On this day

May 4, 1970

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from May 4, 1970

Campus Unrest Over War Spreads With Strike Calls

By Michael T. Kaufman

eds of student newspapers at 11 major Eastern colls urge nationwide walkout by acad community to protest move into Cambodia, meeting at Columbia Univ; Notre Dame, Brandeis and Stanford Univs formulate strike plans; natl strike com is being convened in Washington from delegates of all striking schools; New Mobilization Com to End the War in Vietnam completes plans for massive protest rally in Washington

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BOMBING OF NORTH CALLED DEFENSIVE

By Peter Grose Special to The New York Times

Vice Pres Agnew and Sec Rogers describe operations against Communist sanctuaries as ltd in time and space, not operations representing escalation of war, TV ints; L F O'Brien takes issue with argument; holds invasion in Cambodia means Amer policy of disengagement has ended, statement

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British Hoopla Honors Staid Pilgrims

By Bernard Weinraub Special to The New York Times

5-mo celebration begins, Plymouth, Eng; US former Sen Saltonstall attends pageant; comments; old print showing Pilgrims aboard ship illus; map showing ship's route to N Amer

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First Signs of a Backlash Emerge in Ecology Drive

By William K. Stevens

NY Times survey of industrialists, businessmen, conservationists, consumers, pub officials and scholars in number of cities finds signs of backlash against environmental improvement crusade; notes opposition of conservatives who feel conservationists are exaggerating problems and Negroes and liberals who fear issue will divert attention from urban problems; finds little evidence that consumers are altering buying habits to lessen pollution; Prof L P Gerlach expects growth in opposition to movement; notes ecology demands many fundamental changes; Prof M Friedman holds ecology crusade is fad; scores some conservationists for depicting indus polluters as 'evil devils;' holds real source of pollution is consumer

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of April 29, 1970, covering May 4, 1970.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

    Bridge Over Troubled Water

    Simon & Garfunkel

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    12
  2. 2
    Album cover for Deja Vu by Crosby| Stills| Nash & Young

    Deja Vu

    Crosby| Stills| Nash & Young

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    5
  3. 3
    Album cover for Hey Jude by The Beatles

    Hey Jude

    The Beatles

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    7
  4. 4
    Album cover for Santana by Santana

    Santana

    Santana

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    34
  5. 5
    Album cover for Chicago II by Chicago

    Chicago II

    Chicago

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    12

Notable Births

Will Arnett

1970Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer[†]

William Emerson Arnett is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom Arrested Development and the titular character in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020). He has received nominations for seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Dawn Staley

1970Dawn Staley, American basketball player[†]

Dawn Michelle Staley is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team. A point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers and spent eight seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), primarily with the Charlotte Sting. Staley also played on the United States women's national basketball team, winning three gold medals at the Olympic Games from 1996 to 2004, and was the head coach of the team that won an Olympic gold medal in 2021. She is the only person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach.

Historical Events

Vietnam War

1970Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam.[†]

The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.

Historical Context for May 4, 1970

In 1970, the world population was approximately 3,694,683,794 people[†]