January 21, 1976★★★★★
Concorde enters commercial service
The Anglo-French supersonic airliner Concorde begins commercial passenger flights.
Technology· United Kingdom, France
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Events this year
March 24, 1976★★★★★
1976 Argentine coup d'état
The Argentine military overthrows President Isabel Perón and installs a junta associated with the "Dirty War".
Politics· Argentina
June 16, 1976★★★★★
Soweto uprising
Black schoolchildren in Soweto protested against compulsory instruction in Afrikaans; police opened fire, and the ensuing crackdown left hundreds dead.
PoliticsRevolution· South Africa
July 2, 1976★★★★★
Reunification: Socialist Republic of Vietnam proclaimed
The National Assembly of the reunified country proclaims the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Saigon is renamed Hồ Chí Minh City.
Politics· Vietnam
July 20, 1976★★★★★
Viking 1 lands on Mars
NASA's Viking 1 lander touches down on Mars and returns the first images from the planet's surface.
ExplorationScience· United States
September 9, 1976★★★★★
Death of Mao Zedong
Chairman Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, dies in Beijing; the Cultural Revolution ends soon after.
DeathPolitics· China
Ongoing
1966 – 1976★★★★★
Cultural Revolution
Mao Zedong launches a decade-long political movement that brings social upheaval, persecution and the destruction of cultural heritage.
PoliticsRevolutionCulture· China
c. 1975 – c. 1995★★★★★
Vietnamese boat people
Hundreds of thousands of people flee Vietnam by sea after 1975; many die at sea and others are resettled, mostly in Western countries.
Politics· Vietnam, United States, Australia, Canada, France, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
April 13, 1975 – 1990★★★★★
Lebanese Civil War
A multi-sided civil war devastates Lebanon for fifteen years, with intervention by Syria, Israel and other foreign forces.
War· Lebanon
April 17, 1975 – January 7, 1979★★★★★
Khmer Rouge take Phnom Penh; Cambodian genocide begins
The Khmer Rouge capture Phnom Penh and forcibly empty the cities; Pol Pot's regime causes the deaths of an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people.
RevolutionPolitics· Cambodia
June 25, 1975 – March 21, 1977★★★★★
The Emergency in India
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a national emergency, suspending elections and civil liberties until 1977.
Politics· India