At the World cup final in Mexico the mighty Pele symbolically scores Brazil's 100th goal. Throughout his football career Pele scored 1281 goals in 1363 matches - an all-time world record. He was voted athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 and ranked the No 1 footballer of all time.
In fashion, as a result of the black power movement more and more black people started to wear their hair in natural styles, like cornrows and large afros.
As a member of the Black Panthers, activist Angela Davis became only the third woman in history to appear on the FBI's most wanted list. She was charged with murder and kidnapping following a bloody shootout in a California courtroom. After spending 16 months behind bars she was acquitted on all charges.
Pulitzer Prize winner Maya Angelou publishes the first in the series of her autobiographical works with the groundbreaking book I know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
On March 1st Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe) severs its last tie with the British Crown and declares itself a racially segregated republic.
On July 26th guitarist Jimi Hendrix plays at his hometown of Seattle at Sicks Stadium where, under the influence of drugs, he starts verbally abusing members of the audience. He died later that year on 18th September.
The Beatles split, and by the end of the year all band members had released solo LPs.
It's a massive year for The Jackson 5; they signed with Motown and released I Want You Back, reaching No 1 in the US Charts and No 2 in the UK Charts. I'll Be There also hit No 1 in the US in October. They then smashed it again with The Love You Saved and ABC, all US top ten hits.
It was also a massive year for Aretha Franklin who released a staggering four albums including, This Girl's In Love With You and Sweet Bitter Love.
Edwin Starr's controversial single War hits No 1 in the US.
Diana Ross' Ain't No Mountain High Enough also hits the top spot in the US charts.
In the UK people were enjoying the musical sounds of Jamaica with artists like Desmond Dekker. The classic You Can Get it if You Really Want reached No 2 in the UK charts.
The musical output of black America had changed from soul towards funk. James Brown's musical style was defining the difference between them.
Crazy cat George Clinton regained rights to the name of his group Parliament after disputes with his previous label. He signed the entire line-up of Funkadelic and Parliament to Invictus Records, gradually putting together an ensemble of over 50 musicians.
