NEWS: 1976

As 1976 begins, it's raining and 40 degrees F at Baltimore's weather station (at BWI Airport). The wind is from the north-northeast at 14 miles per hour. Nearly a half-inch of rain (0.46 inches) has fallen in the last hour of 1975 in the Baltimore region.

The Liberty Bell moves from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA, to a building across the street named Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park.

The NBC television network begins using a new logo consisting of the letter "N" made up of two trapezoids, one red and one blue. (In February 1976, Nebraska ETV -- later Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, now Nebraska Public Media -- the PBS member network for Nebraska, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against NBC. The new NBC logo was virtually identical to the logo that Nebraska ETV had been using since 1974, with the only cosmetic difference between the two designs being that the right trapezoid of the NBC logo had blue coloring. An out-of-court settlement was reached in which NBC gave Nebraska ETV over $800,000 worth of new equipment, including a color mobile unit. It also paid Nebraska ETV $55,000 to cover the cost of designing and implementing a new logo. In return, NBC was allowed to keep the "N" logo. NBC does not use its "peacock" for the next four years.)

Venezuela nationalizes previously privately-owned oilfields in the country.

Tank is born Durrell Artaze Babbs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a rhythm-and-blues singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. He is known for the singles "Maybe I Deserve" (2001), "Please Don't Go" (2006), and "When We" (2017). According to Billboard, Tank has sold 1.76 million albums in the U.S. as of 2013.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (0.4") and heavy rain until mid-morning; then clearing; breezy until evening (22 mph gust at 2:00 am); High temp. 41 F; Low temp. 27 F; Precipitation: 0.74 inches (liquid). A trace of snow on the ground.

Paz Vega is born María de la Paz Campos Trigos in Seville, Spain. She's a Spanish actress. Her film credits include Sex and Lucia (2001), Spanglish (2004), 10 Items or Less (2006), All Roads Lead to Rome (2015), Acts of Vengeance (2017), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019). She played the role of Catalina Creel in the 2019 remake of the 1986 telenovela Cuna de lobos.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then mostly cloudy to cloudy; High temp. 32 F; Low temp. 24 F; Precipitation: None.  No snow on the ground.

Nicholas Gonzalez is born in San Antonio, Texas. He's an actor, best known for playing the roles of Alex Santiago on the Showtime television series Resurrection Blvd. and Dr. Neil Melendez on the ABC television series The Good Doctor.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then mostly cloudy to cloudy; rain from mid-morning to mid-afternoon; breezy in late afternoon and evening (23 mph gust at 6:00 pm); High temp. 44 F; Low temp. 32 F; Precipitation: 0.41 inch.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Partly to mostly cloudy, then cloudy, then clear, then becoming cloudy with a trace of snow; High temp. 38° F; Low temp. 25° F, Precip.: None.  A trace of snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Snow (0.2"); High temp. 33° F; Low temp. 26° F, Precip.: 0.01 inch (liquid).  One inch of snow on the ground.

1.03 inches of precipitation falls in Baltimore, the largest-ever amount in Baltimore on any January 27th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy with rain all day; breezy a times (17 mph wind just before midnight); High temp. 57° F; Low temp. 36° F, Precip.: 1.03 inches.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; High temp. 37° F; Low temp. 32° F, Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 1976 is 4.10 inches, including melted snow and ice, above the normal of 3.08 inches.  The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 1976 is 38.5 degrees F, below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 1976 is 23.1 degrees F, below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 1.7 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station during January 1976, well below the normal of 6.4 inches.

The high temperature in Baltimore reaches 76 degrees F, the highest temperature in Baltimore for any February 17th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Light rain; High temp. 76° F; Low temp. 55° F, Precip.: 0.04 inch.

The high temperature in Baltimore reaches 75 degrees F, the highest temperature in Baltimore for any February 18th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Rain; High temp. 75° F; Low temp. 45° F, Precip.: 0.36 inch.

The high temperature in Baltimore reaches 76 degrees F, the highest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any February 29th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 76° F; Low temp. 38° F, Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during February 1976 is 2.16 inches, including melted snow and ice.

The high temperature for Baltimore reaches 83°F, the highest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any March 5th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Light rain; High temp. 83°F; Low temp. 43°F; Precip.: Trace.

Baltimore gets 7.8 inches of snow in a storm that starts as rain in the early morning, becomes snow by noon, and ends in the late evening.

BWI Airport gets 7.8 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 1976. This is also the greatest snowfall ever recorded for Baltimore on any March 9th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Principal photography for the first "Star Wars" movie (later subtitled "Episode IV - A New Hope") begins in Tunisia.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 50°F; Low temp. 33°F; Precip.: None.

Isabel Perón, president of Argentina, is deposed by her own country's military.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 70°F; Low temp. 34°F; Precip.: None.

The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that Karen Ann Quinlan could be disconnected from her respirator. She had been in a coma since April 15, 1975, and had gone into a persistant vegetative state. (However, she lived until age 31 and died on June 11, 1985.) She was born on March 29, 1954, in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain in the afternoon and evening; breezy in late evening (16 mph sustained wind & 22 mph gust at 11:00 PM); High temp. 59°F; Low temp. 48°F; Precip.: 0.89 inch.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during March 1976 is 2.23 inches, including melted snow and ice.

The Apple Computer company is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain from midnight to mid-morning; gradually becoming partly cloudy; breezy until evening (18 mph sustained wind & 30 mph gust at 3:00 AM); High temp. 61°F; Low temp. 46°F; Precip.: 0.60 inch.

Oprah Winfrey debuts on WJZ-TV Channel 13 in Baltimore, anchoring the station's 6:00 PM local newscast.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 59°F; Low temp. 35°F; Precip.: None.

In a building temporarily housing Baltimore's administrative offices (while City Hall is being renovated), a gunman shoots and kills Baltimore Councilman Dominic M. Leone, age 50. He also shoots and wounds a second councilman, a secretary to the Mayor, and a police officer. Police shoot and wound the shooter, Charles Hopkins, age 35, and take him into custody. (All of the shot-at people other than Mr. Leone survive the shootings. Mr. Hopkins is later found in court to be not guilty by reason of insanity and is committed to the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a mental hospital.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 65°F; Low temp. 34°F; Precip.: None.

This is the last of 15 consecutive days with no precipitation at BWI Airport.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 91°F; Low temp. 59°F; Precip.: None.

Clinical trials of the swine flu vaccine begin. The first test site is in Washington, D.C.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 87°F; Low temp. 60°F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during April 1976 is 1.27 inches, less than half the normal amount for April.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 76°F; Low temp. 39°F; Precip.: None.

1.53 inches of precipitation falls in Baltimore, the most in Baltimore on any May 1st (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain (heavy at times) from mid-morning through mid-evening, then partly cloudy, then cloudy; breezy in the afternoon (18 mph sustained wind & 32 mph gust at 4:00 PM); High temp. 62°F; Low temp. 55°F; Precip.: 1.53 inches.

Reggie Jackson hits his first home run as an Oriole, the first of his 27 home runs in his only season as an Oriole. It's a grand slam in Milwaukee.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 65°F; Low temp. 47°F; Precip.: None.

Great Britain and France begin Concorde supersonic jet transport service to and from Washngton, D.C.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 72°F; Low temp. 50°F; Precip.: None.

1.87 inches of precipitation falls in Baltimore, the most in Baltimore on any May 29th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Mostly cloudy, becoming cloudy; rain (heavy at times) in the afternoon and evening; High temp. 71°F; Low temp. 59°F; Precip.: 1.87 inches.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 81°F; Low temp. 61°F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during May 1976 is 5.03 inches.

The only rainout in the history of the Houston Astrodome occurs as 10 inches of rain fall on Houston, Texas. Only the members of both teams (the Pirates and the Astros) are able to make it to the stadium. Umpires, fans and stadium personnel are unable to make it through the floodwaters, so the game is postponed.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 92°F; Low temp. 65°F; Precip.: None.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voids the sale of Oakland Athletics stars Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi. Athletics owner Charlie Finley sold Blue to the New York Yankees for $1.5 million and Rudi and Fingers to the Boston Red Sox for $1 million each. Kuhn ordered the players to return to Oakland on grounds that they would upset the sport's competitive balance.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 85°F; Low temp. 70°F; Precip.: None.

David Berkowitz fatally shoots 18-year-old Donna Lauria and wounds her 19-year-old friend Jody Valenti in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, New York, NY. (It is the first of eight shootings that will be attibuted to David Berkowitz, who kills six people and injures seven others by July 1977, and who gains the nickname Son of Sam. See August 10, 1977.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 93°F; Low temp. 70°F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Partly cloudy to cloudy, becoming cloudy, then mostly cloudy; a thunderstorm with heavy rain in late afternoon and early evening; breezy/windy in the afternoon (16 mph sustained wind & 45 mph gust at 5:00 PM); High temp. 90°F; Low temp. 68°F; Precip.: 0.73 inch.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during June 1976 is 2.49 inches.

Connecticut becomes the 49th U.S. state to allow "right turn on red after stop" unless a sign prohibits it or unless right turns are controlled by a dedicated signal, leaving Massachusetts as the only state that does not allow right turns on red. (Massachusetts finally begins allowing them on January 1, 1980.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 84°F; Low temp. 63°F; Precip.: None.

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the death penalty is not inherently cruel.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 85°F; Low temp. 59°F; Precip.: None.

It's the 200th birthday of the United States of America. Bicentennial celebrations are held throughout the USA.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Mostly cloudy, then clear, then becoming cloudy; a thunderstorm with very heavy rain early in the evening; High temp. 84°F; Low temp. 61°F; Precip.: 1.74 inches.

The Houston Astros' Larry Dierker pitches a no-hitter against the Montreal Expos and wins, 6-0. He strikes out 8 batters and allows 4 walks.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 84°F; Low temp. 68°F; Precip.: None.

In the 1976 Major League Baseball All Star Game, the National League defeats the American League 7-1. The game is played at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PA, and the attendance is 63,974. For the National League, George Foster of the Cincinnati Reds hits a home run and drives in 3 runs, and César Cedeño of the Houston Astros also hits a home run. Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox hits a homer for the American League's only run. George Foster is named the Most Valuable Player of this All Star Game.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 82°F; Low temp. 60°F; Precip.: None.

At the Montreal Olympic Games, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, age 14, receives the first-ever perfect score of 10 with her routine on the uneven parallel bars. (She goes on to receive six more 10s in Montreal.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 83°F; Low temp. 58°F; Precip.: None.

The American robot spacecraft Viking 1 makes the first-ever successful landing on Mars.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 91°F; Low temp. 65°F; Precip.: None.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 55 degrees F, the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any July 26th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 85°F; Low temp. 55°F; Precip.: None.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake hits the region around Tangshan, Hebei, People's Republic of China at 3:42 in the morning, local time. In minutes, eighty-five percent of the buildings in Tangshan collapsed or were unusable, all services failed, and most of the highway and railway bridges collapsed or were seriously damaged. Between 242,000 and 655,000 people died (some have said three times that), making this one of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 92°F; Low temp. 67°F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport:Clear, then gradually becoming cloudy; light rain in the evening; High temp. 90°F; Low temp. 70°F; Precip.: Trace.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during July 1976 is 5.56 inches.

John Candelaria becomes the first Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher in 69 years to pitch a no-hitter in Pittsburgh by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0. Candelaria's no-hitter is pitched at Three Rivers Stadium. No Pirate ever pitched a no-hitter at Forbes Field. (The last major-league no-hitter pitched by a Pirate in Pittsburgh before this one was on September 20, 1907, when Nick Maddox pitched one in the Pirates' 2-1 win over the Brooklyn Superbas at Exposition Park. There were only two base hits in this entire game, both by Pirates left fielder Fred Clarke. There were four errors in the game, two by each team.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain showers in the afternoon and evening; breezy from noon onward; High temp. 73°F; Low temp. 66°F; Precip.: 0.52 inch.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 79°F; Low temp. 51°F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during August 1976 is 2.98 inches.

In Major League Baseball, there are three 1-0 games in the National League. Houston defeats Philadelphia 1-0, the New York Mets win against San Francisco 1-0, and St. Louis defeats Cincinnati 1-0 in 11 innings.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 85°F; Low temp. 55°F; Precip.: None.

The U.S. unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars and takes the first close-up color photographs of the surface of Mars.

Mike Hegan of the Milwaukee Brewers hits for the cycle and drives in six runs to lead the Brewers to an 11-2 victory over Mark Fidrych and the Detroit Tigers.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 74°F; Low temp. 60°F; Precip.: None.

All 176 people aboard two airliners are killed when British Airways Flight 476, a Hawker Siddeley Trident en route from London to Istanbul, collides in mid-air with Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 550, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 en route from Split, SFR Yugoslavia, to Cologne, West Germany, near Zagreb in modern-day Croatia. The collision was the result of a procedural error on the part of air traffic controllers in Zagreb.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then becoming cloudy, then becomong clear; rain in the morning; breezy in the afternoon and early evening (18 mph sustained wind & 25 mph gust at 7:00 PM); High temp. 74°F; Low temp. 54°F; Precip.: 0.45 inch.

Playboy magazine releases an interview with U.S. presidential nominee Jimmy Carter in which he states that he had "looked on a lot of women with lust."

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, becoming cloudy, then mostly cloudy; light rain in the evening; High temp. 82°F; Low temp. 58°F; Precip.: Trace.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Mostly cloudy, then cloudy; rain from 6:00 AM onward; breezy in the afternoon and evening; High temp. 59°F; Low temp. 55°F; Precip.: 0.82 inch.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during September 1976 is 6.93 inches, about double the normal amount for September.

On the Mississippi River in Louisiana, 78 people are killed as the Norwegian tanker Frosta collides with the ferry George Prince. The Luling-Destrehan ferry George Prince is struck by the Norwegian tanker SS Frosta which had been traveling upriver. The collision occurs at mile post 120.8 above Head of Passes, less than three-quarters of a mile from the construction site of the Luling Bridge which would replace the ferry seven years later. The ferry had come from Destrehan, Louisiana on the East Bank, and was headed to Luling, Louisiana on the West Bank. Ninety-six passengers and crew were aboard the ferry when it was struck, and seventy-eight perished. This accident is the deadliest ferry disaster in United States history.

Dan Fogler is born in Brooklyn, New York, NY. He's an actor, comedian and writer. He has appeared in films Balls of Fury, Good Luck Chuck, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and has done voice acting for Kung Fu Panda, Horton Hears a Who!, and Mars Needs Moms, and on The Walking Dead as Luke.

Jon Natchez is born. Keyboardist and saxophonist for the rock band The War On Drugs.

Jeff Loberg is born in Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada. Bass guitarist in the Canadian country music band Emerson Drive.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain (heavy at times) from late morning onward; breezy/windy late in the evening (25 mph gust at 10:00 pm); High temp. 60 F, Low temp. 51 F; Precipitation: 1.64 inches.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 27 degrees F, the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any October 28th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 47°F; Low temp. 27°F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, becoming partly to mostly cloudy; rain until mid-morning; breezy in the afternoon until mid-evening (18 mph sustained wind at 7:00 PM); High temp. 63°F; Low temp. 47°F; Precip.: 0.75 inch.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during October 1976 is 8.09 inches, more than double the normal amount for October.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 29°F, the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any November 2nd (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 54°F; Low temp. 29°F; Precip.: None.

Snow falls at BWI Airport for the first time this snow season.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then gradually becoming clear; light snow (0.7 of an inch of snow) in the morning; High temp. 42°F; Low temp. 28°F; Precip.: 0.06 inch (liquid). A trace of snow on the ground.

Chadwick Boseman is born in Anderson, South Carolina. He becomes an actor and playwright. After studying directing at Howard University, he began working consistently as a writer, director, and actor for the stage, winning a Drama League Directing Fellowship and an acting AUDELCO, and being nominated for a Jeff Award as a playwright for Deep Azure. Transitioning to the screen, he landed his first major role as a series regular on Persons Unknown in 2010, and his breakthrough performance came in 2013 as baseball player Jackie Robinson in the biographical film 42. He continued to portray historical figures, starring as singer James Brown in Get on Up (2014), and as lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017). He died at age 43 of colon cancer in Los Angeles, California, on August 28, 2020.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, becoming clear; rain showers until mid-afternoon, ending as snow (0.4 of an inch of snow); breezy most of the day; High temp. 50°F; Low temp. 23°F; Precip.: 0.29 inch (liquid). No snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 29°F; Low temp. 15°F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during November 1976 is 0.56 of an inch, including melted snow, well below the normal amount of 3.13 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during November 1976 is 51.3 degrees F, well below the normal of 57.3 degrees. The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during November 1976 is 30.4 degrees F, well below the normal of 36.5 degrees. The total snowfall at Baltimore for November 1976 is 1.1 inches, above the normal amount of 0.1 of an inch.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 11 degrees F, the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any December 3rd (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 27°F; Low temp. 11°F; Precip.: None.

The Baltimore Colts lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers 40-14 in an AFC playoff game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

A small airplane (Piper Cherokee) crashes into the upper deck of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium just a few minutes after the conclusion of the Colts-Steelers playoff game. There are no serious injuries. The plane's pilot, 33-year-old Donald Kroner, is charged by police with reckless flying, littering, and making a bomb threat against former Baltimore Colts linebacker Bill Pellington. Pellington owned a bar and restaurant from which Kroner was once ejected for using foul language.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 54°F; Low temp. 24°F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 29° F; Low temp. 15° F, Precip.: None. No snow on the ground.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 1976 is 2.04 inches, including melted snow and ice, below the normal amount of 3.71 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during December 1976 is 41.8 degrees F, well below the normal of 47.5 degrees. The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during December 1976 is 23.4 degrees F, well below the normal of 29.6 degrees. The total snowfall for Baltimore in December 1976 is 1.5 inches, below the normal amount of 2.5 inches.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 1976 is 43.44 inches, about one and a half inches above normal.