At A Glance

16 May 1972 at a glance

Day of the week
16 May 1972 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Metal Guru” by T. Rex.
Top Film of 1972
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1972 was The Godfather.
Star sign
The star sign for 16 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 May 1972 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 May 1972 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 16 May

  • 1961 Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
  • 1966 The Chinese Communist Party issues the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
  • 1969 Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
  • 1974 Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.
  • 1975 Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Famous people born on 16 May

  • Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer (born 1953)
  • Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress (born 1977)
  • Megan Fox, American actress (born 1986)
  • Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1966)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1972 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1972 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 1 April – William Whitelaw is appointed as the first Northern Ireland Secretary.
  • 4 April – First broadcast of the long-running BBC Television children's programme Newsround.
  • 12 May – The Crown Court is established by the Courts Act 1971 to replace the courts of Assize and Quarter Sessions in England and Wales. Property qualifications requiring jurors to be householders are abolished.
More events of 1972 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1972

Prime Minister

Edward Heath

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

18p

Loaf of Bread

11p

Average House

£7,374

Weekly Wage

£36.10

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Matthew Rhys8 November 1974ActorView their day →Hannah Waddingham28 July 1974ActressView their day →Andy Burnham7 January 1970PoliticianView their day →Christopher Nolan30 July 1970FilmmakerView their day →Lucy Davis17 February 1973ActressView their day →Tom Hardy15 September 1977ActorView their day →Christian Bale30 January 1974ActorView their day →Kelly Macdonald23 February 1976ActressView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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