1978

align="center" colspan=2 | Years:
1975 1976 1977 - 1978 - 1979 1980 1981

align="center" colspan=2 | Decades:
1940s 1950s 1960s - 1970s - 1980s 1990s 2000s

align="center" | Centuries:
19th century - 20th century - 21st century

1978 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 7 - Emilio Palma is born in Antarctica, making his birth the southernmost in history.
January 10 - Assassination of Pedro Joaqun Chamorro who had critizised 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 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 nuclear military satellite falls into atmosphere over Canada
January 30 - Blizzards in USA kill 90

February

February 1 - Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl
February 8 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcasted on radio for the first time.
February 11 - 16 Unification Church couples wed in New York NY.
February 11 - Mobilization in Somalia due to apparent Ethiopian attack
February 11 - The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, Shakespeare and 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 - 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 - Timbuktu Broadway production 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 11 - Palestinian terrorists on the Tel Aviv Haifa highway kill 34 Israelis
March 15 - United States Senate approves the Panama Canal neutrality treaty; votes to turn the canal over to Panama by the year 2000 on April 18.
March 16 - Israeli forces invade Lebanon.
March 16 - Former Italian premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by Red Brigades, who kill five bodyguards; he is found dead on May 9.
March 17 - The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground on the coast of Brittany
March 18 - Prime Minister of Pakistan, Sulfikar 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 - 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-May

April 1 - Dick Smith of Dick Smith Foods tows a fake iceberg to Sydney Harbour
April 8 - Regular broadcasts of proceedings in British Parliament start
April 16 - In Cologne, 15,000 former members of resistance movement demonstrate against national socialism
April 18 - The US Senate votes 68-32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31 1999
April 27 - President of Afghanistan, Daud Khan is killed during a military coup - Mohammed Takain succeeds him.
April 30 - The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is proclamed, under pro-communist leader Nur Mohammed Taraki.
May 5 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds has his 3000th major league hit
May 8 - Norway opens a natural gas field in 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 - 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 - army stops the riot
May 17 – Charles Chaplin's coffin is found ten miles from the cemetery it was stolen from
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 USA - trek took 69 days
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 - DC-10 crashes in O'Hare International Airport
May 26 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.

June

June 6 - Californians in referendum approve Proposition 13 for a nearly 60% slash in property tax revenues.
June 9 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extends the priesthood and temple blessings to "all worthy males," ending a general policy of excluding blacks from priesthood and temples since 1849 (see Blacks and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
June 12 - David Berkowitz, "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 17 - Police of Switzerland find Charlie Chaplin's body in its coffin, 10 miles from the cemetery.
June 19 - Comic Strip Garfield debuts in newspapers.
June 22 - Discovery of Charon, satellite of Pluto, announced
June 23 - Josip Broz Tito is named for Yugoslav president for life.
June 24 - President of Yemen Arab Republic Hussein al-Ghashmi is killed
June 25 - Argentina defeats Netherlands to win the Football World Cup 1978
June 26 - Bomb of Breton nationalists causes destruction in Versailles.
June 28 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in the Bakke case, bars quota systems in college admissions but affirms constitutionality of programs giving advantage to minorities.
June 30 - Ethiopia begin a massive offensive in Eritrea.

July-August

July 7 - The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom
July 25 - First human birth, girl Louise Brown, from in vitro fertilization (the test tube baby)
August 6 - Pope Paul VI dies at age of 80. The new Pope, John Paul I, age 65, dies unexpectedly after 34 days in office on September 28. He is succeeded by Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland as John Paul II on October 16.
August 7 - United States President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal
August 12 - Sino-Japanese relations: The Treaty of Peace and Friendship is signed between Japan and the People's Republic of China.
August 15 - Foundation of Mirapuri - The City of Peace and Future Man in Europe, Italy
August 17 - Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Preque Isle, Maine
August 19 - Fire in Rex Cinema in Tehran - 477 dead
August 20 - Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al airline bus in London
August 20 - In Abadan, Iran, nearly 400 are killed when Muslim extremist arsonists set fire to a crowded theater
August 25 - Shroud of Turin on public display for the first time in 45 years

September

September 1 - Dublin Institute of Technology is established.
September 7 - Keith Moon, drummer for The Who dies of an overdose.
September 8 - Riots in Tehran - 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 - 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.

October

October 1 - Vietnam attacks Cambodia
October 7 - Wranslide in NSW, Wran Government 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 Wojtyla becomes Pope John Paul II

November

November 3 - Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom
November 5 - Riots and demonstrations in Tehran - British embassy sacked
November 7 - Indira Gandhi re-elected to Indian parliament.
November 18 - Jonestown mass suicide: In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones leads his People's Temple in a mass murder-suicide; 913 die, including 276 children.
November 19 - The first US Take Back the Night march occurs in San Francisco
November 20 - Military coup in Spain fails.
November 27 - In San Francisco, California, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
November 30 - Publication of The Times suspended - industrial relations problems until November 13 1979

December

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 NY Kennedy airport
December 11 - Massive anti-Shah demonstration in Iran - 2 million demonstrators.
December 13 - First Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation
December 25 - Vietnam launches a major offensive against Khmer Rouge of Cambodia
December 27 - Spanish Constitution approved in referendum officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship.

Unknown dates

President of Mexican town of Coacalaco, Jos Ramon del Cuet, is forced to eat 12 pounds of bananas and then resign.
Hillside Strangler in Los Angeles.
Usu-volcano erupts in Japan
The Eagles' 5-star record, Hotel California was nominated for a Grammy award
Fleetwood Mac's 5-star record, Rumours was nominated for a Grammy award
Artificial insulin
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 founded
Honda Prelude, the car which introduced the world to the VTEC engine and 4-wheel steering, begins production. It would continue for 33 years before it would be discontinued and replaced with the S2000 and Acura RSX.

Year in topic

1978 in film

March - Leigh Brackett completes the first draft for the Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back
September - George Lucas purchases Bulltail Ranch, on Lucas Valley Road, for the development of Skywalker Ranch.
The Deer Hunter, starring Robert Deniro
National Lampoon's Animal House starring John Belushi
Halloween, starring Jamie Lee Curtis (debut)
Newsfront (aus)
US Supreme Court lists words that should not be used in movies.

1978 in literature

The World According to Garp by John Irving

1978 in music

January 14 - Sex Pistols' final concert in Winterland, San Francisco

1978 in rail transport
1978 in sports
1978 in television

November 17 - The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS. The special gives fans their first glimpse of Boba Fett, a character from the upcoming sequel.
Taxi premieres on ABC.

Births

January 1 - Alex Leigh, British model
January 4 - Dwight Freeney, American football player
January 9 - Chad Johnson, American football player
January 28 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian football star
February 7 - Ashton Kutcher, actor
February 14 - Richard Hamilton, basketball player
February 20 - Jakki Degg, British model
March 14 - Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
March 21 - Kevin Federline, American dancer
March 23 - Nicholle Tom, actress
April 5 - Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
April 9 - Jorge Andrade, football player
April 9 - Rachel Stevens, singer
April 16 - Lara Dutta, Indian actress
May 1 - Matt Lovato, bass musician of Mest
May 9 - Marwan al-Shehhi, citizen of the United Arab Emirates, hijacker and alleged terrorist
May 12 - Jason Biggs, actor (American Pie)
May 13 - Mike Bibby, basketball player
May 13 - Barry Zito, baseball pitcher
May 21 - Briana Banks, erotic actress
May 22 - Jordan, model
June 1 - Danielle Harris, voice actress in The Wild Thornberrys
June 6 - Carl Barat, singer/guitarist (The Libertines)
June 19 - Dirk Nowitzki, German NBA star
June 22 - Champ Bailey, American football player
June 22 - Dan Wheldon, IRL race car driver
July 9 - Linda Park, actress ()
July 18 - Ben Sheets, baseball player
July 25 - Gerard Warren, American football player
August 1 - Edgerrin James, American football player
August 21 - Reuben Droughns, American football player
August 23 - Kobe Bryant, NBA star
August 24 - Rafael Furcal, Major League Baseball All-Star
September 11 - Ed Reed, American football player
September 12 - Ruben Studdard, singer
September 20 - Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player
September 22 - Harry Kewell, Australian football player
September 29 - Kurt Nilsen, Pop idol
October 13 - Jermaine O'Neal, NBA basketball player
October 14 - Usher Raymond, R&B musician
October 20 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
October 21 - Joey Harrington, American football quarterback
October 29 - Travis Henry, American football player
November 9 - Sisq, R&B singer of group Dru Hill and actor
November 17 - Reggie Wayne, American football player
November 25 - Shina Ringo, Japanese singer and musician
November 30 - Clay Aiken, singer
December 1 - Brad Delson, lead guitar musician of Linkin Park
December 2 - Nelly Furtado, singer, songwriter
December 8 - Vernon Wells, baseball player
December 9 - Jesse Metcalfe, soap actor
December 12 - Evren Genis, composer
December 23 - Andra Davis, American football player
December 23 - Vctor Martnez, Venezuelan baseball player
? - Kris Roe, guitar musician and vocals of The Ataris
? - Princess Tamara Czartoryski-Borbon

Deaths

January 13 - Hubert H. Humphrey, U.S Vice President and Senator
January 13 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager
January 14 - Kurt Gdel, US mathematician
January 14 - Harold Abrahams, British athlete
January 22 - Herbert Sutcliffe, Yorkshire and England opening batsman (b. 1894)
January 23 - Jack Oakie, actor
January 23 - Terry Kath, musician ("Chicago (band)")
February 4 - Bergen Evans, television host
February 11 - James B Conant, headmaster of Harvard University.
February 27 - Vadim Salmanov, composer
March 18 - Leigh Brackett, science fiction author
March 19 - Gaston Julia, mathematician (Julia sets)
March 21 - Cearbhall Dlaigh, fifth President of Ireland
March 31 - Charles Best, medical scientist
April 21 - Sandy Denny, British vocalist
May 1 - Aram Khachaturian, composer
May 9 - Aldo Moro, former Prime Minister of Italy
May 14 - Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia
May 22 - Joe Colombo, gangster - he had been in coma since the assassination attempt
July 30 - Umberto Nobile, Italian aviator
August 2 - Carlos Chvez, composer
August 6 - Pope Paul VI; heart attack
August 21 - Charles Eames, American architect and designer
August 22 - Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan statesman
August 26 - Charles Boyer, actor
September 7 - Keith Moon, drummer of The Who; drug overdose.
September 9 - Jack Warner, Hollywood studio founder
September 10 - Ronnie Peterson, Swedish Formula One racer; fatal accident on the Italian Grand Prix
September 11 - Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident; assassinated with a poisoned umbrella. Dies 4 days later.
September 15 - Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft engineer
September 19 - Carl Bridgewater, 13 year old newspaper boy shot dead in burglary.
September 23 - Lyman Bostock, Major League Baseball player, murdered (b. 1950)
September 28 - Pope John Paul I
October 6 - Johnny O'Keefe, Australian 1950s rock and roll singer
October 10 - Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete
October 22 - Anastas Mikojan, Soviet politician
November 6 - Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (b. 1915)
November 15 - Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist
December 8 - Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel
December 10 - Ed Wood, American filmmaker (b. 1924)
December 27 - Houari Boumdinne, president of Algeria.
? - Walter C. Alvarez

Nobel Prizes

Fields Medalists

Pierre Deligne, Charles Fefferman, Grigory Margulis, Daniel Quillen

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