1971 This could well be the year that marked the start of the digital age when the Microprocessor was invented. We also saw the use of more and more of the transistor technology in use in things like hand held calculators which although are still very expensive over time will drop in price and increase in function to where we are today. It is also the first year North Sea Oil production begins in Norway. One other major change is the change to Decimalization in the UK and Ireland. The birth of Greenpeace signals a need to question how we manage the resources entrusted to us and a means of organized questioning of governments around the world.

Cost of Living 1971

How Much things cost in 1971
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.3%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 890
Average Cost of new house $25,250.00
Average Income per year $10,600.00
Average Monthly Rent $150.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 40 cents
Datsun 1200 Sports Coupe $1,866.00
United States postage Stamp 8 cents
Ladies 2 piece knit suits $9.98
Movie Ticket $1.50



What Events Happened in 1971

• China is admitted to the United Nations UN
• Ibrox disaster in Scotland when 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match
• A new stock market index called the Nasdaq debuts
• Border battles between India and Pakistan erupt into full-scale war when India invades East Pakistan ( Now Bangladesh ) in support of the independence movement
• Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
• Peru Earthquake results in the destruction of the town of Chungar, Peru, and the death of most of the towns people
• Decimalization in United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency.
• Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher's ( "Thatcher The Milk Snatcher". ) ends free school milk for children over the age of seven in the UK
• The Voting Age in the United States is lowered to 18 yrs old
• The U.S. Supreme Court upholds School Busing
• Women are granted the right to vote in Switzerland
• Amtrak created to provide US inter city passenger train services.
• Mount Etna erupts
• Tsunami 85 m high rises over Ryukyu Islands in Japan
• Harris public opinion poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the war in Vietnam
• Tsunami in the Bay of Bengal in Orissa State in India kills 10,000.
• The Walt Disney World Resort opens in Florida
• The US table tennis team visits to the People's Republic of China (PRC) known as "Ping Pong Diplomacy"
• Greenpeace formally comes into existence.
• Federal Express is started by Fred Smith
• Thousands protest against the British government's new industrial relations Bill.
• Cigarette Advertising Ended on Television in USA
• A fatal stampede at Glasgow Soccer Game
• Major General Idi Amin takes control of Uganda soon to become one of the worst and most notorious dictators of modern times
• Following Public Concern Over Immigration the UK A new Immigration Bill stops Commonwealth citizens automatic entry
• The New York Times begins to publish sections of the Pentagon Papers showing the US Government had been lying to the American People.
• Qatar Gains Independence From Great Britain
• Sierra Leone Gains Independence From Great Britain
• Charles Manson and three of his followers receive the death penalty
  

Popular Culture 1971

• Led Zeppelin releases their untitled fourth album

Popular Films

• Love Story
• Summer of '42
• Ryan's Daughter
• The Owl and the Pussycat
• The Aristocats
• Carnal Knowledge
• The Andromeda Strain
• The French Connection
  

Popular Musicians

• James Taylor
• The Doors
  
• Bob Dylan
  
• Tony Orlando and Dawn with " Knock
• Three Times "
  
• Janis Joplin with " Me and Bobby Mcgee "
  
• The Who
  
• Mungo Jerry
  
• John Lennon
  
• The Jackson 5
  
• Ike and Tina Turner
  
• Marvin Gaye
  
• Rod Stewart with " Maggie Mae "
  
• The Osmonds
  
• Michael Jackson
  
• The Rolling Stones with " Brown Sugar "

Popular TV Programs

• All My Children
  
• Mary Tyler Moore
  
• McCloud
  
• The Odd Couple
  
• The Partridge Family
  

Technology 1971

• Oil Production from the North Sea begins in Norway
• Intel releases world's first microprocessor, the 4004.
• Texas Instruments releases the first pocket calculator
• The First Internet Chat rooms appear
• The First Cat Scanner Produced by EMI
• BBC Open University broadcasts begin in the UK.
• The Aswan Dam is completed in Egypt
• The Worlds Largest Tanker 372,400 tons Nisseki Maru is launched
• Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.
• Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover a day after landing on the surface.
• First Soft Contact Lens became available commercially in the USA

Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )

• Liquid Crystal Displays ( LCD ) Switzerland