1971
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1 January 1971 Music for the television play Litany for Our Time by Ton de Leeuw (44) for soprano, chorus, flute, harp, piano, double bass, percussion, tape, and electronics, is performed for the first time.
2 January 1971 The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act goes into effect. Cigarette advertisements are henceforth banned from US television.
4 January 1971 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat admits for the first time that Soviet military personnel are engaged in operational combat roles. Six were killed in an Israeli attack on a missile site last January.
“Exhortatio” from Tempus destruendi/Tempus aedificandi for chorus by Luigi Dallapiccola (66) is performed for the first time, in Beit HaHayal Auditorium, Jerusalem. See 29 August 1971.
5 January 1971 A three-day strike begins at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk to back demands for the release of 200 people arrested in demonstrations last December.
Israel resumes indirect peace talks with Egypt and Jordan at UN headquarters.
The Royal College of Physicians in London condemns tobacco smoking in the strongest possible terms, saying it has caused a “holocaust” in the country, killing 28,000 people prematurely per year.
The Canadian government withdraws troops it sent into Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa during the search for Quebec separatists.
Chile establishes diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China, only the second Latin American country to do so.
Sacred Song of Reconciliation for bass-baritone and orchestra by George Rochberg (52) to words of Mizmur l’Piyus, is performed for the first time, in Jerusalem.
6 January 1971 The US command in Saigon announces a plan to combat drug abuse by US military personnel in Vietnam.
The US Army announces that charges against four more officers in the My Lai Massacre are dropped.
The University of California Medical Center announces that its researchers have synthesized a hormone responsible for human growth.
8 January 1971 Fuel rationing is imposed in Phnom Penh.
After Palestinian guerrillas kidnap two Jordanian soldiers, Jordanian forces launch a drive against the Palestinians around Jarash, as Salt, and ar Rusayfah.
UN representative Gunnar Jarring meets with Israeli officials in Jerusalem. They desire to raise the level of the UN mediated talks and give him specific proposals to carry to Egypt and Jordan.
A special immigration panel recommends the expulsion of West German student leader Rudi Dutschke from Great Britain.
At the trial of Sgt. Charles Hutto in Ft. McPherson, Georgia for crimes committed at the My Lai Massacre, his original statement to Army investigators is read. It reads, in part, “orders came down to kill all people, destroy the food, and kill all the animals.”
Tupamaros guerrillas kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, the British ambassador in Montevideo.
9 January 1971 Palestinian terrorists throw hand grenades at Arab civilians in the Gaza Strip to intimidate them into joining a general strike. Twelve people are injured.
11 January 1971 Dr. Takeshi Hirayama of the National Cancer Center of Japan strongly urges his compatriots to give up smoking, saying that deaths from smoking will reach over 20,000 by 1977 if left unchecked.
The West German government announces it will no longer sell arms to the fascist governments of Greece and Portugal.
A Song to the Lute in Musicke for soprano and piano by Charles Wuorinen (32) to words attributed to Edwards, is performed for the first time, in McMillin Theatre, Columbia University.
12 January 1971 Saigon government forces attack south from Phnom Penh to link with Cambodians driving along Route 4. They are trying to reestablish a road link between the capital and the port of Kompong Som.
The West German government announces a ban on the pesticide DDT effective 16 May.
Two bombs explode at the home of British Employment Secretary Robert Carr in Hertfordshire. No one is injured. The bomb was set by a group of English anarchists called the Angry Brigade.
13 January 1971 The US military begins removing mustard gas from Okinawa and transporting it to Johnston Island.
A proposed tour of Finland by cellist Mstislav Rostropovich is cancelled by the Soviet government.
Apparently inspired by picketing of its Boston headquarters, the Polaroid Corporation announces it will take measures to improve the conditions of its black employees in South Africa.
14 January 1971 A week of fighting between the Jordanian army and Palestinian guerrillas ends with a cease-fire.
An Israeli raiding party transported by helicopters attacks a terrorist camp at Sarafand, 45 km inside Lebanon.
At Ft. McPherson, Georgia, Sgt. Charles Hutto becomes the second American serviceman acquitted on charges surrounding the massacre of civilians at My Lai, South Vietnam.
The government of Brazil releases 70 political prisoners as demanded by the kidnappers of the Swiss ambassador. They are flown to Chile.
About 85% of patrolmen in New York engage in a wildcat strike over a pay dispute. Other city workers walk out in sympathy. It will last six days.
15 January 1971 The Aswan High Dam is formally dedicated in ceremonies led by Presidents Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Nikolay Viktorovich Podgorny of the Soviet Union. The dam has been in operation already.
British troops use tear gas to quell riots by Roman Catholics in Belfast today and tomorrow.
South Africa and Rhodesia are barred from participation in the Davis Cup tennis competition.
16 January 1971 Brazilian guerrillas release Swiss ambassador Giovanni Enrico Bucher in return for 70 political prisoners.
18 January 1971 The Advanced Technical Institute in Lisbon is closed due to student unrest.
Two oil tankers owned by Standard Oil of California collide at San Francisco and send a large amount of oil on to 80 km of the California coastline.
19 January 1971 A 14-point Israeli peace proposal is made public in the Paris weekly Jeune Afrique.
Ut re mi for piano by Peter Maxwell Davies (36) is performed for the first time, in the Purcell Room, London.
20 January 1971 The Egyptian government publicly rejects the Israeli peace plan.
The first nationwide postal strike in British history begins over a pay dispute.
21 January 1971 The US Army drops charges against Spec.4 William Doherty, the last of five enlisted men accused in the massacre of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai.
The Ninety-second Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. The opposition Democratic Party controls both houses.
22 January 1971 Khmer Rouge commandos strike Phnom Penh and its airport for the first time. The airport is heavily damaged and the Cambodian air force is destroyed.
Cambodian and Saigon government forces link up at the Pitch Nil Pass on Route 4, opening the road from Phnom Penh to the sea.
A strike by workers takes place at Szczecin, Poland.
Western press sources report that Soviet cellist Mstislav Rostropovich has been banned from foreign travel for six months.
An electrical transformer near Armagh, Northern Ireland is destroyed by a bomb.
President-for-Life François Duvalier of Haiti names his son to be his successor.
23 January 1971 Washington Post correspondent Anthony Astrachan is beaten by unknown men as he meets a Soviet friend for dinner in Moscow. The friend is seized by the men.
British troops use gas and rubber bullets to prevent a Protestant mob from entering the Catholic Crumlin Road district of Belfast.
24 January 1971 Polish First Secretary Edward Gierek manages to end a strike at Szczecin by making certain concessions to the workers.
I/O: a Ritual for 23 Performers by Roger Reynolds (36) to words of Fuller, is performed for the first time, in Pasadena, California.
Duo for flute, double bass, and tape by Ernst Krenek (70) is performed for the first time, at the College of the Desert, Palm Desert, California.
25 January 1971 The Jordanian government publicly rejects the Israeli peace plan.
While attending a Commonwealth conference in Singapore, President Milton Obote of Uganda is overthrown by a military coup led by Major General Idi Amin.
A pact is signed to reopen ten telephone lines between East and West Berlin.
Two works are performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Brussels Radio: Invitation à L’Utopie for speaker, two female voices, chorus, and instruments by Henri Pousseur (41), and Concerto for Eleven op.32 for eleven players by Alexander Goehr (38) conducted by the composer.
26 January 1971 Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky and Associated Press reporter James Peipert are accosted and beaten by unknown men as they try to meet in Moscow.
Charles Manson and three of his women followers are found guilty in a Los Angeles court of the murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others.
27 January 1971 The East German government delays civilian traffic on access roads to West Berlin. They are protesting visits to the city by West German politicians. The harassment will end on 1 February.
28 January 1971 The Siberian Dancers and Singers of Omsk are forced to suspend their performance in Carnegie Hall as the hall is searched by police in response to a telephoned threat. Ammonia bottles are also opened. The caller identifies himself as a member of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry.
29 January 1971 Major General Samuel Koster, who commanded the American division which was involved with the massacre of civilians at My Lai, is acquitted of trying to cover up the incident.
Das Floss der “Medusa”, an oratorio volgare e militare for soprano, baritone, speaker, chorus, boys’ chorus, and orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (44) to words of Schnabel, is performed for the first time, in Vienna. See 9 December 1968.
To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation by Pauline Oliveros (38) is performed for the first time, in a setting for orchestra, in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. See 7 October 1970.
30 January 1971 Two Kashmiris hijack an Indian Air Lines plane over Kashmir and force it to fly to Lahore, Pakistan. All of the passengers and crew are released.
31 January 1971 Pakistan grants asylum to the two Kashmiri plane hijackers in Lahore.
Israeli forces attack two Palestinian guerrilla strongholds in southern Lebanon, destroying a regional headquarters.
Telephone service begins between East and West Berlin.
16:03 Apollo 14 blasts off from Cape Kennedy carrying three men on a mission to the moon.
When gunfire breaks out during a protest march by hispanics in Los Angeles, deputies fire into the crowd. One person is killed, 21 injured, $200,000 damage is done.
Juilliard Serenade/Tempo Libero II for chamber orchestra by Bruno Maderna (50) is performed for the first time, in New York.
1 February 1971 Violence erupts surrounding a strike by transport workers in Manila. Police battle strikers and students.
India refuses demands by Kashmiri hijackers that they release 36 political prisoners.
2 February 1971 Three people are killed and 41 injured in continuing violence in Manila.
North Vietnamese forces capture the strategic towns of Muang Souy and Phou So, Laos.
34 trucks carrying fuel from the port of Kompong Som arrive in Phnom Penh. It is the first shipment of commodities over the newly opened Route 4.
Kashmiri hijackers blow up the Indian Air Lines plane they hijacked, in Lahore.
Maj. General Idi Amin assumes all power in Uganda and names a 17-man cabinet.
The orchestration of Carl Ruggles’ (94) piano pieces Evocations is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Hall, New York.
3 February 1971 Saigon government forces begin a sweep into the Kompong Cham Province, Cambodia.
As British troops begin a search for arms in the Clonard district of Belfast, they are attacked by Roman Catholics with automatic weapons, bombs, hand grenades, and more traditional flying missiles. The British use water cannon and rubber bullets.
4 February 1971 Rolls-Royce, Ltd. declares bankruptcy. The British Minister of Aviation Supply announces that the elements of the company necessary for defense of the country will be nationalized.
A bomb destroys a military induction center in Oakland, California.
King Lear, a film with music by Dmitri Shostakovich (64), is shown for the first time.
5 February 1971 09:18 UTC Alan Shepherd and Edgar Mitchell from Apollo 14 become the fifth and sixth people to land on the Moon.
The Spanish government ends martial law in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa.
Attacks by republicans with gasoline bombs against British troops continue in Belfast.
6 February 1971 Five people are killed in a night of rioting in Belfast.
After two walks on the moon, the Apollo 14 astronauts blast off from the lunar surface and rejoin the command module in orbit.
7 February 1971 Male voters in Switzerland grant women the right to vote in federal elections and the right to hold public office.
Former First Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka and three others are suspended from the Politburo of the Communist Party of Poland. Two others resign.
Republicans and British troops engage in gun battles in two districts of Belfast. Catholics throwing rocks battle British troops in Londonderry. Bombs explode in three towns near the Irish border.
8 February 1971 About 5,000 troops of the Saigon government, with the support of United States air forces, invades Laos. They meet little initial resistance. The government of Laos protests the invasion.
Prime Minister Lon Nol of Cambodia suffers a stroke and is partially paralyzed. He turns over control to Deputy Prime Minister Sisowath Sirik Matak.
About 200 people attack British troops in Belfast after a five-year-old girl is run over by an armored car. Four rioters are hit by bullets.
UN mediator Gunnar Jarring submits his own peace proposal to Israel and Egypt in New York.
After four days of racial violence in Wilmington, North Carolina, order is restored by the National Guard. Two people were killed.
9 February 1971 Norwegian reporter Per Egil Hegge is expelled from the Soviet Union. Hegge is the one to whom Alyeksandr Solzhenitsyn dictated his Nobel acceptance speech.
Members of the European Economic Community agree on plans to create an economic and monetary union within ten years.
Five civilians are killed on a mountain road near Enniskillen, Northern Ireland by a booby trap apparently intended for British soldiers.
Speaking in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Senator Sam Ervin announces that the United States Passport Office keeps a secret file on over 240,000 Americans. The Passport Office admits the file but says that they are “known or suspected communists or subversives.”
The three astronauts of Apollo 14, Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, splashdown in the Pacific Ocean 1,400 km south of Samoa. They bring with them 44 kg of Moon rocks.
10 February 1971 Five Waltzes for piano by Benjamin Britten (57) are performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC, 46 years after they were composed.
11 February 1971 Jordanian and Palestinian forces battle for five days in an around Amman.
Representatives of 63 nations sign a treaty in Washington, London, and Moscow, banning nuclear weapons from the sea floor.
Compases para preguntas ensimismadas for viola and 22 players by Hans Werner Henze (44) is performed for the first time, in Basel.
Ein Gespenst geht um in der Welt for soprano, chorus, and orchestra by Luigi Nono (47) to words of Marx, Sanchez, and Santamaria, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of WDR, originating in Cologne.
12 February 1971 Because of ongoing fighting in the north of the country, the government of Laos declares a state of emergency.
Charges of seditious conspiracy against five Quebec separatists are quashed by a judge in Montreal.
Le voyage chimérique op.149/5 for flute and piano by Charles Koechlin (†20) is performed for the first time, in Lyons Concert Hall at the University of York, 36 years after it was composed. See 12 September 1986.
13 February 1971 Prime Minister Lon Nol of Cambodia is flown to Honolulu for medical treatment. He suffered a stroke on 8 February.
A military induction office in Atlanta is damaged by a bomb.
Workers in Lodz strike and demand the rescinding of all price rises since last December.
10,000 people march in Barcelona to protest the government cancellation of a concert by Pete Seeger. Mounted police attack the demonstrators.
15 February 1971 The Saigon government claims it has cut the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Great Britain and Ireland switch to a decimal system for currency.
Egypt tells UN mediator Gunnar Jarring that it will sign a peace treaty with Israel if the Israelis withdraw from all occupied territories.
The Polish government announces a roll back of increases in food prices which caused unrest last December.
Lassus ricercare for ten instruments by Betsy Jolas (44) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
Mise en musique du Corticalart by Pierre Henry (43) and Roger Lafosse is performed for the first time. It is an attempt to turn brain waves into art.
18 February 1971 A nationwide general strike by businessmen in Belgium is held to oppose the EEC Value Added Tax. Hundreds of thousands march in Brussels.
20 February 1971 Saigon government troops suffer their first setback in the invasion of Laos when they are driven back west of Phu Loc.
Coup leader Idi Amin assumes the titles of full general and President of Uganda.
Points and Dances from Peter Maxwell Davies’ (36) opera Taverner for small instrumental ensemble is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London the composer conducting. See 12 July 1972.
21 February 1971 After six months in captivity, Vice-Consul Aloysio Mares Dias Gomide of Brazil is freed by Tupamaros guerrillas in Montevideo. His wife paid a ransom reportedly as high as $1,000,000.
Aulos for flute, two horns, strings, and percussion by Ulysses Kay (54) is performed for the first time, at Indiana University, Bloomington.
22 February 1971 President Hafez al-Assad of Syria declares that only “force of arms” will settle the Middle East conflict.
Stanza I for soprano, guitar, harp, piano, celesta, and vibraphone by Toru Takemitsu (40) to words of Wittgenstein is performed for the first time, in Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall.
23 February 1971 Foreign Minister Abdullah Salah of Jordan says that his country will recognize Israel if they withdraw from all occupied territories.
We, a radio play with music by Vladimir Ussachevsky (59), is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
24 February 1971 The British mission to Peking is formally reopened. The building was sacked during the Cultural Revolution in 1967.
President Houari Boumedienne of Algeria announces that his government is taking control of 51% of every French oil company in the country.
25 February 1971 North Vietnamese forces attack two Saigon government strongholds, Hills 30 and 31, about ten km west of the Laos-South Vietnam border.
East German guards discover a tunnel to the west 120 meters long.
Dritte Region der Hymnen mit Orchester no.22 1/3 for orchestra and tape by Karlheinz Stockhausen (42) is performed for the first time, in New York the composer conducting. See 30 November 1967.
Music for the Morning of the World for soprano and tape by R. Murray Schafer (37) is performed for the first time, in Montreal.
26 February 1971 The Israeli government says that it is willing to discuss land for peace but not a total withdrawl from its gains in the 1967 war.
A gun battle between the IRA and police in Belfast leaves two people dead, four injured.
Over 100 people are injured when police attempt to remove students occupying buildings at the University del Valle in Cali, Colombia. President Misael Pastrana Borrero declares a nationwide state of siege.
Meridian for mezzo-soprano, six sopranos, horn, cello, and eleven players by Harrison Birtwistle (36) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
27 February 1971 The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine declares that Arabs should use violence to ensure there is no peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict.
Morceau de concours for one trumpeter and tape by Mauricio Kagel (39) is performed for the first time, in Turin.
Pilgrims and Pioneers for orchestra by Virgil Thomson (74) is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York.
28 February 1971 Three of the five Night Pieces for piano by Peter Sculthorpe (41) are performed for the first time, in the Octagon Theatre of the University of Western Australia, Perth. Also premiered is Sculthorpe’s Landscape I for amplified piano and tape.
Voters in Liechtenstein defeat a proposal to give women the right to vote 1,897-1,817.
1 March 1971 President Mohammed Yahya Khan of Pakistan postpones the opening of Parliament due to differences between parties of East and West Pakistan.
01:32 A bomb explodes in the Capitol building in Washington causing extensive damage. An anonymous caller says it is in protest to American troops in Laos. No one is hurt.
The Conservative British government reverses its earlier position and announces its intention to withdraw from the Persian Gulf this year.
Luchino Visconti’s film Death in Venice is released in the United Kingdom.
Four short studies for cello by Bernd Alois Zimmermann (†0) is performed for the first time.
2 March 1971 Prime Minister Per Borten of Norway resigns after accepting full responsibility for a leak of details of confidential negotiations with the EEC.
After seven months in captivity, Tupamaros guerrillas release US agronomist Claude Fly after he suffered an apparent heart attack. They leave him on a stretcher in front of the British Hospital in Montevideo.
Pauline Oliveros (38) presents some of her Sonic Meditations at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.
3 March 1971 Mrs. Winnie Mandela is sentenced to one year in prison for violating the terms of her house arrest. She allowed her sister into her house.
Said Yusuf Ismail, found guilty of the murder of Somalian President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke in 1969, is shot by firing squad at Las Anod.
5 March 1971 Sinfonia: Janiculum op.113 for orchestra by Vincent Persichetti (55) is performed for the first time, in Philadelphia.
6 March 1971 Saigon government forces capture Tchepone (Xepon), 40 km inside Laos, the main North Vietnamese base on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The US Federal Communications Commission warns radio stations that they face punishment if they broadcast music with lyrics “tending to promote or glorify the use of illegal drugs.”
Parables for chorus and chamber orchestra by Ulysses Kay (54) to anonymous words is performed for the first time, in Kansas City, Missouri.
7 March 1971 Over 1,000 American planes bomb Cambodia and Laos in support of the South Vietnamese invasion of the two countries.
The Middle East cease-fire formally expires, but no immediate fighting is reported.
Seven of the twelve movements of Who are these Children? op.84 for voice and piano by Benjamin Britten (57) to words of Soutar are performed for the first time, in New Hall, University College, Cardiff the composer at the keyboard. See 4 May 1971 and 26 September 1971.
The Most Important Man, an opera by Gian Carlo Menotti (59) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at Lincoln Center, New York.
Two works are performed for the first time, in Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, New York: Chamber Concerto for tuba by Charles Wuorinen (32) the composer conducting, and Otto Luening’s (70) Sonata for violin solo no.3.
8 March 1971 North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces begin attacks on government positions throughout Laos.
Postal workers in Britain return to the job after a 47-day nationwide strike. Management and labor agree to arbitration.
10 March 1971 Prime Minister John Gorton of Australia is removed as leader of his party, his opponents citing dictatorial tendencies. Minister of External Affairs William McMahon replaces him. Gorton is named Deputy Prime Minister.
Ten days of voting for a new Lok Sabha conclude in India. The Indian National Congress (I) of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gains 93 seats for a total of 352 out of 545.
100 Jews demanding permission to emigrate to Israel occupy the Supreme Soviet office building in Moscow for several hours.
Three off-duty British soldiers are shot to death on the outskirts of Belfast.
11 March 1971 Three people are killed and 20 injured in a riot at the University of Puerto Rico.
12 March 1971 Saigon government troops begin pulling out of Laos. A North Vietnamese counter-offensive forces them from positions surrounding Tchepone.
Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel of Turkey resigns in the face of a threatened military coup.
Turris Campanarum Sonatium--The Bell Tower for solo metal percussion by Peter Maxwell Davies (36) is performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
Duke Ellington (71) is inducted into the Swedish Academy of Music at the Swedish Consulate in New York.
The Capitoline Venus, an opera by Ulysses Kay (54) to words of Dvorkin after Twain, is performed for the first time, at the University of Illinois, Urbana.
13 March 1971 Paul Rose, a leader of the Front de Liberation du Quebec, is sentenced in a Montreal court to life in prison for his part in the murder of Quebec Minister of Labor Pierre Laporte.
14 March 1971 North Vietnamese forces begin a constant artillery barrage on Khe Sanh, the main staging base for the invasion of Laos. It will go on for weeks.
Overture no.2 “A Buoyant Music” for orchestra by David Diamond (55) is performed for the first time, in Washington.
Whether This Nation for chorus and band by Roy Harris (73) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Schoenberg Hall, UCLA.
15 March 1971 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announces that he is taking control in East Pakistan in an attempt to secede from West Pakistan.
16 March 1971 In response to a number of recent destabilizing incidents, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon declares a nationwide state of emergency.
Chile and East Germany agree to establish diplomatic relations.
Songs in Praise of Krishna for soprano and piano by George Rochberg (52) is performed for the first time, at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana the composer at the keyboard.
17 March 1971 The Constitutional Court of Italy rules that a 1926 law prohibiting the dissemination of birth control information is unconstitutional.
Trygve Bratteli replaces Per Borten as Prime Minister of Norway at the head of a minority coalition.
The US State Department denies that the Saigon troops in Laos are retreating.
18 March 1971 1,500,000 workers strike for one day in Britain to protest a newly approved labor relations bill.
The New York Times reports that faculty and students have written to the President of Columbia University urging him not to fire Charles Wuorinen (32) and three other music teachers. The university is considering their termination as a cost-cutting measure.
Igor Stravinsky (88) is admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital, New York with water on the lungs.
19 March 1971 15 intellectuals are sentenced in a Prague court to prison terms ranging from one to four years for “subverting the Republic.”
Stille und Umkehr for orchestra by Bernd Alois Zimmermann (†0) is performed for the first time, in Nuremberg.
20 March 1971 North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces begin mortar and rocket fire on to the airport at Luang Prabang.
Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark of Northern Ireland resigns in a dispute over tactics used against the IRA. He is replaced by Brian Faulkner.
21 March 1971 The film The Andromeda Strain is released. It is the first major motion picture to use computer animation.
22 March 1971 Intensive ground fighting begins around the royal capital of Luang Prabang, Laos.
23 March 1971 About 80,000 farmers from throughout the EEC march in Brussels for higher farm prices. They battle 3,000 police. One person is killed, over 150 are injured.
The Ugandan government of General Idi Amin bans political activity for two years.
A three-man military junta removes Argentine President Roberto Marcelo Levingston Laborda from office.
Tupamaros guerrillas release Guido Berro Oribe, Attorney General of Uruguay, in Montevideo. He was kidnapped two weeks ago.
24 March 1971 The South Vietnamese invasion into Laos ends in rout and panic, many soldiers hanging on to the skids of American helicopters as they retreat. 89 US helicopters were lost in the invasion of Laos.
The US Senate votes to cut off funds for development of a supersonic transport.
Incidental music to a play after Purdy, The Nephew by Ned Rorem (47) is performed for the first time, in Arena Theatre, Buffalo.
25 March 1971 As talks in Dacca on autonomy for East Pakistan collapse, civil war begins between East and West Pakistan. Central government troops begin attacks throughout East Pakistan against the non-violent autonomy movement. Two sections of Dacca are surrounded and set alight. Government troops fire on unarmed civilians fleeing the flames. A rebel radio station broadcasts a declaration of independence. Sheik Mujibur Rahman and 24 members of the Awami League are arrested.
Documents stolen from an FBI office and passed to newspapers show widespread FBI surveillance of various student, anti-war, civil rights, and other organizations disliked by the state.
Sound effects for the musical Flibbertygibbet by Vladimir Ussachevsky (59) are performed for the first time, at Weber State College, Ogden, Utah.
26 March 1971 East Pakistan proclaims its independence as the People’s Republic of Bangladesh with Sheik Mujibur Rahman as its leader. Heavy fighting is reported in Dacca, Chittagong, and other major cities of the province.
Almost two weeks of fighting begins along the Jordan-Syria border between Jordanian forces and Palestinian commandos.
Ismail Nihat Erim replaces Süleyman Demirel as Prime Minister of Turkey.
Army commander Alejandro Agustín Lanusse Gelly is sworn in as President of Argentina.
28 March 1971 North Vietnamese forces begin a massive attack on Duc Duc, 135 km southwest of Da Nang. Hundreds of civilians are killed or wounded, their homes destroyed.
Government troops gain effective control of Dacca.
29 March 1971 Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky is arrested on charges of anti-Soviet propaganda.
Lt. William Calley is convicted of the premeditated murder of at least 22 unarmed civilians at My Lai, South Vietnam.
Charles Manson and three of his followers are sentenced to death in Los Angeles for seven murders.
Igor Stravinsky (88) is released from hospital and, along with his wife Vera, moves into a new apartment in New York.
Researchers at New York University Medical Center announce that they have successfully immunized a small number of children against serum hepatitis.
30 March 1971 Communist forces cut 15 km of Route 4 which connects Phnom Penh with the port of Kompong Som.
31 March 1971 Fighting begins for Fire Base 6 near Dak To, Vietnam.
President Nguyen Van Thieu of the Saigon government announces that his invasion of Laos was “the biggest victory ever.”
Lt. William Calley is sentenced to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of unarmed civilians at My Lai, South Vietnam.
1 April 1971 Bangladeshi forces capture Jessore.
A general strike called by the National Confederation of Workers paralyzes Montevideo.
The Argentine government legalizes political parties, banned in 1966.
Apotheosis of this Earth for band by Karel Husa (49) is performed for the first time, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor conducted by the composer. Also premiered is Summer in Valley City for band by Ross Lee Finney (64). See 12 April 1973.
String Quartet no.4 by William Bergsma is performed for the first time, at the University of Alabama on the composer’s 50th birthday.
2 April 1971 Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov writes an open letter to Interior Minister Nikolay Shchelokov protesting the arrest of Vladimir Bukovsky.
4 April 1971 Concordanza for chamber ensemble by Sofia Gubaidulina (39) is performed for the first time, in Royan.
5 April 1971 After a week of furious battle between North Vietnamese and Saigon government forces at Fire Base 6 near Dak To, no strategic change is seen.
Marxists begin an armed insurrection throughout Ceylon.
Sonate à 12 for twelve solo voices by Betsy Jolas (44) is performed for the first time, in Royan.
6 April 1971 At the world Table Tennis championships in Nagoya, China invites the US team to visit and compete in their country. The invitation will be accepted tomorrow.
Ceylon Prime Minister Bandaranaike declares a nationwide curfew in the face of an armed Marxist insurrection.
Early morning. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky dies in his sleep at his Fifth Avenue apartment in New York, of heart failure, aged 88 years, nine months, and 20 days.
Two works by Iannis Xenakis (48) are performed for the first time, in Royan, France: Synaphaï for piano and orchestra and Charisma for clarinet and cello. Also premiered is Remember for english horn or viola and cello by Betsy Jolas (44).
7 April 1971 Two Croatian nationalists shoot Vladimir Rolovic, the Yugoslav ambassador to Sweden, at the embassy in Stockholm. Rolovic will die of his wounds on 15 April.
A nationwide general strike takes place in Italy to show dissatisfaction with government action on housing and other social issues.
In a nationwide address, US President Nixon announces he will increase the rate of withdrawal from Vietnam.
Calvary, a chamber opera by Thomas Pasatieri (25) after Yeats, is performed for the first time, in St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Seattle.
8 April 1971 Pakistani forces begin an offensive into the western region of Bangladesh.
Right-wing extremist Karsten Eggert is arrested in the garden of West German President Gustav Heinemann in Bonn. He carries a knife and will confess to planning to kill Heinemann.
9 April 1971 An American table tennis team enters the Peoples Republic of China, the first organized American group to enter China since the mid-1950s.
Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon imposes a 24-hour curfew on her country to help combat leftist insurgents.
Pakistani forces recapture Jessore.
An agreement ends the latest round of fighting between Jordan and Palestinian commandos.
Good Friday. A funeral service is held in memory of Igor Stravinsky in the chapel of Campbell’s Funeral Home on Madison Avenue in New York.
10 April 1971 Seven western reporters are allowed into China to cover matches between Chinese and US table tennis teams.
11 April 1971 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, presently in a Pakistani prison, is named President of Bangladesh. Syed Nazrul Islam is named to act in his place. Tajuddin Ahmed is named Prime Minister.
12 April 1971 China announces support for the Pakistani government in its attempt to suppress the rebellion in Bengal.
13 April 1971 Chinese and US table tennis teams compete in Peking.
Sonata no.3 for violin and piano by Lejaren Hiller (47) is performed for the first time, in Albany, New York.
14 April 1971 The visiting US table tennis team is received by Prime Minister Chou En-lai in Peking, along with teams from the UK, Canada, Nigeria, and Colombia.
US President Nixon eases the 20-year-old trade embargo against China.
15 April 1971 After a performance of Alessandro Scarlatti’s (†245) Missa pro defunctis and Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles, an oration by the Mayor of Venice and a Greek Orthodox ceremony featuring organ works by Andrea Gabrieli (†384), the earthly remains of Igor Stravinsky are interred on the island of San Michele in Venice, a few steps from those of Sergey Diaghilev.
16 April 1971 The rebel government of Bangladesh is forced to abandon their capital at Chuadanga.
17 April 1971 The US table tennis team returns to Tokyo after a week in China.
Elections for the Belgian Parliament take place. For the first time, the Christian Peoples Party is split on the basis of language.
Far From Home for women’s chorus by György Ligeti (47) to words of Balassa and traditional texts, is performed for the first time, in Stockholm. The work was completed in 1946.
Variations for harp, violin, viola, and cello by Charles Wuorinen (32) is performed for the first time.
18 April 1971 East Pakistani diplomats take over the Pakistani mission in Calcutta and turn it into a mission for Bangladesh.
Rebels abandon Meherpur in the face of a Pakistani government offensive.
Prologue for tenor, bassoon, horn, two trumpets, trombone, violin, and double bass by Harrison Birtwistle (36) to words of Aeschylus (tr. Vellacott) is performed for the first time, in London, conducted by the composer.
19 April 1971 Speaking in Saigon, Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky says, “South Vietnam is like a sinking boat with a deceptively good coat of paint, and the man who steers the boat is an unfaithful, disloyal, dishonest fellow.”
Salyut 1, the first Earth space station, is put into orbit by the USSR.
Sierra Leone declares itself a republic.
20 April 1971 Nisseki Maru is launched at the Kure Yard, Japan. At 372, 698 metric tons, it is the largest supertanker in the world.
21 April 1971 Siaka Stevens is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, dictator of Haiti for 13 years, dies in Port-au-Prince and is almost immediately succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Jean-Claude, “Bébé Doc.”
22 April 1971 India appeals to the United Nations for help in caring for 500,000 refugees from the fighting in East Pakistan.
A bomb explodes at the New York office of Amtorg Trading Corp., the Soviet trading agency. No one is injured.
23 April 1971 Two cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 10 dock with the orbiting Salyut space station for five-and-a-half hours and then separate.
Speaking in Athens, US Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans praises the military dictatorship of Greece.
As part of a week of anti-war demonstrations by American war veterans, several hundred Vietnam veterans throw their medals and decorations onto the steps of the Capitol in Washington. Several veterans testify at hearings on Capitol Hill that they participated in atrocities against Vietnamese civilians, lowered US casualty figures, and took part in operations in Laos officially denied by the Pentagon.
Mänadentanz for orchestra by Hans Werner Henze (44) from his opera Die Bassariden is performed for the first time, in Bielefeld.
24 April 1971 500,000 people gather in front of the Capitol building in Washington to petition the Congress to end the Indochina War. They are addressed by Senators and Congressmen, civil rights and labor leaders, as well as anti-war leaders.
About 200,000 people rally against the Vietnam War in San Francisco.
Concerto da camera for orchestra by Gunther Schuller (45) is performed for the first time, at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York conducted by the composer.
On Time and the Instrumental Factor for orchestra by Morton Feldman (45) is performed for the first time, in Dallas.
25 April 1971 Staatstheater, a szenische Komposition by Mauricio Kagel (39), is performed for the first time, in the Hamburg Staatsoper. Reactions of the audience are strongly mixed.
26 April 1971 As part of a country-wide offensive by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, the huge ammunition dump at Qui Nhon is destroyed.
India and Pakistan abandon their respective diplomatic missions in Dacca and Calcutta.
The Turkish government declares martial law in eleven provinces.
27 April 1971 Poet Heberto Padilla is released from prison by the Cuban government without explanation. He has been held for five weeks.
28 April 1971 In national elections in the Netherlands, the Labor Party becomes the largest party in Parliament for the first time since World War II.
1 May 1971 The first “floppy disc” is introduced by IBM. It is 20 cm wide and holds 81.6 kb of data.
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) comes into existence to handle all inter-city passenger rail service in the United States.
Horn Concerto by Thea Musgrave (42) is performed for the first time, in City Hall, Glasgow, the composer conducting.
One Man for trombone and percussion by Ben Johnston (45) is performed for the first time, at the University of Illinois.
2 May 1971 The National Council of Resistance, founded by Mikis Theodorakis (45) to oppose the military government of Greece, has its first meeting, in Düsseldorf.
Washington police raid West Potomac Park before dawn and force out 30,000 protesters.
3 May 1971 Erich Honecker replaces Walter Ulbricht as First Secretary of the East German Communist Party.
Thousands of anti-war protesters, dispersed in small groups, go through Washington blocking intersections and attempting to disrupt traffic. Police are largely effective in keeping traffic moving.
Mario Davidovsky (37) wins the Pulitzer Prize for Music for Synchronisms no.6. See 19 August 1970.
4 May 1971 Uncertainty about the US economy causes dollars to flood on to European markets. Several governments intervene to shore up the currency. The West German central bank alone buys $1,000,000,000.
An anti-war rally in front of the Justice Department in Washington is broken up by police.
Namo for three sopranos and orchestra by Isang Yun (53) to a Buddhist sacred text is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
At the “official” premiere, eleven of the twelve movements from Who are these Children? op.84, a cycle for voice and piano by Benjamin Britten (57) to words of Soutar, are performed in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, by Peter Pears and the composer. See 7 March 1971 and 26 September 1971.
5 May 1971 The West German Bundesbank, along with the central banks of Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, withdraw support for the US dollar and refuse to accept the currency. They suspend foreign exchange for the rest of the week, along with Finland and Portugal.
Up to 12,000 anti-war demonstrators have been arrested over the last three days as they attempt to disrupt government operations and traffic in Washington. Officials are forced to close the Capitol building after protesters disrupt normal operations.
33 people are injured, 120 fires are set and $100,000 damage done in race rioting in Brooklyn.
At a meeting of the executive committee of the Naumburg Foundation, which includes Aaron Copland (70) and William Schuman (60), chairman Peter Menin (47) makes a presentation of agenda and budget issues which Schuman calls “amateursville.” The committee retires to a dinner meeting of the entire board where Menin immediately resigns.
6 May 1971 Albania and Greece agree to resume diplomatic relations.
7 May 1971 French President Georges Pompidou becomes the first supersonic head of state as he flies aboard a prototype of the Concorde.
8 May 1971 Glisées for cello by Isang Yun (53) is performed for the first time, in Zagreb.
9 May 1971 After a 20-hour meeting of EEC finance ministers in Brussels to deal with the tidal wave of US dollars dumped on the European market, West Germany is given leave to free the mark from parity with the US dollar and allow it to float within a certain range. Switzerland and Austria raise the value of their currency against the dollar while Belgium and the Netherlands allow their currencies to float.
Probe (Versuch für ein improvisiertes Kollektiv) by Mauricio Kagel (39) is performed for the first time, in Høvikodden, near Oslo.
10 May 1971 Relative calm prevails on the European currency exchange.
At least six people arrested last year by the Greek government are formally charged with conspiracy to commit unspecified crimes. Among them is Christos Sartzetakis, the magistrate in the Lambrakis investigation.
125 people gather for a party at Leonard Bernstein’s (52) Park Avenue apartment and donate $35,000 to a defense fund for Philip Berrigan and five co-defendants accused of plotting to kidnap presidential advisor Henry Kissinger.
In a speech to police officers in San Francisco, US Attorney General John Mitchell likens the Washington protesters of a week ago to Nazi brownshirts.
A Net of Fireflies op.115, a cycle for voice and piano by Vincent Persichetti (55), to words of 17 haiku (tr. Stewart), is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
13 May 1971 Great Britain and the EEC announce agreement on a range of issues relative to British membership in the EEC.
US Attorney General John Mitchell claims that recent antiwar demonstrations were directed by Communists, and that “Communists have been part of the leadership and makeup of every mass demonstration.
A jury in New York finds 13 Black Panthers not guilty of plotting to bomb police stations and other public places in the city.
Night in Memphis, a cantata for mezzo-soprano, male chorus, and chamber orchestra by Sofia Gubaidulina (39) to an ancient Egyptian text (tr. Akhmatova and Potapova), is performed for the first time, in Zagreb.
14 May 1971 President Anwar Sadat of Egypt announces that a coup against him, led by several cabinet ministers, has been foiled. Over 100 alleged plotters have been arrested.
15 May 1971 Cradle for three sets of tuned tube drums and instrumental ensemble by Robert Erickson (54) is performed for the first time, at California State University at Fullerton.
16 May 1971 North Vietnamese forces take Pakxong and Ban Houei Sai, taking control of the Boloven Plateau in southern Laos.
Owen Wingrave op.85, an opera by Benjamin Britten (57) to words of Piper after James, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC2 television and broadcast services of twelve other countries, conducted by the composer. See 10 May 1973.
17 May 1971 Ephraim Elrom, Consul-General of Israel in Istanbul, is abducted from his residence by members of the Turkish People’s Liberation Army, a leftist group. They demand the release of “all revolutionary guerrillas under detention” in Turkey.
Der langwierige Weg in die Wohnung der Natascha Ungeheuer, a theatre piece by Hans Werner Henze (44) to words of Salvatore, is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of RAI originating in Teatro Olimpico, Rome.
The State of Washington passes the first state law in the US barring sexual discrimination in hiring and promotion.
Six Variations for cello by Joan Tower (32) is performed for the first time, in New York.
Godspell, with music by Stephen Schwartz, opens in New York.
19 May 1971 Primavera for soprano and flute by Thea Musgrave (42) to words of Elguera, is performed for the first time, in Zagreb.
The Creation for vocal soloists, choruses, and tape by Vladimir Ussachevsky (59) is performed for the first time, in Salt Lake City.
20 May 1971 Nine Jews are convicted in a Leningrad court of attempting to hijack an airplane last year. They are given sentences ranging from one to ten years in labor camps.
21 May 1971 Love 201, a ballet by Peter Sculthorpe (42) for rock band and prerecorded sounds, is performed for the first time, in Canberra Playhouse.
Twelve hours of negotiations in Paris between President Pompidou and Prime Minister Heath apparently removes major obstacles to British membership in the EEC.
Racial violence erupts in Chattanooga, Tennessee and rages for five days.
Fables: Five Very Short Operas by Ned Rorem (47) to words of de la Fontaine, (tr. Moore), is performed for the first time, at the University of Tennessee, Martin.
23 May 1971 Viet Cong units blow up over 5,000,000 litres of aviation fuel at the US air base at Cam Ranh Bay.
The body of Ephraim Elrom, Consul-General of Israel in Istanbul, is found in an Istanbul apartment. He was kidnapped on 17 March by members of the Turkish People’s Liberation Army, a leftist group.
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d, a cantata for soprano, alto, baritone, chorus, and orchestra by Roger Sessions (74) to words of Whitman, is performed for the first time, in Berkeley, California.
24 May 1971 2,000 National Guardsmen move into Chattanooga to calm racial violence.
Changes for woodwind quintet and orchestra by William Bergsma (50) is performed for the first time, in Seattle.
25 May 1971 Over the last two days, about 160 soldiers have been killed in fighting between Indian and Pakistani troops along the border in East Pakistan.
Leonard Bernstein (52) drives to Danbury Federal Prison in Connecticut to consult with Father Philip Berrigan about the ending of Mass. Recently, Mrs. Bernstein raised $35,000 for the legal fees of the Berrigan brothers. The visit causes J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI, to assume that Berrigan has provided texts for the work which will embarrass President Nixon. He advises Nixon not to attend the premiere in Washington.
26 May 1971 Elliott Carter (62) and Alexander Calder are presented with the Gold Medal Award of the National Institute of Arts and Sciences.
27 May 1971 Egypt and the USSR conclude a 15-year treaty of friendship and cooperation in Cairo.
Austria and China establish diplomatic relations.
Four Jews are convicted in a Riga court of anti-Soviet activities. They are sentenced to labor camps for from one to three years.
28 May 1971 The Resurrection, the second part of Utrenia for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (37) is performed for the first time, in Münster Cathedral in the first complete performance of Utrenia. See 8 April 1970.
31 May 1971 North Vietnamese troops capture Snoul in eastern Cambodia.
300 off-duty US servicemen in London rally at Speakers’ Corner and walk to the US embassy to present a petition with 1,000 signatures of air force and navy personnel opposing the war in Indochina.
1 June 1971 US President Nixon says he will give the “highest priority” to drug addiction amongst the country’s youth, especially those in the military in Vietnam.
The Argentine government announces that it will allow political parties to form and operate beginning 1 July.
2 June 1971 King Hussein of Jordan orders a “final crackdown” against Palestinian guerrillas in his country, the “handful of professional criminals and conspirators who use the commando movement to disguise their treasonable plots.”
An Imaginary Landscape for brass, eight double basses, and percussion by Harrison Birtwistle (36) is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London conducted by Pierre Boulez (46).
3 June 1971 Love op.116 for female chorus by Vincent Persichetti (55), to words of the Bible, is performed for the first time, at the composer’s home for his 30th wedding anniversary.
5 June 1971 Sternklang no.34, park music for five groups by Karlheinz Stockhausen (42), is performed for the first time, in the English Garden, Berlin directed by the composer. About 4,000 people show up for the outdoor event.
Charles Wuorinen (32) receives an honorary degree from Jersey City State College.
6 June 1971 Postlude in F for small orchestra by Charles Ives (†17) is performed for the first time, in Sprague Memorial Hall, Yale University.
7 June 1971 Indian Health Minister Uma Shankar tells his Parliament that Pakistani refugees in India now number 4,738,054 and the number is growing. He also tells them that an epidemic of cholera has broken out among the refugees.
Great Britain and EEC ministers meeting in Luxembourg agree to phase out sterling as an international reserve currency, thus removing an obstacle to British membership.
Three Soviet cosmonauts become the first working crew aboard Salyut when they dock their Soyuz 11 space ship to the orbiting laboratory.
9 June 1971 Viet Cong troops capture Srang, 40 km southwest of Phnom Penh.
Voice for flute by Toru Takemitsu (40) is performed for the first time, in Tokyo.
10 June 1971 President Nixon orders an end to a 20-year ban on trade with China.
Canada and the United States reach agreement to eliminate pollution from the Great Lakes by 1975.
8,000 anti-government students march in Mexico City from the Polytechnic Institute to downtown. They are attacked by 500 conservative youths while police watch. At least nine students are killed, 160 injured.
11 June 1971 August 1914 by Alyeksandr Solzhenitsyn is published in Paris in Russian.
12 June 1971 President Emilio Garrastazu Medici of Brazil orders the creation of three Indian reservations in the Amazon basin as part of ongoing efforts to remove indigenous peoples from areas slated for development.
Sakuntala D.701, an incomplete opera by Franz Schubert (†142) to words of Neumann after Kalidasa, is performed for the first time, in Vienna 150 years after it was composed.
13 June 1971 A three-day conference ends today in Épinay-sur-Seine which creates a new unified French Socialist Party.
The New York Times begins to print classified Defense Department documents chronicling American involvement in Indochina since 1945. They become known as the Pentagon Papers.
15 June 1971 A federal court orders the New York Times to temporarily halt publication of the Pentagon Papers.
Mayor Alfonso Martínez Dominguez and Chief of Police Rogelio Flores Curiel of Mexico City resign their posts following the events of 10 June.
16 June 1971 A conference of the ten provincial premiers and the federal government in Victoria, British Columbia, produces a draft constitutional charter for Canada.
Les trois souhaits, ou Les vicissitudes de la vie, a film opera by Bohuslav Martinu (†11) to words of Ribemont-Dessaignes, is performed for the first time, in Brno 42 years after it was composed.
A former New York Times reporter identifies Dr. Daniel Ellsberg as the person responsible for giving the Pentagon Papers to the paper.
The US Conference of Mayors, meeting in Philadelphia, calls for a withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam by the end of this year.
Blacks riot over five nights in Jacksonville, Florida with sniping and firebombs. 274 people are arrested and $250,000 damage done.
17 June 1971 Treaties signed in Tokyo and Washington commit the US to return the Ryukyu Islands to Japan sometime next year.
18 June 1971 The Washington Post becomes the second newspaper to publish excerpts of the Pentagon Papers.
19 June 1971 The Belgian Parliament approves laws granting autonomy in cultural affairs to the country’s three main language groups, and fixing the bilingual status of Brussels.
Jean-Paul Sartre is indicted on four counts of criminal libel against the police.
A federal court orders the Washington Post to temporarily cease publication of the Pentagon Papers.
20 June 1971 The New York Times reports that Darius Milhaud (78) is retiring from his teaching position at Mills College in California, a post he has held since 1940, and returning to France.
Geisterliebe, an opera by Isang Yun (53) to words of Kunz, is performed for the first time, in Kiel.
21 June 1971 The International Court of Justice rules that South Africa may no longer retain control over Namibia.
The US Defense Department estimates that ten percent of their troops in Vietnam use heroin.
22 June 1971 The Boston Globe becomes the third newspaper to publish excerpts from the Pentagon Papers. A federal judge orders the publication halted and the papers impounded.
The US Senate adopts an amendment calling for the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam within nine months of the return of all US prisoners of war.
23 June 1971 President Nguyen Van Thieu of the Saigon government signs a bill restricting the number of candidates allowed in upcoming presidential elections.
Great Britain reaches agreement with the EEC on conditions for membership.
The Polish Sejm grants the Roman Catholic Church title to buildings and lands in areas acquired from Germany after World War II.
A federal appeals court rules that the New York Times may resume publication of the Pentagon Papers after 25 June but it may not print any material deemed by the government to be vital to national security. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court in Washington rules that the Washington Post should be allowed to publish the papers but continues the ban pending further appeals. President Nixon informs Congress that he intends to release the entire 47-volume report to them.
The government of Quebec announces that it will not accept the new constitutional charter for Canada.
24 June 1971 Cassiopeia for percussion and orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (40) is performed for the first time, in a studio recording in Tokyo. See 8 July 1971.
25 June 1971 Queen Juliana of the Netherlands confers the Erasmus Prize upon Olivier Messiaen (62) in Amsterdam.
26 June 1971 Canticle IV “The Journey of the Magi” op.86 for three voices and piano by Benjamin Britten (57) to words of Eliot is performed for the first time, in Snape Maltings the composer at the piano.
28 June 1971 Dr. Daniel Ellsberg publicly confirms that he passed copies of the Pentagon Papers to Senator J. William Fulbright, shortly before he surrenders to federal authorities in Boston. A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicts Ellsberg on two counts, violation of the Espionage Act and theft of government property.
Two copies of the Pentagon Papers sent by President Nixon are received by Congress.
The US Supreme Court rules unanimously that the 1967 draft conviction of Muhammad Ali be overturned.
29 June 1971 US Senator Mike Gravel, at a hearing of his Public Works subcommittee, reads aloud portions of the Pentagon Papers into the record. He will conclude at 01:12 tomorrow morning with a speech against the war.
30 June 1971 Georgy Timofeyevich Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov and Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev return to Earth aboard their Soyuz 11 spacecraft after setting a space endurance record of 569 hours, 40 minutes. Upon recovery, however, the three are found dead due to depressurization of their cabin during re-entry.
Turkey announces that it will cease production of opium poppies by June of next year.
In the case of New York Times Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court of the United States rules 6-3 that newspapers are free to publish the Pentagon Papers.
The 26th amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age to 18 years, comes into effect as the ratification process is completed.
From Stone to Thorn for mezzo-soprano, basset horn, guitar, harpsichord, and percussion by Peter Maxwell Davies (36) to words of Brown is performed for the first time, in Holywell Music Room, Oxford the composer conducting.
1 July 1971 Australia joins Papua with Northeast New Guinea to create the Territory of Papua New Guinea.
The New York Times and the Washington Post resume publication of the Pentagon Papers.
2 July 1971 The Spanish Supreme Court annuls a fine against the daily Madrid. They were fined in 1968 for publishing an article critical of the Franco regime. This is the first such ruling since the civil war of the 1930s.
Recordare op.11 for chorus by Kurt Weill (†21) to the Latin words of Lamentations, is performed for the first time, in the Pieterskerk, Utrecht 48 years after it was composed.
3 July 1971 East Pakistan rebels knock out electrical power to Dacca.
Popular music entertainer Jim Morrison dies under mysterious circumstances in a bathtub in Paris.
4 July 1971 The publication of the Pentagon Papers by the New York Times ends today with the Defense Department conclusion that the United States played “a direct role in the ultimate breakdown of the Geneva settlement” of 1954.
Praeludium for woodwinds, double bass, and percussion by Krzysztof Penderecki (37) is performed for the first time, in Amsterdam.
6 July 1971 Barend Biesheuvel of the Anti-Revolutionary Party replaces Petrus de Jong as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Louis Armstrong dies in New York at the age of 71.
7 July 1971 Stanko Georgiev Todorov replaces Todor Khristov Zhivkov as Prime Minister of Bulgaria. Zhivkov is named Chairman of the State Council.
Arab terrorists send rockets into a school and hospital in Petah Tiqva, northeast of Tel Aviv. Four people are killed, 30 injured.
8 July 1971 On the fifth day of violence in Londonderry, Catholic demonstrators clash with British troops. Soldiers fire into the crowd, killing two.
A nationwide financial scandal erupts in France, implicating several real estate firms, financial leaders, and the conservative Union of Democrats for the Republic.
Cassiopeia for percussion and orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (40) is performed publicly for the first time, in Chicago. See 24 June 1971.
9 July 1971 US troops withdraw from their last remaining positions just south of the Demilitarized Zone. They turn them over to Saigon government troops.
Violence flares again in Londonderry after the killings of yesterday. Catholics use gasoline bombs and rocks against British troops. A US-owned factory is set afire.
10 July 1971 Moroccan army officers and cadets assault the King’s summer palace in Skhirat while a gathering celebrating the King’s birthday is in progress. 93 people are killed. King Hassan is unhurt and the coup attempt is crushed.
11 July 1971 The Chilean Congress votes a constitutional amendment which authorizes the President to nationalize the copper industry. The vote is unanimous.
12 July 1971 Before Protestant marches begin in Belfast, several bombs go off along the route. In Londonderry, Catholics and British troops exchange gunfire. Three buildings are set alight.
FBI director J. Edgar Hoover sends an ominous warning memorandum to Attorney General John Mitchell and Presidential Chief of Staff HR Haldeman about the composition of Mass by Leonard Bernstein (52): “...important government officials, perhaps even the President, are expected to attend this ceremony and it is anticipated that they will applaud the composition without recognizing the true meaning of the words.” In fact, President Nixon will not attend the premiere.
Concert Piece for piano and orchestra by Shulamit Ran (21) is performed for the first time, in Tel Aviv, the composer at the keyboard.
13 July 1971 Meo tribesmen, under US direction, complete capture of the Plaine des Jarres in Laos.
Ten high-ranking Moroccan military officers are executed for their part in the attempted coup of three days ago.
Two British soldiers are killed yesterday and today in Belfast by IRA snipers in retaliation for the killings of 8 July.
14 July 1971 Jordan completes a two-day operation to rid northern Jordan of Palestinian guerrillas.
Olafur Johannesson replaces Johann Hafstein as Prime Minister of Iceland.
Two Croats are sentenced to life in prison in a Stockholm court for the murder of the Yugoslav ambassador to Sweden. They said they did it because he “murdered thousands of Croats between 1941 and 1945.” Two others are given two years each for complicity in the killing.
In a US Air Force court near London, Captain Thomas Culver is sentenced to a reprimand and a $1,000 fine after being found guilty yesterday of organizing the antiwar activities of 31 May.
Over 500,000 employees of the Bell Telephone System across the US go on strike. Many other workers refuse to cross the picket lines.
Leonard Bernstein (52) attempts to meet once again with Father Philip Berrigan at Danbury Federal Prison in Connecticut. He is denied admission by prison officials.
15 July 1971 45 Jews, in the third day of a hunger strike in Moscow’s central telegraph office to protest the failure of Soviet authorities to process their applications to emigrate to Israel, are arrested.
US President Nixon announces that Premier Chou En-lai has invited him to visit China and that he has accepted.
16 July 1971 The Social Democratic and Labour Party announces it will boycott the Northern Ireland Parliament after the British government refuses to investigate the killing of two Catholic civilians by British troops. Other opposition members say they will join the boycott.
19 July 1971 Bengali rebels attack the three power stations serving Dacca and put them out of service.
Leftist army officers take control of the government of Sudan.
20 July 1971 10,000 troops of the Saigon government invade Cambodia.
21 July 1971 Frescoes for two keyboard players by William Bolcom (33) is performed for the first time, in Montreal.
22 July 1971 Forces loyal to President Gaafar Muhammad Nimeiry, with the help of Libya and Egypt, regain control of the government of Sudan.
West Germany and the USSR agree to establish consulates in Leningrad and Hamburg.
The National Assembly of Portugal approves a measure guaranteeing freedom of religion.
23 July 1971 Executions of the leaders of the recent coup begin in Sudan.
The Chamber of Deputies of Uruguay votes to impeach President Jorge Pacheco Areco.
24 July 1971 After a two-day meeting in Salta, President Salvador Allende of Chile and President Alejandro Agustín Lanusse of Argentina agree to a formula for arbitration of their dispute over the Beagle Channel.
Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters, an opera by Ned Rorem (47) to words of Stein, is performed for the first time, at Temple University, Philadelphia.
26 July 1971 09:34 Apollo 15 blasts off from Cape Kennedy.
Anti-government terrorist incidents take place in four cities in Argentina. In Córdoba, 23 bombs are place throughout the city, 15 of which explode. In Rosario, two bombs explode at an exclusive golf club. In Béccar, near Buenos Aires, guerrillas take over a milk transport truck and distribute the milk to residents of the town. In Tucumán, terrorists kill two policemen and detonate a bomb in a railroad station.
27 July 1971 Hundreds of students and workers riot outside the University of the Republic in Montevideo to protest the killing of a student by police.
In a Washington court, eight antiwar protesters are acquitted of charges surrounding the events of early May. Charges against other protesters are subsequently dropped.
28 July 1971 Laotian troops capture Saravane, northeast of Pakxong.
30 July 1971 Dzemal Bijedic replaces Mitja Ribicic as President of the Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia.
President Rafael Caldera of Venezuela signs legislation nationalizing his country’s oil industry.
22:16 UTC Apollo 15, with David Scott and James Irwin, lands in the Mare Imbrium on the Moon. Alfred Worden remains in orbit around the Moon.
31 July 1971 The Lunar Roving Vehicle is used on the Moon for the first time by astronauts David Scott and James Irwin.
1 August 1971 The Apollo 15 astronauts engage in a second day of lunar exploration.
Flooding of the Red River kills 100,000 people in North Vietnam.
2 August 1971 The government of Sudan expels the Bulgarian ambassador and the counselor of the Soviet embassy for complicity in the recent coup attempt.
17:11 UTC After a third exploration of the lunar surface, David Scott and James Irwin blast off from the Moon and rejoin Alfred Worden in orbit.
US Secretary of State William Rogers announces that his country will no longer oppose membership in the United Nations by the Peoples Republic of China. But it will also insist that the Taiwan government remain in the organization.
The US government admits that the CIA is maintaining a force of irregulars in Laos number about 30,000.
Helio Bicudo, prosecutor in Sao Paulo who indicted several policemen involved in conservative death squads, is sacked by the government.
Transitions, a Fantasy for Ten Instruments by TJ Anderson (42) is performed for the first time, at Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts.
3 August 1971 The first ballistic nuclear missiles ever deployed by France become operational in the Vaucluse Mountains.
4 August 1971 Six Pakistani diplomats in Washington and eight at the UN, all Bengalis, resign and support Bengali rebels.
5 August 1971 Turkey and China establish diplomatic relations.
Alfred Worden becomes the first person to “walk” in interplanetary space when he exits the Apollo 15 spacecraft between the Earth and the Moon.
The National Assembly of Portugal abolishes official press censorship but penalties for publications “against the national interest” remain.
Engelbert Kreuzer is sentenced by a court in Regensburg to seven years in prison for his part in the murder of over 30,000 people at Babi Yar outside Kiev during World War II. Two others charged are excused from the trial due to poor health.
6 August 1971 A New Orleans court acquits twelve Black Panthers of attempted murder charges stemming from a gun battle with police.
7 August 1971 The South Pacific Forum is founded by Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, Tonga, and Western Samoa at a meeting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Apollo 15 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, 536 km north of Hawaii.
The Fields of Sorrow for two sopranos, winds, vibraphone, and two pianos by Harrison Birtwistle (37) to words of Decimus Ausonius is performed for the first time, in Dartington conducted by the composer.
8 August 1971 A second trial of Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panthers, in Oakland ends in a hung jury. Newton was charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of a policeman.
William Schuman (61) is presented with the MacDowell medal in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The presentation address is given by Aaron Copland (70).
9 August 1971 India and the Soviet Union initial a 20-year friendship treaty in New Delhi.
The government of Northern Ireland invokes emergency measures to try and halt violence in the country. 300 people are arrested in dawn raids. Violence erupts in Belfast as Catholics set fire to buildings and throw firebombs at British troops. One woman is killed. Catholics battle troops in Londonderry with bombs and guns. 4,000 army reservists are called to duty.
10 August 1971 Violence between Catholics, police, and British troops continues in Northern Ireland.
11 August 1971 East Pakistan leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman goes on trial in West Pakistan.
Northern Ireland authorities release 70 of those arrested two days ago. The rest are interned aboard a Royal Navy ship. Gun battles and arson continue in Belfast, Londonderry, and Armagh. At least four people are killed.
12 August 1971 After a day of cross-border battles, Syria breaks diplomatic relations with Jordan.
Yerma, an opera by Heitor Villa-Lobos (†11) after Garcia Lorca, is performed for the first time, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
13 August 1971 NATO announces it will close its Mediterranean naval headquarters on Malta in accordance with a request from the Maltese government.
US Attorney General John Mitchell announces that no federal grand jury will be empanelled to investigate the deaths of four students at Kent State University last year.
15 August 1971 US President Richard Nixon imposes a 90-day freeze on wages, rents, and prices and removes the ties of the dollar to gold. He also imposes a ten percent import surtax. The action is a major reversal of his economic policies and the adoption of a program advocated by his opponents.
16 August 1971 The State of Bahrain, under Emir Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, is proclaimed independent of Great Britain.
Most European countries close their foreign exchange markets in response to the US actions of yesterday.
Protests by Puerto Rican residents in Camden, New Jersey erupt into violence over the next eight nights. 22 people are injured, 200 arrested.
17 August 1971 Iran recognizes the Peoples Republic of China.
18 August 1971 Australia and New Zealand announce that they will withdraw their forces from Vietnam by the end of the year.
19 August 1971 30 Catholic officeholders resign their positions to protest the British policy of internment without trial and other measures.
20 August 1971 General Duong Van Minh withdraws from the campaign for President of the Saigon government. He believes the election will be rigged.
After a 16-hour meeting, the Common Market Council of Ministers agrees to reopen exchange markets 23 August but does not agree on a common approach to the newly floating dollar.
The International Monetary Fund recognizes the US dollar as a floating currency.
The commanding general of the American Third Army reduces the sentence of Lt. William Calley, convicted murderer of 22 unarmed civilians, from life imprisonment to 20 years imprisonment.
21 August 1971 Explosions rock an election rally of the opposition Liberal Party in Manila. Ten people are killed, 74 injured, including eight Senate candidates.
23 August 1971 Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky withdraws from the campaign for President of the Saigon government. He believes the election will be rigged. This leaves President Nguyen Van Thieu as the sole candidate.
President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines suspends habeas corpus. Police are given the right to search without warrants. He blames Communists for the attack of 21 August and says the Liberal Party is consorting with them.
European foreign exchange markets reopen after a week in hiatus. The dollar shows surprising strength. Currencies of Great Britain, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy are allowed to float against the dollar.
The Four Powers agree on a draft of principles for a Berlin settlement.
The Internal Security Committee of the US House of Representatives reports that while the Black Panthers present a threat to policemen, they are “totally incapable of overthrowing our government by violence.”
24 August 1971 Secret indictments against 14 law enforcement personnel in Illinois are revealed on orders of the State Supreme Court. The indictments allege obstruction of justice in covering up the truth about a police raid in Chicago where two Black Panther officials were killed. Named in the indictment are Illinois Attorney General Edward Hanrahan, an assistant state attorney, eight policemen who participated in the raid, and four policemen who investigated it.
Aroura for twelve string instruments by Iannis Xenakis (49) is performed for the first time, in Lucerne.
26 August 1971 Persepolis for eight-track tape by Iannis Xenakis (49) is performed for the first time, at the Ruins of Persepolis, Iran.
Tempus destruendi/Tempus aedificandi for chorus by Luigi Dallapiccola (67) is performed completely for the first time, in Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. See 4 January 1971.
27 August 1971 Japan floats the yen against the US dollar.
28 August 1971 Two operas by Gian Francesco Malipiero (89) to his own words are performed for the first time, in Teatro dei Rinnuovati, Siena: Uno dei dieci and L’Iscariota.
29 August 1971 Nathan Leopold dies in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico at the age of 66.
30 August 1971 Ten buses intended for use in the desegregation of Pontiac, Michigan schools are firebombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
2 September 1971 The United Arab Republic changes its name to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Several bombs are exploded around noon in Belfast. 39 people are injured. The headquarters of the Protestant Unionist party are partially destroyed.
3 September 1971 The State of Qatar, under Emir Sheikh Ahmad ben Ali ben Abdullah al-Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifah ibn Hamad al-Thani, is declared independent of Great Britain.
The Four Powers sign the draft agreement for Berlin in that city.
In their first covert operation, the White House Plumbers, led by E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, invade the Los Angeles office of Dr. Lewis Fielding, psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg.
4 September 1971 Ausstrahlung for tape, soprano, flute, oboe, and orchestra by Bruno Maderna (51) is performed for the first time, in Persepolis. As part of the performance, Dialodia for two flutes and two oboes is premiered.
6 September 1971 The Turkish National Assembly approves constitutional amendments curtailing human rights if they conflict with “national security.”
Tupamaro guerrillas dig a tunnel twelve meters into Punta Carretas prison, Montevideo and free 106 of their colleagues.
8 September 1971 Nine students are injured in violence surrounding protests by whites against racial integration in the schools of Pontiac, Michigan.
Mass, a theatre piece for singers, players, and dancers by Leonard Bernstein (53) to words of Schwarz, the Latin mass, and the composer, is performed for the first time, at the opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington. The applause lasts for one-half hour. The critics run from laudatory to blistering.
9 September 1971 The South Korean Defense Minister announces that his country’s army will begin withdrawing from South Vietnam in December.
About 1,000 inmates take over a cellblock at the Attica State Correctional Facility in New York. They take 32 guards and civilian employees hostage and issue 15 demands.
Tupamaro guerrillas release British ambassador Geoffrey Jackson in Montevideo after holding him for eight months.
10 September 1971 Duke Ellington (72) and his Orchestra land in Moscow beginning a three-week tour of the Soviet Union.
Beatrix Cenci, an opera by Alberto Ginastera (55) to words of Shand and Girri, is performed for the first time, at the Kennedy Center, Washington.
11 September 1971 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev dies in a Moscow hospital at the age of 77.
Musiques pour une fête for tape by Pierre Henry (43) is performed for the first time.
Fadograph of a Yestern Scene for two solo voices and orchestra by Samuel Barber (61) after Joyce is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh. It was commissioned for the opening of the new Heinz Hall.
12 September 1971 As part of ongoing, daily violence in Northern Ireland, riots erupt in Londonderry following the funeral of a three-year-old boy who was killed by a British Army truck. Troops use rubber bullets and nausea gas. Riots also break out in Belfast.
13 September 1971 According to the Chinese government, Lin Piao, (Lin Biao) his wife and son are killed when their jet crashes in Öndörkhaan, Mongolia. The official Chinese story is that the plane ran out of fuel. Mongolian authorities blame pilot error.
On orders of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, state police assault Attica State Correctional facility where prisoners took over a cellblock 9 September. They kill 37 people.
Duke Ellington (72) and his Orchestra play the first of five concerts in Leningrad.
15 September 1971 A group of peace activists in Vancouver charter a boat to sail to Amchitka Island to try to stop nuclear testing by the United States. They will fail, but their organization will evolve into Greenpeace.
16 September 1971 Police use tear gas to break up a rally in Saigon opposing the upcoming one-candidate presidential election.
Laotian government forces recapture Pakxong, near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, from the North Vietnamese.
The Viola in My Life IV for viola and orchestra by Morton Feldman (45) is performed for the first time, in Venice.
17 September 1971 Dmitri Shostakovich (64) suffers a second heart attack, shortly after completing his Symphony no.15.
18 September 1971 Four separate rallies take place in Saigon opposing the upcoming one candidate presidential election. Some turn violent.
Egyptian and Israeli forces exchange heavy fire across the Suez Canal for the first time since August of last year.
19 September 1971 An Arab terrorist throws a hand grenade at a group of Christian pilgrims in the Old City of Jerusalem. Five pilgrims are injured and a four-year-old Arab girl playing nearby is killed.
Gesänge, a cycle for voice and piano by Wolfgang Rihm (19) to words of various authors, is performed for the first time, in Karlsruhe.
20 September 1971 Responsorium in memoriam Annon Lee Silver for two mezzo-sopranos, chorus, and two flutes by John Tavener (27) is performed for the first time, in St. Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham.
21 September 1971 Yoshikatsu Takeiri, Chairman of the Komeito Party, is stabbed twice and seriously wounded in Tokyo by Takaaki Yajima. Yajima attacked Takeiri because he opposes Komeito’s policy of closer relations with China.
The State of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Bhutan, and the State of Qatar are admitted to the United Nations.
Voters in Denmark replace the center-right government with socialist parties.
The Canadian Council of Tobacco Manufacturers agrees to voluntarily end all radio and television advertising by 1 January.
Pierre Boulez (46) conducts his first concert with the New York Philharmonic. Reviews are generally favorable.
Sixty-two Mesostics re: Merce Cunningham by John Cage (59) is performed for the first time, in Athens.
22 September 1971 The Senate of the Saigon government calls on President Nguyen Van Thieu to postpone the presidential election and schedule a new one “in accordance with democratic procedures.”
At Fort McPherson, Georgia, Captain Ernest Medina is found not guilty of all charges in his role of the massacre of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in 1968 by troops under his command. The charges include the involuntary manslaughter of “not less than 100” Vietnamese.
The Lovers op.43 for baritone, chorus, and orchestra by Samuel Barber (61) to words of Neruda is performed for the first time, in the Philadelphia Academy of Music.
Concerto for flute and orchestra by Walter Piston (77) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
24 September 1971 Great Britain orders 105 Soviet citizens out of the country saying that they are engaged in “operations against the security of the country.” The expulsions come as a result of the defection of a KGB agent earlier this month.
25 September 1971 String Quartet no.5 in Quarter Tones by Lejaren Hiller (47) is performed for the first time, in Binghamton, New York.
Suite en sol op.431 for orchestra by Darius Milhaud (79) is performed for the first time, in Marin County, California.
26 September 1971 Several people opposed to President Nguyen Van Thieu form the People’s Coordinating Committee Against Dictatorship in Saigon. They include Vice-President Nguyen Cao Ky, General Duong Van Minh, students, Buddhists, and veterans. They call for a boycott of the 3 October one candidate election.
North Vietnamese forces begin an offensive along the Cambodia-South Vietnam border.
Who are these Children? op.84 for voice and piano by Benjamin Britten (57) to words of Soutar, is performed completely for the first time, in Snape Maltings Concert Hall the composer at the keyboard. See 7 March 1971 and 4 May 1971.
28 September 1971 By agreement of the Hungarian government and the Vatican, Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty leaves his 15-year residence in the US embassy in Budapest and travels to Rome.
Olivier Messiaen (62) and his wife are invited to dinner with President Pompidou at the Elysée Palace. At the end of the meal, Rolf Liebermann, general manager of the Paris Opéra, announces, “Messiaen, you will write an opera for the Opéra de Paris.” The composer later recalls, “I couldn’t refuse in front of the President of the Republic.”
Missa super L’homme armé for speaker, flute, piccolo, clarinet, keyboards, percussion, violin, and cello by Peter Maxwell Davies (37) is performed for the first time, in Perugia, the composer conducting. See 26 February 1968.
29 September 1971 Saigon government troops begin a counteroffensive to hold on to their gains in eastern Cambodia.
1 October 1971 Godfrey Hounsfield performs the first successful CAT scan on a human patient, in London.
Disney World opens on what used to be 11,300 hectares of tropical wilderness in central Florida.
100,000 coal miners in the United States strike for higher wages and benefits.
3 October 1971 An election for President of the Saigon government takes place. 90% of the vote reportedly goes to the only candidate on the ballot, President Nguyen Van Thieu.
Duo for flute and piano by Aaron Copland (70) is performed for the first time, in Philadelphia.
4 October 1971 How the Stars Were Made for percussion ensemble by Peter Sculthorpe (42) is performed for the first time, in the Playhouse, Canberra.
A bomb explodes in the Springfield Road section of Belfast, killing one British soldier and injuring nine other people.
The Soviet vehicle Lunokhod 1 stops operating after eleven months on the moon, when it runs out of fuel. It has surveyed eight hectares of the lunar surface.
Con Antonio Machado for voice and piano by Joaquín Rodrigo (69) is performed for the first time, in Salón Carlos V, Seville.
5 October 1971 The USSR and West Germany agree to establish direct air links between the two countries.
Subway motormen in the Paris metro go on strike.
6 October 1971 Piece for Trumpet and 7 Instruments by Stefan Wolpe (69) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York.
We Sang Our Songs by William Grant Still (76) to words of Arvey is performed for the first time, for the centennial celebration of Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee.
7 October 1971 The Sultanate of Oman is admitted to the United Nations.
The British government announces that it will send 1,750 more soldiers to Northern Ireland.
8 October 1971 The USSR expels 18 British citizens in retaliation for the expulsions of 24 September.
Duke Ellington (72) and his Orchestra play the first of five concerts in Moscow.
Two army regiments revolt against the Argentine government south of Buenos Aires. The rebellion ends after 20 hours.
The Public Broadcasting Service in the United States broadcasts charges by three people who say they were paid by the FBI to infiltrate antiwar groups and encourage acts which could be prosecuted.
9 October 1971 Olivier Messiaen (62) receives the Sibelius Prize in Helsinki.
A bomb explodes in a pub frequented by Catholics in Belfast. One person is killed, 14 injured.
10 October 1971 President Yahya Khan of Pakistan lifts the ban on political activity.
Parliamentary elections in Austria result in an outright majority for the Social Democratic Party of Chancellor Bruno Kreisky.
11 October 1971 Social Democrat Jens Otto Krag replaces Social Liberal Hilmer Baunsgaard as Prime Minister of Denmark.
String Quartet no.1 by Charles Wuorinen (33) is performed for the first time, in Goodman Theatre, Chicago.
12 October 1971 Police raids throughout Northern Ireland net 15 suspected IRA members.
A former New York City health official reports to a medical meeting in Minneapolis that a liberal abortion law has cut the maternal death rate in the city by half.
Messe Gib uns den Frieden for chorus and orchestra by Ernst Krenek (71) is performed for the first time, in Hauptkirche St. Nikolay, Hamburg.
Jesus Christ Superstar, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, opens in New York.
14 October 1971 After nine days on strike, Paris subway drivers return to work without winning concessions.
Celebration in Praise of Earth for chorus and orchestra by Leslie Bassett (48) is performed for the first time, in Berea, Ohio.
Postcard from Morocco, an opera by Dominick Argento (43) to words of Donahue, is performed for the first time, in Cedar Village Theatre, Minneapolis.
16 October 1971 The Cambodian cabinet abolishes the National Assembly.
US Vice President Spiro Agnew begins a weeklong official visit to the military dictatorship of Greece.
Police shoot and capture black militant leader H. Rap Brown as he and three others attempt to rob a bar in New York.
Trans no.35 for orchestra and tape by Karlheinz Stockhausen (43) is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen. The composer derived the work from a dream he had in December of 1970.
17 October 1971 One Man’s Week: John Tavener (27) is broadcast by BBC television.
Actions for 14 jazz instruments by Krzysztof Penderecki (37) is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen, conducted by the composer.
18 October 1971 While walking with Prime Minister Trudeau on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Soviet Prime Minister Aleksey Kosygin is assaulted by a man who jumps on his back shouting “freedom for Hungary.” Kosygin is not hurt.
Ten Russian Folksongs for various groupings of voices and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich (65) are performed for the first time, in Magnitogorsk.
Duel for two small orchestras by Iannis Xenakis (49) is performed for the first time, in Hilversum, Netherlands.
Three works by Ernst Krenek (71) are performed for the first time, in Ann Arbor, Michigan: Three Sacred Pieces for chorus to words of the Bible, Three Lessons for chorus to words of the composer, and Orga-nastro for organ and tape.
19 October 1971 Four days of violence begins in Memphis following the funeral of a black youth who was beaten to death by police.
Today marks the last issue of Look magazine.
Facets for piano and woodwind quintet by Ulysses Kay (54) is performed for the first time, at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York.
21 October 1971 Several works composed in 1950-1951 by Karlheinz Stockhausen (43) are performed for the first time, in Paris: Chöre für Doris no.1/11 to words of Verlaine, Drei Lieder no.1/10 for alto and chamber ensemble to words of Baudelaire and anonymous, and Choral no.1/9 for chorus to his own words.
Prelude for Five Players for flute, oboe or violin, clarinet, bassoon or cello, and piano by Joan Tower (33) is performed for the first time, in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York.
22 October 1971 Prime Minister Lon Nol of Cambodia declares a state of emergency and abolishes the constitution.
Dimensionen for organ and orchestra by Isang Yun (54) is performed for the first time, in Nuremberg.
Formel no.1/6 for 29 instruments, and Sonatine for violin and piano by Karlheinz Stockhausen (43) are performed for the first time, in Paris conducted by the composer 20 years after they were composed.
23 October 1971 Relative calm returns to Memphis after four days of racial violence. One person has been killed and several firebombings occurred.
Fighting breaks out between federal and local police in Córdoba, Argentina in the middle of a 14-hour general strike.
24 October 1971 Fighting breaks out between Indian and Pakistani troops on their common border near Kasba, East Pakistan. It is part of many incidents of cross border fighting in recent days.
18:00 Carl Sprague Ruggles dies of pneumonia in the Crescent Manor Nursing Home in Bennington, Vermont, aged 95 years, seven months, and 13 days.
25 October 1971 Art critic José-María Moreno Galvan is arrested when he tries to make a speech honoring the 90th birthday of Pablo Picasso at Madrid University.
By a General Assembly vote of 76-35-17, the Peoples Republic of China, representing 20% of the world’s population, is granted membership in the United Nations. The Republic of China is expelled.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Health Service announce that a “morning after pill” has successfully prevented pregnancy in all 1,000 women involved in a study.
Piri for oboe by Isang Yun (54) is performed for the first time, in Bamberg.
27 October 1971 Government troops destroy the village of Shekharnagar, East Pakistan on the false report that rebels are hiding there. 19 civilians are killed, but most residents flee at the approach of the troops.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed the Republic of Zaire.
Ahmed Timol, a South African teacher of Indian descent, is thrown out of a window of the main police station in Johannesburg. Police will claim he committed suicide.
A funeral in memory of Carl Ruggles takes place in St. James Episcopal Church in Arlington, Vermont.
28 October 1971 The British House of Commons votes 356-244 to approve entry into the EEC.
The Cairo Opera House, opened in 1871 with the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s (†70) Aida, is destroyed by fire.
Three works by Toru Takemitsu (41) are performed for the first time, in Paris: Eucalypts II for flute, oboe, and harp, Munari by Munari for percussion solo, and Stanza II for tape and harp.
29 October 1971 Teuvo Ensio Aura replaces Ahti Kalle Samuli Karjalainen as Prime Minister of Finland. Aura heads a caretaker government following Karjalainen’s resignation.
Winter for orchestra by Toru Takemitsu (41) is performed for the first time, in Paris.
30 October 1971 Indian forces conduct a three-day incursion into East Pakistan to silence Pakistani guns which have been shelling Tripura.
The IRA destroys eight British customs posts on the border with Ireland.
Women vote in federal elections in Switzerland for the first time. Eleven women win seats in Parliament.
31 October 1971 Nguyen Van Thieu is inaugurated for a second term as President of the Saigon regime. 30,000 troops have been deployed to ensure security.
Two Meditations from Mass, orchestral excerpts by Leonard Bernstein (53), are performed for the first time, in Austin, Texas. See 8 September 1971.
1 November 1971 Gonville Aubrey Ffrench-Beytagh, Anglican dean of Johannesburg, is convicted in a Pretoria court of plotting to overthrow the government of South Africa and is sentenced to five years in prison.
Fancies and Inventions for solo voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano by Hugo Weisgall (59) to words of Herrick is performed for the first time, at the Baltimore Museum of Art, directed by the composer.
2 November 1971 Several Bengali members of the Pakistani missions to India, Switzerland, and Japan resign their positions and announce their support for Bangladesh. In New Delhi, ten employees and 33 of their dependents are attacked by other Pakistanis as they leave the embassy. They have been kept confined until being allowed to leave today.
3 November 1971 In the face of a threatened police strike, the Northern Ireland government orders the arming of the Royal Ulster Constabulary reserve force.
5 November 1971 Concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra by Roger Sessions (74) is performed for the first time, in New York.
Conservative youths destroy a Madrid art gallery and 24 engravings by Pablo Picasso. The engravings were part of an exhibit honoring Picasso’s 90th birthday.
An attempt by western European nations to launch a test satellite from French Guiana fails when explosions occur in the rocket shortly after launch.
Young Caesar, a puppet opera by Lou Harrison (54) to words of Gordon and the composer, is performed for the first time, at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. See 9 April 1988.
6 November 1971 Aram Khachaturian (68) wins the State Prize, awarded each year on the eve of the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.
Despite opposition from Canada, Japan, over 30 US Senators, and thousands of US citizens, the Nixon administration explodes the most powerful hydrogen bomb yet built on the island of Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands.
7 November 1971 China announces it will strongly support Pakistan in any war with India.
8 November 1971 Twenty bombs explode in Belfast, striking military and civilian targets.
10 November 1971 The US Senate ratifies a treaty with Japan that will return the Ryukyu Islands to Japan. US bases will continue on Okinawa. As the Japanese Diet considers the treaty, riots occur in Tokyo and Naha, Okinawa in opposition to the clauses allowing the US base.
Cuban Premier Fidel Castro begins a three-week visit to Chile, his first official visit anywhere in Latin America.
The City Council of Berkeley, California votes to offer sanctuary for all military deserters and orders city policemen not to assist federal or state authorities in arresting deserters.
11 November 1971 Guten Morgen, a Hörspiel by Mauricio Kagel (39), is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of WDR.
Neil Simon’s play The Prisoner of Second Avenue is first performed in New York.
12 November 1971 President Nixon announces that a further 45,000 US troops will be withdrawn from Vietnam by 1 February.
13 November 1971 North Vietnamese troops overrun Rumlong 84 km northeast of Phnom Penh, killing or capturing almost all the government troops therein.
The six-week-old strike of 100,000 coal miners in the United States is settled.
14 November 1971 00:33 UTC After a five and a half month journey, the American space probe Mariner 9 becomes the first Earth craft to orbit Mars.
As the 90-day wage and price freeze comes to an end in the US, phase two of the economic stabilization program comes into effect.
15 November 1971 The official delegation of the People’s Republic of China is seated at the United Nations.
President Franz Jonas makes the first official visit of an Austrian head of state to Italy since 1875. It is testament to improved relations since the settlement of their dispute over Alto Adige.
16 November 1971 Greece and Albania resume full diplomatic relations.
The US Commission on Civil Rights denounces the Nixon administration for failing to enforce the civil rights laws of the country.
Impromptu no.2 for flute, oboe, and clarinet by Thea Musgrave (43) is performed for the first time, at University College, Cardiff.
No Longer Than Ten (10) Minutes for orchestra by R. Murray Schafer (38) is performed for the first time, in Toronto.
17 November 1971 A mixed group of civilians and military officers lead by Prime Minister Thanom Kittakachorn seizes full power in Thailand.
18 November 1971 University students in Zagreb strike. Their demands range from an end to economic exploitation of Croatia to better conditions in the dorms.
The convention of the AFL-CIO in Bal Harbour, Florida adopts a policy of non-cooperation with Phase Two of President Nixon’s economic stabilization program.
19 November 1971 Christos Sartzetakis, the magistrate who investigated the Lambrakis murder, is released from prison pending trial on charges of conspiring to commit sedition. He has been in prison since last December.
A water storage space in the Northern States Power Company nuclear reactor at Monticello, Minnesota overflows, dumping 50,000 gallons of radioactive waste water into the Mississippi River. Some of the radioactivity reaches the water system of the city of St. Paul.
21 November 1971 Cross-border clashes between India and Pakistan erupt into major fighting in Bengal. Bengali rebels are carrying out joint operations with Indian troops.
22 November 1971 In an attempt to relieve pressure on Phnom Penh, Saigon government troops begin a major invasion of eastern Cambodia.
23 November 1971 The UN reports that the upsurge in fighting has halted their relief efforts in East Pakistan.
The Peoples Republic of China takes its seat on the Security Council of the United Nations.
Fairy-Tale Poem for orchestra by Sofiya Gubaidulina (40) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
24 November 1971 The Japanese House of Representatives approves the treaty with the United States returning the Ryukyu Islands to Japan.
British Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas-Home signs an agreement with Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith calling for improvement in the political position of blacks in the country and progress towards their eventual rule.
Four oil companies agree to pay $4,500,000 in damages to over 1,500 California property owners for the devastation of their land by a well blowout at Santa Barbara in 1969.
25 November 1971 The Pakistani government orders the mobilization of reservists.
26 November 1971 Ariel, a cycle for soprano, clarinet, and piano by Ned Rorem (48) to words of Plath, is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington.
27 November 1971 Indian forces push into East Pakistan near Hilli.
The Soviet space probe Mars 2 goes into orbit around Mars. It drops a capsule carrying the Soviet coat of arms on the planet’s surface, the first Earth object on Mars.
28 November 1971 Prime Minister Wasfi Tel of Jordan is shot to death by Palestinian terrorists in Cairo. Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdullah Sallah and an Egyptian policeman are wounded. Four Palestinians are arrested.
Fugue for organ by Otto Luening (71) is performed for the first time, in the National Cathedral, Washington.
1 December 1971 The United States suspends arms shipments to India.
The US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare notifies schools of the city of Boston that they are violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is the first northern city so notified.
A peaceful anti-government march in Santiago de Chile is attacked by extreme leftists, setting off widespread violence in the city.
A military tribunal in Juiz de Fora, Brazil convicts 42 people of subversion and acquits 26 others.
2 December 1971 Cambodian government troops collapse after North Vietnamese troops take the towns of Baray and Kompong Thmar just north of Phnom Penh. 10,000 of them flee in disarray.
The Soviet space probe Mars 3 goes into orbit around Mars. It sends a capsule carrying TV equipment which soft lands on the surface and transmits for 20 seconds before contact is lost.
The United Arab Emirates is formed by the union of six of the seven “Trucial States” under President Sheikh Zaid II ibn Sultan Al Nahayan and Prime Minister Sheikh Maktum III ibn Rashid Al Maktum.
A state of emergency is declared in Santiago de Chile.
3 December 1971 East Pakistani rebel activity and cross border clashes erupt into full scale war. India invades Pakistan in support of the rebellion.
De natura sonoris II for orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (38) is performed for the first time, in Alice Tully Hall, New York. The work was commissioned by the Juilliard School of Music.
Drumming for percussion, two female voices, whistling, and piccolo by Steve Reich (35) is performed for the first time, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The audience grants the music a standing ovation.
Concerto for rhythmicon and orchestra by Henry Cowell (†5) is performed for the first time, in Palo Alto, California, by a computer and orchestra, forty years after it was composed.
4 December 1971 Cross-border fighting begins in Kashmir. Indian and Pakistani aircraft carry out bombing raids on each other’s territory and cities.
A bomb explosion destroys a pub in Belfast killing 15 Catholics, including two children.
Cuban Premier Fidel Castro returns home after an extended visit to Chile, including stopover meetings with the Presidents of Ecuador and Peru. It is his first official visit anywhere in Latin America.
6 December 1971 Cambodian government troops abandon Bat Doeung, 25 km north of Phnom Penh.
Laotian government troops abandon Saravane and its airstrip in the southern part of the country.
India recognizes the government of Bangladesh. Pakistan breaks relations with India. The United States suspends development loans to India.
7 December 1971 North Vietnamese rockets hits Phnom Penh for the first time in several months.
Indian forces capture Jessore and Sylhet, and surround Comilla.
Pakistani forces capture Chhamb, Kashmir, but fighting continues in the area.
The UN General Assembly votes 104-11-10 to urge India and Pakistan to stop fighting.
8 December 1971 Pakistani units in Comilla and Brahmanbaria surrender to the Indians.
9 December 1971 The United Arab Emirates is admitted to the United Nations.
Former Egyptian Vice President Aly Sabry and three others are sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Tribunal in Cairo for conspiring to overthrow the government last May. President Sadat immediately commutes their sentences to life in prison. 87 other people receive lesser sentences. 14 are acquitted.
10 December 1971 Melodien for orchestra by György Ligeti (48) is performed for the first time, in Nuremberg.
11 December 1971 Indian forces capture Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Hilli, Gaibanda and Majidi.
Two suites from film music by Peter Maxwell Davies (37) are performed for the first time, in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London under the baton of the composer: The Devils for orchestra, and The Boy Friend for soprano and 13 instruments.
12 December 1971 Drazen Budisa, head of the Croatian Student Federation is arrested. The resignations of Croatian leaders Savka Dabcevic-Kucar and Miko Tripolo are announced.
IRA gunmen kill John Barnhill, a right-wing Protestant member of the Northern Ireland Parliament, then destroy his country home.
13 December 1971 A bust of Werner Egk (70) is unveiled in the Stadttheater of Augsburg.
Students at the University of Zagreb riot for two days following the events of yesterday. 170 of them are arrested.
14 December 1971 Invading Saigon government forces capture Chup, in eastern Cambodia, without opposition.
The entire government of East Pakistan resigns and disassociates itself from the Pakistani government.
Meeting in the Azores, US President Richard Nixon and French President Georges Pompidou reach agreement on the formal devaluation of the dollar and a realignment of the world’s currencies.
15 December 1971 Jordanian Ambassador Zaid al-Rifai is shot and wounded by a Palestinian terrorist in London.
Musique d’hiver for organ and orchestra by Betsy Jolas (45) is performed for the first time, in Baden-Baden.
16 December 1971 The Pakistani military command in Bangladesh surrenders unconditionally to Bengali and Indian forces.
Two Swiss policemen are injured when a bomb addressed to Jordan’s Ambassador Ibrahim Zreikat explodes as they try to open it.
17 December 1971 A cease-fire goes into effect along the western India-Pakistan border. India is in control of 4,000 sq km of Pakistan while the Pakistanis hold 130 sq km of India.
Colonel Oran Henderson is acquitted of covering up the massacre of unarmed civilians by American soldiers in My Lai. This is the last legal proceeding stemming from the crime. Lt. William Calley is the only person who stands convicted of either participating in, or covering up the massacre.
18 December 1971 The bodies of 150 Bengali intellectuals are found in a ditch outside Dacca. They were taken hostage recently and killed just before the Pakistani surrender.
Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papadopoulos announces that, beginning with the new year, martial law will be restricted to Attica, Thessaloniki, and the Aegean Islands.
Finance Ministers and central bank governors of ten industrialized nations meeting in Washington reach agreement on a realignment of currencies throughout the world. The US dollar is devalued 8.57% against gold.
US President Nixon signs the Alaska Native Lands Settlement Act. Native Alaskans receive $962,500,000 from the federal government and the State of Alaska. They also receive 16,000,000 hectares in land and mineral rights.
19 December 1971 A Clockwork Orange, a film by Stanley Kubrick, opens in New York.
20 December 1971 North Vietnamese forces capture the Plaine des Jarres in Laos.
Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto replaces General Mohammed Yahya Khan as President of Pakistan. As his first act, Bhutto sacks the entire general staff, including Yahya, for bungling the war in Bangladesh.
The US ends its 10% import surtax and the 7% investment tax credit on US-made products.
21 December 1971 Austrian diplomat Kurt Waldheim is chosen to succeed U Thant as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The first and fourth of the Little Pieces for piano by Alfred Schnittke (37) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
22 December 1971 The government of Bangladesh returns to Dacca from exile in Calcutta. President Bhutto of Pakistan orders the release from prison of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but keeps him under house arrest.
26 December 1971 US warplanes begin five days of massive strikes against targets in North Vietnam.
15 Vietnam veterans barricade themselves inside the Statue of Liberty to protest the war in Indochina. After a federal court orders them out, they will leave peacefully on 28 December.
28 December 1971 North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces capture Pakxong, giving them control of the Boloven Plateau in southern Laos.
80 Vietnam veterans are forcibly arrested after they try to block the entrance to the Lincoln Memorial to protest the war in Indochina.
Ray Dolby receives a US patent for his noise reduction system.
29 December 1971 Giovanni Leone replaces Giuseppe Saragat as President of Italy.
31 December 1971 Colonel Jonathan the Saint, a comic opera by Dominick Argento (44) to words of Olon-Scrymgeour, is performed for the first time, in Denver at Loretto Heights College. It is a flop.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
23 January 2012
Last Updated (Monday, 23 January 2012 07:38)