1974

Events from the year **1974 in the United States**.

## Incumbents

### Federal Government

* President: Richard Nixon (R-CA) (until August 9), Gerald Ford (R-MI) (starting August 9)
* Vice President:
	+ until August 9: Gerald Ford (R-MI)
	+ August 9–December 19: *vacant*
	+ starting December 19: Nelson Rockefeller (R-NY)
* Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger (MN)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Carl Albert (D-OK)
* Senate Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield (D-MT)
* Congress: 93rd

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: George Wallace (Democratic)
* Governor of Alaska: William A. Egan (Democratic) (until December 2), Jay Hammond (Republican) (starting December 2)
* Governor of Arizona: Jack Richard Williams (Republican)
* Governor of Arkansas: Dale Bumpers (Democratic)
* Governor of California: Ronald Reagan (Republican)
* Governor of Colorado: John David Vanderhoof (Republican)
* Governor of Connecticut: Thomas J. Meskill (Republican)
* Governor of Delaware: Sherman W. Tribbitt (Democratic)
* Governor of Florida: Reubin Askew (Democratic)
* Governor of Georgia: Jimmy Carter (Democratic)
* Governor of Hawaii: John A. Burns (Democratic) (until December 2), George Ariyoshi (Democratic) (starting December 2)
* Governor of Idaho: Cecil D. Andrus (Democratic)
* Governor of Illinois: Dan Walker (Democratic)
* Governor of Indiana: Otis R. Bowen (Republican)
* Governor of Iowa: Robert D. Ray (Republican)
* Governor of Kansas: Robert Docking (Democratic)
* Governor of Kentucky: Wendell H. Ford (Democratic) (until December 28), Julian M. Carroll (Democratic) (starting December 28)
* Governor of Louisiana: Edwin W. Edwards (Democratic)
* Governor of Maine: Kenneth M. Curtis (Democratic)
* Governor of Maryland: Marvin Mandel (Democratic)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Francis W. Sargent (Republican)
* Governor of Michigan: William Milliken (Republican)
* Governor of Minnesota: Wendell R. Anderson (Democratic)
* Governor of Mississippi: Bill Waller (Democratic)
* Governor of Missouri: Kit Bond (Republican)
* Governor of Montana: Thomas Lee Judge (Democratic)
* Governor of Nebraska: J. James Exon (Democratic)
* Governor of Nevada: Mike O'Callaghan (Democratic)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Meldrim Thomson Jr. (Republican)
* Governor of New Jersey: William T. Cahill (Republican) (until January 15), Brendan Byrne (Democratic) (starting January 15)
* Governor of New Mexico: Bruce King (Democratic)
* Governor of New York: Malcolm Wilson (Republican)
* Governor of North Carolina: James Holshouser (Republican)
* Governor of North Dakota: Arthur A. Link (Democratic)
* Governor of Ohio: John J. Gilligan (Democratic)
* Governor of Oklahoma: David Hall (Democratic)
* Governor of Oregon: Tom McCall (Republican)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: Milton Shapp (Democratic)
* Governor of Rhode Island: Philip W. Noel (Democratic)
* Governor of South Carolina: John C. West (Democratic)
* Governor of South Dakota: Richard F. Kneip (Democratic)
* Governor of Tennessee: Winfield Dunn (Republican)
* Governor of Texas: Dolph Briscoe (Democratic)
* Governor of Utah: Cal Rampton (Democratic)
* Governor of Vermont: Thomas P. Salmon (Democratic)
* Governor of Virginia: Linwood Holton (Republican) (until January 12), Mills E. Godwin Jr. (Republican) (starting January 12)
* Governor of Washington: Daniel J. Evans (Republican)
* Governor of West Virginia: Arch A. Moore Jr. (Republican)
* Governor of Wisconsin: Patrick J. Lucey (Democratic)
* Governor of Wyoming: Stanley K. Hathaway (Republican)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Jere Beasley (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: H. A. Boucher (Democratic) (until December 2), Lowell Thomas Jr. (Republican) (starting December 2)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Bob C. Riley (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: Edwin Reinecke (Republican) (until October 4), John L. Harmer (Republican) (starting October 4)
* Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Ted L. Strickland (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Peter L. Cashman (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Eugene Bookhammer (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Thomas Burton Adams Jr. (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Lester Maddox (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: George Ariyoshi (Democratic) (until December 2), Nelson Doi (Democratic) (starting December 2)
* Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Jack M. Murphy (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Neil Hartigan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Robert D. Orr (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Arthur A. Neu (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Dave Owen (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Julian Carroll (Democratic) (until December 28), vacant (starting December 28)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Jimmy Fitzmorris (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Blair Lee III (political party unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Donald R. Dwight (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: James H. Brickley (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Rudy Perpich (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: William F. Winter (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: William C. Phelps (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Bill Christiansen (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Frank Marsh (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Harry Reid (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Roberto Mondragón (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Warren M. Anderson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Jim Hunt (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Wayne G. Sanstead (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: John William Brown (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: George Nigh (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Ernest P. Kline (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: J. Joseph Garrahy (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Earle Morris Jr. (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: William Dougherty (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Texas: William P. Hobby Jr. (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: John S. Burgess (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Henry Howell (Democratic) (until January 12), John N. Dalton (Republican) (starting January 12)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: John Cherberg (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Martin J. Schreiber (Democratic)

## Events

### January

* January 4
	+ Citing executive privilege, President Richard Nixon refuses to surrender 500 tapes and documents which have been subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
	+ Joni Lenz is attacked in her bedroom by serial killer Ted Bundy in Washington; she survives.
* January 6 – In response to the energy crisis, Daylight Saving Time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
* January 13 – Super Bowl VIII: The Miami Dolphins defeat the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.
* January 15 – *Happy Days*, a sitcom about life in the 1950s, debuts on ABC.
* January 19 – In college (men's) basketball, Notre Dame defeats UCLA 71–70, ending the Bruins' record 88-game winning streak.
* January 30 – In his State of the Union Address, President Nixon declares, "One year of Watergate is enough."

### February

* February 4 – Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is kidnapped from her Berkeley, California apartment by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army.
* February 8 – After a record 84 days in orbit, the crew of *Skylab 4* returns to Earth.
* February 12 – U.S. District Court Judge George Boldt rules that Native American tribes in Washington state are entitled to half of the legal salmon and steelhead catches, based on treaties signed by the tribes and the U.S. government.
* February 22 – Samuel Byck attempts to hijack an airplane with the intent to crash it into the White House and assassinate President Nixon. He commits suicide when police storm the plane.

### March

* March 1 – Watergate scandal: Seven former White House officials are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
* March 18 – Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a 5-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
* March 29 – *Mariner 10* approaches Mercury.
* March 30 – North Carolina State defeats UCLA in the semifinals of the 1974 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, ending the Bruins' record run of seven consecutive national championships.

### April

* April 2 – The 46th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Burt Reynolds, Diana Ross, John Huston and David Niven, is held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. George Roy Hill's *The Sting* wins seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Hill. The film is tied with William Friedkin's *The Exorcist* in receiving ten nominations.
* April 3 – The 1974 Super Outbreak, at the time the largest series of tornadoes in history, occurs in 13 U.S. states and one Canadian province, leaving over 300 people dead, over 5,000 people injured, and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
* April 4 – Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth for the all-time home run record with his 714th at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* April 8 – Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves breaks Babe Ruth's home run record, by hitting his 715th career home run off of a pitch by Los Angeles Dodgers' Al Downing at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium.
* April 15 – In San Francisco, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army rob a branch of the Hibernia Bank, joined by Patricia Hearst.
* April 20 – Voters in Louisiana approve a new state constitution, replacing a 225,000-word document which had first been adopted in 1921.
* April 22 – Hi-Fi Murders: Five people are brutally tortured by a group of men during a robbery at home audio store in Ogden, Utah, resulting in three deaths.

### May

* May 4 – The Expo '74 World's Fair opens in Spokane, Washington.
* May 9 – The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal hearings in the impeachment process against Richard Nixon.
* May 12 – The Boston Celtics win their 12th National Basketball Association championship, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 102-87 in the decisive game of the World Championship Series.
* May 13 – Bee Gees' album, *Mr. Natural* is released in the United States.
* May 17 – Los Angeles police raid Symbionese Liberation Army headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
* May 18 – Heaven's Gate, an American millenarian New Age religious group, is founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles.
* May 19 – The Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Boston Bruins, thereby becoming the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.
* May 30 – NASA's ATS-6 satellite is launched.

### June

* June 4 – The Cleveland Indians stage an ill-advised Ten Cent Beer Night for a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Cleveland forfeits after alcohol-fueled mayhem and violence spreads from the stands onto the field.
* June 26 – The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time, to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
* June 30 – Alberta Williams King, mother of the late Martin Luther King Jr., is killed during a church service in Atlanta, Georgia.

### July

* July 1 – Six Flags Great Adventure Opens for the first time.
* July 11 – Baltimore police strike.
* July 14 – In Issaquah, Washington, serial killer Ted Bundy abducts Janice Ott and Denise Naslund in broad daylight at Lake Sammamish State Park.
* July 15 – Christine Chubbuck, television presenter for WXLT-TV Sarasota, Florida, draws a revolver and shoots herself in the head during a live broadcast. She dies in a hospital 14 hours later, the first person to commit suicide on live television.
* July 16 – Elmer Wayne Henley is sentenced to life imprisonment for assisting Dean Corll in murdering 28 Texas boys from 1970 to 1973.
* July 24 – Watergate scandal: *United States v. Nixon*: The Supreme Court rules 8-0 with one abstention that President Richard Nixon cannot withhold subpoenaed White House tapes, and orders him to surrender them to the Watergate special prosecutor.
* July 27 – Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee adopts three articles of impeachment, charging President Nixon with obstruction of justice, failure to uphold laws, and refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee.

### August

* August 5 – Watergate scandal: The "smoking gun" tape of June 23, 1972, is revealed, in which President Richard Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman discuss using the Central Intelligence Agency to block a Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into Watergate. Nixon's support in Congress collapses.
* August 7
	+ Three Republican congressional leaders (Barry Goldwater, Hugh Scott and John Rhodes) visit President Nixon in the White House. They inform him that he lacks the votes to escape impeachment in the House of Representatives and conviction in the Senate. Goldwater urges Nixon to resign.
	+ French acrobat Philippe Petit walks across a high wire slung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
* August 8 – Watergate scandal: President Nixon announces his resignation (effective August 9).
* August 9 – Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office, an action taken to avoid being removed by impeachment and conviction in response to his role in the Watergate scandal. Vice President Gerald R. Ford becomes the 38th President upon Nixon's resignation, taking the oath of office in the East Room of the White House.
* August 30 – Public Law 93-400 is enacted, establishing the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (see Federal Acquisition Regulation).

### September

* September 1 – Daredevil Bob Gill fails a world-record attempt to jump Appalachia Lake in West Virginia.
* September 8
	+ Watergate scandal: U.S. President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.
	+ Stuntman Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to rocket across the Snake River Canyon in Idaho.
* September 16 – In Newport, Rhode Island, America's Cup defender "Courageous", skippered by Ted Hood, wins over Australian challenger "Southern Cross".

### October

* October 2 – U.S. release of film *The Taking of Pelham One Two Three*, directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Jerry Stiller.
* October 8 – Franklin National Bank collapses due to fraud and mismanagement (the largest bank failure at that time in the history of the United States).
* October 15 – U.S. President Gerald Ford signs a federal campaign reform bill, which sets new regulations in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
* October 17
	+ President Gerald Ford voluntarily appears before Congress to give sworn testimony—the only time a sitting president has done so—about the pardon of Richard Nixon.
	+ The Oakland Athletics win their third consecutive Major League Baseball championship, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the World Series.
* October 30 – "The Rumble in the Jungle" takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire, where Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in 8 rounds to regain the Heavyweight title, which had been stripped from him 7 years earlier.

### November

* November 5 – Democrats make significant gains in the U.S. Congressional midterm elections, as the Republican Party suffers losses over the Watergate scandal.
* November 8 – In Salt Lake City, Utah, Carol DaRonch narrowly escapes abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy. She goes on to testify against him at his trial.
* November 13 – Ronald DeFeo Jr. murders his family in Amityville, New York.
* November 20 – The United States Department of Justice files its final antitrust suit against AT&T. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and the Bell System.

### December

* December 4 – The *Pioneer 11* probe passes Jupiter and captures famous images of the Great Red Spot.
* December 10 – United States Senate confirms Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President.
* December 19 – United States House of Representatives confirms Rockefeller as Vice President of the United States. He is sworn that evening.
* December 21 – *The New York Times* reveals illegal domestic spying by the CIA.
* December 23 – Former British government minister John Stonehouse, who faked his drowning in Florida, is arrested in Melbourne, Australia.
* December 31 – Restrictions on holding private gold within the United States, implemented by Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, are removed.

## Memoriam

* February 22 – Samuel Byck, attempted to hijack an airplane to assassinate President Richard Nixon (aged 44; Anne Arundel County, MD, USA)
* February 23 – William Knowland, politician and newspaper publisher (aged 65; Guerneville, CA, USA)
* March 5 – Billy De Wolfe, actor (aged 67; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 28 – Dorothy Fields, librettist (aged 69; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 24 – Duke Ellington, jazz pianist and bandleader (aged 75; New York City, NY, USA)
* June 26 – Ernest Gruening, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1959 to 1969 (aged 87; Washington, DC, USA)
* July 9 – Earl Warren, 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (aged 83; Washington, DC, USA)
* July 29 – Cass Elliot, vocalist (aged 32; London, England, UK)
* August 26 – Charles Lindbergh, aviator (aged 72; Kipahulu, HI, USA)
* September 11 – Lois Lenski, author and illustrator (aged 80; Tarpon Springs, FL, USA)
* September 21
	+ Walter Brennan, film actor; 3-time Best Supporting Academy Award-winning actor (1936, 1938 and 1940) (aged 80; Oxnard, CA, USA)
	+ Jacqueline Susann, novelist and actress (aged 56; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 6 – Luther H. Hodges, 64th Governor of North Carolina (aged 76; Chapel Hill, NC, USA)
* October 13 – Ed Sullivan, entertainment writer and television host (aged 73; New York City, NY, USA)
* December 18 – Harry Hooper, baseball player (Boston Red Sox) (aged 87; Santa Cruz, CA, USA)
* December 21 – Richard Long, television actor (aged 47; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 26
	+ Jack Benny, comic performer (aged 80; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Frank Hussey, Olympic sprinter (aged 69; Coxsackie, NY, USA)
* December 27 – Bob Custer, film actor (aged 76; Torrance, CA, USA)
* December 29 – Robert Ellis, film actor (aged 82; Santa Monica, CA, USA)