1974 History

Inflation continues to spiral out of control around the world reaching 11.3% in the USA and 17.2% in the UK and the global recession deepens. The famous skeleton “Lucy” is discovered in Ethiopia which lived between 3.9 to 3 million years ago. More and more smaller digital based consumer products appear in the shops and the earliest forms of Word Processors appear which resemble a typewriter more than a computer. After the findings of the Watergate Scandal Richard Nixon becomes the first US president forced to resign from office.

Cost of Living 1974

• Yearly Inflation Rate USA 11.3%
• Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 616
• Average Cost of new house $34,900.00
• Average Income per year $13,900.00
• Average Monthly Rent $185.00
• Cost of a gallon of Gas 55 cents
• Average cost new car $3,750.00
• Samsonite Case $62.00

What Events Happened in 1974

• IRA begins bombing campaign on mainland Britain and bombs The Tower of London and the Houses of parliament and pubs in Birmingham
• Richard Nixon becomes the first US president forced to resign after the Watergate Scandal
• Worldwide Inflation helps to cause dramatic increases in the cost of fuel, food and manufacturing
• Sears Tower in Chicago becomes the worlds tallest building
• The Global Recession Deepens
  Gasoline shortages and price increases throughout the world help to cause problems in most of the western worlds economies
• Governments and people around the world spend more time debating the use of Nuclear Energy to combat problems with Oil Prices and Supply
• Estimate of The Worlds Population reaches 4 billion
• Smallpox Epidemic in India causes the deaths of between 10,000 and 20,000 people
• Henry Kissenger convinces Syria and Israel agree to a ceasefire on the Golan Heights
• Patricia Hearst Kidnappers Demand $70 of food be given to every needy Californian
  In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
• Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
  The largest series of tornadoes in history, hits 13 U.S. states and one Canadian province. By the time the last of 148 tornadoes hit early the following morning, 315 died and over 5,000 were injured.
• British Coal Miners join many other unions striking for higher wages
• India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
• Cyclone Tracy almost completely destroys Darwin, Australia
• Famine caused by drought threatens millions in Africa
• The French President Georges Pompidou dies while in Office
  Following a crippling strike, Northern Ireland’s first power-sharing assembly collapses
• Work begins on the 800 mile long Alaska Oil pipeline
• Bloodless Military coup led by General Antoniio de Spinola, in Portugal
• President Isabela Peron ( Evita ), Juan Peron’s third wife, becomes President of Argentina when her husband died.
  West Germany Wins 1974 World Cup in West Germany
• Soviet authorities expel Alexander Solzhenitsyn revoking his Russian citizenship

Popular Culture 1974

Popular Films

• The Sting
• The Exorcist
• Papillon
• Herbie Rides Again
• Blazing Saddles
• The Great Gatsby
• Serpico
• Death Wish
• The Godfather, Part II
• Murder on the Orient Express

 Popular Musicians

• ABBA
• Beach Boys
• David Bowie
• Carpenters
• Eric Clapton with ” I Shot The Sheriff “
• Alice Cooper
  Deep Purple
• Donovan
  Ella Fitzgerald
• Genesis
  Grateful Dead
• Joni Mitchell
  Van Morrison
• Dolly Parton
  Queen
• Minnie Riperton
  Roxy Music
• Sparks
  Supertramp
• Jethro Tull
• The Velvet Underground
• Barry White
• Paul McCartney with ” Band on the Run “
• Stevie Wonder 

Popular TV Programs

• Kung Fu
• The Price Is Right
• The Waltons
• Kojak
• Last of the Summer Wine
• The Six Million Dollar Man

Technology 1974

• MRI Scanner( Magnetic Resonance Imaging } developed USA
• Australopithecus afarensiswas discovered in Ethiopia and is a hominid which lived between 3.9 to 3 million years ago belonging to the genus Australopithecus, They named the skeleton “Lucy”
• After 84 days in space, the last crew of the temporary American space station Skylab return to Earth
• Pocket calculators start to appear in shops
• Offices start using a very primitive word processor that resembles a typewriter
  Lucyan almost complete hominid skeleton over 3 million years old is discovered in Africa
• The first use of UPC or Universal product Code BAR CODEUPC scanner installed in Marshes Supermarket in Troy Ohio ( check 1952 for first bar code use not UPC ) or the standard used today.

Research for this year is provided by The People History.  See History By Year and Decade for more prices and information.
Find out more about the 70s at ThePeopleHistory.com.