The almanac
The 1972 Edition
Limited to about 124 million copies: the babies born worldwide in 1972. About 92 million are still in circulation.
Estimates from the UN World Population Prospects 2024. How we count
What happened in 1972
- Pioneer 10 heads for JupiterNASA launched the first spacecraft designed to travel beyond the orbit of Mars.March 2 · Source: NASA
- The Godfather premieres in New YorkThe crime drama opened with a charity gala at a Manhattan movie palace.March 14 · Source: NPR
- M*A*S*H premieres on CBSThe comedy about an army field hospital in the Korean War began a 251-episode run.September · Source: Television Academy Foundation, The Interviews
- Mark Spitz wins a seventh goldThe American swimmer collected seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics.September 4 · Source: Swimming World
- HBO begins broadcastingThe pay channel debuted in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, with a hockey game and a movie.November 8 · Source: Cablefax
- Atari releases PongThe coin-operated table tennis game helped start the video game industry.November 29 · Source: American Heritage
- Last Apollo Moon mission heads homeApollo 17 left the lunar surface, closing NASA's Apollo Moon landings.December 14 · Source: BBC On This Day
Famous people born in 1972
- EminemAmerican rapper, record producer and actor · born October 17
- Josh DuhamelAmerican actor and former model · born November 14
- Dwayne JohnsonAmerican actor and professional wrestler · born May 2
- Cameron DiazAmerican actress and model · born August 30
- Narges MohammadiIranian human rights activist · born April 21
- Jude LawEnglish actor · born December 29
- Jennifer GarnerAmerican actress · born April 17
- Idris ElbaBritish actor · born September 6
From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages write about them. Spotted a mistake?
No. 1 songs of 1972
- Brand New KeyMelanie · first week at No. 1: January 1, 1972
- American Pie (Parts I & II)Don McLean · first week at No. 1: January 15, 1972
- Let's Stay TogetherAl Green · first week at No. 1: February 12, 1972
- Without YouNilsson · first week at No. 1: February 19, 1972
- Heart Of GoldNeil Young · first week at No. 1: March 18, 1972
- A Horse With No NameAmerica · first week at No. 1: March 25, 1972
- The First Time Ever I Saw Your FaceRoberta Flack · first week at No. 1: April 15, 1972
- Oh GirlThe Chi-lites · first week at No. 1: May 27, 1972
- I'll Take You ThereThe Staple Singers · first week at No. 1: June 3, 1972
- The Candy ManSammy Davis, Jr. with The Mike Curb Congregation · first week at No. 1: June 10, 1972
- Song Sung BlueNeil Diamond · first week at No. 1: July 1, 1972
- Lean On MeBill Withers · first week at No. 1: July 8, 1972
- Alone Again (Naturally)Gilbert O'Sullivan · first week at No. 1: July 29, 1972
- Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)Looking Glass · first week at No. 1: August 26, 1972
- Black & WhiteThree Dog Night · first week at No. 1: September 16, 1972
- Baby Don't Get Hooked On MeMac Davis · first week at No. 1: September 23, 1972
- BenMichael Jackson · first week at No. 1: October 14, 1972
- My Ding-A-LingChuck Berry · first week at No. 1: October 21, 1972
- I Can See Clearly NowJohnny Nash · first week at No. 1: November 4, 1972
- Papa Was A Rollin' StoneThe Temptations · first week at No. 1: December 2, 1972
- I Am WomanHelen Reddy · first week at No. 1: December 9, 1972
- Me And Mrs. JonesBilly Paul · first week at No. 1: December 16, 1972
Billboard Hot 100, chart weeks of 1972. Spotted a mistake?
If you were born in 1972
- Older than the handheld cell phoneMotorola's Martin Cooper showed the first handheld cellular phone in public, on a New York street on April 3, 1973.
- Older than the barcode scanA barcode (UPC) was scanned at a store checkout for the first time, in Troy, Ohio on June 26, 1974.
- Older than MicrosoftBill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 4, 1975.
- Older than Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live premiered on NBC (then titled NBC's Saturday Night) on October 11, 1975.
- Younger than Walt Disney WorldWalt Disney World opened in Florida, with the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971.
- Younger than Earth DayThe first Earth Day was held across the United States on April 22, 1970.
- Younger than Sesame StreetSesame Street aired its first episode on November 10, 1969.