Patty Hearst was kidnapped on February 4, in what year?

On February 4, 1974, the bizarre and sensational saga of Patty Hearst began. The 19-year-old granddaughter of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst was violently abducted from her Berkeley, California apartment by a small, radical left-wing group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). The kidnapping of the famous heiress immediately became a major national news story, dominating headlines for months.

What followed was not a typical kidnapping. Two months after her abduction, Hearst, now calling herself "Tania," shocked the world by appearing on surveillance footage wielding an assault rifle during an SLA bank robbery. Her apparent transformation from a wealthy socialite into a willing urban guerrilla became a national obsession, sparking debates about brainwashing and coercion that continue to this day.

Hearst was eventually captured in 1975 and put on trial. Her defense team famously argued she was a victim of "Stockholm syndrome," a psychological response where a hostage develops a bond with their captors. Despite this, she was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to prison. Her sentence was later commuted by President Jimmy Carter, and she was eventually granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton in 2001, closing one of the most unusual chapters in 1970s American history.