February 1972

[February 1], 1972 (Tuesday)

• Four days after Nazi hunter Beate Klarsfeld had found that Klaus Barbie was living in Bolivia, the French government requested his extradition. Barbie was not brought to justice until 1983.
• In a private White House meeting between Billy Graham and U.S. President Richard Nixon, Graham voiced his opinion that the Jewish "stranglehold" on the media "has got to be broken". Graham would eventually apologize for his remarks, which were widely condemned as antisemitic, after the tape of the conversation was released by the National Archives in 2002.
• Democrat Edwin Edwards was elected to the first of four terms as Governor of Louisiana, defeating Republican David C. Treen in the general election by a margin of 57-43 percent.

  [February 2], 1972 (Wednesday)

• Following the funerals in Derry of 13 of the people killed by British paratroopers in Northern Ireland on "Bloody Sunday", a mob, estimated at 25,000, poured into Dublin's Merrion Square and burned down the four story British embassy in Ireland. Due to threats and attacks earlier in the week, all important records had been removed and the building was unoccupied.
• Born: Naheed Nenshi, the first Muslim mayor of a large North American city, known for serving as the Mayor of Calgary from 2010 to 2021; in Toronto
• Died:
• *Genaro Vázquez, 40, Mexican guerilla leader died after injuries sustained in a car wreck.
• *Natalie Barney, 95, lesbian pioneer

  [February 3], 1972 (Thursday)

• The 1972 Winter Olympics opened in Sapporo, Japan, with 1,006 athletes from 35 nations marching in the opening ceremony at Makomanai Stadium. Schoolboy Hideki Takada lit the Olympic flame.
• A blizzard began in Iran that would kill more than 4,000 people over a six-day period. As much of of snow fell on top of existing drifts in western Iran and into the Soviet Union's Azerbaijani SSR, and killed people in more than 200 Iranian villages. The snow finally abated on February 9.
• The United States Federal Communications Commission issued new rules for cable television in the United States. American systems had to carry at least 20 channels. The reform opened the door for new cable television networks.
• Born: Michael Kovrig, Canadian diplomat who was held prisoner in China from 2018 to 2021; in Toronto

  [February 4], 1972 (Friday)

• Kenneth Kaunda, the President of Zambia, moved to turn the African democracy into a one-party state after the new United Progressive Party had won a by-election in December. Simon Kapwepwe, who had been Kaunda's Vice-President until founding the UPP in 1971, was arrested, along with other party members. Kaunda's United National Independence Party then became the only legal party.
• Argentina's worst serial killer, Carlos Robledo Puch, was captured after committing 11 murders in less than a year.
• Two middle school students, aged 12 and 13, became the first of at least seven victims of the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders in and around the town of Santa Rosa, California. The two had last been seen hitchhiking home from an ice skating rink, and their bodies would not be discovered until December 28. The last of the killings happened on December 22, 1973; the perpetrator was never caught.
• Born: Giovanni Silva de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer with 18 caps for the national team; in Abaetetuba

  [February 5], 1972 (Saturday)

• Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the President of the Central African Republic since 1966, was proclaimed "President for Life". In 1976, he would proclaim himself Emperor, ruling until his overthrow in 1979.
• Died: Marianne Moore, 84, American poet

  [February 6], 1972 (Sunday)

• Two weeks before his historic visit to the People's Republic of China, President Nixon secretly asked the Chinese government to arrange a meeting there with North Vietnam's peace negotiator, Lê Đức Thọ.
• Died: Llewellyn Thompson, U.S. ambassador to the USSR 1957 to 1962 and 1967 to 1969

  [February 7], 1972 (Monday)

• Keith Holyoake resigned as Prime Minister of New Zealand after more than 11 years. He was replaced by the Deputy Prime Minister, Jack Marshall, who would lead the government until elections held on November 25.
• The Federal Election Campaign Act was signed into law by U.S. President Nixon, taking effect on April 7.

  [February 8], 1972 (Tuesday)

• A state of emergency was declared throughout the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Edward Heath as the coal miners' strike continued, and mined coal dwindled.
• The Baseball Hall of Fame announced the first of its enshrinees to have spent their entire career in baseball's Negro leagues as a special committee selected Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard, for the same group as Sandy Koufax and Yogi Berra.
• National Hockey League star Bruce Gamble suffered a heart attack after tending goal for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 3–1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, and was hospitalized the next day as the team traveled from Vancouver to Oakland, bringing an end to his NHL career. Gamble would die of a heart attack in 1982, hours after practicing with another team. Some accounts state, erroneously, that Gamble had collapsed in the middle of the Vancouver game, or that he died while playing hockey.
• After four months, a strike by the 13,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which mostly served West Coast ports, was settled. The strike had been interrupted by a Taft–Hartley Act injunction that had expired earlier in the month.
• Born:
• *Whitney Gaskell, American novelist; in Syracuse, New York.
• *Big Show, American professional wrestler; in Aiken, South Carolina.

  [February 9], 1972 (Wednesday)

• The Iran blizzard ended after seven days, during which as much as of snow buried villages in northwestern, central and southern Iran. An estimated 4,000 people were killed, particularly in the area around Ardakan.
• Born: Crispin Freeman, American voice actor; in Chicago
• Died: Chico Ruiz, 33, Cuban-born American major league baseball player, was killed in a car accident a month after having become a U.S. citizen.

  [February 10], 1972 (Thursday)

• Kinney Services, Inc., a conglomerate which had purchased the Warner Bros. studio in 1969, completed reorganization as shareholders approved its disincorporation in New York and its reincorporation in Delaware, with the new name of Warner Communications, Inc. The company, which now owns Turner Broadcasting, HBO, Cinemax, DC Comics, New Line Cinema, and part of TheCW television network, is now known as Warner Bros. Discovery.
• In Calama, Chile, where it was said that no rain had fallen "for more than 400 years", rain fell in a downpour and caused mudslides.
• David Bowie opened his concert tour with his new alter ego of "Ziggy Stardust", starting at the Toby Jug Pub in Tolworth.
• American and South Vietnamese forces completed a 24-hour period of bombing strikes against North Vietnam, with almost 400 bombing strikes carried out in some of the heaviest raids of the Vietnam War.
• Ras Al Khaimah joined the United Arab Emirates as its sixth emirate.

  [February 11], 1972 (Friday)

• As the nationwide strike of British coal miners continued, Secretary for Trade and Industry John Davies told the House of Commons that the government was ordering a massive shutdown of Britain's industry. Davies added that "Many, many people—perhaps millions—will be laid off."
• President Georges Pompidou of France and Chancellor Willy Brandt of West Germany jointly announced in Paris that the two nations had agreed to form an economic and monetary union.
• Time magazine concluded that The Autobiography of Howard Hughes, written by Hughes "with Clifford Irving" was a hoax, and that it had been plagiarized.
• The Nassau Coliseum was opened in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island, with the first event being an American Basketball Association game. The New York Nets beat the visiting Pittsburgh Condors, 129–121, as Rick Barry scored 45 points.
• The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals was signed in London.
• Born:
• *Kelly Slater, American professional surfer with 11 championships in the World Surf League; in Cocoa Beach, Florida
• *Steve McManaman, British footballer with 37 caps for the England national team; in Kirkdale, Liverpool

  [February 12], 1972 (Saturday)

• Time won the right to publish excerpts from Clifford Irving's "autobiography" of Howard Hughes, a day after cancelling declaring that it was a hoax. Time had discovered also that much of the work had been plagiarized from author James Phelan.
• The first delegates to the 1972 Democratic National Convention were selected, with 1,508 needed to win. A caucus in Arizona awarded nine delegates to Edmund Muskie, six each to John V. Lindsay and George S. McGovern, and four uncommitted.

  [February 13], 1972 (Sunday)

• The 1972 Winter Olympics closed in Sapporo. The Soviet Union had the most medals and most gold medals, followed by East Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United States.
• The Tony Award-winning musical 1776 closed after 1,217 performances on Broadway.

  [February 14], 1972 (Monday)

• A week before his visit to Beijing, President Nixon removed restrictions on American exports to the People's Republic of China, which had been in place for more than 20 years.
• The animated TV special The Lorax by Dr. Seuss first aired on CBS.
• Born:
• *Drew Bledsoe, American pro football quarterback; in Ellensburg, Washington
• *Rob Thomas, American singer, lead singer of Matchbox Twenty; in Landstuhl, West Germany, near Ramstein Air Base

  [February 15], 1972 (Tuesday)

• U.S. Patent No. 3,641,591 was granted to inventor Willem J. Kolff for the first artificial heart.
• José María Velasco Ibarra was overthrown as President of Ecuador. Velasco, who had been president on four other occasions, and was facing re-election, prepared to address the nation after learning that a coup d'état was planned. Upon arriving at the Channel 10 studios in Guayaquil, he was arrested, placed on an Ecuadorian Air Force plane, and flown to Panama. Velasco was replaced by General Guillermo Rodríguez Lara, who cancelled the election.
• The Oslo Convention, officially the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft, was signed in the Norwegian capital by Denmark, France, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, to take effect April 7, 1974.
• On the same day, what was later called the Cod Wars began when Iceland announced that it was terminating prior fishing treaties with the United Kingdom and West Germany, and that, effective September 1, it would not permit fishing within 50 nautical miles of its coastline.
• The United States granted copyright protection, for the first time, to sound recordings. Previously, only the written musical and lyrical compositions could be protected from reproduction.
• Ibrahim Hoti returned to Kosovo from Iraq, beginning the chain of events leading to a smallpox epidemic in Yugoslavia.
• Using the technology that would be introduced in 1980 for closed captioning, the ABC television network and the National Bureau of Standards demonstrated the results to students at Gallaudet College. The closed captioning, visible with decoding equipment, was embedded within the television signal for the ABC police drama The Mod Squad.
• Born: Jaromír Jágr, Czech hockey player and holder of the National Hockey League record for most career game-winning goals ; in Kladno, Czechoslovakia
• Died: Edgar Snow, 66, author of ''Red Star Over China''