On This Day in 1976

On this day in 1976 the Forty-Second Amendment of the Constitution was introduced in India, proposing to give sweeping new powers to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It would be passed in November to take effect in January 1977.

The advertising of tobacco products on television and radio was banned in Australia.

The parliament of the Republic of Ireland voted to reinstitute the national state of emergency, allowing prisoners to be held for up to seven days without charge.

US Representative Wayne Hays (Democrat) resigned following a scandal in which it was revealed that his mistress, Elizabeth Ray, had been taken onto the federal payroll ostensibly as his Secretary. The Washington Post ran a story in which she is alleged to have said: “I can’t type, I can’t file, I can’t even answer the phone”.

On this day in 1976 US President Gerald Ford issued an order that all US government employees had to be American citizens before being employed.

The Barbados Labour Party won control of the country’s House of Assembly from the Democratic Labour Party. Tom Adams would assume the role of Prime Minister the following day.

Queen performed their second show at the Edinburgh Playhouse, while the Sex Pistols played at the Nag’s Head in High Wycombe.

On this day in 1976 the Viking 2 lander touched down upon Utopia Planitia on planet Mars.

Christian and Muslim leaders in Lebanon came to an agreement not to fire at each other in the vicinity of the presidential palace in Beirut during repairs pending the inauguration of new president Elias Sarkis.

The last remaining inmates protesting on the roof of Hull’s top security prison surrendered to the authorities following a three day stand-off. The demonstration had been a protest against alleged prison officer brutality.

On this day in 1976 three pro-Palestinian militants hijacked a KLM DC9 on its journey between Nice and Amsterdam. The aircraft was flown to Tunis, then to Larnaca in Cyprus, where the hostages were released while the hijackers were able to claim asylum at the Libyan embassy.

Voters in the Pacific island of Guam voted convincingly in a referendum to remain a US territory with additional autonomy.

Future US President George W. Bush, aged 30, was arrested for drink driving near his home in Maine. He would be fined $150 and have his licence suspended.

On this day in 1976 The Muppet Show appeared for the first time on ITV. with guest star Mia Farrow. Within four months it would be broadcast on TV in 100 countries.

In Cyprus voting took place for the 35 seats in the House of Representatives reserved for Greek Cypriots. No candidates participated in the remaining 15 seats, which were set aside for Turkish Cypriots.

The first ever World Professional Skateboard Championships were held at Long Beach, California. Sponsors provided a total of $20,000 in prize money.

On this day in 1976 Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, a pilot in the Soviet Air Forces, veered away from a routine training flight and defected to Japan, taking his brand new MiG-25 “Foxbat” fighter aircraft with him. Japanese experts were able to examine the plane to gain valuable intelligence.

In the United Kingdom the popular sitcom George and Mildred, a spin-off from the successful Man About the House starring Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce, was aired on ITV for the first time.

On this day in 1976 Italy’s La Scala opera gave its first ever US performance, at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Ex-Beatle George Harrison was found guilty by a US court of “subconsciously” plagiarising The Chiffons’ number “He’s So Fine” for his hit song “My Sweet Lord”.

On this day in 1976 the first full-sized electric luxury car, the Transformer 1, was produced by Apollo Energy Systems and was bought by violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

The government of Argentina outlawed the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious denomination on the grounds that it “supports principles which go against nationhood, basic institutions and fundamental concepts”.

The iconic comedy series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, starring Leonard Rossiter, debuted on the BBC.

On this day in 1976 Mao Zedong, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and leader of the revolution, died of a heart attack aged 82. The party announced his death several hours after the event, stating: “Mao Zedong passed away at 0010 hours on September 9 because of worsening of his illness and despite all treatment, although meticulous medical care was given him in every away after he fell ill.”

The VHS recorder was introduced for the first time, at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan. It first went on sale in the UK at a price of around £625.

The Royal Shakespeare Company opened an acclaimed production of Macbeth at The Other Place theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, starring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench.

This day in 1976 was a very bad day for air travellers, dominated as it was by both hijackings and a fatal air crash.

A British Airways Trident and a Yugoslavian DC9 from Inex-Adria collided in mid-air high over Vrbovec near Zagreb, Yugoslavia (in what is now Croatia), sadly killing all 176 people who were on board both aircraft. The air traffic controller would later be found guilty of criminal negligence and sentenced to seven years in jail.

Meanwhile six members of the Fighters for Free Croatia hijacked a TWA Boeing 727 which had departed New York and diverted it to Montreal, Canada. The terrorists demanded that five US newspapers publish their manifesto, claiming two bombs would be detonated on the ground if the demands were not met. The plane was eventually directed on to Paris, where the hijackers were arrested.

Elsewhere an Indian Airlines jet on an internal flight from New Delhi to Mumbai was hijacked and redirected to Lahore, Pakistan. A team of Pakistani commandos stormed the plane and released the passengers and crew.

In South Africa some rules directed against people of mixed race (called “coloureds” or “klueringe”) were relaxed, allowing them to set up businesses in certain areas and to use lavatories and waiting areas previously reserved for whites.

On this day in 1976 the National Day of Catalonia was observed for the first time since 1938, when it had been suppressed by the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco.

Pope Paul VI met at the Vatican with the rebel French bishop Marcel Lefebvre, who had founded the Society of Saint Pius X in 1970 in opposition to what he saw as the Vatican’s reformist agenda. Paul VI was unable to persuade Lefebvre to accept Vatican directives and he would later be excommunicated by his successor John Paul II.

Chris Evert retained her title in the US Open tennis tournament, defeating Evonne Goolagong Cawley in straight sets in the final.

Robert Neiderhiser from Pennsylvania died from a heart attack just seconds after completing his wedding vows, prompting a legal dispute over whether or not his bride was entitled to inherit his estate. After a long legal battle with Neiderhiser’s parents his wife emerged victorious, the court ruling that the pastor had pronounced them man and wife and that the marriage was therefore valid.

On this day in 1976 nine police officers and two civilians were killed when a car bomb destroyed a bus transporting policemen in Rosario, Argentina and by machine gun fire from a second vehicle against those who had survived the explosion. The Montoneros terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

American Jimmy Connors beat Sweden’s Bjorn Borg to win the US Open tennis tournament.

Portsmouth Football Club were reported to be on the brink of bankruptcy due to massive and mounting debts while playing in the English Third Division (now called League One).

On this day in 1976 the Government in the Sunshine Act was signed off by US President Gerald Ford, providing for nearly all meetings of the federal government to be open to the public, other than those dealing with sensitive matters such as those relating to national security.

Elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago to the House of Representatives. The ruling People’s National Movement led by Prime Minister Eric Williams won 24 of the 35 seats.

In Karachi, Pakistan a six-story apartment block collapsed, killing 139 people. The building had only been erected a year earlier and permission had only been granted for two stories, due to poor foundations. The owner and his contractor were arrested.

In a memorable episode of the popular soap Coronation Street, Fred, Alf and Terry were left contemplating what to do with a greyhound that they had drunkenly purchased for £30.

On this day in 1976 a United States Navy Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter plane rolled off the deck of the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier and sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic. The two-man crew ejected safely, but the plane was carrying a state-of-the-art missile which US authorities were concerned lest it should fall into the hands of the Soviet Union. A $2.4 million rescue operation eventually ensured that both jet and missile were recovered securely.

Following the UK government’s decision to end Special Category status for prisoners convicted of paramilitary offences in Northern Ireland, Provisional IRA man Kieran Nugent became the first prisoner to have been sentenced under the new rule. He refused to wear the prison uniform, instead wrapping himself in a blanket. This action would escalate into the infamous dirty protests and hunger strikes which would come to dominate the news over the ensuing years.

On this day in 1976 Israel and Syria agreed to temporarily open security fences along the Golan Heights to allow Druze villagers from either side to meet with relatives from whom they had been separated for more than nine years.

The apartheid government in South Africa began the forced relocation of 45,000 Tswana people from Rooijantjiesfontein in the Transvaal to Deelpan, some 35 miles away.

The Soviet Union launched Soyuz 22 to photograph the surface of the Earth with a special high-resolution camera.

A transit van carrying up to 100lbs of explosive was driven into the loading bay of the Belfast Telegraph newspaper, and gunmen in the van opened fire on fleeing workers. One employee was injured and sadly succumbed to his wounds four days later.

On this day in 1976 Jiang Qing, widow of Chinese leader Chairman Mao Zedong, and three accomplices, altered the wording of a directive left by her late husband that he be succeeded by Hua Guofeng. This would lead to the arrest of all members of what would become known as the Gang of Four.

Six students in Argentina who had been campaigning for lower bus fares were rounded up by masked men and were never seen again. Four others were released after being detained and tortured.

The Episcopal Church of the United States voted in favour of the ordination of women into the priesthood.

On this day in 1976 the first US space shuttle, named Enterprise, was rolled out of its hangar for the first time in Palmdale, California. Ironically this craft never went into space, but was cannibalised for spare parts for later models.

Two days of voting began in Malta’s parliamentary elections, where Prime Minister Dom Mintoff and his Malta Labour Party would increase his majority over the National Party opposition.

On this day in 1976 the funeral of Chairman Mao Zedong took place in China’s Tiananmen Square and was attended by up to a million people, with the eulogy delivered by his successor Hua Guofeng.

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church (known to some as “the Moonies”), held a “God Bless America” convention at the Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Queen performed a massive free concert in London’s Hyde Park before an audience of up to 200,000 people.

The Brazilian striker Ronaldo (not the other one) was born on this day in 1976.

On this day in 1976 thousands of pastors in East Germany’s Evangelical Christian churches read a letter of protest in place of their regular Sunday sermon, calling for religious freedom and tolerance in the communist republic.

Thailand’s former Prime Minister General Thanom Kittikachom returned from exile in Singapore to lead a wave of anti-government protests.

The 1976 revival of the musical “Going Up” premiered at the John Golden Theatre in New York City.

US concert promoter Sid Bernstein offered to pay $230 million to charity in the event of a Beatles reunion, but they politely declined.

On this day in 1976 the Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Fittleton sank after accidentally colliding with the frigate HMS Mermaid, tragically resulting in the loss of twelve service personnel.

Sweden Prime Minister Olof Palme resigned following elections in which his Social Democratic party was defeated after four decades in government.

Former Chilean ambassador and critic of the Pinochet regime Orlando Letelier was assassinated in Washington DC.

AC/DC released their third studio album “Dirty Deeds Done Cheap” in Australia and Europe.

The two-day 100 Club punk festival began in Oxford Street, London.

The Captain and Tennille’s TV variety show debuted in the US.

On this day in 1976 the Strømme Foundation was founded in Norway to provide small, low=interest loans to poor people in the Third World to help bring them out of poverty.

At RNAS Yeovilton a Hawker Hunter crashed after suffering engine failure on take-off. The pilot safely ejected. Incredibly, the then unmanned aircraft somehow managed to land itself harmlessly in a field between the populated Somerset villages to which it had been heading.

On this day in 1976 French Prime Minister Raymond Barre announced a plan to combat inflation including a price freeze, limits on pay rises and taxes on luxury goods.

“Charlie’s Angels” premiered in the US on ABC TV, featuring Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett-Majors as three female detectives.

In football, West Brom winger Willie Johnston made headlines after getting sent off for apparently aiming a kick at the referee, leading to his team’s elimination from the League Cup (now the Carabao Cup) by Brighton. Meanwhile Tottenham Hotspur were knocked out after suffering a shock 3-2 home defeat against Wrexham.

On this day in 1976 the first US presidential debate since 1960 between incumbent and challenger took place on live television. With nine minutes left to run the sound system suddenly failed as Democrat Jimmy Carter began to talk about the CIA and other intelligence agencies.

Elias Sarkis moved into the presidential palace in Beirut four months after having been elected President of Lebanon. Although the oath of office had been given by Sarkis in May and he had been taking decisions, his predecessor Suleman Frangieh had refused to move from the palace until the end of his original six-year term.

A fire on board the Royal Navy destroyer RMS Glasgow tragically killed eight men and injured four more whilst in port at Newcastle.

The Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 22 returned to Earth after having fulfilled its eight-day photographic mission.