1970s

The 1970s (also called the '70s) was the decade that began on January 1, 1970 and ended on December 31, 1979. It is distinct from the decade known as the 198th decade which began on January 1, 1971 and ended on December 31, 1980.

• Throughout the decade: decolonization continued: Angola, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Oman, the Bahamas, and many other countries gained independence. Also, metrication in many English speaking countries.
• 1970, December 15 – Spaceship Venera 7 lands on Venus.
• 1971 – Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
• December 16 – Partition of Pakistan of East and West Pakistans into Bangladesh and Pakistan.
• 1972, March 2 – Pioneer 10 is launched (sent into space). It becomes the first spaceship to fly near Jupiter and the asteroid belt.
• 1972 – Munich massacre
• 1973, April 6 – Pioneer 11 is launched. It becomes the first the first spaceship to fly near Saturn.
• 1974 – August 9 Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States due to the Watergate scandal.
• 1973 – 1973 Arab-Israeli War
• 1975 – End of the Vietnam War
• 1975 – Communists take power in Cambodia.
• 1976, July 20 – Spaceship Viking 1 lands on Mars.
• 1977, August 20 – Voyager 2 is launched. It becomes the first spaceship to fly near Uranus and Neptune.
• 1977, September 5 – Voyager 1 is launched. It is now the farthest spaceship from the Earth.
• 1977: The last cases of smallpox of the world.
• 1978 – Year with three popes
• 1978, October 1 – Vietnam invades Cambodia.
• 1979 – The World Health Organization says it has eliminated smallpox.

• John Travolta, American actor
• P. Ramlee, Malaysian actor

• Pelé, Brazilian football player

• Edward Heath, Prime Minister of United Kingdom
• Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of United Kingdom
• James Callaghan, Prime Minister of United Kingdom
• Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of United Kingdom
• Fidel Castro, President of Cuba
• Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile
• Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany (until 1974)
• Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union beginning in 1964
• Richard Nixon, President of the United States (until 1974)
• Gerald Ford, President of the United States (until 1977)
• Jimmy Carter, President of the United States
• Elizabeth II, British queen since 1952
• Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel until 1977
• Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India until 1977
• Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel (until 1974)
• Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader
• Hirohito, Emperor of Japan
• Pope John Paul I, pope
• Pope John Paul II, pope
• Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain (until 1975)
• Deng Xiaoping, leader in China
• Mao Zedong, leader in China (until 1976)
• Pope Paul VI, pope (until 1978)
• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran until 1979
• Ayatollah Khomeini
• Juan Perón, President of Argentina (until 1974)
• Jorge Rafael Videla, dictator of Argentina
• Muammar al-Gaddafi, dictator Libyan
• Pol Pot, Prime Minister of Cambodia
• Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt
• Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of Germany
• Georges Pompidou, President of France
• Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand
• Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of France
• Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (until 1979)