/born

Born in 1970

People born in 1970 turn 56 in 2026. A dollar in 1970 buys what $8.68 buys in September 2026, and about 3.69 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.

Your birthday in 1970

1970

What things cost in 1970

U.S. average1970in today’s dollarslatest
One dollar$1.00$8.68CPI-U
Median price of a new house sold MSPUS$23,475$203,726$410,700
Federal minimum wage STTMINWGFG$1.60$13.89$7.25

1970 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED.

Who was in charge in 1970

United States
Richard Nixon (President)
United Kingdom
Elizabeth II (Queen); Harold Wilson, then Edward Heath (Prime minister)
Soviet Union
Leonid Brezhnev (General Secretary); Nikolai Podgorny (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Alexei Kosygin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
People's Republic of China
Mao Zedong (Chairman; Paramount Leader); Zhou Enlai (Premier)
France
Georges Pompidou (President); Jacques Chaban-Delmas (Prime minister)
East Germany
Walter Ulbricht (Chairmen of the State Council); Willi Stoph (Chairman)
West Germany
Gustav Heinemann (President); Willy Brandt (Chancellor)
Japan
Hirohito (Emperor)
Republic of India
V. V. Giri (President); Indira Gandhi (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1951–2000) (revision 1371751893), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1970 →

No. 1 songs of 1970

  1. “Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head” — B. J. Thomas (4 weeks)
  2. “I Want You Back” — The Jackson 5 (1 week)
  3. “Venus” — Shocking Blue (1 week)
  4. “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) / Everybody Is a Star” — Sly & the Family Stone (2 weeks)
  5. “Bridge over Troubled Water” — Simon & Garfunkel (6 weeks)
  6. “Let It Be” — The Beatles (2 weeks)
  7. “ABC” — The Jackson 5 (2 weeks)
  8. “American Woman / No Sugar Tonight” — The Guess Who (3 weeks)
  9. “Everything Is Beautiful” — Ray Stevens (2 weeks)
  10. “The Long and Winding Road / For You Blue” — The Beatles (2 weeks)
  11. “The Love You Save” — The Jackson 5 (2 weeks)
  12. “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)” — Three Dog Night (2 weeks)
  13. “(They Long to Be) Close to You” — The Carpenters (4 weeks)
  14. “Make It with You” — Bread (1 week)
  15. “War” — Edwin Starr (3 weeks)
  16. “Ain't No Mountain High Enough” — Diana Ross (3 weeks)
  17. “Cracklin' Rosie” — Neil Diamond (1 week)
  18. “I'll Be There” — The Jackson 5 (5 weeks)
  19. “I Think I Love You” — The Partridge Family (3 weeks)
  20. “The Tears of a Clown” — Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (2 weeks)
  21. “My Sweet Lord / Isn't It a Pity” — George Harrison (1 week)

Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with issue dates in 1970, from List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1970 (Wikipedia revision 1374976921).

Famous people born in 1970

  • November 9 - Chris Jericho, wrestler, actor, author, radio and television host and rock musician source
  • December 22 – Ted Cruz, Canadian-American politician, U.S. Senator (R-Tx.) from 2013 and 2016 presidential candidate source
  • July 19 – Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland (2014–present) source
  • December 22 – Gary Anderson, Scottish darts player source
  • 7 January – Andy Burnham, politician source
  • January 1 – Gabriel Jarret, American actor source
  • 1 January – Brian Law, footballer source
  • March 5 – Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia source
  • February 4 – Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden source
  • 10 March – Peter Wright, darts player source
  • December 18 – Rob Van Dam, American professional wrestler source
  • February 8 – Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player source
  • 30 July – Christopher Nolan, film director source
  • October 8 – Sadiq Khan, British politician; 3rd Mayor of London (2016–present) source
  • April 29 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player source

What happened in 1970

  • March 5 – The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect, after ratification by 56 nations. source
  • January 15 – After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafran forces under Philip Effiong formally surrender to General Yakubu Gowon, ending the Nigerian Civil War. source
  • February 11 – Ohsumi, Japan's first satellite, is launched on a Lambda-4 rocket. source
  • March 12 – Citroën introduces the Citroën SM, the world's fastest front-wheel drive auto at this time, at the annual Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. source
  • March 15 – The Expo '70 World's Fair opens in Suita, Osaka, Japan. source
  • February 1 – The Benavídez rail disaster near Buenos Aires, Argentina (a rear-end collision) kills 236. source
  • 1 February – The establishment of Institute of Economics of the Academia Sinica. source
  • 1 January - Value added tax (TVA) is introduced at 8%, with a reduced rate of 4%. source
Everything that happened in 1970 →