1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Events of 1971January- January 24 – The Guinean government sentences to death 92 Guineans who helped Portuguese troops in the failed landing attempts in November 1970; 72 are sentenced to hard labor for life; 58 of the sentenced are hanged the next day.
- January 25 – Intelsat IV (F2) is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean March 26.
February- February 28 – Evel Knievel sets a world record and jumps 19 cars.
March- March 4 – The southern part of Québec, and especially Montreal, receive 42 cm of snow in what becomes known as the Century's Snowstorm (la tempête du siècle).
April- April 8 – A right-wing coup attempt is exposed in Laos.
- April 9 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death; in 1972, the sentence for all California Death Row inmates is commuted to life imprisonment.
May- May 2 – In Ceylon, left-wing guerillas launch a series of assaults against public buildings.
- May 3 – The Harris Poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the Vietnam War.
- May 3 – East German leader Walter Ulbricht resigns as Communist Party leader but retains the position of head of state.
- May 3 – Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington, D.C.; police and military units arrest as many as 12,000, most of whom are later released.
- May 16 – A coup attempt is exposed and foiled in Egypt.
- May 26 – Qantas agrees to pay $500,000 to bomb hoaxer-extortionist Mr. Brown (Peter Macari), who is later arrested.
June- June 1 – Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace, claiming to represent the majority of U.S. veterans who served in Southeast Asia, speak against war protests.
- June 10 – Corpus Thursday: A student rally on the streets of Mexico City is roughly dispersed.
- June 20 – Britain announces that Soviet space scientist Anatoli Fedoseyev has been granted asylum.
- June 21 – Britain begins new negotiations for EEC membership in Luxembourg.
- June 25 – Madagascar accuses the U.S. of being connected to the plot to oust the current government; the U.S. recalls its ambassador.
- June 27 – Concert promoter Bill Graham closes the legendary Fillmore East, which first opened on 2nd Avenue (between 5th and 6th Streets) in New York City on March 8, 1968.
- June 30 – After a successful mission aboard Salyut 1, the world's first manned space station, the crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply leaks out through a faulty valve.
July- July 10–11 – Coup attempt in Morocco: 1,400 cadets take over the king's palace for 3 hours and kill 28 people; 158 rebels die when the king's troops storm the palace. Ten high-ranking officers are later executed for involvement.
- July 13 – Jordanian army troops launch an offensive against Palestinian guerillas in Jordan.
- July 13 – The Yugoslavian government begins allowing foreign companies to take their profits from the country.
- July 19 – The South Tower of the World Trade Center is topped out at 1,362 feet, making it the second tallest building in the world.
- July 19–23 – Major Hashem al-Atta ousts Jaafar Muhammad al-Nimeiri in a military coup in Sudan. Fighting continues until on July 22, when pro-Nimeiri troops win. Al-Atta and 3 officers are executed.
- July 28 – Abdel Khaliq Mahgoub, Sudanese communist leader, is hanged.
August- August 14 – British troops are stationed on the Ireland border to stop arms smuggling.
- August 14 – Bahrain declares independence as the State of Bahrain (Kingdom of Bahrain as of February 2002).
- August 15 – The number of British troops in Northern Ireland is raised to 12,500.
- August 21 – The first orca to be named "Shamu" dies.
September- September 24 – Britain expels 90 KGB and GRU officials; 15 are not allowed to return.
OctoberNovember- November 20 – A bridge still in construction, called Elevado Engenheiro Freyssinet, falls over the Paulo de Frontin Avenue, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 48 people are killed and several injured. Reconstructed, the bridge is currently a part of the Linha Vermelha elevate.
December- December 8 – U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the 7th Fleet to move towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
UndatedOngoingBirthsJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember- December 27 – Jason Hawes, American paranormal investigator, founder of TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society)
DeathsJanuary–MarchApril–JuneJuly–SeptemberOctober–DecemberNobel Prizes
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