The following events occurred in December 1973:
December 1, 1973 (Saturday)
Papua New Guinea was granted self-government by Australia in advance of eventual independence. No ceremonies were held because of the danger of violence from anti-independence groups, and at 10:00 a.m. at Port Moresby, Australian administrator Les Johnson administered the oath of office to Chief Minister Michael Somare."'Stone-Age' Papua Near Independence", Pittsburgh Press, December 1, 1973, p. 1 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, president of Bangladesh, announced an amnesty for 36,400 prisoners who had been accused, during the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Bangladesh genocide, of collaboration with the Pakistan. Bob Foster of the United States became the first black boxer to defeat a white challenger in a bout in South Africa, which had strict racial segregation under its apartheid policies at the time. Foster, the world light heavyweight champion, outpointed South Africa's Pierre Fourie in a 15-round bout at Rand Stadium in Johannesburg."Foster is champion against apartheid", by Birmingham Post (England), December 3, 1973, p. 13 In West Germany's Baden-Württemberg state, the villages of Conweiler, Schwann, and Pfinzweiler-Feldrennach were merged to create the small town of Straubenhardt. A fourth village, Ottenhausen, was added one month later and Langenalb would follow on January 1, 1975. Commercial diver Timothy House was lost at sea while conducting a surface-orientated dive in the North Sea from the semi-submersible drill rig Blue Water III. House, who was performing routine maintenance, was assumed to have cut through his umbilical due to hypothermia.
Born: Bahareh Rahnama, Iranian film actress; in Arak Rajesh Sharma, Indian film actor; in Kollam, Kerala state Died: David Ben-Gurion, 87, Polish-born Zionist leader and first Prime Minister of Israel, died 13 days after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He had been in a coma since November 23."Ben-Gurion, 'Father of Israel,' Dies at 87 as Result of Stroke— Foremost Hero of Modern Jewish Nation Suffered Brain Hemorrhage Nov. 18", by Harry Trimborn, Los Angeles Times, December 2, 1973, p. I-1
December 2, 1973 (Sunday) The Roman Catholic Church issued a change in the Rite of Penance (Ordo Paenitentiae) for the first time in more than 350 years, three days after approval had been granted by Pope Paul VI.Kenneth Leech, Soul Friend: Spiritual Direction in the Modern World (Church Publishing Incorporated, 2001) p.195 The previous text for the Rite had been promulgated in 1614 by Pope Paul V."Penance", in Historical Dictionary of Catholicism, by William J. Collinge (Scarecrow Press, 2012) p. 339 A team of military engineers from the 12th Vietcong Sapper Regiment destroyed the largest oil storage facility in South Vietnam with an attack on the Shell Oil Company's tanks at Nha Be.Cheng Guan Ang, Ending the Vietnam War: The Vietnamese Communists' Perspective (Taylor & Francis, 2005) pp. 150-151 Born: Monica Seles, Yugoslavian-born tennis player with ten Grand Slam tournament wins, including (in 1992) all four of the women's singles finals at Wimbledon and the Australian, French and U.S. Open tournaments; in Novi Sad, SR Serbia Grant Wahl, American sports journalist who suffered a fatal heart attack while in Qatar to cover the 2022 FIFA World Cup; in Mission, Kansas (d. 2022) Died: Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, 66, Pakistani politician who founded the Anjuman-i-Watan Baluchistan within British India, was assassinated by two grenades thrown into his home at Quetta."The World", Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1973, p. I-2 U.S. Admiral Richard G. Colbert, 58, President of the Naval War College 1968 to 1971
December 3, 1973 (Monday) Pioneer 10 sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter, making its closest approach of . Images were received at NASA Ames Research Center in California at 6:25 in the evening (0125 4 December UTC). Boosted by Jupiter's gravity to a speed of — the highest speed ever attained by an object sent from Earth— the small probe began moving away from Jupiter three hours later toward the constellation Taurus."Pioneer 10 Fliest Through Jupiter's Radiation", Los Angeles Times, December 4, 1973, p. I-1 Lee Hu-rak was fired as director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency by South Korea's President Park Chung Hee as part of a major shakeup of the nation's cabinet. The cause of Lee's dismissal was the August 8 kidnapping of Park's political opponent, Kim Dae-jung. Kim Jong-pil was retained as prime minister."Cabinet Shuffled in South Korea", Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1973, p.I-2 Died: Count Fleet, 33, U.S. champion racehorse who won the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes) in 1943
December 4, 1973 (Tuesday)
Voting was held in Denmark for the 175 Danish seats of the 179-member Folketing. In what became known as the Jordskredsvalget (the Landslide Vote), more than half of the Folketing members were replaced and the Socialdemokratiet party, led by Prime Minister Anker Jørgensen, lost one third of its seats, dropping from 70 to 46."Denmark Voters Turn Politics Upside Down— Surge of Protest on Taxes, Bureaucracy Called Closest Thing to Having Revolution", by Don Cook, Los Angeles Times, December 5, 1973, p. I-20 A coalition of opposition parties would form a new government 15 days later with Poul Hartling as the new premier. The Alabama Crimson Tide became one of the winners of the U.S. college football championship under the sport's format at the time."Alabama Wins National Title in UPI Poll", Los Angeles Times, December 5, 1973, p. III-3 With no provision for a national playoff, the title, recognized by the NCAA, was determined by the polls of the two major wire services, the sportswriters poll of the Associated Press (AP) and the Coaches Poll of United Press International (UPI). The final UPI poll of 35 coaches was taken at the end of the regular season, without consideration of postseason bowl games, and was made three days after Alabama had finished with an 11-0-0 record with a 35–0 win over Auburn. In the poll, the University of Alabama had 325 points, ahead of five other unbeaten teams — Oklahoma (10-0-1)(292 points), Ohio State (9-0-1), Notre Dame (10-0-0), Penn State (11-0-0) and Michigan (10-0-1). Alabama would be defeated by #4 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl game on December 31, and be voted national champion in the AP poll. The MGM Grand Hotel, with 2,100 rooms and one of the world's largest hotels at the time, quietly opened in Las Vegas. A celebrity-studded grand opening was held the next day. Born: Tyra Banks, American supermodel, film and TV actress, known for producing and hosting America's Next Top Model; in Inglewood, California Died: Michael O'Shea, 67, American film and television actor and husband of Virginia Mayo"Actor Michael O'Shea, Husband of Virginia Mayo, Dies at 67", Los Angeles Times, December 5, 1973, p. I-3
December 5, 1973 (Wednesday) Elections were held for parliament and the president were held in the southern African nation of Zambia. Voters had a choice from multiple candidates from Zambia's only legal political party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP), for the 125 seats of the National Assembly, and three cabinet ministers were defeated by other UNIP candidates in their districts."The World", Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1973, p. I-2 President Kenneth Kaunda was re-elected in a yes-no vote with 88.8% of voters in his favor. Voter turnout was only 39% for the presidential election,Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p953 and only 33% of eligible voters participated in the National Assembly election.Elections in Zambia African Elections Database Born: Sorin Grindeanu, Prime Minister of Romania during 2017; in Caransebeș Shalom Harlow, Canadian actress and model; in Oshawa, Ontario Died: Eugeni Xammar, 85, Spanish Catalan journalist Tom Dorrien-Smith, 60, the exclusive leaseholder of the island of Tresco in Cornwall, England, since 1955, died from cancer."Scillonians Shocked By Sudden Death At 60 Of Chairman Of Islands' Council Lt. Cdr. Tom Dorrien-Smith", by Clive Mumford, The Scillonian (1974) pp. 232–238 His position was inherited by his son, Robert Dorrien-Smith.
December 6, 1973 (Thursday)
The U.S. House of Representatives voted, 387 to 35, to confirm U.S. Representative Gerald Ford of Michigan as the 40th Vice President of the United States, after the U.S. Senate had approved the nomination, 92 to 3, on November 27. Ford was sworn in later in the day. Ford became the first vice president to be confirmed under the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Afterward, in speech to the joint session of Congress, the new vice president invoked the names of two related automobile lines by joking, "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln.""Ford Takes Oath as Vice President— House Approves His Nomination by an Overwhelming 387-35 Vote", by Thomas J. Foley, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1973, p. I-1 The Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973, title "An Act to make temporary provision for controlling the production, supply, acquisition and use of certain substances and of electricity; and for purposes connected with those matters," took effect in the United Kingdom after being given royal assent. A landslide killed 14 residents of a slum neighborhood in southwest Mexico City, and injured 25 others, most of them seriously."Landslide Kills 14 in Mexico City", Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1973, p. I-2 Victor E. Samuelson, an executive for the energy producing Exxon Corporation, was kidnapped in Argentina by the terrorist Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP, the Revolutionary Army of the People)."7 Men Kidnap U.S. Oilman in Argentina", Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1973, p. I-4 A group of seven ERP guerrillas took him from the Esso Argentina refinery at Campana, near Buenos Aires, where Samuelson was the refinery manager. Samuelson would be held hostage for 144 days, until April 29, 1974, before being released on Exxon's payment of a then-record kidnap ransom of $14,200,000, equivalent to almost $95 million in 2023."U.S. Executive Freed in Argentina; Guerrillas Got Record $14.2 Million", Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1974, p. I-5
December 7, 1973 (Friday) With the elimination of the U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve, the United States Coast Guard accepted its first regular enlisted women. Chief Warrant Officer Alice T. Jefferson was commissioned as the first woman to be a regular USCG officer, and Yeoman First Class Wanda May Parr and Yeoman Second Class Margaret A. Blackman as the first female enlistees."Women in the U. S. Coast Guard: Moments in History", United States Coast Guard The crash of Aeroflot Flight 964 killed 16 of the 75 people on board, including five of the seven crew, during a landing at Moscow's Domodevo Airport. Convicted child murderer Lester Eubanks escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary after being allowed a temporary, unsupervised furlough to go Christmas shopping, and would elude searchers for more than 49 years afterward."Police close in on escaped child killer who's been on the run for almost 50 years", by Gustaf Kilander, The Independent (London), March 29, 2021 As of the end of 2022, Eubanks would still be on the U.S. Marshals "15 Most Wanted Fugitives" list. Born: Damien Rice, Irish singer-songwriter; in Kildare.
December 8, 1973 (Saturday) At 12:01 a.m., the maximum speed limit on motorways in the United Kingdom was reduced from to by the government, three days after being authorized by Parliament, as a measure to conserve oil to last until at least April 8, 1974. "Although no signs will be altered," a government press release stated, "police will not regard ignorance of the new law as an excuse.""50 mph Limit Is Now Law", Daily Telegraph, December 8, 1973, p. 1