1978

1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday.

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 Canada's Northwest Territories
January 28 - Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento", is arrested.
January 29 - General Rahimuddin Khan assumes the authoritarian post of Martial Law Governor of Balochistan
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 - Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, crashes in Cranbrook, British Columbia. 44 of the 50 people onboard are killed.
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! opens at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.
March 3 - Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of 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 - Coastal Road Massacre by Palestinian terrorists kill 34 Israelis.
March 14 - Israeli forces invade Lebanon in Operation Litani.
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 - 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 10 - Volkswagen becomes the first non-American automobile manufacturer to open a plant in the United States, commencing production of the Rabbit, the North American version of the Volkswagen Golf, in New Stanton, Pennsylvania. (The plant is forced to close ten years later.)
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 22 - One Love Peace Concert held at National Heroes Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bob Marley united the two opposing political leaders at this concert bringing peace to the civil war ridden streets of Kingston, Jamaica.
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 proclaimed, 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 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, becomes 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 28 - Indianapolis 500-Mile Race: Al Unser wins his third race, and the first for car owner Jim Hall.
May 29 - Ali Soilih is found dead, allegedly shot when trying to escape.

June

June 1 - 1978 FIFA World Cup starts, held in Argentina.
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.
June 19 - Comic Strip Garfield debuts in newspapers.
June 20 - A powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, resulting in the total collapse of an apartment building at the central Ippodromio district and the subsequent death of more than 40 people.
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 defeat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time to win the 1978 World Cup.
June 26 - The bombing of Breton nationalists causes destruction in Versailles.
June 26 - 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 begins a massive offensive in Eritrea.

July

July 7 - The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
July 25 - First human birth, girl Louise Brown, from in vitro fertilization.

August

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 Presque 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

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 16 - Strongman military ruler General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq officially assumes the post of President of Pakistan.
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

October 1 - Vietnam attacks Cambodia.
October 7 - Wranslide in NSW; the Wran government is re-elected with an 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 - Cardinal 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

November 3 - Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
November 5 - Riots and demonstrations in Tehran - 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 Peoples 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 - Spanish Constitution Arrival of Democracy in Spain.
November 27 - In San Francisco, California, city mayor George Moscone and 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

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 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 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.
The Usu volcano erupts in Japan.
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.
Remove Intoxicated Drivers established.
Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems established to promote temperance.

Births

January

January 1 - Phillip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer
January 3 - Alex Leigh, British model
January 4 - Dwight Freeney, American football player
January 9 - Chad Johnson, American football
January 9 - AJ McLean, member of the Backstreet Boys
January 12 - Kris Roe, American guitarist and singer (The Ataris)
January 14 - Shawn Crawford, American runner
January 15 - Franco Pellizotti, Italian professional road racing cyclist
January 17 - Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer
January 26 - Kelly Stables, actress
January 28 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer

February

February 5 - Shawn Reaves, American actor
February 7 - Christopher Ashton Kutcher, American actor
February 14 - Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
February 15 - Tuan Le, American poker player
February 18 - Ben Adams, American entrepreneur
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
February 28 - Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier

March

March 1 - Jensen Ackles, American actor
March 2 - Tomas Kaberle, Czech Hockey Player
March 12 - Claudio Sanchez, Lead Singer and guitarist (Coheed and Cambria)
March 14 - Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
March 14 - Carl Johan Bergman, Swedish biathlete
March 21 - Kevin Federline, American dancer
March 22 - Josh Heupel, American football player
March 23 - Nicholle Tom, American actress
March 25 - Brian Urlacher, American football player

April

April 5 - Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
April 6 - Tim Hasselbeck American NFL quarterback.
April 9 - Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
April 9 - Rachel Stevens, English singer
April 16 - Lara Dutta, Indian actress
April 21 - Branden Steineckert, American drummer (The Used)
April 23 - Princess Tamara Czartoryski-Borbon, Spanish athlete
April 26 - Ivana Milicevic, American actress

May

May 7 - Brian Clevinger, American author
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 18 - Ciarán Toland, Northern Irish activist
May 21 - Briana Banks, German actress
May 22 - Jordan, English model
May 29 - Lorenzo Odone, patient who had Adrenoleukodystrophy

June

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 television presenter
June 9 - Matthew Bellamy, lead singer of the British band Muse
June 9 - Miroslav Klose, German football player
June 10 - Shane West, American actor
June 13 - Christian Stepien, Canadian artist
June 19 - Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball player
June 20 - Mark Powell, Australian politician
June 21 - Erica Durance, Canadian actress
June 22 - Champ Bailey, American football player
June 22 - Dan Wheldon, English race car driver
June 25 - Marcus Stroud, American football player
June 29 - Nicole Scherzinger, lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls

July

July 6 - Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby union footballer
July 9 - Linda Park, Korean-born actress
July 18 - Ben Sheets, baseball player
July 20 - Elliott Yamin, American singer
July 21 - Francine Dee, import car model
July 23 - Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
July 23 - Stefanie Sun, Singapore singer
July 25 - Gerard Warren, American football player

August

August 1 - Edgerrin James, American football player
August 3 - Mariusz Jop, Polish football (soccer) player
August 6 - Marisa Miller, American model
August 7 - Alexandre Aja, French Director
August 7 - Vanness Wu, Taiwanese singer
August 7 - Linsey Dawn McKenzie, English model and porn star
August 7 - Cirroc Lofton, American actor
August 7 - Jamey Jasta, American singer (Hatebreed)
August 19 - Callum Blue, English actor
August 21 - Reuben Droughns, American football player
August 21 - Alan Lee, Irish footballer
August 23 - Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
August 23 - Julian Casablancas, American musician (The Strokes)
August 24 - Rafael Furcal, Dominican Major League Baseball player
August 25 - Kel Mitchell, American actor

September

September 7 - Nora Greenwald, American professional wrestler
September 11 - Ed Reed, American football player
September 12 - Benjamin McKenzie, American actor
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

October 2 - Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
October 3 - Shannyn Sossamon, American actress and musician ( SVU)
October 5 - Shane Ryan, Irish Gaelic Footballer
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 26 - Jimmy Aggrey, English footballer
October 27 - Vanessa-Mae, Singaporean musician
October 28 - Justin Guarini, American singer
October 29 - Travis Henry, American football player

November

November 1 - Manju Warriar, Indian actress
November 6 - Taryn Manning, American actress
November 9 - Sisqó, American actor and singer (Dru Hill)
November 10 - Eve, American rapper
November 17 - Reggie Wayne, American football player
November 18 - Damien Johnson, Northern Irish footballer
November 21 - Annie, Norwegian singer
November 24 - Katherine Heigl, American actress
November 25 - Shina Ringo, Japanese singer and musician
November 28 - Ludwika Paleta, Polish Mexican actress
November 30 - Clay Aiken, American singer

December

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 12 - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
December 18 - Curtis Taylor, an Oak Bridge Middle School student. (d. 1993)
December 18 - Katie Holmes, American actress
December 22 - Edo Maajka, Bosnian rapper
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 26 - Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player
December 29 - Alexis Amore, Peruvian actress, dancer, and model
December 29 - LaToya London, American singer

Deaths

January

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

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

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

April 21 - Sandy Denny, English singer (b. 1947)

May

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 20 - Bjarne Brustad, Norwegian violinist, composer and teacher (b. 1895)
May 22 - Joe Colombo, American gangster (b. 1914)

June

June 7 - Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
June 25- Barry Brown, American actor and writer(b. 1951)

July

July 30 - Umberto Nobile, Italian aviator (b. 1885)

August

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

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

October 6 - Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (b. 1935)
october 9 - Jacques Brel, Belgian singer (b. 1929)
October 10 - Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (b. 1910)
October 12 - Nancy Spungen, American groupie and girlfriend of Sid Vicious (b. 1958)
October 23 - Maybelle Carter, American singer (b. 1909)

November

November 6 - Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (b. 1915)
November 8 - Norman Rockwell, American artist and illustrator (b. 1894)
November 15 - Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (b. 1901)

December

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)
Mark A. Shaw, American temperance movement leader and Prohibition Party candidate for vice-president in 1964 (b. ?)

Nobel prizes

Fields Medalists

Pierre Deligne, Charles Fefferman, Grigory Margulis, Daniel Quillen

Templeton Prize

Professor Thomas F. Torrance

1978

Gourt Home::Gourt :: 1978

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Unknown dates

Births

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Unknown dates

Nobel prizes

Fields Medalists

Templeton Prize