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1st March 1976
On this day in 1976 the UK parliament voted to make the wearing of seat belts mandatory for drivers and front-seat passengers.
Also in British politics, Home Secretary Merlyn Rees announced that Special Category Status for prisoners convicted of terrorist crimes in Northern Ireland was to be phased out.
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2nd March 1976
On this day in 1976, Jimmy Carter temporarily faltered in the race for the Democratic Party nomination for the US presidential election, as Senator Henry Jackson won the Massachusetts primary, finishing ahead of Alabama Governor George Wallace and Congressman Morris Udall – Carter finishing in fourth place. In the Republican primary, President Gerald Ford won uncontested.
In the UK, the Maguire Seven were found guilty of handling explosives leading up to the Guildford bombings by the Provisional IRA. All vehemently protested their innocence and the convictions would be overturned fifteen years later, a judge describing them as “unsafe and unsatisfactory”.
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3rd March 1976
On this day in 1976, Spanish police opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the Basque region, killing five people and wounding 150. The protesters had been demanding better work conditions.
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4th March 1976
On this day in 1976 the United Nations predicted, from statistical analysis, that the population of the world would reach almost eight billion by the year 2010, more than twice the 3.9 billion recorded in 1974. In the 35 years that followed, however, the growth rate would be slowed by improved education and the availability of contraception, with the population actually reaching 6.9 billion in 2010.
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5th March 1976
On this day in 1976 the UK pound dropped below two US dollars in value for the first time in history. At close of play on the day £1 sterling had fallen to $1.975.
Worse news in Argentina though, with inflation raging at 240% per year the government was faced with little option but to devalue the currency.
In other news, Austrian skier Toni Innauer set a new world record with a ski jump of 571 feet. Two days later he would break his own record by jumping 577 feet.
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6th March 1976
On this day in 1976, a 17-year-old Wilfred Benitez became the youngest professional world boxing champion in history when he won the WBA light-welterweight title in Puerto Rico, defeating Antonio Cervantes. Elsewhere in the boxing world former American light-heavyweight champion Maxie Rosenbloom (1930-1934) passed away aged 68.
In motor racing the South African Grand Prix was won on this day by Austrian Niki Lauda.
Britain’s John Curry won the European Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Following a three-week manhunt Nigerian Army Lieutenant Colonel B.S. Dimka was arrested and charged with treason for the assassination of President Murtala Muhammed and the attempted overthrow of the government in February. He would be found guilty and executed on May 15th.
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7th March 1976
On this day in 1976, Indian opposition leader Charan Singh was released from house arrest after eight months following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s declaration of a state of emergency. Singh would himself go on to become Prime Minister of India in 1979.
