1974 U.S. Legislative Sessions

Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; following Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir's resignation in response to high Israeli casualties, she was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin. In Europe, the invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish troops initiated the Cyprus dispute, the Carnation Revolution took place in Portugal, and Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt resigned following an espionage scandal surrounding his secretary Günter Guillaume. In sports, the year was primarily dominated by the FIFA World Cup in West Germany, in which the German national team won the championship title, as well as The Rumble in the Jungle, a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire.

Events

January–February

* January 26 – Bülent Ecevit of CHP forms the new government of Turkey (37th government, partner MSP).
* February 1
** Fire breaks out in the Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil; 177 die, 293 are injured, 11 die later of their injuries.
** Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is declared a Federal Territory.
* February 8 – After a record 84 days in orbit, the crew of '' Skylab 4'' returns to Earth.
* February 17 – Zamalek disaster: a soccer stampede occurs in Cairo, killing 49.
* February 28 – The British election ended in a hung parliament after the Jeremy Thorpe-led Liberal Party achieves its biggest vote.

March–April

* March 3 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981, travelling from Paris to London, crashes in the woods near Paris, killing all 346 aboard. This becomes the deadliest single aircraft accident with no survivors.
* March 4
** Following a hung parliament in the United Kingdom general election, Conservative prime minister Edward Heath resigns and is succeeded by Labour's Harold Wilson, who previously led the country from 1964 to 1970.
* March 18–End of five-month oil embargo by most OPEC nations against the United States, Europe, and Japan which had caused the 1973 oil crisis.
* March 26 – A group of peasant women in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, use their bodies to surround trees to prevent loggers from felling them, giving rise to the Chipko movement.
* March 29
** The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang is discovered at Xi'an, China.
** Launch of the Volkswagen Golf in West Germany, a modern front-wheel drive hatchback which is expected to replace the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, holder of the world record for the car with the most units produced.
* April 3– 4 – An enormous tornado outbreak strikes the central parts of the United States, killing around 319 and injuring about 5,484.
* April 6 – Swedish pop group ABBA's song ''Waterloo'' wins the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England, UK.
* April 11 – The Kiryat Shmona massacre takes place in Israel.
* April 24 – '' Guillaume Affair'': exposure of an East German spy Günter Guillaume within the West German government, leading to the resignation of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.
* April 25 – ''Carnation Revolution'': A left-wing military coup in Portugal restores democracy, ending 41 years of the Estado Novo dictatorship in the country. Portuguese Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano flees to Brazil and is granted political asylum by Brazilian President Ernesto Geisel.

May–June

* May 4
** An all-female Japanese team summits Manaslu in Nepal, becoming the first women to climb an peak.
** The Expo '74 world's fair opens in Spokane, Washington.
* May 7 – Willy Brandt, West Germany's chancellor, resigns.
* May 11: A violent 7.1 earthquake shakes the Chinese city of Zhaotong causing between 1,600 and 20,000 deaths.
* May 16 – Helmut Schmidt becomes the new Chancellor of West Germany.
* May 17– Dublin and Monaghan bombings: The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), explode four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The attacks kill 33 civilians and wound almost 300, the highest number of casualties in any single day during " The Troubles".
* May 18
** 1974 Australian federal election: Gough Whitlam's Labor Government is re-elected with a reduced majority, defeating the Liberal/ Country Coalition led by Billy Snedden. Whitlam consequently becomes the first Labor Prime Minister to be re-elected in his own right. The Democratic Labor Party meanwhile loses all five of their Senate seats, effectively wiping them out as a political force.
** Nuclear weapons testing: Under Project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon, becoming the 6th nation to do so.
* June 13 – The 1974 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament begins in West Germany.
* June 17 – A bomb explodes in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the British Houses of Parliament. The hall's annex, housing offices, and a canteen are destroyed by the bombing, attributed by police to the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army.
* June 29 – Isabel Perón is sworn in as the first female President of Argentina, replacing her sick husband Juan Perón, who dies 2 days later.

July–August

* July 7 – West Germany beats the Netherlands 2–1 to win the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The West German football team is awarded the new FIFA World Cup Trophy.
* July 15 – The Greek military junta sponsors a coup d'état in Cyprus, replacing President Makarios III with Nikos Sampson.
* July 19 – Railcar explosion in Decatur, Illinois. A tanker car collides with a Norfolk & Western boxcar. Seven people are killed, 349 are injured and $18 million in property damage.
* July 20 – The Turkish invasion of Cyprus occurs.
* July 23 – The Greek military junta is replaced by a civilian government, the '' metapolitefsi''.
* August 4 – A bomb explodes in a train between Italy and West Germany, killing twelve and wounding 48. Italian neo-fascists take responsibility.
* Watergate scandal:
** August 8 - U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation on August 8, effective at noon on August 9.
** August 9 - Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President of the United States upon Nixon's resignation.
* August 14
** Turkey invades Cyprus for the second time, occupying 37% of the island's territory.
** Greece withdraws its forces from NATO's military command structure, as a result of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
* August 30 – An express train bound for Germany from Belgrade derails in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), killing more than 150 passengers.

September–October

* September 8 - TWA Flight 841 crashes into the Ionian Sea 18 minutes after takeoff from Athens, after a bomb explodes in the cargo hold, and kills 88 people.
* September 10 – The Portuguese military junta grants independence to Guinea-Bissau.
* September 12 – Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed by the Derg, bringing an end to the Solomonic dynasty's rule since 1270. The Ethiopian Civil War begins.
* September 12 – African Youth Amílcar Cabral is founded in Guinea-Bissau.
* September 13 – Japanese Red Army members seize the French Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands.
* September 20 – The Kootenai War is declared, and 10-cent tolls are charged on U.S. Highway 95