THE YEAR 1973

Cost of Living

Yearly Inflation Rate ― 6.16%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average ― 850
Average Cost of new house ― $32,500
Average Income per year ― $12,900
Average Monthly Rent ― $175
Cost of a gallon of Gas ― 40 cents
A Dozen Eggs ― 45 cents
Ford Galaxie 500 ― $3,883
Dozen Medium Eggs ― 25 cents
Crock pot Cooker ― $17.79



Events of 1973 ― Inflation has a significant impact on peoples lives around the world with the UK inflation rate running at 8.4% and the US running at 6.16% . This causes problems in every aspect of peoples lives from the price of Gas, Food and Bills , which in turn causes higher wages and the spiral continues, much of this is caused by the Arab members of the (OPEC) restricting the flow of oil to countries supporting Israel as part of the Yom Kippur War. And the start of a Recession in Europe causing increased unemployment and a 3 day week in the UK. Meanwhile in the US two important cases dominate the news with Roe v. Wade making abortion a US constitutional right on the 22nd January and the start of the Watergate hearings in the US Senate, and due to price increase of gas the Japanese car manufacturers with smaller engines and more efficient have an impact of the US car industry

Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), announce they will restrict flow of crude oil to countries supporting Israel on October 17th causing price of oil to increase by 200%

Recession begins in Europe following OPEC Oil price increases

Alaska Oil Pipeline bill is passed to allow construction of a pipeline to access oil from the North Slope of Alaska

Supreme Court of the United States rules on Roe v. Wade. January 22nd
Roe v. Wade makes abortion a US constitutional right

About 200 Oglala Lakota Native Americans and members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) began their occupation of Wounded Knee in South Dakota during February of 1973. AIM, a militant civil rights organization, was created in the late 1960s with the intention of bringing attention to injustices faced by Native Americans. Wounded Knee was located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and in 1890 it was the site of a massacre of 300 unarmed Sioux by the U.S. Cavalry. At the start of their occupation AIM took 11 hostages and asked that The U.S. Government start investigating broken treaties, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and all of the South Dakota Sioux reservations. The occupation lasted 71 days during which they negotiated with U.S. Marshals and exchanged regular gunfire with federal agents. In May the group surrendered and government officials agreed to start investigations as demanded.

Vice President Agnew Resigns Spiro Agnew, the Vice President of the United States under Richard Nixon, resigned during October of 1973. Agnew had been dealing with charges of tax evasion and receiving bribes prior to his resignation. After he left office he pleaded no contest to the criminal charges and was fined and given probation. He was replaced by Gerald Ford, who, less than a year later, would become the President after Nixon resigned. Spiro Agnew was the second US Vice President to resign, the first for criminal reasons.

The Sears Tower is completed during May. The 108 floor 1,729 foot tall structure became the tallest building in the world, a title that it held for 25 years until the Petronas Towers in Malaysia were completed in 1998. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the building originally housed the Sears, Roebuck & Co. headquarters. It was designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan, who had previously worked together creating another iconic Chicago skyscraper, the John Hancock Center.

I graduate from college.

More News and Key Events

• Chrysler and other US car makers close a number of plants affecting 100,000 workers
• US Troops withdrawn from Vietnam and U.S. involvement in Vietnam War ends with the signing of peace
• World Trade Center in New York becomes the tallest building in the world
• IRA bombs explode in King's Cross and Euston station on September 10th , the Whitehall, the Old Bailey and Manchester city center.
• Watergate Hearings begin in the United States Senate and President Richard Nixon tells the nation , “I am not a crook.”
• Yom Kippur War - Fourth and largest Arab-Israeli conflict begins as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel
• Sydney Opera House is opened
• Basque Terrorists Kill Spanish Prime Minister
• The Bosporus Bridge is completed joining Europe and Asia in Istanbul
• Following student rioting Marshal Law is imposed
• Military coup in Chili led by General Augusto Pinochet.
• Israel Shoots Down Libyan Passenger Plane
• Newly created Bangladesh Elects First Prime Minister Sheikh Mujib Rahman
• TUC brings 1.5 Million on Strike in UK as Day Of Protest at pay restraint policy
• Princess Anne, marries Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey
• In the UK, as a result of high coal and oil prices, the Three-Day Weekofficially comes into force.
• Belize Gains Independence From Great Britain
• A referendum in Northern Ireland results in a vote to stay as part of the United Kingdom
• Secretariat Wins Triple Crown first winner for 25 years
• The wide ranging Endangered Species Act of 1973 is signed into law to "protect species and the ecosystems upon which they depend."
• The Bahamas Gains Independence From Great Britain
• Royal Navy Protect Trawlers in Cod War In Icelandic Waters
• The Mississippi River reaches its peak level in St. Louis during a record 77-day flood.

Popular Culture

Sports

NFL ― Minnesota Vikings

AFL ― Miami Dolphins

Super Bowl ― Miami defeats Washington in Super Bowl VI (1972 season)

NCAA Football ― USC

MLB ― Oakland Athletics

NCAA Baseball ― USC

NBA ― New York Knicks

NCAA Basketball ― UCLA

NHL ― Montreal Canadiens

NCAA Hockey ― University of Wisconsin―Madison

Golf
Masters Tournament – Tommy Aaron

U.S. Open – Johnny Miller
British Open – Tom Weiskopf
PGA Championship – Jack Nicklaus
LPGA Championship – Mary Mills
U.S. Women's Open – Susie Berning

Popular Films

• The Exorcist
• Deliverance
• Live and Let Die
• Paper Moon
• Dark Side Of The Moon Reminded by Pink Floyd Fan
• Last Tango in Paris
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• American Graffiti
• Lady Sings the Blues
• The Sting

Popular Musicians and songs

• Stevie Wonder
• ABBA
• The Eagles
• John Lennon
• Paul Simon
• Pink Floyd " Dark Side Of The Moon "
• Rod Stewart
• Michael Jackson
• Elton John with " Crocodile Rock "
• Rolling Stones with " Angie "
• The Moody Blues
• David Bowie
• Led Zeppelin
• Wizzard
• Electric Light Orchestra
• Paul McCartney and Wings with " My Love "
• Bob Marley and the Wailers
• Diana Ross

Popular TV Programs

• The Odd Couple
• The Partridge Family
• Columbo
• Masterpiece Theatre
• McMillan and Wife
• Old Grey Whistle Test (UK)
• Are You Being Served? (UK)
• Colditz (UK)
• Emmerdale Farm (UK)
• M*A*S*H
• Sanford and Son
• The Bob Newhart Show
• The Price Is Right
• The Waltons

Born This Year

Monica Seles ― December 2nd
Tyra Banks ― December 4th
Monica Lewinsky ― July 23rd
Kate Beckinsale ― July 26th


Technology

• Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched
• Concorde cuts flying time across the Atlantic in half flying at average speed of 954 mph
• The Sears Tower opens in Chicago

Inventions 

• Genetic Engineering
• Barcode 
• Optical Fiber
• Space Station (Skylab)
• Jetski or Personal Watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki . 
• The Mariner 10 spacecraft launched at the beginning of November in 1973. It had the mission of becoming the first probe to study the planet of Mercury. The Mariner 10 probe also became the first spacecraft to visit two planets during a single mission, as it passed Venus on its way to Mercury. The craft sent over 12,000 images of the two planets back to Earth. The mission was considered successful and ended in March of 1975 as it began its orbit around the Sun that it continues in to this day. The total cost of the spacecraft was about $100 million which would be equivalent to nearly $500 million today.