Famous events in 1974 the year I was born

I thought it would be interesting to look into the year I was born and some of the things that happened that year.

Not everyone on hubpages wants to openly divulge their age by declaring what year they were born but I was more than happy to share the history of the year so divulging my year of birth was relevant to my quest.

Here are five events that happened in 1974....

1. The Terracotta Army - Though these famous figures date back to 210 BC it was not until the spring of 1974 that they were stumbled upon by a group of farmers who were digging a water well. The height of the terracotta figure vary according to the status of the individual depicted the tallest being the Generals. The terracotta figures are meant to replicate the armies of Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of China. Current estimates for the number of figures in the pits are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. Only a handful of people have been allowed to walk in the pits shoulder to shoulder with the carved figures; one such person is Queen Elizabeth ll the current British Monarch.

2. There was a bombing campaign on mainland Britain beginning with an explosion at the famous Tower of London site on July 17th.

The bomb placed in the Mortar Room in the White Tower was said by Scotland Yard to be "an indiscriminate attack designed to create as much trouble and injury as possible." The bomb explosion killed 1 and injured several others. IRA were suspected but never claimed to be responsible.

However later in the year on the 21st November, the IRA bombed Birmingham, causing 21 deaths and injuring 182 people. Two pubs in central Birmingham, The Mulberry Bush and The Tavern In The Town, became the scene of carnage. Six men were arrested for the atrocity: Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power, and John Walker. They were known as the Birmingham Six. All received life sentences. And all, as subsequent appeals and campaigns proved they were innocent. They were granted their freedom in 1991.

3. The Lucy Skeleton is the name given to several hundred pieces of bone representing about 40% of the skeleton of an individual. The specimen was discovered in 1974 at Hadar in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia.

French geologist Maurice Taieb discovered Hadar in 1972 and formed a team of experts who returned to the site for a further excavation; it was during this time that the Lucy Skeleton was found in November 1974. Over 3 weeks the team discovered hundreds of bone fragments and could replicate approximately 40% of a hominid skeleton.

The bones where taken to Cleveland where they were reconstructed and a cast was made. The original bones were later returned to Ethiopia for preservation but a replica cast stands on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago. Lucy was only 1.1 m (3 ft 7 ¹⁄₂ in) tall, and would have weighed approximately 29 kg (64 lb).

4. Richard Nixon resigns from US Presidential Office after the findings of the Watergate Scandal.

Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States of America from 1969 - 1974. During his office term he

• Withdrew American troops from Vietnam and successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam
• He became the 1st US President to visit Mainland China during office. Opening diplomatic relations between the USA and China.
• He launched the fight against Cancer and Drugs.
• He made legal reforms such as those ending desegregation in Southern State Schools and those ending discrimination on the basis of sex in schools for education, sports, and other activities.

It was only after the Watergate Scandal of the early 1970s and the likelihood of impeachment that forced Nixon to resign in August 1974. His successor Gerald Ford pardoned him for any federal crimes he may have committed with in Office.

5. On the evening of the 7th of November 1974 a bloodstain woman burst into her local pub screaming for help. She told drinkers that the nanny was dead and that she had managed to escape from being murdered herself. This was the beginning of a mystery never to be fully solved. The woman was Lady Lucan wife of Lord Lucan who on that night fled to friends but on his leaving the friends the following morning there has not been a verified sighting of him since.

The investigation that followed the outburst in the pub created a court case that changed legal history.

The jury after hearing the accounts of Lady Lucan, Susan Maxwell-Scott (the friend Lord Lucan had visited on the night) and experts such as pathologists was out for only 31 minutes and their verdict was "Murder by Lord Lucan". It was the last time that a jury exercised its right to name a murderer. As a direct result of this case, the right was abolished by the Criminal Law Act of 1977.

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