1979

The USA was guided by the steady hand of Jimmy Carter as the world population rose to roughly 4.4 billion.

1979

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.

Discover how the world looked like in 1979

Looking for 1979 Calendar ? Here it is: January 1979, February 1979, March 1979, April 1979, May 1979, June 1979, July 1979, August 1979, September 1979, October 1979, November 1979, December 1979

Your place in the Universe on 1979

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Oscar

Oscar Winners

All Academy Awards Prize winners of the 52nd edition of the Oscar ceremony


Best picture

Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer

Directed by: Robert Benton

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry

Country: United States of America

Best director

Robert Benton

Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer

Directed by: Robert Benton

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry

Country: United States of America

Best actor

Dustin Hoffman

Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer

Directed by: Robert Benton

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry

Country: United States of America

Best actress

Sally Field

Norma Rae

Norma Rae

Directed by: Martin Ritt

Starring: Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Pat Hingle

Best supporting actor

Melvyn Douglas

Being There

Being There

Directed by: Hal Ashby

Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden

Country: United States of America

Best supporting actress

Meryl Streep

Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer

Directed by: Robert Benton

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry

Country: United States of America

world population

Time Person of the Year

Who was the person of the year of 1979?


Ruhollah Khomeini
Khomeini led the 1979 Iranian Revolution, establishing himself as Supreme Leader.

Books

Which were the most popular books released in 1979 ?
Unlimited books on any devices, try your first month free

The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum

The Matarese Circle

By:

The Matarese are an international group of criminals that will in no time take over the world. Two rival spies are able to stop them: Talaniekov and Scofield, CIA.

Lauren Bacall By Myself by Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall By Myself

By:

"In a Word, LAUREN BALALL BY MYSELF...one of the most real-life heroines in our time...and she wrote it as she lived it. "BOSTON

War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk

War and Remembrance

By:

These two classic works capture the current world events and tell the story of one American family caught up in the middle of the war's chaos.

Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford

Mommie Dearest

By:

Mommie Dearest, a memoir and expose by Christina Crawford (adopted daughter of Joan Crawford), is written by Christina Crawford. The book depicts Christina's childhood as well as her relationship with her mother.

Cruel Shoes by Steve Martin

Cruel Shoes

By:

Cruel Shoes

Have a look at the old UK newspapers from 1979 and get them!

Get UK historic newspapers from 1979
The Times

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Browse your magazine from 1979
life magazines
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prizes

All Nobel Prize winners of 1979


Peace Prize

  • Mother Teresa

Physics

  • Sheldon Lee Glashow
  • Abdus Salam
  • Steven Weinberg

Economic Sciences

  • Theodore Schultz
  • Arthur Lewis

Literature

  • Odysseas Elytis

Chemistry

  • Herbert C. Brown
  • Georg Wittig

Physiology or Medicine

  • Allan McLeod Cormack
  • Godfrey Hounsfield
vinyl songs

Music charts

Which were the top hits of 1979?


Top #1 songs in the USA

  • - Hot Stuff
  • - I Will Survive
  • - My Sharona
  • - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
  • - Ring My Bell
  • - Still
  • - Bad Girls
  • - A Little More Love
  • - Y.M.C.A.
  • - Reunited

Top #1 songs in the UK

  • - Bright Eyes
  • - Are 'Friends' Electric
  • - Message In A Bottle
  • - Dance Away
  • - One Day At A Time
  • - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
  • - Sunday Girl
  • - I Don't Like Mondays
  • - We Don't Talk Anymore
  • - I Will Survive

Movies

Which were the most popular Movies released in those months?
Watch popular movies, TV series and live events, start your 30-day free trial

Danger UXB

Danger UXB

Release year: 1979

Written by:

Starring: Anthony Andrews, Maurice Roëves, George Innes, Gordon Kane

Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Ride on Stranger

Ride on Stranger

Release year: 1979

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now

Release year: 1979

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest

Country: United States of America

Alien

Alien

Release year: 1979

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright

Country: United States of America

You Can't Do That on Television

You Can't Do That on Television

Release year: 1979

Starring: Les Lye, Abby Hagyard, Christine McGlade, Lisa Ruddy

Country: Canada

1979 Chinese Zodiac and Horoscope

According to the Chinese Zodiac and Astrology 1979 is the year of the Goat

chinese zodiac sign

Popular names

Which were the top popular names given to babies born in 1979 in the USA ?

world population

World Population

Demographic statistics of the year 1979


Population statistics

  • Total population: 4.4 billion (4,380,506,100 to be precise!)
  • Urban population: 1.7 billion, that is 39.0% of the total population of 1979 lives in cities
  • Yearly change: +75.8 million, corresponding to a percentage increase of +1.76%
  • Average density: 29.0 persons per km2
history

Historical Events

Which were the important events of 1979?


Events

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