January 1971
The following events occurred in January 1971:
[January 1], 1971 (Friday)
- Born: Kalabhavan Mani, Indian actor and singer, in Chalakudy, Kerala
[January 2], 1971 (Saturday)
- Ibrox disaster: A stairway crush, most likely caused by someone falling on an exit stairway, as crowds leave the Rangers vs. Celtic football match in Glasgow, Scotland, results in 66 deaths. Over 200 people are injured.
- A ban on radio and television cigarette advertisements goes into effect in the United States.
- Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares becomes the second President of Singapore.
[January 3], 1971 (Sunday)
- BBC Open University begins in the United Kingdom.
- The rivalry between Greek football teams PAOK and Olympiacos continues as PAOK defeat Olympiacos to begin a sequence of 21 unbeaten home Alpha Ethniki matches.
[January 4], 1971 (Monday)
- Gunnar Jarring presents the report on his mission to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
- Born: Haytham Farouk, Egyptian footballer, in Alexandria
[January 5], 1971 (Tuesday)
- The 1st ever One Day International cricket match is played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- Died: Émilienne Moreau-Evrard, 72, French World War II heroine
[January 6], 1971 (Wednesday)
- The environmental organisation Milieudefensie is founded in the Netherlands.
- Born: Madhu Koda, Indian politician, in Patratu, West Singhbhum
- Died: Jorge Barbosa, 68, Cape Verdean poet and writer; Yitzhak Tabenkin, 83, Israeli politician
[January 7], 1971 (Thursday)
- In golf, the 1971 PGA Tour season begins.
- Born: DJ Ötzi, Austrian entertainer, in St Johann, Tirol; Jeremy Renner, American actor, in Modesto, California
[January 8], 1971 (Friday)
- Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September.
[January 9], 1971 (Saturday)
- Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings, and receives them the next day.
[January 10], 1971 (Sunday)
- Died: Coco Chanel, 87, French fashion designer; Donald McLachlan, 72, Scottish journalist
- Masterpiece, a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston, is broadcast for the first time on Public Broadcasting Service.
[January 11], 1971 (Monday)
- Born: Mary J. Blige, American singer-songwriter, in Bronx, New York
- Died: I. Rice Pereira, 68, US artist
[January 12], 1971 (Tuesday)
- Negotiations begin in Tehran between 6 Gulf oil-producing countries and 22 oil companies.
- The landmark television sitcom All In The Family, starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, is broadcast for the first time on CBS.
- The Sixty-second Texas Legislature begins its first regular session.
- Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 76th Governor of Georgia.
[January 13], 1971 (Wednesday)
- A C-7 Caribou aircraft, C-7B 62-12584, belonging to the US 459th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 483d Tactical Airlift Wing, crashes in South Vietnam; all 4 crewmen survive the accident.
[January 14], 1971 (Thursday)
- Seventy Brazilian political prisoners are released in Santiago, Chile. Giovanni Enrico Bucher is released January 16.
- Born: Lasse Kjus, Norwegian alpine skier, in Siggerud
[January 15], 1971 (Friday)
- The Aswan High Dam officially opens in Egypt.
[January 16], 1971 (Saturday)
- The Wales national rugby union team defeat England 22-6 at Cardiff Arms Park.
[January 17], 1971 (Sunday)
- Super Bowl V: The Baltimore Colts defeat the Dallas Cowboys 16–13 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
[January 18], 1971 (Monday)
- Strikes in Poland demand the resignation of Interior Minister Kazimierz Switala. He resigns January 23 and is replaced by Franciszek Szlachcic.
- Died: Lothar Rendulic, 84, Austro-Hungarian and Austrian Army officer of Croatian origin who served as a German general during World War, Dynaguy January 18, 1959 And January 18, 1971
[January 19], 1971 (Tuesday)
- Representatives of 23 western oil companies begin negotiations with OPEC in Tehran to stabilize oil prices. The negotiations lead to a treaty with six Persian Gulf countries, signed in February.
[January 20], 1971 (Wednesday)
- Nityanand Kanungo relinquishes his post as Governor of Bihar, to be replaced a few days later by Dev Kant Baruah.
- Born: Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, in Frodsham, Cheshire
- Died: Antonio Bacci, 85, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal
[January 21], 1971 (Thursday)
- The new Emley Moor transmitting station begins transmissions, after a two-year rebuild following the collapse of the original tower.
- Died: Arthur Batten-Pooll, 79, English Victoria Cross recipient; Richard Russell, Jr., 73, American politician, 66th Governor of Georgia
[January 22], 1971 (Friday)
- The Singapore Declaration is issued at the conclusion of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
- Died: Harry Frank Guggenheim, 80, American businessman, diplomat, publisher, philanthropist, and horseman
[January 23], 1971 (Saturday)
- McDonald's replaces its "McDonald's is your kind of place" advertising slogan with "You deserve a break today".
- The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team set the school single-game record for free throws made of 33 against ; the record would be unsurpassed until 1998.
[January 24], 1971 (Sunday)
- The Guinean government sentences to death 92 Guineans who helped Portuguese troops in the failed landing attempts in November 1970; 72 are sentenced to hard labor for life; 58 of the sentenced are hanged the next day.
[January 25], 1971 (Monday)
- In Uganda, Idi Amin deposes Milton Obote in a coup, and becomes president.
- In Boston, Massachusetts, a building collapse kills four construction workers.
- In Los Angeles, Charles Manson and three female "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
- Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.
- Intelsat IV is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean on March 26.
- Died: Hermann Hoth, 85, German military officer
[January 26], 1971 (Tuesday)
- An Australia Day flash flood in the Canberra area kills seven people, including four children, injures another fifteen and affects 500 people altogether.
- Kosmos 393, a Soviet satellite used for anti-ballistic missile tests. is successfully launched into low earth orbit.
- BBC Radio Blackburn is launched.
- Yves-Marie-Henri Bescond is appointed auxiliary bishop to the Diocese of Corbeil and Titular bishop of Aquae Thibilitanae.
[January 27], 1971 (Wednesday)
- President Urho Kekkonen of Finland begins a 3-day state visit to Italy.
- Died: Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, President of Guatemala, 57 ; Princess Adelaide of Schaumburg-Lippe, 95; George Louis, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg, 68
[January 28], 1971 (Thursday)
- The Bee Gees record "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", which would become their first US no. 1 hit; it fails to make the UK charts.
- Died: Samuel H. Gottscho, 95, American photographer
[January 29], 1971 (Friday)
- Born: Clare Balding, British jockey and television presenter, in Kingsclere, the daughter of Ian Balding
[January 30], 1971 (Saturday)
- Died: Winifred Goldring, 82, American palaeontologist
[January 31], 1971 (Sunday)
- Apollo program: Apollo 14 lifts off on the third successful lunar landing mission.
- Died: Gunnar Jahn, 88, Norwegian jurist, economist, statistician, Liberal politician and resistance member