1974 Fun Facts, History, and Trivia
Quick Facts from 1974
Top Ten Baby Names of 1974
Girls: Jennifer, Amy, Michelle, Heather, Angela
Boys: Michael, Jason, David, James, Christopher
The Sex Symbols, Hotties, and Fashion Icons
Adrienne Barbeau, Barbi Benton, Dyan Cannon, Veronica Carlson, Angie Dickinson, Britt Ekland, Pam Grier, Beverly Johnson, Caroline Munro, Diana Ross, Ann Simonton, Jane Seymour, Mary Woronov
Hollywood Hunks, Leading Men, and Sex Symbols
Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds
The Quotes
“You won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore.” — Resigning President Richard Nixon, August 8, 1974, the night before his departure
“And now for something completely different.” — Monty Python’s Flying Circus, first broadcast in the UK in 1969 and imported to the United States via public television in 1974
“Tastes great, less filling.” — Miller Lite beer commercials, launching one of the most successful advertising campaigns in brewing history
“Dy-no-mite!” — J.J. Walker on Good Times
“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” — Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” — Joe Mantell, Chinatown
Time Magazine’s Man of the Year
King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, recognized for his role in the 1973 Arab oil embargo that triggered the global energy crisis and permanently changed the relationship between oil-producing nations and the Western world
Miss America and Miss USA
Miss America: Rebecca King, Denver, CO
Miss USA: Karen Morrison, Illinois
We Lost in 1974
Mama Cass, Cass Elliot of The Mamas and the Papas, one of the great voices of 1960s pop harmony, died July 29, 1974, at age 32, in London, from heart failure. The persistent legend that she choked on a ham sandwich is false — the coroner found no food in her throat. The sandwich was in the room. It became the story anyway.
Duke Ellington, the jazz composer, bandleader, and pianist who had shaped American music for five decades, died May 24, 1974, at age 75, from lung cancer and pneumonia.
Charles Lindbergh, the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, died August 26, 1974, at age 72, at his home in Maui, Hawaii. He had arranged his own funeral, including designing the grave.
Ed Sullivan, the television host whose Toast of the Town and Ed Sullivan Show had introduced America to Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and decades of performers, died October 13, 1974, at age 73.
Chet Huntley, NBC News anchor and one-half of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, the defining broadcast news team of the 1960s, died March 20, 1974, at age 62.
America in 1974 — The Context
Richard Nixon entered 1974 fighting for his political survival. The Watergate break-in had occurred in June 1972. The cover-up had unraveled through 1973. By early 1974, the House Judiciary Committee was preparing articles of impeachment. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in July 1974 that Nixon had to release the White House tape recordings. The “smoking gun” tape revealed he had personally ordered the cover-up six days after the break-in. Nixon resigned on August 8. Gerald Ford was sworn in on August 9. Ford pardoned Nixon on September 8. The country’s mood, already strained by Vietnam and the oil crisis, absorbed another blow to its confidence in institutions.
The economy was in recession, the oil embargo had produced gasoline shortages and long lines at filling stations, and inflation was running at nearly 11%. The national speed limit was lowered to 55 miles per hour to reduce fuel consumption. Daylight Saving Time began in January rather than April for the same reason. It was a year that felt like the end of something.
Watergate and Nixon’s Resignation
The Watergate scandal had its origins in a botched burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel complex on June 17, 1972. Five men hired by Nixon’s reelection campaign were arrested. The trail of money and direction led back to the White House. Nixon and his aides spent the following two years attempting to obstruct the investigation. Senate hearings in 1973 revealed the existence of a White House taping system. The battle over those tapes consumed the legal system for a year.
On July 24, 1974, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that Nixon had to surrender the tapes. The “smoking gun” recording, released August 5, proved Nixon had personally directed the cover-up within days of the break-in. His congressional support collapsed. He resigned on August 8 in a televised address, effective the following day, becoming the first and only American president to resign from office.
Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th President on August 9, 1974, making the observation that “our long national nightmare is over.” On September 8, 1974, Ford granted Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he might have committed while president. The pardon destroyed Ford’s approval ratings and is widely credited as a significant factor in his 1976 election loss to Jimmy Carter.
The Rumble in the Jungle
On October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman for the heavyweight championship of the world at the 20th of May Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, in a bout promoted by Don King and backed by Zaire’s dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. Ali had been stripped of his title in 1967 for refusing induction into the Vietnam War. Foreman was considered one of the most physically devastating fighters in the sport’s history and a prohibitive favorite.
Ali spent the early rounds absorbing Foreman’s punches while leaning against the ropes — a strategy he called “rope-a-dope” — letting Foreman exhaust himself. In the eighth round, Ali attacked. Foreman went down. Ali had reclaimed the championship.
The event is considered one of the greatest sporting moments of the 20th century, immortalized in Norman Mailer’s book The Fight and the 1996 documentary When We Were Kings.
Hank Aaron
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th career home run off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, breaking Babe Ruth’s record that had stood since 1935. Aaron had received thousands of death threats during the weeks leading up to the record. He had FBI protection and required police escorts. He hit the record-breaker in front of 53,775 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The home run trot took approximately 30 seconds. The chase had lasted years.
Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs, a record that stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2007.
Philippe Petit’s Tightrope Walk
On August 7, 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit stepped off the South Tower of the World Trade Center onto a steel cable he and his team had secretly strung between the Twin Towers the previous night. He walked back and forth eight times, performed a salute, lay down on the wire, and made the cable dance — 1,350 feet above the streets of Manhattan, in light fog, without a safety harness, for approximately 45 minutes. When he finally stepped off the wire, he was arrested. Asked by the police why he had done it, he said: “There is no why.”
The feat was documented in the 2008 film Man on Wire and the 2015 film The Walk. It is widely considered one of the greatest artistic acts of the 20th century.
Pop Culture Facts and History
The UPC barcode scanner was installed for the first time at a Marsh Supermarkets store in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974. The first item scanned commercially was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, priced at 67 cents. The package is now in the Smithsonian Institution. The scan took 0.037 seconds.
Blazing Saddles premiered on February 7, 1974, directed by Mel Brooks and starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder. Its world premiere at the Pickwick Drive-In in Burbank had 200 guests attending on horseback. The film broke nearly every comedic rule about race, genre, and the Hollywood Western simultaneously and remains one of the most quoted comedies in American film history. Mel Brooks appeared in the film as a frontier governor.
Young Frankenstein, also directed by Mel Brooks and released on December 15, 1974, became one of the most celebrated comedies of the decade. Both Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, in the same calendar year and by the same director, are a record of sustained comic invention that has never been equaled.
Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, was released June 20, 1974. Written by Robert Towne, it is regularly cited as one of the two or three greatest screenplays in film history. Its final line, “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown,” is one of the most famous in cinema.
The Godfather Part II — directed by Francis Ford Coppola — became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It told two parallel stories: the rise of young Vito Corleone in early-20th-century New York, played by Robert De Niro, and the moral collapse of his son, Michael, played by Al Pacino. Robert De Niro won Best Supporting Actor playing a character Marlon Brando had originated. It is regularly ranked among the greatest films ever made.
Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old heiress to the Hearst publishing fortune, was kidnapped from her Berkeley apartment by the Symbionese Liberation Army on February 4, 1974. Two months later she was photographed participating in an SLA bank robbery in San Francisco, carrying a rifle. She was arrested in September 1975, convicted of bank robbery in 1976, and sentenced to seven years. Her conviction was commuted by President Carter in 1979. President Clinton granted her a full pardon in 2001.
The streaker at the Academy Awards on April 2, 1974, was Robert Opal, who ran naked across the stage as David Niven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor. Niven responded without missing a beat: “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?” The line was not prepared. It is considered one of the great ad-libs in awards show history.
Mikhail Baryshnikov, principal dancer with the Soviet Union’s Kirov Ballet and widely considered the greatest male ballet dancer in the world, defected to the West on June 29, 1974, during a Canadian tour. He was 26 years old. He subsequently joined the American Ballet Theatre, then the New York City Ballet, and then choreographed and directed throughout his career. He became an actor. He appeared in Sex and the City. His range has been considerable.
Hello Kitty was introduced in Japan in 1974 (arriving in the United States in 1976), created by designer Yuko Shimizu for Sanrio. The character has no mouth, which the company explains allows anyone to project their own emotions onto her. She was initially printed on a small coin purse. She has since generated over $80 billion in total merchandise revenue.
Dungeons and Dragons was published in January 1974 by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson through their newly formed company, Tactical Studies Rules. It was the first commercially published role-playing game. The rules fit in a set of small booklets sold for $10. It sold 1,000 copies in the first year. It has since sold tens of millions of sets and influenced video games, fantasy fiction, and popular culture in ways that are still being cataloged.
The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik as a teaching tool to help his students understand three-dimensional geometry. It took him a month to solve the puzzle himself after building the first prototype. It reached American toy stores in 1980 and became the best-selling toy in history.
The fossil skeleton known as Lucy was discovered on November 24, 1974, in the Afar region of Ethiopia by paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson. She was approximately 3.2 million years old, an Australopithecus afarensis, and walked upright. She was named Lucy after the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, which was playing in the camp that evening. She remains one of the most significant fossil finds in the history of human evolution.
The Post-it Note was invented by Arthur Fry in 1974, inspired by a colleague’s adhesive that stuck lightly and could be repositioned without leaving a residue. Spencer Silver had developed the adhesive at 3M in 1968, but couldn’t find a use for it. Fry used it to mark pages in his hymnal. The product became widely available in 1980.
The first UPC barcode scanner’s commercial debut at a Marsh supermarket marked the beginning of the end for manually entered prices — a transition that took decades but permanently changed retail, inventory management, and supply chains.
The 1974 Super Outbreak of tornadoes on April 3-4 struck 13 U.S. states and one Canadian province, producing 148 confirmed tornadoes in 18 hours — the largest single tornado outbreak in recorded history at the time. Over 300 people were killed and more than 5,400 were injured. The outbreak remains one of the most studied weather events in meteorological history.
India tested its first nuclear weapon on May 18, 1974, in the Rajasthan Desert, under the code name “Smiling Buddha.” India became the world’s sixth nuclear power, breaking the monopoly held by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi received the news via the message: “The Buddha has smiled.”
The shortest academic paper ever published appeared in 1974: The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of Writer’s Block by Dennis Upper, published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. It consists of a title, an author, and a blank page. The peer review note read: “I have studied this manuscript very carefully with lemon juice and X-rays and have not detected a single flaw in the experimental design.” It received a citation.
The Arecibo Message was transmitted on November 16, 1974, from the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico toward a star cluster approximately 25,000 light-years away. It was the first intentional interstellar radio message sent from Earth, encoding information about human DNA, our solar system, and the telescope itself in 1,679 binary digits. If the message is ever received and decoded, a response will arrive in approximately 50,000 years. This seems like an acceptable timeline.
Happy Days premiered on ABC on January 15, 1974, set in an idealized 1950s Milwaukee. The Fonz had not yet taken over the show — that development came gradually. By 1977, Henry Winkler’s character was so dominant that the show was effectively his, which is where the phrase “jumping the shark” originated.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Robert Muldoon called a snap general election in 1984 while reportedly drunk. He lost. In 1974, the source data note is listed against this year — the actual year for the Muldoon election incident was 1984. The story is accurate, but belongs to the 1984 page.
A nearly new Ferrari Dino 246 GTS belonging to Rosendo Cruz was stolen in 1974, buried in a Los Angeles backyard by the thieves, and discovered in 1978 by neighborhood children digging in the garden. The LAPD excavated it. The car was restored. It is one of the more unusual recoveries in the history of automobile theft.
The Scandals
David Niven was at the Oscars podium introducing Elizabeth Taylor when Robert Opal streaked across the stage behind him. Niven’s response — delivered without preparation — has been quoted in comedy history ever since.
Patty Hearst’s transformation from kidnapping victim to apparent armed revolutionary remains one of the most discussed case studies in coercive persuasion and Stockholm syndrome in American criminal history. Whether she was a victim, a willing participant, or something in between was never definitively settled even by her trial.
Nobel Prize Winners
Physics — Martin Ryle and Antony Hewish for their pioneering research in radio astrophysics; Hewish for the discovery of pulsars
Chemistry — Paul J. Flory for his fundamental achievements in the physical chemistry of macromolecules, foundational to polymer science and plastics manufacturing
Medicine — Albert Claude, Christian de Duve, and George E. Palade for their discoveries concerning the structural and functional organization of the cell
Literature — Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson, shared; both Swedish authors, in a controversial decision that was widely criticized for favoring Swedish writers on the Swedish committee
Peace — Eisaku Sato and Sean MacBride Sato for his opposition to nuclear weapons, MacBride for international human rights work
Economics — Gunnar Myrdal and Friedrich Hayek shared in an unusual pairing of two economists with fundamentally opposed views; Myrdal was a Swedish social democrat, Hayek an Austrian libertarian
Broadway in 1974
The Magic Show opened May 28, 1974, at the Cort Theatre, featuring illusionist Doug Henning — who had never performed on Broadway before — as the lead. It ran for 1,920 performances and made Henning a star.
Equus opened on October 24, 1974, at the Plymouth Theatre. Peter Shaffer’s intense psychological drama about a psychiatrist investigating a teenage boy’s violent act ran for 1,209 performances. Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins both played the psychiatrist at different points in the run.
Best Film Oscar Winner
The Sting, directed by George Roy Hill and starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, won Best Picture at the 46th Academy Awards in March 1974, presented for the 1973 film year. It also won Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Costumes, and Best Score. The Scott Joplin ragtime soundtrack became one of the best-selling album soundtracks of the decade.
Top Movies of 1974
Most Popular TV Shows of 1974
CBS owned 1974 prime time in a way that is difficult to overstate — seven of the ten top-rated shows were on one network. All in the Family remained the defining television program of the early 1970s, with Archie Bunker’s blunt bigotry serving as the week’s most reliable topic of public conversation.
1974 Billboard Number One Songs
December 29, 1973 – January 11, 1974: Time in a Bottle — Jim Croce
January 12 – January 18: The Joker — Steve Miller Band
January 19 – January 25: Show and Tell — Al Wilson
January 26 – February 1: You’re Sixteen — Ringo Starr
February 2 – February 8: The Way We Were — Barbra Streisand
February 9 – March 1: Love’s Theme — Love Unlimited Orchestra
March 2 – March 22: Seasons in the Sun — Terry Jacks
March 23 – March 29: Dark Lady — Cher
March 30 – April 5: Sunshine on My Shoulders — John Denver
April 6 – April 12: Hooked on a Feeling — Blue Swede
April 13 – April 19: Bennie and the Jets — Elton John
April 20 – May 3: TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) — MFSB featuring The Three Degrees
May 4 – May 17: The Loco-Motion — Grand Funk
May 18 – June 7: The Streak — Ray Stevens
June 8 – June 14: Band on the Run — Paul McCartney and Wings
June 15 – June 28: Billy, Don’t Be a Hero — Paper Lace
June 29 – July 5: Sundown — Gordon Lightfoot
July 6 – July 12: Rock the Boat — The Hues Corporation
July 13 – July 26: Rock Your Baby — George McCrae
July 27 – August 9: Annie’s Song — John Denver
August 10 – August 16: Feel Like Makin’ Love — Roberta Flack
August 17 – August 23: The Night Chicago Died — Paper Lace
August 24 – September 13: (You’re) Having My Baby — Paul Anka and Odia Coates
September 14 – September 20: I Shot the Sheriff — Eric Clapton
September 21 – September 27: Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe — Barry White
September 28 – October 4: Rock Me Gently — Andy Kim
October 5 – October 18: I Honestly Love You — Olivia Newton-John
October 19 – October 25: Nothing from Nothing — Billy Preston
October 26 – November 1: Then Came You — Dionne Warwick and the Spinners
November 2 – November 15: You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet — Bachman-Turner Overdrive
November 16 – November 22: Whatever Gets You Through the Night — John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Nuclear Band
November 23 – December 6: I Can Help — Billy Swan
December 7 – December 20: Kung Fu Fighting — Carl Douglas
December 21 – December 27: Cat’s in the Cradle — Harry Chapin
December 28, 1974 – January 3, 1975: Angie Baby — Helen Reddy
Time in a Bottle reached #1 posthumously — Jim Croce had died in a plane crash on September 20, 1973, before the song topped the charts. Whatever Gets You Through the Night was John Lennon’s only solo #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His friend Elton John had bet him he couldn’t get it to #1; when it did, Lennon honored the bet by appearing onstage at Elton’s Madison Square Garden concert on November 28, 1974. It was Lennon’s final concert appearance.
Biggest Pop Artists of 1974
Barbra Streisand, Barry White, Elton John, John Denver, Paul McCartney and Wings, Olivia Newton-John, Cher, Terry Jacks, BTO, Carl Douglas, Harry Chapin, Gordon Lightfoot, Ray Stevens, Eric Clapton, MFSB, Jim Croce, Grand Funk, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, ABBA
Popular and Best-Selling Books of 1974
All the President’s Men — Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
The Bermuda Triangle — Charles Berlitz
Burr — Gore Vidal
Carrie — Stephen King
Centennial — James A. Michener
The Dispossessed — Ursula K. Le Guin
The Dogs of War — Frederick Forsyth
Jaws — Peter Benchley
The Pirate — Harold Robbins
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution — Nicholas Meyer
Something Happened — Joseph Heller
There’s a Wocket in My Pocket! — Dr. Seuss
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy — John le Carre
Watership Down — Richard Adams
Where the Sidewalk Ends — Shel Silverstein
The Habits
Listening to CB radio, watching All in the Family, reading Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying, doing the Hustle, following the Watergate hearings on television, and debating whether Gerald Ford should have pardoned Nixon.
The Doomsday Clock
Setting: 9 minutes to midnight
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists cited India’s nuclear test and the apparent failure of arms control negotiations between the U.S. and Soviet Union. The deployment of MIRVed warheads — multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles — meant each ICBM now carried more nuclear warheads than before. The gains of the early 1970s détente were looking fragile.
Sports Champions of 1974
World Series: Oakland Athletics — defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1; their third consecutive championship under manager Alvin Dark, with Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Joe Rudi as the core
Super Bowl VIII: Miami Dolphins — defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-7; the Dolphins’ second consecutive Super Bowl championship, cementing Don Shula’s team as the dynasty of the early 1970s
NBA Champions: Boston Celtics — defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4-3; John Havlicek’s final championship Stanley Cup: Philadelphia Flyers — the “Broad Street Bullies” won the first of back-to-back championships; their physical style of play was either exciting or an assault on the sport, depending on who you asked
U.S. Open Golf: Hale Irwin
U.S. Open Tennis: Men/Women: Jimmy Connors / Billie Jean King
Wimbledon: Men/Women: Jimmy Connors / Chris Evert
NCAA Football Champions: Oklahoma and USC (co-champions)
NCAA Basketball Champions: North Carolina State defeated heavily favored Maryland in the ACC Tournament and UCLA in the national semifinals, ending the Bruins’ seven-year championship dynasty
Kentucky Derby: Cannonade
FIFA World Cup: West Germany defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in a classic final in Munich; Johan Cruyff’s Netherlands side played “Total Football” and took an early lead before falling to the host nation
Sports Highlight: Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record on April 8, 1974, hitting career homer No. 715 off Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers, despite death threats and a security detail throughout the pursuit. Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” on October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, reclaiming the heavyweight title through his “rope-a-dope” strategy — a bout considered one of the greatest sporting events of the century. Jimmy Connors swept both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1974, his most dominant Grand Slam year.
FAQs: 1974 History, Facts, and Trivia
Q: Why did Richard Nixon resign?
A: Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974, to avoid near-certain impeachment for his involvement in the cover-up of the Watergate burglary. The Supreme Court had ordered him to release White House tape recordings; the “smoking gun” tape proved he had personally directed the cover-up within days of the June 1972 break-in. With congressional support gone, he resigned rather than face impeachment.
Q: What was the Rumble in the Jungle?
A: The October 30, 1974, heavyweight championship fight in Kinshasa, Zaire, between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Ali had been stripped of his title in 1967 for refusing military service. Foreman was a prohibitive favorite. Ali used his “rope-a-dope” strategy to exhaust Foreman and knocked him out in the eighth round, reclaiming the championship. The bout is considered one of the great sporting events of the 20th century.
Q: What was the first item ever scanned with a UPC barcode?
A: A 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, scanned at a Marsh Supermarkets store in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974. The package is now in the Smithsonian Institution.
Q: What was Philippe Petit’s World Trade Center tightrope walk?
A: On August 7, 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit walked a tightrope he and his team had secretly strung between the Twin Towers overnight, crossing back and forth eight times at 1,350 feet without a safety harness. He performed for approximately 45 minutes before stepping off and being arrested. He called it “the artistic crime of the century.”
Q: What was “Lucy” and why does she matter?
A: A 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton was discovered in Ethiopia on November 24, 1974, by Donald Johanson’s team. She was the oldest known upright-walking human ancestor at the time and one of the most complete early hominin fossils ever found. She was named after the Beatles song playing in camp that evening.
Q: What was the Arecibo Message?
A: A binary-encoded radio transmission sent from the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico on November 16, 1974, toward a star cluster 25,000 light-years away. It encoded basic information about humanity, DNA, and our solar system. If received and responded to immediately, the reply would arrive in approximately 50,000 years.
Q: What happened to Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle?
A: Jim Croce died in a plane crash on September 20, 1973. Time in a Bottle was released as a single after his death and reached #1 in January 1974, making it one of the most notable posthumous chart-toppers in pop music history.
Q: What was the shortest academic paper ever published?
A: The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of Writer’s Block by Dennis Upper, published in 1974, consists of a title, an author’s name, and a blank page. The peer reviewer’s note was approving.
More 1974 Facts & History Resources:
Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us)
Broadway Shows that Opened in 1974X
1974 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com
Fact Monster
10 Fascinating Facts About Watergate
1970s, Infoplease.com World History
1974 in Movies (according to IMDB)
Retrowaste Vintage Culture
Richard Nixon (Whitehouse.gov)
1970s Slang
Wikipedia 1974