1972

1972 (MCMLXXII) was .
Events
February 17 - U.S. President Richard Nixon visits China.
May 15 - Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama is shot by Arthur H. Bremer at a Laurel, Maryland political rally.
June 13-22 - Hurricane Agnes strikes Florida and moves through the East Coast of the United States. In Pennsylvania and New York, Agnes causes heavy flooding that kills many people. Total damage from the storm is $3 billion.
June 29 - The United States Supreme Court rules that the death penalty is unconstitutional.
July 25 - The first newspaper stories about the Tuskegee syphilis experiment are published. This will lead to the end of the experiment, where poor African-Americans were infected with syphilis and not given treatment.
September 17 - The television comedy series M*A*S*H premieres in the United States.
Writer and pen club president Heinrich Boll receives the Nobel Prize for literature.
Births
January 2 - Adam Elliot, Australian animator
January 11 - Amanda Peet, American actress
January 16 - Greg Page, Australian musician (The Wiggles)
February 17 - Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer (Green Day)
February 17 - Yuki Isoya, Japanese singer (Judy and Mary)
March 6 - Shaquille O'Neal, professional basketball player, actor and rapper
March 7 - Simon Pryce, Australian musician (The Wiggles)
March 15 - Mark Hoppus, American musician (Blink 182)
March 17 - Oksana Grishuk, Ukrainian figure skater
March 23 - Jonas Bjorkman, Swedish tennis player
April 17 - Jennifer Garner, American actress
April 20 - Carmen Electra, American model
May 2 - Dwayne Johnson, Retired professional wrestler and actor
May 4 - Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
May 6 - Martin Brodeur, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender
June 23 - Zinedine Zidane, French footballer
August 6 - Geri Halliwell, English singer (Spice Girls)
August 7 - Heidi Cruz, American investment manager
August 9 - Juan Esteban Aristizabal Vasquez, Colombian singer ad songwriter
August 15 - Ben Affleck, American actor
August 25 - Rachael Ray, American talk show host and cook
August 27 - Denise Lewis, English athlete
August 27 - Dalip Singh Rana, Indian professional wrestler and actor
August 30 - Cameron Diaz, American actress
September 7 - Simon Nash, English actor
September 28 - Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress
October 17 - Eminem, American rapper
December 9 - Tre Cool, American musician (Green Day)
December 19 - Alyssa Milano, American actress
December 28 - Pat Rafter, Australian tennis player
Deaths
January
January 16 - Ross Bagdasarian, American actor and songwriter (b. 1919)
January 27 - Mahalia Jackson, American gospel singer (b. 1911)
January 31 - King Mahendra of Nepal (b. 1920)
February
February 20 - Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German physicist (b. 1906)
March
March 31 - Meena Kumari, Indian actress and poet (b. 1933)
April
April 6 - Heinrich Lubke, 2nd President of Germany (b. 1894)
April 25 - George Sanders, British actor (b. 1906)
April 27 - Kwame Nkrumah, 1st President of Ghana (b. 1909)
May
May 2 - J. Edgar Hoover, 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
May 11 - Lee Beom-seok, Prime Minister of South Korea (b. 1900)
May 28 - King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
June
July
July 31 - Paul-Henri Spaak, 31st Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
August
September
September 15 - Asgeir Asgeirsson, 2nd President of Iceland (b. 1894)
October
October 1 - Louis Leakey, British archaeologist and naturalist (b. 1903)
November
December
December 1 - Antonio Segni, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1891)
December 2 - Yip Man, Hong Kong martial artist (b. 1893)
December 26 - Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (b. 1884)
December 27 - Lester Pearson, 14th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1897)
Movies released
Deliverance
Super Fly
The Godfather
The Posiedon Adventure
What's Up, Doc
Hit songs
"People Need Love" - ABBA
"He Is Your Brother" - ABBA
"Starman" - David Bowie
"Take It Easy" - The Eagles
"Jealous Guy" - John Lennon
"All The Young Dudes" - Mott the Hoople
"You're So Vain" - Carly Simon
"Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard" - Paul Simon
"Mother and Child Reunion" - Paul Simon
"Duncan" - Paul Simon
"America" - Simon and Garfunkel
"You Wear It Well" - Rod Stewart
"Ben"- Michael Jackson
"Parle plus bas (Le Parrain)"- Dalida
"Les choses de l'amour"- Dalida
"Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" - Mac Davis
"For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" - Simon and Garfunkel
"American Pie" - Don McLean
"Horse With No Name" - America
"Ventura Highway" - America
"Crocodile Rock" - Elton John
"Rocket Man" - Elton John
"Layla" - Derek & the Dominoes
"Rock & Roll Part 2" - Gary Glitter
"You Don't Mess Around With Jim" - Jim Croce
"The Candyman" - Sammy Davis Jr.
"Lean on Me" - Bill Withers
"Freddie's Dead (Theme From Superfly)" - Curtis Mayfield
"If You Don't Know Me By Now" - Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes
"I Gotcha" - Joe Tex
"Without You" - Harry Nilsson
"Let's Stay Together" - Al Green
"Brand New Key" - Melanie
"Signs" - The Drifters
"My Ding-A-Ling" - Chuck Berry
"Morning Has Broken" - Cat Stevens
"I Can See Clearly Now" - Johnny Nash
"The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" - Roberta Flack
"I'll Take You There" - The Staple Singers
"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" - Looking Glass
"Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" - Hollies
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone - The Temptations
"Heart of Gold" - Neil Young
"Alone Again (Naturally)" - Gilbert O'Sullivan
"Nights in White Satin" - The Moody Blues
"Back Stabbers" - The O'Jays
"I'm Stone in Love With You" - The Stylistics
"I Am Woman" - Helen Reddy
"I Gotcha" - Joe Tex
"Song Sung Blue" - Neil Diamond
"The Candy Man" - Sammy Davis Jr.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - Robert John
"Rock and Roll" - Led Zeppelin
"Metal Guru" - T.Rex
"Two Divided By Love" - The Grass Roots
"Burning Love" - Elvis Presley
"Joy" - Apollo 100
New books
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
Other websites