46 Fun Facts About 1973

Which landmark, whose design won a 1957 international competition, did Queen Elizabeth II open in October?

Sydney Opera House's architect Jørn Utzon was driven to resign after rows with politicians, and he never went back to see it finished.

Which Thames crossing, opened by the Queen, replaced an 1831 span sold to an American oilman for $2.46m?

London Bridge's 1831 predecessor was rebuilt at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and the tale that its buyer thought he was getting Tower Bridge has been discredited.

Who first played James Bond in Live and Let Die, with a theme song written and performed by Paul McCartney and Wings?

Roger Moore had been considered for Dr. No and On Her Majesty's Secret Service before Cubby Broccoli overruled United Artists, which wanted an American; the film's 1980 ITV premiere drew a record 23.5 million British viewers.

Which band's 'Merry Xmas Everybody' went straight in at UK number one in December, the third of their singles to do so?

Slade built the chorus of Merry Xmas Everybody from 'Buy Me a Rocking Chair', a song Noddy Holder had written in 1967, and it became their biggest seller.

Which courier carried just 186 packages on its first night, 17 April, using 14 Dassault Falcon jets out of Memphis?

Federal Express picked Memphis because it was central and its airport was rarely closed by bad weather, and by 1983 it had reached $1 billion in revenue.

Which horse ran down the Australian chaser Crisp on the Aintree run-in to win the first of his three Grand Nationals?

Red Rum caught Crisp, the top weight, just before the post, after the Australian horse had led from the start almost all the way to the line.

Which Welshman finished 'that try' for the Barbarians against the All Blacks, begun by Phil Bennett's sidesteps?

Gareth Edwards dived over to finish it, and the injured Gerald Davies's place went to John Bevan, who had been due to play for Cardiff that day.

Which artist died at Mougins in France on 8 April aged 91, having painted until 3 a.m. the night before?

Pablo Picasso died of a heart attack brought on by pulmonary edema, weeks before the Avignon Arts Festival opened a show of 201 of his latest canvases; two of the women in his life later took their own lives.

Which bread brand's 'Boy on the Bike' advert, shot by Ridley Scott on Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, first aired?

Hovis's 'Boy on the Bike' is often taken for a northern town, but Gold Hill is in Dorset, and the advert was voted Britain's favourite of all time.

Which US vice president resigned on 10 October after pleading no contest to a single charge of tax evasion?

Spiro Agnew had been accused of taking kickbacks from engineers as Maryland governor and Baltimore county executive, and he got off with a $10,000 fine and probation.

Which war began on 6 October when Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal and Syrians pushed into the Golan Heights?

The Yom Kippur War opened on Judaism's holiest day, when many Israeli soldiers were away from their posts observing it.

Which 7–2 Supreme Court ruling, issued on 22 January, the day Lyndon Johnson died, struck down Texas's ban on abortion?

Roe v. Wade's 'Jane Roe' was Norma McCorvey, who had already given birth and placed the baby for adoption by the time the court ruled.

Which actress, whose sitcom-star father died young, read French and Russian at Oxford before playing the vampire Selene?

Kate Beckinsale was still an Oxford student when Kenneth Branagh cast her in his film of Much Ado About Nothing.

Which two countries joined the EEC with Britain on 1 January, after Norway's voters had rejected membership?

Ireland and Denmark had first applied alongside Britain in 1961, before Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain's bid in 1963.

Which tax replaced Purchase Tax on 1 April at a flat 10 per cent, a consequence of Britain joining the EEC?

Value Added Tax was set by Chancellor Anthony Barber and is now the third-largest source of UK government revenue; Denis Healey cut the standard rate to 8 per cent in 1974 while taxing luxuries at up to 25 per cent.

Which sport held its first World Cup as a women's event in England, bankrolled by Jack Hayward and won by the hosts?

Cricket's first World Cup had no final, but its last round-robin match, England against Australia at Edgbaston, decided the title.

Which Olympic gold medallist married Princess Anne at Westminster Abbey on 14 November, watched by 500 million?

Mark Phillips had won his gold at the 1972 Olympics; the wedding fell on Prince Charles's 25th birthday, was declared a special bank holiday, and drew 27.6 million viewers in the UK alone.

Which emergency measure did Edward Heath bring in to save electricity during his government's dispute with the miners?

The Three-Day Week was still in force when Heath called a snap election over who governed Britain, and the vote put Harold Wilson back in power.

Which 110-storey Chicago skyscraper was the world's tallest building for decades?

Sears Tower was built as nine square tubes bundled together, a frame that let it climb to 110 storeys.

Which author, who died on 2 September aged 81, is buried in Oxford as 'Beren' beside his wife Edith's 'Luthien'?

J. R. R. Tolkien came to think of Edith as Lúthien and himself as Beren after she danced for him in a grove of hemlock at Roos.

Which Chilean president died in La Moneda palace during the 11 September coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power?

Salvador Allende was already dead when soldiers reached him in the palace, and his doctor believed he had taken his own life.

Which film cast Yul Brynner as a rogue robot and pioneered digital image processing on screen?

Westworld's pixelated point-of-view shots came from John Whitney Jr., after the Jet Propulsion Laboratory quoted Crichton nine months and $200,000 for two minutes.

Which boxer floored Joe Frazier six times in Kingston, Jamaica, prompting Cosell's cry of 'Down goes Frazier!'?

George Foreman, 37–0 going in against Frazier's 29–0, took the heavyweight title by second-round TKO in the 'Sunshine Showdown' on 22 January; Howard Cosell's call came on ABC's rebroadcast.

Which Roy Clarke sitcom, first seen in 1973, ran until 2010 as the world's longest-running sitcom?

Last of the Summer Wine ended without a special farewell episode, and its star Tom Owen criticised the BBC for not making one.

Which tech co-founders, both born in 1973, came from Michigan and Moscow?

Sergey Brin's family left the Soviet Union in 1979 to escape persecution, and he and Larry Page first met as Stanford doctoral students in the mid-1990s.

Which producer, born in Virginia Beach on 5 April, formed the Neptunes with Chad Hugo and got an Oscar nod for 'Happy'?

Pharrell Williams's 'Happy' was first recorded by CeeLo Green, but Green's team passed on it and Williams released his own version.

Which model, born near Cologne on 1 June, became the first German Victoria's Secret Angel and hosted Project Runway?

Heidi Klum was voted the winner of a national contest called 'Model 92' from 25,000 entrants, and her Project Runway work earned a 2013 Emmy for Outstanding Host; she also fronts Germany's Next Topmodel.

Which player broke Bobby Charlton's Manchester United appearance record?

Ryan Giggs was born Ryan Wilson and took his mother's maiden name after his parents split, having moved north when his father signed for a rugby league club.

Which US space station, launched on 14 May, lost its micrometeoroid shield and a solar array on the way up?

Skylab was a converted Saturn V third stage; its first crew went up to repair the damage, three crews spent about 24 weeks aboard, and its decaying orbit brought it down in July 1979 amid worldwide attention.

Which underground creatures that recycle human rubbish were all voiced by Bernard Cribbins on BBC One?

The Wombles got their TV series because the first book had proved a hit when it was read on Jackanory.

Which comedian, born in Washington, D.C., quit his Comedy Central sketch show despite a lucrative new contract?

Dave Chappelle abruptly left during production and flew to South Africa, and in 2006 he explained his exit on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Which BBC1 sitcom, first seen in 1973, starred Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, doing his own stunts?

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em's BBC bosses first wanted Ronnie Barker or Norman Wisdom as Frank, before Michael Crawford took the part.

Which 10-year-old became the youngest competitive Oscar winner as Addie Loggins, opposite her father, in Paper Moon?

Tatum O'Neal collected Best Supporting Actress on 2 April 1974, having turned nine during filming; she later married John McEnroe and made an uneasy TV reunion with Ryan O'Neal after 25 years apart.

Which Scottish driver took a third Formula One title at Monza, then retired after teammate François Cevert was killed?

Jackie Stewart had secretly decided before the season to stop after the US Grand Prix, where Cevert died in qualifying chasing his first pole; he left with a then-record 27 wins and was Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

Which 26-part documentary series narrated by Laurence Olivier began on ITV in 1973?

The World at War gave 15 episodes to campaigns named by the Imperial War Museum's director, and used the rest to show the war's impact on civilians.

Which special prosecutor did Nixon have fired on 20 October after Elliot Richardson and his deputy resigned in protest?

Archibald Cox had subpoenaed the White House tapes, and it fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork to carry out the firing.

Which Western European country was hit by the October Arab oil embargo for its support of Israel?

The Netherlands was punished for backing Israel, and by the time the embargo ended the price of oil had roughly quadrupled.

Which North Vietnamese negotiator turned down the Nobel Peace Prize he shared with Kissinger for the Paris accords?

Le Duc Tho agreed to the armistice after the US bombed Hanoi at Christmas 1972.

Which former Nixon aide, by then running the FAA, told Senate investigators on 13 July that the Oval Office was taped?

Alexander Butterfield answered 'I was wondering if someone would ask that', and his 30-minute public testimony three days later was carried live by every major network, turning the scandal into a fight over the tapes.

Which detective series' theme tune, 'Eye Level', reached number one on the UK singles chart?

Van der Valk's theme 'Eye Level' spent only two weeks in the chart in 1972, but a year later it returned to spend four weeks at number one.

Which Polish goalkeeper, called 'a clown' by Brian Clough, kept England out of the 1974 World Cup with a 1–1 draw?

Jan Tomaszewski gave a man-of-the-match display, beaten only by Allan Clarke's penalty after Jan Domarski had scored, and Poland went on to finish third in West Germany; he and Clough later became friendly.

Which London court was hit by a Provisional IRA car bomb on 8 March, the day of Ulster's border poll?

The Old Bailey bomb was in a green Ford Cortina that police found only 14 minutes before it exploded, and one man died.

At which Florida hotel did Richard Nixon tell 400 newspaper editors in November that he was no crook?

Disney's Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World was hosting the Associated Press Managing Editors, and Nixon, his approval sliding for a year over Watergate, insisted he had 'earned everything I've got'.

Which PBS series followed the Louds of Santa Barbara over 12 episodes and is now called the first reality TV show?

An American Family filmed the tensions that led Bill and Pat Loud to divorce, as ten million viewers watched the drama unfold.

Which Soviet airliner, built to rival Concorde, broke up over Goussainville at the Paris Air Show on 3 June?

The Tupolev Tu-144 went up straight after Concorde's display, and the official inquiry never settled why it broke apart.

Who won the Wimbledon men's singles in the year of the players' boycott over Niki Pilić's suspension?

Jan Kodeš beat Alex Metreveli 6–1, 9–8, 6–3 in a final between two players from behind the Iron Curtain, while Billie Jean King took the women's title over Chris Evert in a draw that kept its stars.