Dashed left edge = started before June 1971 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond June 1971
Events in June 1971 12
1928 – 1971Georgy Dobrovolsky (1928-1971)Died 30 June 1971, aged 43Georgy Dobrovolsky commanded the Soyuz 11 mission and served as commander of the Salyut 1 space station crew. He died along with his crewmates during reentry when their capsule depressurized. He remains one of only three humans known to have died in space.
1933 – 1971Viktor Patsayev (1933-1971)Died 30 June 1971, aged 38Viktor Patsayev served as test engineer on Soyuz 11 and became the first person to work aboard a space station, Salyut 1. He died during reentry alongside his crewmates when their capsule lost cabin pressure. He was posthumously honored as a Hero of the Soviet Union.
1935 – 1971Vladislav Volkov (1935-1971)Died 30 June 1971, aged 35Vladislav Volkov was a Soviet flight engineer who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. He died with his crewmates aboard Soyuz 11 when a cabin valve failure depressurized the capsule during reentry. His death, alongside those of his crew, remains among the only fatal accidents to occur in space rather than during launch or landing.
1971French Open 1971Men: Jan Kodeš · Women: Evonne Goolagong
1971 – 1973First retirement -- then the returnSinatra announces his retirement at a star-studded Los Angeles concert on 13 June 1971 -- delivering a characteristically emotional farewell and leaving the stage to a standing ovation. The retirement lasts less than two years. He returns in 1973 with the album 'Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back' and a television special, driven by restlessness and the realisation that he has nothing to do if not perform. The return is commercially successful; the musical quality of his post-retirement work is uneven but occasionally transcendent.
1971Pentagon Papers PublishedLeaked Vietnam War documents expose government deceptionThe New York Times began publishing a classified Department of Defense history of US involvement in Vietnam, leaked by analyst Daniel Ellsberg. The papers revealed that successive administrations had misled the public about the war's scope and chances of success. The Nixon administration's attempt to block publication was rejected by the Supreme Court.
1971 – 1996Tupac Shakur (1971-1996)Died 13 September 1996, aged 25Tupac Shakur was an American rapper and actor whose albums, including "All Eyez on Me," made him one of the best-selling and most influential musicians in hip-hop history. He was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and died of his injuries six days later. His unsolved murder remains one of the most notorious cases in American music history.
1971Federal Express FoundedFred Smith incorporates an overnight air-cargo companyFred Smith incorporated Federal Express in Little Rock, Arkansas, based on a business plan he had written as a Yale undergraduate. The company pioneered the hub-and-spoke model for overnight package delivery when operations began in 1973. It grew into FedEx, one of the world's largest logistics companies.
1971Joni Mitchell releases BlueConfessional masterpieceA raw, personal album often voted among the greatest ever.
1971The Allman Brothers Band close the Fillmore EastFinal nightBill Graham picks them to play the last night of the venue.
1971 – presentElon MuskTesla, SpaceX founderElon Musk co-founded PayPal, founded SpaceX and Tesla, revolutionising electric vehicles and private space travel.
1971Soyuz 11 DisasterCabin depressurization kills returning cosmonaut crewThe three-man crew of Soyuz 11 died when a valve failure depressurized their capsule during reentry after 23 days aboard the Salyut 1 space station. Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev remain the only humans known to have died in space. The disaster grounded Soviet crewed spaceflight for more than two years.