Year retrospective · 1970s

1973

1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1973rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 973rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 73rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1970s decade.

Recorded events

10

top entries

Notable births

30

Notable deaths

30

Decade

1970s

Defining moment · 1973

Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.

Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2025, there are 58 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves under the project.

See april 1 in detail

Timeline

Defining events of 1973

  1. 1973 Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.

    Tiger conservation programme in India (1973-present)

    Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2025, there are 58 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves under the project.

  2. 1973 Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people.

    1973 crash near Hochwald, Switzerland

    Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 (IM435) was a Vickers Vanguard 952, flying from Bristol Lulsgate to Basel-Mulhouse, which crashed into a forested hillside near Hochwald, Switzerland on 10 April 1973. The aircraft somersaulted and broke up, killing 108 people, with 37 survivors. To date, this is the deadliest accident involving a Vickers Vanguard and the deadliest aviation accident to occur on Swiss soil.

  3. 1973 The Portuguese Socialist Party is founded in the German town of Bad Münstereifel.

    Centre-left political party in Portugal

    The Socialist Party is a social democratic political party in Portugal. It was founded on 19 April 1973 in the German city of Bad Münstereifel by militants who were at the time with the Portuguese Socialist Action. The PS is a member of the Socialist International, Progressive Alliance and Party of European Socialists, and has eight members in the European Parliament within the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group during the 10th European Parliament.

  4. 1973 The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.

    1973 studio album by Pink Floyd

    The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Capitol Records in the US, and on 16 March 1973 by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before recording began, it was conceived as a concept album that would focus on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and also deal with the mental health problems of former band member Syd Barrett, who had departed the group in 1968. New material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at EMI Studios in London.

  5. 1973 Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.

    American engineer (born 1928)

    Martin Cooper is an American engineer. He is a pioneer in the wireless communications industry, especially in radio spectrum management, with eleven patents in the field.

  6. 1973 Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon fires White House Counsel John Dean; other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, resign.

    1970s political scandal in the U.S.

    The Watergate scandal, or simply Watergate, was a political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. 's Watergate complex. Nixon's efforts to conceal his administration's involvement led to an impeachment process and his resignation in August 1974.

  7. 1973 The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated.
  8. 1973 A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming.
  9. 1973 Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
  10. 1973 The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.

Arrivals

Born in 1973

Bokeem Woodbine 1973– American actor (born 1973)
Akon 1973– Senegalese-American singer (born 1973)
Charlotta Sörenstam 1973– Swedish professional golfer (born 1973)
Teddy Cobeña 1973– Spanish-Ecuadorian expressionist and representational sculptor
Derrick Brooks 1973– American football player and executive (born 1973)
Haile Gebrselassie 1973– Ethiopian long-distance runner and businessman (born 1973)
Julie Powell 1973– American author (1973–2022)
Steve Backshall 1973– English naturalist (born 1973)
Gabby Logan 1973– Welsh TV/radio presenter and rhythmic gymnast (born 1973)
Damon Lindelof 1973– American screenwriter and producer (born 1973)
Brian Marshall 1973– American bassist
Eric Snow 1973– American basketball player and coach (born 1973)

Farewells

Died in 1973

Henry Darger American artist and writer (1892–1973)
Arthur Fadden Prime Minister of Australia in 1941
Kemal Tahir Turkish novelist and intellectual (1910-1973)
Irene Ryan American actress (1902–1973)
Carlos Menditeguy Argentine racing driver (1914–1973)
Fred Gipson American author (1908–1973)
Conrad Aiken American novelist and poet
Henry Green English novelist (1905–1973)
Luis Carrero Blanco Spanish Navy officer and Prime Minister (1904–1973)
Bobby Darin American musician, singer and actor (1936–1973)
Irna Phillips American screenwriter and actress (1901–1973)
Emile Christian American jazz trombonist (1895–1973)

On the charts

Culture of 1973

By month

Across the calendar of 1973

0 on record January 0 on record February 0 on record March 10 on record April 0 on record May 0 on record June 0 on record July 0 on record August 0 on record September 0 on record October 0 on record November 0 on record December

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