February 1973

The following events occurred in February 1973:

February 1, 1973 (Thursday)

• Patrick Mphephu becomes the Chief Minister of the bantustan of Venda, as it becomes self-ruling, though still a part of the Republic of South Africa.
• Jean Poiret's farce La Cage aux Folles, is premièred at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.
• The United States First Fleet becomes inactive and its duties are taken over by the United States Third Fleet.
• Joseph Lyles, 17, is "grabbed" by serial killer Dean Corll at Wirt Road, Houston, Texas; his body is eventually found buried at Jefferson County Beach.^[1][2]

February 2, 1973 (Friday)

• The Italian cargo ship Alcamo strikes rocks and is holed off Cap Rosso, Corsica. She is declared a constructive total loss and later scrapped.^[3]
• Frederick B. Dent becomes United States Secretary of Commerce.
• President Richard Nixon sends his written State of the Union message to Congress.^[4]
• Born: Latino, Brazilian singer, in Rio de Janeiro

February 3, 1973 (Saturday)

• "Crocodile Rock" reaches the top of the US charts, giving Elton John his first U.S. number-one single.
• The USS Truett (FF-1095) is launched at Avondale Shipyard, Westwego, Louisiana, US.
• A Scottish Cup tie at Glebe Park, Brechin, gives the stadium its highest ever attendance, greater than the total population of the town of Brechin.^[5]
• Born: Ilana Sod, Mexican newscaster, in Mexico City

February 4, 1973 (Sunday)

• The first round of voting takes place in the Parliamentary elections in Monaco.^[6]
• Yvon Dupuis becomes leader of the Ralliement créditiste du Québec,^[7]
• Ramchandra Dhondiba Bhandare becomes Chancellor of Ranchi University, India.

February 5, 1973 (Monday)

• The People's Republic of China and Japan agree to reestablish diplomatic relations.^[4]
• Queen record the first four tracks of their album At the Beeb.
• Portuguese volleyball team Castêlo da Maia Ginásio Clube is founded.
• Born: Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch singer, in Amsterdam

February 6, 1973 (Tuesday)

• Toronto: Construction of the CN Tower begins.

February 7, 1973 (Wednesday)

• Watergate scandal: The United States Senate votes 77–0 to approve S.Res. 60 and establish a select committee to investigate Watergate.
• Nisshin Maru No.8, a Japanese steel fishing vessel of 254 gross tons, on its way to Hobart for a mechanical inspection, hits the Pedra Branca rock off Tasmania and sinks within a few minutes. Only one of the crew of 22, engineer Yoshiichi Meguro, manages to clamber onto the rocks and escape drowning; he is rescued by a fishing vessel.
• In the UK, the RTV31 Tracked Hovercraft train is successfully tested. The project is cancelled a week later.^[8]
• The Oshima Shipbuilding company is founded in Nagasaki, Japan.

February 8, 1973 (Thursday)

• Sam Ervin is named chairman of the select committee to investigate Watergate.^[9]
• Died: Herbie Taylor, 83, South African cricketer

February 9, 1973 (Friday)

• The first convention of the National Women's Political Caucus begins in Houston, ending on February 11.^[4]
• The 200th Coast Artillery (United States) insignia is re-designated for the 200th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.
• Born: Svetlana Boginskaya, Belarusian gymnast, in Minsk
• Died: Max Yasgur, 53, American dairy farmer associated with the Woodstock Festival

February 10, 1973 (Saturday)

• ABBA perform "Ring Ring" in the contest to select the Swedish entry for the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest; it finishes third.
• Forty-three workers are killed in an explosion and fire at a TETCo natural gas storage tank in Bloomfield, Staten Island, New York City.^[10][11][12]
• Born: Martha Lane Fox, English public servant and businesswoman, in Oxford, the daughter of Robin Lane Fox
• Died: Leonard O'Hanlon (23) and Vivienne Fitzsimmons (17), both members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, in a premature bomb explosion on the Castle Ward estate in Northern Ireland.

February 11, 1973 (Sunday)

• Vietnam War: The first American prisoners of war are released from Vietnam.
• Liechtenstein holds a referendum limited to men on introducing women's suffrage, which is rejected by voters.^[4]
• Emerson Fittipaldi wins the 1973 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

February 12, 1973 (Monday)

• Ohio becomes the first U.S. state to post distance in metric on signs (see Metric system in the United States).
• Died: Benjamin Frankel, 67, British composer

February 13, 1973 (Tuesday)

• The United States Dollar is devalued by 10%.

February 14, 1973 (Wednesday)

• The Farmers' Organization Authority is founded in Malaysia.
• A British soldier is shot dead by an IRA sniper while patrolling the Divis Flats complex in west Belfast.^[13]
• Born: Steve McNair, American football quarterback, in Mount Olive, Mississippi (died 2009)
• Died: Émile Reuter, 98, former prime minister of Luxembourg

February 15, 1973 (Thursday)

• Born: Amy Van Dyken, American swimmer, in Englewood, Colorado

February 16, 1973 (Friday)

• The Court of Appeal of England and Wales rules that the Sunday Times can publish articles on Thalidomide and Distillers Company, despite ongoing legal actions by parents (the decision is overturned in July by the House of Lords).

February 17, 1973 (Saturday)

• The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships is signed; it never comes into force but is modified in 1978.
• The 1973 OFC Nations Cup, the first Oceania-wide football tournament ever held, opens in New Zealand.
• Born: Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby union player, in Saugnac-et-Cambran, Landes

February 18, 1973 (Sunday)

• Incumbent President Makarios III, the only candidate in the Cypriot presidential election, 1973, is declared the outright winner.^[14]

February 19, 1973 (Monday)

• Died: Joseph Szigeti, 80, Hungarian violinist

February 20, 1973 (Tuesday)

• Western Australian state election, 1971: The four-term Liberal-Country Party coalition government, led by Premier David Brand, is defeated by the Labor Party, led by John Tonkin.
• Two Pakistanis are shot dead by police in London after being spotted carrying pistols; the guns are later established to have been fake.

February 21, 1973 (Wednesday)

• The government of Laos and the communist Pathet Lao sign a cease-fire agreement, the Vientiane Treaty.^[4]
• Students barricade themselves inside the buildings of the Law School of the University of Athens, demanding repeal of a law that imposes forcible drafting.^[15]
• Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 (Boeing 727) is shot down by Israeli fighter aircraft over the Sinai Desert, after the passenger plane is suspected of being an enemy military plane. Only 5 (1 crew member and 4 passengers) of 113 survive.

February 22, 1973 (Thursday)

• Sino-American relations: Following President Richard Nixon's visit to mainland China, the United States and the People's Republic of China agree to establish liaison offices.
• Died: Jean-Jacques Bertrand, 56, Canadian politician and 20th Premier of Quebec; Elizabeth Bowen, 73, Irish novelist; Winthrop Rockefeller, 60, first Republican Governor of the US state of Arkansas since Reconstruction.

February 23, 1973 (Friday)

• Francesco Paolo Bonifacio becomes President of the Constitutional Court of Italy.
• In the lead-up to the Chester-le-Street by-election in the UK, the New Statesman magazine publishes an article by journalist Richard West, alleging that officials of the General and Municipal Workers Union have systematically gained control of the Chester-le-Street Constituency Labour Party and in effect gerrymandered their representation in the division to obtain more votes than affiliated branches of other trade unions during the process of selecting Labour candidate Giles Radice.^[16]

February 24, 1973 (Saturday)

• Eight matches are played in the UK, in the fifth round of the 1972–73 FA Cup. Chelsea, Luton Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Derby County, Coventry City, Arsenal and Leeds United emerge victorious. Sunderland draw with Manchester City.
• Born: Philipp Rösler, German politician, in Khánh Hưng, South Vietnam (Rösler's date of birth can only be estimated; he was adopted from an orphanage in Vietnam and brought to Germany nine months later)
• Died: Carl Williams, 32, American racing driver, in a motorcycle accident in Kansas City

February 25, 1973 (Sunday)

• Elections are held in Gabon for the presidency and National Assembly. The Gabonese Democratic Party is the only party permitted to participate. GDP leader and incumbent president Omar Bongo is the only candidate in the presidential election, and is elected unopposed.^[17]
• Born: Julio Iglesias, Jr., Spanish singer, in Madrid, to Julio Iglesias and Isabel Preysler
• Died: Dimitar Peshev, 78, Bulgarian politician

February 26, 1973 (Monday)

• Edward Heath's British government publishes a Green Paper on prices and incomes policy.
• Died: Ralph Earnhardt, 45, US NASCAR motor racing driver, found dead on the kitchen floor by his wife; as a result of fictionalized representations, it would be wrongly believed by many that he was found by his racing driver son Dale Earnhardt. Wikipedia reports that Ralph Earnhardt died on September 26, 1973, not February 26, 1973.

February 27, 1973 (Tuesday)

• The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.^[18]
• In the UK, rail workers and civil servants go on strike.
• Beginning of the 28th Australian Parliament.^[18]
• Sunderland A.F.C. defeat Manchester City F.C. 3-1 in an FA Cup replay, to reach the semi-finals; though underdogs, they go on to win the cup.

February 28, 1973 (Wednesday)

• The Republic of Ireland general election is held. Jack Lynch becomes the first Taoiseach to concede defeat live on Irish television.
• The landmark postmodern novel Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon is published.
• Died: Tito Rodríguez, 50, Puerto Rican singer and bandleader, of leukemia.

References