* Gene Austin ( 1900 – 1972 ), American singer

* Charles Atlas ( 1892 – 1972 ), a famous bodybuilder

He was the fourth child of Ondrej Varchola ( Americanized as Andrew Warhola, Sr., 1889 – 1942 ) and Júlia ( née Zavacká, 1892 – 1972 ), whose first child was born in their homeland and died before their move to the U. S. Andy had two older brothers, Paul, born about 1923, and John, born about 1925.

* 1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive – American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.

* 1886 – Athenagoras I, Greek religious leader, 268th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople ( d. 1972 )

* 1929 – Joi Lansing, American model and actress ( d. 1972 )

* 1972 – Scott Martin Brooks, American actor

* 1972 – Chad Eaton, American football player

* 1972 – Jason Hervey, American actor

* 1972 – Ami James, Israeli-American tattoo artist

* 1972 – Anders Thomas Jensen, Danish screenwriter and director

* 1972 – Dickey Simpkins, American basketball player

* 1972 – Jo Van Daele, Belgian discus thrower

* 1972 – Sebnem Ferah, Turkish singer and musician

* 1972 – Dimitrios Kokotis, Greek high jumper

* 1972 – Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player

* 1896 – Reverend Gary Davis, American singer and guitarist ( d. 1972 )

* 1972 – JR Richards, American singer-songwriter, and musician ( Dishwalla )

* 1887 – George, Crown Prince of Serbia ( d. 1972 )

* 1972 – Jaap-Derk Buma, Dutch field hockey player

* 1972 – Felix da Housecat, American DJ and producer

* 1972 – The Great Khali, Indian wrestler

* 1972 – Denise Lewis, English heptathlete

Sri Lanka abolished appeals to the Privy Council in 1972, following the Dominion of Ceylon becoming the Republic of Sri Lanka.

Known until 1972 as Ceylon (,, or ), Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest across the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait, and the Maldives to the southwest.

Racial and economic tensions in Dominion of Ceylon, made worse after the declaration of the republic in 1972, also swelled immigrant numbers.

* Ceylon between 1948 and 1972, and Sri Lanka from 1972 until 1978 when the constitution was remodelled into a Executive presidential system.

The crown, sceptre, sword and the of the throne last King of the Kingdom of Kandy, which was used by the Monarch of Ceylon until 1972 is currently housed in the National Museum of Colombo.

It is the equivalent of the rank of Queen's Counsel in the United Kingdom, which was use in Ceylon ( Sri Lanka ) until 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic, when the position became that of Senior Attorney-at-Law.

In Sri Lanka, Member of Parliament refers to a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka ( since 1978 ), the National State Assembly ( 1972 – 78 ) and the House of Representatives of Ceylon ( 1947 – 72 ), the lower house of the Parliament of Ceylon.

Radio Ceylon became a public corporation in 1967 and was known as the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation when the island turned into a republic in 1972.

Ceylon, as the country was known before 1972, played its first first-class match under that name against Marylebone Cricket Club at Nomads Ground, Victoria Park, Colombo in 1926 – 27, losing by an innings.

On May 4, 1972 several Tamil political groups, including the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, formed the Tamil United Front ( TUF ).

Flag of Ceylon between 1951 and 1972

In 1948 the flag was adapted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, however the flag underwent several changes in 1953 and again in 1972.

The CDF was officially disbanded on 11 April 1949 and reconstituted by Army Act No. 17 of 1949 which revoked the Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance of 1910 as the Ceylon Volunteer Force ( CVF ), itself becoming the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force ( SLAVF ) in 1972.

Vernon Corea created television history on the island of Sri Lanka when he was invited to present the first ever experimental television broadcast on 15 June 1972 by the Radio Society of Ceylon.

There are now several television stations operating on the island, a far cry from the early experiments of the Radio Society of Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ) in 1972.

William Gopallawa ( Sinhala: ව ි ල ි යම ් ග ො පල ් ලව, ), MBE ( 17 September 1897 – 31 January 1981 ) was the last Governor General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and became the first ( non-executive ) President of Sri Lanka when Ceylon declared itself a republic in 1972 and changed its name to Sri Lanka.

Until 1972, Ceylon was a Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state and Queen of Ceylon.

* 1972: UNESCO adopts the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the IUCN is invited to provide technical evaluations and monitoring