The world in
1972
In 1972, The Watergate break-in set a scandal in motion, The Godfather topped the box office, and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack led the charts.
Music
The #1 song of 1972 was “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack.
Movies
The biggest movie of 1972 was The Godfather.
Events
- The Watergate break-in set a scandal in motion
- Atari released the arcade smash Pong
- Nixon made a historic state visit to China
Prices
- Gallon of gas: ~$0.36
- Postage stamp: $0.08
Who led
US President: Richard Nixon.
Notable birth
Dwayne Johnson was born in 1972.
Fun fact
Pong's runaway success kicked off the video-arcade boom.
Explore nearby years
About the data
Facts are compiled from public sources — Billboard year-end charts, box-office records, Wikipedia year timelines, and USPS/BLS price history — and rewritten in our own concise words. Every Yearmark poster is drawn from original type, color, and pattern — never copyrighted album or movie artwork. More about the data.