Major Events
- Jan 13 Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu flees Biafra into exile, leaving his deputy Philip Effiong to surrender to the Nigerian army, unofficially ending the Nigerian Civil War
- May 31 7.75 Ancash earthquake off coast of Peru kills 66-70,000 and sets off world's deadliest avalanche
- Jul 6 California passes 1st "no fault" divorce law
- Jul 21 Aswan High Dam opens in Egypt, enables human control of the flooding of the Nile
- Sep 8 Black September hijackings begin, three airliners hijacked and blown up by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- Nov 3 US President Richard Nixon promises gradual troop removal of Vietnam
- Nov 12 Cyclone Bhola makes landfall in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) killing up to 500,000, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded
- Nov 17 Douglas Engelbart receives the patent for the first computer mouse
- Nov 21 General Hafez al-Assad becomes Prime Minister of Syria following a military coup
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1970 in Film & TV
- Jan 27 Movie rating system modifies "M" rating to "PG"
- Feb 4 "Patton" directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring George C. Scott premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1971)
- Jul 4 Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" debuts on LA radio
- Sep 19 "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" premieres on CBS
1970 in Music
- Mar 30 Columbia Records releases jazz artist Miles Davis's influential double album "Bitches Brew"; it becomes his highest charting title, wins a Grammy, and earns him his 1st gold record
- Apr 10 Paul McCartney officially announces the split of The Beatles
- Apr 17 Paul McCartney releases his 1st solo album "McCartney"
1970 in Sport
- Mar 10 South Africa cricket team complete 4-0 series drubbing of Australia in South Africa, in the country's last official international cricket test for 22 years
- May 10 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Bobby Orr scores famous OT winner as Boston beats St. Louis Blues, 4-3 for 4-0 series sweep; Bruins its first title since 1941
- Jun 21 FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City: Brazil and Pelé become first team and player to win World Cup 3 times, beating Italy, 4-1 in front of 107,412
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Fun Fact About 1970
In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 1.5 inches (38.1mm) of rain falls in a single minute, the heaviest recorded rainfall in history
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Articles About 1970
Oh! Calcutta! - The Bare Facts
Born when free love and anything goes were the mantra of youth, the show "Oh! Calcutta!" opened in London on this day. Police considered a prosecution for obscenity.July 26Black Tot Day
Royal Navy sailors lining up for their daily rum rationJuly 31Jim Morrison's Trial
Jim Morrison and The Doors at the Dade County CourthouseAugust 10Elvis Meets Nixon
Richad Nixon meets Elvis Presley at the White House, December 21, 1970December 21
Famous Weddings in 1970
- Mar 12 Actor Phil Hartman (21) weds first wife Gretchen Lewis
- Mar 20 British snger David Bowie (23) weds British model Angie Barnett, (20) at Bromley Register Office in Beckenham Lane, London; divorce in 1980
- May 11 American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. (44) weds American entertainer Altovise Gore (26) in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania courthouse, officiated by the Rev. Jesse Jackson:, his third marriage lasts until his death in 1990
Famous Divorces in 1970
- Nov 8 American "The Mamas & the Papas" singer Michelle Phillips (26) divorces American "Easy Rider" director and actor Dennis Hopper (34) after only 8 days of marriage
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