At A Glance

17 December 1973 at a glance

Day of the week
17 December 1973 was a Monday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “The Most Beautiful Girl” by Charlie Rich.
Top Film of 1973
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1973 was The Exorcist.
Bestselling Novel of 1973
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1973.
Top-Rated TV Show
“All in the Family” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1973–74 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 December 1973 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 December 1973 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 17 December

  • 1950 The F-86 Sabre's first mission over Korea.
  • 1957 The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
  • 1960 Troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
  • 1969 Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
  • 1989 Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.

Famous people born on December 17

  • Sarah Paulson, American actress (born 1974)
  • Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress (born 1975)
  • Bill Pullman, American actor (born 1953)
  • Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (1936–2025)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1973 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1973 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • January 22 – Roe v. Wade: The U.S. Supreme Court overturns state bans on abortion.
  • February 28 – The landmark postmodern novel Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon is published.
  • March 26 – TV soap opera The Young and the Restless and game show The $10,000 Pyramid debuts on CBS.
More events of 1973 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1973

President

Richard Nixon

Gas (per gallon)

$0.40

Loaf of Bread

$0.27

Average House

$22,100

Weekly Wage

$165

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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

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

Keri Russell23 March 1976ActressView their day →Tupac Shakur16 June 1971Rapper & actorView their day →Zoe Saldaña19 June 1978ActressView their day →Christopher Nolan30 July 1970FilmmakerView their day →Jon Bernthal20 September 1976ActorView their day →Jason Sudeikis18 September 1975Actor & comedianView their day →Milo Ventimiglia8 July 1977ActorView their day →Sarah Paulson17 December 1974ActressView their day →

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

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