Year by year · 20th century

1972

1972 in world history: 12 events, 4 births, 16 deaths, 3 works, 1 state founded and 2 that came to an end. 224 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 21 February

    Richard Nixon arrives in Beijing

    Nixon became the first US President to visit the People's Republic of China, meeting Mao Zedong. His week-long trip ended more than two decades of hostility and reshaped Cold War diplomacy.

    People's Republic of ChinaBeijing

  2. 2 May

    J. Edgar Hoover dies after 48 years leading the FBI

    J. Edgar Hoover died in Washington, having led the Bureau and its predecessor since 1924. He built a modern federal police force but also used it to spy on activists and politicians.

  3. 22 May

    Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka

    A new constitution made Ceylon a republic, ending the British monarch's role as head of state, and adopted the name Sri Lanka. The island had become independent in 1948.

    Sri LankaCeylon

  4. 17 June

    Five men are arrested in the Watergate building

    Burglars linked to President Nixon's re-election committee were caught inside the Democratic National Committee offices in Washington. The cover-up led to Nixon's resignation in 1974.

  5. 23 June

    Nixon approves using the CIA to block the Watergate inquiry

    In a taped conversation, Nixon agreed that the CIA should ask the FBI to halt its investigation. The release of this 'smoking gun' tape in August 1974 forced his resignation.

  6. 5 September

    Palestinian gunmen seize Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics

    Black September militants killed two members of the Israeli team and took nine hostage. All nine and a West German policeman died in a failed rescue at Fürstenfeldbruck airbase.

  7. Event

    Ikiza

    The Ikiza ('the Catastrophe') was a campaign of mass killings in Burundi in 1972, in which the Tutsi-dominated army and the ruling party's youth wing killed perhaps 100,000 to 300,000 Hutu.

  8. Event

    Treaty of Accession 1972

    The Treaty of Accession 1972 was the agreement signed in Brussels on 22 January 1972 under which the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973.

ProfileState220 states with a known seat in 1972Open the atlas at 1972 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1972 4

Died in 1972 16

Works 3

States founded 1

States that came to an end 2

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1972. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1972
MLA
“1972.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1972. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1972.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1972.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1972’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1972 (Accessed: ).