It was the year of The Rumble in the Jungle, when Muhammad Ali took on George Foreman, and the year when Richard Nixon resigned as US president over the Watergate scandal.
Here in the UK, it was the year of two general elections, which saw Harold Wilson return as Prime Minister.
And in Edinburgh, there was a strike by ambulance workers, a gay rights demonstration outside The Scotsman building, scaffolding at the top of the Scott Monument and a visit from American entertainer Phil Silvers.
Scroll through this selection of photos from the Evening News archives and see life was like in Edinburgh 50 years ago.
1. Wombles in Leith
The Wombles help distribute Evening News/Odeon Charity Appeal Christmas presents at Leith hospital in December 1974. Photo: Stan Warburton
2. Dean Village
Detail of one of the Hawthorn buildings at Edinburgh's Dean Village in December 1974. Photo: Hamish Campbell
3. Ted Heath visits shipyard
Tory leader Ted Heath leader visits the Robb-Caledon shipyard at Leith in October 1974, before the second General Election of the year. Photo: Denis Straughan
4. Classic cinema
The Classic cinema in Nicolson Street, originally called La Scala Electric Theatre, which opened in 1912 as a theatre-cum-cinema. It changed its name in April 1974 after a change of ownership and began to show adult or erotic films. Photo: Alan Ledgerwood