Editing 1972 (section)

=== May ===
{{Main|May 1972}}
* [[May 2]] – Fire at the [[Sunshine Mine]], a [[silver]] mine in [[Idaho]], kills 91.<ref>{{cite web|title=1972 Sunshine Mining Company Mining Disaster, Kellogg, Idaho|url=https://arlweb.msha.gov/DISASTER/SUNSHINE/ss1.asp|website=Mining Disasters – An Exhibition|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215070337/https://arlweb.msha.gov/DISASTER/SUNSHINE/ss1.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[May 5]] – An [[Alitalia]] [[DC-8]] [[Alitalia Flight 112|crashes]] west of [[Palermo]], [[Sicily]]; 115 die.
* [[May 7]] – [[1972 Italian general election|General elections]] are held in Italy.
* [[May 10]] – [[Operation Linebacker]] and [[Operation Custom Tailor]] begin with large-scale bombing operations against North Vietnam by tactical fighter aircraft.
* [[May 13]] – A [[Sennichi Department Store Building fire|fire in a nightclub atop the Sennichi department store]] in [[Osaka]], Japan, kills 115.
* [[May 21]] – In [[St. Peter's Basilica]] ([[Vatican City]]), [[Laszlo Toth]] attacks [[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]]'' statue with a [[geologist's hammer]], shouting that he is [[Jesus Christ]].
* [[May 22]]
** The [[Dominion of Ceylon]] becomes the republic of [[Sri Lanka]] under prime minister [[Sirimavo Bandaranaike]], when its new [[constitution]] is ratified.<ref>{{cite book|author=A. R. Sriskanda Rajah|title=Government and Politics in Sri Lanka: Biopolitics and Security|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xDAlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|date=April 21, 2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-96800-3|pages=44}}</ref>
** [[Ferit Melen]] forms the new (interim) government of [[Turkey]] (35th government)
* [[May 23]] – The Tamil United Front (later known as [[Tamil United Liberation Front]]), a pro-[[Tamils|Tamil]] organization, is founded in Sri Lanka.
* [[May 26]]
** [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Leonid Brezhnev]] sign the [[SALT I treaty]] in Moscow, as well as the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]] and other agreements.
** [[Willandra National Park]] is established in Australia.
* [[May 27]] – [[Mark Donohue]] wins the [[1972 Indianapolis 500|Indianapolis 500]] in a [[Penske Racing]] [[McLaren]]–[[Offenhauser]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Xe9VAAAAIBAJ&pg=2494%2C7042731|work=Eugene Register-Guard|location=(Oregon)|agency=Associated Press|title=Donohue bides time, then charges to victory|date=May 28, 1972|page=1B}}</ref>
* [[May 30]] 
** [[Lod Airport massacre]]: Three [[Japanese Red Army]] members operating on behalf of the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations]] kill 26 and injure 80 people at [[Lod Airport]], [[Israel]].<ref>Jeffrey D. Simon, ''The Terrorist Trap: America's Experience with Terrorism'', [[Indiana University Press]], p. 324. {{ISBN|0-253-21477-7}}</ref>
** [[The Troubles]]: The [[Official Irish Republican Army]] declares a ceasefire.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/30/newsid_2973000/2973759.stm|title=1972: Official IRA declares ceasefire|date=May 30, 1972|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>