The Year 1974 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1974. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports trivia, the cost of living, retail prices, entertainment news, and much more.

1. President of the United States: Richard M. Nixon—Until August 9, when he resigned from office
2. Vice President of the United States: Gerald Ford—Until August 9
3. President of the United States: Gerald Ford—Starting August 9
4. Vice President of the United States: Nelson Rockefeller—Starting December 19
5. The 93rd Congress (1973-75) was in session, and there were 243 Democrats and 192 Republicans.
6. The 1973-75 recession in the United States resulted from soaring gas prices, OPEC’s oil embargo against the U.S., heavy government spending on the Vietnam War, and a Wall Street stock crash in 1973-74. It also resulted from efforts by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation through “restrictive monetary policy”—which had the expected effect of dampening economic growth.
7. One of the major consequences of the 1973-75 recession was “stagflation.” According to Investopedia.com, stagflation refers to an economy that is experiencing a simultaneous “increase in inflation” as well as a “stagnated economic output.”
8. In January 1974, the U.S. unemployment was 5.10%. By December, the jobless rate had increased to 7.2%.
9. The nation’s inflation rate was 11.04%, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 49.300.
10. At the grocery store, a gallon of whole milk cost $1.39, bacon was 99 cents for a one-pound package, and eggs were 58 cents a dozen. Bread was 41 cents for a two-pound loaf, strawberries were 89 cents a quart, and ice cream cost 79 cents for a half-gallon carton.
11. Americans paid an average of $4,441 for a new car, up $389 from the previous year.
12. Annual tuition for a public college averaged $512. At a private college, the average tuition was $2,130.
13. The average price of a new home sold in the United States was $34,900.
14. Your McDonald’s hamburger cost 28 cents, and a hot apple pie was 26 cents.
15. Of the 71.1 million households in the United States, 6.8 million (10 percent) had incomes of $25,000 or more, another 16.8 million (24 percent) had incomes between $15,000 and $25,000, 32.5 million (45 percent) had incomes between $5,000 and $15,000, and another 15 million households (21 percent) had incomes under $5,000.
16. American companies and brands established in 1974 included Alamo Rent a Car, Arista Records, Foot Locker, Kendall-Jackson Wine, and Tuesday Morning.
17. On January 1, the federally administered Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program began operations by providing basic financial support for the aged, blind, and disabled.
18. On January 2, President Nixon signed the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act into law. It required states “to limit highway speeds to a maximum of 55 miles an hour as a condition for continuing to receive federal highway trust funds.”
19. On January 2, Coleman Young (1918-97) was inaugurated as the mayor of Detroit and became the Motor City’s first African American mayor.
20. On January 6, the radio drama CBS Mystery Theater premiered, and a total of 1,399 episodes were produced over the next eight years.
21. On January 15, the sitcom Happy Days began an 11-year run on ABC.
22. On January 16, MLB legends Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
23. On February 2, Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. MyLifetime.com points out that the nostalgic ballad from the 1973 film of the same name also became Billboard's No. 1 song for 1974. In addition, The Way We Were won an Academy Award for Best Song in 1974 and a Grammy for Song of the Year in 1975.
24. On February 4, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, CA, by the Symbionese Liberation Army and later participated in a bank heist with the group.
25. On February 5, John Murtha (D-PA) became the first Vietnam War veteran to serve in Congress.
26. On March 1, a grand jury in Washington, DC, concluded that President Nixon was involved in the Watergate cover-up. (Just so you know, Watergate “was a political scandal in the 1970s where burglars, connected to President Nixon's reelection campaign, broke into the Democratic Party's headquarters at the Watergate hotel complex in Washington, D.C. When the cover-up attempts were exposed by investigative journalism and Senate hearings, evidence of President Nixon's involvement in the cover-up led to his resignation in 1974 to avoid impeachment.”)
27. On March 4, People magazine—”a weekly celebrity and human interest magazine spotlighting the personal lives of notable and intriguing people”—began publishing. Actress Mia Farrow, who starred in the 1974 film The Great Gatsby appeared on the front cover of the first issue.
28. At the 46th Academy Awards on April 2, which honored the best films of 1973, The Sting won an Oscar for Best Picture, and George Roy Hill (The Sting) won an Oscar for Best Director. Jack Lemmon (Save the Tiger) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Glenda Jackson (A Touch of Class) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
29. On April 3-4, a series of 148 deadly tornadoes struck 13 U.S. states before jumping across the border into Canada. Weather.gov confirms that 95 of the tornadoes “were rated F2 or stronger on the Fujita scale, and 30 were F4 or F5. Aside from all the catastrophic damage they left behind, the tornadoes resulted in 335 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries.”
30. On April 4, MLB legend Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's home-run record by hitting his 714th round-tripper.
31. On April 5, the World Trade Center, the tallest building in the world at the time with 110 stories, opened for business in New York City.
32. On April 10, Golda Meir resigned as prime minister of Israel and was replaced by Yitzhak Rabin.
33. At the 26th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 28, M*A*S*H (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Upstairs, Downstairs (PBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
34. On July 1, NFL players went on strike for 41 days over player salaries and the "Rozelle Rule.” (Just so you know, the "Rozelle Rule" was “an NFL policy that required teams signing a free agent to compensate the player's former team, with the Commissioner determining the compensation if the teams couldn't agree.”)
35. On August 5, President Nixon released a transcript known as the “smoking gun” tape, which showed his “complicity in the Watergate cover-up.” In the end, the “smoking gun tape” destroyed him politically.
36. On August 8, President Nixon announced that he would resign as the U.S. president at noon on August 9.
37. On August 9, Richard Nixon resigned as the president of the United States, and Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th U.S. president.
38. On August 20, President Ford selected Nelson Rockefeller as his vice president.
39. On September 2, President Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) into law, which guaranteed the pension rights of 23 million Americans.
40. On September 8, President Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for all federal crimes.
41. On September 16, Bay Area Rapid Transit—widely known by the acronym BART—began regular transbay service by connecting San Francisco and Oakland “via the 3.6-mile underwater Transbay Tube.” Today, “BART operates in five counties (San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara) with 131 miles of track and 50 stations.”
42. On September 16, President Ford announced a “conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft evaders. Limited amnesty was offered to Vietnam-era draft resisters who would now swear allegiance to the United States and perform two years of public service.”
43. In October, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was enacted. The law “prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age in credit transactions. The law also requires creditors to provide a reason if credit is denied.”
44. On December 16, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to protect the quality of drinking water in the United States.
45. On December 31, President Ford signed a bill “to permit United States citizens to purchase, hold, sell, or otherwise deal with gold in the United States or abroad.”
46. Popular baby names in 1974 were Michael, Jason, Christopher, David, Jennifer, Amy, Michelle, and Heather.
47. The average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 71.96 years. In 1973, it was 71.36 years, and in 1964, it was 70.17 years.
48. Favorite Halloween costumes were pirates, clowns, witches, dinosaurs, vampires, devils, ghosts, zombies, and princesses.
49. Popular holiday gifts included Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic 8 Ball, Spirograph, and Twister.
50. Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford
51. Kentucky Derby: Cannonade
52. NBA champions: Boston Celtics
53. NCAA basketball champions: North Carolina State
54. NCAA football champs: Oklahoma & USC
55. Orange Bowl: Penn State over LSU
56. Rose Bowl: Ohio State over USC
57. Stanley Cup champs: Philadelphia Flyers
58. Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame over Alabama
59. Super Bowl XIII champions: Miami Dolphins
60. Tour de France: Eddy Merckx
61. U.S. Open Golf: Hale Irwin
62. U.S. Open Tennis (men/women): Jimmy Connors/Billie Jean King
63. World Series champions: Oakland Athletics
64. Beginning in 1974, major league baseballs could now be made from cowhide and not just from horsehide.
65. In 1974 as well, the words "CT scan," "direct deposit," "fourth world," "gentlemen’s club," "individual retirement account," "junk bond," "Keogh plan," "smoking gun," "supermom," "touch screen," "trans fat," and "transgender" all appeared in print for the first time.

References:

1. https://popculturemadness.com/1974-fun-facts-history-and-trivia/
2. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1974
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_in_the_United_States
4. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1974
5. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1974
6. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1971.html
7. https://www.the-numbers.com/market/1974/top-grossing-movies
8. https://tinybeans.com/70s-food-that-you-will-remember/slide/14/
9. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
10. https://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1974.htm

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor