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Sometimes our recollection of events defines our memories of days gone by, even when those happenings may have taken place in far off lands and had little bearing upon our own lives. Here we take a nostalgic day-by-day glance at some of the events which took place this month during the unforgettable year that was 1976 – a whole half-century ago!
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1st August 1976
On this day in 1976 Formula One’s defending world champion Niki Lauda suffered horrendous burns in an accident in the German Grand Prix. Fellow racing driver Arturo Merzario pulled the Austrian from the burning wreckage of his car, saving his life.
Trinidad and Tobago, which had been independent from the United Kingdom since 1962, formally became a republic. Governor General Sir Ellis Clarke was announced as the first President.
The UN High Commission on Refugees successfully arranged for the evacuation of 49 US citizens and their dependents from Vietnam.
The 1976 Summer Olympics concluded in Montreal.
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2nd August 1976
On this day in 1976 Alexander Agyeman of Ghana was installed as the traditional ruler of the Akyem people in the country’s Eastern Region, and was crowned as King Osagyefo Kuntunkununku II.
In Fort Worth, Texas, Andrea Wilborn and Stan Farr were murdered and Priscilla Davis was wounded in an incident at Davis’ mansion. Her husband T. Cullen Davis was tried for murder but was acquitted.
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3rd August 1976
On this day in 1976 US Congressman Jerry Litton of Missouri was killed in a plane crash en route to a victory party in Kansas after securing the Democratic nomination for US Senator.
Soviet Navy officer Valery Sablin, who had led a mutiny on board the Storozhevoy in 1975, was executed after having been found guilty in a court martial.
NASA’s Viking 2 spacecraft successfully entered Mars’ orbit.
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4th August 1976
On this day in 1976 England beat Australia by eight wickets in a limited-overs international at Lord’s – the first time ladies were permitted to play on the main square at the “home of cricket”.
Six US universities formed the Sun Belt Conference, a college basketball league in the southeastern area of the country. Today only the University of South Alabama remains in what is now the 12-member conference.
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5th August 1976
On this day in 1976 Big Ben failed to ring and the clock stopped at 3.45 in the morning due to metal fatigue. Geoffrey Buggin, Westminster’s chief engineer, soon had the hands working again, but a winding drum fell off breaking the structure’s 110-year-old chiming mechanism. Extensive repairs needed to be performed over the ensuing months to ensure that it would be fixed in time for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.
Legendary US athlete Jesse Owens was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his service to sport and his contribution to civil rights in the United States.
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6th August 1976
On this day in 1976 the former UK Postmaster General John Stonehouse was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for theft, fraud and forgery.
Ceremonies were held in Japan to commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, to remind the world of the horrific effects of nuclear warfare and to promote peace.
