The 1970’s was a decade filled with contradictions. Find out what events made newspaper headlines in 1972 and caught the attention of the nation with an authentic newspaper. At Historic Newspapers, we have the largest collection of original newspapers in the world, featuring accounts of some of the most shocking news stories that occurred during any given year. Choose from a wide range of publications.
Read about all the page-turning events in our collection of 1972 newspaper articles, featuring stories from the country’s biggest newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. An authentic 1972 newspaper is a wonderful keepsake gift idea for anyone with a special connection to this year, or anyone interested in historical events.
January 2, 1972
Six men rob the safety deposit boxes of the Pierre Hotel in New York City, taking at least $4 million.
January 5, 1972
President Richard Nixon demands the development of a space shuttle program.
January 16, 1972
Super Bowl VI takes place, with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Miami Dolphins 24-3.
February 2, 1972
Anti-British riots take place throughout Ireland. The British Embassy in Dublin is burned to the ground, as are several British-owned businesses.
February 3, 1972
The 1972 Winter Olympics open in Sapporo, Japan.
February 5, 1972
Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
February 18, 1972
The California Supreme Court voids the state’s death penalty, commuting all death sentences to life imprisonment.
March 24, 1972
“The Godfather” is released in cinemas in the United States.
April 22, 1972
Sylvia Cook and John Fairfax finish rowing across the Pacific.
May 2, 1972
Fire in the Sunshine Mine in northern Idaho kills 91 people.
May 26, 1972
President Richard Nixon and leader of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT I treaty in Moscow, along with the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and other agreements.
May 28, 1972
Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII of England (b. 1894) dies.
June 22, 1972
President Richard Nixon and White House chief of staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the C.I.A. to obstruct the F.B.I’s investigation into the Watergate break-ins.
June 28, 1972
President Richard Nixon announces that no new draftees will be sent to Vietnam.
July 21, 1972
Twenty-two bombs planted by the Provisional IRA explode in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Nine people are killed and 130 seriously injured.
July 31, 1972
Bloody Sunday: British troops move into the ‘no-go’ areas of Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland, ending Free Derry.
August 4, 1972
Dictator Idi Amin declares that Uganda will expel 50,000 Asians with British passports within three months.
August 12, 1972
The last U.S. ground troops are withdrawn from Vietnam.
August 26, 1972
The 1972 Summer Olympics are held in Munich, West Germany.
September 5-6, 1972
Munich Massacre: Eleven Israeli athletes are murdered at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich after eight members of the Arab terrorist group ‘Black September’ invade the Olympic Village; five guerrillas and one policeman are also killed in a failed hostage rescue.
October 25, 1972
The first female FBI agents are hired.
November 30, 1972
Cod War: British Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home says that Royal Navy ships will be stationed to protect British trawlers off Iceland.
December 23, 1972
The first ever postseason NFL game is won by the Pittsburgh Steelers, defeating the Oakland Raiders 13-7 on a last-second play that becomes known as the Immaculate Reception.
December 25, 1972
The Christmas bombing of North Vietnam causes widespread criticism of the U.S. and President Richard Nixon.
December 26, 1972
Former President Harry S. Truman dies in Kansas City, Missouri.