What Happened in November 1977

Historical Events

  • Nov 1 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Event of Interest

Nov 1 US President Jimmy Carter raises the minimum wage from $2.30 to $3.35 an hour, effective from 1st Jan 1981

  • Nov 2 Microbiologist Carl R. Woese and scientists from the University of Illinois announce the identification of methanogens, a form of microbial life (Archaea) dating back some 3.5 billion years

Sports History

Nov 2 Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton wins his second Cy Young Award, outpointing Tommy John of the LA Dodgers; Carlton leads National League with 23 wins and posts 2.64 ERA

  • Nov 4 UN Security council proclaims weapon embargo against South Africa
  • Nov 5 NCAA passing record set at 571 yards (Marc Wilson, Brigham Young)
  • Nov 6 39 killed in an earthen dam burst at Toccoa Falls Bible College, Ga
  • Nov 6 Revival of Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni and James Rado's hippie musical "Hair" closes at Biltmore Theater, NYC, after 43 performances

Ed Koch Mayor

Nov 8 Ed Koch is elected Mayor of New York City (his 1st term)

  • Nov 8 Greek Archaeologist Manolis Andronikos rediscovers the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina
  • Nov 9 Cincinnati Reds' George Foster wins NL MVP
  • Nov 10 Amsterdam: Red Army Faction terrorists Gert Schneider and Christof Wackernagel arrested
  • Nov 10 Major Indoor Soccer League officially organized (NYC)
  • Nov 11 Wings release "Mull of Kintyre" & "Girl's School"
  • Nov 12 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
  • Nov 12 New Orleans elects 1st black mayor, Ernest "Dutch" Morial
  • Nov 13 25th Islander shut-out Resch 6-0 Gilles scores on 5th penalty shot
  • Nov 13 Final Al Capp comic strip of "Li'l Abner" (1934-77)
  • Nov 17 Bernard Pomerance's "Elephant Man" premieres in London
  • Nov 17 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat formally accepts invitation to visit Israel
  • Nov 17 Miss World Contest - Miss UK wears $9,500 platinum bikini
  • Nov 19 Canuck's Ron Sedlbauer fails on 3rd penalty shot against Islanders
  • Nov 19 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat arrives in Israel
  • Nov 19 Libya drops diplomatic relations with Egypt

NASCAR Cup

Nov 20 27th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Cale Yarborough wins

  • Nov 20 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the 1st Arab leader to address Israeli Knesset
  • Nov 20 Steve Largent begins NFL streak of 177 consecutive game receptions

Payton's 275 Yards

Nov 20 Walter Payton (Bears) rushes for NFL record 275 yards

  • Nov 21 "All 'N All" 8th studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1978)

Murray AL Rookie

Nov 21 Baltimore Orioles 1st baseman Eddie Murray wins AL Rookie of Year

  • Nov 22 Regular Concorde supersonic jet passenger service between New York City's JFK airport and Europe begins (Air France from Paris; British Airways from London) [1]

Peter Goldmark Recognised

Nov 22 US President Jimmy Carter presents engineer Peter Goldmark with the National Medal of Science for his work communication and entertainment technology

  • Nov 23 European weather satellite Meteosat 1 launched from Cape Canaveral

Jesus Christ Superstar

Nov 23 Revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" opens at Longacre Theater, NYC; runs for 96 performances

  • Nov 24 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
  • Nov 24 Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Greise passes for 6 touchdowns in a 55-14 win over Cardinals in St. Louis
  • Nov 25 David Steed balanced stationary on a bike for 9 hrs 15 mins

Hearns vs. Hill

Nov 25 Thomas Hearns KOs Jerome Hill in 2 rounds in his 1st pro fight

  • Nov 26 'Vrillon', claiming to be the representative of the 'Ashtar Galactic Command', takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes at 5:12 PM.
  • Nov 26 42nd Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 48-21 in Birmingham
  • Nov 27 CFL Grey Cup, Olympic Stadium, Montreal: Montreal Alouettes beat Edmonton Eskimos, 41-6; record Grey Cup crowd 68,318; game referred to as the 'Ice Bowl'; Dan Sweet record 23 points

Comedy with Music

Nov 27 Victor Borge's "Comedy with Music" closes at Imperial Theater, NYC, after 66 performances


1977 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Nov 1 Steve Hutchinson, American NFL offensive guard (7 x Pro Bowl; 5 First Team All Pro), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • Nov 2 Jason Cerbone, American actor (The Sopranos), born in New York City
  • Nov 2 Leon Taylor, English diver (Olympic silver 10m synchro 2004; World C'ship bronze 2005) and broadcaster (BBC), born in Cheltenham, England
  • Nov 2 Randy Harrison, American actor (Queer as Folk), born in Nashua, New Hampshire
  • Nov 3 Aria Giovanni, American model
  • Nov 3 Greg Plitt, American fitness model and entrepreneur, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2015)
  • Nov 3 Jane Monheit, American jazz singer, born in Long Island, New York
  • Nov 4 Kavana [Anthony Kavanagh], British pop singer ("I Can Make You Feel Good"), born in Moston, England
  • Nov 4 Larry Bigbie, American baseball player, born in Hobart, Indiana
  • Nov 4 So Ji-sub, South Korean model and actor, born in Incheon, South Korea
  • Nov 4 Tonicha Jeronimo, British actress (Emmerdale), born in Jersey
  • Nov 5 Richard Wright, English football goalkeeper and coach (Manchester City), born in Ipswich, England
  • Nov 5 Tuula Puputti, Finnish ice hockey goalie (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Kuopio, Finland
  • Nov 6 Patrícia Tavares, Portuguese actress, born in Lisbon, Portugal
  • Nov 8 Bucky Covington, American entertainer, born in Rockingham, North Carolina
  • Nov 8 Jully Black, Canadian R&B singer, born in Toronto, Ontario
  • Nov 8 Nick Punto, American MLB baseball player, 2001-14 (Philadelphia Phillies; Minnesota Twins, and 4 other teams), born in San Diego, California
  • Nov 10 Brittany Murphy, American actress (Drop Dead Gorgeous), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2009)
  • Nov 10 Josh Barnett, American mixed martial artist, born in Seattle, Washington
  • Nov 10 Matt Cepicky, American baseball player, born in St. Louis, Missouri
  • Nov 11 Ben Hollioake, Australian born English cricketer, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2002)
  • Nov 11 Maniche, Portuguese footballer (Porto), born in Lisbon, Portugal
  • Nov 12 Benni McCarthy, South African footballer, born in Cape Town, South Africa
  • Nov 12 Dalene Kurtis, American Playboy model (Sept 2001, Playmate of the Month 2002), born in Apple Valley, California
  • Nov 12 James Borrego, American basketball head coach (Charlotte Hornets 2018-19), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Nov 13 Chanel Cole [Whalley], New Zealand-born Australian singer (Spook), born in Hamilton, New Zealand
  • Nov 13 Huang Xiaoming, Chinese actor and singer, born in Qingdao, Shandong, China
  • Nov 14 Obie Trice, American rapper ("Got Some Teeth"), born in Detroit, Michigan
  • Nov 15 Logan Whitehurst, American musician, singer-songwriter (Tin Drum; The Velvet Teen), graphic artist, and album cover artist, born in Los Banos, California (d. 2006)
  • Nov 15 Peter Mark Andrew Phillips, British son of Princess Anne, then 9th in succession to British throne

Maggie Gyllenhaal (46 years old)

Nov 16 American actress and producer (Donnie Darko, The Dark Knight), born in New York City

  • Nov 16 Mauricio Ochmann, American actor, born in Washington, D.C., United States
  • Nov 16 Oksana Baiul, Ukrainian figure skater (World Champion, 1993; Olympic gold, 1994), born in Dnipro, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
  • Nov 17 Ryk Neethling, South African swimmer
  • Nov 18 Fabolous [John David Jackson], American rapper (From Nothin' to Somethin'), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Nov 18 Trent Barrett, Australian rugby league footballer
  • Nov 19 Davina Windsor [Lady], English daughter of Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and member of the Royal family, born in London, England
  • Nov 19 Kerri Strug, American gymnast (Olympic gold 1996), born in Tucson, Arizona
  • Nov 19 Mette Frederiksen, Danish politician (Prime Minister of Denmark 2019-), born in Aalborg, Denmark
  • Nov 20 Josh Turner, American singer (Long Black Train), born in Hannah, South Carolina
  • Nov 20 Rudy Charles [Dan Engler], American professional wrestling referee, born in Evansville, Indiana
  • Nov 21 Bruno Berner, Swiss footballer
  • Nov 21 Jonas Jennings, American football player
  • Nov 21 Myles Heskett, Australian rock drummer (Wolfmother, 2000-08), and soundtrack composer (500 Days of Summer), born in Sydney, Australia
  • Nov 21 Tobias Sammet, German heavy metal singer-songwriter (Edguy; Avantasia), and radio host, born in Fulda, Germany
  • Nov 21 Yolande James, Quebec politician
  • Nov 22 Devyn Puett, actress (Kids Incorporated)
  • Nov 22 Michael Preston, English footballer
  • Nov 23 Adam Eaton, American baseball player, born in Springfield, Ohio
  • Nov 23 Myriam Boileau, Canadian diver, born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Nov 24 Colin Hanks [Dillingham], American actor (Orange County), born in Sacramento, California
  • Nov 25 Guillermo Cañas, Argentine tennis player
  • Nov 26 Ivan Basso, Italian cyclist, born in Gallarate, Province of Varese, Italy
  • Nov 26 Paris Lenon, American football player, born in Lynchburg, Virginia
  • Nov 27 Alex Wagner, American journalist (Alex Wagner Tonight), born in Washington D.C.
  • Nov 28 Angela Stanford, American golfer (Evian C'ship 2018), born in Fort Worth, Texas
  • Nov 28 DeMya Walker, American basketball player
  • Nov 28 Fabio Grosso, Italian footballer
  • Nov 28 Gavin Rae, Scottish footballer
  • Nov 28 Greg Somerville, New Zealand rugby union footballer
  • Nov 29 Andy Beshear, American politician, Governor of Kentucky (2019-), born in Louisville, Kentucky
  • Nov 30 Iván Guerrero, Honduran soccer defender (84 caps; CD Motagua, Chicago Fire, Coventry City FC), born in Comayagua, Honduras
  • Nov 30 Kazumi Saitoh, Japanese baseball player
  • Nov 30 Nelsan Ellis, American actor (True Blood), born in Harvey Illinois (d. 2017)
  • Nov 30 Olivier Schoenfelder, French ice dancer
Born in 1977

Famous Weddings

George W. Bush

Nov 5 Future Texas governor and 43rd US President George W. Bush (31) weds Laura Welch (31) at The First United Methodist Church in Midland, Texas

Bryan Cranston

Nov 10 Actor Bryan Cranston (21) weds writer Mickey Middleton

  • Nov 11 American "Three's Company" actress Suzanne Somers (30) weds second husband, Canadian television host Alan Hamel (40)

Shirley Chisholm

Nov 26 Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (53) weds businessman Arthur Hardwick Jr at the Sheraton Inn in Cheektowaga, New York


Famous Deaths

  • Nov 1 Franco Albini, Italian Rationalist architect, industrial and furniture designer (Albini desk), dies at 72
  • Nov 2 Hans Erich Nossak, German writer, dies at 76
  • Nov 3 Florence Vidor, American actress (Jack Knife Man), dies at 82
  • Nov 3 William Kurelek, Canadian artist and writer (The Maze, Passion of Christ series), dies of cancer at 50
  • Nov 5 (Jacob) "Jan" Garber, American violinist and sweet jazz bandleader, dies at 82
  • Nov 5 Aleksey Stachanov, Russian model miner, dies at 72

René Goscinny (1926-1977)

Nov 5 French cartoonist (Asterix), dies of cardiac arrest during a routine stress test at 51

  • Nov 5 [Gaetano] Guy Lombardo, Canadian-American orchestra leader ("Auld Lang Syne"), dies of heart attack in Houston at 75
  • Nov 8 Bucky Harris, American Baseball HOF manager (World Series 1947 NY Yankees) and second baseman (WS 1924 Washington Senators), dies at 81
  • Nov 8 Georg Wüst, German Oceanographer (provided first complete understanding of the temperature, salinity and deep-current structure of the Atlantic Ocean), dies at 87
  • Nov 9 Fred Haney, American MLB baseball player, 1922-29 (Detroit Tigers and 3 other teams), manager, 1939-41 and 1953-59 (Milwaukee Braves and 2 other teams), and executive, 1961-68 (Los Angeles Angels), dies of a heart attack at 81
  • Nov 9 Gertrude Astor [Eyster], American silent and sound screen character actress (The Strong Man: Hell Bound), dies of a stroke on her 90th birthday
  • Nov 11 Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist and political activist, dies at 27
  • Nov 11 Greta Keller, Vienna-born cabaret singer and actress (b. 1903)
  • Nov 13 Ingrid Schubert, German terrorist (b. 1944)
  • Nov 14 A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Indian guru, founder of International Society for Krishna Consciousness, dies at 81
  • Nov 14 Richard Addinsell, English composer (Warsaw Concerto, Alice in Wonderland), dies at 73
  • Nov 15 Serafin Pro, Cuban composer, dies at 71
  • Nov 18 Davey O'Brien, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1938, Texas Christian University; NFL: Philadelphia Eagles), dies from cancer at 60
  • Nov 18 Kurt Schuschnigg, Austrian politician (Dictator of the Austrian Federal State), dies at 79
  • Nov 18 Victor Francen, Belgian actor (J'Acusse, San Antonio), dies at 89
  • Nov 19 William "Sonny" Criss, American bebop jazz saxophonist (Jazz U.S.A.), commits suicide while suffering from stomach cancer at 50
  • Nov 20 Maxie Wander, Austrian writer (Good Morning My Lovely), dies at 44
  • Nov 22 Reg Perks, England cricket pace bowler (1938-39), dies
  • Nov 25 Richard Carlson, American stage and screen actor (All I Desire,; I Led 3 Lives), screenwriter and director (Riders to the Stars), dies from a cerebral hemorrhage at 65
  • Nov 27 John Little McClellan, American lawyer and politician (Sen-D-Ark), dies at 81
  • Nov 28 Trevor Bardette, American actor (Refugee, None Shall Escape), dies at 75
  • Nov 29 George Hamilton Combs, American politician and TV and radio commentator (Through the Curtain), dies at 78
  • Nov 30 Miloš Crnjanski, Serbian poet (Seobe), dies at 84

Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)

Nov 30 British playwright (Winslow Boy, Browning Version), dies at 66