1970 - Year of My Birth

I thought it would be interesting to look back at the events of the year I was born. Here is what I found.

1970 Music continues to make significant impact with the largest ever rock festival held on the Isle of Wight with 600,000 people attending, including some of the biggest name in music including Jimi Hendrix and The Who. This is also the year The Concord makes it's first its first supersonic flight. Another significant change is the age of voting is now lowered to 18 in the US.

Cost of Living 1970

How Much things cost in 1970
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 5.84%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 5.9%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 838
Average Cost of new house $23,450.00
Average Income per year $9,400.00
Average Monthly Rent $140.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 36 cents
Shaefer Pen $9.95
United States postage Stamp 6 cents
Sports Illustrated 15 cents
Mans Westclox Watch $18.00
AMC Gremlin $1879
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling
Average House Price 4,975
Gallon of Petrol 0.125

What Events Happened in 1970

Bangladesh

• Cyclone in Bangladesh kills 500,000

Peru

• Earthquake in Peru kills 67,000

World

• The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations

UK

• Paul McCartney announces that the Beatles have disbanded

Space

• Apollo 13 mission to moon abandoned

Japan

• Japan becomes the worlds “fourth space power”, after the Soviet Union (1957), the United States (1958), and France (1965).

U.S.

• First Earth Day celebrated

U.S.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ) begins operation

U.S.

• US increases import duty taxes to protect American Jobs

Egypt

• President Abdel Nasser of Egypt dies and 5 million turn out to honour him

UK

• The Liberian registered tanker Pacific Glory spills up to 100,000 gallons of crude oil on October 25th into the English Channel creating a huge oil slick and an environmental disaster

U.S.

• Boeing 747 makes its first commercial passenger trip to London

Australia

• South Australia suffers it's worst number of fires killing at least 75 people and had injured another 800.

• US Invades Cambodia

U.S.

• 100,000 people demonstrate in Washington DC against the Vietnam War

Turkey

• Cholera epidemic in Istanbul.

UK

• Edward Heath and the Conservative Party wins the British general elections.

World

• The Worlds Population reaches 3.63 billion

U.S.

• The US Population reaches 205 million

U.S.

• The US has 85 people per sq mile

U.S.

• Hurricane Celia makes landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas leaving 15 dead and nearly $400 million in damages,

Northern Ireland

• Reverend Ian Paisley has won a seat in parliament

France

• A fire at a nightclub near Grenoble, traps night clubbers leaving 142 mostly teenagers dead

Japan

• Japan has 1,083 People per sq mile

U.S.

• The US and the UK lowers the voting age to 18 from 21

U.S.

• California becomes the first US State to adopt "No Fault" Divorce law.

U.S.

• Controlled Substance Act passed part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.

Vietnam

• Large floods in Vietnam , kills 293, leaves 200,000 homeless

Egypt

• The Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed

U.S.

• Chicago Seven defendants found guilty of intent to incite a riot in 1968 ( later overturned by Court of Appeal )

U.S.

• Dow Jones drops to 631

U.S.

• National Guards fire on and kill 4 protesters on May 4th at Kent State University

Brazil

• Brazil wins their third world cup with Pele as the captain




Popular Culture

• The Isle of Wight Festival takes place . 600,000 people attend the largest rock festival of all time. Artists include Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Chicago, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Jethro Tull.
• Jimi Hendrix dies of barbiturate overdose in London
• Janis Joplin dies in a cheap motel from a heroin overdose
• The first New York marathon is run in New York
• Simon and Garfunkel release their final album together, Bridge Over Troubled Water. The Title Track won the Grammy for song of the year.


Popular Films

• M*A*S*H,
• Patton
• Woodstock
• Hello, Dolly!
• Catch-22
• On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Popular Music and songs
The Beatles with " Let it Be "
The Jackson 5 with " ABC and I want you back "
Edwin Starr with " War "

Born This Year 1970

Chavo Guerrero, Jr

Naomi Campbell

Tina Fey

Kelly Ripa






Technology 1970

• First Jumbo Jet goes into service



• Concorde makes its first supersonic flight (700 mph/1127 km/h).



• The Soviet Moon Rover becomes the first remote-controlled robot to travel on the moon's surface



• The First Computer Chess Tournament takes Place



• IBM announces the successors to the IBM System/360 family the IBM System/370 with improved multi processor support.



• After many years of court battles damages awarded to Thalidomide victims







Major World Political Leaders 1970

Australia Prime Minister John Gorton

Brazil President Emilio Medici

Canada Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Song Qingling

France President Georges Pompidou

Germany Chancellor Willy Brandt

India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Italy Prime Minister Mariano Rumor Till 6 August
Italy Prime Minister Emilio Colombo From 6 August

Japan Prime Minister Eisaku Sato

Mexico President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Till 30 November
Mexico President Luis Echeverría From 30 November

Russia / Soviet Union
First Secretary of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev

South Africa Prime Minister Balthazar Johannes Vorster

United States President Richard Nixon

United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Wilson Till 19 June
United Kingdom Prime Minister Edward Heath From 19 June



Political Elections


British General Election 1970 Edward Heath ( Conservative ) defeats Harold Wilson ( Labour ) and Jeremy Thorpe ( Liberal )