This is a list of important events the occured during 1970. Exact dates are listed when known.

We also have pages on this topic devoted to the 80s and 90s

• Kent State Shooting
  May 4, 1970....National Guardsmen opened fire on a group of students, wounding many, 4 fatally, on the campus of Kent State University. Today, memorials to the four students stand near the place of the shootings.
  
  
• Chilie elects Marxist, Allende, as head of state
  Allende became the first western nation to freely elect a Marxist head of state. This resulted in a stock market crash, a run on banks and a strike by mine workers.
  
  
• Black September
  Jordan's King Hussein started to drive Palestinian commandos from his country, and on the 28th, Egyptian president Nasser died of a heart attack.
  
  
• First Earth Day, April 22
  
  
• EPA created
  
  
• Prime time football
  ABC begins it's long running Monday Night Football
  
  
• World Trade Center is completed
  
  
• Childproof safety caps
  
  
• First female jockey in Kentucky Derby
  
  
• Mexico City subway is completed
  
  
• California is the first no-fault divorce state
  
  
• First New York City marathon
  
  
• Lithium is approved by the FDA
  Used to treat manic-depressives.
  
  
• Arcosanti, a desert utopia is begun
  
  
• The New English Bible is printed
  Directly translated from ancient texts into English, it created a big stir of controversy due to it's deviations from the King James version of the Bible (which had been originally translated from other languages)
  
  
• Spain's Franco regime convicts Basque leaders
  
  
• The Beatles release Let It Be, their last album
  
  
• First successful oil well in the North Sea found
  
  
• Artist Rothko commits suicide
  After an investigation of his dealer, it is discovered that he had purchased 800 paintings after Rothko's death at much less their true cost.
  
  
• Canadian October Crisis
  Two Canadian leaders were kidnapped by Front de liberation du Quebec, a Quebec seperatist movement. This resulted in martial law being declared in the Quebec province. One of the leaders, Pierre Laporte was killed by his captors, the other freed.
  
  
• Doonesbury comic strip goes national
  
  
• Apollo 13 mission suffers a huge setback
  A ruptured air tank on their way to the moon almost sealed the fate of the three astronauts on board the spacecraft.
  
  
• Floppy disc was invented.
  
  
• Charles Manson Convicted of Murdering Sharon Tate
  Charles Manson, the leader of a bizzare cult, and 4 of his followers were convicted of the murders of several people including actress Sharon Tate and her unborn baby.
  
  
• Earthquake in Peru May 31, 1970
  72,000 people were killed and 700,000 were left homless
  
  
• China Launches Its First Satellite
  APRIL 24. The People's Republic of China becomes the fifth nation to put a satellite into orbit. China 1's first broadcast is the song "Tang Fang Hung" (The East is Red).
  
  
• Federal Elections
  18 year olds are given the right to vote in federal elections.
  
  
• The introduction of bar codes
  Bar codes are introduced for retail and industrial use in England.
  
  
• Marshall University plane crash
  On November 14, 1970 a chartered plane carrying 75 players, coaches, and prominent residents of Huntington, WV and Marshall University crashed just short of the runway after returning from the days game against ECU. There were no survivors.
  
  
• First F-14 Tomcat Tested
  Dec. 21, 1970: The first ever F-14 Tomcat was tested; This led to use by the NAVY for about 30 years.
  
  
• American Soldiers Found Guilty
  American soldiers found guilty of murdering entire town of Vietnamese civilians.
  
  

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We also have pages on this topic devoted to the 80s and 90s

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