Deaths on December 12

David Sarnoff

Died on December 12, 1971

David Sarnoff, Belarusian-American businessman (b. 1891)

David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was an American businessman and pioneer of American radio and television. Throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his retirement in 1970.

He ruled over an ever-growing telecommunications and media empire that included both RCA and NBC, and became one of the largest companies in the world. Named a Reserve Brigadier General of the Signal Corps in 1945, Sarnoff thereafter was widely known as "The General."Sarnoff is credited with Sarnoff's law, which states that the value of a broadcast network is proportional to the number of viewers.

References

David Sarnoff

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Events on 1971

8 Jan

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh.
7 Jun

First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
11 Jul

Chile
Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
21 Sep

Bhutan
Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.
24 Nov

D. B. Cooper
During a severe thunderstorm over Washington state, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper (aka D. B. Cooper) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane with $200,000 in ransom money. He has never been found.

Deaths on December 12

David Sarnoff

Died on December 12, 1971

References

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Events on 1971

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

Chile

Bhutan

D. B. Cooper