June 17, 1972: Five men are apprehended by police in an attempt to bug Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington D.C.’s Watergate complex.

June 29, 1972: U.S. Supreme Court rules that death penalty is unconstitutional.

September 5, 1972: Eleven Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, are killed after eight members of an Arab terrorist group invade the Olympic Village; five guerrillas and one policeman are also killed.

1972: In Boston: Boston Public Library Johnson building opens.

January 22, 1973: The U.S. Supreme Court rules on Roe v. Wade.

January 27, 1973: Vietnam War ends with signing of peace pacts. U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends on August 15.

April 30, 1973: President Nixon, on national TV, accepts responsibility, but not blame, for Watergate; accepts resignations of advisers.

November 11, 1973: Egypt and Israel sign U.S.-sponsored cease-fire accord.

July 30, 1974: House Judiciary Committee adopts three articles of impeachment charging President Nixon with obstruction of justice, failure to uphold laws, and refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee. Nixon announces his resignation on August 8. Gerald Ford is sworn in as 38th president on August 9.

April 1975: Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia.