1978
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'''1978''' '''(MCMLXXVIII)''' was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar).
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 Anastasio Somoza Debayle|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 Canada|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 Statutory rape|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, New York|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 (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 human cloning|cloning of a human being
March 6 - United States|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 Italy|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 Supreme Court of the United States|US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in ''Stump v. Sparkman'', 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization (surgical procedure)|sterilization and judicial immunity (legal)|immunity.
April
April 1 - Dick Smith of ''Dick Smith Foods'' tows a fake iceberg to Port Jackson|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 Nazism|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-May 13 - Group of mercenary|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 California Proposition 13 (1978)|Proposition 13 for a nearly 60% slash in property tax revenues.
June 9 - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|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.
June 19 - 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 (moon)|Charon, a satellite of Pluto (planet)|Pluto, announced.
June 23 - Josip Broz Tito is named for Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav president for life.
June 24 - President of Yemen Arab Republic Ahmad al-Ghashmi is killed.
June 25 - Argentina national football team|Argentina defeats Netherlands national football team|Netherlands 3-1 after extra time to win the Football World Cup 1978|1978 World Cup.
June 26 - The bombing of Brittany|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 Childbirth|birth, girl Louise Brown, from in vitro fertilization (the test tube baby).
August 6 - Pope Pope Paul VI|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 between Japan and the People's Republic of China|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 Islamist|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 New South Wales|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 assassination|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, New York|New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport|Kennedy airport.
December 11 - Massive anti-Shah demonstration in Iran - 2 million demonstrators.
December 13 - First Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
December 15 - Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American city to go into default since the Great Depression, under the mayoral administration of Dennis Kucinich.
December 25 - Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
December 27 - The Spain|Spanish Constitution is approved in referendum officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship.
Unknown dates
The Hillside Strangler, a stealthy serial killer, is on the prowl in Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles.
The Mount Usu|Usu volcano erupts in Japan.
Eagles' ''Hotel California'' was nominated for a Grammy award.
Fleetwood Mac's ''Rumours (album)|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.
Remove Intoxicated Drivers established.
Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems established to promote temperance.
Births
January-May
January 1 - Erica Durance, Canadian actress
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 (basketball)|Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
February 15 - Tuan Le, American poker player
February 20 - Jakki Degg, British model
February 20 - Julia Jentsch, German actress
February 23 - Dan Snyder, Canadian hockey player (d. 2003)
February 24 - Janine Machin, English radio presenter
March 1 - Jensen Ackles, American actor
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 (model)|Jordan, English model
June-September
June 1 - Danielle Harris, American voice actress
June 6 - Carl Barat, English singer and guitarist (The Libertines)
June 8 - Maria Menounos, American actress, journalist, and televison presenter
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 21 - Francine Dee, import car model (person)|model
July 25 - Gerard Warren, American football player
August 1 - Edgerrin James, American football player
August 9 - Audrey Tautou, French actress
August 19 - Callum Blue, English actor
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 - Ma$e|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 24 - Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
September 25 - Jodie Kidd, English model
September 29 - Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer
September 30 - Candice Michelle, American professional wrestler and model
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 27 - Vanessa-Mae, Singaporean musician
October 29 - Travis Henry, American football player
November 1 - Manju Warriar, Indian actress
November 6 - Taryn Manning, American actress
November 9 - Sisqó, American actor and singer (Dru Hill)
November 10 - Eve (rapper)|Eve, American rapper
November 17 - Reggie Wayne, American football player
November 24 - Katherine Heigl, American actress
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)|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 (band)|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 in Literature|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 in Chemistry|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 in Physics|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, Jr.|Ed Wood, American filmmaker (b. 1924)
December 11 - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|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)
Mark A. Shaw, American temperance movement leader and Prohibition Party candidate for vice-president in 1964 (b. ?)
Nobel Prizes
Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics - Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Arno Allan Penzias, Robert Woodrow Wilson
Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry - Peter D. Mitchell
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Medicine - Werner Arber, Daniel Nathans, Hamilton O. Smith
Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature -Isaac Bashevis Singer
Nobel Peace Prize|Peace - Anwar Sadat|Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat and Menachem Begin
Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel|Economics - Herbert Simon
Pierre Deligne, Charles Fefferman, Grigory Margulis, Daniel Quillen
Thomas Torrance|Professor Thomas F. Torrance
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