On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 1977, the world population was approximately 4,217,863,796 people[â ]
1977Ajit Agarkar, Indian cricketer[â ]
Ajit Bhalchandra Agarkar is a former Indian cricketer and commentator. He has been the current chairman of the BCCI selection committee since 4 July 2023. He has represented India in more than 200 international matches across all three formats of the game.
1977Darvis Patton, American sprinter[â ]
Darvis "Doc" Darell Patton is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. He is a two-time US Champion in the 200-meter dash and won the silver medal in the event at the 2003 World Championships. He is a three-time Olympian and a four-time participant at the World Athletics Championships.
1977Morten Veland, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter[â ]
Morten Veland is a Norwegian musician. He is one of the founding members of the gothic metal band Tristania and the founding member of Sirenia and Mortemia.
1977Jean-BĂ©del Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.[â ]
Jean-BĂ©del Bokassa was a Central African politician and military officer who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR), after seizing power in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'Ă©tat on 1 January 1966. He later established the Central African Empire (CAE) with himself as emperor, reigning as Bokassa I until his overthrow in a 1979 coup.
1977Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjong Kupang, Johor, killing 100.[â ]
Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 (MH653/MAS653) was a scheduled domestic flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, operated by Malaysian Airline System (MAS). On the evening of 4 December 1977, the Boeing 737-200 aircraft flying the service crashed at Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, while purportedly being diverted by hijackers to Singapore. It was the first fatal air crash for Malaysia Airlines, with all 93 passengers and 7 crew killed. It is also the deadliest aviation disaster to occur on Malaysian soil. The flight was apparently hijacked as soon as it reached cruise altitude. The circumstances in which the hijacking and subsequent crash occurred remain unsolved.
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The Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram reported that Egypt had recalled its ambassadors to five nations to protest those nations’ rejection of Cairo's peace initiatives. Page 12.
Survey finds that while US is moving to extend mandatory retirement age to 70, W Eur is lowering age; notes France passed legis permitting employees to retire at 60; Ital labor unions are pressing to reduce age from 60 to 55; survey finds trend toward earlier retirement responds to demands from aging employees; Eur polls indicate majority favor leaving before 65 if income remains adequate; some economists warn that while early retirement may be politically attractive, it may be an increasingly expensive burden; illus (M)
Adm sources say Carter Adm is assembling pkg of proposals that includes tax cuts of about $300 for head of family of 4, and crackdown on tax deductible business spending on meals and club dues; say tightening of exemptions for corp profits earned and reinvested abroad is being considered; says more far-reaching tax reforms are planned for '80; Sec Blumenthal says permanent, not temporary, tax relief is wanted by business and will be proposed by Adm; speculation on pkg (M)
illus of Annmarie Sanacore and Geraldine Peroni, who are taking exam
Survey of current Amer attitudes on variety of issues finds that on foreign issues, most polled believe that Vietnam war created deep-seated concern about country's image as world power and lies behind new hawkishness (M)
Koch, at news media request, makes public transition papers prepared by each agency in Oct for Deputy Mayor Kummerfeld; most papers assess current policies and problems new adm will face in 1st 6 mos; contents revd (M)
State Dept to seek emergency admission of 10,000 more boat people stranded in Asia; officials say that if request is granted, 5,000 would be admitted promptly and 5,000 places will be kept open for future refugees; 500 to 1,500 are fleeing Vietnam monthly and US admitted 7,000 during past summer and 165,000 from Indochinese countries since '75 (M)
Amer inmates comment; most say that early release is main reason to serve remaining terms in US prisons; illus (M)
Article on effectiveness of '73 Rehabilitation Act in helping handicapped students attain educ they desire; compliance with law, which gives insts as long as 3 yrs to carry out bldg alterations to accommodate handicapped students, is mandatory for all insts that receive Fed support; problems confronting paraplegic Alfred DiPaolo in obtaining courses he wanted to become gym teacher prior to law's enactment noted; DiPaolo illus (L)
The Theater Dance Collection's performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music mentioned on page 10 of today's Arts and Leisure Section will be given Dec. 15 through 18, rather than this week.
Pravda series by economist Dr Dmitri V Valovoi cites problems plaguing Soviet econ system; Valovoi holds '65 plan giving enterprises some independence, while their performance was measured by value of their produce sold, was failure; denounces econ system as rewarding factories for waste and inefficiency and punishing them for introducing automation and cutting costs; attacks Gosplan, state planning agency, for trying to exercise too detailed control over production; sees shortages and slow deliveries of supplies plaguing all aspects of econ; drawing (L)