1972

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1940s  1950s  1960s  – 1970s –  1980s  1990s  2000s
Years:	1969 1970 1971 – 1972 – 1973 1974 1975

1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. .

Events

• February 17 – U.S. President Richard Nixon visits China.
• May 15 – Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama is shot by Arthur H. Bremer at a Laurel, Maryland political rally.
• June 29 – The United States Supreme Court rules that the death penalty is unconstitutional.
• September 17 – The television comedy series M*A*S*H premieres in the United States.
• writer and pen club president Heinrich Böll receives the nobel prize for literature.

Births

• January 2 – Adam Elliot, Australian animator
• January 11 – Amanda Peet, American actress
• February 17 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer (Green Day)
• February 17 – Yuki Isoya, Japanese singer (Judy and Mary)
• March 6 – Shaquille O'Neal, professional basketball player, actor and rapper
• March 15 – Mark Hoppus, American musician (Blink 182)
• March 17 – Oksana Grishuk, Ukrainian figure skater
• March 23 – Jonas Björkman, Swedish tennis player
• April 17 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
• April 20 – Carmen Electra, American model
• May 2 – Dwayne Johnson, Retired professional wrestler and actor
• May 4 – Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
• May 6 – Martin Brodeur, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender
• June 23 – Zinedine Zidane, French footballer
• August 6 – Geri Halliwell, English singer (Spice Girls)
• August 9 – Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez, Colombian singer ad songwriter
• August 15 – Ben Affleck, American actor
• August 25 – Rachael Ray, American talk show host and cook
• August 27 – Denise Lewis, English athlete
• August 27 – Dalip Singh Rana, Indian professional wrestler and actor
• August 30 – Cameron Diaz, American actress
• September 28 – Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress
• October 17 – Eminem, American rapper
• December 9 – Tré Cool, American musician (Green Day)
• December 19 – Alyssa Milano, American actress
• December 28 – Pat Rafter, Australian tennis player
• Shmuel Yerushalmi, Israeli poet

Deaths

• January 16 – Ross Bagdasarian, American pianist and actor (b. 1919)
• April 27 – Kwame Nkrumah, first President of Ghana (b. 1909)
• May 5 – Martiros Saryan, Russian-Armenian painter (b. 1880)
• May 28 – HRH the Duke of Windsor, formerly Edward VIII King of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
• December 26 – Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (b. 1884)
• December 27 – Lester Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1897)

Movies released

• Deliverance
• The Godfather

Hit Songs

• "People Need Love" – ABBA
• "He Is Your Brother" – ABBA
• "Starman" – David Bowie
• "Take It Easy" – The Eagles
• "Jealous Guy" – John Lennon
• "All The Young Dudes" – Mott the Hoople
• "You're So Vain" – Carly Simon
• "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard" – Paul Simon
• "Mother and Child Reunion" – Paul Simon
• "Duncan" – Paul Simon
• "America" – Simon and Garfunkel
• "You Wear It Well" – Rod Stewart
• "Ben"- Michael Jackson
• "Parle plus bas (Le Parrain)"- Dalida
• "Les choses de l'amour"- Dalida
• "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" – Mac Davis
• "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" – Simon and Garfunkel
• "American Pie" – Don McLean
• "Horse With No Name" – America
• "Ventura Highway" – America
• "Crocodile Rock" – Elton John
• "Rocket Man" – Elton John
• "Layla" – Derek & the Dominoes
• "Rock & Roll Part 2" – Gary Glitter
• "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" – Jim Croce
• "The Candyman" – Sammy Davis Jr.
• "Lean on Me" – Bill Withers
• "Freddie's Dead (Theme From Superfly)" – Curtis Mayfield
• "If You Don't Know Me By Now" – Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes
• "I Gotcha" – Joe Tex
• "Without You" – Harry Nilsson
• "Let's Stay Together" – Al Green
• "Brand New Key" – Melanie
• "Signs" – The Drifters
• "My Ding-A-Ling" – Chuck Berry
• "Morning Has Broken" – Cat Stevens
• "I Can See Clearly Now" – Johnny Nash
• "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" – Roberta Flack
• "I'll Take You There" – The Staple Singers
• "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" – Looking Glass
• "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" – Hollies
• Papa Was a Rollin' Stone – The Temptations
• "Heart of Gold" – Neil Young
• "Alone Again (Naturally)" – Gilbert O'Sullivan
• "Nights in White Satin" – The Moody Blues
• "Back Stabbers" – The O'Jays
• "I'm Stone in Love With You" – The Stylistics
• "I Am Woman" – Helen Reddy
• "I Gotcha" – Joe Tex
• "Song Sung Blue" – Neil Diamond
• "The Candy Man" – Sammy Davis Jr.
• "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" – Robert John
• "Rock and Roll" – Led Zeppelin
• "Metal Guru" – T.Rex
• "Two Divided By Love" – The Grass Roots
• "Burning Love" – Elvis Presley
• "Joy" – Apollo 100

New Books

• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S. Thompson