View source for May 1972

{{short description|Month of 1972}}
{{Events by month|1972}}
{{calendar|year=1972|month=May}}

[[File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg|200px|thumb|left|May 22, 1972: Ceylon renamed Sri Lanka]]
[[File:A-7E VA-195 bombing Hai Duong bridge 1972.jpg|200px|thumb|right|May 10, 1972: U.S. begins precision bombing of North Vietnam]]
[[File:George C Wallace.jpg|200px|thumb|left|May 15, 1972: Wallace shot by assassin at campaign stop]]
[[File:Sunshine Mine Disaster.jpg|200px|thumb|right|May 2, 1972: Ninety-one killed at Idaho's Sunshine Mine]]
The following events occurred in '''May 1972''':

==May 1, 1972 (Monday)==
*The North Vietnamese Army captured the South Vietnamese province and city of [[Quảng Trị]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Quang Tri Falls To Red Assault |journal=[[Oakland Tribune]] |date=May 1, 1972 |page=1}}</ref>
*[[Hutu]] rebels in [[Burundi]] set up their own short-lived, "People's Republic of [[Martyazo]]", in the [[Bururi Province]]. The [[Tutsi]]-dominated Burundian Army ended the secession movement within two weeks, before beginning the slaughter of thousands of Hutus.<ref>{{cite news |title=Slaughter in Burundi: How Ethnic Conflict Erupted |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 11, 1972 |page=1}}</ref>
*British commercial diver Robert Taylor vomited and drowned while [[SCUBA diving]] from the drill ship ''Britannia'' to conduct routine maintenance in the [[North Sea]].<ref>{{cite book |title=North Sea Divers - a Requiem |last=Limbrick |first=Jim |pages=89–90 |location=Hertford |publisher=Authors OnLine |year=2001 |isbn=0-7552-0036-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPp68NAoUF0C&pg=PA89}}</ref>
*'''Born:'''
**[[Julie Benz]], American actress, in [[Pittsburgh]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailytribune.com/2017/04/24/today-in-history-may-1-11/ | title=Today in History: May 1 | date=24 April 2017 }}</ref>
**[[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], 9/11 conspirator, in [[Ghayl Bawazir]], [[South Yemen]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=Briton |last1=Hadden |author-link1=Briton Hadden |first2=Henry Robinson |last2=Luce |author-link2=Henry Luce |title=Time |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlruAAAAMAAJ |volume=160 |date=September 2002 |publisher=[[Time Inc.|Time Incorporated]]}}</ref>

==May 2, 1972 (Tuesday)==
{{multiple image
|image1 =Hoover-JEdgar-LOC.jpg|width1=170|caption1= FBI Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]] (d. May 2, 1972)
|image2 =Dwayne Johnson 2014.jpg|width2=150|caption2=Film star and pro wrestler [[Dwayne Johnson|Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]] (b. May 2, 1972)
}}
*A fire killed 91 miners at the [[Sunshine Mine|Sunshine Silver Mine]] near [[Kellogg, Idaho]], {{Convert|3700|ft}} underground. After the blaze started at 11:40&nbsp;a.m., most of the miners were killed when the mine ventilation system and fans spread [[carbon monoxide]]. Another 82 were able to escape.<ref>{{cite news |title=5 Dead, 77 Missing in Idaho Mine Fire |newspaper=[[Albuquerque Journal]] |date=May 3, 1972 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Fritz |last=Wolff |title=A Room for the Summer: Adventure, Misadventure, and Seduction in the Mines of the Coeur d'Alene |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |year=2004 |pages=147–148}}</ref>
*U.S. Patent 3,659,915 was issued to [[Corning Glass]], the first ever for [[fiber-optic cable]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Fransman |title=Japan's Computer and Communications Industry: The Evolution of Industrial Giants and Global Competitiveness |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1995 |page=477}}</ref>
*Elections were held in the [[West Bank]] cities of [[Bethlehem]], [[Ramallah]] and [[Hebron]] for the first time since 1963.<ref>{{cite book |first=Moshe |last=Shemesh |title=The Palestinian Entity, 1959-1974: Arab Politics and the PLO |publisher=[[Frank Cass]] |year=1988 |page=250}}</ref> In 1967, Israel had extended the terms of the existing Palestinian council members indefinitely following the West Bank's capture from Jordan in the Six Day War. Voting had taken place on March 28 in five other Palestinian cities.
*'''Born:''' [[Dwayne Johnson]], American actor and former professional wrestler, billed as "The Rock"; in [[Hayward, California]]<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kd2bAAAAQBAJ&dq=Dwayne+Johnson+rock+May+1972&pg=PA53 Encyclopædia Britannica Almanac 2010]'' (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2009) p.53</ref>
*'''Died:''' [[J. Edgar Hoover]], 77, who had been Director of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] since 1924, was found dead in his home by his maid, Annie Fields. Hoover, who had served for eight Presidents, had died of natural causes.<ref>{{cite news |title=J. Edgar Hoover, 77, Director of FBI, Dies |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=May 2, 1972 |page=1}}</ref>

==May 3, 1972 (Wednesday)==
[[File:StonetheCrowsKralingen1970.jpg|200px|thumb|Guitarist Les Harvey (left) at a concert two years before his accidental death]]
*[[Leslie Harvey|Les Harvey]], the 27-year-old guitarist of the rock band [[Stone the Crows]], was fatally electrocuted before a crowd of 1,200 people, as he was preparing to perform at the Top Rank Ballroom at [[Swansea University]] in [[Wales]], UK.  Reportedly, Harvey's hands were wet when he took hold of a microphone that was not properly [[Ground (electricity)|grounded]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=djft3U1LymYC&dat=19720505&printsec=frontpage&hl=en "Rock Star Electrocuted By Guitar"], ''Pittsburgh Press'', May 5, 1972, p1</ref><ref>Jeremy Simmonds, ''The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches'' (Chicago Review Press, 2008) p52</ref>

==May 4, 1972 (Thursday)==
*The [[Paris Peace Talks]] were suspended indefinitely after the United States and South Vietnam pulled out because of "a lack of progress".<ref>"U.S., Saigon Call Halt to Paris Talks", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 4, 1972, p1</ref>  When North Vietnam's negotiator [[Lê Đức Thọ]] refused to budge on negotiations, even after [[Henry Kissinger]] had suggested that the American President was a "madman", President Nixon told Kissinger, "The bastards have never been bombed like they're going to be bombed this time."  With talks over, the [[Operation Linebacker]] bombing and mining campaign against North Vietnam began.<ref>J. Edward Lee and H.C. "Toby" Haynsworth, ''Nixon, Ford, and the Abandonment of South Vietnam'' (McFarland & Co., 2002), p51</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Mike Dirnt]], bassist and backup singer for [[Green Day]], as Michael Ryan Pritchard in [[Berkeley, California]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Spitz |first1=Marc |title=Nobody Likes You: inside the turbulent life, times, and music of Green Day |url=https://archive.org/details/nobodylikesyouin00spit |url-access=registration |date=2006 |publisher=Hyperion |isbn=1401302742 |page=[https://archive.org/details/nobodylikesyouin00spit/page/12 12] |chapter=Twin Jesuses of Suburbia}}</ref>
*'''Died:''' [[Edward Calvin Kendall]], 86, American chemist, 1950 [[Nobel Prize]] in Physiology or Medicine<ref>{{cite journal|title=Edward C. Kendall|url=http://www.nap.edu/html/biomems/ekendall.pdf|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|last=Ingle|first=Dwight|journal=Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences|year=1974|volume=47|pages=249–90|pmid=11615626}}</ref>

==May 5, 1972 (Friday)==
*[[Alitalia Flight 112]] from Rome crashed into a mountain as it made its approach to Palermo, killing all 115 people on board.  The debris fell near the town of [[Carini]].<ref>"Alitalia Plane Strikes Peak; 115 Aboard Die", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 6, 1972, p1; {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080424051243/http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=05051972&reg=I-DIWB&airline=Alitalia AirDisaster.com database]}}</ref>
*[[Eastern Airlines]] Flight 175 was hijacked by Frederick Hahneman shortly after takeoff from [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]].  On the same day, [[Western Airlines]] Flight 407, with 81 on board, was hijacked by Michael Lynn Hansen after takeoff from [[Salt Lake City]].  Hahneman released the 48 Eastern passengers and one stewardess in Washington, D.C. after collecting $303,000 ransom money and six parachutes, flew to New Orleans and back after being unhappy with the small denominations of the bills, then had the plane fly over Honduras, where he parachuted safely.  Hansen forced the Western plane to fly to Cuba.<ref>"2 Jetliners Hijacked, $303,000 Ransom", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 6, 1972, p1</ref>  Hahneman was captured days later by soldiers, while Hansen was extradited back to the United States in 1975.<ref>Bartholomew Elias, ''Airport and Aviation Security: U.S. Policy and Strategy in the Age of Global Terrorism'' (CRC Press, 2009), p8</ref>
*'''Born:'''
** [[James Cracknell]], British rower, winner of six world championships (1997-1999 and 2001–2002) and two Olympic gold medals (in 2000 and 2004); in [[Sutton, London]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/james-cracknell|title=James Cracknell|website=IOC|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>
**[[Devin Townsend]], Canadian metal musician, in [[New Westminster]]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pKw7AQAAIAAJ&q=devin+townsend+may+5 | title=The Rough Guide to Heavy Metal | isbn=9781843534150 | last1=Berelian | first1=Essi | year=2005 | publisher=Rough Guides }}</ref>

==May 6, 1972 (Saturday)==
*Five American soldiers were rescued 13 days after their helicopter crashed in [[Vietnam]]. The five had been presumed dead until two of them had reached a radio to signal a distress call.<ref>{{cite news |title=Copter Crew Rescued |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=May 7, 1972 |page=1}}</ref>
*[[Ahmadou Ahidjo]], President of the [[Federal Republic of Cameroon]], after placing troops on alert, announced that the 11-year-old federation of former French and British African colonies was going to be replaced by a "united republic" dominated by the French section. In a fraudulent election held on May 20, voters in the British area were said to have approved the ''anschluss'' end of self-government by a margin of 716,774 in favor and only 89 against.<ref>{{cite book |first=Hans-Georg |last=Wolf |title=English in Cameroon |publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]] |year=2001 |pages=140–141}}</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Naoko Takahashi]], Japanese women's marathon winner, 2000 Olympics, in [[Gifu, Gifu|Gifu]]
*'''Died:''' [[Deniz Gezmiş]], 25, Turkish radical and co-founder of [[THKO]], the People's Liberation Army of Turkey, was hanged after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government

==May 7, 1972 (Sunday)==
[[File:Kempermugshot.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Kemper]]
*[[Edmund Kemper]], 23, picked up two hitchhiking Fresno State University students,  roommates Mary Anne Pesce and Anita Luchessa, drove them to a remote location, murdered them, and then dismembered their bodies.  It was the start of a nearly year-long crime spree as a [[serial killer]].  Prior to murdering his six randomly picked victims, Kemper had killed his grandparents when he was 15 and spent several years in juvenile detention before being released from a psychiatric hospital.  Kemper's last two victims were his mother and her friend, after which he called the Santa Cruz police.<ref>Elliott Leyton, ''Hunting Humans: The Rise of the Modern Multiple Murderer'' (Random House, 1995), pp46–47</ref>
*In the United States, the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] basketball team won their first NBA title since moving to L.A. from [[Minneapolis]], beating the [[New York Knicks]] 114–106 in Game 5.<ref>"Lakers Win NBA Crown", ''San Antonio Express'', May 8, 1972, p1-D</ref>

==May 8, 1972 (Monday)==
*In a nationally televised address, President Nixon announced that the United States would lay mines in [[North Vietnam]]'s harbors in order to stop further supply of weapons and material.  The mines would be timed to become active after 72 hours.<ref>"U.S. Mines Red Harbors, Hits Transportation Links", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 9, 1972, p1</ref>  Nixon added, "To other nations, especially those which are allied with North Vietnam, the actions I have announced tonight are not directed against you. Their sole purpose is to protect the lives of 60,000 Americans, who would be gravely endangered in the event that the Communist offensive continues to roll forward, and to prevent the imposition of a Communist government by brutal aggression upon {{Nowrap|17 million}} people."<ref>
[http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3880|text of speech] from Miller Center of University of Virginia.</ref>  In [[Operation Pocket Money]], mines were dropped at [[Haiphong]] harbor by nine American attack aircraft flying from the carrier {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|6}}, and at six other ports, which were blocked for 300 days until the mines were removed by the U.S. in 1973.<ref>Charles J. Gross, ''American Military Aviation: The Indispensable Arm'' (Texas A&M University Press, 2002), p208</ref>
*Voting in Italy's [[Italian general elections, 1972|parliamentary elections]] was completed after two days.  The coalition of the Christian Democrats and their allies (Socialists, Social Democrats and Republicans), led by Prime Minister [[Giulio Andreotti]], retained power, with 371 seats in the 630 member Chamber of Deputies and a lead in the Senate.<ref>"Italian Neofascists Score Big Election Gains", ''Stars and Stripes'', May 10, 1972, p2</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Darren Hayes]], Australian singer for the group [[Savage Garden]]; in [[Brisbane]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Andy Gregory|title=The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZIjT8PgJMEC&pg=PA224|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85743-161-2|pages=224}}</ref>

==May 9, 1972 (Tuesday)==
*[[Israel]]i special forces stormed a hijacked Belgian jet and freed all 97 hostages on board, killing two of the three hijackers. [[Sabena Flight 571]] had been sitting at the [[Lod Airport]] in [[Tel Aviv]] after being captured the day before by three men, who threatened to blow the jet up unless Israel released imprisoned Arab guerrillas.<ref>"Israelis Free 97, Kill 2 Hijackers", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 9, 1972, p1</ref>

==May 10, 1972 (Wednesday)==
*As the next phase of [[Operation Linebacker]] began, American warplanes downed eleven [[North Vietnamese]] MiG fighters, as air strikes within North Vietnam continued.  three [[MiG-17]]s were shot down that day by future Congressman [[Duke Cunningham]],<ref>"7 MIGs Downed In Big Strikes", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 10, 1972, p1;  ''Air Warfare: An International Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO, 2002), pp157–158</ref> and four [[MiG-21]]s by other pilots.  An American [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4D]] was shot down by a North Vietnamese [[Shenyang J-6]], and pilot Maj. Robert Lodge refused to eject.<ref name=oyster1b>{{cite video |url= http://www.f4phantom.com/docs/oyster1b_pt1.mp3 |title= John Locher Survival Briefing |author= John Locher |access-date= April 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>Davies, Peter  ''F-4 Phantom&nbsp;II vs. MiG-21: USAF & VPAF in the Vietnam War'' (Osprey, 2008), p62</ref> His [[Weapon Systems Officer|weapons officer]] [[Roger Locher]] was able to eject and landed, unseen by either friendly or enemy forces, only {{convert|64|km}} from Hanoi, North Vietnam.<ref name=frisbee>{{cite journal| url=http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1992/March%201992/0392valor.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527005737/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1992/March%201992/0392valor.aspx | url-status=usurped | archive-date=May 27, 2009 |title= Valor: A Good Thought to Sleep On |first=John L. |last=Frisbee| publisher=AirforceMagazine.com|volume= 75|number=3|date=March 1992|access-date=April 6, 2011}}</ref>
*In a [[Third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|referendum]], voters in Ireland overwhelmingly approved the Accession Treaty for Ireland to join the [[European Community]].  Five out of six (1,041,880 to 211,888) voted yes on a constitutional amendment.<ref>William J. McCormack, ''The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture'' (Blackwell, 2001), pp201–202</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Katja Seizinger]], German alpine skier and Olympic gold medalist in 1994 and 1998; in [[Datteln]], [[West Germany]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/katja-seizinger|title=Katja Seizinger|website=Olympic.org|access-date=29 December 2020}}</ref>

==May 11, 1972 (Thursday)==
*All 74 people on board the British merchant ship [[STV Royston Grange|''Royston Grange'']] were burned to death after it collided with the oil tanker ''Tien Chee'' in a fog off of the coast of [[Uruguay]].  Flaming oil from the tanker (which lost 9 people) created a ring of fire around the freighter.<ref>"Fiery Ship Collision Kills 83", ''Milwaukee Sentinel'', May 12, 1972, p1</ref>
*The [[Boston Bruins]] won the [[Stanley Cup]] after beating the [[New York Rangers]] 3–0 in Game 6 of the [[National Hockey League]] finals. [[Wayne Cashman]] had two goals, [[Bobby Orr]] the other one, and goalkeeper [[Gerry Cheevers]] made 33 saves for Boston.<ref>"Bruins Win Stanley Cup", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', May 12, 1972, p1</ref>
*[[Rogers C. B. Morton]], the [[United States Secretary of the Interior]],  announced that construction would begin on the controversial trans-Alaska oil pipeline.<ref>"Morton OKs Alaska Oil Pipeline", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 11, 1972, p1</ref>
*The body of [[Murder of George Duncan|Dr. George Duncan]] was dragged out of [[River Torrens]] in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], where he had been thrown the day before.  The law school lecturer and gay activist became a martyr to the gay and lesbian movement across Australia, and his murder led to the decriminalization of homosexuality, starting in South Australia.<ref>Graham Willett, ''A History of Gay and Lesbian Activism in Australia'' (Allen & Unwin, 2000), pp87–88</ref>
[[File:USAF First Lieutenant Michael Blassie.jpg|100px|thumb|1st Lt. Blassie]]
*'''Died: '''U.S. Air Force 1st Lieutenant [[Michael Blassie]], 23, American military officer whose remains were interred in the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Arlington)|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]] from 1984 to 1998.<ref>[https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/visibleproofs/galleries/cases/blassie.html "Michael Blassie unknown no more"], Visible Proofs, National Library of Medicine, February 16, 2006</ref>  Blassie's A-37B Dragonfly was shot down near [[An Loc]] in [[South Vietnam]], and his body would be discovered five months later by South Vietnamese troops and classified as unknown by the [[Mortuary Affairs]] division.  In 1984, twelve years after his death, his remains would be selected as representative of the "Vietnam Unknown Service Member" and interred in a special ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.  After another 14 years, he would be identified by DNA testing, and he is now buried at [[Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery]].

==May 12, 1972 (Friday)==
*A flash flood killed eight people in the US town of [[New Braunfels, Texas]].<ref>"Eight Drown as Flood Rips Town", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 12, 1972, p1</ref>
*The Indian Academy of [[Forensic Medicine]] (IAFM) was founded and registered under Societies Registration Act 1860 at [[Panaji]], Goa, India.

==May 13, 1972 (Saturday)==
*Astronomers on Earth observed a [[type Ia supernova]] in [[SN 1972e]], in the galaxy [[NGC 5253]], eleven million years after it had happened. Another supernova from NGC 5253 had been observed in 1895.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Objective Prism Spectra of [[SN 1972e]] Near Maximum Phase |first=M.F. |last=McCarthy |title=Supernovae and Supernova Remnants: Proceedings, May 7–11, 1973 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis|Taylor & Francis U.S.]] |year=1974}}</ref>
*Weeks after the [[Apollo 16]] mission had departed, an {{Convert|1,100|kg|adj=on}} meteorite crashed on the Moon and left a crater "as large as a football field".<ref>{{cite news |title=Huge Meteor Hits Moon, Digs Crater |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=May 14, 1972 |page=1}}</ref>
[[File:ThanhHoaBridge1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Down after seven years of trying]]
*The first successful use of the [[laser-guided bomb]] was accomplished when the [[Thanh Hóa Bridge]] was destroyed in [[North Vietnam]], "accomplishing in a single mission what seven years of nonprecision bombing had failed to do". The United States had first bombed the {{convert|540|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} concrete and steel structure in 1965. Twelve F-4 fighters made runs with fifteen Mark 84 and nine Mark 118 bombs to render the structure useless.<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul G. |last=Gillespie |title=Weapons of choice: the development of precision guided munitions |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |year=2006 |page=116}}</ref>
*A [[Sennichi Department Store Building fire|fire on the third floor of the Sennichi Department Store]] building, in [[Osaka]], Japan, killed 117 people partying at the Play Town Cabaret, a nightclub on the building's seventh floor. Although 60 people were able to escape, and the flames never reached the club, ninety-seven died from smoke inhalation, and another twenty were killed when they fell from the roof.<ref>{{cite news |title=118 killed, 40 injured in Japanese store fire |newspaper=[[Independent Press-Telegram]] |location=[[Long Beach, California]] |date=May 14, 1972 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Tale of Chaos In Osaka Blaze |newspaper=[[Pacific Stars and Stripes]] |date=May 16, 1972 |page=7}}</ref>
*The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier {{USS|Nimitz|CVN-68|6}}, first of the [[Nimitz class aircraft carrier|''Nimitz'' class]] group of the ten largest "supercarriers" in the world, was launched.<ref>{{cite book |first=Brad |last=Elward |title=Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carriers |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |year=2011 |page=36}}</ref> It would be commissioned on May 3, 1975.
[[File:1972 TN accident aftermath.jpg|thumb|right|May 13, 1972: Aftermath of the Bean Station bus-truck collision]]
*At 5:35&nbsp;a.m., a [[head-on collision]] between a double-decker [[Greyhound Lines|Greyhound]] bus and a tractor-trailer on [[U.S. Route 11W]] in [[Bean Station, Tennessee]], [[1972 Bean Station bus-truck collision|killed 14 people and injured 15]], becoming one of the worst vehicular collisions in the state of Tennessee and topping headlines nationwide.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/14/archives/14-die-in-tennessee-bustruck-crash.html |title=14 Die in Tennessee Bus Truck Crash |date=May 14, 1972 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Tracey |title=Victim reunites with rescue workers 48 years after deadly crash |url=https://www.graingertoday.com/living/victim-reunites-with-rescue-workers-48-years-after-deadly-crash/article_4fd6e4ec-b5a2-11ea-88d1-f7562b4439a1.html |access-date=November 12, 2022 |publisher=Grainger Today |date=June 24, 2020}}</ref>
*'''Died:''' [[Dan Blocker]], 43, actor known for his role as "Hoss" Cartwright in the TV western ''[[Bonanza]]''. Blocker had undergone routine surgery for removal of his gall bladder on May 1 and died of a pulmonary embolism the day after his release from a hospital in [[Inglewood, California]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19720516&id=2OUzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qTIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=7392,3387904 |title=Blood clot in lung Kills Dan Blocker |newspaper=[[Lodi News-Sentinel]] |location=[[Lodi, California]] |date=May 16, 1972 |page=1}}</ref>

==May 14, 1972 (Sunday)==
*In [[Kaunas]], at that time located in the Soviet Union's [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic]], 19-year-old [[Romas Kalanta]] set himself on fire to become a martyr for [[Lithuania]]'s independence.  When police prohibited a public funeral, thousands of students and workers took to the streets on May 18 to take up Kalanta's cause.  The nationalist uprising was suppressed by May, with the arrest of over 500 people, only eight of whom were ever tried.  The [[Republic of Lithuania]], which had been annexed to the U.S.S.R. in 1940, would attain independence again in 1990.<ref>Matthew J. Ouimet, ''The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy'' (University of North Carolina Press 2003), p116</ref>

==May 15, 1972 (Monday)==
*After 26 years of rule by the United States, the island of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] and the other islands of the [[Ryukyu Islands]] were returned to the jurisdiction of Japan.  Vice-president [[Spiro T. Agnew]] appeared on behalf of the U.S. in ceremonies marking the transfer.  A colony of Japan, Okinawa had been captured by the United States in the last major battle of World War&nbsp;II at the cost of thousands of lives on both sides, and the Okinawans, considered their own ethnic group in Japan, numbered nearly one million residents.<ref>"Okinawa Returns To Japan's Rule", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 15, 1972, p1</ref>  The Okinawa Reversion Treaty had been approved by the U.S. Senate, 84–6, the preceding year.  U.S. bases remained, but as Okinawa became a prefecture of Japan for the first time, yen replaced dollars as currency, and in 1977, traffic laws changed to conform to driving on the left side of the road rather than the right.<ref>Michael S. Molasky, ''The American Occupation of Japan and Okinawa: Literature and Memory'' (Routledge, 1999), p22</ref>
*[[Alabama]] Governor [[George C. Wallace]] was shot five times while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president.  The would-be assassin, [[Arthur Bremer]], wounded three others in addition to Wallace at a rally in at the [[Laurel Shopping Center]] in [[Laurel, Maryland]].  Wallace survived, but was permanently paralyzed from the waist down.<ref>"Wallace Shot At in Maryland Rally; His Legs Paralyzed", ''Des Moines Register'', May 16, 1972, p1</ref>  At the time of the shooting, Wallace had won more votes (3,354,360) in the primaries than either George McGovern (2,202,840) or Hubert Humphrey (2,647,676), but was second to McGovern in delegates won (323 vs. McGovern's 409)<ref>Jody Carlson, ''George C. Wallace and the Politics of Powerlessness: The Wallace Campaigns for the Presidency, 1964–1976'' (Transaction Books, 1981), p148</ref>

==May 16, 1972 (Tuesday)==
*The first [[financial derivatives]] exchange, the [[International Monetary Market]] (IMM), opened on the [[Chicago Mercantile Exchange]].  With greater fluctuation of currency exchange rates, the IMM opened a new era in trading by allowing purchase of futures on three currencies.  The first trades were for the British pound, the Deutschmark, and the Japanese yen.<ref>Robert E. Whaley, ''Derivatives: Markets, Valuation, and Risk Management'' (Wiley, 2006), p. xix</ref>
*The National Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act was signed into United States law by President Nixon.<ref>Betty Pace, ''Renaissance of Sickle Cell Disease Research in the Genome Era'' (Imperial College Press, 2007), p14</ref>

==May 17, 1972 (Wednesday)==
*The Ohio College Library Center [[OCLC]] in the United States amended its articles to allow its five-year-old computer network to link with libraries outside the state, linking over 500 sites by 1975 and over 2,000 by the end of 1979. OCLC now stands for Online Computer Library Center and connects 60,000 libraries.<ref>{{cite book |first=Audrey N. |last=Grosch |title=Library Information Technology and Networks |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |year=1995 |page=7}}</ref>
*[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] and [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] played to a 1&ndash;1 draw in the second of two matches in the first ever [[1972 UEFA Cup Final|UEFA Cup Championship]].  Tottenham had won the first match 2 to 1, giving it a 3 to 2 aggregate over Wolverhampton.<ref name="Goldblatt2003">{{cite book |first=David |last=Goldblatt |author-link=David Goldblatt (writer) |title=World Soccer Yearbook 2003-2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrABJGk0mAYC |date=1 August 2003 |publisher=[[Dk Pub]] |isbn=978-0-7894-9654-6}}</ref>
*'''Died:''' Jaime José, Eduardo Aquino, and Basilio Pineda Jr., three of the men convicted of participating in the 1967 gang rape of Philippine film actress [[Maggie de la Riva]], were executed by electric chair. By order of President Marcos, coverage of the executions was broadcast nationally on the radio.<ref>{{cite book |first1=David T. |last1=Johnson |first2=Franklin E. |last2=Zimring |author-link2=Franklin Zimring |title=The Next Frontier: National Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2009 |page=111}}</ref>

==May 18, 1972 (Thursday)==
*The [[Sea-Bed Treaty]] (officially, the "Treaty on the prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof"), signed on February 11, 1971, took effect.<ref>''Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements'', Volume 1 (Taylor & Francis, 2003), p. 2088</ref>
*Following a march four days earlier by more than 100,000 protesters, [[Philibert Tsiranana]], the first [[President of Madagascar]], agreed to step down, and handed over all power to General [[Gabriel Ramanantsoa]].<ref>Kevin Shillington, ''Encyclopedia of African History'', Vol. 1, (CRC Press, 2005), p 883</ref>
*An [[Antonov An-10]] turboprop airplane with 108 people aboard crashed while attempting an emergency landing at [[Kharkov]].  A one-paragraph announcement of the accident was printed in the Soviet newspaper ''Pravda'' two days later, noting that "The passengers and crew were killed. A government commission has been appointed for inquiry into the causes of the disaster."<ref>"Soviet Airliner Down; No Survivors", ''Bridgeport Telegram'', May 20, 1972, p13; "Russian Jet Crash Toll 108 Persons", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 26, 1972, p 3</ref>
*'''Died:''' [[Robert Lee Johnson (spy)|Robert Lee Johnson]], 50, a former U.S. Army sergeant who was seven years into a 25-year prison sentence for treason and espionage, was stabbed to death in a visitor's area at the [[United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg|federal prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania]].  His murderer was his own son, who would tell authorities that his motive for [[patricide]] was simply "a personal matter".

==May 19, 1972 (Friday)==
*A bomb exploded at the Pentagon, destroying an unoccupied women's restroom where it had been placed.  Though nobody was injured, a computer tape archive with highly classified information was severely damaged. The [[Weather Underground]] claimed responsibility for the bombing.<ref>Ron Jacobs, ''The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground'' (Verso, 1997), p142; "Extensive Damage In Pentagon Blast", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 19, 1972, p1</ref>
*The [[National Eagle Scout Association]] was created by Boy Scouts of America.<ref>"Gathering of Eagles", by Robert Peterson, ''Scouting'' (May&ndash;Jun 2000), p14</ref>
*[[Northeast Airlines]] was acquired by [[Delta Air Lines]], along with its direct flights from New York and Boston to Florida destinations.<ref>Timothy J. Botti, ''Envy of the World: A History of the U.S. Economy & Big Business'' (Algora Publishing, 2006), p53</ref>
*[[Tunisia]], along with [[UNESCO]], began an international campaign to preserve the ruins of ancient [[Carthage]].<ref>''Encyclopedia of the U.N., supra'', p282</ref>

==May 20, 1972 (Saturday)==
*The [[Indiana Pacers]] beat the [[New York Nets]], 108–105, to win the ABA championship in Game 6 of the series.  The Pacers and Nets would be among four teams to join the NBA in 1976.<ref>"Pacers Win ABA", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 21, 1972, p40</ref>
*Professional golfer [[Jane Blalock]] was disqualified from the [[Bluegrass Invitational]] for not marking her ball properly, and then failing to take a two-stroke penalty.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NGwyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MLMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3140,1754888&dq=bluegrass+disqualified+jane+blalock&hl=en Drought over for Kathy Cornelius]</ref> Within a month, the [[LPGA Tour]] would move to suspend Blalock.  In response, she would file an anti-trust lawsuit against the LPGA. The [[Jane Blalock cheating controversy]] would continue until 1975, when both parties agreed to settle their claims against one another.

==May 21, 1972 (Sunday)==
*The [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] announced the removal from power of [[Petro Shelest]], who had led the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]] since 1963 as First Secretary of its Communist Party. Shelest was accused of ''mestnichestvo'' (localism) and placing the Ukraine's interests ahead of those of the Union, was transferred to a job as a [[Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union|Deputy Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|USSR Council of Ministers]], and after his removal, many of his associates were purged from office.<ref>{{cite book |first=Borys |last=Lewytzkyj |title=Politics and Society in Soviet Ukraine, 1953–1980 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |year=1984 |page=147}}</ref>
*[[Michelangelo]]'s 475-year-old masterpiece, the sculpture ''[[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]]'', was heavily damaged by [[Laszlo Toth]], using a hammer.<ref>{{cite news |title=Priceless 'Pietà' Damaged By Man Wielding Hammer |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=May 22, 1972 |page=1}}</ref> After more than seven months of work, experts replaced broken pieces of the marble statue and restored it "in such a way as to make the damage invisible."<ref>{{cite news |title=Vatican's Pieta Statue Restored After Vandalism |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 10, 1973 |page=I-4}}</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[The Notorious B.I.G.]], American rapper also known as Biggie Smalls; as Christopher Wallace in Brooklyn (murdered 1997)<ref>{{cite book |title=The Notorious B.I.G: A Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/notoriousbigbiog00lang |url-access=limited |first=Holly |last=Lang |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-34156-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/notoriousbigbiog00lang/page/n15 1]–2}}</ref>
*'''Died:''' [[Jamsrangiin Sambuu]], 76, [[President of Mongolia]] since 1954<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Alan J. K. |last=Sanders |title=HEADS OF STATE |dictionary=Historical Dictionary of Mongolia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGwvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA401 |date=25 August 2017 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-5381-0227-5 |page=401 |access-date=12 November 2022 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

==May 22, 1972 (Monday)==
{{multiple image| direction = horizontal |perrow= 2/2 |total_width= 300 |image1= JFKWHP-AR6771-B (cropped).jpg |width1= |height1=  |image2=S. Bandaranaike w Polsce (Sirimavo cropped far).jpg| width2= |height2= |footer_align= center |footer= Sri Lanka President Goppalawa and Prime Minister Bandanaraike}}
*The [[Republic of Sri Lanka]] was formally created, adopting a new name, a new constitution, and a new form of government. Formerly the [[Dominion of Ceylon]], it had been nominally ruled by the Queen of England since gaining independence in 1948. [[William Gopallawa]], who had been [[Governor-General of Ceylon]] since 1962, became the first [[President of Sri Lanka]], while [[Sirimavo Bandaranaike]] continued as Prime Minister<ref>Patrick Peebles, ''The History of Sri Lanka'' (Greenwood Press, 2006), pp123–124; "Ceylon now Sri Lanka", ''Long Beach (CA) Press Telegram'', May 22, 1972, pB-9</ref>
*[[Richard M. Nixon]] became the first United States President to visit Moscow (and only the second President, after Franklin D. Roosevelt, to visit the Soviet Union), as he and [[Henry Kissinger]] arrived to begin a summit meeting with Soviet First Secretary Brezhnev.<ref>"Kremlin Peace Talk by Nixon", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 22, 1972, p1</ref>
*'''Died:''' 
**[[Cecil Day-Lewis]], 68, Poet Laureate of Britain since 1968;<ref>{{Cite news |title=Auden, Kerr, Day-Lewis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/aug/31/helensburgh.heroes |first1=Paul |last1=Kelbie |first2=Caroline |last2=Davies |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=2008-08-31 |access-date=September 30, 2015}}</ref> 
**[[Margaret Rutherford]], 80, English actress<ref>{{cite book|author=Eric Johns|title=Theatre Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yZFKRdqlxfkC|year=1973|publisher=W. H. Allen Co.|isbn=978-0-491-01231-7|page=9}}</ref>

==May 23, 1972 (Tuesday)==
*In Moscow, Presidents [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Nikolai Podgorny]] signed, on behalf of the United States and the Soviet Union respectively, the "Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection".<ref>''United States Treaties and Other International Agreements'', Vol. 23 (G.P.O. 1972) pp846–855</ref>
*The fictional character [[Rerun van Pelt]] ([[Linus van Pelt|Linus]] and [[Lucy van Pelt|Lucy]]'s little brother), was born, in the comic strip ''[[Peanuts]]''.<ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/05/23/page/21 "Peanuts"], ''Chicago Tribune'', May 23, 1972, p2-1</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Rubens Barrichello]], Brazilian race car driver, in [[São Paulo]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Aleks Kruz|title=F1 Pocket Companion 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_aOtcpdYXmkC&pg=PA17|date=18 March 2010|publisher=Chequered Flag Media|isbn=978-0-9565222-0-7|pages=17}}</ref>

==May 24, 1972 (Wednesday)==
*[[West Germany]] formally relinquished all claims to eastern territories lost by Germany to the USSR and to Poland following [[World War&nbsp;II]], as the West German President [[Gustav Heinemann]] signed the Moscow Treaty and Warsaw Treaty.  The treaties had been approved the week before by the [[Bundestag]] and the [[Bundesrat of Germany|Bundesrat]].<ref>Helga Haftendorn, ''Coming of Age: German Foreign Policy Since 1945'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), p172</ref>  Included were the formerly German city of [[Königsberg]], which became Russian [[Kaliningrad]], and the former [[Breslau]], which became [[Wrocław]] in Poland.
*The [[Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]] was created by an agreement signed by President [[Richard Nixon]] for the United States and Premier [[Alexei Kosygin]] for the Soviet Union.<ref>U.S. Treaties 1972, ''supra'', pp867–872</ref>
*[[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] of Glasgow won the [[Cup Winners' Cup]], with a 3–2 win over [[FC Dinamo Moscow|Dynamo Moscow]] in the [[1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final|final]] at [[Barcelona]].  Rangers' fans repeatedly came from the stands and [[pitch invasion|onto the field]], with more than a minute left to play and Dynamo down by only one goal.  For the behavior of its fans, the team was barred from European competition for the following season, including from the 1973 Cup.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0047/page04.shtml  "Rangers Triumph in Europe, 1972"], "A Sporting Nation", bbc.co.uk</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Maia Sandu]], Moldovan politician, President of Moldova, in [[Risipeni]], Moldavian SSR<ref>{{cite book|author=B. Turner|title=The Statesman's Yearbook 2015: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YtvMDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA862|date=27 December 2016|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-349-67278-3|pages=862}}</ref>
*'''Died:''' 
**[[Asta Nielsen]], 90, Danish silent film actress<ref>{{cite book|author=Eugene Michael Vazzana|title=Silent Film Necrology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iqIYAQAAIAAJ|year=2001|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-1059-0|page=393}}</ref>
**[[Ismail Yassine]], 59, Egyptian film actor<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2020/5/24/شائعات-طاردت-أبو-ضحكة-جنان-إسماعيل-ياسين-ولم-يمت-فقيرا/4790440|title=شائعات طاردت أبو ضحكة جنان إسماعيل ياسين.. ولم يمت فقيرا.. فى ذكرى وفاته|website=Youm7|date=24 May 2020 |access-date=March 14, 2021|language=ar}}</ref>
**[[Stanley Ray Bond]], 27, American bank robber, killed while assembling a bomb at his cell in [[Walpole State Prison]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/25/archives/man-awaiting-trial-killed-in-explosion-in-bay-state-prison.html|title=Man Awaiting Trial Killed in Explosion In Bay State Prison|date=May 25, 1972|website=The New York Times|access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref>

==May 25, 1972 (Thursday)==
*The first computerized [[fly-by-wire]] airplane flight was made by test pilot [[Apollo Guidance Computer#Applications outside Apollo|Gary Krier]], in an [[F-8 Crusader]] that had been equipped with the digital computer that had been used on Apollo space missions.<ref>[http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0912/smart-apollo-0912.cfm Institution of Engineering and Technology website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831005202/http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0912/smart-apollo-0912.cfm |date=2009-08-31 }}; Michael H. Gorn, ''Expanding the Envelope: Flight Research at NACA and NASA'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2001)</ref>
* ''[[Ciao! Manhattan]]'', a New York underground film starring [[Edie Sedgwick]], was completed after five years of stop and start production.
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Karan Johar]], Bollywood director, in [[Mumbai, India]]
**[[Jules Jordan]], American porn movie director, in [[Hershey, Pennsylvania]]

==May 26, 1972 (Friday)==
*Two historic nuclear arms control agreements were signed at Moscow, between the United States (by its president, [[Richard M. Nixon]]) and the Soviet Union (by Communist Party First Secretary [[Leonid Brezhnev]]).  The [[SALT I treaty]], product of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, prohibited both sides from building additional offensive nuclear missiles, while the [[ABM Treaty]] restricted both sides to only two sites for Anti-Ballistic Missiles, with 100 missiles each.<ref>T.B. Millar; and Robin Ward, ''Current International Treaties'' (Croom Helm, 1984), pp382–390; "U.S.-Russ Nuclear Arms Pact Signed", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 27, 1972, p1</ref>
*Later known as the "[[Watergate]] [[burglars]]", a team associated with the [[Committee to Re-Elect the President]], failed in its [[Watergate scandal#Wiretapping of the Democratic Party's headquarters|first attempt]] at wiretapping the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the [[Watergate complex]].<ref>Joey Green, ''How They Met'' (Workman Publishing, 2003), p31</ref>
*In [[Taiwan]], [[Chiang Ching-kuo]] was made the Prime Minister of Nationalist China by the Legislative Yuan, by a vote of 381–13.  Chiang's father was [[Chiang Kai-shek]], President of Nationalist China.<ref>Jay Taylor, ''The Generalissimo's Son Chiang Ching-kuo and the Revolutions in China and Taiwan'' (Harvard University Press 2000), p309</ref>
*[[Willandra National Park]] was established in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkManagement.aspx?id=N0037|title=Willandra National Park: Park management|work=Office of Environment & Heritage|publisher=[[Government of New South Wales]]|access-date=13 October 2014}}</ref>

==May 27, 1972 (Saturday)==
*The [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]] (OSHA), announced its plans as an American government agency to form advisory commissions for the purpose of regulating 13 different occupational hazards, including toxic chemicals, excessive noise, and radiation.<ref>Nicholas A. Ashford, ''Crisis in the Workplace: Occupational Disease and Injury'', a report to the Ford Foundation. (MIT Press, 1975), p252</ref>
*The [[Kings Island]] amusement park opened near [[Mason, Ohio]], after having had several preview events starting on April 29.<ref>[https://amusementtoday.com/backissues/at_june_2012_web.pdf "Kings Island’s 40 years of success started with 1972 opening"], by Jeffrey L. Seifert, ''Amusement Today'' (June 2012)</ref>

==May 28, 1972 (Sunday)==
*The [[Watergate burglaries|Watergate burglars]] succeeded in their second attempt to break into the [[Democratic National Committee]] offices at the [[Watergate complex]] in Washington, D.C., placing wiretaps on two telephones, and escaping undetected.  When it became clear that the "bug" on DNC Chairman [[Larry O'Brien]] was not working, the men broke in again three weeks later and were caught.  The botched June 17, 1972, burglary was the beginning of the [[Watergate scandal]] that eventually led to Nixon's resignation as President of the United States.<ref>Fred Emery, ''Watergate: The Corruption of American Politics and the Fall of Richard Nixon'' (Simon & Schuster, 1995) p3</ref>
*The first major [[Ford Pinto#Safety problems and scandal|accident]], resulting from the design of the [[Ford Pinto]] automobile, happened near [[Barstow, California]].  Mrs. Lilly Gray and her teenage son, Richard Grimshaw, were severely burned after the gas tank in their 1972 Pinto exploded after the car stalled and was rear-ended on Interstate Highway 15.  Mrs. Gray died of her injuries, and her son was scarred for life.  A jury awarded {{Nowrap|$125 million}} in punitive damages, against Ford Motor, to the family, which was reduced to {{Nowrap|$3.5 million}}, and more than {{Nowrap|$3 million}} in compensatory damages.  The verdict was upheld on appeal in 1981 in the landmark case of ''Gray v. Ford Motor Company'', 119 Cal. App.3d 757.<ref>Douglas Birsch, ''The Ford Pinto Case: A Study in Applied Ethics, Business, and Technology'' (SUNY Press, 1994), p254</ref>
*'''Died:''' 
**The former King [[Edward VIII]] of the United Kingdom, later the [[Duke of Windsor]], died at the age of 77 in his home in France, more than 35 years after he gave up his throne in order to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson.  King Edward, whose reign lasted from January 20 to December 11, 1936, left no children.<ref>"Duke to Be Buried At Windsor Castle", May 29, 1972, p1</ref> 
**[[Bill Gates#Early life|Kent Evans]], 17, was killed while climbing [[Mount Shuksan]] as part of a University of Washington class.  Evans was one of four high school students at Lakeside School who were working on computer projects. The other three, his best friend of [[Bill Gates]], and [[Paul Allen]] and [[Ric Weiland]], would go on to become billionaires as co-founders of [[Microsoft]].<ref>David I. Rosenbaum, ''Market Dominance: How Firms Gain, Hold, or Lose it, and the Impact on Economic Performance'' (Praeger 1998)</ref><ref>[http://www.seattlemountainrescue.org/newsletters/newsletter_1973_02.pdf Seattle Mountain Rescue News] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008201024/http://www.seattlemountainrescue.org/newsletters/newsletter_1973_02.pdf |date=2011-10-08 }}, February 1973, pp4–5</ref><ref>"12 Killed In Non-Traffic Accidents", ''The Daily Chronicle'' (Centralia WA), May 30, 1972, p14</ref>

==May 29, 1972 (Monday)==
*President Nixon and Soviet leader Brezhnev concluded their summit conference, with the signing of a joint declaration of long-range plans to avoid a military confrontation and to eventually disarm.<ref>"Nixon, Brezhnev Approve Plan to Seek World Peace", ''Oakland Tribune'', May 29, 1972, p1</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Laverne Cox]], American actress and LGBT advocate, in [[Mobile, Alabama]]
*'''Died'''  [[Moe Berg]], 70, professional baseball player who also served as a spy for the [[Office of Strategic Services]] during [[World War II]].

==May 30, 1972 (Tuesday)==
*The [[Lod Airport massacre]] took place in [[Tel Aviv]] after passengers from [[Air France]] Flight 132 went to claim their baggage on arrival from Rome.  Three of the passengers were members of the [[Japanese Red Army]] terrorist group operating on behalf of the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations]]; without warning, they brought out submachine guns and hand grenades from their luggage and fired into the crowd, killing 26 people and injuring another 78.  One terrorist was shot by another, while a second was killed by his own grenade. The third, [[Kōzō Okamoto]], was jailed, but eventually released in a prisoner exchange in 1985.<ref>Aileen Gallagher, ''The Japanese Red Army'' (Rosen Publishing Groupp24–27; [https://web.archive.org/web/20101022202334/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906023,00.html  "Israel's Night of Carnage"], ''TIME'' Magazine, June 12, 1972</ref>
*Five children were killed, and 22 injured, in the derailing of a [[roller coaster]], the "[[Big Dipper (Battersea Park)|Big Dipper]]", at [[Battersea Park]] in [[London]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19720531&printsec=frontpage&hl=en "Three children killed as Big Dipper hits barrier"], ''Glasgow Herald'', May 31, 1972, p1</ref><ref>"5 Die on Coaster", ''Kansas City Times'', May 30, 1972, p2</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Manny Ramírez]], Dominican baseball player, in [[Santo Domingo]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/player/manny-ramirez-120903|title=Manny Ramirez States|website=NLB|access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref>

==May 31, 1972 (Wednesday)==
*The 145th and final mission of the [[Corona (satellite)|CORONA]] spy satellite program came to an end when its exposed film was recovered.  Since 1959, the Corona satellites were launched with Kodak film, then returned to Earth after taking photos over the Soviet Union and its neighbors.  Transmission of images from spy satellites made the Corona program obsolete.<ref>Bert Chapman, ''Space Warfare and Defense: A Historical Encyclopedia and Research Guide'' (ABC-CLIO, 2008), pp99–100</ref>
*Three Italian [[Carabinieri]] (Antonio Ferrero, Donato Poveromo and Franco Dongiovanni) were killed in a [[Years of Lead (Italy)#Peteano bombing|car bomb explosion]] in the city of [[Peteano]]. [[Vincenzo Vinciguerra]], an activist in the [[neofascism|neo-fascist]] organizations [[National Vanguard (Italy)|''Avanguardia Nazionale'']] ("National Vanguard") and ''[[Ordine Nuovo]]'' ("New Order"), would later be convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison.<ref>[[Carlo Ginzburg]], ''The Judge and the Historian. Marginal Notes and a Late-Twentieth-century Miscarriage of Justice'', London 1999, {{ISBN|1-85984-371-9}}. Original ed. 1991.</ref> 
*'''Born:''' [[Frode Estil]], Norwegian cross-country skier, gold medalist in 2001–03, 2005, in [[Lierne Municipality]]
*'''Died:''' [[Walter Freeman (neurologist)|Dr. Walter Freeman]], 76, American neurosurgeon who popularized the [[lobotomy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Events by month links}}

[[Category:May 1972| ]]
[[Category:May by year|1972]]
[[Category:Months in the 1970s|*1972-05]]