A military junta led by Major General Idi Amin siezes power in Uganda (Jan. 25).
Mao Zedong invites the US ping-pong team to visit Beijing (Apr. 6).
Nixon ends the US trade embargo against China. (Apr. 14).
Erich Honecker assumes leadership of the East German Communist Party after Walter Ulbricht's resignation (May).
India and the USSR sign a 20-year friendship pact (Aug. 9).
President Mobutu renames the Democratic Republic of Congo, establishing Zaire (Oct. 27).
U.S. Events
US Supreme Court rules unanimously that busing of students may be ordered to achieve racial desegregation (April 20).
Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington (May 3)-police and military units arrest as many as 12,000; most are later released.
Pentagon Papers published (June 13).
Twenty-sixth Amendment to US Constitution lowers voting age to 18. (June 30).
Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $1,125.40 billion
Federal spending: $210.17 billion
Federal debt: $408.2 billion
Median Household Income (current dollars): $9,028
Consumer Price Index: 40.5
Unemployment: 4.9%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.06 ($0.08 as of 5/16/71)
Sports
Super Bowl: Baltimore d. Dallas (16-13)
World Series: Pittsburgh d. Baltimore (4-3)
NBA Championship: Milwaukee d. Baltimore Bullets (4-0)
Stanley Cup: Montreal d. Chicago (4-3)
Wimbledon: Women: Evonne Goolagong d. M. Court (6-4 6-1) - Men: John Newcombe d. S. Smith (6-3 5-7 2-6 6-4 6-4)
Kentucky Derby Champion: Canonero II
NCAA Basketball Championship: UCLA d. Villanova (68-62)
NCAA Football Champions: Nebraska (13-0-0)
Entertainment Events:
All in the Family debuts on CBS and introduces a trend in socially conscious programming.
Jim Morrison dies in Paris at age 27. (July 3).
The Allman Brothers' Duane Allman dies in a motorcycle accident at age 24. (Oct. 29).
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opens in Washington, D.C. with the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.