THE YEAR 1971

Cost of Living

Yearly Inflation Rate ― 4.3%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average ― 890
Average Cost of new house ― $25,250
Average Income per year ― $10,600
Average Monthly Rent ― $150
Cost of a gallon of Gas ― 40 cents
Datsun 1200 Sports Coupe ― $1,866
United States postage Stamp ― 8 cents


1971 ― This could well be the year that marked the start of the digital age when the Microprocessor was invented. We also saw the use of more and more of the transistor technology in use in things like hand held calculators which although are still very expensive over time will drop in price and increase in function to where we are today. It is also the first year North Sea Oil production begins in Norway. One other major change is the change to decimalization in the UK on and Ireland on February 15th . The birth of Greenpeace signals a need to question how we manage the resources entrusted to us and a means of organised questioning of governments around the world. 


26th Amendment ― The Voting Age in the United States is lowered to 18 yrs old when the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified

1. People had been wanting the voting age to be lowered to 18 years old ever since FDR lowered the draft age to 18 years during World War II.
2. In June of 1970, President Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that would lower the voting age to eighteen for all elections.
3. On the 10th of March, 1971, the United States Senate voted almost unanimously to propose a constitutional amendment that would lower the voting age.
4. On March 23rd, 1971, the United States House of Representatives also voted nearly unanimously for the amendment.
5. The amendment was ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures within four months.
6. The 26th Amendment was officially adopted on July 1st, 1971.
The amendment reads:
The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on the account of age.
and
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
7. President Nixon signed the amendment on July 5th, 1971.


Border battles between India and Pakistan erupt into full-scale war when India invades East Pakistan ( Now Bangladesh ) in support of the independence movementMore Information for the India and Pakistan conflict.
The Bangladesh Liberation War begins in March of 1971 after the Pakistan military attacked Bengali civilians. India enters the war on December 3rd of 1971 on the side of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) after Pakistan preemptively attacked Indian airbases. The war between Pakistan and India lasts until December 16th when Pakistan surrenders, making it one of the shortest wars in history. Bangladesh was able to achieve independence as a result of the war.


Disney World Opens

The Walt Disney World Theme Park is opened.More Information for Disney World
1. Walt Disney begins secretly purchasing large tracts of land in central Florida in 1965.
2. Walt Disney holds a press conference in November 1965, during which he discusses plans for what would become the Walt Disney World Resort.
3. Walt Disney dies in December of 1966 before construction begins on the resort. His brother Roy O. Disney takes over the project and postpones his own retirement in order to complete it.
4. Construction on the resort begins in 1967.
5. Construction on the Magic Kingdom park and several resorts is finished and Walt Disney World officially opens on October 1st of 1971.
6. Roy O. Disney dies in December of 1971, only a few months after the park opens.
7. The Epcot Center park opens in 1982.
8. Disney-MGM Studios, now known as Disney's Hollywood Studios, is opened in 1989.
9. Disney's Animal Kingdom opens in 1998.
The Walt Disney World theme park has its grand opening during October of 1971. The complex consisted of just the Magic Kingdom park and the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Fort Wilderness resorts. Located near Orlando, Florida, the grounds were built on swamplands that Walt Disney began purchasing during the 1960s. By 1965, Disney publicly announced plans for the park but he died in 1966 before construction could begin. Construction was overseen by Walt Disney’s brother Roy throughout the late 1960s and Roy died just a few months after the park opened in December of 1971. The original price for an adult ticket in 1971 was $3.50 and did not include the cost of tickets for rides which were separate at the time.


Qatar becomes independent from Great Britain ― The nation of Qatar became independent from the United Kingdom during September of 1971. Located on the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar had been a British protectorate since 1916 and had also been ruled by the House of Thani since the early 19th century. Qatar had a simple transition to independence as under its previous agreement with the United Kingdom, the country had already had internal autonomy. The independence agreement removed all British influence and involvement and Qatar became a fully sovereign state ruled by the Al Thani family as a hereditary constitutional monarchy. 


The Mariner 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to enter the orbit of another planet on November 14th of 1971. Mariner 9 had been launched on May 30th of 1971. It was successful in its missions which were becoming the first artificial satellite to orbit Mars, mapping the surface of Mars, gathering atmospheric data, and taking highly detailed images of the surface. The Mariner 9 craft was launched by NASA over a week after the USSR launched their Soviet Mars 2 spacecraft but made it to the planet much faster than the Soviet satellite. The Mariner 9 spacecraft stopped its communications in October of 1972 and is expected to remain in orbit around Mars for around 50 years before it will fall into the atmosphere of the red planet, Mars.


The Pentagon Papers

The Pentagon Papers were commissioned as a report on the political and military involvement of the United States in Vietnam. The report covers U.S. involvement from World War II to 1968. The report was commissioned in 1967 by Robert S. McNamara, who was the Secretary of Defense at the time.

Daniel Ellsberg, a government consultant, gained access to some of the classified documents and leaked them to the New York Times in June of 1971. The reports revealed many large scale attacks that the U.S. public were not aware of, causing many U.S. citizens to lose trust in the United States government. The general feeling was that the United States government had misled the public and withheld the truth.

The information in these documents also added to the already growing unpopularity of the Vietnam War and only increased anti-war sentiments. In June of 2011 the Pentagon Papers were fully declassified and released to the public for the first time.


UAE Established

1. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was created on December 2nd when it established independence from the United Kingdom after nearly 80 years of British rule.
2. The UAE was formed as an autocratic federation of seven emirates each controlled by a hereditary governor.
3. The seven principalities are Abu Dhabi (which is also the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaiman, Sarjah, and Umm al-Quwain.
4. The nation has become strikingly diverse and modern partially due to its location on the Persian Gulf.
5. It has large number of immigrants (only around 15% of the population are native citizens), and its oil industry makes it one of the wealthiest nations in the world.


More News and Key Events

• China is admitted to the United Nations UN
• Ibrox disaster in Scotland when On January 2nd 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match
• A new stock market index called the Nasdaq debuts
• Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
• Peru Earthquake results in the destruction of the town of Chungar, Peru, and the death of most of the towns people
• Decimalisation in United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency.
• Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher's ( "Thatcher The Milk Snatcher". ) ends free school milk for children over the age of seven in the UK
• IRA Bomb Post Office Tower in London
• Prison riot and prisoners take hostages at Attica Prison in New York, resulting in the death of 10 hostages and 29 inmates.
• The U.S. Supreme Court upholds School Busing Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education 402 U.S
• Women are granted the right to vote in Switzerland
• Amtrak created to provide US inter city passenger train services.
• Mount Etna erupts
• Tsunami 85 m high rises over Ryukyu Islands in Japan
• Harris public opinion poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the war in Vietnam
• Tsunami in the Bay of Bengal in Orissa State in India kills 10,000.
• The US table tennis team visits to the People's Republic of China (PRC) known as "Ping Pong Diplomacy" on April 10th
• Greenpeace formally comes into existence.
• Federal Express is started by Fred Smith
• Thousands protest against the British government's new industrial relations Bill.
• Australia and New Zealand Announce Pull Out Of Troops from Vietnam
• Cigarette Advertising Ended on Television in USA
• A fatal stampede at Glasgow Soccer Game
• In an attempt to control inflation President Richard M. Nixon implements 90 day freeze on wages and prices, he also removed the gold/silver backing from the US Dollar
• Major General Idi Amin takes control of Uganda soon to become one of the worst and most notorious dictators of modern times
• Following Public Concern Over Immigration in the UK, a new Immigration Bill stops Commonwealth citizens automatic entry
• Following on from the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasts for the first time in April 1971
• Problems in Northern Ireland continue as rioting increases as part of the IRA campaign to end British Government Rule.
• Sierra Leone Gains Independence From Great Britain
• Charles Manson and three of his followers receive the death penalty
• Led Zeppelin releases their untitled fourth album
• Jim Morrison of The Doors found dead in bath tub in Paris

Popular Culture

Sports

NFL ― Dallas Cowboys

AFL ― Miami Dolphims

Super Bowl I ― Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V (1970 Season)

NCAA Football ― The University of Nebraska

MLB ― PittsburghPirates

NCAA Baseball ― USC

NBA ― Milwaukee Bucks

NCAA Basketball ― UCLA

NHL ― Montreal Canadiens

NCAA Hockey ― Boston University

Golf

Masters Tournament – Charles Coody
U.S. Open – Lee Traveno
British Open – Lee Traveno
PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus
LPGA Championship – Kathy Wihitowrth
U.S. Women's Open – JoAnne Garner

Popular Films

• Love Story
• Summer of '42
• Ryan's Daughter
• The Owl and the Pussycat
• The Aristocats
• Carnal Knowledge
• The Andromeda Strain
• The French Connection

Popular Musicians and songs

• James Taylor
• The Doors
• Bob Dylan
• Tony Orlando and Dawn with " Knock Three Times "
• Janis Joplin with " Me and Bobby Mcgee "
• The Who
• Mungo Jerry
• John Lennon
• The Jackson 5
• Ike and Tina Turner
• Marvin Gaye
• Rod Stewart with " Maggie Mae "
• The Osmonds
• Michael Jackson
• The Rolling Stones with " Brown Sugar "

Popular TV Program

• All My Children
• Mary Tyler Moore
• McCloud
• The Odd Couple
• The Partridge Family

Born This Year

• Lance Armstrong ― September 18th
• Winona Ryder ― October 29th
• Mariah Carey ― March 27th
• Tupac Shakur ― June 16th

Technology

• Oil Production from the North Sea begins in Norway
• Intel releases world's first microprocessor, the 4004.
• Texas Instruments releases the first pocket calculator
• The First Internet Chat rooms appear
• The First Cat Scanner Produced by EMI
• BBC Open University broadcasts begin in the UK.
• The Aswan Dam is completed in Egypt
• The Worlds Largest Tanker 372,400 tons Nisseki Maru is launched
• Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.
• Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover a day after landing on the surface.
• Three Soviet cosmonauts die during Soyuz 11 accident on June 30th .
• First Soft Contact Lens became available commercially in the USA
• Kevlar goes on to the market, Kevlar had been discovered by Stephanie Kwolek while working as a chemist for Du Pont, Kevlar is a polymer that is five times stronger than steel ( Weight for Weight ) and can be spun into thread, It's uses range from bridge cables to Lightweight body armor.

Inventions

• Microprocessor USA 
• Pocket Calculator The Sharp Company 
• E-Mail USA Ray Tomlinson 
• Floppy Disk USA by IBM
• Liquid Crystal Displays ( LCD ) Switzerland

From thepeoplehistory and Wikipedia