One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. Louis ascended to the French throne in 1774 and from the start was unsuited to deal […]
Continue ReadingCountry Star Jerry Lee Lewis Rocks The Grand Ole Opry
Years after he was known as “The Killer,”, a rock pioneer who released such rock standards as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless,” Jerry Lee Lewis made a name for himself in a very different musical genre: country. And on this day in 1973, he capped off his road to […]
Continue ReadingNixon Halts Military Action Against North Vietnam
Citing “progress” in the Paris peace negotiations between National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho of North Vietnam, President Richard Nixon halts the most concentrated bombing of the war, as well as mining, shelling, and all other offensive action against North Vietnam. The cessation of direct attacks against […]
Continue ReadingNixon Suspends Military Action In North Vietnam
President Richard M. Nixon suspends military action in North Vietnam on this day in 1973, giving peace talks between his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, and North Vietnamese leader Le Duc Tho a chance to succeed. When Nixon inherited the war from President Lyndon Johnson with his election to the […]
Continue ReadingUndefeated Dolphins Beat Redskins In Super Bowl VII
On January 14, 1973, the Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins 14-7 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Super Bowl VII, becoming the first team in National Football League (NFL) history to finish with an undefeated season. Despite their perfect regular season record, Coach Don Shula’s Dolphins were three-point underdogs […]
Continue ReadingAmerican League Adopts Designated Hitter Rule
On January 11, 1973,the owners of America’s 24 major league baseball teams vote to allow teams in theAmerican League (AL) to use a “designated pinch-hitter” that could bat for the pitcher, while still allowing the pitcher to stay in the game. The idea of adding a 10th man to the […]
Continue ReadingPeace Talks Resume In Paris
National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Hanoi’s Le Duc Tho resume peace negotiations in Paris. After the South Vietnamese had blunted the massive North Vietnamese invasion launched in the spring of 1972, Kissinger and the North Vietnamese had finally made some progress on reaching a negotiated end to the war. […]
Continue ReadingThe Real-Life Murder Behind Looking For Mr. Goodbar
Roseann Quinn, a 27-year-old New Yorker, visits Tweed’s Bar on the Upper West Side and is picked up by her soon-to-be killer. The incident inspires the cautionary novel and subsequent movie Looking For Mr. Goodbar. For many, Quinn’s murder represented the dark side of the sexual revolution. At Tweed’s on […]
Continue ReadingHanoi Claims That U.S. Bombers Have Struck Dikes
Hanoi challenges the Nixon administration on the dike controversy, claiming that since April there had been 173 raids against the dikes in North Vietnam with direct hits in 149 locations. On July 28, in response to claims by the Soviet Union that the United States had conducted an intentional two-month […]
Continue ReadingFormer U.S. Attorney General Visits North Vietnam
Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark visits North Vietnam as a member of the International Commission of Inquiry into U.S. War Crimes in Indochina. This commission was formed to investigate alleged U.S. bombing of non-military targets in North Vietnam. Clark reported over Hanoi radio that he had seen damage to […]
Continue ReadingCIA Reports Minor Damage Done To North Vietnam’s Dikes
In response to Soviet accusations that the United States had conducted a two-month bombing campaign intentionally to destroy the dikes and dams of the Tonkin Delta in North Vietnam, a CIA report is made public by the Nixon administration. The report revealed that U.S. bombing at 12 locations had in […]
Continue ReadingSouth Vietnamese Troops Raise Flag Over Quang Tri
Although South Vietnamese paratroopers hoist their flag over Quang Tri Citadel, they prove unable to hold the Citadel for long or to secure Quang Tri City. Fighting outside the city remained intense. Farther to the south, South Vietnamese troops under heavy shelling were forced to abandon Fire Base Bastogne, which […]
Continue ReadingU.S. Government Study Disputes Nader’s Charges Against Corvair
On this day in 1972, the results of a two-year study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation are released; the study concludes that 1960-63 Chevrolet Corvair models are at least as safe as comparable models of other cars sold in the same period, […]
Continue ReadingPeace Talks Resume
Washington and Hanoi announce that the private Paris peace talks have resumed. Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho conferred for over six hours and, by mutual agreement, neither side revealed details of the meetings. The talks had been suspended when the North Vietnamese had launched their Nguyen […]
Continue ReadingSouth Vietnamese Paratroopers Fight For Citadel
South Vietnamese paratroopers fight their way to within 200 yards of the Citadel in Quang Tri City, which was described by reporters who accompanied the troops as a city of rubble and ash. Citizens emerging from neighborhoods retaken by the paratroopers joined the refugees, who had been streaming south toward […]
Continue Reading