This is what happened from the week before through the week after I was born:

Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell, former presidential Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman were found guilty by a jury or 9 women and 3 men, on charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal. Robert C. Mardian, a fourth defendant, was found guilty on one count of conspiracy.[1][2]

The Wiz, a musical adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an African-American cast, opened on Broadway. It would go on to win two Tony Awards and run for 1,672 performances.[21]

The game show Wheel of Fortune, created by Merv Griffin and inspired by the children’s game “Hangman”, premiered on NBC at 10:30 am Eastern time. The original hosts were Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford, who would be replaced in 1982 by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, respectively.[25]

The Boston Globe broke an exclusive story that Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was going to arrive in Boston’s Sidney Farber Cancer Center to receive treatment for leukemia.[32] The hospital, the Kremlin and the White House quickly denied the story [33] and the Globe soon admitted that it had been the victim of a hoax.[34] Brezhnev, who did not have leukemia and who was not coming to the United States, would live on until 1982.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 began its first round-the-world cruise, departing New York City under tight security with 1,200 passengers.[41]

Caryn Campbell vanished while walking from the lobby to her room at the Wildwood Inn at Snowmass, Colorado. She was the 15th victim of serial killer Ted Bundy, but the first for whose murder he ever stood trial.[46]

The House Un-American Activities Committee, most notable for its investigations and accusations of Communist infiltration of Hollywood, was disbanded by the U.S. House of Representatives after 37 years. In 1969, it had been renamed the “Committee on Internal Security”.[52]