in the East Division.


1970–71 AHL season, Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes


1970–71 Aberdeen F.C. season
The 1970–71 season was Aberdeen's 58th season in the top flight of Scottish football and their 60th season overall. Aberdeen competed in the Scottish League Division One, Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup, and European Cup Winners' Cup.


1970–71 Aberdeen F.C. season
Aberdeen finished second in the league behind Celtic and became the first club to be knocked out of European competition in a penalty shoot-out when they lost to Hungarian club Honvéd. Goalkeeper Bobby Clark achieved a record by going 1,155 minutes without conceding a goal in the league, which was surpassed in 2009 by Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar. On 6 February a fire destroyed part of the Main Stand at Pittodrie. The Scottish Cup trophy was saved by firemen, but many historical club artifacts and items of memorabilia were destroyed.


1970–71 Aberdeen F.C. season, Results, Scottish League Cup
Aberdeen failed to qualify from section 4 of the League Cup.


1970–71 Aberdeen F.C. season, Results, Scottish Cup
Aberdeen, the defending champions of the Scottish Cup, were knocked out by Rangers in the quarter final.


1970–71 Aberdeen F.C. season, Results, Europe
Aberdeen made history by becoming the first club to be knocked out of European competition on penalty kicks.


1970–71 Albanian Cup
1970–71 Albanian Cup (Albanian: Kupa e Shqipërisë) was the nineteenth season of Albania's annual cup competition. It began on August 1970 with the First Round and ended on May 1971 with the Final match. KF Partizani were the defending champions, having won their ninth Albanian Cup last season. The cup was won by Dinamo Tirana.


1970–71 Albanian Cup
The rounds were played in a one-legged format similar to those of European competitions. If the number of goals was equal, the match was decided by extra time and a penalty shootout, if necessary.


1970–71 Albanian Cup, Second round
In this round entered the 16 winners from the previous round. First and second legs were played on January 1971.


1970–71 Albanian Cup, Quarter finals
In this round entered the 8 winners from the previous round.


1970–71 Albanian Cup, Semifinals
In this round entered the four winners from the previous round.


1970–71 Albanian National Championship
The 1970–71 Albanian National Championship was the 32nd season of the Albanian National Championship, the top professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1930.


1970–71 Albanian National Championship, Overview
It was contested by 14 teams, and Partizani won the championship.


1970–71 Albanian National Championship, League table
Note: 'Labinoti' is Elbasani, '17 Nëntori' is Tirana, 'Lokomotiva Durrës' is Teuta, 'Traktori' is Lushnja


1970–71 Algerian Championnat National
The 1970–1971 Algerian Championnat National was the 9th season of the Algerian Championnat National since its establishment in 1962. A total of 16 teams contested the league, with CR Belcourt as the defending champions, The Championnat started on September 20, 1970. and ended on April 25, 1971.


1970–71 Algerian Cup
The 1970–71 Algerian Cup is the 9th edition of the Algerian Cup. CR Belcourt are the defending champions, having beaten USM Alger 4–1 in the previous season's final.


1970–71 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
The 1970–71 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship was the inaugural staging of the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The championship began on 13 September 1970 and ended on 21 November 1971.


1970–71 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
On 21 November 1971, East Kerry won the championship following a 5-09 to 2-07 defeat of Bryansford in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park. It remains their only championship title.


1970–71 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The 1970–71 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship was the first season of the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier club hurling tournament. The All-Ireland series began on 14 November 1971 and ended on 19 December 1971.


1970–71 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
Roscrea won the title after defeating St. Rynagh's by 4-5 to 2-5 in the final.


1970–71 Allsvenskan (men's handball)
The 1970–71 Allsvenskan was the 37th season of the top division of Swedish handball. 10 teams competed in the league. SoIK Hellas won the regular season and also won the playoffs to claim their fifth Swedish title. IFK Malmö and IF Start were relegated.


1970–71 Alpha Ethniki
The 1970–71 Alpha Ethniki was the 35th season of the highest football league of Greece. The season began on 20 September 1970 and ended on 13 June 1971. AEK Athens won their fifth Greek title and their first one in three years.


1970–71 Alpha Ethniki
The point system was: Win: 3 points - Draw: 2 points - Loss: 1 point.


1970–71 Arad County Championship
The 1970–71 Arad County Championship was the 3rd season of the Liga IV Arad, the fourth tier of the Romanian football league system. Gloria Arad won the league  after a strong battle with Olimpia Arad and promoted to Divizia C without promotion play-off. Due to the expansion of Divizia C from next season, from eight series with 16 teams to twelve series of 14 teams, the promotion play-off was not held this season.


1970–71 Arsenal F.C. season
During the 1970–71 English football season, Arsenal F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. In a truly historic campaign, they became just the fourth side in history to win the coveted league and FA Cup double. Having ended their 17-year trophy drought with victory over Anderlecht in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final the previous year, Arsenal started the campaign well, crushing Manchester United 4–0 in the first home game. It was a sign of things to come. For the first time in their history, Arsenal remained unbeaten at home for the entirety of the league campaign, losing just once there in all competitions – 0–2 to Crystal Palace in the Football League Cup fourth round replay.


1970–71 Arsenal F.C. season
The defence of the Fairs Cup ended with a quarter-final defeat to West Germans FC Koln on away goals, but the domestic campaign continued to inspire, with Stoke City seen off after a replay in the FA Cup semi-final in April, before the league season hit its summit on the final day of the season.


1970–71 Arsenal F.C. season
Nearest challengers Leeds United had already finished their season, standing one point clear of the Gunners. Thus, a win would clinch Arsenal the title, as would a 0–0 draw, as the goal average system(the division of goals scored by goals conceded) was still being used.


1970–71 Arsenal F.C. season
The setting was White Hart Lane, and the opposition was bitter local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the last side to win the double, in the 1960–61 season. The encounter was tense, but thankfully for Arsenal Ray Kennedy headed home a late winner.


1970–71 Arsenal F.C. season
And so the Gunners travelled to Wembley to face Liverpool in an attempt to clinch the double. A goalless ninety minutes at Wembley meant extra-time was needed, and two minutes in Steve Heighway gave Liverpool the lead. However, Arsenal were quick to respond, Eddie Kelly equalising nine minutes later before Charlie George rocketed in a late winner to clinch the double.


1970–71 Arsenal F.C. season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


1970–71 Ashes series
The 1970–71 Ashes series consisted of seven cricket Test matches, each of five days with six hours play each day and eight ball overs. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1970–71 and the matches outside the Tests were played in the name of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Ray Illingworth's England team beat Bill Lawry's Australians 2–0 and regained the Ashes, the only full Test series in Australia in which the home team failed to win a Test.


1970–71 Ashes series
"The Momentous Series of 1970–71" was pivotal in cricket history and "essentially ushered in the modern period of Test cricket". It was the first Test series to have more than five Tests and the first One Day International in cricket history was played in Melbourne; like the first test match in history it was won by Australia.


1970–71 Ashes series
Ray Illingworth's use of hostile, short-pitched fast-bowling by John Snow, Ken Shuttleworth, Bob Willis and Peter Lever heralded the dominance of fast bowling in the 1970s and 1980s, as did the decline of behaviour by players as the England team united under against ineffectual management, biased umpires, tabloid press and hostile crowds. Snow's 31 wickets (22.83) was the most by an England bowler in Australia since Harold Larwood, and has not been exceeded since.