.
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 June 1976
On this day in 1976 the UK and Iceland reached agreement on fishing rights in the North Atlantic which ended the Cod Wars. British fishing within 200 miles of Iceland’s coast was reduced but not banned altogether, however the UK would not fish at all within 30 miles.
An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 crashed into Mount San Carlos on the Equatorial Guinean island of Bioko, killing all 45 people on board.
.
2nd June 1976
On this day in 1976 a car bomb planted by mobsters exploded in Phoenix, Arizona, fatally injuring investigative reporter Don Bolles. He died in hospital eleven days later.
Juan José Torres, former President of Bolivia, was kidnapped and murdered by a right-wing death squad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
After 30 years of independence from the United States, the Philippines opened diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.
A huge search for the Loch Ness Monster got underway, led by American Robert H. Rines. The hunt involved underwater photography with motion sensors, sonars and television cameras. The expedition would last for six months, but sadly no further evidence of Nessie’s existence was uncovered.
.
3rd June 1976
On this day in 1976 the United Kingdom loaned the United States one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta as part of the US Bicentennial celebrations. A British delegation led by Lord Elwyn-Jones, the Lord Chancellor, presented the document to Carl Albert, the US Speaker of the House. Lord Elwyn-Jones remarked, “Peoples not familiar with our ways have thought it paradoxical for the British to be joining in the celebration of the Bicentenary of what was, after all, the loss of the American colonies. They overlook our traditions of compromise. We in fact now regard the events of two centuries ago as a victory for the English-speaking world.”
Cricketer Mike Brearley made his Test debut against the West Indies at the tender age of 34.
.
4th June 1976
On this day in 1976 the Russian political activist and leader of the opposition Progress Party was born in Butyn, USSR. Navalny would later become an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin’s leadership and in February 2021 was sentenced to two and a half years in a corrective labour colony, a sentence which would later be increased by increments. He died three years later after feeling unwell whilst taking exercise at a prison in Western Siberia. The governments of the UK, France, Germany and Sweden have claimed to have evidence that Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine.
The Sex Pistols performed at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall, a concert often hailed as a defining moment in the history of the punk movement.
.
5th June 1976
On this day in 1976 Carl Albert, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, announced the he would not seek re-election following his current term. An American newspaper columnist would later suggest that Albert had been pressured into standing down after his office had been accused of accepting gifts from a South Korean businessman.
Seven people were killed in Northern Ireland after tit-for-tat attacks from the Provisional IRA and the Ulster Volunteer Force. A PIRA bomb exploded outside the Times Bar in Belfast, killing two patrons. In retaliation the UVF sent four gunmen into the Chlorane Bar, also in Belfast, fatally shooting five.
.
6th June 1976
On this day in 1976 American oil billionaire J. Paul Getty passed away aged 83. As well as being an oil magnate Getty was remembered for his art collection and his philanthropy.
The classic horror film The Omen, starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, premiered in the UK. The launch was deliberately timed with date 6-6-76 in mind.
.
7th June 1976
On this day in 1976 The Wurzels reached No.1 in the UK singles charts with their novelty song “Combine Harvester”, a parody of Melanie’s “Brand New Key”.
McDonald’s overcame strict import laws to open its first outlet in New Zealand – in Porirua, a suburb of Wellington.
.
8th June 1976
On this day in 1976 an accident at Tilbury Docks in Essex resulted in two deaths, triggering an investigation by H.M. Factory Inspectorate and the Health and Safety Commission.
The US primaries for the upcoming presidential election concluded with voting in California, Ohio and New Jersey.
.
9th June 1976
On this day in 1976 Spain officially legalised political parties, which paved the way for democratic elections, Opposition parties had been outlawed since 1939.
Former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter received the endorsement of two of his previous opponents – Governor George C. Wallace and Senator Henry M. Jackson – in the race for the Democratic nomination.
James Callaghan’s Labour government survived a vote of No Confidence brought by Conservative Opposition Leader Margaret Thatcher.
.
10th June 1976
On this day in 1976 Ugandan President Idi Amin survived an assassination attempt when a grenade was thrown into his jeep at a ceremony in Nsambya.
Indian opposition leader George Fernandes was arrested in Calcutta in connection with the Baroda dynamite case.
A list containing the names of thousands of political refugees, kept by the Catholic International Migrations Committee, was stolen in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The next day 24 people were arrested by Argentinian police across various Buenos Aires hotels.
.
11th June 1976
On this day in 1976 Catholic church leaders and priests in Northern Ireland publicly accused the British Army of operating outside the law, issuing an urgent appeal for peace.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh assembled 126 of the UK’s leading engineers to launch the Fellowship of Engineering, which would later change its name to the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Australian rock band AC/DC began their first headline tour of Britain. Also on this day the Beatles’ compilation album “Rock & Roll Music” was released, six years after the band split up.
.
12th June 1976
On this day in 1976 Juan Maria Bordaberry, the President of Uruguay in South America, was deposed in a military coup. He was replaced by the Vice President Alberto Demicheli.
.
13th June 1976
On this day in 1976 the England national football team beat Finland 4-1 in Helsinki in a qualifying match for the 1978 World Cup. Goals were scored by Kevin Keegan (2), Stuart Pearson and Mick Channon.
Britain’s Sue Barker won the French Open women’s tennis tournament, beating Renáta Tomanová of Czechoslovakia in the final.
.
14th June 1976
On this day in 1976 the trial of armed robber, kidnapper and serial killer Donald Neilson, nicknamed The Black Panther, began at Oxford Crown Court. He would be found guilty of the murder of heiress Lesley Whittle and three other victims, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
By an odd coincidence the trial of a member of the Black Panther Party, also accused of murder, began in the USA.
.
15th June 1976
On this day in 1976 an electric train travelling from Brighton to Ore derailed at Southerham Junction, near Lewes. Thankfully there were no injuries, although five passengers were treated for shock.
Members of the UK Parliament introduced a motion to prohibit advertisements for military mercenaries, prompted by the much publicised Luanda Trial.
The Chinese government announced that Chairman Mao Zedong would no longer be available to receive foreign visitors, provoking intense speculation about his health.
.
16th June 1976
On this day in 1976 a protest by black African schoolchildren and adults against the compulsory teaching of Afrikaans and the barring of the Zulu language began in South Africa. The demonstrations took place in a district of Johannesburg called the South West Township (Soweto). There were six deaths on this first day of the protest including a 12-year-old schoolboy named Hector Pieterson.
The new US Ambassador to Lebanon, Francis E. Meloy Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in Beirut along with his economics advisor and his chauffeur.
Jockey Jorge Tejeira made history in the USA by becoming the first rider to win eight horse races in a single day.
.
17th June 1976
On this day in 1976 the Soweto uprising continued, spreading to other townships. The South African government deployed the military in an attempt to quash the protests, resulting in widespread casualties.
The Court of Appeals in the US state of New York overturned the state’s laws preventing the sale of most goods on Sundays. The laws had been existence since 1656.
Two Catholic men were shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries on the Crumlin Road, Belfast.
New wave band Blondie released their debut single “X Offender”, written by Debbie Harry and Gary Valentine.
.
18th June 1976
On this day in 1976 a classic watercolour painting by Turner sold for £340,000 at a London auction.
The space agency NASA launched Gravity Probe A, the first attempt to calibrate with precision the rate at which time passes within a weaker gravitational field.
.
19th June 1976
On this day in 1976 reggae legend Bob Marley headlined at Ninian Park, Cardiff, in what was the city’s biggest ever music event. Notwithstanding the famous oncoming drought, the day was marked by heavy and continuous rain.
The US space probe Viking 1 entered Mars’ orbit ten months after its launch.
.
20th June 1976
On this day in 1976 two days of parliamentary elections began in Italy following the fall of Prime Minister Aldo Moro’s government. The eventual outcome did not result in a clear majority for any one party, but Giulio Andreotti of the Democrazia Cristiana was able to form a government more than a month later to become the new PM. However the Italian Community Party did win its highest ever share of the vote.
Voting also took place in Northern Cyprus to elect the first president of the breakaway republic.
Czechoslovakia defeated West Germany on penalties to win the Euro 76 international football championship.
.
21st June 1976
On this day in 1976 a 1000-strong Arab League peacekeeping force arrived in Beirut from Syria and Libya to enforce a ceasefire agreement.
The 1976 Wimbledon tennis championship opened for the first day of play.
.
22nd June 1976
On this day in 1976 French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing arrived in London to begin an official four-day state visit to the UK.
Canada officially abolished capital punishment.
The Salyut 5 space station was launched by the USSR.
.
23rd June 1976
On this day in 1976 the US vetoed a proposal to admit Angola to the United Nations following the victory of the Soviet-backed MPLA in the newly-independent country’s civil war.
The world’s tallest free-standing structure, the CN Tower, opened in Toronto, Canada.
Senegal born French soccer player and manager Patrick Vieira was born on this day in 1976.
