| January 1 | Britain, Ireland and Denmark join the European Economic Community |
| January 28 | Ceasefire signed ending involvement of American ground troops in the Vietnam War |
| February 22 | Following President Richard Nixon's visit to mainland China, the United States and the People's Republic of China agree to establish liaison offices. |
| March | Lotus stopped making the Lotus Seven |
| April 1 | VAT replaces Purchase Tax |
| May 14 | US Skylab space station launched |
| June 30 | Very long total solar eclipse visible in NE South America, the Atlantic, and central Africa. During the entire Second Millennium, only seven total solar eclipses exceeded seven minutes of totality. This was the last. Observers aboard a Concorde jet were able to stretch totality to about 74 minutes by flying along the path of the moon's umbra. |
| July 10 | The Bahamas gain full independence within the British Commonwealth |
| August 15 | US bombing of Cambodia ends |
| September 11 | General Pinochet takes over in Chile |
| October 10 | US Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns and then pleads no contest to charges of evasion of income tax |
| November | Arab states hike oil prices as retaliation for Western involvement in Yom Kippur War. Rolls Royce Motors was offered for stock market flotation by the receivers – separating the car and aero engine divisions. |
| December 30 | Carlos the Jackal fails in his attempt to assassinate British businessman Joseph Sieff – his first action |
| Total UK Car Production | 1,747,321 |
| World Population | 3.937 Billion |
| Medicine/Science | TCP/IP designed and in 1983 becomes the standard for communicating over the Internet. Magnetic Resonance Scanning developed Patent for the ATM granted to Don Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain. |
| Wimbledon Champions | Billie Jean King beat Chris Evert Jan Kodes beat A Metreveli |
| Films | American Grafitti The Exorcist The Sting Last Tango in Paris Jesus Christ Superstar |
| Music | Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly With Your Song Jimmy Cliff launches Reggae in US via film The Harder They Come |
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