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January 23, 1973:Lê Đức Thọ ofNorth Vietnam andHenry Kissinger of the U.S. reach agreement on ending theVietnam War

The following events occurred inJanuary 1973:

• The United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmarkentered the 'European Economic Community (EEC, generally referred to as "the Common Market", a predecessor to theEuropean Union. The addition of the new members brought the number of Common Market nations from six to nine.^[1][2]
• Exxon Corporation, the largest oil company in the world at the time, was created by the merger of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey andHumble Oil. The gasoline stations of the merged companies, operating under the names Esso, Enco and Humble, would all be rebranded as Exxon stations during the year 1973.
• In the59th Rose Bowl college football game, the #1-rankedUSC Trojans of the Pacific 8 conference defeated the #3-rankedOhio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten conference, 42–17.^[3] The #2-ranked team, the Oklahoma Sooners, had beaten the #5-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions the night before in theSugar Bowl. The University of Southern California team, unbeaten and untied in 12 starts, would be voted #1 in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls, gaining recognition by the NCAA in the era before playoffs as the unofficial national champion of American college football.
• Hitachi SC andYanmar Diesel SC, who had finished 1st and 2nd in regular play in theJapan Soccer League, met in the championship game of the 24-team playoff, theEmperor's Cup. Hitachi won, 2 to 1.
• A new constitution went into effect in the southern African nation ofZambia, declaring the republic to be a "one-party participatory democracy", with the lone political organization being the rulingUnited National Independence Party (UNIP) of PresidentKenneth Kaunda. Zambia continued as a one-party participatory democracy until becoming "a unitary, indivisible, multi-party and democratic sovereign state" when a new constitution would take effect in 1991.
• The west African nation of Nigeria, the last on earth to use the non-decimal "£sd" system of "pounds, shillings and pence", introduced a new currency, thenaira (₦) to replace theNigerian pound that had been used since independence, at the rate of £1 = ₦2. Under the new decimal system, one naira was worth 100 kobo.^[4][5]
• TheUniversity of Passau was established inWest Germany's state ofBavaria in the city ofPassau on the German-Austrian border.
• Born:
  • Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Colombian novelist, inBogotá
  • Jimi Mistry, English film and TV actor known forEastEnders andCoronation Street; inScarborough, North Yorkshire
  • Rabaki Jérémie Ouédraogo,Burkina Faso road cycling champion; inKokologo,Republic of Upper Volta
• Died:
  • Ilse Barea-Kulcsar, 70, Austrian journalist, novelist, translator, teacher,communist political activist,anti-fascist activist and resistance fighter who campaigned in Austria, volunteered in theSpanish Civil War and went into exile in Britain.^[6]
  • Sergei Kourdakov, 21, a Soviet Russian KGB agent who had defected to Canada on September 3, 1971, was found dead in his motel room at the ski resort town ofRunning Springs, California, from a gunshot to the head.^[7][8]
  • Walter E. "Jack" Rollins, 66, American lyricist who wrote the words for more than 500 songs, and was best known for "Frosty the Snowman" (1950) and "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" (1949)^[9]
  • Jeffrey Carp, 24, American blues harmonica artist, by drowning
  • Tsuneo Mori, 28, Japanese terrorist and member of theJapanese Red Army until his arrest in 1972, by hanging in his jail cell in Tokyo.^[10]

• The asteroid11785 Migaic was discovered byN. S. Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.
• Rafael Hernández Colón began his first term asGovernor of Puerto Rico.^[11]
• Born:Lucy Davis, English TV actress; inSolihull,West Midlands
• Died:
  • Eleazar López Contreras, 89, President of Venezuela 1935–1941^[12]
  • Nirmal Munda, 79, Indian agrarian leader and independence fighter known for leading the Munda agitation from 1937 to 1939 against extortion
  • Speckled Red (stage name for Rufus Perryman), 80, African-American comedian, blues singer and musician known for his recordings of the improvised insult exchanges known as "The Dozens"

• The93rd United States Congress opened with the swearing in of new U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators.^[13] The seats of Democratic RepresentativesHale Boggs of Louisiana's 2nd district andNick Begich of Alaska's At-Large district were declared "presumed dead" by House Resolution 1, nearly three months after the plane carrying both Congressmen was lost on October 16, 1972, over a remote region of Alaska. Although both Boggs and Begich won their re-elections while officially missing after the crash, the House resolution renders their seats vacant at the start of the 93rd Congress and orders special elections to fill both seats.Antonio Won Pat became the first delegate from the U.S. territory of Guam to have an office in the U.S. House of Representatives, appearing as the territory's non-voting delegate.
• Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst for theRAND Corporation who leaked top secret U.S. Department of Defense documents to multiple newspapers, went on trial for violations of theEspionage Act of 1917.^[14] The documents, published as the "Pentagon Papers", led to Ellsberg's indictment. Although initially barred from testifying in his own defense, Ellsberg would have the charges against him dismissed on May 11 because of prosecutorial misconduct including the wiretapping of his office and the burglary of his psychiatrist's office.
• CBS, theColumbia Broadcasting System sold theNew York Yankees baseball team for $10 million to a 12-person syndicate led byGeorge Steinbrenner, withRobert Nederlander,E. Michael Burke,Lester Crown,John DeLorean,Nelson Bunker Hunt andMarvin L. Warner as junior partners.^[15] The price was $3.2 million more than the price paid by CBS for the team in 1965.
• Ferdinand Marcos, thePresident of the Philippines, hosted a conference at theMalacañang Palace inManila of 300 Muslim leaders fromMindanao in an effort to stopping thesecessionist movement on that island.^[16]
• TheGolden Corral chain of steak restaurants opened its first of almost 500 locations in the United States, starting with a steakhouse inFayetteville, North Carolina.
• U.S. Air Force GeneralJohn C. Meyer, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Air Command, was booed by airmen at the Andersen Air Force Base inGuam, where he had paid a visit days after directingOperation Linebacker II, the "Christmas Bombing" that took place from December 18 to December 29, 1972.
• Born:Dan Harmon, American TV producer known forCommunity and forRick and Morty; inMilwaukee
• Died:
  • Howard R. Davies, 77, British motorcycle racer and designer who foundedHRD Motors Ltd
  • Christopher Chenery, 86, American engineer, businessman and racehorse owner whose thoroughbredSecretariat would win the U.S. Triple Crown of Horse Racing later in the year^[17]
  • Christine van Meeteren, 87, Dutch silent film actress

• The29th Canadian Parliament opened its session with the swearing in of 264 members of the Canadian House of Commons and 102 Senators. The Liberal government of Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau had only a 109 to 107 lead in Commons over the Progressive Conservative opposition, with other parties dividing the remaining 48 seats.^[18]
• InDerry inNorthern Ireland, a crowd of almost 300 children threw stones and bottles at sixBritish Army soldiers who had come to a Roman Catholic neighborhood to investigate a complaint. Four soldiers were hurt before the patrol commander fired a rifle shot over the heads of the children.^[19]
• Australia's newMinister for Immigration,Al Grassby, announced that the nation had officially ended what critics had called the "white Australia policy", eliminating the use of skin color as a factor in determining whether to admit immigrants, and specifically lifting the quota on nonwhites. The phasing out of the policy had started after World War II, when Australia admitted a few nonwhites as immigrants and then permitted them to become citizens after 15 years residence. In 1966, the residence requirement was reduced to five years.^[20]
• The pilot episode of the longest-running TV comedy series in the world,Last of the Summer Wine, was broadcast in the United Kingdom as an episode of BBC'sComedy Playhouse. Picked up as a series,Last of the Summer Wine would debut on November 12 and would continue to run for 295 episodes over 37 years, until August 29, 2010.
• Anannular solar eclipse took place, visible mostly over Chile and Argentina.
• Born:Laia Marull, Spanish film actress; inBarcelona

• Mandatory screening before boarding of all airline passengers went into effect in the United States^[21] under orders of the U.S. Department of Transportation, after notice and comment was announced on December 5.^[22]
• As its first order of business, the members of the Canada's House of Commons, liberal and conservative, voted unanimously to condemn the AmericanChristmas bombing ofNorth Vietnam that was carried out from December 18 to December 29, 1972. The resolution, introduced byMitchell Sharp, the MP who was Canada'sSecretary of State for External Affairs, began with a statement that the House "deplores the recent large-scale bombing in the Hanoi-Haiphong area", and added that the body "requests the government of the United States to refrain from resumption" of the bombing.^[23] The move infuriated U.S. President Richard M. Nixon.^[24]
• U.S. President Nixon issued an Executive Order to partially put into effect his 1971 proposal for reorganization of the federal government, consolidating much of the authority under three members of his Cabinet whom he elevated to the additional role of "White House Counselor".Caspar Weinberger, whom he had nominated forU.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), was designated as "Counselor for Human Resources" and had "responsibility for health, education, manpower development, income security, social services, Indian and native peoples, drug abuse and consumer protection".James T. Lynn, nominated asU.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was designated as "Counselor for Community Development" to handle community institutions, community planning, housing, highways, public transportation, regional development, disaster relief and national capital affairs.Earl Butz, at the time theUnited States Secretary of Agriculture, was named "Counselor for Natural Resources" in charge of "natural resource use, lands and minerals, environment, outdoor recreation, water control and park and wildlife resources." Many of the named duties were under the authority of agencies not affiliated with any Cabinet-level department. The move was intended to reduce the number of staff in the White House from 4,000 to 2,000.^[25]
• NASA announced the cancellation of theNERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) project, a joint effort of NASA and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to develop a nuclear-powered rocket engine for long range space missions.^[26] Over 17 years, US$1.4 billion had been spent on the development before U.S. President Nixon canceled the program as a cost-cutting measure.
• Indonesia's four Islamic political parties merged into a single organization, thePartai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP, United Development Party).
• TheFifth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was signed into law after being overwhelmingly approved in a December 7 referendum. The amendment removed references to "the special position of theHoly Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church as the guardian of the Faith" in addition to the honorable mention of the non-Catholic denominations of "theChurch of Ireland, thePresbyterian Church in Ireland, theMethodist Church in Ireland, theReligious Society of Friends in Ireland, as well as theJewish Congregations and the other religious denominations existing in Ireland" in 1937. Thefourth amendment, lowering the voting age in national elections from 21 to 18, took effect the same day.
• The American rock bandAerosmith, composed ofBoston musiciansSteven Tyler, who sang lead vocals, guitaristsJoe Perry andBrad Whitford, bassistTom Hamilton and drummerJoey Kramer, released itsdebut album of the same name, distributed byColumbia Records.^[27]

• FutureUnited States PresidentJoe Biden was sworn in as the juniorUnited States senator fromDelaware at a chapel at theWilmington General Hospital inWilmington, Delaware, where one of his sons was still hospitalized after a December 18 auto accident that had killed Biden's wife and his daughter.^[28]
• Died:Gerald Boland, 87, Irish attorney who served asMinister for Justice 1939 to 1948 and 1941 to 1954, as well as member of the parliament 1923–1961 and senator, 1961–1969

• U.S. PresidentRichard M. Nixon was officially declared the winner of the1972 United States presidential election with the certification by Vice PresidentSpiro Agnew of the electoral vote. The final result was Nixon, 520 votes; U.S. SenatorGeorge McGovern ofSouth Dakota, 17 votes; andJohn Hospers, a Libertarian candidate, 1 vote, from Virginia "faithless elector"Roger MacBride. Agnew also announced his own re-election, with the vote of 520 for him, 17 forSargent Shriver and one (from MacBride) forTheodora Nathan, who became the first woman in U.S. history to receive an electoral vote.^[29]
• Multiplication Rock, U.S. television cartoon series with three-minute episodes setting themultiplication tables to memorable tunes, made its debut between the regular Saturday morning shows on theABC network.^[30][31] The first installment, "Three Is a Magic Number", appeared at 8:25 in the morning afterH.R. Pufnstuf.Bob Dorough wrote and performed the music and lyrics to most of the songs, with most of the cartoons produced by Phil Kimmelman & Associates.
• The "Ortoli Commission", presided over byFrançois-Xavier Ortoli, took office to govern the European Commission.
• Born:Misa Hylton, American stylist and fashion designer for female musicians; inMount Vernon, New York
• Died:Maurice H. Thatcher, 102, U.S. Representative for Kentucky from 1923 to 1933, former U.S. Governor of the Canal Zone in Panama (1910–1922) and the oldest surviving former member of Congress.^[32]

• After shooting a police officer a week earlier,Mark Essex, a formerBlack Panther party member, shot 19 people (10 of them police officers) with a sniper rifle from his vantage point at aHoward Johnsons hotel in the U.S. city ofNew Orleans. His stated motive was "retaliation for police killings" of African-Americans. Essex had killed a black police cadet and fatally wounded a white police officer on New Year's Eve. In a single day, Essex caused the deaths of two hotel guests, two hotel employees, and three additional New Orleans police officers before being shot dead by a police marksman firing from a helicopter.^[33]
• Utah became one of the first states of the United States to reinstatecapital punishment after the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down the death penalty in all states in its decision on June 29, 1972, inFurman v. Georgia.^[34] The replacement law took effect on July 1, 1973, pending approval of the new standards for capital sentences by the high Court. After the July 2, 1976 decision inGregg v. Georgia, Utah would become the first state to carry out a death sentence, executingGary Gilmore by firing squad on January 17, 1977.
• TheCBS television network became the first U.S. network to broadcast a game of the newWorld Hockey Association, after having been outbid by theNBC network for the TV rights toNational Hockey League for the 1971–72 NHL season. The first game featured theWinnipeg Jets visiting theMinnesota Fighting Saints atSt. Paul, Minnesota and winning, 6 to 2.^[35]
• The1973 All-Africa Games, the second in the series, opened for 12 days of competition by 36 nations inLagos, Nigeria. The first All-Africa Games had been held in the Congo Republic in 1965.^[36] Egypt won the most medals (23 gold and 66 overall) with Nigeria second (18 gold, 60 total) and Kenya third (nine gold, 27 total)^[37]
• TheBritish Darts Organisation was founded byOlly Croft.
• The anime seriesFables of the Green Forest began its run on Japanese television.
• Died:Pedro Berruezo, Spanish soccer football forward forSevilla FC, suffered a fatal heart attack on the field six minutes into a match against the host teamPontevedra CF.

• TheParis Peace Talks to end theVietnam War came close to failing at an angry meeting in the French town ofGif-sur-Yvette, where U.S. National Security AdviserHenry Kissinger was angrily confronted by North Vietnam's chief negotiator,Lê Đức Thọ, over theChristmas bombing of North Vietnam. Reportedly, Tho shouted at Kissinger in French for more than an hour, loudly enough that reporters outside the conference room could hear him berate the U.S. representative.^[38][39] Nevertheless, a peace agreement would be reached on January 23.
• The Brazilian government kidnapped, from different locations (includingSoledad Barrett Viedma), six opponents of the military regime and then murdered them. The bodies were found in a barn in the town of São Bento near the city ofAbreu e Lima in thePernambuco state.^[40]
• The Mexican television networksTelesistema Mexicano andTelevisión Independiente de México, merged to create a single broadcast network,Televisa (TelevisionViaSatellite).^[41]
• Sesamstrasse, the German-language version of the U.S. children's programSesame Street, premiered on the west German networkNorddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), with German actors dubbing previously broadcast U.S. shows, before a German production could be started on January 2, 1978, with new puppets and sets.^[42]
• At 9:55 a.m. Moscow time (0615 UTC), the Soviet Union launched theLuna 21 uncrewed space mission to theMoon, which included the remotely-guidedLunokhod 2 lunar rover.^[43]
• In the U.S., the ABC television network introduced its new late-night series,ABC's Wide World of Entertainment, as part of a block of programming after 11:30 pm that rotated between the series and several other programs.
• Born:
  • Irina Slavina (pen name for Irina Murakhtaeva), Russian journalist and government opponent known for her fatal self-immolation as a protest; inGorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (d. 2020)
  • Ryan Coetzee, South African politician and British political strategist
  • Henning Solberg, Norwegian rally driver; inAskim
  • Donnell Turner, American soap opera actor onGeneral Hospital since 2015; inTacoma, Washington
• Died:
  • Sam Battaglia, 64, American mobster, in prison
  • Dong Xiwen, 58, Chinese painter known for his paintingThe Founding Ceremony of the Nation, before being persecuted during theCultural Revolution, died of cancer.

• Rhodesia closed its borders with Zambia on the grounds that the Zambians were harboring anti-Rhodesian guerrillas.^[44]
• All 42 crew on theDona Anita, an African freighter, died when the vessel sank off the coast ofVancouver Island.^[45]
• Alexander Mackenzie Stuart,Max Sørensen, andCearbhall Ó Dálaigh became judges at theCourt of Justice of the European Communities in Luxembourg.Jean-Pierre Warner joined the Court asAdvocate-General.^[46]
• Born:Sean Paul, Jamaican rapper; inKingston

• Atornado killed 63 people in Argentina in the city ofSan Justo.^[47][48]
• Five political parties inIndonesia, theIndonesian National Party, theLeague of Supporters of Indonesian Independence, theMurba Party, theIndonesian Christian Party, and theCatholic Party merged into a single organization, theIndonesian Democratic Party.
• Born:
  • Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican boxer; in Fajardo, Puerto Rico
  • Ajit Pai, American politician,Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission 2017–2021; inBuffalo, New York

• An American Family, arguably the first "reality show" on television, was launched as a 12-episode series on the U.S.Public Broadcasting System. The show was the edited product of seven months of a production crew following around aSanta Monica, California husband and wife and their five teenage children, and filming their private lives. From May 30 until December 31, 1971, 300 hours of film was made of business executive Bill Loud, his wife Pat, and their three sons and two daughters, then editing it to twelve 50-minute shows.^[49]
• The "Phase II" wage controls that had been implemented by U.S. president Nixon on November 14, 1971, ended along with all U.S. government limits on the raising of rent. With the issuance of Executive Order 11695, Price controls continued for six months on food, health care and construction as part of the authority granted to the U.S. president theEconomic Stabilization Act of 1970.^[50] Nixon called on industries to voluntarily hold down price and wage increases.^[51]
• All Australian involvement in combat in theVietnam War ceased by order of Australia's Governor-General,Paul Hasluck.^[52] Troops remained in South Vietnam until July 1, 1973.
• Former CIA agentE. Howard Hunt, leader of theWhite House Special Investigations Unit team that had been called "the White House Plumbers" because of the assignment to determine the source ofnews leaks to the media), became the first major participant in theWatergate scandal to plead guilty to charges.^[53] He would be sentenced to 8 years in prison and would serve for less than 3.
• Joshua Wanume Kibedi, theForeign Minister of Uganda, resigned abruptly while he was out of the country, attending a conference of foreign ministers of theOrganisation of African Unity inAccra, capital ofGhana. Kibedi made the decision days after his uncle, former Ugandan Minister of Health Shaban Nkutu, had been kidnapped and murdered on orders of Ugandan PresidentIdi Amin. Kibedi's sister, Malyamu Kibedi Amin, was one of President Amin's two wives, and Foreign Minister Kibedi feared for his own life and made the decision not to return, going into exile instead in the United Kingdom.
• William T. Farr, a reporter for theLos Angeles Herald Examiner, was freed from jail after having been held in contempt of court for 48 days for refusing to reveal his confidential source for an article he had written in 1972 about the Charles Manson murder trial. U.S. Supreme Court JusticeWilliam O. Douglas ordered Farr's release while the contempt citation was on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. "The case is a recurring one", Douglas wrote in his order, "when the interests of a fair trial sometimes collide with the requirements of a free press", but added "Yet since the precise question is a new one not covered by our prior decisions, I have concluded in the interest of justice to release Farr on his personal recognizance."^[54][55]
• At a meeting in Chicago, the 24Major League Baseball team owners voted to allow theAmerican League to implement the "designated hitter" rule starting with the 1973 season, marking the first time since the American League's founding in 1901 that the two leagues would be playing the game under different rules. The change, which permitted a team to designate a specific player who would substitute for the pitcher, but who would not be on the field when the other team was up to bat, was an amendment to Rule 3.03, which bars the pitcher from re-entering the game if he is replaced in the lineup. The "DH" rule had been tested in the minor International League in 1969 and had resulted in increased team batting averages, an increase in runs scored and a decrease in the length of a game.^[56] The rule would be used in the American League for 49 seasons before being adopted by the National League in 2022.
• TheDow Jones Industrial Average, commonly called "The Dow", the measure of performance on Wall Street of stocks on theNew York Stock Exchange, reached its peak for the rest of the decade, closing at 1,051.70 points. The next day, the Dow dropped 12.34 points^[57] and then begana steady decline that would last almost two years, with stocks averaging a 45.1 percent decrease in value and closing at a low of 577.60 on December 6, 1974.^[58] "The Dow" would not break the 1973 peak until almost 10 years later, with a close on November 3, 1982, of 1,065.49.
• BBCOpen University, which had offered degrees to older and working students throughdistance learning with early morning broadcasts on BBC-2 that started on January 3, 1971, awarded its first diplomas.^[59]
• Members of the all-maleHarvard Club of New York City voted overwhelmingly, 2,097 to 695, to admit women to the private social group for Harvard University alumni.^[60] On May 4, 1972, more members voted in favor of admitting women than had voted against (1,654 to 854), but the move fell 18 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required by the Harvard Club's bylaws.^[61]
• Born:
  • Paul Kehoe, Irish politician; inBree, County Wexford
  • Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer; inIndore,Madhya Pradesh

• TheGeneral Electric Company of the United States signed an agreement with the Soviet Union'sState Committee for Science and Technology (GKNT,GosudarstvennyiKomitet poNauke iTekhnike) for a joint research project to develop new electric power generating technology. The G.E.—U.S.S.R. pact was the first direct cooperative agreement between theCommunist nation and a majorcapitalist corporation.^[62]

• Former U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson recorded his final interview, invitingCBS Evening News anchormanWalter Cronkite to the LBJ Ranch inStonewall, Texas. Johnson died of a heart attack 10 days later.^[63] Cronkite's interview was telecast on February 1 on CBS.^[64]
• The secret police agency ofMorocco, theDirection de la Surveillance du Térritoire (DST, or Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) was created along with its foreign intelligence spy agency, theDirection générale des études et de la documentation (DGED or General Directorate for Studies and Documentation) by adahir or royal decree by King Hassan II in the aftermath of a second attempted coup d'état.^[65][66]
• Les Halles, which had operated as the central food market in Paris since the 18th century, closed permanently^[67] to make way for construction of theWestfield Forum des Halles, a modernshopping mall built largely underground.
• ThePerth suburb ofPickering Brook, Western Australia was officially created.
• Born:
  • Hande Yener (stage name for Makbule Hande Özyener), popular Turkish singer; inKadıköy,Istanbul
  • A. Lee Martinez, American fantasy fiction author; inEl Paso, Texas
• Died:
  • Roy F. Nichols, 76, American Pulitzer Prize-winning historian (in 1949 forThe Disruption of American Democracy)^[68]
  • Albert "Turk" Edwards, 65, American NFL tackle and later coach for theWashington Redskins, and inductee into thePro Football Hall of Fame, died two days before the Redskins were scheduled to play in their first Super Bowl.^[69]

• Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert was recorded in London's Rainbow Theatre.
• ThePro Football Hall of Fame welcomed 3 new inductees.Baltimore Colts' gift of grab wide receiverRaymond Berry, and Berry's teammate also from the Colts,Jim Parker and from theDetroit Lions'Joe Schmidt.
• Died:
  • Mohamed Amekrane, 35, Moroccan Air Force lieutenant colonel who had been convicted of treason for theattempted assassination and coup d'état of King Hassan II on August 16, was executed by a firing squad at the prison inKenitra.
  • Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, 89, pretender to the throne of theKingdom of the Two Sicilies

• In Italy, agents of the Israeli intelligence agencyMossad foiled anattempt by the PLO to shoot down a jet transporting Israeli Prime MinisterGolda Meir to Rome'sFiumicino Airport. Meir was in Italy on a state visit to meet President Leone and Pope Paul VI, and Mossad had only learned about the plot the day before. Spotting a Fiat van in a field near the flight path of Meir's airplane, a Mossad agent ordered the driver to step out of the van, and a gun fight began, with two terrorists being wounded. A search found that the van had six heat-seeking missiles and a launcher, and after torture, the captured driver revealed the location of a backup team with missiles and launchers mounted on a van. A Mossad truck rammed the second team's van and detained the would-be assassins.^[70] Mrs. Meir's flight, andEl Al jet bringing her to Rome after her visit to Paris, landed that evening under heavy security, taxiing to a spot more than one mile from the passenger terminal, where she was met by a chauffeur and officials from the Italian Foreign Ministry. The next day, she became the first Israeli prime minister to meet with a Pope.^[71]
• Elvis Presley's "Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite" concert was performed inHonolulu at 12:30 in the morning local time, to be seen live in Australia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, South Vietnam and Hong Kong, and on tape delay everywhere else in the world.
• TheMiami Dolphins defeated theWashington Redskins, 14–7, to winSuper Bowl VII and to complete the NFL's first, and thus far only, "perfect season", with no losses or ties in the regular season or the postseason. The Dolphins finished with a record of 14-0-0 in regular play and then won their three playoff games.^[72]
• All 29 people aboard aCAAC Airlines airplane in thePeople's Republic of China were killed when theIlyushin Il-14 twin-engine plane, CAAC 644,crashed into the side of a mountain inGuiyang inGuizhou province.
• The day before Israel's Prime MinisterGolda Meir was scheduled to fly in a jet to Rome for a state visit to Italy and to the Vatican, the Israeli intelligence agencyMossad learned of a possible Palestine Liberation Organization plot to assassinate her by shooting down her airplane. .
• The Enemy is Dead, a play written byDon Petersen, opened onBroadway at the Bijou Theatre^[73] and closed after one performance.^[74]
• Born:Artur Ayvazyan, Armenian Ukrainian sport shooter and 2008 Olympic gold medalist; inYerevan,Armenian SSR, Soviet Union

• Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon announcedthe suspension of offensive action inNorth Vietnam during theVietnam War, to go into effect on January 27. On the same day, with the cessation of hostilities still 12 days away, the U.S. Navy'sStrike Fighter Squadron 25 (VFA-25) carried out a bombing attack on 14 North Vietnamese bridges.^[75]
• France's Department of the Overseas signed a treaty with representatives of theComoro Islands, guaranteeing the African island territory full independence within five years, subject to a referendum of all residents of the four islands.
• Six days of voting on approval of a newConstitution of the Philippines concluded, with a majority of 90.67% of the voters in favor.
• On the same day in thePhilippines, the execution in the electric chair of convicted drug trafficker Lim Seng was broadcast on national television, by order of PresidentFerdinand Marcos.^[76]
• Four additional defendants in the first Watergate burglary trial accepted a plea bargain rather than risk conviction by a jury and a longer prison sentence. Miami real estate agent Bernard L. Barker and three of his associates, Frank A. Sturgis, Eugenio Martínez and Virgilio Gonzalez all pled guilty before Judge John J. Sirica.^[77]
• The West Germany TV situation comedyEin Herz und eine Seele ("One Heart and One Soul", adapted (as with the U.S. sitcomAll in the Family) from the British seriesTill Death Us Do Part broadcast its first of 25 episodes. Part of the schedule of theARD network, the show featuredHeinz Schubert in the (Alf Garnett/Archie Bunker) role as "Alfred Tetzlaff", a right-wing bigot, along with his wife "Else", a daughter ("Rita") and son-in-law ("Michael").^[78]
• Born:
  • Eduard Prutnik, Ukrainian mining entrepreneur and philanthropist who chairs the United World International Foundation; inSelydivka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Selydove, Ukraine)
  • Essam El Hadary, Egyptian soccer football goalkeeper with 159 appearances for the Egyptian national team; in Kafr El Battikh,Damietta Governorate
  • Tomáš Galásek, Czech soccer football midfielder with 69 appearances for the Czech Republic national team; inFrýdek-Místek,Czechoslovakia
  • Barrie-Jon Mather, English rugby player who became the first to play on the national teams for bothrugby league (for the Great Britain team 1994–1996) and therugby union team (for England in 1999); inWigan,Lancashire
• Died:Coleman Francis, 53, American film actor and "B movie" producer known forThe Beast of Yucca Flats and two sequels

• Luna 21, the uncrewed Soviet probe carrying theLunokhod 2 lunar rover landed on theMoon at theLe Monnier crater at 1:35 in the morning Moscow time (2335 on 15 January UTC).^[79] The 8-wheeledLunokhod rover was dispatched from the lander at 4:14 (0114 UTC) and began transmitting television images from three cameras back to Earth, along with data from telephotometric cameras, an x-ray spectrometer, and x-ray telescope, a radiation detector, an astrophotometer, a magnetometer and a photodetector.^[80][81]
• The 431st and last episode of theNBC televisionwesternBonanza, ending a run of 14 seasons. Number one in the ratings in three consecutive seasons from 1964–65 to 1966–67, the show had been in the five most popular for nine consecutive seasons until its penultimate season. After the death of popular actorDan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright) before the 1971–72 season, the once-popular show could not compete againstMaude andHawaii Five-O and was ranked 50th for the year.Lorne Greene andMichael Landon were the only actors left from the original members of the fictional Cartwright family, introduced on September 12, 1959, as one of 32 Western programs on television at that time. Landon wrote and directed the final episode.^[82]
• Born:Eriko Tamura, Japanese voice actress and singer, star of the anime seriesIdol Densetsu Eriko; inIbaraki Prefecture
• Died:
  • Clara Ward, 48, American gospel singer, died after suffering two strokes^[83]
  • Earl S. Herald, 58, American zoologist and host of the TV science showScience in Action, drowned off the coast of Mexico while scuba diving in search of the raregolden angelfish.^[84]Centropyge heraldi, the yellow "Herald's angelfish", is named in his honor.

• Following a referendum in thePhilippines, Proclamation No. 1102 certified and proclaimed that the new Philippine Constitution proposed by theConstitutional Convention of 1971 had been ratified by the Filipino people and had thereby come into effect, repealing the limits on the president's term of office. The new constitution made the presidency a ceremonial office and provided that actual control would be in the hands of the new office of Prime Minister of the Philippines, a job which Marcos appointed himself to. The legislature provided for in the new constitution could be suspended by the prime minister, and he dismissed the interim assembly that had been scheduled to take office.^[85]
• Born:Bill Hamel, American record producer; inOrlando,Florida (d. 2018)
• Died:
  • Ralph T. Walker, 83, American architect^[86]
  • Ted Koehler, 78, American lyricist

• In attempt to killHamaas Abdul Khaalis, a former member of theNation of Islam ("Black Muslim") movement,five children and two adults were murdered in Washington, D.C.^[87] Khaalis, born "Ernest McGee" before converting to Islam and joining the Black Muslims, had split with the group to follow theHanafi branch ofSunni Islam, and had sent letters to the 50 Nation of Islam mosques in the U.S. criticizing the movement's leaderElijah Muhammad. In retaliation, seven members of the "Black Mafia" invaded the Hanafi Muslim headquarters and killed Khaalis's children and two adults. Ultimately, four defendants would be convicted of murder. In 1977, Khaalis would later lead 11 Hanafi Movement gunmen toseize 149 hostages in a takeover of the District of Columbia building with the motive of calling attention to the 1973 murder of his family.
• The six-year term ofUrho Kekkonen,President of Finland, set to expire on March 1, 1974, was extended by four years in a 170 to 28 vote by the nation's parliament, theSuomen Eduskunta. The change in law came at Kekkonen's request, after he decided that he did not want Foreign MinisterAhti Karjalainen to succeed him. Kekkonen had been president since 1956 and had started his third 6-year term in 1968.^[88]
• The government of France began a program of replacing 350 English-language words with French substitutes issued by a "terminology commission" chaired by former Prime MinisterJacques Chaban-Delmas, and the approval of the French Academy. Among the changes wereretrospectif (for "flashback"),palmares (for "hit parade"),navire citerne (for a "tanker" ship) andavion ADAC (for a "STOL aircraft").^[89]
• The 28 people killed in the1972 crash in the Andes of a Uruguayan airplane flight were given a funeral service by aChilean priest and burial in a common grave more than 400 metres (1,300 ft) from the airplane's fuselage.^[90]
• President's rule was declared in the Indian state ofAndhra Pradesh after Chief MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao resigned.^[91]
• ElevenLabour Party councillors inClay Cross,Derbyshire in England, were ordered to pay £6,985 for not enforcing the Housing Finance Act.
• In a dramatic upset in theNational Hockey League, the NHL's worst team, the first-year expansion clubNew York Islanders (with a record of 4 wins, 37 losses and 4 ties) defeated the defendingStanley Cup champions, the 28-10-4Boston Bruins, 9 to 7, in Boston in a regular season game. The win snapped the Islanders' 12-game losing streak.^[92] Boston would finish with 51 wins, 22 losses and 5 ties for the second-best record in the 16-team league, while the Islanders remained the worst, with a record of 12-60-6.
• Timothy Leary, a formerHarvard University professor and advocate of recreational drug use, who later escaped from prison and fled the U.S., was returned to the United States after being arrested by police inAfghanistan.^[93]
• Born:Guo Degang, Chinese comedian and actor specializing inxiangsheng or "crosstalk"; inTianjin
• Died:Abdul Qaiyum Ansari, 67, Indian Muslim and independence activist who had campaigned to prevent the division ofBritish India into two nations. In 1947, the predominantlyMuslim areas became the nation of Pakistan while theHindu areas became the Dominion of India.

• George Bush, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and future President of the United States, was appointed Chair of theRepublican National Committee, replacingBob Dole, U.S. Senator for Kansas.^[94]
• Born:
  • Michèle Gavazzi, Uruguayan-born Canadian writer ofFrench language children's literature, known for her series of books for girls; inMontevideo
  • Kiyanu Kim, South Korean-born American songwriter; inSeoul
• Died:
  • Annie Buller, 77, Canadian labor union organizer and co-founder (in 1921) of theCommunist Party of Canada
  • Max Adrian, 69, Northern Irish stage, film and television actor^[95]

• Amílcar Cabral, the leader of the fight for the independence of the African colonies ofPortuguese Guinea from Portugal, was shot and killed by two former members of his organization.^[96] In 1956, Cabral had been one of the co-founders of thePartido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) and its leader since 1963, guiding the operations from the republic (and former French colony) ofGuinea. He was in front of his house in the Guinean capital ofConakry when he was assassinated.Guinea-Bissau would proclaim its independence eight months later under Cabral's successor, his younger brotherLuís Cabral.
• The government of the Soviet Union made official its"education tax" on emigrants, a higher fee for legally moving away out of the country. TheBulletin of the Supreme Soviet published the decree made on August 3, 1972, by President of the PresidiumNikolai V. Podgorny. Based on a theory that the Soviet government had provided free education for citizens, the "tax" was based upon the level of education as well as length of employment and averaged an additional 8,000 Soviet rubles (officially, $10,000 in U.S. dollars), an amount that represented the total gross earnings over five years for an engineer or physician.^[97]

• U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon wasinaugurated for his second term.^[98] In his inaugural address, Nixon began by saying that before he started his term, "America was bleak in spirit, depressed by the prospect of seemingly endless war abroad and of destructive conflict at home", but that "As we meet here today, we stand on the threshold of a new era of peace in the world", and asked "How shall we use that peace?" Paraphrasinga line used in John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech, Nixon said "In our own lives, let each of us ask now just what will government do for me, but what can I do for myself?"^[99]
• BoxerRomeo Anaya of Mexico defeated WBA championEnrique Pinder of Panama inPanama City to win the world bantamweight championship.
• Born:Queen Mathilde of Belgium, wife ofKing Philippe and Queen Consort since 2013; as Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz inUccle.

• Aeroflot Flight 6263, carrying 39 passengers and crew, crashed in snow while making its approach to thePerm International Airport in the Soviet Union's Russian SFSR, its final scheduled destination after departing fromKazan on a flight that had originated inKrasnodar. While only four people died from the impact of the crash of theAntonov An-24B in rugged terrain near Petukhovo, 57 miles (92 km) from Perm, the 35 survivors froze to death in −40 °F (−40 °C) while awaiting rescue.^[100]

• TheU.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision inRoe v. Wade by a vote of 7 to 2, overturning individual state bans in the first three months of pregnancy on a woman's right to anabortion, concluding that such bans deprive a woman of a fundamental liberty without due process of the law contrary to the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. States were allowed to bar abortions during the final 10 weeks of pregnancy.^[101] The Texas case had been consolidated with the lesser known Georgia case ofDoe v. Bolton. Justices Byron R. White and William H. Rehnquist dissented, while Harry A. Blackmun was joined in the majority opinion by fellow justices William O. Douglas, William J. Brennan Jr., Potter Stewart, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell Jr., and Chief Justice Warren Burger. For nearly half a century afterward, a division between "pro-life" and "pro-choice" positions on abortion would continue with challenges until the overruling ofRoe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in the case ofDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.^[102]
• The crash of aALIA Royal Jordanian Airlines flight from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria killed 176 of the 202 people on board. The charteredBoeing 707 was bringing Muslim pilgrims back home and had taken off fromJeddah before it crashed inKano,Nigeria.^[103]
• Former U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, who had served from 1963 to 1969, suffered a massive heart attack at 3:50 p.m. local time while at his LBJ Ranch inStonewall, Texas, and died shortly thereafter.^[104] According to contemporary reports, he picked up the phone next to his bed and told the switchboard operator at the Ranch, "Send Mike immediately,"^[105] referring to his Secret Service agent, Mike Howard. The nearest agents, Ed Noland and Harry Harris reached Johnson's bedroom at 3:52 and found him lying on the floor, dead.^[106] The death of Johnson, coming 27 days after that of Harry S. Truman, marked the first time since a two-month period in 1933 that there were no former U.S. presidents alive, after the death ofCalvin Coolidge on January 5, until March 4,Herbert Hoover, when exited office.
• George Foreman, a 24-year-old challenger, defeated championJoe Frazier inKingston, Jamaica to win the heavyweight worldboxing championship.^[107]
• Born:Erin O'Toole, Canadian politician, MP of Durham and former Opposition leader; inMontreal^[108]

• TheEldfellvolcano on theIcelandic island ofHeimaey erupted at 1:55 in the morning near the town ofVestmannaeyjar.^[109] The 5,500 inhabitants of the island were evacuated by the fishing boats already docked in the island's harbor.^[110] The eruption would last until July 3.
• After U.S. National Security AdviserHenry Kissinger andNorth Vietnamese negotiatorLê Đức Thọ attached an agreement on terms of a treaty at 12:30 p.m. local time in Paris, PresidentRichard Nixon announced thata peace agreement had been reached in Paris to end theVietnam War, including the release by North Vietnam of all American prisoners of war, and a complete withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from South Vietnam by March. The cease-fire was scheduled to take effect on Saturday, January 27.^[111] Nixon spoke on national television in the evening and said that "we today have concluded an agreement to end the war and bringpeace with honor in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia."^[112][113]
• American inventorsMario Cardullo and William L. Parks, received U.S. patent 3,713,148 for the firstradio-frequency identification transmitter, the first implantable tracking device, after having filed the application on May 21, 1970.^[114]
• The U.S. House of Representatives implemented electronic voting for the first time in its history, with the members of Congress pushing buttons on their desks rather than the more time-consuming roll call. The first test was for a quorum call, moved for by Congressman Wayne Hays of Ohio, to determine if the House had a quorum of at least 218 members present to conduct business.^[115]
• After lying in state at theLyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum inAustin, Texas, the late president Johnson was flown in his casket to Washington, D.C., to lie in state in the United States Capitol.
• Born:
  • Mark Boal, American screenwriter and producer, winner of two Academy Awards forThe Hurt Locker; in New York City
  • Zurab Gegenava, Georgian broadcasting executive and philanthropist; inTbilisi,Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
• Died:Alexander Onassis, 24, Greek businessman, heir to the Aristotle Onassis fortune and chairman ofOlympic Airways, died one day after being fatally injured in the crash of his single-engine airplane on takeoff from the Athens airport.^[116]

• SAIL, theSteel Authority of India, Ltd., was incorporated by the government of India as a state-owned steel producer administered from New Delhi by India'sMinistry of Steel and Mines.^[117]
• Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd. was incorporated inBangladesh as Imperial Chemical Industries Bangladesh after the government purchased the assets of the company from its British owners.
• U.S. Ambassador to HaitiClinton E. Knox and Consul General Ward L. Christensen were taken hostage by terrorists who invaded Knox's home atPort-au-Prince and demanded the release of 12 political prisoners, a ransom of $70,000 and safe conduct to Mexico. Knox and Christensen were safely released in Mexico after the terrorists' demands were met.^[118]
• Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands wonEuropean football's firstSuper Cup, defeatingRangers F.C. ofGlasgow inScotland on the second leg of the home-and-away series. The winner of the series, contested between the winners 1971–72 season for the European Cup (Ajax) and the European Cup Winners' Cup (Rangers), was determined on an aggregate of the two matches, and Ajax had beaten Rangers, 3 to 1, in Glasgow on January 16 in front of 57,000 people at Ibrox Stadium. On the second game, Ajax won, 3–2, in front of 26,168 people at Olympic Stadium, for an aggregate of 6 to 3.
• The second section of theAutostrada A56 opened in Italy.
• Died:
  • J. Carrol Naish, 77, American film, stage, TV and radio actor known forSahara andA Medal for Benny, as well as the star of the radio seriesLife With Luigi. The Associated Press noted that during the 1940s, "Naish was making 30 movies a year and played virtually every nationality in film— Italians, Japanese, Hindus, Arabs, Chinese, Jews and Mexicans— every nationality in fact except his own: Irish."^[119]
  • Anthony Sagar, 52, British character actor on film and television
  • Ali Haydar Yıldız, 19, Turkish Kurdish activist, was killed in a shootout in a raid by the Turkish Army in the village of Vartinik upon theCommunist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML). The party's leader,İbrahim Kaypakkaya, was wounded but escaped, only to be turned over to police a few days later for execution.

• Astate funeral in Washington, D.C. for former U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson took place at theNational City Christian Church. Johnson had died three days earlier in Texas, after which his flag-draped casket was flown to Washington to "lie in state" in the U.S. Capitol building. Following the funeral, the later president's body was flown back to Texas and buried in a cemetery two miles from the LBJ Ranch.^[120]
• National Lampoon: Lemmings, an off-Broadway comedy and music show at theVillage Gate nightclub in New York City'sGreenwich Village, began the first of 350 performances and launched the careers ofJohn Belushi,Cornelius "Chevy" Chase andChristopher Guest. Belushi was praised by a critic forThe New York Times for his portrayals ofPontius Pilate andMarlon Brando in parodies ofJesus Christ Superstar andThe Godfather, "Chevy Chase's aping of President Nixon" in a skit called "Mrs. Agnew's Diary" (the show's "attempt at political satire") was described as piddling.^[121]
• English actorDerren Nesbitt was convicted of assaulting his wife,Anne Aubrey.
• Born:
  • Yasir Naqvi, Canadian-Pakistani politician, Member of Parliament forOttawa Centre, inKarachi, Pakistan^[122]
  • Oren Harman, Israeli science writer; inJerusalem
• Died:
  • William J. Staunton, 46, Northern Irish magistrate judge, from gunshot wounds sustained in an October 11 attack by two IRA members.
  • Ada Mackenzie, 81, Canadian golfer and enshrinee in theCanada Sports Hall of Fame

• TheBattle of Cua Viet began on the morning before the U.S. and North Vietnam signed the Paris Peace Accords, as South Vietnam'sArmy of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) ground troops, supplemented by air cover from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, attempted to recapture the port of Cua Viet in the Quảng Trị province and failed. North Vietnam claimed that 2,330 ARVN troops were killed or wounded, while South Vietnam claimed that the North sustained 1,000 casualties.^[123]
• TheTokyo Metropolitan Murders, a string of rapes and killings of 10 women, usually with amodus operandi of burning the bodies, began with the strangling, followed by burning, of a 22-year old office worker at her apartment in theKita section. The death was similar to one that had taken place in Tokyo in 1968. A 67-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man would be burned to death on February 13, after which the Tokyo murderer stayed away from crime until a streak of killings that ran for more than six weeks from June 25 to August 9, 1974.
• TheConvention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, signed inMontreal on September 23, 1971, was declared effective after having been ratified by at least 10 nations; before the Ukrainian SSR (considered a separate member of the United Nations) had ratified, 17 nations had already deposited their instruments of ratification.^[124]
• A U.S. Marine on guard duty became the first American to die after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, which were not scheduled to take effect until 8:00 a.m. local time on January 28.Private First Class Mark Miller, USMC, was killed by enemy shelling of theBiên Hòa Air Base nearSaigon.^[125]
• Born:Frankie Biggz (stage name for Francisco Lucio), American record producer; inMonroe, Michigan
• Died:Edward G. Robinson (stage name for Emanuel Goldenberg), 79, Romanian-born American film and stage actor known for his "tough guy" roles, died of cancer 12 days after completion of filming of his final role as a supporting actor inSoylent Green.^[126]

• U.S. involvement in theVietnam War ended with the signing of theParis Peace Accords at theHôtel Majestic. NeitherLê Đức Thọ orHenry Kissinger, who negotiated for North Vietnam and the U.S., respectively, was present for the signing of "Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam"^[127]
• At Paris, the government ofNorth Vietnam and delegates from theViet Cong presented U.S. representatives a list of 555 American prisoners of war that it was prepared to release, while the U.S. provided a list of 26,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong prisoners that were being held by the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. Department of Defense was aware of 1,925 missing personnel, and 1,370 servicemen would be listed permanently as "missing in action."^[128] After reviewing the names, the U.S. Department of Defense said through a spokesman, "there are 56 men that we had previously carried on our list of prisoners of war" who were not on the list provided.^[129]
• The consul general and vice consul of the Turkish consulate in Los Angeles were assassinated by a 77-year-old survivor of theArmenian genocide.^[130] Consul General Mehmet Baydar, 48, and Vice Consul Bahadir Demir were shot to death by a 77-year old Armenian-American,Gourgen Yanikian, in retaliation for the Ottoman Turks murder of 26 members of Yanikian's family and at least 600,000 Armenians more than 55 years earlier. Yanikian lured both men to a cottage at the Biltmore Hotel inSanta Barbara, California, wounded them, and then killed each one with a gunshot to the head.
• Outgoing U.S. Secretary of DefenseMelvin R. Laird announced that the United States armed forces would become anall-volunteer organization and that no furtherdraft of U.S. citizens would take place.^[131][132]

• Died:U.S. Army Lieutenant ColonelWilliam Nolde, 43, ofMount Pleasant, Michigan, was killed by North Vietnamese artillery fire atAn Lộc inSouth Vietnam, at 9:00 in the evening local time, 11 hours before the ceasefire agreed upon in Paris took effect. Colonel Nolde became the last combat death in theVietnam War^[133]

• With the expiration of hostilities theVietnam War to go into effect at 0:00 Universal Time, the ceasefire began at 8:00 in the morning local time. The war continued in the neighboring kingdom ofLaos, where no truce had been reached, and U.S. B-52 bombers continued to bomb suspected Communist positions and supply lines that were infiltrating South Vietnam.^[134]
• Elections were held in Senegal, at the time a one-party republic in West Africa, where voters were given a choice of voting yes or no on the slate of candidates offered by theUnion Progressiste Senegalaise. PresidentLéopold Sédar Senghor, unopposed, was approved for a third term of five years, and the 100-member slate of candidates for theAssemblée nationale du Sénégal were endorsed.
• The television detective dramaBarnaby Jones premiered on the CBS television network for the first of 178 episodes and eight seasons. At the age of 64,Buddy Ebsen, who had starred in the comedyThe Beverly Hillbillies from 1962 to 1971, took on a dramatic role as an elderly private investigator seeking to find the killer of his son-in-law between cases. ActressLee Meriwether portrayed his daughter-in-law and assistant in the program, a production ofQuinn Martin.^[135]
• TheGolden Globe Awards were presented for film and television for the year 1972.
• TheArgentine Grand Prix was held at the Oscar Gálvez circuit and was won byEmerson Fittipaldi.
• Died:
  • John Banner, 63, Austrian-born American stage, film and TV actor best known for playingSergeant Schultz onHogan's Heroes, died while visiting friends in Austria.
  • Hayden W. Lingo, 65, Americanpool player who invented the game ofone-pocket

• The crash ofEgyptAir Flight 741 killed all 37 people aboard, as theIlyushin Il-18 impacted the side of a mountain as it was approaching the city ofNicosia inCyprus after having departed fromCairo.^[136][137]
• An arsonist killed 10 of the 16 residents of Street's Rest Home inPleasantville, New Jersey, including 106-year-old woman. A 22-year-old man who resided at the home was charged with setting the early-morning fire.^[138]
• Three people were killed in fighting in Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland. A member of theUlster Defence Association (UDA) shot dead a Catholic civilian at his workplace, a petrol station on Kennedy Way, Belfast. Later, the UDA killed a 15-year-old Catholic civilian in a drive-by shooting at Falls Road/Donegall Road junction, and aProvisional IRA shot and killed dead UDA member Francis 'Hatchet' Smith, rumored to have led the group that shot the teenager.^[139][140]
• Born:
  • Pavel Voicu, Minister of Internal Affairs for theRepublic of Moldova, later its Minister of Defense; inMacaresti,Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union
  • Jason Schmidt, American baseball pitcher, 2003 National League ERA leader; inLewiston, Idaho
  • Arben Bajraktaraj, Kosovo-born French film actor; inIsniq,SR Serbia,Yugoslavia
• Died:
  • Caryl Jenner (stage name for Pamela Ripman), 55, British children's theatre director, died of lung cancer.
  • Ludwig Stossel, 89, Austrian-born American character actor on stage, film and television^[141]

• Bass guitarist Gene Klein and rhythm guitarist Stanley Eisen, members of the heavy metal bandWicked Lester, introduced their reimagined format, wearing face makeup and playing before a group of 10 customers Popcorn Club, a bar located in the borough of Queens in New York City. Klein renamed himselfGene Simmons while Eisen becamePaul Stanley. With drummer George Peter Criscuola (Peter Criss) and lead guitaristPaul "Ace" Frehley, the band played for the first time under the nameKiss.^[142]
• Indianationalized its remaining private coal mines, bringing 184 under control the government company,Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and 527 others under the Coal Mines Authority.
• The crash of a train into a bus killed 37 people and injured 18 others in the Hungarian city ofKecskemét.
• The U.S. Department of Defense announced that the list of 555 prisoners of war included a U.S. Marine, Private First Class Ronald L. Ridgeway ofHouston,Texas, who had been listed as killed in action on February 25, 1968. Ridgeway had been on patrol with eight other Marines during theBattle of Khe Sanh when the group was ambushed, and a group burial had been made in theJefferson Barracks National Cemetery inSt. Louis,Missouri.^[143] After more than five years as a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton", Ridgeway was released with the other listed POWs on March 16, 1973^[144] and would work in administration with the Veterans Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after returning to civilian life.^[145]
• G. Gordon Liddy andJames W. McCord Jr., both former officials in the Committee to Re-Elect the President that had coordinated U.S. President Nixon's re-election campaign, were convicted by a federal jury in Washington on charges of conspiracy to spy on Democratic Party officials at the Watergate Hotel. Unlike the other five persons charged, Liddy and McCord had declined to enter a plea bargain, and the jury returned guilty verdicts after less than 90 minutes of deliberation.^[146]
• U.S. SenatorJohn C. Stennis of Mississippi was shot and wounded in front of his Washington, D.C. home in an armed robbery "by two young men who took his wallet, 25 cents and his watch." The shooting did not appear to be politically-motivated. Despite a wound to the chest, Senator Stennis recovered after undergoing surgery at the Walter Reed Hospital.^[147] Six weeks later, on March 12, three young men were arrested by the FBI and charged with assault on a member of Congress under a 1971 federal law,^[148] and one pleaded guilty.^[149]
• The first 125 officers and enlisted men out of 37,000Republic of Korea troops who were still remaining in South Vietnam returned home toSeoul as South Korea's pullout from the Vietnam War began.^[150]
• Born:
  • Jay Manalo, Vietnamese-born Filipino actor, in Saigon, South Vietnam
  • Jordan Prentice, Canadian actor; inLondon, Ontario
• Died:
  • Titina Silla, 29, Guinea-Bissau freedom fighter, in an ambush by Portuguese authorities. The anniversary of her death would later come to be celebrated asNational Women's Day in Guinea Bissau.^[151]
  • Jack MacGowran, 54, Irish stage and film actor, died of complications from influenza. MacGowran, who had recently finished filming an appearance inThe Exorcist, had been on leave from starring in theBroadway production ofThe Plough and the Stars at theVivian Beaumont Theater at the Lincoln Center.^[152]
  • James Barlow, 51, British novelist

• Rioting began in Syria when PresidentHafez al-Assad announceda new constitution that did not require the president to be aMuslim. Within a few weeks, Assad amended the constitution to restore the requirement and approval would come on March 13.
• Pan American andTrans World Airlines canceled their options to buy 13Concorde airliners.^[153]
• Born:Baciro Djá,Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau in 2015 and 2016.
• Died:
  • Ragnar Frisch, 77, Norwegian economist and winner of the 1969Nobel Prize for Economics.^[154]
  • Dewey Barto (stage name for Stewart Swoyer), 76, American comedian who was half of the team ofBarto and Mann

• January 1973
• January by year
• Months in the 1970s

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