On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 1972, the world population was approximately 3,844,917,680 people[†]
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of May 17, 1972, covering May 22, 1972.
Roberta Flack
Neil Young
America
David Crosby/Graham Nash
Stephen Stills
The Allman Brothers Band
Yes
Carole King
Humble Pie
Al Green
1972Max Brooks, American author and screenwriter[†]
Maximilian Michael Brooks is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedian Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on zombie stories. He was a senior fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, New York.
1972Cecil Day-Lewis, Anglo-Irish poet and author (born 1904)[†]
Cecil Day-Lewis, often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake, most of which feature the fictional detective Nigel Strangeways.
1972Margaret Rutherford, English actress (born 1892)[†]
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford was an English actress of stage, film and television.
1972Ceylon adopts a new constitution, becoming a republic and changing its name to Sri Lanka.[†]
The Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 was a constitution of Sri Lanka, replaced by the 1978 constitution currently in force. It was Sri Lanka's first republican constitution, and its second since independence in 1948. The constitution changed the country's name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka, and established it as an independent republic. The country was officially designated as the "Republic of Sri Lanka," leading to the constitution being known as the 1972 Republican Constitution. The constitution was promulgated on 22 May 1972.
1972Over 400 women in Derry, Northern Ireland attack the offices of Sinn Féin following the shooting by the Irish Republican Army of a young British soldier on leave.[†]
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Foyle. Cityside and the old walled city being on the west bank and Waterside on the east, with two road bridges and one footbridge crossing the river in-between.
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various art experts in US believe Michelangelo's Pieta can definitely be repaired but some doubt evidence of May 21 attack can be completely erased; Intermuseum Conservation Assn dir R D Buck maintains that even with the most careful recementing, there might be some visible cracks; Prof S Keck repts that while pieces can be reassembled, joints might deteriorate in time; other art experts comment
Kissinger expresses confidence that enemy offensive in S Vietnam, and Nixon Adm's response to it, will not upset efforts to improve Soviet‐Amer relations; makes statement in May 21 news conf in Salzburg, Austria, which is 'on the record' but reporters are not permitted to quote him directly; says Vietnam issue will occupy larger role in Moscow talks than he and Nixon had hoped; commenting on speculation that he, while he was in Moscow, won agreement from USSR leaders that Nixon's visit would not be called of if US mined N Vietnamese ports, states flatly that Russians were not informed in advance of mining; comments on other subjects for discussion; stresses essential purpose of meeting remains that of finding ways 2 great powers can contribute to more stable world and, if possible, to reach agreements on several outstanding issues; Nixon interrupts his preparations for Moscow visit to lunch with Austrian Chancellor Kreisky; antiwar demonstrators active in Salzburg; Nixon and Kissinger illus in Salzburg
NYC Deputy Police Comr R Daley announces his resignation May 22; cites 'differences of opinion' on Police Dept public information policies and opposition from Mayor's and Dist Attys' offices; Police Comr Murphy states resignation was requested; Daley's career revd; Daley por
May 22: N Vietnamese force of unreptd size attacks S Vietnamese defensive positions on Mychanh River about 18 miles NW of Hue, May 22; US planes are reptd bombing and strafing enemy troops, but no word has been received indicating whether ground battle of major proportions is under way and whether there have been casualties; attack is preceded by artillery barrage on S Vietnamese positions, causing what mil sources describe as light casualties; attack follows similar action on previous day in which N Vietnamese troops, supported by tanks, moved down coast and turned inward south of Mychanh; Amer sources say attack was repelled largely by Amer fighter‐bombers; S Vietnamese command repts that more than 200 enemy troops had been killed and 5 tanks destroyed in previous day's action; enemy movement in area marks end of period of relatively calm in region north of Hue; Amer officers in embattled area just north of Saigon rept that relief column struggling up Route 13 is less than 1 mile from besieged town of Anloc; note there has been no significant advance in movement of relief forces, whose first task is believed to be evacuation of wounded; enemy activity along Route 13 to rear of relief column is unknown; S Vietnamese command spokesmen rept that enemy gunners fired 700 mortar rounds on Anloc's defenders; Amer command gives no account of bombing in N Vietnam, but information officer indicates that bombing of N Vietnam is now routine and that no announcement will be made unless targets or results are exceptional; district town of Datdo, occupied briefly by Vietcong forces, is reptd to be under Govt control once more
Moscow man‐in‐st reaction to Nixon's forthcoming visit to Moscow is mixture of curiosity and expectancy; some questions at a lecture by A I Svyazev on Soviet‐Amer affairs cited
Michelangelo's Pieta is severely damaged by L Toth, who attacked it with hammer in St Peter's Basilica
Many US consumer groups regard Better Business Bureaus as ineffectual, misleading and anticonsumer despite their intensive and well‐funded 1‐yr effort to improve image; NY Times inquiries in 9 met areas disclose complaints that burs fail to protect consumers against unscrupulous merchants, that consumers have difficulty reaching burs by phone, that they are often told bur has no complaints or information about cos that law officials regard as shoddy and numerous other criticisms; specific complaints by individuals cited
NYC Controller Beame charges Mayor Lindsay on May 21 with 'fiscal hypocrisy' in order to halt increase in city relief rolls by drive against ineligible recipients and cases of fraud, part of effort to balance proposed $9.9‐billion fiscal '73 expense budget; Beame says that Lindsay office attacked as 'rosy‐colored' deficit financing a similar Estimate Bd proposal for cutting projected welfare budget by $111‐million; shortly afterwards, Beame says that Lindsay announced his order and estimated savings could total $120‐million; Budget Dir Grossman says he is starting an analysis of ways to meet Lindsay order, but adds that city would not cut legally mandated services; Charter deadline for initial Council and Estimate Bd votes on budget is midnight May 24
biog of A H Bremer, suspect in shooting of Gov Wallace, pieces together picture of lonely, paranoid man and traces his activities in weeks before attempted assassination; illus of J Pemrich, former girlfriend
Heat wave sweeping across northern India reptdly killed 247 persons in last 2 wks; temperature reaches 123 degrees
article on accomplishments of 3rd UN Conf on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting held in Santiago, Chile, in Apr and May notes that after 5 wks of discussion little was achieved, and that sense of frustration prevails among reprs of 97 lesser‐developed nations; sees high point of conf as debate on world monetary reform, in which less‐developed countries want to play active role; notes that poor nations argued for decision by Group of 10 on allocation of special quota of SDRs from IMF for development financing; says US repr B Zagorin initially seemed open to proposal, but later said it was a matter for IMF; repts that conf settled dispute by consensus vote (abstentions by US, GB, Germany, France, and other capital‐exporting nations) urging IMF to complete its consideration of proposal; notes that US also abstained in vote approving extension of auth of UNCTAD to participate in 73 GATT negotiations on reduction of trade and tariff barriers; notes only unanimous agreement was on measures giving preferential treatment and aid to 25 poorest countries