﻿Welcome back to Bad Things in History, where it’s always something, isn’t it?
This is the first episode in a new series where we explore the worst events of the 1970s. Our
mission is to cover, year by year, terrible things that have been mostly forgotten today.
It was a decade full of violence and social upheaval unlike anything seen before or since.
Natural disasters, hijackings, riots, and unfortunate accidents were just a few of
the horrible things that plagued those who lived, and died, in the 1970s.
Let’s begin with the worst train disaster in South American history.
Benavídez Rail Disaster Starting in the mid-nineteenth century
trains became a popular and affordable method of transportation. However, by the 1970s people in
wealthy countries depended mostly on automobiles for travel. But in poorer areas of the world,
such as Argentina, the average commuter still used trains to move from place to place.
On the evening of February 1st, 1970 a train was carrying a mix of freight and
passengers. There were 260 people on board and they had already traversed nearly 1,000 miles.
The tired travelers were looking forward to finally arriving in Buenos Aires.
At around 8:15pm they passed Benavídez station and entered a dimly lit
section of the track. They had no idea of the danger that awaited them in the dark.
A few miles ahead was a local train. It carried 1090 passengers. They had spent the weekend on the
banks of the Parana River and were now returning home to Buenos Aires. During the return trip
the locomotive for the train started having fuel injector trouble and the train stopped.
As they worked to repair it, the crew failed to watch out for approaching traffic.
After passing Benavidez station, the first train soon realized there was
another train stopped on the tracks. But there wasn’t time to stop. It plowed into
the parked caboose at sixty-five miles per hour, destroying the entire train.
Passengers on the first train were able to jump to safety. But those on the local
train didn’t have a chance to react. Shrapnel and the shredded remains of passengers were
spread all around the area. A pilot was flying an airplane nearby and
saw the destruction. He contacted a control tower who in turn dispatched the Air Force to help.
Helicopters brought medical supplies. They also helped establish a field
hospital near the wreck site. It was also necessary to create temporary morgues.
Survivors of the disaster were quoted in The Times as saying:
We saw mutilated bodies everywhere, there was blood all over the place,
the soldiers were just filling sacks with severed limbs
When rescue efforts were finally completed it was discovered that 236 people had died in the crash.
More than five hundred were injured. A popular magazine in Argentina published a
thirty-two page article which included gory photographs of the accident. The military
dictatorship that was in charge of the country shut the magazine down permanently.
Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320
There is a first time for everything, as the saying goes. That was certainly true for the first
airplane hijacking to result in a fatality. On the evening of March 17th, 1970 Flight 1320
was carrying passengers from Newark, New Jersey to Boston, Massachusetts.
Captain Robert Wilbur Junior was in charge of the flight. He had been promoted just six months
earlier. His copilot was James Hartley. After settling into the cockpit, then completing all
the necessary pre-flight checks, their aircraft finally moved into position on the runway.
Shortly thereafter the pilots and passengers were on their way to Boston.
Around 7:30pm the flight was passing over Franklin, Massachusetts.
A stewardess approached a passenger named John DiVivo.
She asked him to pay $15.75, which was the cost of the flight in 1970.
John replied that he didn’t have any money. Then he produced a revolver and pointed it at her.
He demanded the stewardess take him to the cockpit.
Robert Wilbur and James Hartley were already on their final approach for landing.
Suddenly the door opened. John and the stewardess walked in. John pointed his gun at the pilots
and told them: “Take me east”
Robert told the stewardess to return to the back of the plane and tell the passengers
that everything would be all right. She retreated, but John DiVivo remained and
kept his gun trained on the two pilots. James Hartley then attacked John. As the
two struggled, John discharged several rounds from his gun.
James was hit with a round in the chest. John also shot Robert twice, once in each arm.
Despite being injured, James grabbed the gun and pointed it at John. He released
three rounds into John’s body. But then James succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
Captain Robert Wilbur ignored his injuries and focused on landing the airplane.
But despite being shot multiple times, John DiVivo still wasn’t dead. He arose and tried
to fight Robert. Robert hit John in the head until he finally quit moving.
As the plane landed Robert Wilbur contacted the control tower and said,
My pilot is shot—shot. Where the hell do you want me to park this thing?
James Hartley was the first person killed during a hijacking in United States airspace.
On March 24th, 1970 the Senate declared that both Robert and James were heroes.
John DiVivo survived the encounter and was taken to prison, where he awaited trial.
He didn’t survive long enough to receive judgment. On October 31st,
1970 he committed suicide by hanging himself.
Hard Hat Riot
Although 1970 was the beginning of a new decade, some problems from the 1960s refused to go away.
The Vietnam War was perhaps the most troublesome holdover from the previous decade.
As the conflict continued to rage, casualty rates among US soldiers were
unacceptably high. Additionally, male college students were being
drafted into service to replace those who were injured or killed.
As the war became increasingly unpopular, students all over the country began protesting.
On May 4th, 1970 demonstrations erupted at Kent State University.
The Ohio National Guard responded to the protests. They also killed four students and injured nine
more. The result was even more demonstrations began appearing all over the country.
Labor movements throughout the United States were divided concerning the Vietnam War. But
many of the union leaders were strong supporters of Richard Nixon. And they believed that the
United States was fighting for a just cause. Construction workers in New York City would soon
make sure their opinion was known. On the morning of May 8th several hundred
anti-war protesters started marching near the New York Stock Exchange.
As the morning turned into afternoon, their ranks had grown by several hundred more.
Around noon the demonstrators were met by about four hundred construction workers.
Most of the workers were helping to build the World Trade Center.
But on this day they used their lunch break to attack their political opponents.
The construction workers approached from four different directions, ensuring that the protesters
couldn’t escape. As they approached, the attackers waved flags and shouted slogans such as:
USA all the way America, love it or leave it
Soon office workers poured out of the buildings and joined the construction workers.
Less than an hour after the conflict began, there were over 20,000 people in the streets.
Nobody is sure what finally triggered the violence. It is thought that a student
started waving a North Vietnamese flag. What is known for sure is that construction workers
began chasing the protesters. They beat them with hard hats and tools.
Those who were knocked to the ground were kicked repeatedly by the workers’ boots.
The police did nothing. Nobody was ever prosecuted for assaulting the protesters.
Eventually the anti-war demonstrations disappeared.
But the city’s laborers continued holding rallies for weeks.
On May 20th over 150,000 workers marched down Broadway.
Office workers showed their support by showering the people below them with ticker tape.
The most important long term effect of the Hard Hat Riot is that much of the working class
changed political preferences. Before the riots they mostly voted for Democrats.
Afterwards it became more common to choose Republican candidates.
French Alps Landslide
Snow covered mountains are enjoyed as a source of recreation all over the world.
People find pleasure in hiking through them, skiing down them, or perhaps even climbing them.
A few that inhabit these unique areas of Earth’s surface call the mountains home.
Although antibiotics were available in 1970, tuberculosis was still a problem.
It was a highly contagious and dangerous disease.
To try and control its spread, France would use sanitariums. These were places where tuberculosis
patients had to stay and receive treatment. Children were not exempt from the disease, and
they also occupied a section of these care wards.
One such sanitarium was a few miles west of Chamonix. Shortly after midnight on April 11th,
1970 an avalanche occurred. Thousands of pounds of snow slid off the mountain and right on top of the
sanitarium. Most of it fell directly on the part of the building that housed sick children.
After being covered by snow, there was then a landslide. The wet ground beneath the snow
also broke loose and poured more debris onto the children’s section of the building.
Men poured into the area with shovels and bulldozers.
Several other rescuers used probing rods and listening devices in an attempt to find victims.
For a short time they could hear children crying for help. But
eventually the sounds stopped. They were unable to rescue most of them.
At least seventy-two people died in the accident.
It was later discovered that those who ran the sanitarium knew about the danger.
Just a few days earlier another avalanche happened and stopped just short of the children’s ward.
Management decided not to worry about it.
Bhola Cyclone In addition to riots,
hijackings, and accidents, 1970 was also a special time for extremely destructive storms.
On September 1st a tropical storm started in the South China Sea.
By November 8th the remnants of the storm were hovering above the
Bay of Bengal. It gathered in intensity until finally being classified as a cyclone.
The storm began moving to the northeast. On the evening of November 12th it
struck the coast of what is today Bangladesh. At the time the storm touched land, it is estimated
winds were in excess of 150 miles per hour. In 1970 Bangladesh was part of Pakistan.
Pakistan and India didn’t really like each other. So the weather service in India didn’t bother
communicating warnings to those living in the path of the storm. The ability of Pakistan to predict
weather was not up to the task. The end result is that residents had no idea what was coming.
The true cost in human lives will never be known. Authorities were certain that at least 300,000
people died during the cyclone. Most estimates suggest the number is closer to 500,000.
Several nearby islands were completely depopulated by the strong winds and floods,
making it even more difficult to determine how many perished.
Despite friction between their governments, after the storm passed India was one of the
first countries to offer aid. This was soon followed by help from the United States,
Canada, United Kingdom, and Singapore. Bhola Cyclone is still among the worst natural
disasters in human history. —-----
If you had to perish in one of these horrible events from 1970,
which one would you choose?
Personally, we think avalanches are terrifying.
If you enjoyed this episode then you might also like some other things we have done.
We did an entire series on the 1920s which you might find interesting. We cover a lot
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