Richard Nixon announces his resignation in August 1974 as the Watergate scandal closes in. With impeachment looming, he becomes the first U.S. president to leave office this way, bringing a long-running political drama to an extraordinary conclusion.
Publishing heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). While being held captive she is indoctrinated in the group's radical beliefs, trained to handle weapons and later participates in bank robberies with the group.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali fights current champ George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, Africa in a bout called The Rumble In The Jungle. Ali knocks Foreman out in the eighth round for an upset victory.
Happy Days debuts on ABC in 1974, looking back at teenage life in 1950s Wisconsin. The Cunningham family, their friends and the increasingly popular Fonzie turn nostalgia for diners, dates and simpler-looking times into an eleven-season television success. First broadcast: January 15, 1974.
Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th US President following the resignation of Richard Nixon. A month later Ford grants Nixon a "full, free and absolute pardon".
Farmers in China discover terracotta figures buried near Xi'an, China. Archeologists uncover over 8,000 human figures, 520 horses, and 130 chariots buried to protect China's first emperor in the afterlife. Called the Terracotta Army, the figures were buried in 210 BCE.
Wide-legged trousers and fitted tops make a long, clean silhouette in this catalog. Strong colors let each outfit stand on its own, without needing much extra decoration.
Floral blouses and coordinated skirts bring plenty of pattern to a 1974 catalog. Short sleeves, open collars and simple shapes make the clothes feel ready for everyday use.
Sears offers menswear with wide collars, patterned shirts and generously flared trousers. A belt and a confident pose complete an outfit that does not try to blend into the background.
Large pointed collars and cuffed flares are prominent in this Sears menswear page. Colorful shirts can be mixed with sweater layers, making even a casual outfit look carefully assembled.
Hanes sells pantyhose with a romantic outdoor scene. The clothes are fashionable, the surroundings relaxed, and a familiar practical item becomes part of the promise of looking good wherever the day leads.
Winnebago offers the comforts of a small home on wheels. A fitted kitchen, dinette and wood-toned cabinets make the road trip look less like roughing it and more like taking the household along.
Brooklyn teenagers gather on the neighborhood steps. The stoop offers somewhere to sit, talk and watch the street, with clothes and poses showing several different approaches to the same afternoon.
A family pauses for an outdoor snapshot in 1974. Casual summer clothes and an easy pose give the picture the familiar feeling of a moment borrowed from a day together.
A junior-high dance in Tarzana, California brings shiny shirts, long collars and plenty of movement to the floor. The yearbook photograph catches the evening before anyone has time to pose properly.
Nutley, New Jersey students gather for prom. Corsages, long dresses and formal jackets make the school occasion feel special, with a crowded table and chandelier completing the celebration.
Barbie’s “Friend Ship” turns air travel into playtime in this 1974 ad. The folding airplane set gives Barbie a cabin and a flight-attendant role, bringing the glamour of flying home in a suitcase-sized toy.
Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer appear on a 1974 Circus magazine cover. Rock magazines bring performers’ faces, interviews and stage looks into teenagers’ bedrooms, with each issue offering another connection to music that is already filling the stereo.
Mia Farrow and Robert Redford bring Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby to the screen in The Great Gatsby. The 1974 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel surrounds its unhappy romance with elegant clothes, grand parties and the glitter of the Jazz Age. Released March 1974.
Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway star in Chinatown. Roman Polanski’s 1974 mystery follows a private detective into a Los Angeles story of water, wealth and hidden family secrets, giving the classic film-noir mood a new and particularly bleak form. Released June 1974.
Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little ride through a very different kind of Western in Blazing Saddles. Mel Brooks’s 1974 comedy takes aim at movie conventions and racism with broad jokes, outrageous situations and very little respect for the rules of the genre. Released February 1974. U.S. box office: No. 1 among 1974 releases.
An all-star cast faces a skyscraper fire in The Towering Inferno. The 1974 disaster film turns a glamorous opening-night party into a rescue drama, with spectacular effects and familiar stars making danger on a huge scale one of the decade’s movie attractions. Released December 1974. U.S. box office: No. 2 among 1974 releases.
James Garner plays private investigator Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. The NBC series debuts in 1974, giving its detective a trailer home, money worries and a dry sense of humor that make him feel less polished—and more approachable—than many television heroes. First broadcast: September 13, 1974.
Little House on the Prairie begins its regular NBC run in 1974. Michael Landon stars in the family drama inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, with frontier life, close family ties and difficult lessons giving the series its warm, but often emotional character.