On This Day

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What Happened in 1979

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Major Events

  • Feb 1 Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile
  • Mar 28 A partial meltdown at Three Mile Island nuclear plant in the US results in the release of radioactive gas and iodine into the atmosphere but no deaths
  • Apr 11 Tanzanian army captures Kampala, the capital of Uganda forcing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin to flee into exile in Libya
  • May 4 Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • Jun 3 Ixtoc I rig in the Gulf of Mexico blows, spilling 3 million barrels of oil in one of the worst oil spills in history
  • Jun 23 Supertramp's "Breakfast in America" becomes No. 1 album in the US featuring "Take the Long Way Home"
  • Aug 27 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and last Viceroy of India, is killed along with three companions, two of them children by the IRA when his boat is blown up near Sligo, Ireland
  • Nov 5 Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini describes the United States as "The Great Satan" amid accusations of imperialism and the sponsoring of corruption
  • Dec 18 Stuntman Stanley Barrett unofficially breaks the land speed record and the sound barrier in his three-wheeled vehicle the Budweiser Rocket (739.666 mph or Mach 1.01). The speed was never officially recorded and the attempt remains controversial.
  • Dec 27 After invading Afghanistan two days earlier Soviet forces pull off a coup in Kabul, killing President Hafizullah Amin
  • More 1979 Events

1979 in Film & TV

1979 in Music

  • Jan 6 The Village People's "Y.M.C.A." becomes their only UK #1 single; at its peak it sold over 150,000 copies a day
  • May 8 The Cure release their debut album "Three Imaginary Boys" (Boys Don't Cry in US, Australia)
  • Oct 24 Guinness Book of Records presents Paul McCartney with a rhodium disc as all-time best selling singer-songwriter
  • Nov 30 Pink Floyd's "The Wall" released, sells 6 million copies in 2 weeks

1979 in Sport

  • Anti-disco baseball fans hold a 'Disco Sucks' sign during Disco Demolition Night in Chicago, 1979
    Down With Disco!
    Jul 12 "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park: fans go wild destroying disco records and cause the White Sox to forfeit second game of a doubleheader to the Detroit Tigers
  • Nov 25 Pat Summerall and John Madden broadcast a game together for the first time, a pairing that lasts 22 years and becomes one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history

Actors Born in 1979

Musicians Born in 1979

Athletes Born in 1979


More People Born in 1979

Fun Fact About 1979

US President Jimmy Carter is attacked by a swamp rabbit which swam up to his fishing boat in Plains, Georgia

April 20, 1979

Who Died in 1979

Actors Who Died in 1979

Musicians Who Died in 1979


More 1979 Deaths

Articles About 1979

Famous Weddings in 1979

Famous Divorces in 1979

  • Feb 26 Actor Max Von Sydow (49) divorces actress Christina Olin after 28 years of marriage
  • Aug 3 American "All By Myself" singer-songwriter Eric Carmen (29) divorces wife Marcy Hill, after less than a year of marriage
  • Aug 3 Professional boxer George Foreman (30) divorces Cynthia Lewis after more than a year of marriage

More 1979 Weddings

Famous People in 1979



World Leaders in 1979

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