.
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!
.
1st October 1976
On this day in 1976 Hurricane Liza resulted in the deaths of over 600 people in Baja California Peninsula, Mexico.
US President Gerald Ford publicly reprimanded his Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz, for making racist jokes against African-American people after the incident was reported in the New Times magazine.
In Worcestershire a Brantly 305 helicopter on a test flight crashed into a copse near Stourport-on-Severn. All three occupants survived.
.
2nd October 1976
On this day in 1976 Argentina’s President Jorge Rafael Videla narrowly escaped an assassination attempt after guerillas planted a bomb beneath the stand from which he was reviewing a military parade.
The popular British children’s television show Multi-Coloured Swap Shop was first broadcast on BBC. The show was presented by Noel Edmonds, John Craven, Keith Chegwin and Maggie Philbin.
.
3rd October 1976
On this day in 1976 West Germany conducted its federal election, in which the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) alliance became the largest group in the Bundestag. Nevertheless Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) remained Chancellor as head of the SPD–FDP coalition government.
The Irish News announced that the emergent Women’s Peace Movement was expanding its activities to the UK and the Republic of Ireland in order to draw attention to its cause.
.
4th October 1976
On this day in 1976 the InterCity 125 high-speed train was introduced in the UK for the first time, departing London’s Paddington station for Bristol. As the name suggests, it had an average speed of 125 mph.
Three gunmen from the Basque separatist organisation ETA opened fire on and killed the Basque economist Juan Maria de Araluce Villar, one of the seventeen Counsellors of the Realm, along with his chauffeur and three police officers who were escorting him in San Sebastian.
The US Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz resigned following calls from both Democrat and Republican politicians for him to go after he had made racist remarks about African Americans.
.
5th October 1976
On this day in 1976 the United Auto Workers union in the US signed a new labour contract with the Ford Motor Company, three weeks after the UAW’s 163,000 Ford Motor employees had gone on strike over moves towards a four-day working week.
.
6th October 1976
On this day in 1976 the new leadership in communist China placed the so-called “Gang of Four”, led by Chairman Mao Zedong’s widow Jiang Qing, under arrest, effectively ending that country’s “Cultural Revolution”. Earlier in the day it was alleged that a gunman had attempted to assassinate the new Chairman Hua Guofeng.
All 73 people on board a Cubana DC8 were killed when a bomb exploded on board, planted by right wing anti-Castro terrorists. The plane had taken off from Bridgetown in Barbados. Two Cuban exiles were arrested in Trinidad the next day, and five more a week later in Venezuela.
British-Canadian cyclist John Hathaway completed a 50,600 mile cycling tour of the world which had taken in every continent.
.
7th October 1976
On this day in 1976 militants fighting against the white minority government in Rhodesia exploded a bomb on a railroad bridge as a freight train carrying copper ore was passing over the Matetsi river. The crew of the train were uninjured but part of the bridge was destroyed.
The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious was officially laid down at the Swan Hunter yard in Tyne and Wear.
.
8th October 1976
On this day in 1976 Thorbjörn Fälldin became Prime Minister of Sweden, replacing the outgoing Olof Palme. Fälldin appointed five women among his 20-member cabinet.
British punk band The Sex Pistols signed their ill-fated record contract with EMI.
.
9th October 1976
On this day in 1976 retired US Air Force general Paul Tibbets, who had flown the B29 Super Fortress which had dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, joined a re-enactment of the event at an airshow in Harlingen, Texas. The Japanese ambassador to the US submitted a protest, claiming the show was in poor taste.
In Northern Ireland the Provisional IRA launched co-ordinated firebomb attacks on multiple commercial premises in Ballymena, County Antrim. One of the bombers, Thomas McElwee, was seriously injured when an incendiary device exploded prematurely in his getaway car. He was later convicted of manslaughter and later died during the 1981 hunger strike.
A friendly football match between Aston Villa and Rangers had to be abandoned early in the second half due to violence between supporters. More than 200 fans invaded the pitch resulting in injuries to supporters and police officers, and two people were stabbed.
.
10th October 1976
On this day in 1976 Hseih Tung-min, Governor of the Taiwan province of Nationalist China and future Vice President of Taiwan, was injured by a letter bomb which resulted in the amputation of one of his hands. The attacker would be imprisoned for life but was released in 1990 and went on to become a leader of the Democratic Progressive Party in the Taiwanese parliament.
White South African rugby players Daniel “Cheeky” Watson and his brother Valence defied apartheid laws to play for the KwaZakhele rugby union team.
Greek 98-year-old Dimitrion Yordanidis became the oldest man to compete in a marathon, finishing the run in 7:33 hours.
Oh, and I was 15!
.
11th October 1976
On this day in 1976 George Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies by US President Gerald Ford. His promotion was backdated to July 4th, Independence Day, and he became one of only two people ever to have achieved the rank.
.
12th October 1976
On this day in 1976 the People’s Republic of China formally announced that Prime Minister Hua Guofeng would be the successor to Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Space Shuttle Enterprise conducted its first approach and landing test, at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Enterprise was a prototype and did not fly in space but played an important role in the shuttle programme’s development.
The experimental Sikorsky S-72, a combination of helicopter and fixed-wing aeroplane developed jointly by NASA and the US Army, made its first flight. The aircraft wasn’t accepted for general use and only two were ever developed.
.
13th October 1976
On this day in 1976 scientists captured the first electron micrograph of the Ebola virus during an outbreak in Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo). This greatly helped in understanding the virus’s structure and pathology, aiding future research.
The US Commission on Civil Rights released a report showing that poverty was continuing to increase amongst the Puerto Rican community.
The England national football team beat Finland 2-1 in a qualification match for the 1978 World Cup. Goals were scored by Dennis Tueart and Joe Royle.
.
14th October 1976
On this day in 1976 American economist Milton Friedman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his achievements in consumption analysis, and monetary history and theory.
The East German oil tanker Boehlen sank off the French coast, tragically costing the lives of 26 crew members and endangering the beach resort of Ile de Sein. A $30 million operation would prevent the island from becoming spoilt, by forcing the oil to the surface of the water and burning it.
The Soviet Union launched the Soyuz 23 spacecraft in an unsuccessful attempt to dock with the Salyut 5 space station.
.
15th October 1976
On this day in 1976 the two candidates for Vice President of the United States, Walter Mondale (Democrat) and Bod Dole (Republican) debated publicly for the first time ever in a nationwide televised event.
Italian-American crime boss Carlo Gambino died of a heart attack at his home in Long Island, New York City, aged 74.
In Northern Ireland two men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the notorious Miami Showband killings, in which three members of a popular Irish cabaret band had been murdered in 1975 by members of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force. Both Thomas Crozier and James McDowell were also officers serving in the Ulster Defence Regiment, a now disbanded local unit of the British Army.
.
16th October 1976
On this day in 1976 a ceasefire brokered by Saudi Arabia came into effect in the Lebanon.
Crowds in China demonstrated against Chairman Mao Zedong’s widow Jiang Qing and other members of the Gang of Four in an event orchestrated by the country’s leaders.
The Soviet space capsule Soyuz 23 made an emergency return to Earth following a docking malfunction.
The Panamanian freighter Don Emilio was seized in US territorial waters by the Coast Guard and found to have a cargo of narcotics estimated to be worth $134 million.
.
17th October 1976
On this day in 1976 John Ogilvie, a Scottish Jesuit martyr hanged in 1615 for continuing to practice the Roman Catholic faith and refusing to pledge his allegiance to King James VI, was canonised by Pope John Paul VI.
Voting took place in East Germany for the 500 seats in the country’s parliament, the Volkskammer. Voters were presented with a list of approved candidates, who received 99.9% support on a turnout of 98.6%.
China performed a nuclear test at Lop Nor.
Rowntree’s launched the Yorkie chocolate bar in UK shops. Its sales pitch was that it was “not for girls”.