February 22- Following President Richard Nixon's visit to mainland China, the United States and the People's Republic of China agree to establish liaison offices.
March 29- The last United States soldier leaves Vietnam.
April 3- The first handheld cellular phone call is made.
April 4- The World Trade Center officially opens.
April 17- Federal Express officially begins operations.
May 3- The Sears Tower in Chicago is finished.
July 5- The BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) in Kingman, Arizona, following a propane fire. This explosion has become a classic incident, studied in fire department training programs worldwide.
October 6- Yom Kippur War, the largest Arab-Israeli conflict begins.
October 10- Spiro Agnew resigns as Vice President of the United States and then pleads no contest to charges of income tax evasion.
October 17- The Arab Oil Embargo against several countries which support Israel triggers the 1973 energy crisis.
November 11- Egypt and Israel sign a United States-sponsored cease-fire.
November 29- 104 people are killed in a Taiyo department store fire in Kumamoto, Kyūshū, Japan.
February 1- Fire in the Joelman Bank Building in São Paulo, Brazil; 188 die, 293 are injured.
1973 (9 Fire Year / 7 Metal 9-Year Cycle / 9 Fire 81-Year Cycle)