1974 in the United States explained
Events from the year 1974 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
Richard Nixon (R-California) (until August 9)
Gerald Ford (R-Michigan) (starting August 9)
Gerald Ford (R-Michigan)
vacant (August 9 – December 19)
Nelson Rockefeller (R-New York) (starting December 19)
Events
January
February
- February 4 – Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is kidnapped from her Berkeley, California apartment by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army.[1]
- February 8 - After a record 84 days in orbit, the crew of Skylab 4 returns to Earth.
- February 12 - U.S. District Court Judge Geoerge Boldt rules that Native American tribes in Washington state are entitled to half of the legal salmon and steelhead catches, based on treaties signed by the tribes and the U.S. government.
- February 22 - Samuel Byck attempts to hijack an airplane with the intent to crash it into the White House and assassinate President Nixon. He commits suicide when police storm the plane.
- February 28 - Egypt and the United States re-establish normal diplomatic relations.
March
April
- April 2 - The 46th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Burt Reynolds, Diana Ross, John Huston and David Niven, is held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. George Roy Hill's The Sting wins seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Hill. The film is tied with William Friedkin's The Exorcist in receiving ten nominations.
- April 3 - The 1974 Super Outbreak, at the time the largest series of tornadoes in history, occurs in 13 U.S. states and one Canadian province, leaving over 300 people dead, over 5,000 people injured, and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
- April 4 - Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth for the all-time home run record with his 714th at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
- April 6 - California Jam is held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, attracting 250,000 fans.
- April 8 - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves breaks Babe Ruth's home run record, by hitting his 715th career home run off of a pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers' Al Downing at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium.
- April 15 – In San Francisco, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army rob a branch of the Hibernia Bank, joined by Patricia Hearst.
- April 20 - Voters in Louisiana approve a new state constitution, replacing a 225,000-word document which had first been adopted in 1921.
- April 22 - Hi-Fi Murders: Five people are brutally tortured by a group of men during a robbery at a home audio store in Ogden, Utah, resulting in three deaths.
May
June
July
- July 1 - Six Flags Great Adventure opens for the first time.[5]
- July 8 - Two weeks after the attraction's opening, an 18-year-old employee is crushed to her death while working on America Sings at Disneyland. This is the first employee fatality at a Disney Park.
- July 11 - 17 - Baltimore police strike.
- July 14 - In Issaquah, Washington, serial killer Ted Bundy abducts Janice Ott and Denise Naslund in broad daylight at Lake Sammamish State Park.
- July 15 - Christine Chubbuck, television presenter for WXLT-TV Sarasota, Florida, draws a revolver and shoots herself in the head during a live broadcast. She dies in a hospital 14 hours later, the first person to commit suicide on live television.
- July 16 - Elmer Wayne Henley is sentenced to life imprisonment for assisting Dean Corll in murdering 28 Texas boys from 1970 to 1973.
- July 24 - Watergate scandal - United States v. Nixon: The Supreme Court rules 8–0 with one abstention that President Richard Nixon cannot withhold subpoenaed White House tapes, and orders him to surrender them to the Watergate special prosecutor.
- July 27–30 - Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee adopts three articles of impeachment, charging President Nixon with obstruction of justice, failure to uphold laws, and refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee.
August
September
- September 1 - Daredevil Bob Gill fails a world-record attempt to jump Appalachia Lake in West Virginia.
- September 8
President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.
-
- September 16 - In Newport, Rhode Island, America's Cup defender "Courageous", skippered by Ted Hood, wins over Australian challenger "Southern Cross".
October
November
December
Undated
Ongoing
Births
January
- January 1
- January 3 - Katie Porter, politician
- January 5 - Ryan Minor, baseball player (d. 2023)
- January 6
- January 7
- January 9 - Tom Bissell, journalist, critic, and writer
- January 10 - Mariusz Adamski, Polish-born photographer
- January 11 - Max von Essen, actor and vocalist
- January 12 - Jeremy Bates, boxer
- January 13
- January 14
- January 15 - Ray King, baseball player
- January 16 - Paul Buentello, mixed martial artist
- January 17
- January 18
- January 19
- Gentry Bradley, sprinter
- Marquita Bradshaw, environmentalist, activist, and political candidate
- Kareem Burke, entrepreneur, record executive, and producer
- Frank Caliendo, actor, comedian, and impressionist
- January 20
- January 21
- January 23
- January 24
- January 28
- January 29
- January 30
- January 31
February
- February 1 - Kurt Ballou, guitarist for Converge
- February 2
- February 3
- February 4 - Scott Burnett, darts player
- February 5 - Omarosa, reality TV star and White House aide
- February 7
- February 8
- February 9
- February 10
- February 11
- Trey Beamon, baseball player
- Alex Jones, radio show host and conspiracy theorist
- February 12
- February 13
- February 14 - Lara Bazelon, journalist, academic, and law professor
- February 15
- Miranda July, author, director, actor, musician, and spoken-word artist
- Gina Lynn, porn actress
- February 16 - Mahershala Ali, actor and rapper
- February 17
- February 18
- February 19 - Lezley Zen, pornographic actress
- February 20 - Steven Reed, politician, mayor of Montgomery, Alabama (2019–present)
- February 22 - Ana, Cuban-born singer
- February 23 - Kimberly Yee, politician
- February 24
- February 26 - Jenna Wolfe, Jamaican-born journalist and personal trainer
- February 27
- February 28 - Kevin Abrams, football player
March
- March 1
- March 3 - David Faustino, actor
- March 4
- March 5
- March 6 - Beanie Sigel, rapper and actor
- March 7
- March 8 - Danny Corkill, child actor
- March 10 - Biz Stone, entrepreneur and co-founder of Twitter and Jelly
- March 11 - Chris Blackshear, politician
- March 12 - Jama Williamson, actress
- March 13
- March 14
- March 15
- March 16
- March 18 - Evan and Jaron Lowenstein, music duo and identical twins
- March 21
- March 22
- March 23 - Randall Park, actor, comedian and writer
- March 24
- March 25
- March 27
- March 28
- March 29
- March 30 - Ronnie Kerr, actor
- March 31 - James Burgess, football player
April
- April 3 - Marcus Brown, basketball player
- April 4
- April 6 - Marlin Barnes, football player (d. 1996)
- April 7
- April 8
- April 9
- April 10
- April 11
- April 12
- April 13 - Mick Betancourt, screenwriter, producer, comedian, actor, and director
- April 14
- Da Brat, rapper
- Terrance Hunter, Creator of The PREP System LLC, Dream Hunters Inc, and Contract Advisor
- April 15
- April 16 - Valarie Rae Miller, actress
- April 18
- April 19 - Hlynur Atlason, Icelandic-born industrial designer
- April 20 - Paul Bradford, football player
- April 21 - Cliff Brumbaugh, baseball player
- April 22
- April 23 - Barry Watson, actor
- April 25
- April 26 - Tim Brauch, skateboarder (d. 1999)
- April 28 - DeAuntae Brown, football player
- April 29 - Alana Blahoski, Olympic ice hockey player
- April 30
May
- May 4 - Josh Bonner, politician
- May 7
- May 8
- May 9
- May 10 - Trent Staggs, politician, mayor of Riverton, Utah (2018–present)
- May 11 - Adam Kaufman, actor
- May 13 - Louisa Bojesen, Danish-born financial journalist
- May 14
- May 15 - Russell Hornsby, actor
- May 16
- May 17 - Sendhil Ramamurthy, actor
- May 20 - Allison Amend, novelist
- May 21
- May 22
- May 23
- 4th Disciple, record producer and audio engineer
- Jewel, singer
- May 25 - Kevin Hartman, soccer player
- May 27
- May 28 - Robert Ballecer, Catholic Jesuit priest and podcaster
- May 29
- May 30
June
- June 1 - Alanis Morissette, Canadian-born singer
- June 2 - Gata Kamsky, chess player
- June 5
- June 6
- June 7 - Sunshine Anderson, singer/songwriter
- June 8 - Joshua Bloom, astrophysicist and professor
- June 10
- June 11
- June 12
- Joseph Blair, basketball player and coach
- Ronald Brisé, politician
- Darren Bush, screenwriter, producer, and director
- Jason Mewes, actor, comedian, producer, and podcaster
- Brandon Webb, author and Navy SEAL
- June 13
- Valeri Bure, Russian-born Olympic ice hockey player
- Steve-O, actor, stunt performer, and television personality
- June 14
- June 15
- June 17
- June 18 - Les Adams, politician
- June 19 - Bumper Robinson, actor and voice actor
- June 21
- June 22
- June 24 - Vinnie Fiorello, drummer for Less than Jake
- June 25 - Jeff Cohen, attorney and actor
- June 26
- June 27
- June 28
- June 30 - Tony Rock, actor
July
- July 1 - Jonathan Roumie, actor
- July 2
- July 3
- July 4
- July 6
- July 7 - Dialleo Burks, football player and coach
- July 8 - Danny Ardoin, baseball player
- July 10 - Jim Annunziato, recording engineer
- July 11
- July 12
- July 13 - Shaun Baker, actor and martial artist
- July 14 - Mark Butterfield, football player
- July 15 - Mitty Arnold, tennis player
- July 16
- July 18
- July 19
- July 20 - Simon Rex, actor, comedian, and rapper
- July 21 - Steve Byrne, comedian and actor
- July 22
- July 23
- July 24
- July 25 - Lauren Faust, animator
- July 26
- Christophe Brown, American-born Swiss ice hockey player
- Gary Owen, actor and comedian
- July 27
- July 28
- Afroman, rapper, singer/songwriter, comedian, musician, and political candidate
- Derek Anderson, basketball player
- Elizabeth Berkley, actress
- Irene Ng, Malaysian-born actress and teacher
- July 29
- July 30 - Hilary Swank, actress
- July 31 - Adam Putnam, politician
August
- August 1
- August 2
- August 3
- August 4 - Mike Bajakian, football coach
- August 6
- August 7
- August 8
- August 9
- August 10
- August 11
- August 12 - Arj Barker, comedian and actor
- August 13 - Orlando Anderson, gangster and suspected murderer (d. 1998)
- August 14
- August 16
- August 17 - Dmitry Alimov, Russian-born entrepreneur and investor
- August 19 - David Patten, footballer (died 2021)
- August 20
- August 21
- August 22
- August 23
- August 24
- August 25 - Darren Benson, football player
- August 26
- August 27
- August 28 - Duncan Arsenault, drummer
- August 30
- August 31 - William Consovoy, conservative advocate (d. 2023)
September
- September 1
- September 3
- September 4
- September 5 - Andy Barkett, baseball player
- September 9
- September 10
- September 11
- September 12 - Jennifer Nettles, musician
- September 13 - Randall Bailey, boxer
- September 14
- September 16
- September 17
- September 18
- September 19
- September 20
- September 21
- September 22
- September 23 - Matt Hardy, wrestler
- September 24
- September 25 - Daniel Kessler, guitarist for Interpol
- September 26
- September 27
- September 28 - Reggie Brown, football player
- September 29
- September 30
October
- October 1 - Corey Brown, politician
- October 2
- October 4 - Tom Askey, ice hockey player
- October 5
- October 6
- October 7
- October 8
- October 9
- October 10
- October 11
- October 12
- October 13 - Terron Brooks, singer/songwriter and actor
- October 14
- Sheila Bleck, bodybuilder
- Stacy Boyle, rugby player
- Jessica Drake, porn actress
- Dana Glover, singer and songwriter
- Natalie Maines, country singer and vocalist for The Chicks
- Shaggy 2 Dope, rapper, record producer, DJ, podcast host, wrestler, and member of Insane Clown Posse
- October 16
- October 18 - Jeremy Scahill, journalist
- October 20
- October 21 - Nakia Burrise, actress
- October 24 - Will Brice, football player
- October 25 - Shonn Bell, football player
- October 27 - Pooja Batra, Indian-born actress and model
- October 28
- October 29 - Eric Gales, blues rock guitarist
- October 30
- October 31 - Ruben Fleischer, director and producer
November
- November 2
- Nelly, rapper
- Prodigy, born Albert Johnson, rapper (d. 2017)
- November 4 - Cedric Bixler-Zavala, singer and frontman for The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In
- November 5
- November 7
- November 8
- November 9
- November 10
- November 11
- November 12
- November 14
- November 15 - Fred Brock, football player
- November 16 - Isaac Byrd, football player
- November 17
- November 18
- Rob Balachandran, rugby player
- Tricia Byrnes, Olympic snowboarder
- Chloë Sevigny, actress, director, model, and fashion designer
- November 19
- November 24 - Dave Aizer, television host, writer, and producer
- November 25
- November 26 - Michael Blair, football player
- November 28
- November 29
- November 30
December
- December 2 - Brian Alfred, artist
- December 3 - Trina Braxton, singer and television personality
- December 4
- Elliot Bendoly, University professor
- Dan Bongino, political commentator, radio show host, police officer, secret service agent, author, and political candidate
- December 5
- December 7
- December 9
- December 10 - Meg White, drummer for The White Stripes
- December 11
- December 12 - Tawny Banh, Vietnamese-born table tennis player
- December 13
- December 14 - Amplitude Problem, Swedish-born musician and producer
- December 15
- December 17
- December 18
- December 20
- December 21 - Ray Austin, football player
- December 24 - Ryan Seacrest, television personality
- December 25
- December 26
- December 27 - Nate Bland, baseball player
- December 28
- December 29
- December 30 - Chris Bordano, football player
Full date unknown
- Joe Abraham, comic book illustrator and actor
- Nancy Abudu, judge
- Craig Ackerman, NBA announcer
- Rana X. Adhikari, experimental physicist
- Gaelle Adisson, singer/songwriter and producer
- Waris Ahluwalia, Indian-born actor and designer
- Jaafar Aksikas, Moroccan-born academic, activist, media personality, and cultural critic
- Suzanne Alaywan, poet and painter
- Daniel P. Aldrich, academic and professor
- Anida Yoeu Ali, Cambodian-born artist
- Tremayne Allen, football player
- Marla Alupoaicei, Christian author and speaker
- Afruz Amighi, Iranian-born sculptor and installation artist
- David Amodio, scientist
- Anarquia, wrestler
- Eric C. Anderson, entrepreneur and aerospace engineer
- Keisha Anderson, basketball player
- John D. Arnold, philanthropist
- Tre Arrow, eco-terrorist
- James Arthur, American-born Canadian poet
- Sigal Avin, American-born Israeli writer and director
- Mya Baker, filmmaker, poet, writer, director, and researcher
- Sarah Baker, actress
- Liz Bangerter, politician
- Boaz Barak, Israeli-born computer science professor
- LaShonda Katrice Barnett, author, playwright, and radio host
- Erek Barron, politician
- Sophie Barthes, French-born director and screenwriter
- Gina Beavers, Greek-born artist
- Aaron Becker, writer and illustrator
- Christopher Bell, disability studies scholar (d. 2009)
- Jennifer Bendery, journalist
- Juan Manuel Benítez, Spanish-born journalist
- Jenica Bergere, actress
- Andrea Berloff, screenwriter, actress, director, and producer
- LaKiesha Berri, R&B singer
- Sharif Bey, artist
- Michael Biber, technologist and industrialist
- Cass Bird, artist, photographer, and director
- Constantin Bisanz, Austrian-born entrepreneur, investor, and extreme sports enthusiast
- Janel Bishop, beauty queen, Miss Teen USA 1991
- Scott Blader, politician
- Macon Blair, actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and comic book writer
- Chris Blattman, Canadian-born political scientist
- Yaba Blay, Ghanaian-born professor, scholar-activist, public speaker, cultural worker, and consultant
- BluRum13, rapper, emcee, actor, and producer
- Deborah Boardman, judge
- Cornelius Boots, composer and multi-instrumentalist
- Daniel Borzutzky, poet and translator
- David Boulware, professor and physician
- Jason Boyarski, entertainment attorney
- Adam Bradley, literary critic, professor, and writer
- Paige Bradley, sculptor
- Andrea Brady, poet and lecturer
- M.C. Brains, rapper
- Bridget Breiner, American-born German ballerina
- Bridget M. Brennan, judge
- Judson A. Brewer, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author
- Cary Brothers, singer/songwriter
- Melissa Brown, artist
- Tracy Brown, author
- Ashley Buchanan, business executive for The Michaels Companies
Deaths
- January 1 - Jimmy Smith, Major League Baseball player (b. 1895)
- January 2 - Tex Ritter, actor and country musician (b. 1905)
- January 3 - Red Snapp, baseball player
- January 4 - Charles Johnes Moore, a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy (b. 1889)[11]
- January 6 - Dewey Mayhew, American football coach (b. 1898)
- January 10 - Charles G. Bond, U.S. House of Representatives from New York (b. 1877)
- January 12 - Jack Jacobs, American-born National Football League and Canadian Football League player (b. 1919)
- January 15 - Harold D. Cooley, U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina (b. 1897)
- January 17 - Clara Edwards, singer, pianist and composer (b. 1880)
- January 18 - Bill Finger, comic strip and book writer (b. 1914)
- January 20 - Leonard Freeman, television writer and producer (b. 1920)
- January 31 – Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-American film producer (b. 1882)
- February 8 - Fern Andra, actress (b. 1893)
- February 15 - George W. Snedecor, mathematician and statistician (b. 1881)
- February 22 - Samuel Byck, attempted to hijack an airplane to assassinate President Richard Nixon (b. 1930)
- February 23 - Harry Ruby, musician, composer and writer (b. 1886)
- March 5 – Billy De Wolfe, actor (b. 1905)
- March 19
- March 20 – Chet Huntley, newscaster (b. 1911)
- March 28 - Dorothy Fields, librettist (b. 1904)
- April 7
- April 9 - Marvin L. Kline, politician (b. 1903)
- April 14
- April 17 - Frank McGee, TV journalist (b. 1921)
- April 19 – Vincent Taylor, guitarist (b. 1948)
- April 18 - Betty Compson, actress (b. 1897)
- April 23 - Cy Williams, baseball player (b. 1887)
- April 24 - Bud Abbott, comedian (b. 1895)
- April 28 - Paul Page, actor (b. 1903)
- April 30 - Agnes Moorehead, actress (b. 1900)
- May 24 - Duke Ellington, jazz pianist and bandleader (b. 1899)
- June 10 - Lewis R. Foster, film director and screenwriter b. 1898)
- June 17 – Pamela Britton, actress and singer (b. 1923)
- June 20 - Charles Wisner Barrell, writer (b. 1885)
- June 26 - Ernest Gruening, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1959 to 1969 (b. 1887)
- June 28
- June 30 - Alberta Williams King, civil rights organizer (b. 1904)
- July 9 - Earl Warren, 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (b. 1891)
- July 15 – Christine Chubbuck, television news reporter (b. 1944)
- July 17 – Dizzy Dean, baseball player (b. 1910)
- July 19 – Joe Flynn, actor (b. 1924)
- July 27 - Lightnin' Slim, blues musician (b. 1913)
- July 28 - Truman Bradley, radio actor (b. 1905)
- July 29 - Cass Elliot, vocalist (b. 1941)
- August 21 – Buford Pusser, sheriff (b. 1937)
- August 26 - Charles Lindbergh, aviator (b. 1902)
- September 11 - Lois Lenski, author and illustrator (b. 1893)[12]
- September 21
- Walter Brennan, film actor; 3-time Best Supporting Academy Award-winning actor (1936, 1938, and 1940) (b. 1894)
- Jacqueline Susann, novelist and actress (b. 1918)
- September 22 – George Spahn, ranch owner (b. 1889)
- September 23 – Cliff Arquette, actor and comedian (b. 1905)
- October 1
- October 3 - Bessie Louise Pierce, historian (b. 1888)
- October 4
- October 5 - Virgil Miller, cinematographer (b. 1886)
- October 7 - Henry J. Cadbury, biblical scholar and Quaker (b. 1883)
- October 8 - Harry Carney, jazz musician (b. 1910)
- October 9 - Theodore Foley, Roman Catholic priest and servant of God (b. 1913)
- October 13
- November 1 - Ralf Harolde, actor (b. 1899)
- November 5 - Stafford Repp, actor (b. 1918)
- November 8 - Ivory Joe Hunter, rhythm & blues singer, songwriter, and pianist (b. 1914)
- November 13 - Karen Silkwood, labor union activist and chemical technician (b. 1946)
- November 14 - Johnny Mack Brown, football star and actor (b. 1904)
- November 21 - John B. Gambling, radio talk-show host (b. 1897)
- November 29 - James J. Braddock, boxer (b. 1905)
- December 18 - Harry Hooper, baseball player (Boston Red Sox) (b. 1887)
- December 21 - Richard Long, television actor (b. 1927)
- December 26
- December 27 - Bob Custer, film actor (b. 1898)
- December 29 - Robert Ellis, film actor (b. 1892)
- December 30 – Jack Benny, entertainer (b. 1894)
See also
Notes and References
- Book: James Stuart Olson . James Stuart Olson . Historical Dictionary of the 1970s . 1999 . Greenwood Publishing Group . 978-0-313-30543-6 . Chronology . https://books.google.com/books?id=YKkF8vQRcp0C&pg=PA369 . registration .
- Web site: Taylor Swift re-creates Mia Farrow cover from first People magazine . Los Angeles Times . 22 March 2021 . 8 October 2014.
- Web site: Ep. 8 The Visalia Ransacker, Part One. 2018-04-21. 2018-04-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20180425144521/https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-8-the-visalia-ransacker-part-one. live.
- Web site: Bavarian Autosport - 2 Years - European Car Magazine . Europeancarweb.com . 2009-10-01 . 2014-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130804074112/http://www.europeancarweb.com/firstlook/epcp_0909_bavarian_autosport_35_years/ . 2013-08-04 . dead .
- Web site: Larsen, @Erik_Larsen. Erik. Man who built Six Flags Great Adventure. 2021-02-12. Courier-Post. en-US.
- Web site: Timeline of President Ford's Life and Career . Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum. Gerald R. Ford Library . 2006-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20061224213224/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/timeline.asp. December 24, 2006 . live.
- Book: Hall, Mitchell K.. Historical Dictionary of the Nixon-Ford Era. 2008. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-6410-8. Chronology. https://books.google.com/books?id=af6xAAAAQBAJ&pg=PR13.
- Web site: 2009-10-09. Monty Python Invades America – 1974. 2021-01-23. Tellyspotting. en-US.
- News: Setting Up an Island in the Soviet Storm. Allen R.. Myerson. The New York Times. 1990-12-30.
- Women's Center of Rhode Island 2009 Annual Report
- Book: Buell. The Quiet Warrior. 344 and 515.
- Encyclopedia: Commire. Anne. Klezmer. Deborah. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. 9. 2001. Yorkin Publications, Gale Group. Waterford. 978-0-78764-068-2. 380.