December 31, 1972 (Sunday)
- Died: Roberto Clemente, 38, star of the Pittsburgh Pirates, killed along with five other people while on an errand of mercy to earthquake victims in Managua. At 9:22 pm, his DC-7 crashed into the Atlantic shortly after takeoff from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clemente's body was never found. Clemente was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1973.
- The barangay system was created in the Philippines by decree Number 86 of President Ferdinand Marcos.
- Born: Joey McIntyre, American actor and singer, in Needham, MA
- Another leap second (23:59:60) was added to end of the year, making 1972 the only year to have two leap seconds, and thus the longest year in human history.
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