75:20

1970............The first Earth Day............U.S. Troops enter Cambodia............Six students are killed while protesting the Cambodian incursion. Four at Kent State University and two at Jackson State in Mississippi............Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, both 27, die from drug-related causes............An Arab guerilla group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, blows up three hijacked airlines just minutes after 300 hostages are evacuated............Monday Night Football premieres on ABC............The Environmental Protection Agency is created by Congress............Black activist Angela Davis is arrested and charged with kidnapping, murder and conspiracy. She is acquitted of all charges two years later............Doonesbury, the comic strip by Garry Trudeau, makes it debut............New on TV in 1970: "The Flip Wilson Show"; "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"; "The Odd Couple"; "The Partridge Family."............Daisy wheel printer debuts... New in print in 1970: Erich Segal's "Love Story"; Richard Bach's "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"; Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"; "Essence" and "Smithsonian" magazines............The Academy Awards: best picture — "Patton"; best actor — George C. Scott for "Patton"; best actress — Glenda Jackson for "Women in Love."....................................1971............Army lieutenant William Calley Jr. is convicted of premeditated murder for his role in the 1968 massacre of 22 civilians in the South Vietnamese village of My Lai............School busing to achieve racial balance is upheld unanimously by the U.S. Supreme Court............"All Things Considered," makes its debut on National Public Radio............Tricia Nixon webs Edward Cox............The Pentagon Papers, secret Department of Defense documents about decision making in the Vietnam War, are published by the New York Times............Eighteen-year-olds get the vote with the ratification of the 26th amendment to the Constitution............Jim Morrison, 27, of the Doors dies in Paris of a heart attack............The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opens in Washington, D.C............A thousand prisoners riot and take hostages at Attica State Correctional Facility in New York State. 10 hostages and 29 prisoners are killed when authorities forcibly retake the prison............D.B. Cooper skyjacks a Northwest Airlines flight, lands to pick up $200,000 in ransom, then parachutes from the airborne plane never to be caught............New on TV in 1971: "Columbo"; "All in the Family"; "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour"; "Masterpiece Theater"; "Alias Smith and Jones."............New products in 1971: the microprocessor computer chip by Intel; soft contact lenses; food processor............New in print in 1971: William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist"; John Updike's "Rabbit Redux"; Herman Wouk's "The Winds of War."............The Academy Awards in 1971: best picture — "The French Connection"; best actress — Jane Fonda for "Klute."....................................1972............Richard Nixon meets with Mao Zedong, Communist Party Chairman, during historic first visit of an American president to the People's Republic of China............The Equal Rights Amendment is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Eventually it fails to be ratified by the necessary two-thirds of the states............Alabama governor George Wallace is shot while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Laurel, Maryland. He is left permanently paralyzed............Nixon becomes the first U.S. president to visit Moscow............The Democrat's Watergate office is burglarized by five men acting on behalf of President Nixon's reelection campaign committee... George McGovern is nominated to be the Democratic candidate for president............Jane Fonda, broadcasting from North Vietnam, urges American soldiers to reconsider their participation in the war, thus earning her the nickname of Hanoi Jane............Bobby Fischer is the first American to win the world chess title, beating Soviet grand master, Boris Spassky............U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals at the Olympic Games in Munich............Palestinian terrorists kill two Israeli coaches at the Olympics and take nine Israeli athletes hostage. The hostages are murdered during a shootout with police............"Life" magazine ceases publication............New on TV in 1972: "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids"; "M*A*S*H"; "The Bob Newhard Show"; "Sanford and Son"; "Maude"; "The Waltons."............New products in 1972: Nike running shoes; Home Box Office; Pong............New in Print in 1972: "Ms." magazine; Richard Adams's "Watership Down"; Xavier Hollander's "The Happy Hooker."............The 1972 Academy Awards: best picture — "The Godfather"; best actor — Marlon Brando in "The Godfather"; best actress — Liza Minnelli in "Cabaret."....................................1973............The Miami Dolphins complete an unprecidented 17-0-0 NFL season by beating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII............The Supreme Court legalizes abortion without restriction during the first trimester in the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling............A Vietnam War cease-fire is signed in Paris by U.S. national security adviser Henry Kissenger and North Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho............Secretariat wins the Triple Crown............The last known U.S. prisoners of war are released by North Vietnam. U.S. troops complete withdrawal from South Vietnam............The American Indian Movement, led by Russell Means and Dennis Banks holds out for 71 days against U.S. marshals at the Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux Reservation in South Dakota to protest Indians' living conditions............Televised hearings on Watergate begin............Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in a "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match in Houston............Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigns after pleading no contest to charges of federal income tax evasion. He is succeeded by Congressman Gerald Ford............Long lines form at gas stations and fuel prices skyrocket when OPEC cuts off shipments of oil to the U.S.............The Saturday Night Massacre causes a national outrage. President Nixon orders the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox. The U.S. attorney general and his deputy resign rather than execute the order.............New products in 1973: color photocopier; Dungeons and Dragons............New on TV in 1973: "Kojak"; "Police Story"; "Barnaby Jones"; "The Six Million Dollar Man."............New in print in 1973: The Boston Women's Health Book Collective's "Our Bodies, Ourselves"; Peter Maa's "Serpico"; Erica Jong's "Fear of Flying."............The 1973 Academy Awards: best picture — "The Sting"; best actor — Jack Lemmon in "Save the Tiger"; best actress— Glenda Jackson in "A Touch of Class."....................................1974............A nationwide 55-mph speed limit is enacted............Muhammad Ali knows out George Foreman in the eighth round of the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire............Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped in Berkeley, California by a radical militant group, the Symbionese Liberation Army. She is later arrested for joining the group in a bank robbery............Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's record of 714 career home runs............Mikhail Baryshnikov debuts in the American Ballet Theatre's "Giselle" after defecting to the United States............Richard M. Nixon resigns the presidency after impeachment proceeding against him are recommended by the House Judiciary Committee............Gerald R. Ford is sworn in as the 38th president of the United States............President Ford pardons Nixon for all federal crimes he committed or may have taken part in while in office............First Lady Betty Ford undergoes a radical mastectomy for breast cancer............New products in 1974: the pocket calculator; frozen pizzas............New on TV in 1974: "Happy Days"; "Chico and the Man"; "Good Times"; "Little House on the Prairie"; "Rhoda"; "The Rockford Files."............New in print in 1974: Charles Berlitz's "The Bermuda Triangle"; John Le Carré's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"; Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago"; "People" magazine............The 1974 Academy Awards: best picture — "The Godfather, Part II"; best actor — Art Carney in "Harry and Tonto"' best actress — Ellen Burstyn in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"....................................1975............Bill Gates and Paul Allen start Microsoft, a computer software company, working from an apartment in Albuquerque............The U.S. Embassy in Saigon is evacuated by the last Americans. The next day, South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam............American and Soviet spacecraft join up. Apollo and Soyuz capsules, in the first cooperative international flight, rendezvous and dock in Earth orbit for two days............"A Chorus Line," opens on Broadway............Jimmy Hoffa, former Teamsters' Union president, disappears............An assassination attempt is made against President Ford by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, California............In "The Thrilla in Manila," Muhammad Ali beats Joe Frazier in a 14th-round technical knockout............New on TV in 1975: "Baretta"; "The Jeffersons"; "Saturday Night Live"; "One Day at a Time"; "Welcome Back, Kotter"; "Barney Miller"............New products in 1975: Famous Amos cookies; Wrigley's nonstick chewing gum for denture wearers; disposable razors; the Altair 8800 mini-computer kit............New in print in 1975: Harold H. Bloomfield's "TM: Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress"; James Clavell's "Shogun"; Judith Rossner's "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"............The 1975 Academy Awards: best picture — "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"; best actor — Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"; best actress — Louise Fletcher in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"....................................1976............Apple Computer, Inc is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak............American Dorothy Hamill wins a gold medal in figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.............The supersonic airliner Concorde begins trans-Atlantic passenger service............Women are admitted to West Point for the first time............The black township of Soweto explodes with the worst racial violence in South Africa's history. Black students, angered by a law requiring the use of Afrikaans, the language of the ruling white minority, are fired on by police during a protest march, resulting in four deaths and sparking the Soweto uprising............The American Bicentennial is celebrated in festivities across the country............American Legionnaires meeting in Philadelphia are hit with a mysterious virus............Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci scores seven perfect 10s and wins three gold medals, a sliver and a bronze at the Olympic Games in Montreal............"Treasures of Tutankhamen," a traveling exhibition of artifacts from the young pharoah's tomb, begins a three-year, seven-city tour of the U.S.............British guitarist Peter Frampton's "Framptom Comes Alive" album is the biggest-selling live pop album ever............Two Viking probes, launched the previous year, begin sending panoramic pictures of the pock-marked, rocky surface of Mars............Jimmy Carter is elected the 39th president of the United States............New on TV in 1976: "Charlie's Angels"; "The Muppet Show"; "Laverne and Shirley"; "Alice"............New products in 1976: call waiting, ink-jet printers, Betamax and VHS systems for videocassette recording............New in print in 1976: Alex Haley's "Roots"; Ira Levin's "The Boys from Brazil"; Gail Sheehy's "Passages"; Shere Hite's "The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality"............The 1976 Academy Awards: best picture — "Rocky"; best actor — Peter Finch in "Network"; best actress — Faye Dunaway in "Network".....................................1977............An unconditional pardon is granted to virtually all Vietnam-era draft evaders by President Carter............A.J. Foyt wins his fourth Indianapolis 500, the first driver ever to do so............The Trans-Alaska Pipeline, 799 miles long, begins oil-pumping operations............Elvis Presley dies at age 42............The National Women's Conference in House draws about 20,000 delegates and observers............New on TV in 1977: "Three's Company"; "Lou Grant"; "Soap"; "The Love Boat"; "Quincy, M.E."............New products in 1977: the Apple II computer; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)............New in print in 1977: Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon"; Jim Fixx's "The Complete Book of Running"; Colleen McCullogh's "The Thorn Birds"............The 1977 Academy Awards: best picture — "Annie Hall"; best actor — Richard Dreyfuss in "The Goodbye Girl"; best actress — Diane Keaton for "Annie Hall"....................................1978............The first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, is born in England............The Love Canal, a residential area near Niagara Falls, New York, is declared a disaster area by President Carter because of contamination from long-buried toxic wastes............Jimmy Conners and Chris Evert win the men's and women's singles titles at the U.S. Open............Muhammad Ali takes his third heavyweight boxing title — a record — by defeating Leon Spinks in a unanimous decision in New Orleans............The Camp David peace accords are negotiated by President Carter between Israel's Menachem Begin and Egypt's Anwar el-Sadat............A mass suicide by poison is discovered in Guyana, South America. The 912 victims are American followers of cult leader Jim Jones, who is found shot to death among the bodies............Tens of thousands of skeletons, including these near the Cambodian village of Suong, are horrifying evidence of the Communist Khmer Rouge's genocidal policies since assuming power in 1975............New on TV in 1978: "The Incredible Hulk"; "Dallas"; "Mork and Mindy"; "Taxi"; "20/20"............New products in 1978: Epson dot-matrix printer, Harriet Tubman postage stamp............New in print: the "Garfield" comic strip, Herman Tarnower and Samm Sinclair Baker's "The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet"; Judith Krantz's "Scruples"; James Michener's "Chesapeake"............The 1978 Academy Awards: best picture — "The Deer Hunter"; best actor — Jon Voight in "Coming Home"; best actress — Jane Fonda in "Coming Home"....................................1979............U.S. Chinese diplomatic relations are established. The United States simultaneously severs diplomatic ties with the Chinese Nationalist government of Taiwan............The Reverend Jerry Falwell forms the Moral Majority in Lynchburg, Virginia, a right-wing group aiming to reassert traditional religious values in a secular culture............A near melt-down occurs at the Three-Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania............Gasoline lines form again as a 24 percent increase in OPEC oil prices leads to the country's second energy crisis of the decade............Skylab falls to Earth. The 77-ton U.S. space station, launched in 1973, breaks up and comes down in a shower of pieces over the Indian Ocean and Australia............Pope John Paul II visits the U.S.............Iranian students storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 65 American hostages. After 13 hostages are released, the rest will remain captive for 44 days............Soviet forces invade Afghanistan following a coup in which the Kabul government of President Amin is ousted............New on TV in 1979: "The Dukes of Hazzard"; "Knot's Landing"; "B.J. and the Bear"; "Hart to Hart"............New products in 1979: IBM's 64,000-bit silicon memory chip; the Sony Walkman; the Susan B. Anthony $1 coin............New in print in 1979: William Styron's "Sophie's Choice"; Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff"; Henry Kissinger's "The White House Years"............The 1979 Academy Awards: best picture — "Kramer vs. Kramer"; best actor — Dustin Hoffman in "Kramer vs. Kramer"; best actress — Sally Field in "Norma Rae"....................................

Join us for an anniversary celebration of 75 years of theatre and 20 years of Dance in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Check out the full Calendar of Anniversary Events.

Find out what you never knew about the Department since the move to Rarig Center by reading our History.

And then reconnect with old friends on the 75:20 Blog.

For those whose experiences spanned the decades, visit the 1980s section or visit the 1990s section to set the mood for remembering your years in Theatre and Dance.