1978
From Freepedia
| Years: 1975 1976 1977 - 1978(MCMLXXVIII) - 1979 1980 1981 | ||||||||||
| Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s - 1970s - 1980s 1990s 2000s | ||||||||||
| Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
| ||||||||||
1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar).
Contents |
Events
January
- January 1 - The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law.
- January 1 - Air India's Boeing 747 explodes near Bombay - 213 dead.
- January 4 - Referendum in Chile supports policies of Augusto Pinochet.
- January 6 - The Hungarian Holy Crown (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) returned to Hungary from the United States where it was held after World War II.
- January 7 - Emilio Palma is born in Antarctica, making his birth the southernmost in history.
- January 10 - Assassination of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, who had criticized the Nicaraguan government. Riots erupt against Somoza's government.
- January 18 - The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
- January 19 - Federal Appeals Court Judge William H. Webster appointed as Director of the FBI.
- January 22 - Ethiopia announces the ambassador of West Germany as Persona non grata.
- January 23 - Sweden becomes the first nation to ban aerosol sprays that are thought to damage earth's protective ozone layer.
- January 24 - Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 burns in Earth atmosphere and its debris is scattered over Canadian Northwest Territories
- January 28 - Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento", is arrested
- January 30 - Blizzards in the USA kill 90.
February
- February 1 - Film director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
- February 8 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcasted on radio for the first time.
- February 11 - 16 Unification Church couples wed in New York City.
- February 11 - Military mobilization in Somalia due to an apparent Ethiopian attack.
- February 11 - The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.
- February 13 - Hilton bombing: A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two garbagemen, a policeman and several others. Many believe that ASIO was responsible.
- February 15 - Rhodesia's prime minister Ian Smith and three black leaders agree on the transfer to black majority rule.
- February 15 - Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Florida.
- February 16 - The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
- February 21 – Electrical workers in Mexico City find an Aztec monolith in the middle of the city.
March
- March 1 - Charlie Chaplin's remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland but are recovered 11 weeks later near Lake Geneva.
- March 1 - Broadway play Timbuktu opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.
- March 3 - Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid Cuban soldiers against Somalian troops in Ogaden.
- March 3 - Rhodesia attacks Zambia.
- March 3 - New York Post publishes an article about David Rorvik's book The Cloning of Man about a supposed cloning of a human being
- March 6 - US porn publisher Larry Flynt is shot and paralysed
- March 11 - Palestinian terrorists on the Tel Aviv Haifa highway kill 34 Israelis.
- March 15 - The United States Senate approves the Panama Canal neutrality treaty; votes to turn the canal over to Panama by the year 2000 on April 18.
- March 16 - Israeli forces invade Lebanon.
- March 16 - Former Italian premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by Red Brigades, who kill five bodyguards; he is found dead on May 9.
- March 17 - The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground on the coast of Brittany.
- March 18 - Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is sentenced to death by hanging for ordering the assassination of a political opponent.
- March 22 - Karl Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- March 24 - The tanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two off Brittany spilling 50,000 metric tons of crude oil.
- March 28 - The US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
April
- April 1 - Dick Smith of Dick Smith Foods tows a fake iceberg to Sydney Harbour.
- April 8 - Regular broadcasts of proceedings in British Parliament start.
- April 16 - In Cologne, 15,000 former members of the resistance movement demonstrate against National Socialism.
- April 18 - The US Senate votes 68-32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31 1999.
- April 27 - President of Afghanistan, Daud Khan is killed during a military coup - Mohammed Takain succeeds him.
- April 30 - The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is proclamed, under pro-communist leader Nur Mohammed Taraki.
May
- May 4 – Communist activist Henri Curiel is murdered in Paris.
- May 5 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds gets his 3000th major league hit.
- May 8 - Norway opens a natural gas field in the Polar Sea.
- May 9 - In Rome, the body of Aldo Moro, the Italian president of the Christian-Democrats, is found in a parked car.
- May 12-13 - Group of mercenaries lead by Bob Denard oust Ali Soilih in the Comoros - 10 local soldiers killed. Denard forms a new government
- May 12 - In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining centre of the province of Shaba. The government of Zaire asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
- May 15 - Students of the University of Teheran riot in Tabriz - an army stops the riot.
- May 17 – Charles Chaplin's coffin is found ten miles from the cemetery it was stolen from, near Lake Geneva.
- May 18 - Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov is sentenced for seven years hard labor for distributing counterrevolutionary material.
- May 18-May 19 - Belgian and French paratroopers fly to Zaire to aid the fight against the rebels.
- May 20 - Mavis Hutchinson, 53, becames the first woman to run across the USA - trek took 69 days.
- May 22 - Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Mohammed Ahmed return to the Comoros
- May 25 - A bomb explodes in the security section of Northwestern University - security guard is wounded. The first bomb of the Unabomber case.
- May 26 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
- May 29 - Ali Soilih is found dead, allegedly shot when trying to escape
June
- June 6 - Californians in referendum approve Proposition 13 for a nearly 60% slash in property tax revenues.
- June 9 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extends the priesthood and temple blessings to "all worthy males," ending a general policy of excluding blacks from priesthood and temples since 1849 (see Blacks and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
- June 12 - Serial killer David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
- June 15 - King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby.
- June 19 - Cricketer Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.
- Comic Strip Garfield debuts in newspapers.
- June 21 - An outbreak of shooting between Provisional IRA members and the British Army leaves one civilian and three IRA men dead.
- June 22 - Discovery of Charon, a satellite of Pluto, announced.
- June 23 - Josip Broz Tito is named for Yugoslav president for life.
- June 24 - President of Yemen Arab Republic Ahmad al-Ghashmi is killed.
- June 25 - Argentina defeats Netherlands 3-1 after extra time to win the 1978 World Cup.
- June 26 - The bombing of Breton nationalists causes destruction in Versailles.
- June 28 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in the Bakke case, bars quota systems in college admissions but affirms constitutionality of programs giving advantage to minorities.
- June 30 - Ethiopia begin a massive offensive in Eritrea.
July-August
- July 7 - The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
- July 25 - First human birth, girl Louise Brown, from in vitro fertilization (the test tube baby).
- August 6 - Pope Paul VI dies at age of 80.
- August 7 - United States President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal.
- August 12 - Sino-Japanese relations: The Treaty of Peace and Friendship is signed between Japan and the People's Republic of China.
- August 15 - Foundation of Mirapuri - The City of Peace and Future Man in Europe, Italy.
- August 17 - Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Preque Isle, Maine
- August 19 - Fire in Rex Cinema in Tehran - 477 dead.
- August 20 - Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al airline bus in London.
- August 20 - In Abadan, Iran, nearly 400 are killed when Muslim extremist arsonists set fire to a crowded theater.
- August 25 - The Shroud of Turin goes on public display for the first time in 45 years.
- August 25 - US Army sergeant Walter Robinson "walks" across the English Channel in 11 hours 30 minutes using homemade water shoes
- August 26 - Albino Cardinal Luciani succeeds Pope Paul VI as Pope John Paul I.
September-October
- September 1 - Dublin Institute of Technology is established.
- September 5 - Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace process at Camp David, Maryland.
- September 8 - Riots in Teheran - Iranian army troops open fire - 122 dead, 4000 wounded.
- September 11 - The tip of an umbrella poisons Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov, probably on orders of Bulgarian intelligence. He dies four days later.
- September 17 - Camp David peace agreement between Israel and Egypt
- September 19 - British Police launch a massive murder hunt when newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead after disturbing a burglary.
- September 25 - PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in San Diego, California resulting in the death of 144.
- September 28 - Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.
- October 1 - Vietnam attacks Cambodia.
- October 7 - Wranslide in NSW; the Wran government is re-elected with a increased majority.
- October 8 - Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
- October 10 - US President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
- October 14 - Daniel arap Moi becomes president of Kenya.
- October 16 - Karol Wojtyła becomes Pope John Paul II.
- October 27 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.
November-December
- November 3 - Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- November 5 - Riots and demonstrations in Teheran - the British embassy is sacked.
- November 7 - Indira Gandhi re-elected to Indian parliament.
- November 17 - The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS.
- November 18 - Jonestown mass suicide: In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones leads his People's Temple in a mass murder-suicide; 913 die, including 276 children.
- November 19 - The first US Take Back the Night march occurs in San Francisco.
- November 20 - Military coup in Spain fails.
- November 27 - In San Francisco, California, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
- November 30 - Publication of The Times suspended - industrial relations problems until November 13 1979.
- December 4 - Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco, California's first woman mayor (she served until Friday, January 8, 1988).
- December 11 - Lufthansa heist - Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City's Kennedy airport.
- December 11 - Massive anti-Shah demonstration in Iran - 2 million demonstrators.
- December 13 - First Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
- December 25 - Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
- December 27 - The Spanish Constitution is approved in referendum officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship.
Unknown dates
- The President of the Mexican town of Coacalaco, José Ramon del Cuet, is forced to eat 12 pounds of bananas and then resign.
- The Hillside Strangler, a stealthy serial killer, is on the prowl in Los Angeles.
- The Usu volcano erupts in Japan.
- The Eagles' Hotel California was nominated for a Grammy award.
- Fleetwood Mac's Rumours was nominated for a Grammy award.
- Artificial insulin is invented.
- David Rorvik claims he has participated in a creation of a human clone in his book In His Image.
- Abortion legalized in Italy for first time.
- Acorn Computers Ltd is founded.
- The Honda Prelude, the car which introduced the world to the VTEC engine and 4-wheel steering, begins production. It would continue for many years before it would be discontinued and replaced with the S2000 and Acura RSX.
Births
January-May
- January 3 - Alex Leigh, British model
- January 4 - Dwight Freeney, American football player
- January 9 - Chad Johnson, American football player
- January 14 - Shawn Crawford, American runner
- January 28 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
- February 7 - Ashton Kutcher, American actor
- February 14 - Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
- February 20 - Jakki Degg, British model
- February 23 - Dan Snyder, Canadian hockey player (d. 2003)
- February 24 - Janine Machin, English radio presenter
- March 14 - Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
- March 21 - Kevin Federline, American dancer
- March 22 - Josh Heupel, American football player
- March 23 - Nicholle Tom, American actress
- April 5 - Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
- April 9 - Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
- April 9 - Rachel Stevens, English singer
- April 16 - Lara Dutta, Indian actress
- May 1 - Matt Lovato, American bassist (Mest)
- May 9 - Marwan al-Shehhi, United Arab Emirates hijacker (d. 2001)
- May 12 - Jason Biggs, American actor
- May 13 - Mike Bibby, American basketball player
- May 13 - Barry Zito, baseball player
- May 21 - Briana Banks, German actress
- May 22 - Jordan, English model
June-September
- June 1 - Danielle Harris, American voice actress
- June 6 - Carl Barat, English singer and guitarist (The Libertines)
- June 10 - Shane West, American actor
- June 19 - Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball player
- June 22 - Champ Bailey, American football player
- June 22 - Dan Wheldon, English race car driver
- July 9 - Linda Park, Korean-born actress
- July 18 - Ben Sheets, baseball player
- July 25 - Gerard Warren, American football player
- August 1 - Edgerrin James, American football player
- August 9 - Audrey Tautou, French actress
- August 21 - Reuben Droughns, American football player
- August 23 - Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
- August 24 - Rafael Furcal, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- August 27 - Mase, American rapper
- September 7 - Nora Greenwald, American professional wrestler
- September 11 - Ed Reed, American football player
- September 12 - Ruben Studdard, American singer
- September 20 - Jason Bay, Canadian Major League Baseball player
- September 22 - Harry Kewell, Australian footballer
- September 25 - Jodie Kidd, English model
- September 29 - Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer
October-December
- October 2 - Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
- October 13 - Jermaine O'Neal, American basketball player
- October 14 - Usher Raymond, American musician
- October 20 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
- October 21 - Joey Harrington, American football player
- October 25 - Russell Anderson, Scottish footballer
- October 26 - Antonio Pierce, American football player
- October 29 - Travis Henry, American football player
- November 1 - Manju Warriar, Indian actress
- November 9 - Sisqó, American actor and singer (Dru Hill)
- November 10 - Eve, American rapper
- November 17 - Reggie Wayne, American football player
- November 25 - Shina Ringo, Japanese singer and musician
- November 30 - Clay Aiken, American singer
- December 1 - Brad Delson, American guitarist (Linkin Park)
- December 2 - Nelly Furtado, Canadian-born singer and songwriter
- December 8 - Ian Somerhalder, American actor
- December 8 - Vernon Wells, baseball player
- December 9 - Jesse Metcalfe, American actor
- December 18 - Katie Holmes, American actress
- December 23 - Andra Davis, American football player
- December 23 - Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- December 23 - Estella Warren, Canadian swimmer, model, and actress
- December 29 - Alexis Amore, Peruvian actress, dancer, and model
Unknown dates
- Kris Roe, American guitarist and singer (The Ataris)
- Princess Tamara Czartoryski-Borbon, Spanish athlete
Deaths
January-June
- January 13 - Hubert H. Humphrey, U.S Vice President and Senator (b. 1911)
- January 13 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager (b. 1887)
- January 14 - Harold Abrahams, English athlete (b. 1899)
- January 14 - Kurt Gödel, Austrian-born mathematician (b. 1906)
- January 22 - Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer (b. 1894)
- January 23 - Terry Kath, American musician (Chicago) (b. 1946)
- January 23 - Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
- February 11 - James B Conant, American chemist and headmaster of Harvard University (b. 1893)
- February 11 - Harry Martinson, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- February 27 - Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (b. 1912)
- March 18 - Leigh Brackett, American author (b. 1915)
- March 19 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (b. 1893)
- March 21 - Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, fifth President of Ireland (b. 1911)
- March 31 - Charles Best, American-born medical scientist (b. 1899)
- April 21 - Sandy Denny, English singer (b. 1947)
- May 1 - Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer (b. 1903)
- May 9 - Aldo Moro, former Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1916)
- May 14 - Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- May 22 - Joe Colombo, American gangster (b. 1914)
- June 7 - Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
July-December
- July 30 - Umberto Nobile, Italian aviator (b. 1885)
- August 2 - Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer (b. 1899)
- August 6 - Pope Paul VI (heart attack) (b. 1897)
- August 21 - Charles Eames, American architect and designer (b. 1907)
- August 22 - Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan statesman
- August 26 - Charles Boyer, French actor (b. 1899)
- September 7 - Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (drug overdose) (b. 1947)
- September 9 - Jack Warner, Canadian film studio founder (b. 1892)
- September 10 - Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (racing accident) (b. 1944)
- September 11 - Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident (assassinated) (b. 1929)
- September 15 - Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft engineer (b. 1898)
- September 23 - Lyman Bostock, baseball player (murdered) (b. 1950)
- September 26 - Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- September 28 - Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)
- October 6 - Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (b. 1935)
- October 10 - Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (b. 1910)
- November 6 - Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (b. 1915)
- November 15 - Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (b. 1901)
- December 8 - Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1898)
- December 10 - Ed Wood, American filmmaker (b. 1924)
- December 11 - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
- December 27 - Houari Boumédiènne, President of Algeria (b. 1932)
Unknown dates
- Walter C. Alvarez, American physician (b. 1884)
- Pankaj Mullick, Bengali composer and singer (b. 1904)
Nobel Prizes
- Physics - Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Arno Allan Penzias, Robert Woodrow Wilson
- Chemistry - Peter D. Mitchell
- Medicine - Werner Arber, Daniel Nathans, Hamilton O. Smith
- Literature -Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Peace - Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat and Menachem Begin
- Economics - Herbert Simon
