On 20 September 1973, in the Houston Astrodome before more than 30,000 spectators and an estimated 90 million television viewers, the 29-year-old women's champion Billie Jean King defeated the 55-year-old former Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs, who had boasted that women's tennis was inferior and that a man of his age could beat any woman, in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. King, who had founded the Women's Tennis Association that year and fought for equal prize money, said she felt that she had to win to boost the cause. The match was a landmark in the women's rights movement, and in 1973 the US Open became the first major to pay men and women equally.
Before and after
- 21 August 1973Birth of Sergey Brin
- 2 September 1973Death of J. R. R. Tolkien
- 11 September 19731973 Chilean coup d'état
- 12 September 1973Birth of Paul Walker
- 20 September 1973Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes
- 23 September 1973Death of Pablo Neruda
- from 6 October 1973 to 26 October 1973Yom Kippur War
- from 16 October 1973 to 17 March 19741973 oil crisis
- 20 October 1973Construction of Sydney Opera House
More in Society, economy & sport
- 24 October 1945Founding of United Nations Security Council
- 5 October 1948Founding of International Union for Conservation of Nature
- 5 May 1949Founding of Council of Europe
- 1952Founding of European Parliament
- 1985Introduction of new shekel
- 1990Rise of K-pop
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.