The Watergate scandal began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., by men linked to President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign. Nixon and his aides tried to cover up the connection, and investigations by the press, notably reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post, a Senate committee and a special prosecutor exposed the cover-up. The existence of a secret White House taping system emerged, and the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to hand over the tapes. Facing impeachment, Nixon resigned, the only American president to do so, and his successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him. The affair deepened public distrust of government.
Before and after
- 25 May 1972Construction of Parc des Princes
- 26 May 1972Construction of Munich Olympic Stadium
- 30 May 1972Lod Airport massacre
- 5 June 1972Founding of United Nations Environment Programme
- from 17 June 1972 to 9 August 1974Watergate scandal
- 23 June 1972Birth of Zinedine Zidane
- 23 June 1972Title IX is signed into law in the United States
- 15 August 1972Birth of Ben Affleck
- 30 August 1972Birth of Cameron Diaz
More in Wars, politics & history
- 6 August 1945Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- from January 1978 to February 1979Iranian Revolution
- from 25 December 1979 to 15 February 1989Soviet-Afghan War
- from 20 March 2003 to 15 December 2011Iraq War
- from 15 March 2011 to 8 December 2024Syrian Civil War
- 28 February 20262026 Iran War
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.