Timeline July 1972

Events in July 1972 9

• 1928 – 1972 Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1928-1972) Died 21 July 1972, aged 44 Wangchuck ruled as the third King of Bhutan and began modernizing the isolated Himalayan kingdom, opening it to foreign relations and development aid for the first time. He established Bhutan's first National Assembly and legal reforms. He died of heart failure while traveling in Kenya.
• 1972 Curtis Mayfield releases Super Fly Soundtrack A soundtrack that outsells the film — Freddie's Dead and Pusherman.
• 1972 Match of the Century — Fischer vs Spassky Cold War on the chessboard Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky 12½-8½ in Reykjavik in the most watched chess match in history. The Cold War backdrop made it a global media event, bringing chess to millions of new fans worldwide.
• 1972 Match of the Century — Fischer vs Spassky Cold War on the chessboard Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky 12½-8½ in Reykjavik in the most watched chess match in history. The Cold War backdrop made it a global media event, bringing chess to millions of new fans worldwide.
• 1972 Wimbledon 1972 Men: Stan Smith · Women: Billie Jean King
• 1972 David Bowie sings Starman on Top of the Pops Arm around Mick Ronson A TV moment that shapes a generation.
• 1972 Smokey Robinson leaves the Miracles Farewell concert His final concert with the group in Washington, D.C.
• 1972 Bloody Friday bombings IRA detonates twenty bombs across Belfast in under an hour The Provisional IRA set off around twenty bombs in Belfast, killing nine people and injuring more than a hundred. The attack was one of the deadliest single days of the Troubles and drew widespread condemnation. It hardened public opinion on both sides of the conflict.
• 1972 F-15 Eagle first flight Edwards Air Force Base McDonnell Douglas test pilot Irving Burrows flies the first F-15, an air superiority fighter built on the lessons of Vietnam.