Roe vs. Wade (Jan. 22): Launching an emotional debate over abortion, the Supreme Court rules that personal privacy rights are "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy." The Roe vs. Wade decision invalidates abortion statutes in 46 states.

	Wives of U.S. Marines stationed at Fort Pendeleton, Calif., awaiting the arrival of prisoners of war in 1973

Going Home (Jan. 27): The Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring the Peace in Vietnam is signed in Paris. The crux of the accord: The United States agrees to withdraw its remaining 23,700-member force within 60 days with no guarantee that its South Vietnamese ally will survive, and North Vietnam agrees to free more than 500 U.S. prisoners of war. A cease-fire takes effect at 8 a.m. Jan. 28.

Indian Showdown (May 8): Members of the American Indian Movement end a 71-day occupation at a reservation in South Dakota. Gunfire had killed two FBI agents and wounded 12 others. Nearly 1,200 are arrested. The showdown is at Wounded Knee, site of a historic 1890 battle that killed 153 Sioux.

	John Dean III

Watergate Hearing (May 17): The Senate Watergate Committee opens televised hearings. The summer brings a number of bombshells, first from fired White House counsel John W. Dean III, who testifies that President Nixon participated in a cover-up. Then in July, former presidential assistant Alexander P. Butterfield tells of an Oval Office taping system. A week later, special prosecutor Archibald Cox subpoenas nine recordings, but the White House refuses to turn over the tapes. The legal battle that follows ends in October, when an appeals court rules the tapes must be surrendered. On Oct. 20, Nixon fires Cox. The attorney general and deputy attorney general are discharged for having refused to fire Cox. Three days after what becomes known as the "Saturday Night Massacre," 22 bills are introduced in Congress calling for an impeachment investigation.

Horse Sense (June 9): Secretariat, touted as "the greatest horse that ever lived," becomes the ninth horse to win racing's Triple Crown.

No More House Calls (Aug. 2): The Chicken Ranch, said to be America's oldest continuously operating brothel, closes in La Grange, Texas.

Court Battle (Sept. 20): A tennis match billed as the "battle of the sexes" ends in defeat for Bobby Riggs, 55, who loses in three straight sets to Billie Jean King, 29.