From AmericolaWiki
1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday.
[edit] Events
[edit] January
[edit] February
- July 2 - North Vietnam and South Vietnam unite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - a Communist country.
- July 3 - Gregg v. Georgia: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the death penalty is not inherently cruel or unusual and is a constitutionally acceptable form of punishment.
- July 3 - The great heat wave in the United Kingdom, which is currently suffering from drought conditions, reaches its peak.
- July 4 - United States Bicentennial: From coast to coast, Americans celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
- July 4 - The Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP) leads 50,000 marchers in Philadelphia to demand a "Bicentennial Without Colonies" and independence for Puerto Rico.
- July 4 - Entebbe Raid: Israeli airborne commandos free 103 hostages being held by Palestinian hijackers of an Air France plane at Uganda's Entebbe Airport; 1 Israeli and several Ugandan soldiers are killed in the raid.
- July 6 - The first class of women is inducted at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.
- July 7 - German left-wing terrorists Monika Berberich, Gabriella Rollnick, Juliane Plambeck and Inge Viett escape from the Lehrter Straße maximum security prison in West Berlin.
- July 10 - Three British and 1 American mercenaries are shot by firing squad in Angola.
- July 10 - An explosion in Seveso, Italy, kills a large number of people.
- July 15 - Jimmy Carter is nominated for U.S. President at the Democratic National Convention in New York City.
- July 16-July 20 - Albert Spaggiari and his gang break into the vault of the Societe Generale Bank in Nice, France.
- July 17 - The 1976 Summer Olympics begin in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- July 17 - East Timor is declared the 27th province of Indonesia.
- July 19 - Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
- July 20 - Viking program: The Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.
- July 21 - A bomb kills Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British ambassador to the Irish Republic.
- July 26 - In Los Angeles, Ronald Reagan announces his choice of liberal U.S. Senator Richard Schweiker as his vice presidential running mate, in an effort to woo moderate Republican delegates away from President Gerald Ford.
- July 27 - The United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Uganda.
- July 28 - The Tangshan earthquake flattens Tangshan,China, killing 242,769 people, and injuring 164,851.
- July 29 - In New York City, the "Son of Sam" pulls a gun from a paper bag, killing 1 and seriously wounding another, in the first of a series of attacks that terrorize the city for the next year.
- July 30 - In Santiago, Chile, Cruzeiro from Brazil beats River Plate from Argentina and are the Copa Libertadores de América champions.
- July 31 - NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo, taken by Viking 1.
[edit] August
- August 1 - The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago becomes a republic, replacing Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom with an elected president as their Head of State.
- August 1 - Racing Champion Niki Lauda suffers serious burns in the German Grand Prix.
- August 2 - A gunman murders Andrea Wilborn and Stan Farr, and injures Priscilla Davis and Gus Gavrel, in an incident at Priscilla's mansion at Mockingbird Lane in Fort Worth, Texas. T. Cullen Davis, Priscilla's husband and one of the richest men in Texas, is tried and found innocent for Andrea's murder, involvement in a plot to kill several people (including Priscilla and a judge), and a wrongful death lawsuit. Cullen goes broke afterwards.
- August 4 - The first recognized outbreak of Legionnaires' disease kills 29 at the American Legion convention in Philadelphia.
- August 5 - The Great Clock of Westminster (or Big Ben) suffers internal damage and stops running for over 9 months.
- August 6 - Former UK Postmaster General John Stonehouse is sentenced to 7 years' jail for fraud.
- August 7 - Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars.
- August 14 - Ten thousand Protestant and Catholic women demonstrate for peace in Northern Ireland.
- August 14 - The Senegalese political party PAI-Rénovation is legally recognized. PAI-Rénovation thus becomes the third legal party in the country.
- August 18 - In North Korea at Panmunjom, two United States soldiers are killed while trying to chop down part of a tree in the Korean Demilitarized Zone which had obscured their view.
- August 19 - U.S. President Gerald Ford edges out challenger Ronald Reagan to win the Republican Party presidential nomination in Kansas City.
- August 24 - In Uruguay, an army captures Marcelo Gelman and his pregnant wife. Marcelo is later killed and his wife (and unborn child) disappear.
- August 26 - First known outbreak of Ebola virus in Yambuku, Zaire.
[edit] September
- September 3 - Viking program: The Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars, taking the first close-up color photos of the planet's surface.
- September 6 - Cold War: Soviet air force pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko lands a MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate, on the island of Hokkaidō in Japan, and requests political asylum from the United States.
- September 6 - Frank Sinatra brings Jerry Lewis's former partner Dean Martin onstage, unannounced, at the 1976 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon in Las Vegas, Nevada, reuniting the comedy team for the first (and only) time in over 20 years.
- September 9 - Chairman Mao Zedong, of the People's Republic of China, dies.
- September 10 - A British Airways Trident and a Yugoslav DC-9 collide near Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), killing all 176 aboard.
- September 10 - Osamu Tezuka begins serialising MW, a manga inspired by the 1974 Kakuei Tanaka government scandal.
[edit] October
- October 6 - Cubana Flight 455 crashes due to a bomb placed by anti-Castrist militants, after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados. All 73 people on board are killed.[1]
- October 6 - Massacre of students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand to protest the return of ex-dictator Thanom by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces, triggering the return of the military to government.
- October 7 - In San Francisco, during his second televised debate with Jimmy Carter, U.S. President Gerald Ford stumbles when he declares that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe" (there was at the time).
- October 10 - Taiwan Governor Hsieh Tung-ming is injured by a letter bomb from a pro-independence activist.
- October 12 - The People's Republic of China announces that Hua Guofeng is the successor to Mao Tse-tung, as Chairman of the Communist Party of China.
- October 13 - The United States Commission on Civil Rights releases the report, Puerto Ricans in the Continental United States: An Uncertain Future, that documents that Puerto Ricans in the United States had a poverty rate of 33 percent in 1974 (up from 29 percent in 1970), the highest of all major racial-ethnic groups in the country (not including Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory)..
- October 19 - The Copyright Act of 1976 extends copyright duration for an additional 20 years in the United States.
- October 19 - The Battle of Aishiya is fought in Lebanon.
- October 19 - The Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is placed on the list of endangered species.
- October 20 - The Mississippi River ferry MV George Prince is struck by a ship while crossing from Destrehan, LA to Luling, LA, killing 78 passengers and crew.
- October 22 - Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, the fifth President of Ireland, resigns after being publicly insulted by the Minister for Defense.
- October 25 - Clarence Norris, the last known survivor of the Scottsboro Boys, is pardoned.
[edit] November
[edit] December
- December 1 - Angola joins the United Nations.
- December 1 - The Sex Pistols achieve public notoriety as they unleash several 4-letter words live on Bill Grundy's TV show.
- December 3 - Bob Marley and his manager Don Taylor are shot in an assassination attempt, at 56 Hope Road in Kingston, Jamaica. Marley is shot twice, but Taylor takes most of the bullets; both survive.
- December 3 - Patrick Hillery is elected unopposed as the sixth President of Ireland.
- December 8 - The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is established by the 5 Latinos in the United States Congress: Herman Badillo of the Bronx, E. de la Garza and Henry B. Gonzalez of Texas, Edward R. Roybal of California, and the nonvoting Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Baltasar Corrada del Rio.
- December 15 - Samoa joins the United Nations.
- December 20 - Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago for 21 years, dies.
- December 23 - A new volcano, Murara, erupts in eastern Zaire.
[edit] Unknown date
[edit] Births
[edit] January
- January 1 - Seema Bowri, British actress
- January 2 - Cletidus Hunt, American football player
- January 2 - Paz Vega, Spanish actress
- January 4 - Shiro Amano, Japanese manga artist/writer
- January 6 - Danny Pintauro, American actor
- January 7 - Éric Gagné, Canadian Major League Baseball player
- January 7 - Alfonso Soriano, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- January 8 - Jenny Lewis, American actress and musician (Rilo Kiley)
- January 19 - Marsha Thomason, British actress
- January 20 - Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- January 21 - Emma Bunton, English musician (Spice Girls)
- January 22 - Mikko Luoma, Finnish ice hockey player
- January 28 - Mark Madsen, American basketball player
- January 28 - Lee Ingleby, British actor
- January 30 - Andy Milonakis, Internet and MTV star
- January 31 - Buddy Rice, American race car driver
[edit] February
- February 2 - James Hickman, British swimmer
- February 4 - Cam'ron, Harlem, New York rapper
- February 5 - Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
- February 6 - Colin Teo, Singaporean D1 Professional Grand Prix drifter
- February 8 - Abi Titmuss, British TV presenter and model
- February 9 - Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- February 10 - Lance Berkman, baseball player
- February 12 - Silvia Saint, Czech actress
- February 12 - Jenni Falconer, British TV presenter
- February 13 - Martin Sastre, Uruguayan artist
- February 15 - Brandon Boyd, American musician (Incubus)
- February 16 - Kyo, Japanese musician (Dir en grey)
- February 20 - Ed Graham, British drummer (The Darkness)
- February 23 - Jeff O'Neill, Canadian hockey player
- February 25 - Rashida Jones, American actress, writer, model, and musician
- February 29 - Ja Rule, American rapper
- March 4 - Sean Covel, American film producer
- March 4 - Hiram Bocachica, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
- March 4 - Vic Wunderle, American archer
- March 5 - Sarunas Jasikevicius, Lithuanian basketball player
- March 8 - Freddie Prinze Jr., American actor
- March 13 - Danny Masterson, American actor
- March 19 - Rachel Blanchard, Canadian actress
- March 19 - Alessandro Nesta, Italian football player
- March 20 - Chester Bennington, American musician (Linkin Park)
- March 22 - Teun de Nooijer, Dutch field hockey player
- March 22 - Reese Witherspoon, American actress
- March 22 - Kellie Shanygne Williams, American actress
- March 22 - Wayne Turner, American professional basketball player
- March 23 - Keri Russell, American actress
- March 24 - Aaron Brooks, American football player
- March 24 - Peyton Manning, American football player
- March 25 - Juvenile, American rapper
- March 26 - Amy Smart, American actress
- March 27 - Carl Ng, Hong Kong/British actor and model
- March 30 - Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player
- April 3 - Drew Shirley, American guitarist (Switchfoot)
- April 6 - Candace Cameron, American actress
- April 9 - Kris Radlinski, English rugby league player
- April 13 - Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
- April 13 - Yoo Ji-tae, South Korean actor
- April 15 - Steve Williams (rower), British rower
- April 15 - Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player
- April 18 - Melissa Joan Hart, American actress
- April 20 - Joey Lawrence, American actor
- April 22 - Michał Żewłakow, Polish footballer
- April 23 - Darren Huckerby, English footballer
- April 25 - Tim Duncan, West Indian basketball player
- April 25 - Rainer Schuettler, German tennis player
- April 26 - Jose Pasillas, drummer of the American alternative rock band Incubus
- May 1 - Darius McCrary, American actor
- May 3 - Beto, Portuguese footballer
- May 4 - Jason Michaels, baseball player
- May 14 - Martine McCutcheon, British actress and singer
- May 15 - Tyler Walker, baseball player
- May 15 - Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer
- May 15 - Ryan Leaf, former NFL quarterback
- May 17 - Wang Lee Hom, American born Taiwanese singer/songwriter
- May 19 - Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
- May 20 - Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- May 25 - Miguel Tejada, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- May 25 - Cillian Murphy, Irish actor
- May 26 - Justin Pierre, American musician (Motion City Soundtrack)
- May 31 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor
- June 1 - Angela Perez Baraquio, Miss America 2001
- June 8 - Lindsay Davenport, American tennis player
- June 10 - Freddy Garcia, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- June 13 - Lindsay Archer, American fantasy artist
- June 13 - Jason 'J' Brown, English musician (5ive)
- June 15 - Dryden Mitchell, member of the band Alien Ant Farm
- June 21 - Mike Einziger, guitarist of the American alternative rock band Incubus
- June 23 - Brandon Stokley, American football player
- June 23 - Patrick Vieira, French football player
- June 24 - Louisa Leaman, author
- July 1 - Justin Lo, Hong Kong singer and actor
- July 1 - Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer
- July 1 - Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer
- July 1 - Lina Rafn, Danish singer
- July 2 - Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
- July 3 - Andrea Barber, American actress
- July 4 - Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer
- July 5 - Bizarre, American rapper
- July 5 - Marina Dias, Brazilian supermodel
- July 5 - Mike DeWolf, member of the band Taproot
- July 5 - Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
- July 6 - Zhu De, PLA commander and founding military leader of the People's Republic of China
- July 7 - Elijah Blue Allman, Deadsy frontman and son of Cher and Greg Allman
- July 8 - Ellen MacArthur, English yachtswoman
- July 9 - Shelton Benjamin, American professional wrestler
- July 9 - Fred Savage, American actor
- July 11 - Eduardo Nájera, Mexican basketball player
- July 13 - Al Santos, American actor/model
- July 17 - Marcos Senna, Brazilian footballer
- July 20 - Andrew Stockdale, singer/guitarist for Wolfmother
- July 20 - Alex Yoong, Malaysian race car driver
- July 23 - Judit Polgar, Hungarian chess player
- July 23 - Jonathan Gallant, bassist for the Canadian rock band Billy Talent
- July 24 - Nate Bump, American baseball player
- July 25 - Stéphane Rideau, French actor
- July 31 - Annie Parisse, American actress
[edit] August
- August 6 - Melissa George, Australian actress
- August 8 - JC Chasez, American singer
- August 9 - Jessica Capshaw, American actress
- August 9 - Rhona Mitra, English actress
- August 11 - Ben Gibbard, American musician
- August 12 - Antoine Walker, American basketball player
- August 12 - Wednesday 13 (Joseph Poole), lead singer of the Murderdolls and FDQ
- August 13 - Roddy Woomble, Scottish musician
- August 14 - Alex Albrecht, American television personality
- August 15 - Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch football player
- August 18 - Alex Katunich, original bassist for the band Incubus
- August 19 - Michael M. Wartella, American underground cartoonist
- August 27 - Carlos Moyà, Spanish tennis player
- August 27 - Mark Webber, Australian race car driver
- August 27 - Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress
- August 31 - Travis Christopher, American artist
[edit] September