There was a whole lot that went on in 1973. The year commenced with the expansion of the European Economic Community with the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland plus Denmark joining on January 1. The European Economic Community down the road turns into the European Union. Peace negotiations carried on from 1972 during the war within Vietnam. On January 15 the US President, Richard Nixon announces the suspensions of war action within North Vietnam citing progress with the peace negotiations. By March 17, almost all of the remaining US military continue to depart Vietnam. On January 22nd, the boxer George Foreman overcame Joe Frazier in one of the all-time classic battles to get the heavyweight world boxing championship. In the Chinese province of Sichuan on February 6th, a 7.6 quake kills 2200 individuals and injuring 2700 people. On April 1 the UK starts the Value Added Tax (VAT) in to the tax system.
One of the recurring stories of 1973 had been just what grew to be known as the Watergate scandal which began in 1972 with the robbery at the Democratic party headquarters. On April 30, President Richard Nixon announces that White House Counsel John Dean was fired and that Attorney General Richard Kleindienst has resigned together with staffers H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. It was done by Richard Nixon in order to divert examples of the responsibility from him. However, on July 16 the previous White House aide Alexander Butterfield notifies the United States senate committee looking into the Watergate break ins that President Richard Nixon had secretly taped possibly incriminating discussions. On October 20th with what turned out to be referred to as a Saturday Night Massacre, Nixon directs that Attorney General Richardson to dismiss Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson declined to accomplish this and with the Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus quits. The Solicitor General Robert Bork who had previously been next in line at the Department of Justice, then dismisses Cox. This affair brings up demands President Nixon’s impeachment. On November 1 the acting Attorney General Robert Bork names Leon Jaworski as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor. In Orlando, Florida on November 17th Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing publishers regarding his today well-known quote: “I am not a crook.” Subsequent a lot more incidents in this case, Richard Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974.
Additional occasions which took place in 1973 involved the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match on September 20th. In this match Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs with the televised tennis game, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, played out in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. There was an attendance of 30,492 people so that it is the greatest live audience of all time to watch a tennis game in USA history, a record that still exists right now. The international viewers which looked at this tennis game on television in 36 nations is approximated at over 90 million individuals. The singer, Elton John releases his most successful album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road upon October 5th. On October 20th, 1973 the significant Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth 2 after taking 14 years to build.