Portal:1970s

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P:1970s

The 1970s (pronounced "nineteen-seventies"; commonly shortened to the "Seventies" or the "'70s") was a decade that began on January 1, 1970, and ended on December 31, 1979.

In the 21st century, historians have increasingly portrayed the 1970s as a "pivot of change" in world history, focusing especially on the economic upheavals^[1] that followed the end of the postwar economic boom.^[2] On a global scale, it was characterized by frequent coups, domestic conflicts and civil wars, and various political upheavals and armed conflicts which arose from or were related to decolonization, and the global struggle between NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Many regions had periods of high-intensity conflict, notably Southeast Asia, the Mideast, and Africa.

In the Western world, social progressive values that began in the 1960s, such as increasing political awareness and economic liberty of women, continued to grow. In the United Kingdom, the 1979 election resulted in the victory of its Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher, the first female British Prime Minister. Industrialized countries experienced an economic recession due to an oil crisis caused by oil embargoes by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries. The crisis saw the first instance of stagflation which began a political and economic trend of the replacement of Keynesian economic theory with neoliberal economic theory, with the first neoliberal government coming to power with the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. The 1970s was also an era of great technological and scientific advances; since the appearance of the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004 in 1971, the decade was characterised by a profound transformation of computing units – by then rudimentary, spacious machines – into the realm of portability and home accessibility.

On the other hand, there were also great advances in fields such as physics, which saw the consolidation of quantum field theory at the end of the decade, mainly thanks to the confirmation of the existence of quarks and the detection of the first gauge bosons in addition to the photon, the Z boson and the gluon, part of what was christened in 1975 as the Standard Model.

In Asia, the People's Republic of China's international relations changed significantly following its recognition by the United Nations, the death of Mao Zedong and the beginning of market liberalization by Mao's successors. Despite facing an oil crisis due to the OPEC embargo, the economy of Japan witnessed a large boom in this period, overtaking the economy of West Germany to become the second-largest in the world.^[3] The United States withdrew its military forces from the Vietnam War. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, which led to the Soviet–Afghan War.

The 1970s saw an initial increase in violence in the Middle East as Egypt and Syria declared war on Israel, but in the late 1970s, the situation in the Middle East was fundamentally altered when Egypt signed the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty. Political tensions in Iran exploded with the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty and established an Islamic republic under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini.

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President Gerald Ford announcing his decision to pardon former President Richard Nixon

The pardon of Richard Nixon (officially, Proclamation 4311) was a presidential proclamation issued by President of the United States Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president. In particular, the pardon covered Nixon's actions during the Watergate scandal. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford, who had succeeded to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country and that the Nixon family's situation was "a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."

After Ford left the White House in 1977, he privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of Burdick v. United States, a 1915 U.S. Supreme Court case where the dictum stated that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and that its acceptance carries a confession of guilt. (Full article...)

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... that thousands of Greenlandic women and girls had intrauterine devices placed without their consent during the 1960s and 1970s?
... that during the 1960s and 1970s, American artist Robert Bauer painted figures that were a mixture of 20th-century avant-garde funk and 17th-century Dutch realism?
... that the manga series Sora ga Suki! depicted two male characters kissing each other although it was a taboo for manga in the 1970s?
... that an English country house was the location for the 1970s horror sexploitation films Virgin Witch, Satan's Slave and Terror?
... that the Indian director Manhar Raskapur's films Mulu Manek and Kadu Makrani were both remade during the 1970s?
... that Midwest Scientific was the only maker of microcomputers in Kansas City in the late 1970s?

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Gates in 2024

William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist best known for co-founding the software company Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. He later held the positions of chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief software architect of the company. Gates was also its largest individual shareholder until May 2014. He was a pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s.

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Gates was educated at the private Lakeside School, where he became friends with Allen, who shared his interest in computing. He enrolled at Harvard College in the fall of 1973 but dropped out after two years to co-found Microsoft with Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gates led the company as its chairman and chief executive officer until stepping down as CEO in January 2000, succeeded by Steve Ballmer, but he remained chairman of the board of directors and became chief software architect. During the late 1990s, he was criticized for his business tactics, which were considered anti-competitive. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various 1970s-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Aldo Moro (from 1970s)
Image 2Debby Boone song "You Light Up My Life" had the most weeks at number one (from 1970s in music)
Image 3King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (from 1970s)
Image 4African American couple, Michigan Avenue, Chicago, July 1975 (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 5Color TV-Game (1977) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 6El Tri Band founder Alex Lora, on stage with the band in 2006 (from 1970s in music)
Image 7Mario Kempes scores the first goal in the 1978 World Cup Final for Argentina (from 1970s)
Image 8British girls in 1975 in flared jeans (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 9British rock band Led Zeppelin was one of the most popular and influential bands of the 1970s. The band's heavy, guitar-driven sound has led them to be cited as one of the progenitors of heavy metal. (from 1970s)
Image 10Linda Ronstadt in 1976 (from 1970s in music)
Image 11Fashion models in Leipzig, GDR, 1972. One of the girls is modelling a "maxi" dress. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 12Diane von Fürstenberg's wrap dress, designed in the 1970s (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 13Footballer George Best wore long hair in 1976. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 14Jose Jose (from 1970s in music)
Image 15United States President Jimmy Carter and Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II treaty, June 18, 1979, in Vienna, Austria (from 1970s)
Image 16Isabel Perón becomes the first woman President of Argentina in 1974 and the first woman non-monarch head of state in the Western hemisphere. (from 1970s)
Image 17An artist impression of an American Apollo spacecraft and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft docking, a propaganda portrait for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project mission (from 1970s)
Image 18Swedish model Efva Attling in a "midi" dress, Kings Road, London, 1971. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 19Egyptian military vehicles crossing the Suez Canal on October 7, 1973, during the Yom Kippur War. (from 1970s)
Image 20Singer Cher in 1971. In the 1970s, women's hair was usually worn long with a centre parting (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 21Public at the farewell concert of Sui Generis (1975) (from 1970s)
Image 22TRS-80 (1977) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 23Ramones's lead guitarist Johnny Ramone performing in Toronto, 1977 (from 1970s in music)
Image 24Mid-70s Western-inspired outifts worn by country music group Asleep at the Wheel. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 251970 Dodge Challenger Trans Am, an example of a muscle car in the earlier part of the decade. (from 1970s)
Image 26Steve McQueen with sideburns, 1972. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 27Salah Zulfikar and Zubaida Tharwat in The Other Man (1973) (from 1970s)
Image 28Concorde landing at Farnborough in September 1974 (from 1970s)
Image 29Anti-war protest against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 1971. (from 1970s)
Image 30The Eagles (from 1970s in music)
Image 31Pescado Rabioso's Artaud's album cover (1973) (from 1970s)
Image 32The Vietnam War (1955–1975) (from 1970s)
Image 331976 flyer advertising the racing game Fonz (from 1970s in video games)
Image 34By the early 1970s, miniskirts had reached an all-time popularity. This young English woman is wearing a fringed suede miniskirt, 1971. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 35Flared jeans and trousers were popular with both sexes as can be seen at this East German disco party in 1977. In the socialist part of Germany (until 1990), the government regarded western influences on cultural life of their population very critical, but factually tolerated them in many fields. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 36Microvision (1979) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 37The Bee Gees, in 1968 (from 1970s in music)
Image 38Alan Bennett in 1973, wearing a wide necktie (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 39Girl in 1973 with a "flicked" hairstyle. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 40Two punks from the late 1970s (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 41Asteroids (1979) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 42Voyager 1 passing by Jupiter's Great Red Spot February 25, 1979 (from 1970s)
Image 43Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War in the early decade. The New York Times leaked information regarding the nation's involvement in the war. Political pressure led to America's withdrawal from the war in 1973, and the Fall of Saigon in 1975 leading to evacuations of South Vietnamese that same year; the 1973 oil crisis causes a financial crisis throughout the developed world; both the leaders of Israel and Egypt shake hands after the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978; in 1971, the Pakistan Armed Forces commits the 1971 Bangladesh genocide to curb independence movements in East Pakistan, killing 300,000 to 3,000,000 people; this consequently leads to the Bangladesh Liberation War; the 1970 Bhola cyclone kills an estimated 500,000 people in the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan in November 1970, and became the deadliest natural disaster in 40 years; the Iranian Revolution of 1979 ousts Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who is later replaced by an Islamic theocracy led by Ayatollah Khomeini; the popularity of the disco music genre and subculture peaks during the mid-to-late 1970s.
(from 1970s)
Image 44A West German school girl with Schultüte in 1970, with a 'hippyish' outfit on. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 45Singer Billy Preston in 1974 wearing an Afro hairstyle. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 46Example of glam rock costume worn by Roy Wood and Wizzard, early 1970s. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 47A Women's Liberation march in Washington, D.C., 1970 (from 1970s)
Image 48Singer Rod Stewart performing in 1976. He was one of the major British soft rock artists of the 1970s (from 1970s in music)
Image 49English girl in the mid-1970s wearing a wide-sleeved shirt, belted at the waist. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 50Henry Mancini (from 1970s in music)
Image 51Galaxian (1979) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 52Dave Schultz won Stanley Cup two times (from 1970s)
Image 53Idi Amin (from 1970s)
Image 54Mao Zedong wearing gray Zhongshan suit, 1972. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 55The Swedish band ABBA was one of the most commercially successful European bands of the 1970s (from 1970s in music)
Image 56Three Los Angeles Chicanos in 1974. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 57Rigo Tovar (from 1970s in music)
Image 58Pong arcade machine (1972) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 59Apollo 17 Astronaut Gene Cernan becomes the last man on the Moon, December 13, 1972 (from 1970s)
Image 60The 1970 Bhola cyclone, considered the 20th century's worst cyclone disaster, kills an estimated 500,000 people in the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan during November 1970. (from 1970s)
Image 61British rock band Queen (pictured here in 1977) was considered to be one of the most influential bands of the '70s (as well as the '80s), along with American rock band Eagles and others (from 1970s)
Image 62Pakistan Army General A. A. K. Niazi signing surrender agreement before Sh. Jagjit Singh Aurora of Indian Army after getting defeated in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against East Pakistan, which eventually liberated as Bangladesh later. (from 1970s)
Image 63A couple at prom in late 1970s: Powder Tuxedo and sleeved dress. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 64Punk pioneer Lene Lovich in 1979, with her trademark long plaited hair. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 65Haile Selassie was overthrown from power in Ethiopia, ending one of the longest-lasting monarchies in world history. (from 1970s)
Image 66Microvision (1979) is the first handheld game console that used interchangeable cartridges. (from 1970s)
Image 67Pedro Eugenio Aramburu (from 1970s)
Image 68Park Chung Hee (from 1970s)
Image 69Susana Giménez wearing hotpants, 1977 (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 70Loretta Lynn (from 1970s in music)
Image 71Line at a gas station in Maryland, June 15, 1979. (from 1970s)
Image 72 Fairchild Channel F (1976) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 73VT100 (1978) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 74The British band The Bee Gees were one of the biggest musical acts of the 1970s leading the disco phenomenon (from 1970s in music)
Image 75Swedish model Ulla Jones dressed in a lurex halter top and matching flared trousers (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 76Woman in miniskirt, 1970 (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 77British singer Rod Stewart, 1976. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 78Polistil VG2 Pong clone (1978), made in Italy (from 1970s in video games)
Image 79Aerosmith had seven studio albums chart on the Billboard 200 in the 1970s. Their success in the decade, particularly of their albums Toys in the Attic (1975) and Rocks (1976), helped inspire future rock artists such as Slash and Kurt Cobain (from 1970s in music)
Image 80Atari 2600 (1977) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 81Atari 2600 (1977) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 82Pong (1972) (from 1970s)
Image 83Singer Barry Manilow wears his hair longish in the soft, layered style favoured by men in the 1970s. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 84Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat shake hands, Camp David, 1978 (from 1970s)
Image 85Viking 1, the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars, takes this picture of the landing site in Chryse Planitia (1978) (from 1970s)
Image 86Nixon and Zhou toast, 1972 (from 1970s)
Image 87Paul Anka in 1961 (from 1970s in music)
Image 881973 Volvo P1800 sportwagon. (from 1970s)
Image 89The world map of military alliances in 1970s: Western allies (blue), Non-aligned countries (green) and Soviet allies (red) (from 1970s)
Image 90Honda Civic sold well throughout the decade. (from 1970s)
Image 91Iranian prince Reza Pahlavi wearing Peacock Revolution-inspired velvet Nehru jacket and geometric print tunic, 1973. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 92Nixon displays the V-for-victory sign as he departs the White House after resigning (from 1970s)
Image 931979 Iranian Revolution (from 1970s)
Image 94The CN Tower was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure. (from 1970s)
Image 951974 Ford Mustang interior (from 1970s)
Image 96Pink Floyd, 1973 (from 1970s in music)
Image 97The early 1970s' fashions were a continuation of the hippie look from the late 1960s. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 98Bruce Lee fostered the popularity of martial arts cinema (from 1970s)
Image 99America's first space station Skylab in orbit February 8, 1974 (from 1970s)
Image 100Intellivision (1979) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 101Debbie Harry of Blondie in 1977. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 102Typical mid to late 1970s Ted gear, as worn by Shakin' Stevens. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 103John Denver, 1975 (from 1970s in music)
Image 104Los Angeles high school students, 1973. The tousled, blond surfer hair was popular for young men in southern California. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 105Kansas (from 1970s in music)
Image 106Led Zeppelin, 1977 (from 1970s in music)
Image 107David Bowie in the early 1970s. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 108Commodore PET (1977) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 109Two women in 1979 wear the trendy tube tops, while the woman on the far left is wearing a rayon strapless dress (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 110Pink Floyd performing The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973, the highest-selling album of the decade and one of the highest-selling of all time. (from 1970s)
Image 111AC/DC, August 1979 (from 1970s in music)
Image 112Magnavox Odyssey (1972) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 113In 1971 hotpants and bell-bottomed trousers were popular fashion trends (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 114Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson from Sanford and Son (from 1970s)
Image 115Silk scarves were popular fashion accessories for women in the 1970s. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 116Death Race (1976) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 117Bob Marley, 1980 (from 1970s in music)
Image 118The first Military Junta after the 1976 Coup d'Etat in Argentina, integrated by Jorge Videla, Emilio Massera and Orlando Agosti (from 1970s)
Image 119British rock band Killing Floor, 1971. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 120Siouxsie Sioux of the English punk group Siouxsie and the Banshees. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 121Elton John was one of the most commercially successful solo pop acts of the 1970s (from 1970s in music)
Image 122Hank Williams (from 1970s in music)
Image 123Queen, 1975 (from 1970s in music)
Image 124Jorge Luis Borges with admirers in 1976. (from 1970s)
Image 125American First Lady Pat Nixon wears a shirt with the wide collar that was popular until the final years of the decade. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 126Charlie Rich (from 1970s in music)
Image 127Actress Camille Keaton in 1972. Throughout most of the decade, women preferred light, natural-looking make-up for the daytime. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 128A young woman wearing a wrap dress. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 129Frisbee player Ken Westerfield wearing draw string bell bottoms in the late 1970s (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 130Willie Nelson became one of the most popular country music artists during the 1970s. (from 1970s in music)
Image 131American casual attire, 1974. (from 1970s in fashion)
Image 132Margaret Thatcher shortly before becoming the United Kingdom's first woman Prime Minister in 1979. Thatcher's political and economic agenda began the first government committed to neoliberalism. (from 1970s)
Image 133Apple II (1977) (from 1970s in video games)
Image 134Home Pong console (museum recreation) (from 1970s in video games)

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