WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO JULY 1972
Find out what all happened May to July 1972

The Troubles: In Belfast, British Army snipers shoot five civilians dead in the Springhill Massacre. (9. July 1972)

The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts. (11. July 1972)

Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is damaged by a vandal, the mentally disturbed Hungarian geologist Laszlo Toth. (21. May 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)

Staines air disaster – 118 are killed when a BEA H.S. Trident crashes two minutes after take off from London Heathrow Airport. (18. June 1972)

The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. (26. May 1972)

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

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

In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while he is campaigning to become President. (15. May 1972)

The Troubles: Bloody Friday – the Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing 9 and injuring 130. (21. July 1972)

The island of Okinawa, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control. (15. May 1972)

In Tel Aviv, Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others. (30. 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)

Watergate Scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins. (23. June 1972)

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

The Troubles: a car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured. (13. May 1972)

The first Gay Pride march in England takes place. (1. July 1972)

Willandra National Park is established in Australia. (26. May 1972)

Vietnam War – U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation. (8. May 1972)