The following events occurred in August 1973:
August 1, 1973 (Wednesday) Sheriff T. J. Flournoy reluctantly led deputies in closing "Edna's Fashionable Ranch Boardinghouse", in La Grange, Texas, United States. The house of prostitution had operated since 1844, before the Republic of Texas was admitted as a U.S. state. Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe had informed Flournoy that, if the county did not close the bordello, the Texas Rangers would do so, despite a petition to Briscoe from La Grange businessmen, the local newspaper and some residents. Flournoy told reporters, "It's been there all my life and all my daddy's life and never caused anybody any trouble. Every large city in Texas has things 1,000 times worse.""Grim Sheriff Closes Texas' Oldest House", Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1973, p. I-11 The story of the "Chicken Ranch" would become popularized in the ZZ Top song "La Grange" and dramatized in the 1978 musical and 1982 film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) was inaugurated by the nations of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Milo Butler was sworn into office as the new Governor-General of the Bahamas, three weeks after the islands became independent; he was the first native Bahamian to hold the office. William E. Colby was confirmed as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by the U.S. Senate, 83 to 13, after Colby's pledge to not use the CIA solely against foreign nations and not within U.S. borders."Senate Approves Colby as Director for CIA", Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1973, p. I-4 The U.S. extended South Vietnam a loan of $50,000,000 for the purchase of industrial machinery, spare parts and other manufactured products as part of postwar economic reconstruction. The agreement was made between U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin and South Vietnam's Foreign Minister, Nguyen Phu Duc."U.S. Gives Saigon $50 Million Loan", Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1973, p. I-2 On the same day, the Soviet Union pledged economic aid to the Viet Cong for machinery, food, medicine, consumer goods, and "other materials necessary for normalizing the population's life.""The World", Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1973, p. I-2 Died: Walter Ulbricht, 80, East German head of state who had served as the Chairman of the State Council since 1960, and had been the de facto leader of the Communist nation as First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany from 1950 to 1971."E. German Leader Ulbricht Dies at 80", Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1973, p. I-1
August 2, 1973 (Thursday) A flash fire killed 50 people at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.BBC On This Day. Accessed 26 December 2012 The four-level building had 4,000 people inside at the time, where hundreds had been attending a rock concert, when a series of explosions went off and the fires began."Death toll of 41 in Summerland horror", Hull (England) Daily Mail, August 3, 1973, p. 1"KILLER ROOF— Toll rises to 41", London Evening Standard, August 3, 1973, p. 1"Search for Manx fire boys in Scotland", by Alec Hartley, The Guardian (London) Spiro Agnew, the Vice President of the United States, was notified by a federal prosecutor in Baltimore, George Beall, of a federal investigation, unrelated to the Watergate scandal, for possible violations of bribery, conspiracy and tax fraud arising from receipt of "kickbacks" from persons who benefited from his help. The Washington Post broke revealed on August 7 that Agnew was being accused of federal crimes."Agnew Investigated in Kickback Case, Says He's Innocent", by Richard M. Cohen and Carl Bernstein, Washington Post, August 7, 1973, p. I-1 The nine-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1973 opened with the prime ministers of 32 British Commonwealth nations, hosted at Ottawa by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau."Commonwealth Group Opens Talks in Ottawa", by Don Shannon, Los Angeles Times, August 3, 1973, p. I-5 On the first full day of business, the leaders vote, 31 to 0, to seek a total ban on atomic bomb testing. On August 9, the ministers voted unanimously in favor of black majority rule in Rhodesia."Commonwealth Backs Rhodesia Majority Rule", Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1973, p. I-5"Commonwealth Parley Ends in Heath Victory", by Don Shannon, Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1973, p. I-3
August 3, 1973 (Friday) Four residents were killed and 12 injured when the former Grand Central Hotel in New York City collapsed. At the time of its 1870 opening, it was New York City's most elegant lodging and the largest hotel in the U.S., but had deteriorated more than a century later and was a residential apartment building, the University Hotel, at the time of the accident. The eight-story, 400-room building fell shortly after 5:00 in the afternoon. Most of the 308 persons registered as living at the building had escaped after rumbling began and plaster began falling, but 16 failed to heed warnings to get out."Broadway Central Hotel Collapses", by Murray Schumach, The New York Times, August 4, 1973, p.1"N.Y. Hotel Collapses; 11 Injured, 10 Missing", Los Angeles Times, August 4, 1973, p. I-2 James Dreymala of Pasadena, Texas, age 13, became the final murder victim of serial killer Dean Corll. Dreymala had left his home on a bicycle and telephoned his parents to tell them that he was "staying at an all night party." His body was found in a boat shed in Houston, along with the bicycle, five days later."Police Digging for Bodies", Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram, August 9, 1973, p. 1-A Born: Stephen Graham, English character actor known for This Is England and its sequels; in Kirkby, Lancashire Chris Murphy, American politician, U.S. Senator from Connecticut (2013-present), in White Plains, New York
August 4, 1973 (Saturday) The Justicialist Party nominated former Argentine president Juan Perón and his wife Isabel Perón as candidates for President and Vice President of Argentina in advance of Argentina's presidential election scheduled for September 23. Mr. and Mrs. Peron accepted the nominations on August 18. The Pekan Olahraga Nasional Games opened in Djakarta, Indonesia. Died: Sam Katzman, 72, American producer known for his successful low budget films
August 5, 1973 (Sunday)
The Soviet Union launched the Mars 6 probe from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft would reach the planet Mars seven months later on March 12, 1974, releasing a lander which would return data for 224 seconds during its descent through the Martian atmosphere before crashing on the surface. Much of the data that was transmitted was unusable."Mars 6", NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive The Black September terrorist group threw a hand grenade into a crowded passenger lounge at the airport in Athens and fired pistols, killing three people and injuring 55."Athens Airport Hit by Arab Terrorists— Grenade Attack Kills 3, Including 2 Americans; At Least 50 Injured", Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1973, p. I-1 In Iceland, at a farm near Dragháls, a group of Norse worshipers revived the tradition of the "blót" for the first time since the violent blood sacrifice had been outlawed in the year 1000. The group, the Ásatrúarfélagið held ceremonies in front of a plaster statue of the Norse god Thor.Sigurður A. Magnússon, The Icelanders (Forskot Press, 1990) p. 194"Reiddust goðin?" ("Were the gods angry?), Vísir (Reykjavik), August 7, 1973, p. 1 Born: Sean Sherk, American mixed martial arts competitor and UFC Lightweight champion 2006 to 2007; in St. Francis, Minnesota Died: Vander Broadway, 74, American female impersonator, high-wire performer and trapeze artist who was billed as "Barbette", took an overdose of painkillers to commit suicide."Vander Barbette Is Dead at 68; Trapeze Artist in the Twenties", The New York Times, August 9, 1973
August 6, 1973 (Monday) With 10 days left before the halt of U.S. bombing of Cambodia, a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber mistakenly bombed a Cambodian Navy base at Neak Luong, killing more than 137 Cambodian servicemen and their families, and wounding 208."Hundreds Killed or Hurt as B-52 Hits Cambodia Base by Mistake", Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1973, p. I-1"Another Village Hit in Cambodia Raid Error— Eight Killed as F-111's Bombs Strike Island 6 Miles From Earlier Tragedy", Los Angeles Times, August 8, 1973, p. I-5 Skylab 3 astronaut Jack R. Lousma almost doubled the record for a space walk, spending 6 hours and 31 minutes outside of the Skylab space station above the Earth. Lousma had only expected to spend 3½ hours in deploying a sun shield but encountered difficulties in getting it set up. The previous record had been on June 7 when Charles Conrad Jr. of Skylab 1 and spent 3 hours and 23 minutes outside the space station."Skylab Crewman Sets Record for Walk in Space— 6½ Hours", by Nicholas C. Chriss, Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1973, p. I-1 The Senate of Pakistan (the Aiwān-e-Bālā), with 45 members, met for the first time after a new constitution changed the unicameral Constituent Assembly to a bicameral parliament. Samia Usman Fatah took the oath of office as the first woman Senator in Pakistan. Musician Stevie Wonder and his friend, John Harris, were injured when their vehicle crashed into the rear of a logging truck near Salisbury, North Carolina."Stevie Wonder injured in crash", San Bernardino Sun, August 7, 1973, p. 4 Wonder was being driven to Durham, where he was scheduled to perform a concert at the Duke University arena."Soul Singer Stevie Wonder Injured In N.C. Car Wreck", Tampa (FL) Tribune, August 7, 1973, p. 5-A Wonder received a severe brain contusion and remained unresponsive in the initial hours following the crash, but regained partial consciousness the next day and was able to answer simple questions two days after the accident. Born: Vera Farmiga, American TV, stage and film actress; in Clifton, New Jersey Died: Fulgencio Batista, 72, former Cuban dictator overthrown by Fidel Castro at the end of 1958."Ex-Cuban Dictator Batista Dies at 72", Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1973, p. I-1 James Beck, 44, British television and film actor and comedian known for the role of Private Walker in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army, died suddenly from an attack of pancreatitis after making a public appearance. Wilmoth Houdini (stage name for Frederick Wilmoth Hendricks), 77, Trinidadian-born U.S. calypso singer and recording artist
August 7, 1973 (Tuesday) A plea for help over citizens band radio, by a boy by the name of Larry purporting to be stranded inside an overturned truck with his dead father in New Mexico, sparked a search-and-rescue mission in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A massive search would be undertaken for five days before being called off on August 12 with no further calls after that, and the Federal Communications Commission would eventually conclude that the broadcast had been a hoax."'Phantom' Radio Plea Branded Hoax", The Atlanta Constitution, November 4, 1973, p. 3B Zhores Medvedev, a biologist exiled from the Soviet Union and living in London, had his Soviet citizenship revoked and was ordered to surrender his passport to the Soviet Embassy. The next day, TASS, the Communist government's news agency, said that Medvedev had been "fabricating, sending to the West and spreading slanderous materials discrediting the Soviet state and social system and the Soviet people.""Russ Biologist Stripped of Soviet Citizenship", Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1973, p. I-5 Hermine Braunsteiner became the first convicted Nazi war criminal in the U.S. to be extradited to West Germany for trial. She was found after Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal had learned that she was living in New York City as Mrs. Hermine Ryan."The Extradition of Nazi Criminals: Ryan, Artukovic, and Demjanjuk", by Henry Friedlander and Earlean M. McCarrick, in Museum of Tolerance Annual Died: José Villalonga, 53, coach and manager of the Spanish soccer football team
August 8, 1973 (Wednesday)