Major Events
- Jan 23 Sweden becomes the first nation in the world to ban aerosol sprays, due to their harmful effect on the earth's ozone layer.
- Sep 16 25,000 die in 7.7 earthquake in Tabar, Iran
- Sep 17 Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Camp David Accords, frameworks for peace in the Middle East and between Egypt and Israel
- Oct 5 Over 30 major nations ratify the Environmental Modification Convention which prohibits weather warfare that has widespread, long-lasting or severe effects
- Oct 16 Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla elected Pope John Paul II
- Nov 6 Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi places the country under military rule; General Gholām Reza Azhāri forms government
- Nov 18 In Jonestown, Guyana, 918 members of the Peoples Temple are murdered or commit suicide under the leadership of cult leader Jim Jones
- More 1978 Events
1978 in Film & TV
- Jan 8 TV series "All Creatures Great and Small" debuts on BBC TV, based on the books by James Herriot, starring Robert hardy and Christopher Timothy
- Jun 16 Film "Grease" opens, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, based on the 1971 musical
- Oct 25 "Halloween", directed by John Carpenter, starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut, is released
- Dec 8 "The Deer Hunter", directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1979)
1978 in Music
- Jan 21 Bee Gees' album "Saturday Night Fever" goes #1 for 24 weeks
- Jun 21 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical "Evita", starring Elaine Page, premieres at the Prince Edward Theatre, London
- Aug 11 "C'est Chic" second studio album by Chic is released featuring single "Le Freak" (Billboard Album of the Year 1979)
1978 in Sport
- Jul 15 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Jack Nicklaus completes 3rd career grand slam; wins by 2 strokes from Ben Crenshaw & Ray Floyd
- Oct 22 New York City Marathon: Grete Waitz of Norway wins in her race debut in world record 2:32:30; Bill Rodgers wins his third straight title in 2:12:12
- Dec 8 Commencement of the 1st day/night World Series Cricket supertest at VFL Park, Melbourne
- Dec 9 1st game of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does
Did You Know?
American management consultant Marilyn Loden first coins the term "glass ceiling" to describe invisible career barriers for women
Volodymyr Zelensky
Ron DeSantis
Jensen Ackles
David Krumholtz
Zoe Saldaña
Usher
Katherine Heigl
John Legend
Nelly Furtado
Didier Drogba
Miroslav Klose
Dan Wheldon
Kobe Bryant
Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot
Manny PacquiaoMore People Born in 1978
Fun Fact About 1978
First unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail ("spam") is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the US west coast
Hubert Humphrey
Aldo Moro
Paul VI
Jim Jones
Harvey Milk
Golda Meir
Keith Moon
Jacques Brel
Maybelle Carter
Joe McCarthy
Ethelda BleibtreyMore 1978 Deaths
Articles About 1978
Sex Pistols' Break Up
Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious on stage during the band's last show at Winterland in San Francisco, January 14, 1978January 17
Saturday Night Fever Goes #1
The Bee Gees collect a Billboard #1 Music Award for Saturday Night FeverJanuary 21
Funeral of Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI's body lying in view in the Vatican after his deathAugust 11
Famous Weddings in 1978
- Jan 24 Rose Dugdale and Eddie Gallagher become the first convicted prisoners to marry in prison in the history of the Republic of Ireland.
- Feb 14 American country singer Roger Miller (42) weds Mary Arnold
- Mar 28 Actor Jeremy Irons (29) weds actress Sinéad Cusack (30)
Famous Divorces in 1978
- Apr 14 Novelist Danielle Steel (30) divorces Danny Zugelder after almost 3 years of marriage
- May 1 Actress and model Bianca Jagger (32) files for divorce from Rolling Stone singer Mick Jagger (34) after 7 years of marriage on the grounds of his adultery with model Jerry Hall
- Jun 15 US Senator Edward W. Brooke (58) divorces first wife Remigia Ferrari-Scacco after 31 years of marriage
More 1978 Weddings
Jack Nicklaus
Jane Fonda
Jon Voight
Mick Fleetwood
Hua Guofeng
Jimmy Carter
Leonid Brezhnev