December 16th, 1972.

Music charts.

Songs that were on top of the music singles charts in the USA and the United Kingdom on December 16th, 1972.

• United States: I Am Woman - Helen Reddy
• United Kingdom: My Ding-a-ling - Chuck Berry

Take me back to December 16th, 1972!

Let's take a stroll down memory lane!

The date is December 16th, 1972 and it's a Saturday. Anyone born today will have the star sign Sagittarius. Currently, people are enjoying their weekend.

The Christmas season of 1972 is in full swing. People are putting up their decorations and festive songs are playing on the radio. In America, the song I Am Woman by Helen Reddy is on top of the singles charts. Over in the UK, My Ding-a-ling by Chuck Berry is the number one hit song.

Richard Nixon is currently the President of the United States and the movie Lady Sings the Blues is at the top of the Box Office. In the United Kingdom, Edward Heath is the current Prime Minister. In fashion, the hippie look from the 1960s is still popular. Clothing items such as tie dye shirts, bell-bottoms, midi skirts, gauchos and Mexican blouses are being worn by women. Meanwhile, men are wearing dark satin shirts, ethnic-looking tunics, bell bottom jeans, tweed sports jackets and turtlenecks.

It's 1972, so radio stations are playing songs from artists such as Don McLean, Harry Nilsson, Hot Butter, Neil Young, The Moody Blues, Roberta Flack, Bill Withers and Johnny Nash. A disaster film called "The Poseidon Adventure" is currently being shown in movie theaters. If you were to travel back to this day, notable figures such as Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Pablo Picasso and Bruce Lee would all be still alive.

On TV, people are watching popular shows such as "Bonanza", "Hawaii Five-O", "McCloud" and "Upstairs, Downstairs". Meanwhile, gamers are playing titles such as "Pong". Kids and teenagers are watching TV shows such as "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", "Josie and the Pussycats", "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" and "The Adventures of Black Beauty".

Popular toys at the moment include the likes of Troll doll, Motorific (slot car toys), Clackers and Crissy (doll).

News topics, fads & culture.

Trending news stories and fads that were prevalent at this time. These are news stories and events that would have been in the media on December 16th, 1972.

• 

  The Co-ed Killer is targeting students in California.

  Between May of 1972 and April of 1973, serial killer Edmund Kemper (aka the "Co-ed Killer") was targeting female college students in California.

• 

  Music cassette tapes are becoming popular.

  From about 1972 onward, audio cassettes started to become more widespread. Although they lacked the sound quality of vinyl records, they were far more convenient and portable.

• 

  Color TV surpasses black-and-white.

  Around this period, sales of color TV sets began to surpass sales of the older black-and-white sets. By this stage, almost all of the popular daytime networks were broadcasting in color.

• 

  The US is winding down its involvement in the Vietnam War.

  During 1972, the war in Vietnam was still ongoing. However, the US had greatly reduced their presence in the country. Between 1971 and 1972, the number of US troops in Vietnam fell from 156,800 to 24,200. Instead of keeping soldiers on the ground, the US shifted its focus to providing air support while negotiators in Paris tried to hammer out a peace agreement.

• 

  Who were the best NBA players in 1972?

  The best NBA players in 1972 were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Spencer Haywood, Jerry West and Walt Frazier.

• 

  Who were the best football players in 1972?

  In 1972, the best soccer players were Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Günter Netzer, Johan Cruyff, Piet Keizer, Kazimierz Deyna, Gordon Banks, Barry Hulshoff, Włodzimierz Lubański and Bobby Moore.

• 

  The Godfather.

  "The Godfather" won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1972.

• 

  Roberta Flack - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"

  "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack would go on to win a Grammy for 1972's Song of the Year.

• 

  1972 in movies.

  Movies released in 1972 included The Godfather, The Poseidon Adventure, "What's Up, Doc?", Behind the Green Door, Deliverance, Super Fly, Cabaret, The Getaway, Fritz the Cat, The Legend of Boggy Creek, Jeremiah Johnson, Blacula and Silent Running.

• 

  Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger.

  U.S. President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, were both named as the Time Person of the Year in 1972. Nixon and Kissinger had made history by travelling to China to "open up a dialogue."

• 

  1972 in music.

  The Billboard Charts in 1972 were dominated by Don McLean, Roberta Flack, Gilbert O'Sullivan, America, Joe Tex, Looking Glass and Al Green.

• 

  Have a nice day!

  Around this time, the smiley face and phrases such as "Have a nice day!" and "Have a happy day!" were being plastered onto t-shirts, mugs and badges.

• 

  Bell-bottoms are becoming popular.

  In the early 1970s, bell-bottoms started to take off in popularity.

• 

  People are using wallpaper to decorate their homes.

  Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, wallpaper was extremely common in people's homes. It wasn't until the mid-late 1980s that "modernism" started to creep in.

• 

  The Hippie movement.

  In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the hippie counterculture was at its height in popularity. The movement, which sprung up in opposition to the Vietnam War, was centered around peace, psychedelic music, sexual liberation, bright colors and drugs such as LSD and marijuana.

• 

  Lava lamps are all the rage.

  In the late 1960s, sales of lava lamps took off. It wasn't until the second half of the 1970s that they started to go out of fashion.

• 

  The afro hairstyle is at its peak in popularity.

  In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the afro hairstyle was at its peak in popularity. Public figures such as Angela Davis, Pam Grier, Jimi Hendrix and the Jackson 5 were among those who sported the style.

• 

  The push-button telephone.

  During this period, push-button telephones started to replace the older rotary style landlines.

Basic facts.

Basic facts and information about this date.

• This date fell on a weekend.
• 49 years, 5 months and 4 days have passed since December 16th, 1972.
• Week Number: This date occurred during Week 50 of 1972.
• Leap Year: 1972 was a leap year, which means that it contained 366 days instead of 365 (with an extra day in February).
• Age: Anyone born on December 16th, 1972, will be 49 years of age.
• Generation: People born in 1972 belong to the Generation X generation.
• Unix Timestamp: The Unix Timestamp for this date is 93312000.

Around this time.

Notable events that occurred around December 16th, 1972.

• November 29th, 1972: The game Pong is released.
• December 5th, 1972: Labor leader Gough Whitlam becomes the new Prime Minister of Australia.
• December 6th, 1972: Actress Janet Munro dies from a heart attack at the age of 38.
• December 7th, 1972: Jean McConville is kidnapped by the Provisional IRA in Belfast.
• This date: December 16th, 1972
• December 23rd, 1972: NFL: The Immaculate Reception play occurs in a game between the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• December 23rd, 1972: Over 10,000 are killed when an earthquake hits the Nicaraguan capital of Managua.
• December 23rd, 1972: The survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued.
• December 26th, 1972: Former US President Harry Truman passes away at the age of 88.
• December 29th, 1972: 101 people are killed when Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashes in Florida.
• December 30th, 1972: The film "The Way of the Dragon", starring Bruce Lee, is released in movie theaters.
• December 31st, 1972: Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente dies in a plane crash.
• January 5th, 1973: Aerosmith release their first album.
• January 7th, 1973: Serial killer Edmund Kemper murders 18-year-old student Cynthia Ann Schall.
• January 7th, 1973: 23-year-old Mark Essex shoots and kills 9 people at the Howard Johnson's hotel in New Orleans.
• January 14th, 1973: Super Bowl VII: The Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins 14-7 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
• January 14th, 1973: Elvis Presley performs his concert "Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite".

Personality traits.

Check out our personality summary for people who were born on this date.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

View Personality Summary

Horoscope, birthstone & birth flower information.

Zodiac & Birthstone information.

NEW! Check out our personality summary image for this birth date.

• Zodiac Sign (Astrology): Anyone born on December 16th, 1972, will have the star sign Sagittarius.
• However, if you are going by the new star sign system that was discovered in 2020, then the sign for this date is actually Ophiuchus.
• Zodiac Element: Fire.
• Chinese Zodiac Animal: In the Chinese Zodiac, 1972 was the year of the Rat (Yang Wood).
• The Life Path Number for this date is 11.
• Native American Zodiac: December 16th, 1972 falls under the Owl.
• Birthstone: Anyone born during the month of December will have the birthstones Tanzanite, Zircon and Turquoise.
• Birth flower (December): The Narcissus and the Holly.

Photos of 1970s fashion.

Photographs of 1970s fashion and hairstyles.

Cars in 1972.

1972 saw the introduction of cars such as the Honda Civic, the Chevrolet LUV, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the BMW 5 Series, the Ford Thunderbird (sixth generation) and the Renault 5.

Were you born on this date?

If you were born on this date, then it is unlikely that you will remember anything from the year 1972.

This is because humans find it difficult to retrieve memories from their early childhood.

If you are looking for some childhood nostalgia, then check out December 16th, 1978 instead.

Conception dates.

Conception estimates for this date.

Warning! These conception dates are based on broad estimates.

• A baby that was born on December 16th, 1972 was most likely conceived around March 25th, 1972.
• The due date for a baby that was conceived on December 16th, 1972 is close to September 8th, 1973.

How old was I?

Enter your date of birth below to find out how old you were on December 16th, 1972.

Time difference & statistics.

Here are some fun statistics about December 16th, 1972.

• A total of 18,053 days have passed since this date.
• 2,579 weeks have passed.
• 1,559,775,600 seconds have passed since the December 16th, 1972.
• If you were born on this day, your heart has beated approximately 1,819,738,200 times.
• Since December 16th, 1972, the earth has travelled approximately 804,844,209,600 miles through space.
• If you were born on this day, your eyes have blinked approximately 259,962,600 times.
• If you were born on this day, you have taken approximately 134,140,702 steps. That's about 59,618 miles!
• Since this date, 18,717,307 meteors have entered the earth's atmosphere!

Random dates.

Check out some of the random dates below.

• 24th of January, 2013
• 11th of August, 1997
• 31st of January, 2022
• 10th of July, 1990
• 26th of September, 1996