1973 (MCMLXXIII) was .

Events 
 January 1 – United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, now known as the European Union.
 January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President of the United States Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
 January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines.
 January 22 – Supreme Court of the United States rules on Roe v. Wade.
 January 22 – George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier for the heavyweight world boxing championship.
 January 23 – Eruption in Heimaey begins.
 January 23 – President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
 January 27 – U.S. involvement in Vietnam War ends with the signing of peace pacts. See Paris Peace Accords.
 April 3 – The World Trade Center opens in New York City.
 September 11 – Augusto Pinochet takes power in Chile, in a coup, in which President Salvador Allende dies.
 September 15 – Ascension to the throne of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
 The rock group KISS form in New York City.
 Homosexuality is no longer considered a mental disorder.
Japans first video game, Elepong is produced

Births 
 January 8 – Sean Paul, Jamaican reggae singer
 January 22 – Rogério Ceni, brazilian football player
 February 16 – Cathy Freeman, Australian Aborigine athlete
 March 22 – Elvis Stojko, Canadian figure skater
 April 8 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
 April 14 – Adrien Brody, American actor
 April 23 – John Cena, American professional wrestler
 May 24 – Ruslana, Ukrainian singer
 June 10 – Faith Evans, American singer
 June 26 – Gretchen Wilson, American singer
 July 15 – John Dolmayan, Armenian-American drummer (System of a Down)
 July 23 – Monica Lewinsky, White House member of staff under Bill Clinton
 July 30 – Markus Näslund, Swedish hockey player
 August 7 – Zane Lowe, New Zealand disc jockey and television presenter
 September 13 – Fabio Cannavaro, Italian footballer
 September 18 – Mark Shuttleworth, South African businessman
 October 22 – Ichiro Suzuki, Professional baseball player for the Seattle Mariners
 October 28 – Alvin Burke, Jr., American professional wrestler
 October 30 – Adam Copeland,  Canadian professional wrestler
 October 31 – Beverly Lynne, American actress
 November 6 – Sandy Robson, Canadian actor
 November 17 – Bernd Schneider, German footballer
 November 30 – Kate Fischer, Australian actress and model
 December 3 – Holly Marie Combs, American actress

Deaths 
 January 22 – Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
 April 8 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
 April 21 – Arthur Fadden, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
 April 25 – Frank Jack Fletcher, US Navy admiral during World War II (b. 1885)
 May 6 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor (b. 1893)
 June 13 – Viriato Clemente da Cruz, Angolan poet and politician (b. 1928)
 July 20 – Bruce Lee, Chinese-American actor and martial artist (b. 1940)
 August 4 – Eddie Condon, American jazz guitarist (b. 1904)
 August 6 – Fulgencio Batista, President of Cuba (b. 1901)
 September 2 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer (b. 1892)
 September 11 – Salvador Allende, President of Chile (b. 1908)
 September 15 – Víctor Jara, Chilean singer (b. 1932)
 September 23 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet (b. 1904)
 September 29 – W. H. Auden, English-American poet (b. 1907)
 October 2 – Paavo Nurmi, Finnish athlete (b. 1897)
 December 1 – David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1886)
 December 20 – Bobby Darin, American singer (b. 1936)

Movies released 
 American Graffiti
 Enter the Dragon
 Magnum Force
 Last Tango in Paris
 Papilon
 The Exorcist
 The Sting

Hit songs 
 "Killing Me Softly with His Song" – Roberta Flack
 "Radar Love" – Golden Earring
 "Smoke on the Water" – Deep Purple
 "You're So Vain" – Carly Simon
 "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" – Jim Croce
 "Crocodile Rock" – Elton John
 "Delta Dawn" – Helen Reddy
 "D'yer Mak'er" – Led Zeppelin
 "Frankenstein" – The Edgar Winter Group
 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" – Elton John
 "Half Breed" – Cher
 "Higher Ground" – Stevie Wonder
 "Keep On Truckin' " – Eddie Kendricks
 "Kodachrome" – Paul Simon
 "Let's Get It On" – Marvin Gaye
 "Live and Let Die" – Paul McCartney and Wings
 "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" – ABBA
 "Loves Me Like a Rock" – Paul Simon (with The Dixie Hummingbirds)
 "Me and Mrs. Jones" – Billy Paul
 "Midnight Train to Georgia" – Gladys Knight
 "Morning After"- Maureen McGovern
 "My Love" – Paul McCartney and Wings
 "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia" – Vicki Lawrence
 "Over the Hills and Far Away" – Led Zeppelin
 "Photograph" – Ringo Starr
 "Ramblin' Man" – Allman Brothers Band
 "Ring Ring" – ABBA
 "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting" – Elton John
 "Superstition" – Stevie Wonder
 "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" – Paul Simon
 "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin
 "Tie a Yellow Ribbon around the Old Oak Tree" – Tony Orlando & Dawn
 "Top of the World" – Carpenters
 "Touch Me in the Morning" – Diana Ross
 "Why Me" – Kris Kristofferson
 "Will It Go Around in Circles" – Billy Preston