The 1970s

1976 50 years ago

Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976…

Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner is a retired Romanian gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at age 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to…

Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976…

1976 50 years ago

The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.

Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft, along with Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. The lander touched down on…

The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.

1976 50 years ago

Maurice Wignall, Jamaican hurdler and long jumper

Maurice Andre Wignall is a Jamaican hurdling athlete.

Maurice Wignall, Jamaican hurdler and long jumper

1976 50 years ago

Melissa Joan Hart, American actress

Melissa Joan Hart is an American actress, director and producer. She had starring roles as the title characters in the sitcoms Clarissa Explains It All, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, …

Melissa Joan Hart, American actress

1976 50 years ago

Michelle Feldman, American bowler

Michelle Feldman is an American right-handed female professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA). A native of Skaneateles, N…

Michelle Feldman, American bowler

1976 50 years ago

Gabriel Damon, American actor

Gabriel Damon Lavezzi is an American former child actor. His acting career involved providing the voices of Littlefoot in the 1988 film The Land Before Time and Little Nemo in the …

Gabriel Damon, American actor

1976 50 years ago

Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.

Christopher Thomas Ewart Ewart-Biggs was the British ambassador to Ireland, an author, and a senior Foreign Office liaison officer with MI6. He served as ambassador to Ireland from…

Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.

1976 50 years ago

Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of…

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands,…

Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of…

1976 50 years ago

Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo.

The Viking program consisted of a pair of identical American space probes, Viking 1 and Viking 2 both launched in 1975, and landed on Mars in 1976. The mission effort began in 1968…

Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo.

1976 50 years ago

The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People's Republic of…

The 1976 Tangshan earthquake was a Mw 7.6 earthquake that hit the region around Tangshan, Hebei, China, at 19:42:55 UTC on 27 July. The maximum intensity of the earthquake was XI (…

The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People's Republic of…

1976 50 years ago

In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the "Son of Sam") kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first…

David Richard Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam, the .44 Caliber Killer and the Phantom of the Bronx, is an American serial killer, serial arsonist, and former United States …

In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the "Son of Sam") kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first…

1976 50 years ago

Hedda Berntsen, Norwegian skier

Hedda Berntsen is a Norwegian sportsperson who has competed internationally in telemark skiing, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing and skicross. She is world champion in Telemark clas…

Hedda Berntsen, Norwegian skier

1976 50 years ago

Steve Finnan, Irish international footballer

Stephen John Finnan is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is the only player to have played in the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA C…

Steve Finnan, Irish international footballer

1976 50 years ago

Frédéric Niemeyer, Canadian tennis player and coach

Frédéric Niemeyer is a Canadian retired, professional tennis player and was tennis coach at Tennis Canada for 10 years and he is now a freelance Tennis Consultant and Coach.

Frédéric Niemeyer, Canadian tennis player and coach

1976 50 years ago

Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer

Gilberto da Silva Melo, more commonly known as Gilberto, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He played at left-back for the majority of his career. Gilberto's brothers N…

Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer

1976 50 years ago

Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player

Breyton Paulse is a South African former rugby union player who played on the wing for the national team, the Springboks, from 1999 to 2007. He played 64 test matches for South Afr…

Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player

1976 50 years ago

Niki Lauda has a severe accident that almost claims his life at the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive, and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from 1971 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1985. L…

Niki Lauda has a severe accident that almost claims his life at the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.

1976 50 years ago

Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars.

The Viking program consisted of a pair of identical American space probes, Viking 1 and Viking 2 both launched in 1975, and landed on Mars in 1976. The mission effort began in 1968…

Viking program: Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars.

1976 50 years ago

Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the…

Palestinians are an Arab national group native to the region of Palestine, descended from those who have inhabited the area over the millennia. They represent a highly homogenized …

Between 1,000 and 3,500 Palestinians are killed in the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the…

1976 50 years ago

SAETA Flight 011 crashes into the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador, killing all 59 people on board; the wreckage is not…

SAETA Flight 011 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by SAETA Air Ecuador between Quito and Cuenca, using a Vickers Viscount 785D aircraft. On 15 August 1976, the flight was …

SAETA Flight 011 crashes into the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador, killing all 59 people on board; the wreckage is not…

1976 50 years ago

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, triggering a destructive tsunami, killing…

The 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami occurred on August 17, 1976, at 00:11 local time near the islands of Mindanao and Sulu, in the Philippines. It measured 8.0 on the moment …

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hits off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, triggering a destructive tsunami, killing…

1976 50 years ago

The Korean axe murder incident in Panmunjom results in the deaths of two US Army officers.

The Panmunjom axe murder incident, also known as the Korean axe atrocity incident, was the killing of two United Nations Command officers, Captain Arthur Bonifas and First Lieutena…

The Korean axe murder incident in Panmunjom results in the deaths of two US Army officers.

1976 50 years ago

Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach

Rainer Schüttler is a German former professional tennis player. Schüttler was the runner-up at the 2003 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. He w…

Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach

1976 50 years ago

Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player

Václav Varaďa is a Czech former professional ice hockey player and current coach. He formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in a ten-year span. In his professional car…

Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player