January 4th, 1974.

On this day.

What happened on January 4th, 1974?

• Serial killer Ted Bundy carries out his first known attack on Karen Sparks in Washington, Oregon.

Music charts.

Songs that were on top of the music singles charts in the USA and the United Kingdom on January 4th, 1974.

• United States: Time In A Bottle - Jim Croce
• United Kingdom: Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade

Take me back to January 4th, 1974!

Let's take a stroll down memory lane!

The date is January 4th, 1974 and it's a Friday. Anyone born today will have the star sign Capricorn. Currently, people have "that Friday feeling" and are looking forward to the weekend.

People are starting to return back to work and school after the Christmas holidays. In America, the song Time In A Bottle by Jim Croce is on top of the singles charts. Over in the UK, Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade is the number one hit song.

Richard Nixon is currently the President of the United States and the movie Papillon is at the top of the Box Office. In the United Kingdom, Edward Heath is the current Prime Minister. A horror film called "The Exorcist" is currently being shown in movie theaters.

Because it's 1974, the music charts are being dominated by the likes of Carl Douglas, ABBA, Mud, the Steve Miller Band, George McCrae and Terry Jacks. In fashion, the hippie look from the 1960s and early 1970s has disappeared. The disco look is beginning to take off. Women are wearing t-shirts, khaki pants, mood rings, kimonos and flare jumpsuits. Meanwhile, men are wearing velvet sports coats, slogan t-shirts, flannel, frilly shirts, jeans and khaki chinos. If you were to travel back to this day, notable figures such as Oskar Schindler and Eamon de Valera would be still alive.

On TV, people are watching popular shows such as "Gunsmoke", "Soul Train", "The Waltons" and "Barnaby Jones". Meanwhile, gamers are playing titles such as "Pong", "Space Race" and "Gotcha". Children and teenagers are currently watching television shows such as "Captain Kangaroo", "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!", "The Electric Company" and "Bailey's Comets".

Popular toys at the moment include the likes of Lite-Brite, VertiBird (toy helicopter), Weebles and Magnavox Odyssey.

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 January 4th, 1974.

• 

  Who were the best NBA players in 1974?

  The best NBA players in 1974 were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Rick Barry, Walt Frazier and Gail Goodrich.

• 

  1974 in movies.

  Movies released in 1974 included Blazing Saddles, The Towering Inferno, The Trial of Billy Jack, Young Frankenstein, Earthquake, The Godfather Part II, Airport 1975, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, The Longest Yard, Foxy Brown, Murder on the Orient Express and Benji.

• 

  Who were the best football players in 1974?

  In 1974, the best soccer players were Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Kazimierz Deyna, Paul Breitner, Johan Neeskens, Grzegorz Lato, Gerd Müller, Robert Gadocha, Billy Bremner and Ralf Edström.

• 

  Roller skates.

  The popularity of roller skates exploded during the later half of the 1970s.

• 

  The Godfather Part II.

  "The Godfather Part II" won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1974.

• 

  Disco music.

  In the second half of the 1970s, disco music became mainstream. During this period, nightclub-goers often wore extravagant outfits. Furthermore, dances such as the "Hustle", the "Bump" and the "Penguin" also became popular.

• 

  King Faisal.

  The King of Saudi Arabia, King Faisal, was named as the Time Person of the Year in 1974. This was in acknowledgment of his role in the oil crisis of 1973 - 1974.

• 

  Barbra Streisand - "The Way We Were"

  "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand won a Grammy for 1974's Song of the Year.

• 

  The Vietnam War is in its final stages.

  The war in Vietnam was still ongoing at this stage. However, the US military had withdrawn. During this period, North Vietnamese forces continued to win battles and make inroads into the south.

• 

  1974 in music.

  The Billboard Charts in 1974 were dominated by Barbra Streisand, Elton John, The Jackson 5, The Steve Miller Band, Terry Jacks, Ray Stevens, The Stylistics, Dionne Warwick and The Spinners.

• 

  The Exorcist.

  The horror film "The Exorcist" was being shown in movie theaters at the time.

• 

  1973-74 stock market crash.

  Between January, 1973 and December, 1974, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 45% of its value. The U.K. stock market fared even worse, with the FT 30 losing over 70% of its value.

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

Basic facts.

Basic facts and information about this date.

• 47 years, 10 months and 24 days have passed since January 4th, 1974.
• Week Number: This date occurred during Week 01 of 1974.
• Leap Year: 1974 was NOT a leap year.
• Age: Anyone born on January 4th, 1974, will be 47 years of age.
• Generation: People born in 1974 belong to the Generation X generation.
• Unix Timestamp: The Unix Timestamp for this date is 126489600.

Around this time.

Notable events that occurred around January 4th, 1974.

• December 5th, 1973: The biographical-crime film Serpico, starring Al Pacino, is released in movie theaters.
• December 6th, 1973: Gerald Ford becomes the Vice President of the United States.
• December 20th, 1973: Spanish Prime Minister Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco is assassinated by a car bomb in Madrid.
• December 26th, 1973: The Exorcist is released.
• January 1st, 1974: Soccer: Manchester United legend George Best plays his final game for the club.
• This date: January 4th, 1974
• January 13th, 1974: Super Bowl VIII: The Miami Dolphins defeat the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.
• January 15th, 1974: Serial killer Dennis Rader (BTK) murders four members of the Otero family in Wichita, Kansas.
• January 15th, 1974: The first episode of "Happy Days" is aired.
• January 23rd, 1974: Former model and broadway dancer Athalia Ponsell Lindsley is stabbed to death outside of her home in St. Augustine, Florida.
• January 26th, 1974: Boxers Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier get into a brawl at the ABC studios in New York City.
• February 1st, 1974: Serial killer Ted Bundy murders Lynda Ann Healy.
• February 1st, 1974: 177 people are killed when a fire breaks out at the Joelma Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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 January 4th, 1974, will have the star sign Capricorn.
• However, if you are going by the new star sign system that was discovered in 2020, then the sign for this date is actually Sagittarius.
• Zodiac Element: Earth.
• Chinese Zodiac Animal: In the Chinese Zodiac, 1974 was the year of the Tiger (Yang Fire).
• The Life Path Number for this date is 8.
• Native American Zodiac: January 4th, 1974 falls under the Goose.
• Birthstone: Anyone born during the month of January will have the birthstone Garnet.
• Birth flower (January): The Carnation and the Snowdrop.

Photos of 1970s fashion.

Photographs of 1970s fashion and hairstyles.

Cars in 1974.

1974 saw the introduction of cars such as the Volkswagen Golf, the Dodge Ramcharger, the Audi 50, the Volvo 200 Series, the Renault 7 and the Ford Elite.

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 1974.

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 January 4th, 1980 instead.

Conception dates.

Conception estimates for this date.

Warning! These conception dates are based on broad estimates.

• A baby that was born on January 4th, 1974 was most likely conceived around April 13th, 1973.
• The due date for a baby that was conceived on January 4th, 1974 is close to September 27th, 1974.

How old was I?

Enter your date of birth below to find out how old you were on January 4th, 1974.

Time difference & statistics.

Here are some fun statistics about January 4th, 1974.

• A total of 17,495 days have passed since this date.
• 2,499 weeks have passed.
• 1,511,568,000 seconds have passed since the January 4th, 1974.
• If you were born on this day, your heart has beated approximately 1,763,496,000 times.
• Since January 4th, 1974, the earth has travelled approximately 779,969,088,000 miles through space.
• If you were born on this day, your eyes have blinked approximately 251,928,000 times.
• If you were born on this day, you have taken approximately 129,994,848 steps. That's about 57,775 miles!
• Since this date, 18,138,816 meteors have entered the earth's atmosphere!

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