1972 in the United States

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← 1971 1970 1969 1972 in the United States → 1973 1974 1975
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	History of the United States (1964–1980) Timeline of United States history (1970–1989) List of years in the United States

Events from the year 1972 in the United States.

Incumbents[]

Federal Government[]

• President: Richard Nixon (R-California)
• Vice President: Spiro Agnew (R-Maryland)
• Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger (Minnesota)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Carl Albert (D-Oklahoma)
• Senate Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield (D-Montana)
• Congress: 92nd

Events[]

January[]

• January 2 – Pierre Hotel Robbery: Six men rob the safety deposit boxes of The Pierre Hotel in New York City of at least $4 million.
• January 5 – U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.
• January 16 – Super Bowl VI: The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Miami Dolphins 24–3.
• January 24 – Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi is discovered in Guam; he had spent 28 years in the jungle and becomes the third-to-last Japanese soldier to surrender after World War II.
• January 25 – Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Congresswoman, announces her candidacy for President.

February[]

• February 4 – Mariner 9 sends pictures from Mars.
• February 5 – Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
• February 15 – Phonorecords are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
• February 18 – The California Supreme Court voids the state's death penalty, commuting all death sentences to life in prison.
• February 21–28 – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon makes an unprecedented 8-day visit to the People's Republic of China and meets with Mao Zedong.
• February 23 – Activist Angela Davis is released from jail. A Caruthers, California farmer, Rodger McAfee, helps her make bail.
• February 24 – North Vietnamese negotiators walk out of the Paris Peace Talks to protest U.S. air raids.
• February 26 – A coal sludge spill kills 125 people in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia.

March[]

• March 2 – The Pioneer 10 spacecraft is launched from Cape Kennedy, to be the first man-made satellite to leave the solar system.
• March 3 – Sculpted figures of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson are completed at Stone Mountain, Georgia.
• March 13 – Clifford Irving admits to a New York court that he had fabricated Howard Hughes' "autobiography".
• March 22 – The 92nd U.S. Congress votes to send the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the states for ratification.
• March 24
  • The Godfather is released in cinemas in the United States.
  • Gilchrest Road, New York crossing accident: A school bus crashes into a train in Congers, New York, killing five students.

April[]

• April 10
  • The U.S. and the Soviet Union join some 70 nations in signing the Biological Weapons Convention, an agreement to ban biological warfare.
  • The 44th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jack Lemmon, is held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. William Friedkin's The French Connection wins five awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Friedkin. The film is also tied with both Norman Jewison's Fiddler on the Roof and Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show in receiving eight nominations.
• April 16 – Vietnam War – Nguyen Hue Offensive: Prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.
• April 29 – The fourth anniversary of the Broadway musical Hair is celebrated with a free concert at a Central Park bandshell, followed by dinner at the Four Seasons. There, 13 Black Panther protesters and the show's co-author, Jim Rado, are arrested for disturbing the peace and for using marijuana.

May[]

• May 2 – A fire in the Sunshine Mine in northern Idaho kills 91.
• May 8 – U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the mining of Haiphong Harbor in Vietnam.
• May 15
  • Okinawa is returned to Japan after 27 years of United States Military occupation.
  • Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama is shot by Arthur Herman Bremer at a Laurel, Maryland political rally.
• May 16 – The first financial derivatives exchange, the International Monetary Market (IMM), opens on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
• May 24 – A Red Army Faction bomb explodes in the Campbell Barracks of the U.S. Army Supreme European Command in Heidelberg, West Germany; 3 U.S. soldiers (Clyde Bonner, Ronald Woodard and Charles Peck) are killed.
• May 26
  • Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT I treaty in Moscow, as well as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and other agreements.
  • The Watergate first break-in, the "Ameritas dinner", fails.
  • Wernher von Braun retires from NASA, frustrated by the agency's unwillingness to pursue a manned trans-orbital space program.
• May 27
  • Mark Donohue wins the Indianapolis 500 in the Penske Racing McLaren-Offenhauser.
  • A second Watergate break-in attempt fails.

June[]

June 17: Five men are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Complex (pictured).

• June 3 – Sally Priesand becomes the first female rabbi in the U.S.
• June 4 – Angela Davis is found not guilty of murder.
• June 9 – The Black Hills flood kills 238 in South Dakota.
• June 12 – The first Popeyes opens in Arabi, Louisiana.
• June 14–23 – Hurricane Agnes kills 117 on the U.S. east coast.
• June 15–18 – The first U.S. Libertarian Party National Convention is held in Denver, Colorado.
• June 17
  • Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee.
  • The United States returns Okinawa, occupied and governed since the Battle of Okinawa, to Japan.
• June 23
  • Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon and White House chief of staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the C.I.A. to obstruct the F.B.I.'s investigation into the Watergate break-ins.
  • President Nixon signs Title IX into law as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, prohibiting gender discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funds.
• June 28 – U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that no new draftees will be sent to Vietnam.
• June 29 – Furman v. Georgia: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the death penalty is unconstitutional, converting all death sentences to life imprisonment.

July[]

• July – U.S. actress Jane Fonda tours North Vietnam, during which she is photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.
• July 1 – Ms. magazine begins publication.^[1]
• July 1 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms becomes independent from the IRS.
• July 4 – The first Rainbow Gathering is held in Colorado.
• July 8 – The U.S. sells grain to the Soviet Union for $750 million.
• July 10–14 – The Democratic National Convention meets in Miami Beach. Senator George McGovern, who backs the immediate and complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Vietnam, is nominated for President. He names fellow Senator Thomas Eagleton as his running mate.
• July 15 – The Pruitt–Igoe housing development is demolished in Saint Louis, Missouri.
• July 21 – Comedian George Carlin is arrested by Milwaukee, Wisconsin police for public obscenity, for reciting his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" at Summerfest.
• July 23 – The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
• July 25 – U.S. health officials admit that African Americans were used as guinea pigs in the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.

August[]

• August 1 – U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, withdraws from the race after revealing he suffered from depression and had been hospitalized three times for its treatment.
• August 4 – A huge solar flare (one of the largest ever recorded) knocks out cable lines in U.S. It begins with the appearance of sunspots on August 2; an August 4 flare kicks off high levels of activity until August 10.
• August 10 – A brilliant, daytime meteor skips off the Earth's atmosphere due to an Apollo asteroid streaking over the western US into Canada.^[2]
• August 12 – The last U.S. ground troops are withdrawn from Vietnam.
• August 20 – One hundred thousand people attended the legendary Wattstax Black music concert in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California.^[3]
• August 21 – The Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida renominates U.S. President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew for a second term.
• August 22 – John Wojtowicz, 27, and Sal Naturile, 18, hold several Chase Manhattan Bank employees hostage for 17 hours in Gravesend, Brooklyn, N.Y, an event later dramatized in the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon.

September[]

• September 1 – Bobby Fischer defeats Boris Spassky in a chess match at Reykjavík, Iceland, becoming the first American chess champion (see Match of the Century).
• September 4 – The first episode of The Price Is Right is hosted on CBS by Bob Barker. Gambit and The Joker's Wild also premiere.
• September 24 – An F-86 fighter aircraft leaving an air show at Sacramento Executive Airport fails to become airborne and crashes into a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, killing 12 children and 11 adults.^[4]

October[]

• October 8 – R. Sargent Shriver is chosen to replace Thomas Eagleton as the U.S. vice-presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.
• October 12 – USS Kitty Hawk riot: En route to the Gulf of Tonkin, a racial brawl involving more than 100 sailors breaks out aboard the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk; nearly 50 sailors are injured.
• October 15 – Baker v. Nelson is decided in the Minnesota Supreme Court, affirming that state law preventing same-sex marriage is constitutional.
• October 16
  • A plane carrying U.S. Congressman Hale Boggs of Louisiana and three other men vanishes in Alaska. The wreckage is never found, despite a massive search at the time.
  • Country singer Loretta Lynn makes history becoming the first female ever to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award. Her signature song, "Coal Miner's Daughter," is pivotal in earning her this award.
• October 22 - The Oakland Athletics defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 3, to win their sixth World Series title in baseball.
• October 25 – The first female FBI agents are hired.
• October 26 – Following a visit to South Vietnam, U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger suggests that "peace is at hand."
• October 27 – Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Gateway National Recreation Area, & Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is established.
• October 30
  • U.S. President Richard Nixon approves legislation to increase Social Security spending by US$5.3 billion.
  • 1972 Chicago commuter rail crash: The accidental tripping of a signal at 27th Street station on the Metra Electric system in Chicago causes an IC Electric express train to telescope another, killing 45 and injuring over 300.

November[]

• November – At a scientific meeting in Honolulu, Herbert Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen conceive the concept of recombinant DNA. They publish their results in November 1973 in PNAS. Separately in 1972, Paul Berg also recombines DNA in a test tube. Recombinant DNA technology has dramatically changed the field of biological sciences, especially biotechnology, and opened the door to genetically modified organisms.
• November 7 – U.S. presidential election, 1972: Republican incumbent Richard Nixon defeats Democratic Senator George McGovern in a landslide (the election had the lowest voter turnout since 1948, with only 55 percent of the electorate voting).
• November 8 – HBO begins operating as a pay television service.
• November 11 – Vietnam War – Vietnamization: The United States Army turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam.
• November 14 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,000 (1,003.16) for the first time.
• November 22 – Vietnam War: The United States loses its first B-52 Stratofortress of the war.
• November 30 – Vietnam War: White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler tells the press that there will be no more public announcements concerning United States troop withdrawals from Vietnam because troop levels are now down to 27,000.

December[]

December 7–19: Apollo 17, the last manned Moon mission

• December 8
  • United Airlines Boeing 737 from Washington National to Chicago Midway crashes short of the runway, killing 43 of 61 onboard and two on the ground.
  • Over $10,000 cash is found in the purse of Watergate conspirator Howard Hunt's wife.
• December 14 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the Moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 17. This is the last manned mission to the Moon of the 20th century.
• December 19 – Apollo program: Apollo 17 returns to Earth, concluding the program of lunar exploration.
• December 22 – A peace delegation that includes singer-activist Joan Baez and human rights attorney Telford Taylor visit Hanoi to deliver Christmas mail to American prisoners of war (they will be caught in the Christmas bombing of North Vietnam).
• December 23 – The Pittsburgh Steelers win their first ever postseason NFL game, defeating the Oakland Raiders 13–7, on a last-second play that becomes known as the Immaculate Reception.
• December 24 – Swedish Prime minister Olof Palme compares the American bombings of North Vietnam to Nazi massacres. The U.S. breaks diplomatic contact with Sweden.
• December 25 – The Christmas bombing of North Vietnam causes widespread criticism of the U.S. and President Richard Nixon.
• December 26 – Former President Harry S. Truman dies in Kansas City, Missouri.
• December 29 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashes into the Everglades in Florida, killing 101 of 176 on board.
• December 31 – Baseball player Roberto Clemente dies in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico while en route to deliver aid to Nicaraguan earthquake victims?

Undated[]

• The first women are admitted to Dartmouth College.
• Women are allowed to compete in the Boston Marathon for the first time.
• The Environmental Protection Agency bans the use of the pesticide DDT.^[5]

Ongoing[]

• Cold War (1947–1991)
• Space Race (1957–1975)
• Vietnam War, U.S. involvement (1964–1973)
• Détente (c. 1969–1979)
• Watergate scandal (1972–1974)
• Capital punishment suspended by Furman v. Georgia (1972–1976)
• DOCUMERICA photography project (1972-1977)

Births[]

• January 1
  • Sharon Blynn, actress and cancer activist
  • Shane Carruth, director, producer, actor, composer and cinematographer
  • Barron Miles, American-Canadian football player and coach
• January 7, John Sanchez, Mexican folk hero
• January 8 – Jacob Sager Weinstein, author and humorist
• January 9
  • Mat Hoffman, BMX rider
  • Jay Powell, baseball player
  • Rawson Stovall, video game producer and author
• January 11 – Amanda Peet, screen actress
• January 13 – Nicole Eggert, actress
• January 16 – Joe Horn, American football player
• January 18 – Mike Lieberthal, baseball player
• January 19
  • Drea de Matteo, actress
  • Jon Fisher, businessman and author
  • Tyrone Wheatley, American football player and college football coach
• January 20 – Nikki Haley, born Nimrata Randhawa, 29th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018
• January 29 – Matt Brandstein, writer
• January 30 – Jill McGill, golfer
• February 5 – Kristopher Carter, composer
• February 6 – Maurice Clemmons, felon (d. 2009)
• February 7 – Robyn Lively, screen actress
• February 9 – Crispin Freeman, voice actor
• February 11
  • Craig Jones, American musician
  • Kelly Slater, American professional surfer
• February 14
  • Drew Bledsoe, American football player
  • Rob Thomas, singer-songwriter (Matchbox Twenty)
• February 16
  • Jerome Bettis, American football player
  • Sarah Clarke, actress
• February 17
  • Billie Joe Armstrong, punk rock singer/songwriter
  • Ralphie May, comedian and actor
• February 20 – Todd Graves, entrepreneur & founder of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers
• February 26
  • Keith Ferguson, voice actor
  • Maz Jobrani, Iranian-American actor, comedian, and director
• February 29
  • Dave Williams, musician and singer of Drowning Pool (d. 2002)
  • Saul Williams, singer, poet and actor
• March 4 – Ivy Queen, Puerto Rican-American actress, singer-songwriter and record producer
• March 6
  • Shaquille O'Neal, basketball player
  • Jaret Reddick, singer/songwriter
• March 9
  • Travis Lane Stork, emergency room physician and television personality
  • Kerr Smith, actor
  • Jean Louisa Kelly, actress
• March 10
  • Matt Kenseth, race car driver
  • Timbaland, record producer, songwriter and rapper^[6]
• March 13
  • Leigh-Allyn Baker, screen and voice actress
  • Common, born Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn, rapper
  • Trent Dilfer, American football player
• March 15
  • Mark Hoppus, pop-punk singer/songwriter
  • Erik S. Kristensen, American U.S. Navy SEAL (d. 2005)
• March 17
  • Mia Hamm, soccer player
  • Paige Hemmis, television personality
  • Sean Price, rapper (Heltah Skeltah) (d. 2015)
• March 18 – Dane Cook, comedian and film actor
• March 21 – Chris Candido, professional wrestler (d. 2005)
• March 22
  • Shawn Bradley, basketball player
  • Cory Lidle, baseball player (d. 2006)
• March 26 – Leslie Mann, film actress
• March 31 – Evan Williams, Internet entrepreneur
• April 6 – Jason Hervey, actor
• April 8 – Sung Kang, actor
• April 11
  • Balls Mahoney, professional wrestler (d. 2016)
  • Jason Varitek, baseball player
• April 14 – Dean Potter, free climber (d. 2015)
• April 15 – Lou Romano, animator and voice actor
• April 17
  • Tony Boselli, American football player
  • Jennifer Garner, screen actress
• April 20
  • Carmen Electra, born Tara Leigh Patrick, singer and screen actress
  • Stephen Marley, Jamaican-American musician
• April 24
  • Chad I Ginsburg, musician and record producer (CKY)
  • Chipper Jones, baseball player
• April 27 – David Lascher, actor
• May 1 – Julie Benz, screen actress
• May 2 – Dwayne Johnson, actor and wrestler
• May 9 Lisa Ann, pornographic actress
• May 11 – Amanda Freitag, chef
• May 12 – Rhea Seehorn, actress
• May 16
  • Derek Mears, actor/stuntman
  • Khary Payton, voice actor
• May 21 – The Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, rapper (d. 1997)
• May 22 – Alison Eastwood, fashion designer and actress
• May 25
  • Jules Jordan, pornographic movie director, actor and producer
  • Octavia Spencer, actress and author
• May 31 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player
• June 1 – Rick Gomez, actor
• June 2
  • Wayne Brady, African American comedian
  • Wentworth Miller, television actor and screenwriter
• June 3 – Matt Pike, singer-songwriter and guitarist
• June 4 – Derian Hatcher, ice hockey player
• June 5 – Mike Bucci, professional wrestler
• June 7 – Ben Ray Lujan, politician, Senator-elect of New Mexico
• June 10 – Steven Thomas Fischer, film producer and director
• June 12 – Kyle Lake, pastor (died 2005)
• June 15 – Andy Pettitte, baseball player
• June 16 – John Cho, actor
• June 17 – C. H. Greenblatt, animator
• June 20 – Shane Hamman, Olympic weightlifter and powerlifter
• June 21 – Benjamin Byron Davis, actor, writer, director and acting coach
• June 22 – David Rees, cartoonist and critic
• June 27 – Christian Kane, actor and singer-songwriter
• June 28 – Jon Heidenreich, professional wrestler
• July 1 – Steve Little, actor and comedian
• July 7
  • Lisa Leslie, basketball player
  • Stoney Case, American football player
  • Kirsten Vangsness, actress and writer
• July 10 – John Viener, actor, voice actor, writer, and comedian
• July 12 – Travis Best, basketball player
• July 13 – Sean Waltman, wrestler^[7]
• July 19 – Daedalus Howell, writer and filmmaker
• July 27 – Maya Rudolph, actress
• July 29 – Wil Wheaton, actor
• August 1 – D-Von Dudley, born Devon Hughes, wrestler
• August 2 – Chris Bender, R&B singer (died 1991)
• August 7 – Karen Disher, film director
• August 11] – Jonathon Prandi, model and actor
• August 12 – Jonathan Coachman, World Wrestling Entertainment announcer
• August 13 – Kevin Plank, entrepreneur (Under Armour)
• August 14 – Ed O'Bannon, basketball player
• August 15 – Ben Affleck, film actor, director, screenwriter and producer
• August 16 – Emily Robison, country music performer (Dixie Chicks)
• August 20 – Chaney Kley, actor (died 2007)
• August 24 – Todd Young, politician
• August 25 – Marvin Harrison, American football player
• August 27 – Jimmy Pop, born James Franks, rock performer and rapper
• August 30 – Cameron Diaz, actress and model
• September 6 – Anika Noni Rose, actress
• September 7 – Sean Daley, hip-hop musician (Atmosphere)
• September 8 – Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, disc jockey and political satirist
• September 10 – Sara Groves, Christian musician
• September 15
  • Stephen Glass, disgraced journalist known for fabricating numerous stories
  • John Schwab, American actor, voice actor and musician
• September 19 – Cheryl B, born Cheryl Burke, poet and performance artist
• September 21 – Jon Kitna, American football player
• September 22
  • Dana Vespoli, porn actress and director
  • Matthew Rush, gay pornographic actor
• September 26 – Beto O'Rourke, politician
• September 27
  • Sylvia Crawley, basketball player
  • Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, singer and food writer
• September 28 – Dita Von Teese, born Heather Sweet, burlesque dancer
• October 3 –Guy Oseary, Israeli-American businessman
• October 5
  • Thomas Roberts, television journalist
  • Grant Hill, African-American basketball player
• October 6 –J. J. Stokes, American football player
• October 8 – Melanie McGuire, mariticide^[8]
• October 9 – Etan Patz, missing schoolboy
• October 11 – Tamara Gee, vocalist, songwriter, producer, dancer and model
• October 13 – Danny Lloyd, actor
• October 17 – Eminem, Marshall Bruce Mathers III, rapper
• October 20 – Brian Schatz, U.S. Senator from Hawaii from 2012
• October 22 – D'Lo Brown, professional wrestler
• October 24
  • Van Darkholme, Vietnamese-American dungeon master, performance artist and film director
  • T. J. Cunningham, American football player (d. 2019)
  • Scott Peterson, American convicted murderer
• October 27 – Brad Radke, baseball player
• October 28
  • Terrell Davis, American football player
  • Brad Paisley, country music singer-songwriter
• October 29
  • Tracee Ellis Ross, actress
  • Gabrielle Union, screen actress
• October 31 – Pharoahe Monch, rapper
• November 1 – Jenny McCarthy, television performer
• November 4 – Julissa Gomez, gymnast (d. 1991)
• November 6 – Rebecca Romijn, screen actress
• November 7
  • Christopher Daniel Barnes, actor and voice actor
  • Jason London, actor
• November 9 – Eric Dane, born Eric T. Melvin, television actor
• November 10 – Shawn Green, baseball player
• November 14
  • Josh Duhamel, screen actor
  • Aaron Taylor, American football player and sportscaster
• November 16 – Missi Pyle, actress and singer
• November 21 – Rain Phoenix, American actress
• December 1 – Stanton Barrett, stock car racing driver
• December 7
  • Tammy Lynn Sytch, wrestling manager and personality
  • Jason Winer, actor, comedian, writer, director and producer
• December 10
  • Puff Johnson, singer (d. 2013)
  • Brian Molko, musician (Placebo)
• December 11 – LaMont Smith, Olympic athlete
• December 12 – Brandon Teena, murder victim (d. 1993)
• December 15 – Rodney Harrison, American football player
• December 19
  • Rosa Blasi, American actress
  • Alyssa Milano, screen actress
  • Warren Sapp, American football player and sportscaster
• December 21
  • LaTroy Hawkins, baseball player
  • Dustin Hermanson, baseball player
• December 25 – Josh Freese, musician and drummer
• December 28 – Adam Vinatieri, American football player
• December 30 – Kerry Collins, American football player
• December 31 – Joey McIntyre, actor and singer (New Kids on the Block)

Deaths[]

• January 7 – John Berryman, poet and scholar (born 1914)
• January 16 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., actor, pianist, singer, songwriter and record producer, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks (born 1919)
• January 17 – Betty Smith, American novelist (born 1896)^[9]
• January 27 – Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer (born 1911)
• February 2 – Jessie Royce Landis, actress (born 1896)
• February 3 – John Litel, screen actor (born 1892)^[10]
• February 4 – Orlando Ward, general (born 1891)
• February 5 – Marianne Moore, poet (born 1887)
• February 7
  • Walter Lang, film director (born 1896)
  • Bob Woodward, screen actor (born 1909)
• February 20 – Walter Winchell, American journalist (born 1897)
• February 22
  • Dan Katchongva, Native American traditional leader (born 1860)
  • Tedd Pierce, animator (born 1906)
• February 27 – Pat Brady, screen actor (born 1914)
• March 9 – Basil O'Connor, lawyer and chairman of the International Red Cross (born 1892)
• March 11
  • Fredric Brown, science fiction and mystery writer (born 1906)
  • Zack Wheat, baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers) (born 1888)
• March 13 – Len Ford, American football player (Cleveland Browns) (born 1926)
• March 16 – Pie Traynor, baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates) (born 1898)
• March 20 – Marilyn Maxwell, actress and entertainer (born 1921)
• March 27 – Lorenzo Wright, track and field athlete (born 1926)^[11]
• April 2 – Gil Hodges, baseball player and manager (born 1924)
• April 3 – Ferde Grofé, composer (born 1892)
• April 4 – Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., politician (born 1908)
• May 2 – J. Edgar Hoover, first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (born 1895)
• May 3 – Bruce Cabot, film actor (born 1904)
• May 4 – Edward Calvin Kendall, chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1886)
• May 5
  • Reverend Gary Davis, blues and gospel singer (b. 1896)
  • Frank Tashlin, animator (born 1913)
• May 11 – Michael Blassie, U.S. Air Force lieutenant (born 1948; killed in action)
• June 8 – Mary van Kleeck, labor activist (born 1883)
• June 13 – Felix Stump, admiral (b. 1894)
• June 20 – Howard Deering Johnson, businessman, founder of Howard Johnson's (born 1897)
• July 27 – Allen J. Ellender, U.S. Senator from Louisiana; President pro tempore during the 92nd Congress (born 1890)
• August 11 – Max Theiler, virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1899 in South Africa)
• September 8 – Warren Kealoha, Olympic swimmer (born 1904)
• September 25 – Max Fleischer, animator (born 1883 in Poland)
• October 16 – Hale Boggs, U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district and Majority Leader during the 92nd Congress (born 1914)
• October 24 – Jackie Robinson, first African-American in Major League Baseball (born 1919)
• November 1 – Ezra Pound, poet (born 1885)^[12]
• November 11 – Berry Oakley, musician (born 1948)^[13]
• November 14 – Martin Dies, Jr., lawyer and politician (born 1900)
• November 17 – Thomas C. Kinkaid, admiral (born 1888)^[14]
• November 18 – Danny Whitten, musician (born 1943)^[15]
• November 29 – Carl W. Stalling, composer (born 1891)^[16]
• December 3 – Bill Johnson, African American dixieland jazz double-bassist (born 1872)
• December 12 – Thomas H. Robbins, Jr., admiral (born 1900)
• December 26 – Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States from 1945 to 1953, 34th Vice President of the United States from January to April 1945 (born 1884)
• December 31 – Roberto Clemente, baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates) (born 1934)

See also[]

• List of American films of 1972
• Timeline of United States history (1970–1989)

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to 1972 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
• "1972". Timeline. Digital Public Library of America. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014.