Year 1970: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1970. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, retail prices, entertainment trivia, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. In 1970, Richard Nixon was the 37th U.S. president, and Spiro Agnew was the vice president.
2. California adopted no-fault divorce with the Family Law Act of 1969, which became effective on January 1, 1970.
3. On January 4, New York City’s transit fare increased from 20 cents to 30 cents, and the new “large Y” tokens were now being used.
4. On January 7, nearly five months after the festival “Woodstock,” farmer Max Yasgur was sued for $35,000 by some neighboring farmers for damages caused by the festival.
5. On January 17, Sporting News named MLB legend Willie Mays as their “Player of the Decade” for the 1960s.
6. On January 22, the world’s first jumbo jet, a Boeing 747, made its first commercial passenger trip from New York to London. The Pan-Am flight carried 332 passengers and 18 crew members.
7. On January 27, "M" was changed to "PG" (Parental Guidance) “due to the confusing nature of the term ‘mature audiences.’”
8. In April, President Nixon ordered “a secret invasion” of Cambodia by U.S. and South Vietnamese troops.
9. On April 1, President Nixon signed legislation that officially banned cigarette ads on television and radio. History.com tells us that “Nixon, who was an avid pipe smoker, indulging in as many as eight bowls a day, supported the legislation at the increasing insistence of public health advocates.”
10. On April 12, the Yankees dedicated plaques to baseball legends Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio.
11. CNN.com tells us that “The Apollo 13 spacecraft was intended to be the third landing on the moon, but the NASA crew aborted its mission after an oxygen tank exploded on board. The astronauts landed in the South Pacific on April 17, 1970.”
12. On April 22, the first Earth Day was celebrated.
13. On May 10, Bobby Orr became a hockey legend when he “scored an overtime goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, giving the Boston Bruins their first championship since 1941.” In 1971, Orr “signed the first million-dollar contract in NHL history—$200,000 a year for five years—and in 1979, he became the youngest NHL Hall of Famer when he was inducted at the age of 31. Ray Lussie/Boston Herald American/AP.”
14. On May 12, MLB shortstop Ernie Banks hit his 500th home run.
15. On May 17, Hammerin’ Hank Aaron became the ninth MLB player to get 3,000 hits.
16. On May 4, four Kent State University students were killed by the Ohio National Guard. Kent.edu tells us that “members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close.”
17. In July, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed.
18. On September 13, IBM unveiled its new computer system—the IBM System/370. According to IBM.com, “System/370 Models 155 and 165 can provide computer users with dramatically higher performance and information storage capacity for their data processing dollars than ever before available from IBM in medium- and large-scale systems.”
19. On September 21, the New York Times started their Op-Ed page.
20. On October 5, PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) began operations, taking over many of the functions of its predecessor, National Educational Television (NET). PBS.org tells us that “Every day, PBS and its more than 330 member stations fulfill our essential mission to the American public, providing trusted programming that is uniquely different from commercial broadcasting and treating audiences as citizens, not simply consumers.”
21. On November 17, American engineer Douglas Engelbart received a patent for the first computer mouse.
22. On November 18, chemist Linus Pauling declared that large doses of vitamin C might prevent or decrease the intensity of the common cold.
23. During 1970, Japan became the world’s fourth space power, after the Soviet Union (1957), the United States (1958), and France (1965).
24. During 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began operations, and William Ruckelhaus was the first director.
25. According to the 1970 census, the most populated American cities were New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, Dallas, Washington, DC, and Cleveland.
26. Farmers made up 4.6% of the American labor force. There were about 2,780,000 farms in the U.S., averaging about 390 acres apiece.
27. In the United States, there were 7,359,200 property crimes, 16,000 murders, 349,860 robberies, 2,205,000 burglaries, and 928,400 vehicle thefts.
28. Courtesy of the Social Security Administration, popular baby names were Michael, Christopher, Jason, David, James, Jennifer, Amy, Melissa, Michelle, and Kimberly.
29. The average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 67.1 years.
30. The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $78,200.
31. Fashion trends for women in 1970 included tie-dye shirts, ponchos, capes, military surplus clothing, bell-bottoms, gauchos, frayed jeans, midi skirts, and ankle-length maxi dresses. FashionHistory.fitnyc.edu adds that “As the Swinging Sixties turned into the 1970s, the influence of boutique stores and diffusion lines made ready-to-wear clothing increasingly accessible. New synthetic fabrics meant that fashionable styles could be bought at any price point.”
32. Heartthrobs and fashion icons for the year included Ann-Margret, Carol Burnett, Dyan Cannon, Diahann Carroll, Barbara Eden, Jane Fonda, Goldie Hawn, Sophia Loren, Ali McGraw, Mary Tyler Moore, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Twiggy, and Raquel Welch.
33. Pamela Eldred (West Bloomfield, MI) won the Miss America crown.
34. Deborah Shelton (Virginia) became Miss USA.
35. Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” was Willy Brandt, a German politician and statesman.

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor