50 Fun Facts About 1973

Which landmark, picked from 233 design entries, did Queen Elizabeth II open in October after 14 years of construction?

Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon had quit in 1966 and, though invited, stayed away so the row would not overshadow the day; the Queen's speech never mentioned him.

Which Thames crossing, opened by the Queen on 16 March, replaced an 1831 span sold to an American oilman for $2.46m?

London Bridge's 1831 predecessor was bought by Robert McCulloch in 1968 and rebuilt at Lake Havasu City, Arizona; the tale that he thought he was getting Tower Bridge was denied by the councillor who sold it to him.

Who first played James Bond in Live and Let Die, with a theme song written and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings?

Roger Moore had been considered for Dr. No and On Her Majesty's Secret Service before Cubby Broccoli overruled United Artists, which wanted an American; the film's 1980 ITV premiere drew a record 23.5 million British viewers.

Which band's 'Merry Xmas Everybody' went straight in at UK number one in December, the third of their singles to do so?

Slade's single had 250,000 pre-orders, enough for a silver disc on release day, sold over half a million on its first run and has been re-released in every decade since; it was also their last number one.

Which courier carried just 186 packages on its first night, 17 April, using 14 Dassault Falcon jets out of Memphis?

Federal Express was losing up to a million dollars a month in its first year, and founder Fred Smith once flew to Las Vegas and won $27,000 at blackjack to cover a $24,000 fuel bill and keep the planes flying.

Which horse ran down the Australian chaser Crisp on the Aintree run-in to win the first of his three Grand Nationals?

Red Rum was still 15 lengths adrift at the final fence, but Crisp, carrying 23 lb more, tired on the 494-yard run-in and was caught two strides from the post; the time beat Reynoldstown's 1935 record.

Which Welshman finished 'that try' for the Barbarians against the All Blacks, begun by Phil Bennett's sidesteps?

Gareth Edwards dived in at the left-hand corner 22 seconds after Bennett picked up near his own line; Cliff Morgan, a same-day stand-in for flu-struck Bill McLaren, called it as the Barbarians won 23–11, the All Blacks' first loss to them.

Which artist died at Mougins in France on 8 April aged 91, having painted until 3 a.m. the night before?

Pablo Picasso died of a heart attack brought on by pulmonary edema, weeks before the Avignon Arts Festival opened a show of 201 of his latest canvases; two of the women in his life later took their own lives.

Which bread brand's 'Boy on the Bike' advert, shot by Ridley Scott on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, first aired?

Hovis hired Ridley Scott six years before Alien; the advert set a Dorset cobbled street to the slow movement of Dvořák's New World Symphony rearranged for brass, and has been voted Britain's favourite advertisement of all time.

Which US vice president resigned on 10 October after pleading no contest to a single charge of tax evasion?

Spiro Agnew had taken kickbacks from contractors as Baltimore county executive and Maryland governor; fined $10,000 and put on probation, he later borrowed $200,000 from Frank Sinatra to cover his bills.

Which war began on 6 October when Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal and Syrians pushed into the Golan Heights?

The Yom Kippur War caught Israel on its holiest day, which also fell on the 10th of Ramadan; Israeli intelligence had dismissed the Egyptian build-up as a training exercise, and both sides accepted a UN ceasefire on 22 October.

Which 7–2 Supreme Court ruling, issued on 22 January, the day Lyndon Johnson died, struck down Texas's ban on abortion?

Roe v. Wade was brought by Norma McCorvey, a pregnant Texan suing under the pseudonym 'Jane Roe', and Harry Blackmun spent a week at the Mayo Clinic researching the history of abortion before writing the opinion.

Which actress, whose sitcom-star father died at 31, read French and Russian at Oxford before playing the vampire Selene?

Kate Beckinsale was five when her father Richard, the Porridge and Rising Damp star, died of a heart attack; born in Isleworth on 26 July, she rose to fame in 2001 as the nurse torn between two pilots in Pearl Harbor.

Which two countries joined the EEC with Britain on 1 January, after Norway's voters had rejected membership?

Ireland and Denmark had each approved membership by referendum in 1972, whereas Charles de Gaulle had vetoed Britain's first application in 1963, calling the UK a 'trojan horse' for the United States.

Which tax replaced Purchase Tax on 1 April at a flat 10 per cent, a consequence of Britain joining the EEC?

Value Added Tax was set by Chancellor Anthony Barber and is now the third-largest source of UK government revenue; Denis Healey cut the standard rate to 8 per cent in 1974 while taxing luxuries at up to 25 per cent.

Which sport held its first World Cup as a women's event in England, bankrolled by Jack Hayward and won by the hosts?

Cricket's women got their World Cup two years before the men; Hayward put up £40,000, Princess Anne presented the cup at Edgbaston and Edward Heath hosted the winning side at a reception in 10 Downing Street.

Which Olympic gold medallist married Princess Anne at Westminster Abbey on 14 November, watched by 500 million?

Mark Phillips had won his gold at the 1972 Olympics; the wedding fell on Prince Charles's 25th birthday, was declared a special bank holiday, and drew 27.6 million viewers in the UK alone.

Which emergency measure did Edward Heath announce on 13 December to save electricity during the miners' overtime ban?

The Three-Day Week took effect on 1 January 1974, confining commercial electricity users to three consecutive days a week, and Heath called a snap election under the slogan 'Who governs Britain?', losing his majority.

Which Chicago skyscraper, topped out on 3 May at 1,451 feet, became the world's tallest building for the next 25 years?

Sears Tower lost the title only when Malaysia's Petronas Towers claimed it in 1998 by counting decorative spires, to the fury of Chicagoans who noted their top floor was higher; it was renamed for the Willis Group in 2009.

Which author, who died on 2 September aged 81, is buried in Oxford as 'Beren' beside his wife Edith's 'Luthien'?

J. R. R. Tolkien died of a bleeding ulcer and chest infection 21 months after Edith, and his son Christopher went on to publish The Silmarillion and a shelf of further books from his father's notes.

Which Chilean president died in La Moneda palace during the 11 September coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power?

Salvador Allende gave a farewell speech on live radio as gunfire echoed around the palace, and a 2011 international autopsy concluded he had shot himself with an AK-47 rifle.

Which Crichton film cast Yul Brynner as a rogue robot gunslinger and pioneered digital image processing on screen?

Westworld's pixelated android's-eye view ran about two and a half minutes; NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory had quoted Crichton nine months and $200,000 for two minutes, so he turned to John Whitney Jr. instead.

Which Second Division club beat holders Leeds United 1–0 in the FA Cup final thanks to an Ian Porterfield goal?

Sunderland were the first Second Division side to lift the Cup since West Bromwich Albion in 1931, and Jim Montgomery's double save, turning Peter Lorimer's blast onto the bar, is counted among Wembley's greatest.

Which boxer floored Joe Frazier six times in Kingston, Jamaica, prompting Cosell's cry of 'Down goes Frazier!'?

George Foreman, 37–0 going in against Frazier's 29–0, took the heavyweight title by second-round TKO in the 'Sunshine Showdown' on 22 January; Howard Cosell's call came on ABC's rebroadcast.

Which Roy Clarke sitcom, piloted on Comedy Playhouse on 4 January, ran until 2010 as Britain's longest-running sitcom?

Last of the Summer Wine followed a trio of elderly Yorkshiremen through 295 episodes and 31 series, every one written by Roy Clarke, and the BBC refused a special final episode when it ended.

Which pair of tech co-founders were born five months apart, one in Lansing, Michigan, and the other in Moscow?

Larry Page and Sergey Brin were born on 26 March and 21 August; Brin's family fled Soviet antisemitism when he was six, and the pair met at Stanford, where Brin had enrolled for a computer science PhD in 1993.

Which bassist's 'Can the Can', written by Chinn and Chapman, spent a single week at UK number one in June?

Suzi Quatro's hit made her the first female bass guitarist to become a major rock star, breaking a barrier to women in rock; it was only her second solo single and also went to number one in Australia.

Which producer, born in Virginia Beach on 5 April, formed the Neptunes with Chad Hugo and got an Oscar nod for 'Happy'?

Pharrell Williams was a Best Original Song nominee for 'Happy' at the 2014 Oscars and a Best Picture nominee in 2017 as a producer of Hidden Figures; with Chad Hugo, the Neptunes put more than a dozen productions into the Billboard top ten.

Which model, born near Cologne on 1 June, became the first German Victoria's Secret Angel and hosted Project Runway?

Heidi Klum was voted the winner of a national contest called 'Model 92' from 25,000 entrants, and her Project Runway work earned a 2013 Emmy for Outstanding Host; she also fronts Germany's Next Topmodel.

Which Cardiff-born winger, signed on his 14th birthday, made a club-record 963 appearances for Manchester United?

Ryan Giggs was born a Wilson, son of rugby league player Danny Wilson, and won 13 Premier League titles, more than any other player; he captained England Schoolboys yet was never eligible for the senior England side.

Which US space station, launched on 14 May, lost its micrometeoroid shield and a solar array on the way up?

Skylab was a converted Saturn V third stage; its first crew went up to repair the damage, three crews spent about 24 weeks aboard, and its decaying orbit brought it down in July 1979 amid worldwide attention.

Which underground creatures that recycle human rubbish, all voiced by Bernard Cribbins, came to BBC1 on 5 February?

The Wombles were brought to the screen in stop-motion by Ivor Wood, who later made Postman Pat, across two series of 30 five-minute episodes with music by Mike Batt; Cribbins narrated as well as voicing every character.

Which comedian, born in Washington, D.C. on 24 August, quit his Comedy Central sketch show despite a $55 million offer?

Dave Chappelle told Oprah Winfrey that burnout, lost creative control and an uncomfortable working environment drove him to walk; his father was dean of students at Antioch College and his mother had worked for Patrice Lumumba.

Which BBC1 sitcom, first aired on 15 February, starred Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, doing his own stunts?

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was written by Raymond Allen; Ronnie Barker and Norman Wisdom were the BBC's first choices for Frank, and David Jason was rejected for lacking star quality before Crawford invented the catchphrases.

Which 10-year-old became the youngest competitive Oscar winner as Addie Loggins, opposite her father, in Paper Moon?

Tatum O'Neal collected Best Supporting Actress on 2 April 1974, having turned nine during filming; she later married John McEnroe and made an uneasy TV reunion with Ryan O'Neal after 25 years apart.

Which Scottish driver took a third Formula One title at Monza, then retired after teammate François Cevert was killed?

Jackie Stewart had secretly decided before the season to stop after the US Grand Prix, where Cevert died in qualifying chasing his first pole; he left with a then-record 27 wins and was Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

Which 26-part Thames documentary narrated by Laurence Olivier began on ITV on 31 October after four years in the making?

The World at War cost around £880,000, the most expensive factual series yet made, and Jeremy Isaacs built it on 15 campaigns chosen by the Imperial War Museum's director plus eleven episodes on the Holocaust, home fronts and occupation.

Which special prosecutor did Nixon have fired on 20 October after Elliot Richardson and his deputy resigned in protest?

Archibald Cox had refused to drop a subpoena for the White House tapes; within a week a poll found a plurality of Americans backed impeachment for the first time; Robert Bork, who did the firing, was promised the next Supreme Court seat.

Which European country was singled out, alongside the United States, for a total Arab oil embargo in October?

The Netherlands was punished for supporting Israel, and by the time the embargo was lifted in March 1974 the world oil price had nearly quadrupled, from $3 to almost $12 a barrel.

Which North Vietnamese negotiator turned down the Nobel Peace Prize he shared with Kissinger for the Paris accords?

Le Duc Tho was the first Asian ever awarded the prize; he had sparred with Kissinger in secret from February 1970, and Kissinger later called him 'a person of substance and discipline'.

Which former Nixon aide, by then running the FAA, told Senate investigators on 13 July that the Oval Office was taped?

Alexander Butterfield answered 'I was wondering if someone would ask that', and his 30-minute public testimony three days later was carried live by every major network, turning the scandal into a fight over the tapes.

Which Thames detective series had its theme, 'Eye Level', reach number one on the UK singles chart?

Van der Valk starred Barry Foster as a cynical Amsterdam commissaris; 'Eye Level' was written by Jack Trombey, a pseudonym of Dutch composer Jan Stoeckart, played by the Simon Park Orchestra, and Matt Monro charted a vocal version.

Which Polish goalkeeper, called 'a clown' by Brian Clough, kept England out of the 1974 World Cup with a 1–1 draw?

Jan Tomaszewski gave a man-of-the-match display, beaten only by Allan Clarke's penalty after Jan Domarski had scored, and Poland went on to finish third in West Germany; he and Clough later became friendly.

Which London court was hit by a Provisional IRA car bomb on 8 March, the day of Ulster's border poll?

Old Bailey took the IRA's first major attack in England since the Troubles began; a green Ford Cortina exploded at 14:49 as police cleared the area, some 200 were hurt, and the unit, including the Price sisters, was caught at Heathrow.

At which Florida hotel did Richard Nixon tell 400 newspaper editors 'I am not a crook' on 17 November?

Disney's Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World was hosting the Associated Press Managing Editors, and Nixon, his approval sliding for a year over Watergate, insisted he had 'earned everything I've got'.

Which country-rock pioneer's body was stolen by a friend and burned at Cap Rock in Joshua Tree, as he had wished?

Gram Parsons had died of a drug and alcohol overdose at 26 on 19 September; Phil Kaufman and a friend stole a hearse and the coffin, poured petrol in and lit it in the Cap Rock car park, and were fined just $750.

Which PBS series followed the Louds of Santa Barbara over 12 episodes and is now called the first reality TV show?

An American Family was cut from 300 hours of footage shot over seven months, drew 10 million viewers a week, and showed the Louds' marriage collapsing on camera as America watched.

Which comet, hyped as the 'Comet of the Century' after a March discovery, flopped so badly its name means a dud?

Kohoutek peaked at only magnitude −3 against forecasts of a daytime spectacle, and its name became synonymous with spectacular disappointment; at perihelion on 28 December only crews in orbit could see it at all.

Which Soviet airliner, built to rival Concorde, broke up over Goussainville at the Paris Air Show on 3 June?

Tupolev Tu-144's crash came right after Concorde's own display; one theory holds the crew pulled up violently to avoid a French Mirage sent to photograph its canards, a flight the Soviets had not been told about.

Who won the Wimbledon men's singles after 81 players, including holder Stan Smith, boycotted over Niki Pilić's ban?

Jan Kodeš beat Alex Metreveli 6–1, 9–8, 6–3 in a final between two players from behind the Iron Curtain, while Billie Jean King took the women's title over Chris Evert in a draw that kept its stars.