1979: On This Year

• The USA was guided by the steady hand of Jimmy Carter as the world population rose to roughly 4.4 billion.
• For newly-minted parents, the most popular names were Michael and Jennifer. Included amongst that sea of Mikes and Jens were some notable figures: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson, Kevin Hart, and Pink. While we gained those vocalists and thespians, 1979 also witnessed the curtains closing on the founder of Hilton Hotels, Conrad Hilton; the Canadian-American steel magnate, Cyrus Eaton; the American actor, John Wayne; and the President of Afghanistan, Nur Mohammed Taraki.
• Douglas Adams surged to the top of library ordering lists with the first printing of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The movies were awash with popular and classic titles like Alien, The Warriors, and The Amityville Horror. Read on to discover how 1979 changed the world.
• The year 1979 saw some notable firsts: the first person killed by a robot, the first gay and lesbian civil rights march on Washington, the first female prime minister of the UK, the first discovery of an extraterrestrial volcano, and the first recorded instance of a comet hitting the sun.
• Meanwhile, the world’s inventors brought ideas like fleece, rollerblades, and the Walkman to life. While the US and China began diplomatic relations, the relationships between the People’s Republic and Vietnam soured with the start of the Sino-Vietnam war. Meanwhile, in the US, the government approved the development of a Department of Education. This year also marked the 100-millionth guest to visit the happiest place on earth (Walt Disney World).
• If you reminisce of all those jogs spent with your Walkman at your side, you better write a thank-you note to the year 1979.

According to the Chinese Zodiac and Astrology 1979 was the Year of the Goat.

Discover Zodiac Sign Characteristics and Personality Traits of people born under the Goat sign.

1979: Who won the Nobel Peace Prize ?

• Mother Teresa

1979: Who won the Nobel Prize in Physics ?

• Sheldon Lee Glashow

The 3 most popular baby names in 1979 were Michael, Christopher and Jason for boys and Jennifer, Melissa and Amanda for girls according to the US Census Bureau historical records.

1979: What were the Top #10 male names given to baby boys that year?

The Top # 10 male names given to baby boys in 1979 in the USA according to the US Census Bureau historical records were:

• Michael
• Christopher
• Jason
• David
• James
• Matthew
• John
• Robert
• Joshua
• Brian

1979: What were the Top #10 female names given to baby girls that year?

The Top # 10 female names given to baby girls in 1979 in the USA according to the US Census Bureau historical records were:

• Jennifer
• Melissa
• Amanda
• Jessica
• Amy
• Sarah
• Heather
• Angela
• Nicole
• Michelle

1979: What was the number 1 song in the USA that year?

The number 1 song in the USA in 1979, i.e. the best selling and most popular song of tha year, was Hot Stuff by Donna Summer

1979: What was the music chart in the USA that year?

The Music Chart in the USA in 1979 with the top 10 most popular songs, was:

1. Hot Stuff by Donna Summer
2. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
3. My Sharona by The Knack
4. Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? by Rod Stewart
5. Ring My Bell by Anita Ward
6. Still by Commodores
7. Bad Girls by Donna Summer
8. A Little More Love by Olivia Newton-John
9. Y.M.C.A. by Village People
10. Reunited by Peaches & Herb

1979: What was the number 1 song in the UK that year?

The number 1 song in the UK in 1979, i.e. the best selling and most popular song of tha year, was Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel

1979: What was the music chart in the UK that year?

The Music Chart in the UK in 1979 with the top 10 most popular songs, was:

1. Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel
2. Are 'Friends' Electric by Tubeway Army
3. Message In A Bottle by The Police
4. Dance Away by Roxy Music
5. One Day At A Time by Lena Martell
6. Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick by Ian & The Blockheads
7. Sunday Girl by Blondie
8. I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats
9. We Don't Talk Anymore by Cliff Richard
10. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

The world population in 1979 was 4,380,506,100 people according to data by United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. This figure includes both urban and rural populations. The urban population at that time accounted for 39.0% of the total population, which is roughly 1.7 billion individuals.The annual population change in 1979 was an increase of +75.8 million people, representing a percentage increase of +1.76% over the previous year.The average population density in 1979 was 18 persons per square mile (or 29 persons per square kilometer).

Here's what happened in 1979:

• Jan 1, 1979: International Year of the Child begins
• Jan 2, 1979: Gavaskar gets twin tons for India for the third time (versus West Indies).
• Jan 4, 1979: The State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of the dead and injured in the Kent State shootings.
• Jan 7, 1979: Vietnamese forces capture Phnom Penh from Khmer Rouge
• Jan 8, 1979: 512 die as oil tanker Bantry Bay blows up
• Jan 9, 1979: Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to WS Merwin.
• Jan 10, 1979: 1st brother Billy Carter makes allegedly anti-Semitic remarks
• Jan 11, 1979: Grand Tour opens at Palace Theater NYC for 61 performances
• Jan 12, 1979: Record blizzard strikes American midwest killing over 100.
• Jan 13, 1979: Charlie Daniels hosts the Volunteer Jam.
• Jan 14, 1979: US President Jimmy Carter proposes Martin Luther King's birthday be a holiday.
• Jan 16, 1979: Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi of Iran flees Iran for Egypt
• Jan 17, 1979: Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran
• Jan 18, 1979: Peter Jenkins finishes "A Walk Across America", in Florence, Oregon.
• Jan 19, 1979: John N Mitchell (former Attorney General) released on parole from federal prison.
• Jan 21, 1979: Neptune becomes outermost planet (Pluto moves closer)
• Jan 23, 1979: Willie Mays elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Jan 24, 1979: US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
• Jan 25, 1979: 22.2-km Oshimizu railroad tunnel holed through, central Honshu, Japan.
• Jan 26, 1979: Music Center Vredenburg opens in Utrecht, Netherlands.
• Jan 27, 1979: 36th Golden Globes: Midnight Express, Jon Voight and Jane Fonda.
• Jan 28, 1979: Wiz closes at Majestic Theater New York City, New York after 1672 performances.
• Jan 29, 1979: 9th AFC-NFC pro bowl, NFC wins 13-7
• Jan 30, 1979: Rhodesia agrees to new constitution.
• Feb 1, 1979: Patricia Hearst is released from a San Francisco prison for bank robbery.
• Feb 3, 1979: YMCA by Village People peaks at #2 on pop singles chart
• Feb 4, 1979: Co-Ed Fever, TV Comedy, debut and cancelled that outing on CBS
• Feb 5, 1979: Costliest single periodical ad, $3.2 million, Gulf + Western in Time.
• Feb 6, 1979: Supreme court of Lahore Pakistan affirms death sentence against premier Bhutto.
• Feb 7, 1979: Supertrain, TV Anthology, Superbomb of 1979, debuts on NBC
• Feb 8, 1979: US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
• Feb 9, 1979: 21st Grammy Awards: Just the Way You Are, Taste of Honey
• Feb 10, 1979: February 11 ampndash The Iranian army mutinies and joins the Islamic Revolution.
• Feb 11, 1979: 43 million watch Elvis! on ABC
• Feb 12, 1979: Kosmos 1076, first Soviet oceanographic satellite, launched.
• Feb 13, 1979: 2nd Emmy Sports Award presentation
• Feb 14, 1979: Whoopee! opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 204 performances
• Feb 15, 1979: Paul Shirley (21) of Australia, sucked a lifesaver for 4 hours 40 minutes
• Feb 16, 1979: George Harrison releases Blow Away
• Feb 17, 1979: Eric Heiden equals skating world record 1000 metre (1:14.99).
• Feb 18, 1979: Miniseries Roots: Next Generations premieres on ABC TV
• Feb 21, 1979: Japan launches Hakucho x-ray satellite and Corsa-B (550 / 580 km)
• Feb 22, 1979: Cleveland (Ohio) Metroparks Zoo's Primate and Cat Building is dedicated.
• Feb 23, 1979: Sarava opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 140 performances
• Feb 24, 1979: War between North and South Yemen begins.
• Feb 25, 1979: Soyuz 32 carries 2 Cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station is launched
• Feb 26, 1979: Last total eclipse of Sun in 20th century for continental USA.
• Feb 27, 1979: The annual Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana is canceled due to a strike called by the New Orleans Police Department.
• Feb 28, 1979: In Mt. Saint Elias, Alaska, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurs.
• Mar 1, 1979: Sweeney Todd opens at Uris Theater NYC for 557 performances
• Mar 4, 1979: Grand Tour closes at Palace Theater NYC after 61 performances
• Mar 5, 1979: Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by "off the scale" gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.
• Mar 7, 1979: Warren Giles and Hack Wilson selected to baseball Hall of Fame.
• Mar 8, 1979: Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) transported 38 miles overland from Palmdale.
• Mar 9, 1979: Bowie Kuhn orders Major League Baseball to give equal access to female reporters.
• Mar 11, 1979: Randy Hold receives 67 minutes in penalties in a 60 minute NHL hockey game.
• Mar 13, 1979: European Monetary System is established, ECU created.
• Mar 14, 1979: In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing at least 200.
• Mar 15, 1979: Sarfraz takes 9-86 at Melbourne Cricket Ground as Australia lose 7-5 to lose the Test.
• Mar 16, 1979: CBS-TV airs Wings Over the World with Paul McCartney
• Mar 17, 1979: Ice Dance Championship at Vienna won by N Linichuk and G Karponosov USSR
• Mar 18, 1979: On the 20th Century closes at St. James Theater NYC after 460 performances
• Mar 19, 1979: House of Reps begins live TV broadcasts via C-SPAN
• Mar 20, 1979: Columbia flies on Shuttle carrier aircraft to Kennedy Space Center.
• Mar 21, 1979: Egyptian Parliament unanimously approves peace treaty with Israel.
• Mar 22, 1979: NHL votes to accept four WHA teams (Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques, and Hartford Whalers).
• Mar 23, 1979: Wings release Goodnight Tonight
• Mar 24, 1979: Ballroom closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 116 performances
• Mar 25, 1979: Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Sahara National Pro-Am Golf Tournament.
• Mar 26, 1979: Camp David peace treaty between Israel and Egypt
• Mar 27, 1979: US Supreme Court rules 8-1 that police can't randomly stop cars.
• Mar 28, 1979: Major nuclear accident at 3 Mile Island, Middletown, Pa (no deaths)
• Mar 29, 1979: Andrew Hilditch given out handled the ball versus Pakistan at WACA.
• Mar 30, 1979: Airey Neave, World War II veteran and Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman, is killed by an Irish National Liberation Army bomb in the British House of Commons car park.
• Mar 31, 1979: The last British soldier leaves the Maltese Islands. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).
• Apr 1, 1979: Iran becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.
• Apr 2, 1979: Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin visits Cairo, Egypt; meets President Anwar Sadat.
• Apr 3, 1979: Jane M Byrne (D), elected 1st woman Mayor of Chicago, Illinois
• Apr 4, 1979: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
• Apr 5, 1979: Baltimore Orioles' manager Earl Weaver wins his 1,000th game as a skipper.
• Apr 7, 1979: Houston Astros' Ken Forsch pitches no-hitter against Atlanta Braves, 6-0.
• Apr 8, 1979: Carmelina opens at St. James Theater NYC for 17 performances
• Apr 9, 1979: 51st Academy Awards - The Deer Hunter, Jon Voight and Jane Fonda win. Walter Lantz is given an honorary Oscar for his animated motion pictures.
• Apr 10, 1979: J R Richard throws major league record six wild pitches in Astrodome.
• Apr 11, 1979: Tanzanian troops take Kampala, the capital of Uganda Idi Amin flees.
• Apr 12, 1979: Soyuz 33 returns to Earth.
• Apr 13, 1979: Longest doubles ping-pong match ends after 101 hours.
• Apr 14, 1979: Susan Horvath, of Pennsylvania, crowned America's Young Woman of the Year.
• Apr 15, 1979: 43rd Golf Masters Championship: Fuzzy Zoeller wins, shooting a 280.
• Apr 16, 1979: Pulitzer prize awarded to Sam Shepard for Buried child
• Apr 17, 1979: Schoolchildren in the Central African Empire are arrested (and around 100 killed) for protesting against compulsory school uniforms. An African judicial commission later determines that Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa quotalmost certainlyquot took part in the massacre.
• Apr 18, 1979: Real People premieres on NBC TV
• Apr 19, 1979: FCC raids and shuts down pirate radio station WFAT (Brooklyn NY)
• Apr 20, 1979: President Jimmy Carter is attacked by a swamp rabbit while fishing in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, USA.
• Apr 21, 1979: Carmelina closes at St. James Theater NYC after 17 performances
• Apr 22, 1979: Mick Jaggar and Keith Richards give a benefit concert in Canada
• Apr 24, 1979: Rhodesian bishop Muzorewa wins general election.
• Apr 25, 1979: Peace treaty between Israel and Egypt goes into effect.
• Apr 27, 1979: George Harrison releases Love Comes to Everyone
• Apr 29, 1979: Jane Blalock wins LPGA Otey Crisman Golf Classic.
• Apr 30, 1979: Mary Therese Friel of New York crowned 28th Miss USA.
• May 1, 1979: Marshall Islands (in the Pacific) become self-governing.
• May 2, 1979: Quadrophenia premieres in London
• May 3, 1979: 1st woman Prime Minister of Great Britain
• May 4, 1979: Jackie Mercer wins her fourth golf title 31 years after her first.
• May 5, 1979: 105th Kentucky Derby: Ron Franklin on Spectacular Bid wins in 2:02.4.
• May 6, 1979: Fred Markham set a bicycle speed record of 81.8 kph over 200 metres.
• May 7, 1979: Gary Roenicke hits into Baltimore Orioles 13th triple play (Oakland Athletics).
• May 8, 1979: Radio Shack releases TRSDOS 2.3
• May 9, 1979: US and the USSR sign Salt 2 treaty, limiting nuclear weapons
• May 10, 1979: Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) completes nonstop cycle ride of 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka [From May 2]
• May 13, 1979: Utter Glory... Morrissey Hall opens and closes at Mark Hellinger, New York City
• May 16, 1979: NL approves Astros sales from Ford Motors to John J McMullen for $19M
• May 17, 1979: Emmy 6th Daytime Award presentation
• May 19, 1979: In The Navy by Village People hits #3
• May 20, 1979: I Love My Wife closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 864 performances
• May 21, 1979: Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers, 4 games to 1
• May 22, 1979: Canadians elect conservatives, Joseph Clark replaces Pierre Trudeau.
• May 23, 1979: Kids Are All Right premieres
• May 24, 1979: Billy Martin issues a public apology to Reno sportswriter Ray Hagar.
• May 25, 1979: Israel begins to return Sinai to Egypt.
• May 27, 1979: Penny Pulz wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic.
• May 28, 1979: European Market accepts Greece as member.
• May 30, 1979: Pat Underwood makes his pitching debut for Detroit Tigers, beats brother Tom.
• May 31, 1979: I Remember Mama opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 108 performances
• Jun 1, 1979: 33rd NBA Championship: Sea Supersonics beat Washington Bullets, 4 games to 1
• Jun 2, 1979: NASA launches space vehicle S-198.
• Jun 3, 1979: Madwoman of Central Park West opens on Broadway
• Jun 4, 1979: South-African President Vorster resigns due to scandal
• Jun 5, 1979: Seychelles adopts constitution
• Jun 6, 1979: Josef Mengeles corpse excavated in Brazil
• Jun 7, 1979: 52nd National Spelling Bee: Katie Kerwin wins spelling maculature
• Jun 8, 1979: Mariners draft Al Chambers #1
• Jun 9, 1979: 111th Belmont: Ruben Hernandez aboard Coastal wins in 2:28.6
• Jun 10, 1979: 25th LPGA Championship won by Donna Caponi Young
• Jun 11, 1979: Chuck Berry pleads guilty to income tax evasion, sentenced to 4 months
• Jun 12, 1979: Opening ceremony at Cambridge Buddhist Association in Boston
• Jun 13, 1979: Madwoman of Central Park West opens at 22 Steps NYC for 86 performances
• Jun 14, 1979: New York Giants Willie McCovey 513th HR is an NL lefty record
• Jun 15, 1979: 1st space shuttle SRB qualification test firing; 122 seconds
• Jun 16, 1979: Logical Song by Supertramp peaks at #6
• Jun 17, 1979: Sarava closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 140 performances
• Jun 18, 1979: US President Carter and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev sign SALT II treaty
• Jun 19, 1979: In New York 36,211 show up to witness return of Billy Martin as Yank mgr
• Jun 20, 1979: Bill Stewart, ABC television news correspondant, and his interpreter Juan Espinosa are executed by a Nicaraguan National Guard soldier while attempting to film war destruction in Nicaragua. The murders are caught on tape, and the footage is later shown on news broadcasts.
• Jun 21, 1979: Sri Lanka beat Canada by 60 runs to win the 1st ICC Trophy
• Jun 22, 1979: Larry Holmes TKOs Mike Weaver in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
• Jun 23, 1979: Rock group The Knack releases "My Sharona".
• Jun 24, 1979: Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Lady Keystone Golf Open
• Jun 25, 1979: Got Tu Go Disco opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 8 performances
• Jun 26, 1979: Heavyweight Muhammad Ali confirms that his 3rd retirement is final
• Jun 27, 1979: Supreme Court rules employers may use quotas to help minorities
• Jun 28, 1979: OPEC raises oil prices 24%
• Jun 29, 1979: Moonraker premieres in US
• Jun 30, 1979: Got To Go Disco closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 8 performances
• Jul 1, 1979: Stampede Pass, Washington is covered with 6 of snow
• Jul 2, 1979: Susan B Anthony dollar is issued, 1st US coin to honor a woman
• Jul 3, 1979: U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
• Jul 4, 1979: Algerian ex-President Ben Bella freed
• Jul 6, 1979: 86th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: M Navratilova beats Chris Evert (64 64)
• Jul 8, 1979: Congo adopts constitution
• Jul 9, 1979: Dr Walter Massey is named director of Argonne national Lab.
• Jul 10, 1979: Chuck Berry sentenced to 4 months for $200,000 in tax evasion
• Jul 11, 1979: US Skylab enters atmosphere over Australia and disintegrates
• Jul 12, 1979: Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park, causes fans to go wild and causes White Sox to forfeit 2nd game of a doubleheader to Tigers
• Jul 13, 1979: George Harrison releases Faster
• Jul 15, 1979: Morarji Desai resigns as Premier of India
• Jul 16, 1979: Premier / President al-Bakr of Iraq is succeeded by Saddam Hussein
• Jul 17, 1979: 50th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-6 at Kingdome, Seattle
• Jul 18, 1979: Gold hits record US$303.85 an ounce in London, England.
• Jul 19, 1979: 2 supertankers collide off Tobago-260,000 TONS of oil spill
• Jul 21, 1979: 108th British Golf Open: Seve Ballesteros shoots a 283 at Royal Lytham
• Jul 22, 1979: Pat Meyers wins LPGA Greater Baltimore Golf Classic
• Jul 23, 1979: George Brett gets his 1,000th hit
• Jul 24, 1979: President Carter names Paul Volcker, President of Federal Reserves
• Jul 25, 1979: 109 cm rainfall at Alvin Texas
• Jul 26, 1979: Estimated 109 cm (43 inches) of rain falls in Alvin, Texas (national record).
• Jul 28, 1979: Dave Kingman becomes 6th to have a second three home run game.
• Jul 29, 1979: 7th du Maurier Golf Classic (Peter Jackson Classic): Amy Alcott
• Jul 31, 1979: But Never Jam Today opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 7 performances
• Aug 1, 1979: Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo forms government in Portugal
• Aug 2, 1979: Gilda Radner Live From New York opens on Broadway
• Aug 3, 1979: Fastest jai-alai shot (188 mph), Jose Arieto at Newport Jai Alai, Rhode Island.
• Aug 4, 1979: Italian government of Cossiga begins
• Aug 5, 1979: But Never Jam Today closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 7 performances
• Aug 6, 1979: 61st PGA Championship: David Graham shoots a 272 at Oakland Hills, Michigan
• Aug 7, 1979: Several tornadoes struck the city of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada and the surrounding communities.
• Aug 8, 1979: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein executes 22 political opponents
• Aug 9, 1979: English seaside resort Brighton gets 1st British nude beach
• Aug 10, 1979: Ecuador adopts its constitution
• Aug 11, 1979: Phillies Tug McGraw gives up record 4th grand slam of year
• Aug 12, 1979: Whoopee! closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 204 performances
• Aug 13, 1979: Lou Brock, is 14th to get 3,000 hits
• Aug 14, 1979: Rainbow seen in Northern Wales for a three hour duration.
• Aug 15, 1979: Andrew Young resigns as United Nations ambassador.
• Aug 17, 1979: 2 Russian passenger planes collide above Ukraine, 173 killed
• Aug 18, 1979: Iran Ayatollah Khomeini demands Saint War against Kurds
• Aug 19, 1979: My Sharonna by the Knack hits #1 (stays for 42 days)
• Aug 20, 1979: India Premier Charan Singh resigns
• Aug 21, 1979: Mets win a protested game against Astros, 5-0
• Aug 22, 1979: 200 black leaders, meet in NY, to support Andrew Young
• Aug 23, 1979: Iran army opens offensive against Kurds
• Aug 24, 1979: Cars play concert in New York Central Park
• Aug 25, 1979: Madwoman of Central Park West closes at 22 Steps NYC after 86 performances
• Aug 26, 1979: Beth Daniel wins LPGA Patty Berg Golf Classic
• Aug 27, 1979: 18 British militia die in ambush / bomb attack in Northern Ireland
• Aug 28, 1979: IRA bomb explodes on Brussels Great Market
• Aug 29, 1979: Sheridan Broadcasting Corp purchases Mutual Black Network
• Aug 30, 1979: 1st recorded occurrance-comet hits sun (energy=1 mil hydrogen bombs)
• Aug 31, 1979: 16 yr old Tracy Austin defeats 14 yr old Andrea Jaeger at US Open
• Sep 1, 1979: Debbie Boone and Gabriel Ferrer wed in LA
• Sep 2, 1979: I Remember Mama closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 108 performances
• Sep 3, 1979: Iran army conquerors Mahabad
• Sep 4, 1979: India need 438 to win vs. England, game ends at 8-429
• Sep 5, 1979: Canada puts its 1st gold bullion coin on sale
• Sep 6, 1979: Peter Pan opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 578 performances
• Sep 7, 1979: Five-day MUSE concert against nuclear energy opens at Madison Square Gardens, New York.
• Sep 8, 1979: Cheryl Prewitt (Miss), 22, crowned 52nd Miss America 1980
• Sep 9, 1979: 31st Emmy Awards: Taxi, Lou Grant, Ron Leibman and Ruth Gordon
• Sep 10, 1979: Three Puerto Rican nationalists who attempted to kill US President Harry Truman are freed.
• Sep 12, 1979: Carl Yastrzemski, is 15th to get 3,000 hits
• Sep 13, 1979: China PR performs nuclear test
• Sep 15, 1979: Red Sox Bob Watson is 1st to hit for cycle in AL and NL (Astros)
• Sep 16, 1979: 23rd Ryder Cup: US, 17-11 at Greenbrier
• Sep 17, 1979: Pietro Mennea runs world record 200 m (19.72)
• Sep 18, 1979: The Who opens NYC concerts at Madison Square Garden
• Sep 19, 1979: No Nukes Concert at Madison Square Garden includes Springsteen and Crosby, Stills and Nash
• Sep 20, 1979: Coup in Central African Republic: David Dacko overthrows Emperor Bokassa I
• Sep 22, 1979: Israel performs nuclear test at Indian Ocean
• Sep 23, 1979: Sandra Post wins LPGA ERA Real Estate Golf Classic
• Sep 24, 1979: CompuServe began operation as 1st computer information service
• Sep 25, 1979: Evita opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 1568 performances
• Sep 26, 1979: 1984 summer Los Angeles Olympic coverage sold to ABC for US$225 million.
• Sep 27, 1979: Elton John, sick with flu, collapse on Hollywood Universal Ampitheater
• Sep 28, 1979: Larry Holmes (retaining championship) knocks out Earnie Shavers in 11 rounds.
• Sep 29, 1979: Bad Case Of Loving You by Robert Palmer peaks at #14
• Sep 30, 1979: Milwaukee Brewers lose 5-0 ending 213 straight games without a shutout
• Oct 1, 1979: Nigeria adopts constitution, Alhaji Shagari becomes President
• Oct 3, 1979: A EF4 Tornado hits Windsor Locks, CT causing extensive damage to the town.
• Oct 4, 1979: Hugh Leonards Life, premieres in Dublin
• Oct 5, 1979: Luke rapes Laura on General Hospital
• Oct 6, 1979: Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House.
• Oct 7, 1979: Eubie! closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 439 performances
• Oct 8, 1979: Sugar Babies opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 1208 performances
• Oct 9, 1979: Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WCCC in Hartford Conn
• Oct 10, 1979: Fleetwood Mac gets a star in Hollywood
• Oct 11, 1979: Most Happy Fella opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 53 performances
• Oct 12, 1979: Pressure in nucleus of tropical cyclone at Guam hits record 870 hpa
• Oct 14, 1979: 100,000 demonstrate in Bonn against nuclear energy
• Oct 15, 1979: 1st Monday night game from NYC, Jets beat Vikings 14-7 (Shea Stadium)
• Oct 16, 1979: A tsunami in Nice, France kills 23 people.
• Oct 17, 1979: Beatlemania closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 920 performances
• Oct 18, 1979: Beatlemania opens in London
• Oct 19, 1979: 13 Marines die in a fire at Camp Fuji, Japan as a result of Typhoon Tip. US Marine Corps
• Oct 20, 1979: Bob Dylan appears on SNL
• Oct 21, 1979: 10th NYC Marathon won by Bill Rodgers in 2:11:42
• Oct 22, 1979: Walt Disney World welcomes its 100-millionth guest, Kurt Miller.
• Oct 23, 1979: Billy Martin is involved in a barroom altercation with Joseph Cooper, a Minn marshmallow salesman. Cooper requires 15 stitches
• Oct 24, 1979: Billy Martin punches a marshmallow salesman, puts job in jeopardy
• Oct 27, 1979: Voluntary Euthanasia Society publishes how-to-do-it suicide guide.
• Oct 28, 1979: Dick Howser (best Yank mngr win-lost pct .636) replaces Billy Martin
• Oct 29, 1979: Billy Martin fired as Yankee manager (2nd time)
• Oct 30, 1979: Richard Arrington elected Mayor of Birmingham
• Oct 31, 1979: Mike Flanagan, wins AL Cy Young Award
• Nov 1, 1979: A L Webber musical Joseph & Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, premieres
• Nov 2, 1979: Peter Shaffers musical Amadeus, premieres in London
• Nov 3, 1979: 5 mortally wounded during anti-Ku Klux Klan demonstration in North Carolina
• Nov 4, 1979: 500 Iranian students seize US embassy, take 90 hostages (444 days)
• Nov 5, 1979: Iran government of Bazargan resigns
• Nov 6, 1979: Ayatolla Khomeini takes over in Iran
• Nov 7, 1979: Cub reliever Bruce Sutter wins NL Cy Young Award
• Nov 8, 1979: ABC broadcasts Iran Crisis: American Held Hostage with Frank Reynolds (forerunner to Nightline)
• Nov 9, 1979: Cold War: Nuclear false alarm: The NORAD computers and the Alternate National Military Command Center in Fort Ritchie, Maryland detected purported massive Soviet nuclear strike. After reviewing the raw data from satellites and checking the early-warning radars, the alert is cancelled.
• Nov 10, 1979: A 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals from Windsor, Ontario, Canada derails in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada just west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, causing a massive explosion and the largest peacetime evacuation in Canadian history and one of the largest in North American history.
• Nov 11, 1979: Boston Court issues occupancy permit for Cambridge Buddhist Center
• Nov 12, 1979: President Carter announces immediate halt to all imports of Iranian oil
• Nov 13, 1979: British newspaper Times resumes publishing after 1 year
• Nov 14, 1979: Iran hostage crisis: US President Jimmy Carter issues Executive order 12170, freezing all Iranian assets in the United States in response to the hostage crisis.
• Nov 15, 1979: ABC-TV announces it would broadcast nightly specials on Iran hostage situation.
• Nov 16, 1979: Paul McCartney releases Wonderful Christmas
• Nov 17, 1979: Daniel Okrent sketches out 1st draft rules for Rotisserie Baseball
• Nov 18, 1979: Ayatollah Khomeini charges US ambassador / embassy espionage
• Nov 19, 1979: Astros sign Nolan Ryan, to record 4 year, $4.5 million contract
• Nov 20, 1979: Grand Mosque Seizure: About 200 Sunni Muslims revolt in Saudi Arabia at the site of the Kaaba in Mecca during the pilgrimage and take about 6000 hostages. The Saudi government receives help from French special forces to put down the uprising.
• Nov 21, 1979: Crowd at Islamabad, Pakistan attack US embassy, 1 dies
• Nov 23, 1979: In Dublin, Ireland, Provisional Irish Republican Army member Thomas McMahon is sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of Lord Mountbatten.
• Nov 24, 1979: US admits troops in Vietnam were exposed to the toxic Agent Orange
• Nov 25, 1979: Most Happy Fella closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 53 performances
• Nov 26, 1979: International Olympic Committee votes to readmit China after 21 years
• Nov 28, 1979: King of Schnorrers opens at Playhouse Theater NYC for 63 performances
• Nov 30, 1979: Ted Koppel becomes anchor of nightly news on Iranian Hostages (ABC)
• Dec 2, 1979: Crowds attack US embassy at Tripoli, Libya.
• Dec 3, 1979: Iran accepts constitution.
• Dec 4, 1979: Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey number 7, Bingo Smith.
• Dec 5, 1979: Ireland premier Jack Lynch resigns.
• Dec 6, 1979: The world premiere for ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' is held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
• Dec 9, 1979: Murle Breer / Dave Eichelberger wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
• Dec 10, 1979: Fulton J Sheen, archbishop/religious broadcaster (Life is Worth Living), dies from a heart attack in New York City, New York at age 84.
• Dec 11, 1979: Great Britain grants independence to Zimbabwe (Rhodesia)
• Dec 12, 1979: Gold hits record US$462.50 an ounce.
• Dec 13, 1979: Oklahoma! opens at Palace Theater NYC for 301 performances
• Dec 14, 1979: US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
• Dec 15, 1979: World Court in Hague rules Iran should release all US hostages.
• Dec 16, 1979: 68th Davis Cup: USA beats Italy in San Francisco (5-0).
• Dec 17, 1979: Stanley Barrett in Budweiser rocket car reaches 1190 km/h (739.666 MPH, record for wheeled vehicle).
• Dec 18, 1979: Stanley Barrett 1st to exceed land sonic speed (739.666 mph)
• Dec 21, 1979: Zimbabwe adopts constitution.
• Dec 23, 1979: New York Islanders' greatest shutout loss (8-0) versus Chicago Black Hawks.
• Dec 24, 1979: 1st Ariane-rocket launched
• Dec 25, 1979: USSR airlifts invasionary army to Afghanistan
• Dec 26, 1979: In Rhodesia, 96 Patriotic Front guerrillas enter the capital Salisbury to monitor a ceasefire that begins December 28.
• Dec 27, 1979: Knots Landing, premieres on CBS-TV
• Dec 29, 1979: Red Army beats New York Islanders 3-2 at Nassau Coliseum.
• Dec 30, 1979: Rock group Emerson, Lake, and Palmer break up.
• Dec 31, 1979: Winterland Rock Concert Hall in San Francisco closes after 556 concerts.
• Jan 1, 1979: the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Taiwan Relations Act enter into force. Through the Communiqué, the United States establishes normal diplomatic relations with China.[81] Through the Act, the United States guarantees military support for Taiwan.

The year 1979 refers to a specific year in the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly used internationally. It is the 80th year of the 20th century and the 9th year of the 1970s decade. In the Gregorian calendar, it follows 1978 and precedes 1980.