February 21, 1972: Richard M. Nixon becomes first U.S. president to visit Communist China
Four days after Nazi hunterBeate Klarsfeld had found that Klaus Barbie was living in Bolivia (as "Klaus Altmann"), the French government requested his extradition. Barbie was not brought to justice until 1983.[1]
In a private White House meeting between Billy Graham and U.S. President Richard Nixon, Graham voiced his opinion that the Jewish "stranglehold" on the media "has got to be broken". Graham would eventually apologize for his remarks, which were widely condemned as antisemitic, after the tape of the conversation was released by the National Archives in 2002.[2]
Following the funerals in Derry of 13 of the people killed by British paratroopers in Northern Ireland on "Bloody Sunday", a mob, estimated at 25,000, poured into Dublin's Merrion Square and burned down the four story British embassy in Ireland. Due to threats and attacks earlier in the week, all important records had been removed and the building was unoccupied.[3]
The 1972 Winter Olympics opened in Sapporo, Japan, with 1,006 athletes from 35 nations marching in the opening ceremony at Makomanai Stadium. Schoolboy Hideki Takada lit the Olympic flame.[7]
A blizzard began in Iran that would kill more than 4,000 people over a six-day period.[8] As much of 26 feet (7.9m) of snow fell on top of existing drifts in western Iran and into the Soviet Union's Azerbaijani SSR, and killed people in more than 200 Iranian villages. The snow finally abated on February 9.
Argentina's worst serial killer, Carlos Robledo Puch, was captured after committing 11 murders in less than a year.[12]
Two middle school students, aged 12 and 13, became the first of at least seven victims of the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders in and around the town of Santa Rosa, California. The two had last been seen hitchhiking home from an ice skating rink, and their bodies would not be discovered until December 28. The last of the killings happened on December 22, 1973; the perpetrator was never caught.
Two weeks before his historic visit to the People's Republic of China, President Nixon secretly (and unsuccessfully) asked the Chinese government to arrange a meeting there with North Vietnam's peace negotiator, Lê Đức Thọ.[14]
National Hockey League star Bruce Gamble suffered a heart attack after tending goal for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 3–1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, and was hospitalized the next day as the team traveled from Vancouver to Oakland, bringing an end to his NHL career.[19] Gamble would die of a heart attack in 1982, hours after practicing with another team. Some accounts state, erroneously, that Gamble had collapsed in the middle of the Vancouver game,[20] or that he died while playing hockey.
After four months, a strike by the 13,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which mostly served West Coast ports, was settled. The strike had been interrupted by a Taft–Hartley Act injunction that had expired earlier in the month.[21]
The Iran blizzard ended after seven days, during which as much as 26 feet (7.9m) of snow buried villages in northwestern, central and southern Iran. An estimated 4,000 people were killed, particularly in the area around Ardakan.[22]
Died:Chico Ruiz, 33, Cuban-born American major league baseball player, was killed in a car accident a month after having become a U.S. citizen.[23]
Formerly "Kinney Services, Inc."
Kinney Services, Inc., a conglomerate which had purchased the Warner Bros. studio in 1969, completed reorganization as shareholders approved its disincorporation in New York and its reincorporation in Delaware, with the new name of Warner Communications, Inc.[24] The company, which now owns Turner Broadcasting, HBO, Cinemax, DC Comics, New Line Cinema, and part of TheCW television network, is now known as Warner Bros. Discovery.
In Calama, Chile, where it was said that no rain had fallen "for more than 400 years", rain fell in a downpour and caused mudslides.[25]
David Bowie opened his concert tour with his new alter ego of "Ziggy Stardust", starting at the Toby Jug Pub in Tolworth.[26]
American and South Vietnamese forces completed a 24-hour period of bombing strikes against North Vietnam, with almost 400 bombing strikes carried out in some of the heaviest raids of the Vietnam War.[27]
As the nationwide strike of British coal miners continued, Secretary for Trade and Industry John Davies told the House of Commons that the government was ordering a massive shutdown of Britain's industry. Davies added that "Many, many people—perhaps millions—will be laid off."[29][30]
President Georges Pompidou of France and Chancellor Willy Brandt of West Germany jointly announced in Paris that the two nations had agreed to form an economic and monetary union.[29]
Time magazine concluded that The Autobiography of Howard Hughes, written by Hughes "with Clifford Irving" was a hoax, and that it had been plagiarized.[31]
Time won the right to publish excerpts from Clifford Irving's "autobiography" of Howard Hughes, a day after cancelling declaring that it was a hoax. Time had discovered also that much of the work had been plagiarized from author James Phelan.[35]
The 1972 Winter Olympics closed in Sapporo. The Soviet Union had the most medals (16) and most gold medals (8), followed by East Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United States.[36]
The Tony Award-winning musical 1776 closed after 1,217 performances on Broadway.[37]
A week before his visit to Beijing, President Nixon removed restrictions on American exports to the People's Republic of China, which had been in place for more than 20 years.[38]
José María Velasco Ibarra was overthrown as President of Ecuador. Velasco, who had been president on four other occasions, and was facing re-election, prepared to address the nation after learning that a coup d'état was planned. Upon arriving at the Channel 10 studios in Guayaquil, he was arrested, placed on an Ecuadorian Air Force plane, and flown to Panama. Velasco was replaced by General Guillermo Rodríguez Lara, who cancelled the election.[41]
On the same day, what was later called the Cod Wars began when Iceland announced that it was terminating prior fishing treaties with the United Kingdom and West Germany, and that, effective September 1, it would not permit fishing within 50 nautical miles (57.5 miles or 92.6km) of its coastline.[43]
The United States granted copyright protection, for the first time, to sound recordings. Previously, only the written musical and lyrical compositions could be protected from reproduction.[44]
Born:Jaromír Jágr, Czech hockey player and holder of the National Hockey League record for most career game-winning goals (with 135); in Kladno, Czechoslovakia[47]
The Republic of the Maldives hosted tourists for the first time since its independence in 1965, as 22 Italian visitors arrived at an airstrip on Hulhulé Island, and were taken to accommodations at three guest houses in Malé. In 2009, there were more than 600,000 visitors annually to resorts throughout the Maldive Islands[49]
British Prime Minister Edward Heath narrowly won a vote in the House of Commons on whether to ratify the treaty for the United Kingdom to join the European Community. Heath turned the matter into a vote of confidence by pledging to resign and to call new elections in the midst of a crisis, saying that "If the House will not agree... my colleagues and I are unanimous that in these circumstances, this Parliament could not sensibly continue." By a margin of only eight votes (309–301), the bill passed.[54]
The Volkswagen Beetle broke the record for the most popular automobile in history, as the 15,007,034th Beetle was produced.[55] Between 1908 and May 26, 1927, a total of 15,007,033 Model Ts had been produced.[56]
In a 6–1 decision in the case of People v. Anderson (6 Cal.3d 628), California's Supreme Court declared that the death penalty law violated the State Constitution. The Court commuted the death sentences, of 102 men and five women on death row, to life imprisonment.[59]
Radio Hanoi broadcast a live press conference to display five newly captured American prisoners of war.[60]
The TV show All in the Family first aired what became its most famous episode, which ended with black musician Sammy Davis Jr. giving a kiss on the cheek to America's most popular bigot, Archie Bunker.[61]
The Asama-Sansō incident, which would soon be watched on live television across Japan, began when five members of the Japanese Red Army began a standoff in a mountain lodge with a woman hostage.
Died:
Lee Morgan, 33, American jazz trumpeter, was shot and killed at Slug's, a New York bar, after completing a concert.[62]
John Grierson, 73, Scottish documentary filmmaker (b. 1898)
In the United States sixty million people tuned in to watch live television coverage of President Nixon's Monday morning arrival in Communist China, starting at 9:30 pm Eastern time (0230 on February 21 UTC) and 10:30 in the morning February 21 in Beijing. The three networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) split the cost of $8,300 per hour for satellite broadcasting during the eight-day visit, and each sent eleven people on the trip.[63]
What one author would describe as "the best live performance" of The Dark Side of the Moon by British progressive rock band Pink Floyd took place one year before the best-selling album was released.[64]
At 11:30a.m. local time (0330 UTC) in Peking (now Beijing), Richard M. Nixon became the first President of the United States to visit the People's Republic of China, ending more than 22 years of hostility between the two nations. Nixon greeted China's Prime Minister Zhou Enlai with one of the most famous handshakes in history. "When our hands met", Nixon would write later, "one era ended and another began", while Zhou told Nixon on their trip from the airport, "Your handshake came over the vastest ocean in the world– twenty-five years of no communication."[67]
Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani, who had been the Emir of Qatar since its independence in 1971, was removed from office by unanimous vote of other members of the Al Thani family. Ahmad, who had failed even to organize a government and had used the nation's wealth to support an expensive lifestyle, was replaced by his cousin, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, who ruled until 1995.[68]
In retaliation for the killing of 13 Irish civilians by the British army on "Bloody Sunday", the Irish Republican Army exploded a car bomb outside of a mess hall reserved for officers at the Aldershot, England, headquarters of the 16th Parachute Brigade. Seven people were killed by the IRA bomb, and none of them were soldiers. Killed in the blast were an Army chaplain and six waitresses.[69]
Born:Claudia Pechstein, German speed-skater, winner of five Olympic gold medals (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006); in East Berlin[70]
The hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 649 ended in Aden International Airport after Palestinian gunmen released their last hostages, the 14 member crew. The Boeing 747-200 had been seized en route from Delhi to Athens on February 22 by five gunmen and forced it to land in South Yemen, where all 172 passengers (including future Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II) were freed. The release came after the government of West Germany paid a five million dollar ransom.[71][72]
After 16 months in prison, black militant Angela Davis was released on bail when a white farmer posted most of the required $102,500.[73]
Twenty-eight men on board the Soviet nuclear submarine K-19 were killed when fires broke out in three of its compartments while the sub was submerged. The twelve survivors remained trapped inside the sub as it was towed, over the next three weeks, from the Arctic Ocean back to the Kola Peninsula.[75]
For the first time since the Paris Peace Talks (concerning the Vietnam War) three years earlier, the two Communist delegations walked out of a session. The groups were protesting the recent surge in bombing by the United States. The talks resumed the following week. The bombings had been in response to a North Vietnamese military build up, threatening large portions of South Vietnam.[76]
Richard Chelimo, Kenyan long-distance runner who held the world record for five days in 1993 for the 10,000-meter race; in the Marakwet District (died of a brain tumor, 2001)[78]
The Buffalo Creek flood killed 125 people in Logan County, West Virginia, after a coal slurry impoundment dam gave way at 8:05a.m., during heavy rains.[80] Over the next several minutes, 132million US gallons (500,000 cubic metres; 500million litres) of coal waste and water in a wave over the communities in its path.[81]
The Addis Ababa Agreement was signed at the palace of Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie, bringing an end to the First Sudanese Civil War after more than 17 years and more than 500,000 deaths. Ezboni Mondiri Gwonza of the South Sudan Liberation Movement, and Sudan's Foreign Minister, Mansour Khalid, signed an agreement to end fighting in return for recognition by the Islamic governments of political and religious autonomy for the people living in the southern half of the nation. The agreement lasted until 1983, when fighting broke out again.[83]
The Shanghai Communiqué was issued jointly by President Richard M. Nixon of the United States and Prime Minister Zhou Enlai of the People's Republic of China. The two leaders agreed that normalization of relations between the U.S. and the PRC was in the interest of both nations.[84]
The New York Times carried on its front page the troublesome World3 forecast of a group at MIT for the century ahead, writing that began "A major computer study of world trends has concluded, as many have feared, that mankind probably faces an uncontrollable and disastrous collapse of its society within 100 years unless it moves speedily to establish a 'global equilibrium' in which growth of population and industrial output are halted." The study, soon published as The Limits to Growth, was funded by the Club of Rome.[85]
Before departing the People's Republic of China following an historic visit, President Nixon of the United States signed the Shanghai Communiqué with Premier Zhou of China, setting out agreements to improve diplomatic relations and to prevent the hegemony of any nation (including the Soviet Union) over the "Asia-Pacific Region".[86]
"We now have evidence that the settlement of the Nixon administration's biggest antitrust case was privately arranged between Atty. Gen. John Mitchell and the top lobbyist for the company involved", was the opener to Jack Anderson's syndicated column. "We have this on the word of the lobbyist herself, crusty, capable Dita Beard of the International Telephone and Telegraph Co. She acknowledged the secret deal after we obtained a highly incriminating memo, written by her, from ITT's files."[87] The subsequent investigation by the Nixon Administration into the source of leaked information was one of seven improper activities cited by the Watergate Committee in its final report.[88]
"Barry Directs Nets To 129–121 Triumph", Bridgeport Telegram, February 12, 1972, p15; Peter Botte and Alan Hahn, Fish Sticks: The Fall and Rise of the New York Islanders (Sports Publishing LLC, 2002), p85
"The Fabulous Hoax of Clifford Irving", Time, February 21, 1972; "Time Wins Right to Print Excerpts From Hughes Book", Oakland Tribune, February 11, 1972, p1; "Irving Book Is Hoax, Says Time", Oakland Tribune, February 13, 1972, p2;
Frederick J. Spencer, Jazz and Death: Medical Profiles of Jazz Greats (University Press of Mississippi, 2002), p75; "Jazz Trumpeter Morgan Slain", Oakland Tribune, February 20, 1972, p.36
Yafeng Xia, Negotiating With the Enemy: U.S.-China Talks During the Cold War, 1949–1972 (Indiana University Press, 2006), p193; "Now, in Living Color from China", Time, February 28, 1972
"Angela Freed as Judge Grants Bail", Oakland Tribune, February 24, 1972. Rodger McAfee's neighbors in Caruthers, California, were infuriated and his four sons were expelled from school."Freed Angela", Time, March 6, 1972
Charles T. Rubin, The Green Crusade: Rethinking the Roots of Environmentalism (Rowman and Littlefield, 1994), p130; "Mankind Warned of Perils in Growth", The New York Times, February 27, 1972, p1
