The Watergate scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continuous attempts to cover up its involvement in the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Facing impeachment, Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974. He is the only U.S. president to have resigned from office.

Apollo 13 was meant to be the third lunar landing, but the crew was forced to abort its mission after an explosion vented the contents of both of their oxygen tanks into space. Over the next four days, the public held its collective breath as NASA scientists scrambled to find a way to get the astronauts back home. It was estimated that 40 million people watched live television coverage as the crew finally splashed down in the South Pacific on April 17, 1970.

Let It Be was released on 8 May 1970, almost a month after the group's break-up. Paul McCartney explained that the words "Let it be" came from a dream of his late mother. "I think I was getting, like, a little bit over the top with ... getting pretty tired and pretty wasted. And I went to bed one night and had a kind of restless night. But I had a dream where my mother, who had been dead at that point for about 10 years, came to me in the dream and it was as if she could see that I was troubled. And she sort of said to me, she said, 'Let it be.' And I remember quite clearly her saying, 'Let it be,' and 'It's going to be OK. Don't worry.' You know, 'Let it be.' I woke up and I remembered the dream, and I thought, 'Well, that's a great idea.'"

Secretariat not only won the Triple Crown but set speed records in all three races.

The U.S. Military used many herbicides/defoliants during the Vietnam War, including Agent Blue, Agent Green, Agent White, Agent Purple, Agent Pink, and Agent Orange. Agent Orange, however, has become the most infamous because it was later shown to have toxic dioxin contaminants which have been blamed for various health problems and birth defects among both the general Vietnamese population and U.S. soldiers who were exposed to recently sprayed areas.

"Deep Throat" was first introduced to the public in the February 1974 book All the President's Men by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. He was a key source of information behind a series of articles that eventually led to the resignation of President Nixon, as well as to prison terms for several senior members of his White House staff.

The Rumble in the Jungle has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century." It was a major upset victory for Ali who came in as a 4-1 underdog against the heavy-hitting Foreman. The fight is notable for Ali's introduction of the rope-a-dope tactic, letting Foreman land body blows in order to tire him.

Saturday night television changed forever on October 11, 1975, when Saturday Night Live made its debut with a cast that included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Chevy Chase. Bill Murray would join the cast in 1977.

Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured on May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. The fatal shootings triggered immediate and massive outrage on campuses around the country. More than 4 million students participated in organized walk-outs at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools, and some political observers believe the events of that day in northeast Ohio tilted public opinion against the war.

Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky of the USSR, in a match held in Reykjavík, Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, it attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.