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The summer of 1974 stands out in American history with the culmination of the Watergate scandal, leading President Richard Nixon to announce his decision to resign August 9. Click through the gallery for more world events and pop culture landmarks in 1974 that helped define the decade. Tom Middlemiss/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images
French aerialist Philippe Petit dazzled onlookers below as he walked across a tightrope suspended between the World Trade Center's twin towers on August 7 in New York. Petit's long road to this feat was documented in James Marsh's 2008 documentary "Man on a Wire." Alan Welner/AP
Streaking, or the act of running naked through a public place, became popular on college campuses in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s in what the press called an "epidemic." Paul Slade/Paris Match via Getty Images
"CBS Evening News" anchor Walter Cronkite was voted "the most trusted and objective newscaster on television" in 1974 in a national opinion poll. As anchor of the "Evening News" from 1962 to 1981, "Uncle Walter" was the face of network, bringing Americans some of the biggest news events of the latter half of 20th century. CBS Photo Archive
American tennis pro Chris Evert's Grand Slam streak began at the 1974 French Open in June and continued for 13 consecutive seasons. The next month, she won her first singles championship at Wimbledon. Stringer/getty images
The Oakland Athletics' journey to their third World Series in a row continued in the summer of 1974, culminating in a Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Focus on Sport/Getty Images
L.A. Dodger Steve Garvey was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1974, the same year he made his debut at the All-Star Game. Focus on Sport/Getty Images
1974 is considered one of the best years in movies, thanks to the ascendance of counterculture directors including Roman Polanski, whose hit "Chinatown" opened June 20. Paramount Pictures/IMDB
Martin Scorsese's groundbreaking hit, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," about a single mother's attempt to build a life, hit theaters May 30. As CNN's Todd Leopold writes, "Alice" and other films of 1974 "reinforced the confusion of the times." Warner Bros./IMDB
In 2006, CNN.com conducted an unscientific survey to find the worst song of all time, and 1974 stood out as an exceptionally bad year for song production. Supporting this theory is the fact that Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band on the Run," which was released in December 1973, was still dominating the top 10 in the summer of 1974. Parlophone Label/Amazon
The 1970s did not exactly usher in a new wave of groundbreaking television. One exception was Garry Marshall's nostalgia vehicle "Happy Days," a hit among viewers, who made it one of NBC's most-watched shows during the summer of 1974. ABC Photo Archives/ABC/Getty Images
On other networks, long-running television series such as NBC's "Columbo" dominated the airwaves. Even in summer reruns, viewers eagerly tuned in to see Peter Falk's beloved homicide detective solve crimes in a reverse whodunit format. NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
CBS coasted through 1974 on the success of "All in the Family," which broke ground for its depiction of a working-class family whose constant bickering stood in stark contrast to the peaceable families of 1960s television. The series debuted in 1971 and was still one of the network's top-rated shows in the summer of 1974. CBS via Getty Images
Books released earlier in the year such as Peter Benchley's "Jaws" remained popular reads into the summer. Random House/Amazon
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," the first novel of John LeCarre's Karla Trilogy, debuted in June 1974. Ballantine/Amazon
The beloved Rubik's cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian professor Erno Rubik. It would take a few years for it to land in American toy stores and become one of the most iconic toys of the 1980s. courtesy the strong
