Editing 1972 (section)

==Events==

===January===
{{Main|January 1972}}
* [[January 1]] – [[Kurt Waldheim]] becomes [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-waldheim-factbox/factbox-the-life-of-ex-un-head-kurt-waldheim-idUSL1487718320070614|title=FACTBOX: The life of ex-U.N. head Kurt Waldheim|date=June 14, 2007|access-date=June 8, 2019|agency=Reuters}}</ref>
* [[January 4]] – The first scientific hand-held calculator ([[HP-35]]) is introduced (price $395).<ref>{{cite book|title=1976 WESCON Technical Papers: Western Electronic Show and Convention : Papers Presented at the Western Electronic Show and Convention in Los Angeles, California, September 14–17, 1976|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2klGAQAAIAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Western Electronic Show and Convention|page=1}}</ref>
* [[January 7]] – [[Iberia Airlines Flight 602]] crashes into a 462-meter peak on the island of [[Ibiza]]; 104 are killed.
* [[January 9]] – The [[RMS Queen Elizabeth|RMS ''Queen Elizabeth'']] catches fire and sinks in Hong Kong's Victoria harbor while undergoing conversion to a floating university.
* [[January 10]] – Independence leader [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] returns to [[Bangladesh]] after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.<ref name="Johari1991">{{cite book|author=J. C. Johari|title=Governments and Politics of South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF0hAQAAIAAJ|year=1991|publisher=Link Press|isbn=978-1-873444-00-9|page=378}}</ref>
* [[January 11]] – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declares a new constitutional government in Bangladesh, with himself as president.<ref name="Johari1991"/>
* [[January 12]] – In a 10-hour siege, a cell of 4 left-wing insurgents hold off a task force of 2500 army soldiers and police agents in [[Santo Domingo]], [[Dominican Republic]]: eight members of the security forces and the entire insurgent cell are killed in the course of the siege.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.diariolibre.com%2Fespeciales%2Freportajes%2Fla-intensa-batalla-en-que-acribillaron-a-los-palmeros-GK11820723|title=La intensa batalla en que acribillaron a Los Palmeros|website=Diario Libre|access-date=September 2, 2021}}</ref>
* [[January 13]] – Prime Minister of [[Ghana]] [[Kofi Abrefa Busia]] is overthrown in a military coup by Colonel [[Ignatius Kutu Acheampong]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Who's who in Africa: The Political, Military and Business Leaders of Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DA4ZAQAAIAAJ|year=1973|publisher=African Development|isbn=978-0-9502755-0-5|page=162}}</ref>
* [[January 14]] – Queen [[Margrethe II of Denmark]] succeeds her father, King [[Frederik IX of Denmark|Frederik IX]], on the throne of Denmark, the first queen regnant of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513.
*[[January 18]] – Members of the [[Mukti Bahini]] lay down their arms to the government of the newly independent [[Bangladesh]], 33 days after winning the war against the occupying [[Pakistan Army]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/1027878cf31917aa32db9fe6d6d1635f|title=Bangladesh Guerrilla Fighters Give Up Arms in Dhaka|agency=Associated Press|access-date=March 8, 2021|date=January 18, 1972}}</ref>
* [[January 19]] – The [[Libertarianism|Libertarian]] enclave [[Republic of Minerva|Minerva]] on a platform in the South Pacific, sponsored by the [[Phoenix Foundation]], declares independence. Soon neighboring [[Tonga]] annexes the area and dismantles the platform.
* [[January 20]] – President [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] announces that Pakistan will immediately begin a [[nuclear weapon]]s program.
* [[January 21]]
** A New Delhi [[moonshine|bootlegger]] sells [[methanol|wood alcohol]] to a wedding party; 100 people die.
** [[Tripura]], part of the former independent [[Twipra Kingdom]], becomes a full [[States and union territories of India|state of India]].
* [[January 24]] – Japanese soldier [[Shoichi Yokoi]] is discovered in [[Guam]]; he has spent 28 years in the jungle, having failed to surrender after [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite book|last=LastName|first=FirstName|title=The last Japanese soldier: Corporal Yokoi's 28 incredible years in the Guam jungle|publisher=Tom Stacey Ltd|location=London|year=1972|isbn=9780854682935|page=7}}</ref>
* [[January 26]]
** [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]n air stewardess [[Vesna Vulović]] is the only survivor when her plane crashes in [[Czechoslovakia]]. She survives after falling {{convert|10160|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} in the tail section of the aircraft.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zimonjic|first=Vesna|newspaper=The Independent|title=Too good to be true? Miracle woman who survived '33,000ft fall'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/too-good-to-be-true-miracle-woman-who-survived-33000ft-fall-6294556.html|date=January 26, 2012|access-date=August 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810043228/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/too-good-to-be-true-miracle-woman-who-survived-33000ft-fall-6294556.html|archive-date=August 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> 
** The [[Aboriginal Tent Embassy]] is set up on the lawn of [[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] in [[Canberra]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Lines|first=William|title=Taming the great south land : a history of the conquest of nature in Australia|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|year=1991|isbn=9780520078307|page=244}}</ref>
* [[January 30]]
** [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]]: The British Army kills 14 unarmed [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] civil rights marchers in [[Derry]], Northern Ireland.
** [[Pakistan]] withdraws from the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
* [[January 31]] – King [[Birendra of Nepal|Birendra]] succeeds his father as King of [[Nepal]].

=== February ===
{{Main|February 1972}}
* [[February 2]]
** A bomb explodes at the British Yacht Club in [[West Berlin]], killing Irwin Beelitz, a German boat builder.<ref>{{cite book|last=Baumann|first=Michael|title=Wie alles anfing = How it all began : the personal account of a West German urban guerrilla|publisher=Pulp Press|location=Vancouver|year=2000|isbn=9780889780453|page=5}}</ref> The German militant group [[June 2 Movement]] claims responsibility, announcing its support of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]].
** Anti-British riots take place throughout Ireland. The [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Dublin|British Embassy in Dublin]] is [[Burning of the British Embassy in Dublin|burned to the ground]], as are several British-owned businesses.<ref>{{cite book|last=Day|first=Alan|title=Political violence in Northern Ireland : conflict and conflict resolution|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Conn|year=1997|isbn=9780275954147|page=9}}</ref>
* [[February 3]]–[[February 13|13]] – The [[1972 Winter Olympics]] are held in [[Sapporo]], Japan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ski|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWCke6Y6KzYC&pg=PA52|date=February 1972|pages=52}}</ref>
* [[February 4]] – ''[[Mariner 9]]'' sends pictures as it orbits [[Mars]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=In Depth {{!}} Mariner 09|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/mariner-09/in-depth|access-date=2023-05-09|website=NASA Solar System Exploration}}</ref>
* [[February 15]] – President of [[Ecuador]] [[José María Velasco Ibarra]] is deposed for the fourth time.
* [[February 17]] – [[Volkswagen Beetle]] sales exceed those of the [[Ford Model T]] when the 15,007,034th Beetle is produced.
* [[February 19]] – [[Asama-Sansō incident]]: Five [[United Red Army]] members break into a lodge below [[Mount Asama]] in Japan, taking the wife of the lodgekeeper hostage.
* [[February 21]] – The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] uncrewed [[Spacecraft|spaceship]] ''[[Luna 20]]'' lands on the [[Moon]].
* [[February 21]]–[[February 28|28]] – U.S. President [[Richard M. Nixon]] makes an unprecedented [[1972 Nixon visit to China|8-day visit]] to the People's Republic of China and meets with [[Mao Zedong]].
* [[February 22]]
** [[The Troubles]]: [[1972 Aldershot bombing]] – A car bomb planted by the [[Official Irish Republican Army]] kills seven people outside a British military base in [[Aldershot]], England.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/feb/23/ira-bomb-paras-aldershot-1972 "From the archives: IRA kills 7 in raid on Paras' English base"] – ''[[The Guardian]]'' (February 23, 1972)</ref>
** [[Lufthansa Flight 649]] is hijacked and taken to [[Aden]]. Passengers are released the following day after a ransom of 5&nbsp;million US dollars is agreed.<ref>{{cite book|author=United States Congress|title=Legal Mechanisms to Combat Terrorism: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, Second Session, on the Availability of Civil and Criminal Actions Against Yassir Arrafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), April 23, 1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGEvupLgOuQC&pg=PA224|year=1986|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=224}}</ref>
* [[February 23]] – US activist [[Angela Davis]] is released from jail. Rodger McAfee, a farmer from [[Caruthers, California]], helps her make bail.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bettina Aptheker|title=The Morning Breaks: The Trial of Angela Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VE-nAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT122|date=February 15, 2014|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-7013-4|page=122}}</ref>
* [[February 26]] – ''[[Luna 20]]'' comes back to Earth with {{convert|55|g|oz|abbr=off}} of lunar soil.
* [[February 28]] – The Asama-Sansō incident ends in a standoff between 5 members of the Japanese United Red Army and the authorities, in which two policemen are killed and 12 injured.

=== March ===
{{Main|March 1972}}
* [[March 1]] – [[Juan María Bordaberry]] is sworn in as [[President of Uruguay]] amid accusations of electoral fraud.<ref>{{cite book|title=Foreign Economic Trends and Their Implications for the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UU99EAsO_soC&pg=PA4|year=1972|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, Industry and Trade Administration|pages=4}}</ref>
* [[March 2]]
** The [[Club of Rome]] presents the research results leading to its report ''[[The Limits to Growth]]'', published later in the month.<ref>{{cite book|author=Don McNeil|title=Interactive Statistics: Proceedings of the Applied Statistics Conference, Sydney, February 8–9, 1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRrvAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=North-Holland Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-444-85412-4|page=114}}</ref>
** The ''[[Pioneer 10]]'' spacecraft is launched from [[Cape Kennedy]], to be the first man-made spacecraft to leave the [[Solar System]].
** [[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]] becomes President of the [[Central African Republic]].
* [[March 4]]
** [[Libyan Arab Republic|Libya]] and the [[Soviet Union]] sign a cooperation treaty.
** The [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|Organisation of the Islamic Conference]] Charter is signed (effective February 28, 1973).
* [[March 19]] – India and [[Bangladesh]] sign the [[Indo-Bangladeshi Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace]].
* [[March 22]] 
**The [[92nd U.S. Congress]] votes to send the proposed [[Equal Rights Amendment]] to the states for ratification.
**''[[Eisenstadt v. Baird]]'': The Supreme Court of the U.S. rules that unmarried people have the right to access contraception on the same basis as married couples
* [[March 25]] – "[[Après toi]]" sung by [[Vicky Leandros]] (music by Klaus Munro & Mario Panas, lyric by Klaus Munro & Yves Dessca) wins the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1972]] (staged in Edinburgh) for [[Luxembourg]].
* [[March 26]] – An [[avalanche]] on [[Mount Fuji]] in Japan kills 19 climbers.
* [[March 27]] – The [[First Sudanese Civil War]] ends.
* [[March 30]] – [[Vietnam War]]: The [[Easter Offensive]] begins after [[North Vietnam]]ese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of [[South Vietnam]]

=== April ===
{{Main|April 1972}}
*[[April 4]] &ndash; The U.S. formally recognizes [[Bangladesh]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/05/archives/bangladesh-gets-us-recognition-promise-of-help-rogers-announces-the.html|title=Bangladesh Gets U.S. Recognition, Promise of Help|work=The New York Times|date=April 5, 1972}}</ref>
* [[April 10]]
** The U.S. and the Soviet Union join some 70 nations in signing the [[Biological Weapons Convention]], an agreement to ban [[biological warfare]].<ref>{{cite book|author=United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations|title=Prohibition of Chemical and Biological Weapons: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations... December 10, 1974|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_mHQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA21|year=1974|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=21}}</ref>
** [[Yinqueshan Han Tombs|Tombs]] containing [[Yinqueshan Han Slips|bamboo slips]], among them [[Sun Tzu]]'s ''[[The Art of War|Art of War]]'' and [[Sun Bin]]'s lost [[Sun Bin's Art of War|military treatise]], are accidentally discovered by construction workers in [[Shandong]].
** The 6.7 {{M|w}} [[1972 Qir earthquake|Qir earthquake]] shakes southern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 5,374 people in the province of [[Fars province|Fars]].
** The [[44th Academy Awards|44th Annual Academy Awards]] are held at the [[Dorothy Chandler Pavilion]] in Los Angeles.
* [[April 13]] – The [[Universal Postal Union]] decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the [[Republic of China]] administering [[Taiwan]].
* [[April 16]]
** [[Apollo 16]] ([[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]], [[Ken Mattingly]], [[Charlie Duke]]) is launched.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-15 |title=50 Years Ago: Apollo 16 Launches to the Moon - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-apollo-16-launches-to-the-moon/ |access-date=2025-04-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> During the mission, the astronauts, driving the [[Lunar Roving Vehicle]], achieve a [[lunar rover]] speed record of 18&nbsp;km/h.{{Citation needed|reason=other Wikipedia articles say the 18&nbsp;km/h speed was achieved only during the Apollo 17 mission|date=May 2022}}
** [[Vietnam War]]: Nguyen Hue Offensive – Prompted by the [[North Vietnam]]ese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of [[Hanoi]] and [[Haiphong]].
* [[April 26]] – The [[Lockheed L-1011 TriStar]] enters service with [[Eastern Airlines]].
* [[April 27]]
** ''[[Ikiza]]'': [[Burundi]] government forces begin a 4-month genocide against the [[Hutu]] people, killing 100,000–300,000.
** A no-confidence vote against [[Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic)|German Chancellor]] [[Willy Brandt]] fails under obscure circumstances.
* [[April 29]] – The fourth anniversary of the Broadway musical ''[[Hair (musical)|Hair]]'' is celebrated with a free concert at a Central Park bandshell, followed by dinner at the Four Seasons. There, 13 [[Black Panther Party|Black Panther]] protesters and the show's co-author, [[Jim Rado]], are arrested for disturbing the peace and for using marijuana.

=== May ===
{{Main|May 1972}}
* [[May 2]] – Fire at the [[Sunshine Mine]], a [[silver]] mine in [[Idaho]], kills 91.<ref>{{cite web|title=1972 Sunshine Mining Company Mining Disaster, Kellogg, Idaho|url=https://arlweb.msha.gov/DISASTER/SUNSHINE/ss1.asp|website=Mining Disasters – An Exhibition|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215070337/https://arlweb.msha.gov/DISASTER/SUNSHINE/ss1.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[May 5]] – An [[Alitalia]] [[DC-8]] [[Alitalia Flight 112|crashes]] west of [[Palermo]], [[Sicily]]; 115 die.
* [[May 7]] – [[1972 Italian general election|General elections]] are held in Italy.
* [[May 10]] – [[Operation Linebacker]] and [[Operation Custom Tailor]] begin with large-scale bombing operations against North Vietnam by tactical fighter aircraft.
* [[May 13]] – A [[Sennichi Department Store Building fire|fire in a nightclub atop the Sennichi department store]] in [[Osaka]], Japan, kills 115.
* [[May 21]] – In [[St. Peter's Basilica]] ([[Vatican City]]), [[Laszlo Toth]] attacks [[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]]'' statue with a [[geologist's hammer]], shouting that he is [[Jesus Christ]].
* [[May 22]]
** The [[Dominion of Ceylon]] becomes the republic of [[Sri Lanka]] under prime minister [[Sirimavo Bandaranaike]], when its new [[constitution]] is ratified.<ref>{{cite book|author=A. R. Sriskanda Rajah|title=Government and Politics in Sri Lanka: Biopolitics and Security|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xDAlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|date=April 21, 2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-96800-3|pages=44}}</ref>
** [[Ferit Melen]] forms the new (interim) government of [[Turkey]] (35th government)
* [[May 23]] – The Tamil United Front (later known as [[Tamil United Liberation Front]]), a pro-[[Tamils|Tamil]] organization, is founded in Sri Lanka.
* [[May 26]]
** [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Leonid Brezhnev]] sign the [[SALT I treaty]] in Moscow, as well as the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]] and other agreements.
** [[Willandra National Park]] is established in Australia.
* [[May 27]] – [[Mark Donohue]] wins the [[1972 Indianapolis 500|Indianapolis 500]] in a [[Penske Racing]] [[McLaren]]–[[Offenhauser]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Xe9VAAAAIBAJ&pg=2494%2C7042731|work=Eugene Register-Guard|location=(Oregon)|agency=Associated Press|title=Donohue bides time, then charges to victory|date=May 28, 1972|page=1B}}</ref>
* [[May 30]] 
** [[Lod Airport massacre]]: Three [[Japanese Red Army]] members operating on behalf of the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations]] kill 26 and injure 80 people at [[Lod Airport]], [[Israel]].<ref>Jeffrey D. Simon, ''The Terrorist Trap: America's Experience with Terrorism'', [[Indiana University Press]], p. 324. {{ISBN|0-253-21477-7}}</ref>
** [[The Troubles]]: The [[Official Irish Republican Army]] declares a ceasefire.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/30/newsid_2973000/2973759.stm|title=1972: Official IRA declares ceasefire|date=May 30, 1972|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

=== June ===
{{Main|June 1972}}
* June – [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] [[nationalization|nationalizes]] the [[Iraq Petroleum Company]].
* [[June 3]] – [[Sally Priesand]] becomes the first American woman (and the second known woman anywhere) to be ordained as a [[rabbi]] within Judaism.<ref>{{cite news|last=Blau|first=Eleanor|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/04/archives/1st-woman-rabbi-in-us-ordained-she-may-be-only-the-second-in.html|title=1st Woman Rabbi in U.S. Ordained; She May Be Only the Second in History of Judaism|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 4, 1972|access-date=2009-09-17}}</ref>
* [[June 5]]–[[June 16|16]] – The [[United Nations Conference on the Human Environment]] is held in Stockholm, [[Sweden]]
* [[June 8]]
** Seven men and three women hijack a plane from [[Czechoslovakia]] to West Germany.
** [[Vietnam War]]: [[Associated Press]] photographer [[Nick Ut]] takes his [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning photograph of a naked nine-year-old [[Phan Thi Kim Phuc]] running down a road after being burned by [[napalm]].
* [[June 9]] – The [[Black Hills flood]] kills 238 in [[South Dakota]].
* [[June 11]] – [[Henri Pescarolo]] (France) and co-driver former [[List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions|World Drivers' Champion]] [[Graham Hill]] (Britain) win the [[1972 24 Hours of Le Mans|24 Hours of Le Mans]] in the [[Equipe Matra Sports|Equipe Matra]] MS670.
* [[June 12]] – [[Popeyes]] was formed in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana, in St. Bernard Parish.
* [[June 14]]–[[June 23|23]] – [[Hurricane Agnes]] kills 117 on the U.S. East Coast.
* [[June 14]] – [[Japan Airlines Flight 471]] crashes outside New Delhi airport, killing 82 of 87 occupants.
* [[June 16]] – 108 die as two passenger trains hit the debris of a collapsed railway tunnel near [[Soissons]], France.
* [[June 17]]
** [[Watergate scandal]]: Five [[White House]] operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the [[Democratic National Committee]].
** [[Chile]]an president [[Salvador Allende]] forms a new government.
* [[June 18]]
** [[Staines air disaster]]: 118 die when a British European Airways [[Hawker Siddeley Trident|Trident 1]] jet airliner crashes two minutes after takeoff from [[London Heathrow Airport]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Staines air crash: Memorial held for one of UK's worst air crashes|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-61822837|publisher=BBC News|access-date=June 21, 2022|date=June 18, 2022}}</ref>
** [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] beats the [[USSR national football team|Soviet Union]] 3–0 in the final to win [[1972 European Football Championship|Euro '72]].
** Hong Kong's worst flooding and landslides in recorded history with {{convert|653.2|mm}} of rainfall in the previous three days. 67 people die due to building collapses in Mid-levels districts landslide and building collapses, with a further 83 due to flooding-related fatalities. It is the second worst fatality due to building collapses, and the worst flooding in Hong Kong's recorded history.
* [[June 23]]
** [[Watergate scandal]]: U.S. President [[Richard M. Nixon]] and [[White House]] chief of staff [[H. R. Haldeman]] are taped talking about using the [[Central Intelligence Agency|C.I.A.]] to obstruct the investigation by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|F.B.I.]] into the Watergate break-ins.
** The United Kingdom [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], [[Anthony Barber]], announces a decision for the [[pound sterling]] to move to a [[floating exchange rate]]. Although intended to be temporary, this remains permanent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/23/newsid_2518000/2518927.stm|title=Chancellor orders pound flotation|work=On This Day|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2008-01-27|date=June 23, 1972|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307113551/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/23/newsid_2518000/2518927.stm|archive-date=2008-03-07|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Foreign exchange controls]] are applied to most members of the [[sterling area]].
* [[June 30]] – The [[International Time Bureau]] adds the first [[leap second]] (23:59:60) of this year to [[Coordinated Universal Time]] (UTC).

=== July ===
{{Main|July 1972}}
* [[July 1]] – The Canadian ketch ''[[Greenpeace#First campaigns after Amchitka|Vega]]'', flying the [[Greenpeace]] III banner, collides with the French naval minesweeper ''La Paimpolaise'' while in [[international waters]] to protest French nuclear weapon [[Moruroa|tests]] in the [[Oceania|South Pacific]].
* [[July 2]] – Following [[Pakistan]]'s surrender to India in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], both nations sign the historic [[Simla Agreement]], agreeing to settle their disputes bilaterally.
* [[July 4]] – The first [[Rainbow Gathering]] is held in [[Colorado]].
* [[July 10]] – At least 24 people have been killed by elephants crazed by heat and drought in separate incidents in the [[Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary|Chandka Forest]] of India, according to news agency reports.
* [[July 11]]
** The long anticipated [[World Chess Championship 1972|chess match]] between world champion [[Boris Spassky]] of the Soviet Union, and United States champion [[Bobby Fischer]], begins in [[Iceland]] at [[Reykjavík]].
** [[Curtis Mayfield]] releases the [[soundtrack]] to the 1972 film, ''[[Super Fly (soundtrack)|Super Fly]]''.
* [[July 10]]–[[July 14|14]] – The [[Democratic National Convention]] meets in [[Miami Beach]]. Senator [[George McGovern]], who backs the immediate and complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from [[South Vietnam]], is nominated for president. He names fellow Senator [[Thomas Eagleton]] as his running mate.
* [[July 18]] – [[Anwar Sadat]] expels 20,000 Soviet advisors from [[Egypt]].
* [[July 21]]
** [[The Troubles]]: [[Bloody Friday (1972)|Bloody Friday]] – 22 bombs planted by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] explode in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]]; nine people are killed and 130 seriously injured.<ref name="CAIN1972">{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch72.htm|title=CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict – 1972|publisher=Cain.ulst.ac.uk|access-date=2012-05-17|archive-date=March 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305015858/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch72.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** A collision between two trains near [[Seville]], Spain, kills 76 people.
* [[July 23]] – The United States launches [[Landsat 1]], the first Earth-resources [[satellite]].
* [[July 24]] – [[Jigme Singye Wangchuck]] succeeds his father [[Jigme Dorji Wangchuck]] as King of [[Bhutan]].
* [[July 25]] – U.S. health officials admit that African-American men were used as guinea pigs in the [[Tuskegee Syphilis Study]] without their informed consent.
* [[July 27]] – The [[McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle]] fighter aircraft makes its first flight in the United States.
* [[July 31]] – [[The Troubles]], [[Northern Ireland]]:
** [[Operation Motorman]] 4:00&nbsp;<small>AM</small>: The British Army begins to regain control of the "[[no-go area]]s" established by [[Irish republicanism|Irish republican]] [[paramilitary|paramilitaries]] in [[Belfast]], [[Derry]] ("[[Free Derry]]") and [[Newry]].<ref name="CAIN1972" />
** [[Claudy bombing]] ("Bloody Monday"), 10:00&nbsp;<small>AM</small>: Three [[car bombs]] in [[Claudy]], [[County Londonderry]], kill nine. It becomes public knowledge only in [[2010]] that a local [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priest]] was an [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] officer believed to be involved in the bombings but his role was covered up by the authorities.<ref>{{cite news|title=Claudy bomb: conspiracy allowed IRA priest to go free|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11061296|publisher=BBC News Northern Ireland|date=August 24, 2010|access-date=2010-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825014212/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11061296|archive-date=August 25, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== August ===
{{Main|August 1972}}
* [[August 4]]
** [[Expulsion of Asians from Uganda]]: Dictator [[Idi Amin]] declares that [[Uganda]] will expel 50,000 Asians with British passports to Britain within 3 months.<ref>{{cite book|author=New York University. International Law Society|title=New York University Journal of International Law & Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPsdAAAAMAAJ|year=1972|publisher=New York University School of Law|page=603}}</ref> Most of their property is confiscated.
** [[August 1972 solar storms]]: A huge [[solar flare]] (one of the largest ever recorded) knocks out cable lines in the U.S. It begins with the appearance of sunspots on August 2; an August 4 flare kicks off high levels of activity until [[August 10]].
* [[August 10]] – [[1972 Great Daylight Fireball]]: A brilliant meteor is seen in the western U.S. and Canada as an [[Apollo asteroid]] skips off the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.astrosociety.org/pubs/mercury/9806/impact.html|title=Observation of Meteoroid Impacts by Space-Based Sensors|first=Edward|last=Tagliaferri|publisher=astrosociety.org|journal=Mercury Magazine|volume=27|issue=6|pages=18|date=November–December 1998|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020025037/http://www.astrosociety.org/pubs/mercury/9806/impact.html|archive-date=2007-10-20|bibcode=1998Mercu..27f..18T}}</ref>
* [[August 12]] – Oil tankers [[Oswego-Guardian–Texanita collision|''Oswego-Guardian'' and ''Texanita'' collide]] near [[Stilbaai]], South Africa.
* [[August 14]] – An [[East Germany|East German]] [[Ilyushin]] airliner crashes near [[East Berlin]]; all 156 on board perish.
* [[August 16]] – As part of a coup attempt, members of the [[Royal Moroccan Air Force]] fire upon, but fail to bring down, [[Hassan II of Morocco]]'s plane while he is traveling back to [[Rabat]].
* [[August 19]] – The first daytime episode of the second incarnation of the American game show ''[[The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)|The Price Is Right]]'' is taped at [[CBS Television City]], to be aired on September 4.<ref>{{Citation|last=MatchGameForever|title=Price Is Right First Episode (9-4-1972)|date=May 26, 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpXJTRFQdo|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/3UpXJTRFQdo|archive-date=2021-12-11|url-status=live|access-date=2018-09-22}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* [[August 21]] – The [[1972 Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]] in [[Miami Beach, Florida]], renominates U.S. President [[Richard Nixon]] and Vice President [[Spiro Agnew]] for a second term.
* [[August 22]]
** [[Rhodesia]] is expelled by the [[International Olympic Committee]] for its racist policies.
** In the Almirante Zar Naval Base, Argentina, 16 detainees are executed by firing squad in the [[Trelew massacre]].
* [[August 26]]–[[September 10]] – The [[1972 Summer Olympics]] are held in [[Munich]], West Germany.

=== September ===
{{Main|September 1972}}
* [[September 1]]
** [[Bobby Fischer]] defeats [[Boris Spassky]] in a [[chess]] match in [[Reykjavík]], Iceland, becoming the first American [[World Chess Championship 1972|world chess champion]].
** The [[Cod Wars#Second Cod War (1972–1973)|Second Cod War]] begins between the United Kingdom and [[Iceland]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert L. Mason|title=Imperfect Circle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BhIZe54_qfEC&pg=PA77|date=November 4, 2011|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4670-0193-9|pages=77}}</ref>
* [[September 5]]–[[September 6|6]] – [[Munich massacre]]: Eleven [[Israel]]i athletes at the [[1972 Summer Olympics]] in [[Munich]] are murdered after eight members of the Arab [[terrorism|terrorist]] group [[Black September Organization|Black September]] invade the Olympic Village; five guerillas and one policeman are also killed in a failed [[hostage]] rescue.
* [[September 10]] – Brazilian driver [[Emerson Fittipaldi]] wins the Italian Grand Prix at [[Monza]] and becomes the youngest [[Formula One]] World Champion at the age of 25.<ref>{{cite book|author=Norris McWhirter|title=Guinness Book of Sports Records, Winners & Champions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0mZYAAAAYAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-8069-0234-0|page=24}}</ref>
* [[September 14]] – West Germany and Poland renew diplomatic relations.<ref>{{cite book|title=The World Book Year Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShUMAAAAIAAJ|year=1973|publisher=World Book – Childcraft International|isbn=978-0-7166-0473-0|page=353}}</ref>
* [[September 23]] – [[Philippines|Philippine]] [[President of the Philippines|president]] [[Ferdinand Marcos]] announces on national television the issuance of [[Proclamation No. 1081]] placing the entire country under [[Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos|martial law]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/146939-martial-law-explainer-victims-stories|title=Martial Law, the dark chapter in Philippine history|last=Francisco|first=Katerina|date=September 22, 2016|work=Rappler|access-date=2018-06-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923155126/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/146939-martial-law-explainer-victims-stories|archive-date=September 23, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/the-fall-of-the-dictatorship/|title=The Fall of the Dictatorship|website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903153904/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/the-fall-of-the-dictatorship/|archive-date=2017-09-03|url-status=dead|access-date=2018-09-09}}</ref>[[File:Martiallawjf9906 09.JPG|thumbnail|180px|right|[[September 23]]: [[Martial law]] in the [[Philippines]].]]
* [[September 24]] – An [[F-86]] fighter aircraft leaving an air show at [[Sacramento Executive Airport]] fails to become airborne and crashes into a [[Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour]], killing 12 children and 11 adults.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Sabrejet_crash_site.htm|title=Crash at Farrell's|access-date=2008-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320003854/http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Sabrejet_crash_site.htm|archive-date=March 20, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[September 25]] – [[1972 Norwegian EC referendum]]: Norway rejects membership of the European Economic Community.
* [[September 28]] – The [[Canada men's national ice hockey team]] defeats the [[Soviet national ice hockey team]] in the eighth and final game of the 1972 [[Summit Series]] 6–5 to win the series 4–3–1.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Montreal Gazette|title=Foster Hewitt, 81, was voice of hockey|date=April 22, 1985|page=C1|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ikYwAAAAIBAJ&pg=2775%2C115416}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lucas|first=Dean|title=Famous Pictures Magazine – Shot Heard around the world|url=http://www.famouspictures.org/1972-canada-soviet-hockey-goal/|access-date=April 30, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Montreal Gazette|page=1|date=September 29, 1972|title=...6–5 and it's all over|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KIs0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=fqEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1689%2C8033183|first=Ted|last=Blackman}}</ref>
* [[September 29]] – [[China–Japan relations]]: The Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China is signed in Beijing, which normalizes Japanese diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China after breaking official ties with the [[Republic of China]] (Taiwan).

=== October ===
{{Main|October 1972}}
* [[October]] – In [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somalia]], the government of President [[Siad Barre]] formally introduces the [[Somali alphabet]] as the country's official writing script.<ref>Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain), ''Middle East annual review'', (1975), p.229</ref>
* [[October 1]]
** The first publication reporting the production of a recombinant [[DNA]] molecule, by [[Paul Berg]] and colleagues, marks the birth of modern [[molecular biology]] methodology.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jackson|first1=David A.|last2=Symons|first2=Robert H|last3=Berg|first3=Paul|year=1972|title=Biochemical Method for Inserting New Genetic Information into DNA of Simian Virus 40: Circular SV40 DNA Molecules Containing Lambda Phage Genes and the Galactose Operon of Escherichia coli|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]]|volume=69|issue=10|pages=2904–2909|doi=10.1073/pnas.69.10.2904|pmid=4342968|pmc=389671|bibcode=1972PNAS...69.2904J|doi-access=free}}</ref>
** [[Alex Comfort]]'s bestselling manual ''[[The Joy of Sex]]'' is published.
* [[October 2]] – Denmark joins the [[European Community]]; the [[Faroe Islands]] stay out.
* [[October 5]] – The [[United Reformed Church]] in England is founded out of the [[Congregational church|Congregational]] and [[Presbyterian]] Churches.
* [[October 6]] – A train crash in [[Saltillo]], Mexico, kills 208 people.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.onthisday.com/date/1972/october/6|title=What Happened on October 6, 1972|work=OnThisDay.com|access-date=2018-09-12}}</ref>
* [[October 8]] – A major breakthrough occurs in the [[Paris Peace Accords#Breakthrough and agreement|Paris peace talks]] between [[Henry Kissinger]] and [[Lê Đức Thọ]].
* [[October 13]] – [[Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571]]: A [[Fairchild Aircraft|Fairchild FH-227D]] passenger [[aircraft]] transporting a [[rugby union]] team crashes at about {{convert|14000|ft|m}} in the [[Andes]] mountain range, near the Argentina/Chile border. Sixteen of the survivors are found alive [[December 20]] but they have had to resort to [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] to survive.
* [[October 22]] – The [[Oakland Athletics]] defeat the [[Cincinnati Reds]] four games to three to capture [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[1972 World Series|World Series]]. It is the Athletics' first championship since [[1930 World Series|1930]], when the franchise was in [[Philadelphia]]. 
* [[October 25]] – Belgian [[Eddy Merckx]] sets a new world [[hour record]] in cycling in Mexico City.
* [[October 26]] – A coup in the [[Republic of Dahomey]] (later [[Benin]]) led by [[Mathieu Kérékou]] removes a civilian government (which has been headed by a triumvirate consisting of Ahomadégbé, Apithy and Maga).
* [[October 28]] – The [[Airbus A300]] flies for the first time.

=== November ===
{{Main|November 1972}}
* November – The [[Saitama Seibu Lions#Nishitetsu Lions (1951–1972)|Nishitetsu Lions]] baseball club, part of the [[Nippon Professional Baseball|NPB]]'s [[Pacific League]], is sold to the Fukuoka Baseball Corporation, a subsidiary of [[Nishi-Nippon Railroad]]. The team is renamed the Taiheiyo Club Lions.
* [[November 7]] – [[1972 United States presidential election]]: [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] incumbent [[Richard Nixon]] defeats [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[George McGovern]] in a landslide. The election has the lowest voter turnout since [[1948 United States presidential election|1948]], with only 55 percent of the electorate voting.
* [[November 11]] – [[Vietnam War]]: [[Vietnamization]] – The [[United States Army]] turns over the massive Long Binh military base to [[South Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=George Moss|author2=Paul Alwyn Conway|title=A Vietnam Reader: Sources and Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUIuAQAAIAAJ|year=1991|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-13-946625-0|page=324}}</ref>
* [[November 14]] – The [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] closes above 1,000 (1,003.16) for the first time.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hsuan Owyang|title=From Wall Street to Bukit Merah: Strategies of a Corporate Leader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LUuKoB_zQmQC|year=1998|publisher=Times Books International|isbn=978-981-204-969-8|page=61}}</ref>
* [[November 16]] – The [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]] adopts the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.<ref>{{cite web|title=Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/|author=UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=October 17, 2012|date=November 16, 1972}}</ref>
* [[November 19]] – [[Seán Mac Stíofáin]], a leader of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]], is arrested in [[Dublin]] after giving a radio interview to [[RTÉ]] and charged with being a member of the IRA.
* [[November 28]] – The last executions in Paris, France. Roger Bontems and Claude Buffet – the Clairvaux Mutineers – are guillotined at [[La Santé Prison]] by chief executioner [[André Obrecht]]. Bontems, found not guilty of murder by the court, is condemned as Buffet's accomplice. President [[Georges Pompidou]], in private an abolitionist, upholds both death sentences in deference to French public opinion.<ref>{{cite book|author=Council of Europe|title=The Death Penalty: Beyond Abolition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKsfGi3y3YgC&pg=PA194|date=January 1, 2004|publisher=Council of Europe|isbn=978-92-871-5333-3|pages=194}}</ref>
* [[November 29]]
** The "tea house" Mellow Yellow opens on the river [[Amstel]] in [[Amsterdam]], pioneering the legal sale of [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/book/nov29.html|title=*Ø* Wilson's Almanac free daily ezine &#124; Book of Days &#124; November 29 &#124; International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Die Grünen Petra Kelly|publisher=Wilsonsalmanac.com|access-date=2012-05-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924071355/http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/book/nov29.html|archive-date=September 24, 2012}}</ref>
** [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] in the United States release the production version of ''[[Pong]]'', one of the [[first video game]]s to achieve widespread popularity in both the [[Arcade game|arcade]] and [[Video game console|home console]] markets, devised by [[Nolan Bushnell]] and [[Allan Alcorn]].<ref>{{cite book|title=[[Ultimate History of Video Games]]|first=Steven|last=Kent|author-link=Steven L. Kent|chapter=And Then There Was Pong|publisher=Three Rivers Press|isbn=0-7615-3643-4|year=2001}}</ref>

===December===
{{Main|December 1972}}
* [[December 2]] – [[1972 Australian federal election]]: The [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] led by [[Gough Whitlam]] defeats the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]/[[National Party of Australia|Country]] [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] [[McMahon government|government]] led by [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[William McMahon]]. Consequently, Whitlam becomes the first Labor [[Prime Minister of Australia]] since the defeat of [[Ben Chifley]] in [[1949 Australian federal election|1949]]. Whitlam will be sworn in on [[December 5]]; his first action using executive power is to withdraw all Australian personnel from the [[Vietnam War]]. McMahon resigns from the Liberal leadership almost immediately; he will be [[1972 Liberal Party of Australia leadership election|replaced]] by outgoing [[Treasurer of Australia|Treasurer]] [[Billy Snedden]].
* [[December 7]]
** [[Apollo 17]] ([[Gene Cernan]], [[Ronald Evans (astronaut)|Ronald Evans]], [[Harrison Schmitt]]), the last crewed [[Moon]] mission for more than 50 years, is launched and ''[[The Blue Marble]]'' photograph of the [[Earth]] is taken. The mission also includes [[Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, and Phooey|five mice]].
** [[Imelda Marcos]], First Lady of the Philippines, is stabbed and seriously wounded by an assailant; her bodyguards shoot the assailant.
* [[December 8]]
** [[United Airlines Flight 553]] crashes short of a runway in Chicago, killing 43 of 61 passengers and two people on the ground. A day later, over $10,000 cash is found in the purse of [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]] conspirator [[Howard Hunt]]'s wife, who was on board.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=New York Magazine|date=July 1, 1974|title=A secret is discovered in a plane crash|page=40}}</ref>
** [[International Human Rights Day]] is proclaimed by the [[United Nations]].
* [[December 11]] – [[Apollo 17]] lands on the [[Moon]].
* [[December 14]] – [[Apollo program]]: [[Eugene Cernan]] is the last person to walk on the Moon, after he and [[Harrison Schmitt]] complete the third and final [[extra-vehicular activity]] (EVA) of [[Apollo 17]]. The next person to set foot on the Moon will not do so before 2026.<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Marcia|url=https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-delays-next-artemis-missions-to-2025-and-2026/|title=NASA Delays Next Artemis Missions to 2025 and 2026|work=SpacePolicyOnline|date=January 9, 2024|access-date=2024-09-22}}</ref>
* [[December 15]]
** The Commonwealth of Australia ordains equal pay for women.
** The [[United Nations Environment Programme]] is established as a specialized agency of the [[United Nations]].
* [[December 16]]
** The [[Constitution of Bangladesh]] comes into effect.
** The Portuguese army kills 400 Africans in [[Tete, Mozambique|Tete]], [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]].
* [[December 19]] – [[Apollo program]]: [[Apollo 17]] returns to [[Earth]], concluding the program of lunar exploration.
* [[December 21]] – [[ZANLA]] troopers attack Altera Farm in north-east [[Rhodesia]].
* [[December 22]]
** Australia establishes diplomatic relations with China and East Germany.
** A peace delegation that includes singer-activist [[Joan Baez]] and human rights attorney [[Telford Taylor]] visit [[Hanoi]] to deliver Christmas mail to American [[prisoners of war]] (they will be caught in the [[Operation Linebacker II|Christmas bombing of North Vietnam]]).
* [[December 23]]
** The 6.2 {{m|w|link=y}} [[1972 Nicaragua earthquake|Nicaragua earthquake]] kills 5,000–11,000 people in the capital [[Managua]]. President [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle]] is later accused of not distributing millions of dollars worth of [[foreign aid]].
** Swedish [[Prime minister of Sweden|Prime minister]] [[Olof Palme]] compares the American bombings of North [[Vietnam]] to [[Nazism|Nazi]] massacres. The U.S. breaks [[Sweden–United States relations|diplomatic contact]] with Sweden.
** Asker accident: [[Braathens SAFE Flight 239]] crashes during approach to Oslo Airport, Fornebu, Norway; forty people on board are killed.
* [[December 28]] – The bones of Nazi Party official [[Martin Bormann]] are discovered in Berlin during construction work.<ref>{{cite book|last=Whiting|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Whiting|title=The Hunt for Martin Bormann: The Truth|year=1996|orig-year=1973|publisher=Pen & Sword|location=London|isbn=0-85052-527-6|pages=217–218}}</ref>
* [[December 29]] – [[Eastern Air Lines Flight 401]] crashes into the [[Everglades]] in Florida, killing 101 of 176 on board. It is the first [[hull loss]] of a [[wide-body aircraft]].
* [[December 31]] – For the first and last time, a 2nd [[leap second]] is added (23:59:60) to a year, making 1972 366 days and two seconds long, the longest year ever within the context of [[UTC]].

===Date unknown===
* [[Colombia]]n looters find the lost 1st millennium city of [[Ciudad Perdida]]; it is not reached by official archaeologists until [[1976]].