1974 - The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon makes its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
- People magazine's first issue released in the U.S. Mia Farrow is on the cover.
- Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
- A Japanese World War II soldier, Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, surrenders in the Philippines.
- After 23 consecutive years on television, Lucille Ball airs the series finale of Here's Lucy
- The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang is discovered at Xi'an, China.[2]
– The world population reaches 4 billion people estimated by the United States Census Bureau.
– Stephen King publishes Carrie, his first novel.
- Swedish pop group ABBA win the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo.
– Hank Aaron became the all-time MLB home run leader with his 715th at Atlanta in front of a national television audience.
– The Turkish invasion of Cyprus occurs.
– West Germany beats the Netherlands 2–1 to win the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The West German football team are awarded the new FIFA World Cup Trophy.
– Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation
– Turkey invades Cyprus for the second time, occupying 37% of the island's territory.
– The Rumble in the Jungle takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire, where Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in 8 rounds to regain the Heavyweight title, which had been stripped from him 7 years earlier.
- The German electronic band Kraftwerk releases their studio album Autobahn.
– Ronald DeFeo, Jr., murders his entire family in their home in Amityville on Long Island, an event that inspires the story of The Amityville Horror.
– In a rare public performance, former Beatle John Lennon joins Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- The last Japanese World War II soldier, Taiwan-born Private Teruo Nakamura, surrenders on the Indonesian island of Morota, 34 years after beginning service in the Imperial Japanese Army.
- Rubik's Cube puzzle is invented by Hungarian architecture professor Ernő Rubik.
- Dungeons & Dragons fantasy tabletop role-playing game, designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, is first released, in the United States.
- PepsiCo becomes the first American company to sell products in the Soviet Union.