1979

1979
January
• The United States and the People’s Republic of China established full diplomatic relations on 1st January.

• The families of those who were killed or injured in the Kent State shootings were paid $675,000 by the State of Ohio on 4th January.

• 50 people were killed after Betelgeuse, a French tanker, exploded at the Gulf terminal at Bantry Ireland on 8th January.

• The Bee Gees hosted the Music for UNICEF Concert on 9th January. The concert was held at the United General Assembly and was held to raise money for UNICEF and to promote the Year of the Child. It was broadcast on 10th January all around the world. A soundtrack was released with the tracks that the performers sung, these included, Donna Summer, ABBA, Rod Stewart and Earth, Wind & Fire.

• The Boomtown Rats were inspired to write a song called “I don’t like Mondays” after Brenda Ann Spencer set fire to a school in San Diego, California on 29th January. The fire killed 2 faculty members and wounded 8 students. Her reason for starting the fire was that she didn’t like Mondays.
February
• Patty Hearst was released from prison on 1st February after her sentence was commuted by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. She was sent to prison for robbing a bank.

• The Council of the Islamic Revolution was created on 3rd February by Khomeini.

• Khomeini supporters took over the Iranian law enforcement, courts and government administration on 7th February.

• Also on 7th February, Pluto moved inside Neptune’s orbit for the first time since either was known to science.

• The Iranian army mutinied and joined the Islamic Revolution on 10th and 11thFebruary.

• The American ambassador to Afghanistan was kidnapped by Muslim extremists in Kabul on 14th February. He was later killed in a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.

• Snow fell in the Sahara Desert on 18th February. The snow fell for 30 minutes.

• Saint Lucia gained independence from the United Kingdom on 22nd February.

• On 26th February, a total solar eclipse arced over northern Canada, and a partial solar eclipse was visible over almost all of North American and Central America.

• New Orleans, Louisiana had to cancel their annual Mardi Gras celebration on 27th February, due to a strike that had been called by the New Orleans Police Department.
March
• Jupiter’s rings were revealed on 4th March, in photos from the U.S. Voyager I space probe.

• Voyager I made its closet approach to Jupiter at 172,000 miles on 5th March.

• On 7th the largest Magnetar event was recorded.

• Compact Disc was demonstrated or the first time publicly by Philips on 8th March.

• 2 workers were killed after the Penmanshiel Tunnel in the U.K. collapsed on 17th March.

• A methane gas explosion at Golborne Colliery near Wigan, Lancashire on 18th March, killed 10 miners.

• Columbia, the first fully functional space shuttle orbiter was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Centre on 25th March, to be prepared for its first launch.

• America experienced its most serious nuclear power accident, on 28th March, at Three Mile Island.

• The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was won on 31st March by Gali Atari and Milk and Honey, for Israel, they sung Hallelujah.
April
• On 1st April, Iran’s government became an Islamic Republic, by a 98& vote which officially overthrew the Shah.

• Also on 1st April, the Pinwheel Network changed its name to Nickelodeon and began airing on various Warner Cable Systems.

• School children protesting against compulsory school uniforms in the Central African Empire, were arrested on 17th April. Around 100 of these students were killed.

• The Albert Einstein Memorial was unveiled on 22nd April at the National Academy of Sciences in Washing, DC.

• Protestor Blair Peach was killed on 23rd April, due to fighting that took place in London, between the Anti-Nazi League and the Metropolitan Police’s Special Patrol Group.
May
• Margret Thatcher became the country’s first female Prime Minister on 4th May, the British general election showed that the Conservatives won.

• The Federated States of Micronesia became self-governing on 10th March.

• The electric chair was used for the first time in America after the reintroduction of the death penalty on 25th May. John Spenkelink was executed in Florida.
June
• Joe Clark became Canada’s 16th and youngest Prime Minister on 4th June.

• The first direct elections to the European Parliament began on 7th June. This allowed citizens from across all 9 European member states to elect 410 MEPs. This was also the first international election in history.

• Bryan Allen flew the man-powered Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel on 12th June.
July
• The corporal punishment in the home was outlawed by Sweden on 1st July.

• Los Angeles passed its gay and lesbian civil rights bill on 8th July.

• NASA’s first orbiting space station Skylab began its return to Earth on 11th July. It had been in orbit for 6 years and 2 months.

• Kiribati gained independence from the United Kingdom on 12th July.

• Saddam Hussein became the President of Iraq on 16th July, after Hasan al-Bakr resigned.

• Maria de Lurdes Pintasligo became Prime Minister of Portugal on 19th July.
August
• The first nudist beach was established in Brighton on 9th August.

• Michael Jackson released his first breakthrough album, “Off the Wall” on 10th August. This album sold 7 million copies in the United States alone. This made it 7x platinum album.
September
• The U.S. Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn. It passed Saturn at a distance of 21,000 km on 1st September.

• The Entertainment Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, made its debut on 7th September.

• For Better or For Worse, a long running comic strip began running on 9th September.

• Two families fled from East Germany by balloon on 16th September.

• The South Atlantic Flash was observed on 22nd September near Bouvet Island, it was thought to have been a nuclear weapons test.
October
• The Nigerian Second Republic was established as Nigeria terminated the military rule on 1st October.

• Pope John Paul II visited the United States between 1st and 6th October.

• The Federal Reserve System changed from an interest rate target policy to a money supply target policy on 6th October. This caused interest rate fluctuations and economic recession.

• Tens of thousands of people took part in a major gay rights march in the United States in Washington, D.C. on 14th October.

• The Black Monday events happened on 15th October. One of these involved members of a political group sacking a newspaper office, in Malta.

• A Tsunami in Nice, France killed 23 people on 16th October.

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gained independence on 27th October.
November
• The Iran hostage crisis happened on 4th November. The U.S. Embassy in Tehran was invaded by 3,000 Iranians radicals. They were mostly students. They took 90 people hostage and demanded that the United States sent the former Shah of Iran back to stand trial.

• The radio news program Morning Edition premiered on National Public Radio on 5th November.

• There was a nuclear false alarm on 9th November. The NORAD computers and the Alternate National Military Command centre in Fort Ritchie, Maryland detected purported massive Soviet nuclear strike. After reviewing the raw date from satellites and checking the early warning radars, the alert was cancelled.
December
• Eleven fans were killed on 3rd December during a stampede for seats before “The Who” concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio.

• The United States dollar exchange rate with the Deutsche Mark dropped to 1.7079 DM on 3rd December. This was the lowest to date. The record was not broken until November 1987.

• The world premiere for Star Trek: The Motion Picture was held at the Smithsonian Institiution in Washington, D.C. on 6th December.

• Smallpox was the first and only human disease driven to extinction. The eradication of the smallpox virus was certified on 9th December.

• The unrecognised state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia returned to British control on 12th December.

• The highest aerial tramway in Europe, the Klein Matterhorn, was opened on 23rd December.

• The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on 24th December.

• The first European Ariane rocket was launched on 24th December.

Date unknown
• China’s One Child Policy was first implemented in 1979. Between 1979 and 2010 it had prevented about 400 million births.

• The first commercial spreadsheet program, VisiCalc was introduced in 1979.

• The first Sony Walkman was marketed in 1979.

• Worldwide per capita oil production reached an historic peak.

• The Happy Meal was introduced by McDonald’s in June 1979.

• Lego’s golden age began in 1979.