On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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NY Times survey on basic immunology research and its application to human health; describes anaphylactic shock, immunologic reaction to such stimuli as bee stings and antibiotics that is often fatal; types and functions of antibodies detailed; 2 major classes of immunologic defense defined; drawing indicating factors involved in cellular immunity
HR Armed Services subcom chaired by Repr S S Stratton unanimously urges rejection on Dec 28 of Sen-backed proposal drawn up by Sen V Hartke that would permit mil to recompute retirement pay on basis of increased '72 active-duty pay scales; HR group estimated additional cost of proposal at $342-million in 1st yr, with cumulative cost of $19-billion; subcom simultaneously rejected Nixon Adm-sponsored compromise measure that would have computed retirement pay on basis of '71 active duty pay scales while limiting number of eligible retired officers; subcom delineates objections to bills in rept expected to be released Dec 29, noting personnel costs now absorb nearly 60% of Defense Dept budget; says prohibitive cost of new system could sap funds available for active-duty personnel and for defense programs; adds present retirement pay scales have implicit cost-of-living allowance of 4% increases each time Consumer Price Index registers 3% increase
NYC's revised capital budget contains provision calling for extensive repaving of such major Bklyn thoroughfares as Flatbush Av, Eastern Pkwy and Atlantic Av
4 Palestinian guerrillas who seized Israeli Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, on Dec 28 and held 6 hostages for nearly 19 hrs, release them on Dec 29 and fly to Cairo with Egyptian Amb M F Essaway and 2 Thai officials, C/S Dawee Chullasapya and Deputy Min Chartichai Choonhavan; 2 Thai officials were taken to guarantee guerrillas' safety; Arabs, describing themselves in statement as members of 'the Palestinian orgn Black September--Ali Taha group,' walked into embassy and held 4 members of Israeli staff and wives of 2 of them under threat of death unless 36 Palestinian prisoners in Israel were released by 8 AM, Dec 29, Bangkok time; were talked out of carrying out their threat by Essaway and Thai officials; Israeli captives, surrounded by hundreds of Thai policeman and soldiers, are driven to Bangkok airport in bus with their captives and released; Arabs board Thai Airways Internatl jet; hostages are identified as 1st Sec N Hadass, Mrs Hadass, D Beeri, P Lavie and Israeli Amb to Cambodia S Evimor; Thai officials who negotiated with guerrillas say Arabs were shamed out of carrying out their threats to kill hostages because day they took over embassy was Thai holiday for investiture of son of King Phumiphon Adundet as Crown Prince; say they made it clear that they considered incident gross insult; Thai Col Narong Kittikachorn says 'Egyptian Amb helped us out a lot last night'; Essaway helped negotiate between guerrillas and Israeli Thai Amb R Amir, who was in bldg across st from embassy; Dawee announced that 'For the King, and for the Thai people, they have agreed to leave the country'; illus of Thai policeman at Israeli Embassy and Mrs Hadass hugging Mrs Amir after her release; in Israel, spokesman for Premier Meir expresses gratitude to Thai officials for their handling of situation; Israeli officials say no prisoners were released
Pres Thieu, Dec 28, acting on last day before expiration of his special decree powers, signs law that Saigon pol leaders say will eliminate virtually all pol parties except his new Dem party; law requires, among other things, that each of present 24 parties create a new village-based pol orgn and win at least 20% of the vote in a natl election or be 'automatically dissolved'; Opposition leader Deputy Tran Van Tuyen says law will drive people underground and into the Communist side; an Amer Embassy official thinks effect of law will be 'healthy'; comment on Thieu's use of special decree powers to close what he considers loopholes that allow Communists to subvert the govt; details on provisions of new law; Saigon pol leaders comment on law
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 27, 1972, covering December 29, 1972.
The Moody Blues
Carole King
Jethro Tull
Al Green
Artist not listed
1972Andreas Dackell, Swedish ice hockey player[†]
Andreas Lars Dackell is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He played for several seasons with Brynäs IF in the Swedish league Elitserien (SEL) and was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
1972Jason Kreis, American soccer player and manager[†]
Jason Clarence Kreis is an American soccer coach and former player who is the director of operations and special projects for Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake and the former head coach of the United States under-23 team. From 2021 to 2023, he also served as an assistant coach for MLS club Inter Miami. He coached Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer and was previously an assistant coach under Jürgen Klinsmann for the United States men's national soccer team. Prior to that he was the head coach of New York City FC and Real Salt Lake.
1972Jude Law, English actor[†]
David Jude Heyworth Law is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
1972Leonor Varela, Chilean-American model and actress[†]
Leonor Magdalena Varela Palma is a Chilean born actress. She played the title role in the 1999 television film Cleopatra, and vampire princess Nyssa Damaskinos in the 2002 Marvel Comics film Blade II.
1972Joseph Cornell, American sculptor and director (born 1903)[†]
Joseph Cornell was an American visual artist and filmmaker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmmaker. He was largely self-taught in his artistic efforts, and improvised his own original style incorporating cast-off and discarded artifacts. He lived most of his life in relative physical isolation, caring for his mother and his disabled brother at home, but remained aware of and in contact with other contemporary artists.
1972Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos, Greek priest and missionary (born 1903)[†]
Rev. Archimandrite Chrysóstomos Papasarantópoulos was a pioneering missionary of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Congo.
1972Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar) crashes in the Florida Everglades on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101 of the 176 people on board.[†]
Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, United States, to Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, United States. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades. All three cockpit crew members, two of the 10 flight attendants, and 96 of the 163 passengers were killed. Seventy-five people survived, with 58 of them suffering serious injuries.
In 1972, the world population was approximately 3,844,917,680 people[†]