WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO OCTOBER 1972
Find out what all happened May to October 1972

Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators lead to 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths. (13. May 1972)

The three surviving perpetrators of the Munich massacre are released from prison in exchange for the hostages of hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615. (29. October 1972)

Operation Linebacker, a US bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ends after five months. (23. October 1972)

The first leap second is added to the UTC time system. (30. June 1972)

The United States Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. (3. August 1972)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signs Proclamation № 1081, placing the entire country under martial law and marking the beginning of his authoritarian rule. (21. September 1972)

Rhodesia is expelled by the IOC for its racist policies. (22. August 1972)

Four Black September terrorists hijack Sabena Flight 571. Israeli Sayeret Matkal commandos recapture the plane the following day. (8. May 1972)

Watergate scandal: five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition. (17. June 1972)

Vietnam War: the last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam. (11. August 1972)

An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 crashes outside Moscow killing 174. (13. October 1972)

The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom. (30. May 1972)

The fast food restaurant chain Popeyes is founded in Arabi, Louisiana. (12. June 1972)

Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat. (19. July 1972)

A race riot occurs on the United States Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off the coast of Vietnam during Operation Linebacker. (11. October 1972)

Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan are executed in Ankara for attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order. (6. May 1972)

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system has its opening day of passenger service. (11. September 1972)

The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy. (31. July 1972)

In a referendum, the people of Norway reject membership of the European Community. (25. September 1972)

The United States suffers its first loss of an international basketball game in a disputed match against the Soviet Union at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. (10. September 1972)