1974

• 1974 in aviation
• 1974 in film
• 1974 in literature
• 1974 in music
• 1974 in politics
• 1974 in sports
• 1974 in television

• January - Dungeons & Dragons officially released.
• February 4 - Patricia Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army
• February 7 - Grenada becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
• February 8 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the temporary American space station Skylab return to Earth
• February 12 - US District Court Judge George Boldt rules that Native American tribes in Washington state are entitled to half of the legal salmon and steelhead catches, based on treaties signed by the tribes and the US government.
• February 23 - The Symbionese Liberation Army demand $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
• February 27 - People magazine is published for the first time.
• March 8 - Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France
• March 18 - Oil embargo: Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
• March 20- A failed kidnap attempt is made on Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips in The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace, London.
• March 29 - Mariner 10 approaches Mercury
• April 3 - The Super Outbreak, the largest series of tornadoes in history, hits 13 states and one Canadian province. By the time the last of 148 tornadoes hit early the following morning, 315 died and over 5,000 were injured.
• April 25 - Coup in Portugal restores democracy (see Carnation Revolution)
• May 9 - The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard M. Nixon.
• May 17 - Los Angeles, California police raid Symbionese Liberation Army headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall
• May 17 - Thirty-three people die from bombings in Dublin and County Monaghan, Ireland.
• May 18 - Nuclear test: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
• June 17- A bomb explodes at the Houses of Parliament in London damaging Westminster Hall. The bomb had been planted by the Irish Republican Army
• June 24 - The UPC label is used for the first time to ring up purchases at a supermarket.
• July 15 - Military coup overthrows President Makarios in Cyprus
• July 17- A bomb planted by Irish Republican Army terrorists explodes in the White Tower at the Tower of London, killing one person and injuring 41. Another bomb explodes outside a government building in South London.
• July 20 - War of July 1974: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus.
• July 24 - Watergate Scandal: The United States Supreme Court unanimously rule that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.
• July 27-30 - Watergate Scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee adopts three articles of impeachment charging President Richard M. Nixon with obstruction of justice, failure to uphold laws, and refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee. He announces he will resign the next day, the first president to do so.
• August 8 - Watergate scandal: US President Richard Nixon announces his resignation (effective August 9).
• August 9 - Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office, an action taken to avoid being removed by impeachment in response to his role in the Watergate scandal. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, takes the oath of office and becomes the 38th president.
• September 8 - Watergate Scandal: US President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.
• November 7 - Lord Lucan disappears
• November 8 - In Salt Lake City, Utah, Carol DaRonch narrowly escapes abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy.
• November 17 - President Childers dies suddenly of a heart attack in the Republic of Ireland
• November 21 - In Birmingham, England, two pubs are bombed, killing 21 people (the Birmingham Six were later sentenced to life in prison for this).
• November 21 - George W. Bush is discharged from the US Air Force Reserve.
• November 22 - The United Nations General Assembly grants the Palestine Liberation Organization observer status.
• December 1 - A Boeing 727 carrying TWA Flight 514 crashes 25 miles northwest of Dulles International Airport during bad weather, killing all 92 people on-board.
• December 19 - Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh becomes the fifth President of Ireland, in a state inauguration in Dublin Castle
• December 24 - Darwin, Australia almost completely destroyed by Cyclone Tracy
• The Milgram experiment first described by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in his 1974 book Obedience to Authority; An Experimental View.

• 1974 in film
  • May - George Lucas creates the first draft of what would eventually become Star Wars.
  • The Godfather, Part II
  • Chinatown
  • The Conversation
  • The Towering Inferno
• 1974 in literature
  • Carrie by Stephen King
• 1974 in music
• 1974 in politics
• 1974 in sports
• 1974 in television
  • January 15 - Happy Days premieres on NBC
  • Little House on the Prairie, starring Michael Landon.

• January 16 - Kate Moss, supermodel
• January 23 - Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, actress
• January 27 - Bridget Fonda, actress
• January 27 - Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
• January 30 - Christian Bale, actor
• January 31 - Ian Huntley, responsible for the Soham murders
• February 3 - Navin Kumar
• February 7 - Steve Nash, Canadian NBA star
• February 8 - Seth Green, actor
• February 11 - D'Angelo, singer
• February 13 - Robbie Williams, singer
• February 19 - Allison Boyer, poet
• March 5 - Jens Jeremies, football player, national team of Germany
• March 20 - Carsten Ramelow, football player, national team of Germany
• March 20 - Paula Garces, actress
• March 20 - Andrzej Pilipiuk, Polish writer
• March 24 - Alyson Hannigan, actress
• April 4 - Dave Mirra, extreme sports champion
• April 14 - Da Brat, rap singer
• April 28 - Penelope Cruz, actress
• June 1 - Alanis Morissette, singer
• June 25 - Karisma Kapoor, Indian actress
• July 2 - Matthew Reilly, Australian writer
• August 17 - Asad Makarevic, software engineer, chef, auto mechanic, epicurean
• September 10 - Ben Wallace, NBA star
• September 14 - Hicham El Guerrouj, Moroccan athlete
• October 11 - Jens Moellenhoff
• November 11 - Leonardo DiCaprio, actor
• November 22 - Ken Mondschein, writer
• November 22 - David Pelletier, figure skater
• December 21 - Karrie Webb, golf champion
• Ziad Jarrah, resident of Lebanon, hijacker and alleged terrorist.

• January 12- Her Royal Highness Princess Patricia of Connaught (Lady Patricia Ramsey)
• January 31 - Samuel Goldwyn, film studio executive
• February 11 - Anna Q Nilsson, actress.
• February 15 - Kurt Atterberg, composer
• February 21 - Tim Horton, NHL player, Hockey Hall of Famer, founder of Tim Hortons doughnut shops
• February 23 - Harry Ruby, composer, writer
• March 5 - Sol Hurok, impresario
• March 20 - Chet Huntley, television journalist
• April 2 - Georges Pompidou, President of France
• April 19 - Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan
• April 24 - Bud Abbott, actor
• May 24 - Duke Ellington, jazz musician, bandleader (b. 1899)
• June 10 - His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
• June 22 - Darius Milhaud, composer
• July 1 - Juan Domingo Perón, Argentinean military and politician, president of the Republic 1946 - 1955 and 1973 until his death
• September 3 - Harry Partch, microtonal composer
• September 4 - Marcel Achard, play and scriptwriter
• November 11 - Alfonso Leng, Chilean composer
• November 13 - Vittorio De Sica, Italian director
• November 17 - Erskine Hamilton Childers, fourth President of Ireland
• November 19 - George Brunies, jazz musician (b. 1902)
• November 21 - John B. Gambling, radio talk-show host
• November 29 - Peng Dehuai, former marshal of the People's Liberation Army and Minister of Defense of the PRC.
• December 2 - Max Weber, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1897)

• Physics - Sir Martin Ryle, Antony Hewish
• Chemistry - Paul J Flory
• Medicine - Albert Claude, Christian de Duve, George E Palade
• Literature - Eyvind Johnson, Harry Martinson
• Peace - Séan MacBride Eisaku Sato
• Economics - Gunnar Myrdal, Friedrich von Hayek