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January

*
January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
**
United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...
Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for t ...
heralds the start of the ''
International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child.
''. Many musicians donate to the ''
Music for UNICEF Concert The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song was a benefit concert of popular music held in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on January 9, 1979. It was intended to raise money for UNICEF world hunger programs and to mark the b ...
'' fund, among them
ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...
, who write the song ''
Chiquitita "Chiquitita" (a Spanish term of endearment for a woman meaning "little one") is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in January 1979 as the first single from the group's sixth album, '' Voulez-Vous'' (1979). Agnetha Fält ...
'' to commemorate the event. ** The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full
diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
. ** Following a deal agreed during 1978, French carmaker
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's European operations, which are based in Britain's former
Rootes Group The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and de ...
factories, as well as the former
Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bough ...
factories in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. * January 7
Cambodian–Vietnamese War The Cambodian–Vietnamese War ( km, សង្គ្រាមកម្ពុជា-វៀតណាម, vi, Chiến tranh Campuchia–Việt Nam), known in Vietnam as the Counter-offensive on the Southwestern border ( vi, Chiến dịch Phản ...
: The People's Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
, and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreat west to an area along the Thai border, ending large-scale fighting. * January 8Whiddy Island Disaster: The French tanker ''Betelgeuse'' explodes at the Gulf Oil terminal at Bantry, Ireland; 50 are killed. * January 9 – The ''
Music for UNICEF Concert The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song was a benefit concert of popular music held in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on January 9, 1979. It was intended to raise money for UNICEF world hunger programs and to mark the b ...
'' is held at the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
to raise money for
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
and promote the Year of the Child. It is broadcast the following day in the United States and around the world. Hosted by the Bee Gees, other performers include Donna Summer,
ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...
, Rod Stewart and
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...
. A soundtrack album is later released. * January 16 – Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
with his family, relocating to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
after a year of turmoil. *
January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrend ...
– Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell is released on
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
after 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama. * January 22
Uganda–Tanzania War The Uganda–Tanzania War, known in Tanzania as the Kagera War (Kiswahili: ''Vita vya Kagera'') and in Uganda as the 1979 Liberation War, was fought between Uganda and Tanzania from October 1978 until June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugan ...
: Battle of Mutukula: The
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
n military captures the
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
n border town of Mutukula after a short battle. * January 25
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
arrives in Mexico City for his first visit to Mexico, mainly for 1979's
Latin American Episcopal Conference Based in Bogotá ( Colombia), the Latin American Episcopal Council ( es, Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano; pt, Conselho Episcopal Latino-Americano), better known as CELAM, is a council of the Roman Catholic bishops of Latin America, created i ...
(CELAM) or Conference of Puebla. *
January 28 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany. * 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
-
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
arrives in Washington, D.C. for the first visit of a paramount leader of the People's Republic of China to the United States.


February

* February 1 -
Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from Arabic word p ...
Ruhollah Khomeini returns to
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
after nearly 15 years of exile. * February 3 – Ayatollah Khomeini creates the Council of the Islamic Revolution. *
February 7 Events Pre-1600 * 457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. * 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. * 1301 &nd ...
**
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
: Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini take over the Iranian law enforcement, courts, and government administration; the final session of the Iranian
National Consultative Assembly The National Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای ملی, Mad̲j̲les-e s̲h̲ūrā-ye mellī) or simply Majles, was the national legislative body of Iran from 1906 to 1979. It was elected by universal suffrage, excluding the armed for ...
is held. **
Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...
moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was known to science. ** Nazi criminal
Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = '' SS''-'' Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , commands = , ...
suffers a stroke and drowns while swimming in
Bertioga Bertioga is a Brazilian municipality of the state of São Paulo in the Baixada Santista. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 64,723 (2020 est.) in an area of 490.15 km2. Because it neighbors resort to ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. His remains are found in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
. *
February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, spar ...
11 – The Iranian Revolution ends with the Iranian army withdrawing to its barracks leaving power in the hands of Ayatollah
Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
, ending the Pahlavi dynasty. * February 11 – Uganda–Tanzania War:
Battle of Simba Hills The Battle of Simba Hills or Battle of Kakuuto (Kiswahili: ''Mapigano ya Kakuuto'') was a conflict of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place over several days in mid-February 1979 around the Simba Hills in southern Uganda, near the town of Kak ...
: The Tanzanian military began its assault on the Simba Hills near the town of
Kakuuto Kakuuto is a town in southwestern Central Uganda. Location Kakuuto is located in Kyotera District, approximately , by road, south of Masaka, the largest city in the sub-region. This location lies immediately west of the highway between Masaka an ...
. *
February 12 Events Pre-1600 *1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna. *1429 – English forces under ...
– Prime Minister
Hissène Habré Hissène Habré (Arabic: ''Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī'',  Chadian Arabic: ; ; 13 August 1942 – 24 August 2021), also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 u ...
starts the Battle of N'Djamena in an attempt to overthrow Chad's President Félix Malloum. * February 13 ** An intense
windstorm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderst ...
strikes western
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and sinks a long section of the
Hood Canal Bridge The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal of Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap P ...
. ** The
Guardian Angels A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in ...
are formed in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
as an unarmed organization of young crime fighters. * February 14 – In
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, Muslim extremists kidnap the American ambassador to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Adolph Dubs Adolph Dubs (August 4, 1920 – February 14, 1979), also known as Spike Dubs, was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan from May 13, 1978, until his death in 1979. He was killed during a rescue attem ...
, who is killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police. * February 15 – A suspected gas explosion in a
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
bank kills 49. * February 17 – The People's Republic of China invades northern
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, launching the
Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the C ...
. *
February 18 Events Pre-1600 * 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy. *1268 & ...
**The
1979 Daytona 500 The 1979 Daytona 500, the 21st annual event, was the second race of the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. It was held on February 18, 1979. Sports pundits consider the 1979 Daytona 500 to be the most important race in stock car history. Th ...
is televised on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, the first ever full airing of a 500-mile race on US
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, Richard Petty wins after Cale Yarborough and
Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the bro ...
battle for first place on the final lap and crash out, leading to a fist fight. This race brought
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
to a wider audience. ** The Khomeini government in Iran cuts
diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
with
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. *
February 21 Events Pre-1600 *452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine. * 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. *1440 – The Pru ...
– Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Gayaza Hills: A Tanzanian brigade successfully dislodged Ugandan forces from the Gayaza Hills. The battle is hard-fought, and the Tanzanians suffer their largest number of casualties in a single engagement of the war. *
February 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferd ...
Saint Lucia becomes independent from the United Kingdom. * February 26 ** A
total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...
, the last visible from the continental United States until 2017, arcs over northwestern conterminous USA and central Canada ending in Greenland. A partial solar eclipse is visible over almost all of North America and Central America including the eastern half of Alaska and the western half of the UK. ** The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
. * February 27 **The annual Mardi Gras celebration in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
is cancelled due to a strike called by the
New Orleans Police Department The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts. The NOPD has ...
. **The Soviet oil tanker ''Antonio Gramsci'' suffers a minor shipwreck in shallow waters shortly after leaving shore in
Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...
, resulting in a 5,000 ton oil spill, the largest that has ever occurred on the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
.


March

*
March 1 Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian ...
** Scottish devolution referendum:
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
votes in favour of a Scottish Assembly, which is not implemented due to failing a condition that at least 40% of the electorate must support the proposal; in a Welsh devolution referendum,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
votes against devolution. **
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
publicly demonstrate a prototype of an optical digital audio disc at a press conference in Eindhoven, Netherlands. *
March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his '' bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...
– Uganda–Tanzania War:
Battle of Tororo The Battle of Tororo was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place from 2 to 4 March 1979 at Tororo, Uganda and its surroundings. It was fought between Ugandan rebels loyal to Milton Obote and Uganda Army (1971–1980), Uganda Army ...
: Ugandan rebels attack and capture the town of Tororo. *
March 4 Events Pre-1600 *AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title '' princeps iuventutis'' (head of the youth). * 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. * 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a st ...
** The U.S. ''
Voyager 1 ''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voya ...
'' spaceprobe photos reveal Jupiter's rings. ** Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Tororo: The Ugandan military retakes Tororo from rebels. * March 5 – ''
Voyager 1 ''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voya ...
'' makes its closest approach to
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
at . * March 7 – The largest
Magnetar A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field (∼109 to 1011 T, ∼1013 to 1015 G). The magnetic-field decay powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.War ...
(
Soft gamma repeater A soft gamma repeater (SGR) is an astronomical object which emits large bursts of gamma-rays and X-rays at irregular intervals. It is conjectured that they are a type of magnetar or, alternatively, neutron stars with fossil disks around them. Hi ...
) event is recorded. *
March 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''. *1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León. * 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...
**
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
demonstrates the
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...
publicly for the first time. ** Thousands of women participate in the
International Women's Day Protests in Tehran, 1979 On International Women's Day on March 8, 1979, a women's march took place in Tehran in Iran. The march was originally intended to celebrate the International Women's Day, but transformed into massive protests against the changes taking place in ...
against the introduction of mandatory veiling during the
Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
. ** Images taken by Voyager I proved the existence of volcanoes on Io, a moon of Jupiter. *
March 10 Events Pre-1600 * 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end. * 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a ...
– Uganda–Tanzania War:
Battle of Lukaya The Battle of Lukaya (Kiswahili: ''Mapigano ya Lukaya'') was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War. It was fought between 10 and 11 March 1979 around Lukaya, Uganda, between Tanzanian forces (supported by Ugandan rebels) and Ugandan government f ...
: The Ugandan military, a Libyan expeditionary force and allied
Palestine Liberation Organisation The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and sta ...
militants begin a counter-offensive against Tanzanian troops in south-central Uganda. The Ugandan-led alliance retakes Lukaya after a short clash with the Tanzanian military. *
March 11 Events Pre-1600 * 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander. * 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the ven ...
– Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Lukaya: The Tanzanian military counter-attacks at Lukaya, completely defeating the Ugandan-led alliance. This defeat permanently cripples the Ugandan military. *
March 13 Events Pre-1600 *624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh. *1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War. *1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation ...
leads a successful coup in Grenada. His government will be crushed by American intervention in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
. * March 14 – In China, a
Hawker Siddeley Trident The Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident (originally the de Havilland DH.121 and briefly the Airco DH.121) is a British airliner produced by Hawker Siddeley. In 1957, de Havilland proposed its DH.121 trijet design to a British European Airways (BEA ...
crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing 31 people on the ground and injuring 200. *
March 16 Events Pre-1600 * 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang. *1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York. * 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse ...
**End of major hostilities in the
Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the C ...
. ** In his letter to the United Nations, Elisio De Figueiredo, the People’s Republic of Angola’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, requests an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the question of South Africa’s continuous acts of aggression in Angola. *
March 17 Events Pre-1600 * 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. * 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of ei ...
– The Penmanshiel Tunnel in the UK collapses, killing two workers. *
March 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. * 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
- C-SPAN, an American television channel focusing on government and public affairs, is launched. *
March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
– Ten miners die in a
methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...
gas explosion at Golborne Colliery near
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...
,
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
, England. *
March 22 Events Pre-1600 * 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æthelr ...
– The
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
votes to approve its merger with the WHA, effective in the fall. * March 25 – The first fully functional
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
orbiter, ''Columbia'', is delivered to the
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
, to be prepared for its first launch. *
March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. *1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, ...
** In a ceremony at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, President
Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
sign an
Egypt–Israel peace treaty The Egypt–Israel peace treaty ( ar, معاهدة السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية, Mu`āhadat as-Salām al-Misrīyah al-'Isrā'īlīyah; he, הסכם השלום בין ישראל למצרים, ''Heskem HaShalom Bein Yisrael ...
. ** Michigan State University, led by
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
, defeats
Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...
-led
Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
75–64 in the NCAA tournament
championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...
at
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
. *
March 28 Events Pre-1600 * AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate. * 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
** In Britain, James Callaghan's minority
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government loses a motion of confidence by one vote, forcing a general election which is to be held on 3 May. ** America's most serious nuclear power plant accident occurs, at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania. *
March 29 Events Pre-1600 * 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. * 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of ...
– Sultan
Yahya Petra of Kelantan Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim ( Jawi: ; 10 December 1917 – 29 March 1979) was the sixth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia from 21 September 1975 to his death, and the 27th Sultan of Kelantan (1960–1979). Early life ...
, the 6th
Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...
(Head of State) of
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, dies in office. He is replaced by Sultan
Ahmad Shah of Pahang Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’azzam Shah ( Jawi: ; 24 October 1930 – 22 May 2019) was the fifth modern Sultan of Pahang, and also served as the seventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong ...
. *
March 30 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro- Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague. *1282 &ndash ...
Airey Neave, Conservative M.P. in the British House of Commons, is killed, presumably by an Irish National Liberation Army bomb in the car park for the Houses of Parliament. * March 31 ** The last British soldier (belonging to the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
) leaves the
Maltese Islands Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, after 179 years of presence.
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien). ** Milk and Honey win the
Eurovision Song Contest 1979 The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by th ...
for
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, with the song ''
Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...
''.


April

*
April 1 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held. * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. *1081 – Alexios I Ko ...
**
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
's government becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, overthrowing the
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
officially. **
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
launches from QUBE's Pinwheel experiment and begins airing on various Warner Cable systems beginning in Buffalo, New York, expanding its audience reach. **
Dale Earnhardt Sr Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway * ...
wins his first career
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
race at the 1979 Southeastern 500 at
Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...
. He would go on to win 76 races and 7 championships during his career. *
April 1 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held. * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. *1081 – Alexios I Ko ...
18 – Police lock
Andreas Mihavecz Andreas Mihavecz is an Austrian from Bregenz who holds the record of surviving the longest without any food or liquids. His ordeal is documented in the ''Guinness World Records''. On 1 April 1979, the then 18-year-old bricklayer's apprentice. was ...
in a holding cell in
Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...
, Austria and forget about him, leaving him there without food or drink. *
April 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. J ...
Sverdlovsk anthrax leak: A
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
biowarfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bi ...
laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of
livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...
. It is a violation of the
Biological Weapons Convention The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpil ...
of
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
. *
April 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. J ...
- In Japan, the channel of
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...
premieres ''
Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ''tankōbon'' volumes and ...
''. * April 4
Pakistani Prime Minister The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakist ...
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
is executed by hanging for the murder of a political opponent. *
April 6 Events Pre–1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. * 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. *13 ...
Student protests break out in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. *
April 7 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. * 529 – First ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Empe ...
– In Japan,
Yoshiyuki Tomino is a Japanese mecha anime creator, animator, director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the ''Gundam'' anime franchise. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art ...
directs ''
Mobile Suit Gundam , also known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is an anime television series, produced and animated by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcastin ...
'', the first series of the metaseries of the same name. *
April 10 Events Pre-1600 * 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. * 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). * 140 ...
– A tornado hits
Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...
, killing 42 people (the most notable of 26 tornadoes that day). *
April 11 Events Pre-1600 * 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. *1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. *1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrare ...
– Uganda–Tanzania War:
Fall of Kampala The Fall of Kampala, also known as the Liberation of Kampala ( Kiswahili: ''Kukombolewa kwa Kampala''), was a battle during the Uganda–Tanzania War in 1979, in which the combined forces of Tanzania and the Uganda National Liberation Front ...
: Tanzanian troops take
Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
, the capital of Uganda;
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
flees. * April 13 – The La Soufrière volcano erupts in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. *
April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
– The Progressive Alliance of Liberia stages a protest, without a permit, against an increase in rice prices proposed by the government, with clashes between protestors and the police resulting over 70 deaths and over 500 injured. *
April 15 Events Pre-1600 * 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. * 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
1979 Montenegro earthquake The 1979 Montenegro earthquake occurred on 15 April at 06:19 UTC with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). It was the most devastating earthquake in SR Montenegro, then part of Yugoslavia,(Montenegrin)Crn ...
: A 6.9 shock affects
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
(then part of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
) and parts of
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, causing extensive damage to coastal areas and taking 136 lives; the old town of
Budva Budva ( cnr, Будва, or ) is a Montenegrin town on the Adriatic Sea. It has 19,218 inhabitants, and it is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budva riviera, is the center of Montenegrin tourism, kn ...
is devastated. *
April 17 Events Pre-1600 *1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. *1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan ...
– Schoolchildren in the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
are arrested (and around 100 killed) for protesting against compulsory school uniforms. An African judicial commission later determines that Emperor
Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996), also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and as the emperor of its s ...
"almost certainly" took part in the massacre. *
April 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil. * 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico. *1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern h ...
– The
Albert Einstein Memorial The Albert Einstein Memorial is a monumental bronze statue by sculptor Robert Berks, depicting Albert Einstein seated with manuscript papers in hand. It is located in central Washington, D.C., United States, in a grove of trees at the southwes ...
is unveiled at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. * April 23 – Fighting breaks out in London between the
Anti-Nazi League The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups i ...
and the Metropolitan Police's
Special Patrol Group The Special Patrol Group (SPG) was a unit of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for providing a centrally based mobile capacity to combat serious public disorder, crime, and terrorism, that could not be dealt with by loca ...
; protester
Blair Peach Clement Blair Peach (25 March 1946 – 24 April 1979) was a New Zealand teacher who was killed during an anti-racism demonstration in Southall, London, England. A campaigner and activist against the far right, in April 1979 Peach took part in a ...
receives fatal injuries during the incident, now officially attributed to the SPG.


May

*
May 1 Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. *1169 – N ...
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
is granted limited autonomy from Denmark, with its own
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
sitting in
Nuuk Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other coun ...
. *
May 3 Events Pre-1600 * 752 – Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico, assumes the throne. * 1481 – The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties. ...
– The 1979 United Kingdom general election for the House of Commons takes place, giving the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
a majority, and electing
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
as the nation's first woman prime minister, ending the rule of James Callaghan's
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government. * May 8 – Ten shoppers die in a fire at the Woolworths department store in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
city centre in England. *
May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. *1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. *1386 – England and Portugal formally rati ...
** The
Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Ma ...
begins. ** The
Unabomber Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...
bomb injures
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
graduate student John Harris. * May 10 – The
Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
becomes self-governing. *
May 15 Events Pre-1600 * 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty. * 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...
– Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Lira:
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
and its
Uganda National Liberation Front The Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of Idi Amin with an accompanying military wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). UNLA fought alongside Tanzanian forces in ...
allies capture
Lira, Uganda Lira is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial centre of Lira District. History Lira was one of the last towns in Uganda held by loyalists of Idi Amin during the Uganda–Tanzania War ...
, from the forces of Ugandan dictator
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
. *
May 21 Events Pre-1600 * 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. * 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabi ...
**
Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...
is convicted of manslaughter, rather than murder, for the assassination of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
Mayor
George Moscone George Richard Moscone (; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known ...
and Supervisor
Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in ...
, after using what would become known as the "
Twinkie defense "Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catch-all term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of ...
" and persuading a jury that the crime was not premeditated. The maximum sentence is seven years imprisonment, with eligibility for early parole, prompting the "
White Night riots The White Night riots were a series of violent events sparked by an announcement of a lenient sentencing of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone, the mayor of San Francisco, and of Harvey Milk, a member of the city's Board of Supe ...
" in the gay community. ** The
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
defeat the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
four games to one to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup. *
May 25 Events Pre-1600 * 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. *240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Tol ...
** American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, a
DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, killing all 271 on board and 2 people on the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history. **
John Spenkelink John Arthur Spenkelink (March 29, 1949 – May 25, 1979) was an American convicted murderer. He was executed in 1979, the first convicted criminal to be executed in Florida after capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, and the second (after Gar ...
is executed in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, in the first use of the
electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
in America after the reintroduction of the death penalty in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
. ** Etan Patz, 6 years old, is kidnapped in New York. He is often referred to as the "Boy on the Milk Carton" and the investigation later sprouts into one of the most famous child abduction cases of all time. This is a cold case until 2010 when it is re-opened. In April 2017, Pedro Hernandez is convicted of the murder and kidnapping and sentenced to life imprisonment. * May 27
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
:
Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (1 ...
wins the race for the first time, and car owner
Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...
for the second time.


June

*
June 1 Events Pre-1600 *1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu. * 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed k ...
** The
Vizianagaram district Vizianagaram district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with its headquarters located at Vizianagaram. The district was once the part of ancient Kalinga.Saripilli Dibbilingeswara te ...
is formed in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, India. ** The first black-led government of Rhodesia in 90 years takes power, in succession to
Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...
and under his power-sharing deal, in the unrecognized republic of
Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, and sometimes as Rhobabwe, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June to 12 December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was p ...
. ** The
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
win the NBA Championship against the
Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
. *
June 2 Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks. * 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. 1601 ...
**
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
arrives in his native Poland on his first official, nine-day stay, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country. This visit, known as nine days that changed the world, brings about the solidarity of the Polish people against Communism, ultimately leading to the rise of the Solidarity movement. **
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
' city council passes the city's first homosexual rights bill signed without fanfare by mayor Tom Bradley. *
June 3 Events Pre-1600 * 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. * 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, depos ...
**
Ixtoc I oil spill Ixtoc 1 was an exploratory oil well being drilled by the semi-submersible drilling rig ''Sedco 135'' in the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico, about northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche in waters deep. On 3 June 1979, the well suffered ...
: A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
causes at least 600,000 tons (176,400,000 gallons) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the worst oil spill to date. Some estimate the spill to be 428 million gallons, making it the largest unintentional oil spill until it is surpassed by the ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill in 2010. **
1979 Italian general election The 1979 Italian general election was held in Italy on 3 June 1979.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p. 1048. This election was called just a week before the European vote: the failure to hold the two ...
: The
Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) ...
loses a significant number of seats. *
June 4 Events Pre-1600 *1411 – King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries. * 1561 – The steeple of St Paul's, the medieval cathedr ...
**
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
becomes Canada's 16th and youngest Prime Minister. ** Flight Lieutenant
Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...
takes power in
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
after a military coup in which
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Fred Akuffo Lieutenant General Frederick William "Fred" Kwasi Akuffo (21 March 1937 – 26 June 1979) was a Ghanaian soldier and politician. He was Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from 1976 to 1978, and chairman of the ruling Supr ...
is overthrown. ** Following the "
Muldergate The Muldergate scandal, also known as the Information Scandal or Infogate, was a South African political scandal involving a secret propaganda campaign conducted by the apartheid Department of Information. It centred on revelations about the Depa ...
" Information Scandal,
John Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presiden ...
resigns as State President of South Africa.Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Heads of State: 1961–1994
Accessed 14 April 2017.
*
June 7 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire). * 879 – Pope John VIII recognizes the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state. * 1002 – Henr ...
1979 European Parliament election The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the Europe ...
: The first direct elections to the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
begin, allowing citizens from across all nine (at this time) member states of the European Union to elect 410 MEPs. It is also the first international election in history. *
June 12 Events Pre-1600 * 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors. * 1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of Fr ...
Bryan Allen flies the man-powered ''
Gossamer Albatross The ''Gossamer Albatross'' is a human-powered aircraft built by American aeronautical engineer Dr Paul B MacCready's company AeroVironment. On June 12, 1979, it completed a successful crossing of the English Channel to win the second Kremer ...
'' across the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. *
June 15 Events Pre-1600 * 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. * 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. * 923 – Battle of So ...
**
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
introduces the
Happy Meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley fac ...
in the United States in a nationwide advertising campaign after testing the product since February in franchises in the U.S. state of
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. ** The ecological horror-thriller ''
Prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...
'' is released in the United States by Paramount Pictures. *
June 18 Events Pre-1600 * 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China. * 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. * 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about ...
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
and
Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...
sign the
SALT II The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds o ...
agreement in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. *
June 19 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. *1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle chan ...
Marais Viljoen Marais Viljoen, (2 December 1915 – 4 January 2007) was the last ceremonial state president of South Africa from 4 June 1979 until 3 September 1984. Viljoen became the last of the ceremonial presidents of South Africa when he was succeeded in ...
becomes State President of South Africa. * June 20 – A
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
n National Guard soldier kills ABC TV news correspondent Bill Stewart and his interpreter Juan Espinosa. Other members of the news crew capture the killing on tape. *
June 22 Events Pre-1600 * 217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. * 168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus ...
**''
The Muppet Movie ''The Muppet Movie'' is a 1979 American musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film featuring the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the fil ...
'' is released. ** Former
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
leader
Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the ...
was acquitted of
conspiracy to murder Conspiracy to murder is a statutory offence defined by the intent to commit murder. England and Wales The offence of conspiracy to murder was created in statutory law by section 4 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and retained as ...
Norman Scott, who had accused Thorpe of having a relationship with him. * June 23
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
Premier Neville Wran officially opens the Eastern Suburbs Railway in Sydney. It operates as a shuttle between Central and Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line in 1980. * June 24 – The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, an international opinion tribunal, is founded in Bologna at the initiative of Senator Lelio Basso. * June 25 – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Alexander Haig escapes an assassination attempt in Belgium by the Red Army Faction, Baader-Meinhof terrorist organization.


July

* July 1 ** Sweden outlaws corporal punishment in the home. ** The Sony Walkman goes on sale for the first time in Japan. * July 3 – U.S. President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. * July 5 – Queen Elizabeth II attends the millennium celebrations of the Isle of Man's Parliament, Tynwald. * July 8 – Los Angeles passes its gay and lesbian civil rights bill. * July 9 – A car bomb destroys a Renault owned by Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility. * July 11 – NASA's first orbiting space station, ''Skylab'', begins falling back Earth as its orbit decays after more than six years. * July 12 ** The Gilbert Islands become fully independent of the United Kingdom as Kiribati. ** A ''Disco Demolition Night'' publicity stunt goes awry at Comiskey Park, forcing the Chicago White Sox to Forfeit (baseball), forfeit their game against the Detroit Tigers. ** Carmine Galante, boss of the Bonanno crime family, is assassinated in Brooklyn. ** A Hotel Corona de Aragón fire, fire at a hotel in Zaragoza, Spain, leaves 72 dead, the worst hotel fire in Europe in decades. * July 15 – President Jimmy Carter addresses the nation in a televised speech talking about the "crisis of confidence in America today"; it would go on to be known as his "national malaise" speech. * July 16 – Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and Vice President Saddam al-Tikriti, more commonly referred to in the Western press as "Saddam Hussein", replaces him. * July 17 –
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
n president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami. * July 21 ** The Sandinista National Liberation Front concludes a successful revolutionary campaign against the Somoza dynasty and assumes power in
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
. ** Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo becomes prime minister of Portugal. ** Maritza Sayalero of Venezuela wins the Miss Universe 1979, Miss Universe pageant; the stage collapses after contestants and news photographers rush to her throne. ** The disco music genre dominates and peaks on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, with the first six spots (beginning with Donna Summer's ''Bad Girls (Donna Summer song), Bad Girls''), and seven of the chart's top ten songs ending that week. * July 22 – 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge: Ba'athist Iraq, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein arranges the arrest and later execution of nearly seventy members of his ruling Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction), Ba'ath Party. * July 28 – Morarji Desai resigns as India's prime minister and Charan Singh succeeds him.


August

* August 3 – Dictator Francisco Macías Nguema of Equatorial Guinea is overthrown in a bloody coup d'état led by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. * August 4 – Opening game of the ''German Football League, American Football Bundesliga'' played between Frankfurter Löwen and Düsseldorf Panther, first-ever league game of American football in Germany. * August 5 – The Polisario Front signs a peace treaty with Mauritania. Mauritania withdraws from the Western Sahara territory it had occupied, and cedes it to the SADR. * August 6 - Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus releases their debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead", considered to be the first gothic rock release. * August 8 – Two American commercial divers, Richard Walker and Victor Guiel, die of hypothermia after their diving bell Wildrake diving accident, becomes stranded at a depth of over in the East Shetland Basin. The legal repercussions of the accident will lead to important safety changes in the diving industry. * August 9 – Raymond Washington, co-founder of the Crips, today one of the largest, most notorious gangs in the United States, is killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles; the killers have not yet been identified. * August 10 – Michael Jackson releases his breakthrough album ''Off the Wall''. It sells 7 million copies in the United States alone, making it a 7× platinum album. * August 11 ** The former Mauritanian province of Tiris al-Gharbiyya in Western Sahara is annexed by Morocco. ** The 1979 Machchhu dam failure, Machchu-2 dam in Morbi, India, collapses, killing between 1800 and 25000 people in one of the worst ever dam failures. * August 14 – 1979 Fastnet race, A freak storm during the Fastnet Race results in the deaths of 15 sailors. * August 17 – The controversial religious satirical film ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' premieres in the United States. * August 27 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Lord Mountbatten of Burma and two others are killed in a bombing on his boat in the Republic of Ireland by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Mountbatten was a British admiral, statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Edinburgh. On the same day, the Warrenpoint ambush occurs, killing 18 British soldiers. Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne would die in a hospital the following day from injuries sustained in the bombing. * August 29 – A national referendum is held in which Somalia, Somali voters approve a new liberal constitution, promulgated by Siad Barre, President Siad Barre to placate the United States.


September

* September 1 ** The U.S. ''Pioneer 11'' becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of . ** Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps is formed. * September 7 – The first cable sports channel, the Entertainment Sports Programming Network (better known as ESPN), is launched in the United States. * September 9 – The long-running comic strip ''For Better or For Worse'' begins its run, in Canada, before becoming syndicated elsewhere in North America and the world. * September 12 – Hurricane Frederic makes landfall at 10:00 p.m. on Alabama's Gulf Coast. * September 13 – South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa). * September 16 ** East German balloon escape: Two families flee from East Germany by balloon. ** The Sugarhill Gang release ''Rapper's Delight'' in the United States, the first rap Single (music), single to become a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. * September 20 – French paratroopers help David Dacko to overthrow Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Emperor Bokassa in the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
. * September 22 – Vela incident: The "South Atlantic Flash" is observed near the Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, thought to be a nuclear weapons test conducted by South Africa and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. * September 29 – The overthrown dictator Francisco Macías Nguema of Equatorial Guinea is convicted of genocide and executed by firing squad. * September 30 – The Hong Kong MTR metro begins service with the opening of its Modified Initial System, the Kwun Tong Line.


October

* October 1 – Nigeria terminates military rule, and the Second Nigerian Republic is established. * October 1–October 7, 7 –
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
visits the United States, starting in Boston. * October 1 – The MTR, the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong, opens. * October 2 – Pope John Paul II arrives in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
for his first papal tour where he addresses the U.N. General Assembly against all forms of concentration camps and torture. * October 6 – Federal Reserve System changes from an interest rate target policy to a money supply target policy. * October 7 – Pope John Paul II ends his first U.S. papal visit in Washington, D.C. with his first-ever visit to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. * October 9 – Peter Brock wins the Bathurst 1000 by a record six laps, with a lap record on the last lap. * October 12 ** Near Guam, Typhoon Tip reaches a record intensity of 870 millibars, the lowest pressure recorded at sea level. This makes Tip the most powerful tropical cyclone in known world history. ** Thorbjörn Fälldin returns as Prime Minister of Sweden, replacing Ola Ullsten who is named Foreign Minister of Sweden. ** ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', the first novel by Douglas Adams, is published in the United Kingdom * October 14 – National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, National March for LGBT rights by country or territory, gay rights takes place in Washington, D.C., involving tens of thousands of people. * October 15 – Black Monday (Malta), Black Monday events, in which members of a political group sack a newspaper office, unfold in Malta. * October 16 – A 1979 Nice tsunami, tsunami in Nice, France kills 23 people. * October 17 – The Pittsburgh Pirates become only the fourth Major League Baseball, MLB team (as well as the only MLB franchise to accomplish the feat twice) to recover from a 3-games-to-1 deficit to win the 1979 World Series. * October 19 – 13 U.S. Marines die in a fire at Camp Fuji, Japan as a result of Typhoon Tip. * October 20 – The first
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
in Singapore opens at Liat Towers in Orchard Road. * October 26 – **Park Chung-hee, the President of South Korea, is assassinated by KCIA director Kim Jae-gyu. **The eradication of the smallpox virus is announced by the World Health Organization, making smallpox the first of only two human diseases that have been driven to extinction (rinderpest in 2011 being the other). * October 27 – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gains independence from the UK. * October 31 – Western Airlines Flight 2605 crashes upon landing at Mexico City International Airport, killing 72 occupants plus one on the ground; 16 people on board survive.


November

* November 1 ** Military coup in Bolivia. ** Iran hostage crisis:
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urges his people to demonstrate on November 4 and to expand attacks on United States and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i interests. * November 2 ** French police shoot gangster Jacques Mesrine in Paris. ** Assata Shakur (née Joanne Chesimard), a former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, escapes from a New York prison to Cuba, where she remains under political asylum. * November 3 – In Greensboro, North Carolina, five members of the Communist Workers' Party (United States), Communist Workers Party are shot to death and seven are wounded by a group of Ku Klux Klan, Klansmen and neo-Nazis, during a "Death to the Klan" rally. * November 4 – Iran hostage crisis begins: 500 Iranian radicals, mostly students, invade the U.S. Embassy in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
and take 90 hostages (53 of whom are American). They demand that the United States send the former Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran back to stand trial. * November 5 ** All Saints' Massacre: The military junta in Bolivia initiates a violent crack-down on its opponents. ** The radio news program ''Morning Edition'' premieres on National Public Radio in the United States. * November 6 – At Montevideo, Uruguay, the International Olympic Committee adopts a resolution, whereby Taiwan Olympic and sports teams will participate with the name Chinese Taipei in future Olympic Games and international sports tournaments and championships. * November 7 – U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy announces that he will challenge President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
for the 1980 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic presidential nomination. * November 9 ** The Carl Bridgewater murder trial ends in England with all four men found guilty. James Robinson, 45, and 25-year-old Vincent Hickey are sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended 25-year minimum for murder. 18-year-old Michael Hickey is also found guilty of murder and sentenced to indefinite detention. Patrick Molloy, 53, is found guilty on a lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in prison. ** Nuclear false alarm: the NORAD computers and the Alternate National Military Command Center in Fort Ritchie, Maryland, detect an apparent massive
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
Nuclear warfare, nuclear strike. After reviewing the raw data from satellites and checking the early-warning radars, the alert is cancelled. * November 10 – 1979 Mississauga train derailment: A 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals from Windsor, Ontario, Canada derails in Mississauga, just west of Toronto, causing a massive explosion and the largest peacetime evacuation in Canadian history and one of the largest in North American history. * November 12 ** Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all Petroleum, oil imports into the United States from Iran. ** Süleyman Demirel, of the Justice Party (Turkey), Justice Party (AP) forms the new government of Turkey (43rd government, a minority government). * November 13 - Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy for President of the United States. * November 14 – Iran hostage crisis: U.S. President Jimmy Carter issues Executive Order 12170, freezing all Iranian assets in the United States and U.S. banks in response to the hostage crisis. * November 15 – British art historian and former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt's role as the "fourth man" of the 'Cambridge Five' double agents for the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
NKVD during World War II is revealed by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom; she gives further details on November 21. * November 16 – Bucharest Metro Line One is opened, in Bucharest, Romania (from Timpuri Noi to Semanatoarea stations, ). * November 17 – Iran hostage crisis: Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of 13 female and African American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. * November 20 – Grand Mosque seizure: A group of 200 Juhayman al-Otaybi militants occupy Mecca's Masjid al-Haram, the holiest place in Islam. They are driven out by Saudi military forces after bloody fighting that leaves 250 people dead and 600 wounded. * November 21 – After false radio reports from the Ayatollah Khomeini that the Americans had occupied the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan is attacked by a mob and set afire, killing 4, and disturbing Pakistan–United States relations. * November 23 – In Dublin, Ireland, Provisional Irish Republican Army member Thomas McMahon (Irish republican), Thomas McMahon is sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. * November 25 – The last cargo of phosphate was shipped from Banaba Island in Kiribati in the South Pacific ocean, bringing an end to the island's chief industry. * November 28 – Air New Zealand Flight 901: an Air New Zealand
DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
crashes into Mount Erebus in Antarctica on a sightseeing trip, killing all 257 people on board. * November 30 – ''The Wall'', a rock opera and concept album by Pink Floyd, is first released.


December

* December 3 ** The Who concert disaster: Eleven fans are killed during a crowd crush for unreserved seats before The Who rock concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. ** The United States dollar exchange rate with the Deutsche Mark falls to 1.7079 DM, the all-time low so far; this record is not broken until November 5, 1987. ** Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran. * December 4 – The Hastie fire in Kingston upon Hull, England, leads to the deaths of 3 boys and begins the hunt for Bruce George Peter Lee, the UK's most prolific killer. * December 5 – Jack Lynch resigns as Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland; he is succeeded by Charles Haughey. * December 6 – The world premiere of ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' is held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. * December 12 ** The NATO Double-Track Decision: is the decision of NATO from December 12, 1979, to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe, following the so-called "Euromissile Crisis". ** The 8.2 1979 Tumaco earthquake, Tumaco earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''), killing 300–600, and generating a large tsunami. ** Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-hah, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung-hee. ** The unrecognised state of
Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, and sometimes as Rhobabwe, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June to 12 December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was p ...
returns to British control and resumes using the name Southern Rhodesia. * December 13 – The government of Canada falls in a non-confidence motion. * December 15 – The directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki, ''The Castle of Cagliostro'' based on the manga series ''Lupin III'' is released in Japan. * December 21 – A ceasefire for Rhodesia is signed at London. * December 23 – The highest aerial tramway in Europe, the Klein Matterhorn, opens. * December 24 ** The Soviet Union covertly launches its Soviet–Afghan War, invasion of Afghanistan - 3 days later, People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, PDPA general secretary Hafizullah Amin is executed in Operation Storm-333 and Babrak Karmal replaces him, beginning the war. ** The first European Ariane 1, Ariane rocket is launched. * December 26 – In Rhodesia, 96 Patriotic Front guerrillas enter the capital Harare, Salisbury to monitor a ceasefire that begins December 28.


Date unknown

* The One-child policy is introduced in China – it contributes to Missing women of China. It was loosened in 2013. * Hànyǔ Pīnyīn is widely adopted as the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, leading to changes in Western spelling of Chinese toponyms. * VisiCalc becomes the first Commerce, commercial Spreadsheet#Autoplan/Autotab spreadsheet programming language, spreadsheet program. * The first usenet experiments are conducted by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis (computing), Jim Ellis of Duke University. * Worldwide per capita oil production reaches a historic peak oil, peak. * The remains of Tsar Nicholas II and some of the Romanovs are discovered and exhumed near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). * NBC introduces a new version of its famous peacock, used in conjunction with the 1975-style N, for the 1979 in American television, Fall season. *''Onde Tem Bruxa Tem Fada'', book is published. * Citic Group, China International Trust Investment Group (CITIC) founded.


Births


January

*
January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
** Brody Dalle, Australian singer ** Vidya Balan, Indian actress ** Gisela (singer), Gisela, Spanish pop singer and voice actress * January 2 **Erica Hubbard, American actress **Jagmeet Singh, Canadian politician, leader of the New Democratic Party * January 3 ** Koit Toome, Estonian singer and musical actor ** Rie Tanaka, Japanese voice actress * January 4 – Kevin Kuske, German Olympic bobsledder * January 6 ** Christina Chanée, Danish-Thai pop singer ** Bernice Liu, Hong Kong actress * January 7 ** Bipasha Basu, Indian actress and model ** Christian Lindner, German politician * January 8 ** Sarah Polley, Canadian actress, writer, director, producer and political activist ** Seol Ki-hyeon, South Korean footballer ** Stipe Pletikosa, Croatian football goalkeeper * January 9 ** Tomiko Van, Japanese singer (Do As Infinity) ** Bipasha Basu, Indian actress and model ** Hannah Yeoh, Malaysian politician * January 11 ** Terence Morris, American basketball player **Siti Nurhaliza, Malaysian singer * January 12 ** Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player ** Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model ** Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer * January 13 ** María de Villota, Spanish racing driver (d. 2013) * January 15 ** Drew Brees, American football player ** Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer * January 16 – Aaliyah, American R&B singer and actress (d. 2001) * January 17 – Sharon Chan, Hong Kong actress * January 18 ** Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer, song producer and actor ** Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer ** Leo Varadkar, 14th Taoiseach of Ireland *
January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrend ...
– Svetlana Khorkina, Russian artistic gymnast * January 20 ** Rob Bourdon, American drummer (Linkin Park) ** Asaka Kubo, Japanese gravure idol ** Will Young, English singer * January 21 ** Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby union player ** Inul Daratista, Indonesian dangdut singer ** Johann Hari, Scot-Swiss Journalist and author * January 23 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player * January 24 – Tatyana Ali, American actress * January 25 – Christine Lakin, American actress * January 26 ** Antônio Carlos Magalhães Neto, ACM Neto, Brazilian lawyer and politician ** Sara Rue, American actress * January 27 ** Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer * January 29 – B. J. Flores, American boxer * January 31 – Jenny Wolf, German speed skater


February

* February 1 ** Julie Augustyniak, American footballer ** Mahek Chahal, Norwegian actress and model ** Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer (d. 2006) ** Peter Fulton, New Zealand cricketer ** Rachelle Lefevre, Canadian actress ** Clodoaldo Silva, Brazilian paralympian swimmer * February 2 ** David Paisley, Scottish actor ** Fani Chalkia, Greek athlete ** Mayer Hawthorne, American soul singer ** Christine Lampard, Northern Irish television presenter ** Shamita Shetty, Indian actress and interior designer ** Yuichi Tsuchiya, Japanese actor * February 4 **Andrei Arlovski, Belarusian mixed martial artist ** Jodi Shilling, American actress ** Tabitha Brown (actress), Tabitha Brown, American actress * February 5 ** Paulo Gonçalves (motorcyclist), Paulo Gonçalves, Portuguese rally racing motorcycle rider (d. 2020) ** Katie Brambley, Canadian distance freestyle swimmer * February 6 – David Dolníček, Czech ice hockey player *
February 7 Events Pre-1600 * 457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. * 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. * 1301 &nd ...
** Cerina Vincent, American actress and writer ** Michał Karwan, Polish footballer ** Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni politician, Nobel Peace Prize laureate * February 8 ** Josh Keaton, American actor ** Martin Rowlands, Irish footballer ** Aleksey Mishin (wrestler), Aleksey Mishin, Russian wrestler * February 9 ** Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress and model ** Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater *
February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, spar ...
** Paul Waggoner, American guitarist (Between the Buried and Me) * February 11 – Brandy Norwood, African-American singer and actress *
February 12 Events Pre-1600 *1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna. *1429 – English forces under ...
** Antonio Chatman, American football player ** Jesse Spencer, Australian actor * February 13 ** Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian Right-wing terrorism, far-right terrorist responsible for the 2011 Norway attacks ** Mena Suvari, American actress ** Rafael Márquez, Mexican footballer * February 14 – Jocelyn Quivrin, French actor (d. 2009) * February 15 – Gordon Shedden, Scottish race car driver * February 16 ** Valentino Rossi, Italian seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing#MotoGP class, MotoGP world champion ** Eric Mun, leader of Korean boy-band Shinhwa * February 19 ** Mariana Ochoa, Mexican singer and actress ** Vitas, Ukrainian and Russian singer and actor * February 20 – Song Chong-gug, South Korean footballer *
February 21 Events Pre-1600 *452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine. * 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. *1440 – The Pru ...
** Maria Annus, Estonian actress ** Carly Colón, Puerto Rican professional wrestler ** Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and singer ** Jordan Peele, American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer * February 25 – László Bodnár, Hungarian footballer * February 26 ** Corinne Bailey Rae, British singer-songwriter and guitarist ** Susana Diazayas, Mexican actress ** Ngô Thanh Vân, Norwegian-Vietnamese actress, singer and model * February 28 ** Michael Bisping, British mixed martial artist ** Sébastien Bourdais, French racing driver ** Sander van Doorn, Dutch DJ and electronic music producer


March

*
March 1 Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian ...
– Iurie Chiorescu, Moldova politician *
March 4 Events Pre-1600 *AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title '' princeps iuventutis'' (head of the youth). * 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. * 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a st ...
** Ben Fouhy, New Zealand flatwater canoeist ** Geoff Huegill, Australian swimmer ** Jon Fratelli, Scottish singer (The Fratellis) * March 5 ** Martin Axenrot, Swedish metal drummer ** Riki Lindhome, American actress and comedian ** Tang Gonghong, Chinese weightlifter * March 6 – Érik Bédard, Canadian pitcher * March 7 ** Stephanie Anne Mills, Canadian voice actress ** Ricardo Rosselló, Puerto Rican politician, Governor of Puerto Rico *
March 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''. *1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León. * 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...
** Jasmine You, Japanese musician (d. 2009) ** Tom Chaplin, British singer (Keane (band), Keane) * March 9 ** Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor ** Melina Perez, American professional wrestler * March 12 – Pete Doherty, British singer and guitarist (The Libertines, Babyshambles) *
March 13 Events Pre-1600 *624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh. *1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War. *1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
– Johan Santana, Venezuelan baseball player * March 14 ** Nicolas Anelka, French footballer ** Gao Ling, Chinese badminton player ** Chris Klein (actor), Chris Klein, American actor ** Michele Riondino, Italian actor *
March 16 Events Pre-1600 * 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang. *1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York. * 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse ...
– Adriana Fonseca, Mexican actress and dancer *
March 17 Events Pre-1600 * 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. * 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of ei ...
– Samoa Joe, American professional wrestler *
March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
** Shola Ama, English singer ** Adam Levine, American singer (Maroon 5) *
March 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. * 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
** Emil Dimitriev, Macedonian politician, Prime Minister ** Hedo Türkoğlu, Turkish basketball player * March 20 **Daniel Cormier, American retired mixed martial artist ** Freema Agyeman, British actress ** Molly Jenson, American musician ** Bianca Lawson, American actress * March 21 – Jimenez Lai, American architect * March 23 ** Mark Buehrle, American baseball player ** Bryan Fletcher (American football), Bryan Fletcher, American football player * March 25 ** Lee Pace, American actor ** Traxamillion, American producer rapper ** Gorilla Zoe, American rapper *
March 28 Events Pre-1600 * AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate. * 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
** Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer, film organiser and media personalities *
March 29 Events Pre-1600 * 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. * 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of ...
– Estela Giménez, Spanish gymnast *
March 30 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro- Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague. *1282 &ndash ...
** Daniel Arenas, Colombian-Mexican actor ** Norah Jones, American musician ** Jose Pablo Cantillo, American actor


April

*
April 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. J ...
** Lindy Booth, Canadian actress ** Jesse Carmichael, American musician (Maroon 5) * April 3 ** Grégoire (musician), Grégoire, French singer-songwriter ** Živilė Balčiūnaitė, Lithuanian long-distance runner * April 4 ** Heath Ledger, Australian actor and music video director (d. 2008) ** Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey goaltender ** Maksim Opalev, Russian canoeist * April 8 ** Mohamed Kader, Togolese footballer ** Alexi Laiho, Finnish musician (Children of Bodom) (d. 2020) ** David Petruschin, American drag queen * April 9 ** Sebastián Silva (director), Sebastián Silva, Chilean director, actor, screenwriter, painter and musician ** Keshia Knight Pulliam, African-American actress ** Mario Matt, Austrian alpine skier *
April 10 Events Pre-1600 * 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. * 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). * 140 ...
** Ryan Agoncillo, Filipino actor and TV personality ** Rachel Corrie, American activist and diarist (d. 2003) ** Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese entertainer (KinKi Kids) ** Sophie Ellis-Bextor, British singer *
April 11 Events Pre-1600 * 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. *1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. *1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrare ...
** Sebastien Grainger, Canadian singer and musician ** Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player ** Josh Server, American actor * April 12 ** Claire Danes, American actress ** Jennifer Morrison, American actress * April 13 – Baron Davis, American basketball player *
April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
** Pedro Andrade, Brazilian journalist and model ** Rebecca DiPietro, American model ** Pierre Roland, Indonesian actor *
April 15 Events Pre-1600 * 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. * 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
– Luke Evans, Welsh actor and singer *
April 17 Events Pre-1600 *1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. *1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan ...
– Sung Si-kyung, South Korean singer * April 18 ** Michael Bradley (basketball), Michael Bradley, American basketball player ** Anthony Davidson, English racing driver ** Yusuke Kamiji, Japanese actor ** Kourtney Kardashian, American reality television star * April 19 ** Kate Hudson, American actress and co-founder of Fabletics ** Antoaneta Stefanova, Bulgarian chess player * April 20 – Teoh Beng Hock, Malaysian journalist (d. 2009) * April 21 ** Cindy Kurleto, Filipina-Austrian model and TV personality ** James McAvoy, Scottish actor ** Karin Rask, Estonian actress *
April 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil. * 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico. *1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern h ...
– Daniel Johns, Australian musician (Silverchair) * April 23 ** Jaime King, American actress ** Yana Gupta, Indian actress of Czech origin * April 24 ** Laurentia Tan, Singaporean Paralympic equestrienne ** Avey Tare, American musician ** Adam Andretti, American race car driver * April 25 ** Andreas Küttel, Swiss ski jumper ** Andrea Osvárt, Hungarian actress * April 27 – Travis Meeks, American musician (Days of the New) * April 28 – Bahram Radan, Iranian actor * April 29 ** Jo O'Meara, English singer (S Club 7) * April 30 – Shelley Calene-Black, American voice actress


May

*
May 1 Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. *1169 – N ...
** Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003) ** Lars Berger, Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier ** Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby union player * May 2 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player *
May 3 Events Pre-1600 * 752 – Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico, assumes the throne. * 1481 – The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties. ...
** Danny Foster (musician), Danny Foster, English singer (Hear'Say) ** Ingrid Isotamm, Estonian actress * May 4 ** Lance Bass, American singer (NSYNC) ** Wes Butters, English broadcaster * May 5 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor * May 6 ** Mark Burrier, American cartoonist ** Kerry Ellis, English stage actress and singer ** Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower ** Jon Montgomery, Canadian former skeleton racer and television personality; host of ''The Amazing Race Canada'' * May 8 – Wendy Armoko, Indonesian singer, actor, presenter and comedian *
May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. *1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. *1386 – England and Portugal formally rati ...
** Pierre Bouvier, Canadian musician ** Rosario Dawson, American actress * May 10 ** Marieke Vervoort, Belgian athlete (d. 2019) ** Lee Hyori, South Korean entertainer * May 12 – Adrian Serioux, Canadian soccer player * May 13 ** Mickey Madden, American musician (Maroon 5) ** Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland * May 14 – Urijah Faber, WEC Featherweight Champion *
May 15 Events Pre-1600 * 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty. * 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...
– James Mackenzie (actor), James Mackenzie, Scottish actor and TV presenter * May 16 ** Brandon Lee (pornographic actor), Brandon Lee, Filipino-American gay pornographic film actor ** Jessica Morris, American actress * May 18 ** Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer ** Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist ** Jens Bergensten ("Jeb"), Swedish game designer and co-founder of the game company Mojang * May 19 ** Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer ** Diego Forlán, Uruguayan football player * May 20 – Andrew Scheer, Canadian politician *
May 21 Events Pre-1600 * 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. * 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabi ...
– Sonja Vectomov, Czech-Finnish electronic musician and composer * May 22 ** Maggie Q, American actress **Nazanin Boniadi, Iranian-British-American actress * May 23 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player (d. 2018) * May 24 ** Frank Mir, American mixed martial artist ** Tracy McGrady, American basketball player *
May 25 Events Pre-1600 * 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. *240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Tol ...
– Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby union player * May 26 ** Ashley Massaro, American professional wrestler and model (d. 2019) ** Elisabeth Harnois, American actress * May 27 – Michael Buonauro, American comic creator * May 28 – Jesse Bradford, American actor * May 29 – Brian Kendrick, American wrestler * May 30 ** Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player ** Clint Bowyer, American race car driver ** Rie Kugimiya, Japanese voice actress and singer


June

*
June 1 Events Pre-1600 *1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu. * 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed k ...
** TheFatRat, German musician and producer ** Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson, Swedish video game programmer, designer and creator of Minecraft ** Rhea Santos, Filipina journalist based in Canada *
June 2 Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks. * 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. 1601 ...
** Choirul Huda, Indonesian professional footballer and civil servant (d. 2017) ** Morena Baccarin, Brazilian actress * June 5 ** François Sagat, French male gay porn film actor, model and director ** Pete Wentz, American musician, lyricist and bassist (Fall Out Boy) * June 6 – Murder of Shanda Sharer, Shanda Sharer, American murder victim (d. 1992) *
June 7 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire). * 879 – Pope John VIII recognizes the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state. * 1002 – Henr ...
** Anna Torv, Australian actress ** Kevin Hofland, Dutch footballer * June 8 ** Pete Orr, Canadian baseball player ** Eddie Hearn, British promoter * June 9 – Émilie Loit, French tennis player * June 10 – Lee Brice, American country music singer-songwriter *
June 12 Events Pre-1600 * 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors. * 1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of Fr ...
** Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter ** Amandine Bourgeois, French singer ** Diego Milito, Argentine football player ** Jodie Prenger, British actress * June 13 ** Nila Håkedal, Norwegian beach volleyball player ** Ágnes Csomor, Hungarian actress * June 14 ** Paradorn Srichaphan, Thai tennis player *
June 15 Events Pre-1600 * 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. * 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. * 923 – Battle of So ...
– Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian athlete * June 16 – Ari Hest, American singer-songwriter * June 17 – Young Maylay, American actor, record producer and rapper *
June 18 Events Pre-1600 * 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China. * 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. * 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about ...
** Yumiko Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress ** Chris Neil, Canadian ice hockey player ** Pini Balili, Israeli-Turkish footballer and manager ** Ivana Wong, Hong Kong singer-songwriter *
June 19 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. *1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle chan ...
** John Duddy, Irish boxer ** Kate Tsui, Hong Kong actress * June 21 ** Chris Pratt, American actor ** Makasini Richter, Tongan rugby league player *
June 22 Events Pre-1600 * 217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. * 168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus ...
** Sandra Klösel, German tennis player ** Jai Rodriguez, American actor and musician * June 23 ** Marilyn Agliotti, Dutch field hockey player ** LaDainian Tomlinson, American football player * June 24 ** Petra Němcová, Czech model ** Joaquín de Orbegoso, Peruvian actor ** Craig Shergold, British cancer patient ** Mindy Kaling, American actress, comedian and author * June 25 ** Busy Philipps, American film actress * June 26 ** Ryan Tedder, American singer (OneRepublic), songwriter and producer ** Julia Benson, Canadian actress * June 27 ** Cazwell, American rapper and songwriter ** Scott Taylor (politician), Scott Taylor, American politician ** Fabrizio Miccoli, Italian professional footballer * June 28 ** Felicia Day, American actress, writer, director, violinist and singer ** Randy McMichael, American football player * June 29 ** Lee Hee-joon, South Korean actor ** Abz Love, English singer (Five (band), 5ive) ** Marleen Veldhuis, Dutch swimmer ** Yehuda Levi, Israeli actor and male model ** Liliana Castro, Ecuadorian-born Brazilian actress ** Artur Avila, Brazilian and French mathematician * June 30 ** Rick Gonzalez, American actor ** Ed Kavalee, Australian comedian, actor, radio and television host ** Faisal Shahzad, Pakistani-American bomber ** Matisyahu, Jewish-American reggae vocalist, beatboxer and alternative rock musician ** Nelson Lucas, Seychellois sprinter ** Christopher Jacot, Canadian actor ** Andy Burrows, English songwriter and musician


July

* July 1 ** Danisa Phiri, Zimbabwean footballer ** Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial arts fighter ** Patrik Baboumian, German-Iranian strongman competitor, strength athlete and bodybuilder * July 2 ** Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer ** Sam Hornish Jr., American race car driver ** Ayiesha Woods, American singer * July 3 ** Sayuri Katayama, Japanese actress, singer and lyricist ** Ludivine Sagnier, French model and actress * July 4 – Kevin Thoms, American actor and voice actor * July 5 ** Oh Dae-hwan, South Korean actor ** Shane Filan, Irish singer (Westlife) ** Amélie Mauresmo, French tennis player ** Darine Hamze, Lebanese actress * July 6 ** Mohsen Bengar, Iranian footballer ** Kevin Hart, American actor, comedian, writer and producer * July 7 ** Pat Barry (kickboxer), Pat Barry, American kickboxer and mixed martial artist ** Douglas Hondo, Zimbabwean cricketer ** Shebly Niavarani, Swedish actor ** Amanda Françozo, Brazilian television presenter and model * July 8 – Ben Jelen, Scottish-born American former singer-songwriter * July 9 ** Ella Koon, Hong Kong actress ** Gary Chaw, Malaysian Chinese singer * July 10 ** Gong Yoo, South Korean actor ** Dimitri Soudas, Canadian political consultant * July 11 ** Im Soo-jung, South Korean actress ** Marina Gatell, Spanish actress * July 12 ** Nikos Barlos, Greek basketball player and coach ** Justin Rockefeller, American venture capitalist and political activist ** Sam Golzari, British actor * July 13 ** Dejan Ćirjaković, Serbian actor, screenwriter and musician ** Daniel Galera, Brazilian writer, translator and editor ** Holly Gauthier-Frankel, Canadian voice actress ** Ladyhawke (musician), Ladyhawke, New Zealand singer-songwriter * July 14 ** Axel Teichmann, German cross-country skier ** Scott Porter, American actor and singer ** Cristián Verón, Argentine footballer * July 15 ** Laura Benanti, American actress and singer ** Travis Fimmel, Australian fashion model and actor ** Philipp Karner, American actor, writer and director * July 16 ** Landy Wen, Taiwanese singer ** Jayma Mays, American actress and singer ** Kinya Kotani, Japanese singer ** Kim Rhode, American double trap and skeet shooter * July 17 ** Mike Vogel, American actor ** Brendan James, American piano-based singer/songwriter * July 18 ** Rick Baxter, American politician ** Jason Weaver, American actor and singer * July 19 ** Malavika (actress), Malavika, Indian actress ** David Sakurai, Danish-Japanese actor, director, scriptwriter and martial artist ** Bruno Cabrerizo, Brazilian football player, model and actor * July 20 ** Claudine Barretto, Filipino film actress, television actress, entrepreneur and product endorser ** Marcos Mion, Brazilian TV host, actor, voice actor and businessman ** Milan Nikolić (musician), Milan Nikolić, Serbian accordionist ** Adam Rose, South African professional wrestler ** Amr Shabana, Egyptian squash player * July 22 – Parvesh Cheena, American actor * July 23 – Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams, American singer and actress * July 24 ** Rose Byrne, Australian actress ** Lee Si-yeon, South Korean actress ** Stat Quo, American rapper * July 25 ** Juan Pablo Di Pace, Argentinian actor and singer ** Allister Carter, English snooker player * July 26 ** Johnson Beharry, British recipient of the Victoria Cross ** Tamyra Gray, American singer ** Derek Paravicini, British pianist ** Hamudi Salman, Arab-Israeli professional football player ** Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player ** Mageina Tovah, American actress * July 27 ** Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician (d. 2018) ** Jorge Arce, Mexican boxer ** Shannon Moore, American professional wrestler * July 30 ** Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rican basketball player ** Show Lo, Taiwanese singer ** Graeme McDowell, Northern Irish professional golfer ** Maya Nasser, Syrian journalist (d. 2012) * July 31 – B. J. Novak, American actor, director and producer


August

* August 1 ** Jason Momoa, American actor ** Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer (d. 2019) ** Honeysuckle Weeks, British actress * August 3 ** Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress and author of children's literature ** Maria Haukaas Mittet, Norwegian recording artist * August 4 – Patryk Dominik Sztyber, Polish rock musician * August 5 – David Healy (footballer), David Healy, Northern Irish footballer * August 7 – Miguel Llera, Spanish footballer * August 10 ** JoAnna Garcia, American actress ** Ted Geoghegan, American screenwriter * August 11 ** Drew Nelson (actor), Drew Nelson, Canadian actor and voice actor ** Bubba Crosby, American baseball player * August 12 ** Peter Browngardt, American cartoonist ** Cindy Klassen, Canadian speed skater * August 13 – Taizō Sugimura, Japanese politician * August 15 ** Carl Edwards, American race car driver ** Peter Shukoff, American comedian, musician and personality * August 16 ** Sarah Balabagan, Filipina prisoner and singer * August 19 – Oumar Kondé, Swiss footballer * August 20 – Jamie Cullum, English jazz pianist and singer * August 22 **Matt Walters, American football player **Angelu de Leon, Filipina actress * August 23 ** Mulan Jameela, Indonesian singer and politician ** Ritchie Neville, English singer (Five (band), 5ive) * August 24 ** Elva Hsiao, Taiwanese singer ** Michael Redd, American basketball player * August 25 – Andrew Hussie, American artist * August 26 ** Jamal Lewis, American football player ** Cristian Mora, Ecuadorian footballer * August 27 ** Giovanni Capitello, American filmmaker and actor ** Tian Liang, Chinese diver ** Aaron Paul, American actor * August 28 ** Robert Hoyzer, German football referee ** Yuki Maeda, Japanese singer ** Shane Van Dyke, American actor * August 29 – Justine Pasek, Miss Universe 2002 * August 30 ** Leon Lopez, British actor, film director, singer-songwriter and occasional model ** Tavia Yeung, Hong Kong actress ** Niki Chow, Hong Kong actress * August 31 ** Mickie James, American professional wrestler ** Simon Neil, Scottish musician (vocalist, guitarist, songwriter), Biffy Clyro Marmaduke Duke ** Yuvan Shankar Raja, Indian film composer


September

* September 1 – Neg Dupree, British comedian * September 2 ** Ron Ng, Hong Kong actor ** Łukasz Żygadło, Polish volleyball player * September 3 – Júlio César (football goalkeeper, born 1979), Júlio César, Brazilian football goalkeeper * September 4 – Maxim Afinogenov, Russian ice hockey player * September 5 ** John Carew, Norwegian footballer ** Stacey Dales, Canadian basketball player and sportscaster * September 6 – Ned Collette, Australian singer and musician * September 7 – Nathan Hindmarsh, Australian rugby league player * September 8 ** Pink (singer), Pink, American singer and actress **Ashraf Sinclair, English-Malaysian actor (d. 2020) * September 10 – Mustis, Norwegian pianist * September 11 ** Ariana Richards, American actress ** Eric Abidal, French footballer ** Cameron Richardson, American actress and model * September 12 ** Michelle Dorrance, American tap dancer ** Jay McGraw, American author, son of TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw * September 13 – Ivan Miljković, Serbian volleyball player * September 14 ** Stuart Fielden, English rugby league player ** Chris John (boxer), Chris John, Indonesian former featherweight boxing champion ** Kamya Panjabi, Indian television actress * September 15 ** Dave Annable, American actor ** Amy Davidson, American actress ** Edna Kiplagat, Edna Ngeringway Kiplagat, Kenyan long-distance runner ** Patrick Marleau, Canadian ice hockey player * September 16 ** Fanny (singer), Fanny, French singer ** Flo Rida, African-American rapper ** Soo Ae, South Korean actress * September 17 ** Akin Ayodele, American football player ** Chuck Comeau, Canadian drummer * September 18 ** Junichi Inamoto, Japanese footballer ** Alison Lohman, American actress * September 19 – Noémie Lenoir, French supermodel * September 20 – David Long (New Zealand musician), David Long, New Zealand musician * September 22 – MyAnna Buring, Swedish-English actress * September 23 – Lote Tuqiri (rugby, born 1979), Lote Tuqiri, Fijian-Australian rugby player * September 24 ** Justin Bruening, American actor and model ** Erin Chambers, American actress ** Katja Kassin, German porn actress ** Julia Clarete, Filipina actress * September 25 ** Rashad Evans, American retired mixed martial artist ** Michele Scarponi, Italian road bicycle racer (d. 2017) * September 26 ** Naomichi Marufuji, Japanese professional wrestler ** Taavi Rõivas, Prime Minister of Estonia * September 27 ** Zoltán Horváth (basketball), Zoltán Horváth, Hungarian basketball player (d. 2009) ** Shinji Ono, Japanese football player ** Nathan Foley (singer), Nathan Foley, Australian performer * September 28 ** Bam Margera, American skateboarder ** Anndi McAfee, American actress and voice actress * September 29 ** Gaitana (singer), Gaitana, Ukrainian singer and songwriter of Ukrainian and Congolese descent ** Artika Sari Devi, Putri Indonesia 2004 * September 30 ** Mike Damus, American actor ** Vince Chong, Malaysian singer ** Juho Kuosmanen, Finnish film director and screenwriter


October

* October 1 ** Rudi Johnson, American football player ** Senit, Italian singer of Eritrean descent ** Marko Stanojevic, English-born Italian rugby union player * October 2 – Brianna Brown, American actress * October 3 ** Matt Davis (comedian), Matt Davis, American stand-up comedian ** Josh Klinghoffer, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers) ** John Morrison (wrestler), John Hennigan, American professional wrestler * October 4 ** Caitriona Balfe, Irish model and actress ** Brandon Barash, American actor ** Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress ** Adam Voges, Australian cricketer * October 5 – Gao Yuanyuan, Chinese actress * October 7 ** Aaron Ashmore, Canadian film and television actor ** Shawn Ashmore, Canadian film and television actor ** Simona Amânar, Romanian gymnast ** Tang Wei, Chinese actress * October 8 – Kristanna Loken, American actress and model * October 9 ** Csézy, Hungarian singer ** Vernon Fox, American football player ** Alex Greenwald, American singer-songwriter, producer and actor (Phantom Planet and Phases (band), JJAMZ) ** Todd Kelly, Australian race car driver ** Chris O'Dowd, Irish actor and comedian ** DJ Rashad, Chicago-based electronic musician, producer and DJ (d. 2014) ** Hendrik Odendaal, South African swimmer ** Brandon Routh, American actor ** Gonzalo Sorondo, Uruguayan footballer * October 10 ** Wu Chun, Bruneian actor, model and singer ** Nicolás Massú, Chilean tennis player ** Mýa, American singer and actress * October 11 ** Bae Doona, South Korean actress ** Gabe Saporta, Uruguayan singer (Cobra Starship) * October 13 ** Ryan Malcolm, Canadian singer ** Mamadou Niang, Senegalese footballer * October 14 – Stacy Keibler, American actress and model * October 15 – Jaci Velasquez, American Christian singer * October 16 – Erin Brown, American actress * October 17 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish 2007 Formula 1 world champion * October 18 – Ne-Yo, African-American singer and songwriter * October 19 – Marc Elliott, British actor * October 20 ** John Krasinski, American actor ** Paul O'Connell, Irish rugby union player **Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, American filmmaker * October 23 ** Jorge Solís, Mexican professional boxer ** Prabhas, Indian actor * October 25 – Sarah Thompson (actress), Sarah Thompson, American actress * October 26 – Jonathan Chase (actor), Jonathan Chase, American actor * October 28 ** Brett Dennen, American folk/pop singer and songwriter **Glover Teixeira, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist ** Jawed Karim, German and Bangladeshi-American software engineer, Internet entrepreneur and co-founder of YouTube ** Martin Škoula, Czech ice hockey player * October 30 – Yukie Nakama, Japanese actress


November

* November 1 ** Coco Crisp, American baseball player ** Atsuko Enomoto, Japanese voice actress ** Milan Dudić, Serbian footballer * November 2 ** Marián Čišovský, Slovak footballer (d. 2020) ** Erika Flores, American actress * November 3 ** Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer ** Tim McIlrath, American rock singer, songwriter (Rise Against) * November 4 – Audrey Hollander, American porn actress * November 5 ** Leonardo Nam, Australian actor ** Tarek Boudali, French actor ** Patrick Owomoyela, German Footballer of Nigerian descent * November 6 ** Lamar Odom, African-American retired basketball player ** Myolie Wu, Hong Kong actress * November 7 – Jon Peter Lewis, American singer and songwriter * November 8 ** Aaron Hughes, Northern Irish footballer ** Dania Ramirez, Dominican actress ** Dash Berlin, Dutch DJ and music producer ** Salvatore Cascio, Italian actor * November 9 ** Cory Hardrict, American actor ** Darren Trumeter, American actor and comedian * November 12 ** Matt Cappotelli, American professional wrestler (d. 2018) ** Cote de Pablo, Chilean actress ** Matt Stevic, Australian rules football umpire * November 13 ** Henry Wolfe, American actor and musician ** Metta World Peace, American basketball player * November 14 ** Mavie Hörbiger, German actress ** Olga Kurylenko, Ukrainian model and actress ** Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Universe 1999 * November 17 – Matthew Spring, English footballer * November 18 – Neeti Mohan, Indian playback singer * November 19 ** Barry Jenkins, American film director, producer, and screenwriter ** Larry Johnson (running back), Larry Johnson, American football player ** Michelle Vieth, American born Mexican actress and model * November 20 – Ericson Alexander Molano, Colombian gospel singer * November 21 – Kim Dong-wan, South Korean singer and actor * November 22 ** Chris Doran, Irish singer ** Scott Robinson (singer), Scott Robinson, English singer (Five (band), 5ive) ** Njabuliso Simelane, Swaziland international footballer * November 23 ** Ivica Kostelić, Croatian alpine skier ** Kelly Brook, English actress and model * November 25 – Joel Kinnaman, Swedish-American actor * November 27 ** Ricky Carmichael, American motorcycle and stock car racer ** Hilary Hahn, American violinist * November 28 ** Dane Bowers, English singer-songwriter (Another Level (group), Another Level) ** Jamie Korab, Canadian curler ** Hakeem Seriki, African-American rapper (Chamillionaire) ** Daniel Henney, American actor and model * November 29 ** Simon Amstell, English comedian and writer ** Jayceon Taylor, American rapper (The Game (rapper), The Game) * November 30 ** Diego Klattenhoff, Canadian actor ** Andrés Nocioni, Argentinian basketball player


December

* December 2 ** Sabina Babayeva, Azerbaijani singer ** Yvonne Catterfeld, German singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality * December 3 ** Daniel Bedingfield, English pop singer and songwriter ** Rock Cartwright, American football player ** Robby Mook, American former political campaign strategist and campaign manager ** Tiffany Haddish, American actress and comedian * December 7 ** Eric Bauza, Canadian comedian and voice actor ** Sara Bareilles, American singer, songwriter and pianist ** Ayako Fujitani, Japanese actress ** Jennifer Carpenter, American actress * December 8 – Ingrid Michaelson, American indie pop singer-songwriter * December 10 – Keiko Nemoto, Japanese voice actress * December 11 – Rider Strong, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter * December 12 ** Emin Agalarov, Azerbaijani-Russian singer-songwriter and businessman ** Barulaganye Bolofete, Botswana footballer * December 14 ** Chris Cheng, American sport shooter ** Michael Owen, English footballer * December 15 ** Adam Brody, American actor ** Eric Young (wrestler), Eric Young, Canadian wrestler ** Lee Carr, African-American singer and songwriter * December 16 ** Trevor Immelman, South African golfer ** Brodie Lee, American professional wrestler (d. 2020) ** Daniel Narcisse, French handball player ** Mihai Trăistariu, Romanian singer and musician * December 17 **Jaimee Foxworth, American actress and model **Erion Veliaj, Albanian politician, Mayor of Tirana * December 19 ** Kevin Devine, American songwriter and musician ** Paola Rey, Colombian actress and model ** Tara Summers, English actress * December 20 ** Flávio Amado, Flávio, Angolan footballer ** Ramón Rodríguez (actor), Ramon Rodriguez, Puerto Rican actor * December 21 – Rutina Wesley, American actress * December 22 – Petra Majdič, Slovene cross-country skier * December 23 ** Jacqueline Bracamontes, Mexican actress and beauty contest winner (Nuestra Belleza México 2000) ** Kenny Miller, Scottish football player * December 25 – Ferman Akgül, vocalist of Turkish nu-metal band Manga (band), maNga * December 26 ** Chris Daughtry, American singer and guitarist ** Dimitry Vassiliev, Russian ski jumper * December 28 ** James Blake (tennis), James Blake, American tennis pro ** André Holland, American actor ** Bree Williamson, Canadian actress ** B-Tight, Robert Edward Davis, German-American rapper ** Zach Hill, American drummer (Death Grips) * December 29 - Diego Luna, Mexican actor *December 30 ** Milana Terloeva, Chechen journalist and author ** Yelawolf, American rapper * December 31 ** Bob Bryar, American drummer (My Chemical Romance) ** Elaine Cassidy, Irish actress ** Josh Hawley, American politician, United States Senate, U.S. Senator (Republican Party (United States), R-Missouri, MO) from 2019


Deaths


January

* January 3 – Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (b. 1887) * January 4 – Vincent Korda, Hungarian art director (b. 1897) * January 5 ** Billy Bletcher, American actor (b. 1894) ** Charles Mingus, American musician (b. 1922) * January 11 – Jack Soo, Japanese-born American actor (b. 1917) * January 13 – Donny Hathaway, American musician (b. 1945) * January 15 – Charles W. Morris, American philosopher and semiotician (b. 1901) * January 16 – Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932) * January 22 – Ali Hassan Salameh, Palestinian Leader of Black September and mastermind of the 1972 Munich Massacre (b. 1940) * January 26 – Nelson Rockefeller, List of Vice Presidents of the United States, 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908) * January 27 – Victoria Ocampo, Argentine publisher, writer and critic (b. 1890)


February

* February 1 ** William H. Brockman Jr., United States Navy admiral (b. 1904) ** Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist and human rights activist (b. 1929) * February 2 ** Issa Pliyev, Soviet general (b. 1903) ** Sid Vicious, English musician (b. 1957) *
February 7 Events Pre-1600 * 457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. * 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. * 1301 &nd ...
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, German officer and physician (b. 1911) *
February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, spar ...
** Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Yugoslavia), Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1910)) ** Karl von Eberstein, German politician (b. 1894) *
February 12 Events Pre-1600 *1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna. *1429 – English forces under ...
– Jean Renoir, French film director and actor (b. 1894) * February 14 – Reginald Maudling, British politician (b. 1917) * February 17 – William Gargan, American actor (b. 1905) * February 20 – Nereo Rocco, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1912) * February 25 – Henrich Focke, German aviation pioneer (b. 1890)


March

*
March 1 Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian ...
** Mustafa Barzani, Iraqi Kurdish politician (b. 1903) ** Dolores Costello, American actress (b. 1903) * March 15 – Léonide Massine, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1896) *
March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
– Marjorie Daw (actress), Marjorie Daw, American actress (b. 1902) *
March 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. * 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
– Richard Beckinsale, British actor (b. 1947) *
March 22 Events Pre-1600 * 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æthelr ...
– Ben Lyon, American actor (b. 1901) * March 24 – Yvonne Mitchell, English actress (b. 1915) *
March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. *1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, ...
– Jean Stafford, American writer (b. 1915) *
March 29 Events Pre-1600 * 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. * 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of ...
– Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim Petra, Sultan of Kelantan and 6th King of Malaysia (b. 1917) *
March 30 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro- Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague. *1282 &ndash ...
** Airey Neave, British politician (assassinated) (b. 1916) ** José María Velasco Ibarra, Ecuadorian politician, 24th President of Ecuador (b. 1893)


April

* April 4 ** Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan and 4th President of Pakistan (executed) (b. 1928) ** Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903) *
April 10 Events Pre-1600 * 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. * 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). * 140 ...
– Nino Rota, Italian composer (b. 1911) *
April 11 Events Pre-1600 * 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. *1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi. *1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrare ...
– Hassan Pakravan, Iranian diplomat (b. 1911) * April 19 – Wilhelm Bittrich, German ''Waffen SS'' general (b. 1894) * April 23
Blair Peach Clement Blair Peach (25 March 1946 – 24 April 1979) was a New Zealand teacher who was killed during an anti-racism demonstration in Southall, London, England. A campaigner and activist against the far right, in April 1979 Peach took part in a ...
, New Zealand-born, British teacher (b. 1946) * April 24 – John Carroll (actor), John Carroll, American actor (b. 1906) * April 27 – Phan Huy Quát, 4th Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, Prime Minister of South Vietnam (b. 1908)


May

*
May 1 Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. *1169 – N ...
– Morteza Motahhari, Iranian cleric and politician (b. 1919) * May 2 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903) * May 6 – Milton Ager, American songwriter (b. 1893) * May 8 – Talcott Parsons, American sociologist (b. 1902) * May 11 ** Joan Chandler, American actress (b. 1923) ** Barbara Hutton, American socialite (b. 1912) * May 13 – Predrag Đajić, Bosnian Serb and Yugoslavs, Yugoslav association football, footballer (b. 1922) * May 14 – Jean Rhys, Dominican novelist (b. 1890) * May 16 – A. Philip Randolph, African-American civil rights activist (b. 1889) * May 27 – Ahmed Ould Bouceif, Mauritanian military officer, second Prime Minister of Mauritania (b. 1934) * May 29 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress and producer (b. 1892)


June

*
June 1 Events Pre-1600 *1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu. * 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed k ...
** Ján Kadár, Czechoslovakian film director (b. 1918) ** Jack Mulhall, American actor (b. 1887) *
June 2 Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks. * 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. 1601 ...
- Jim Hutton, American actor (b. 1934) * June 5 – Heinz Erhardt, German comedian, musician, entertainer, actor and poet (b. 1909) * June 6 – Jack Haley, American actor (b. 1897) * June 8 - Reinhard Gehlen, German general, 20 July Plotter (b. 1902) * June 9 - Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1884) * June 11 ** John Wayne, American Academy Award-winning actor and film director (b. 1907) ** Loren Murchison, American Olympic athlete (b. 1898) * June 13 – Darla Hood, American actress (b. 1931) * June 16 – Nicholas Ray, American film director, screenwriter and actor (b. 1911) *
June 22 Events Pre-1600 * 217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. * 168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus ...
– Louis Chiron, Monacan Grand Prix driver (b. 1899) * June 25 – Dave Fleischer, American animator (b. 1894) * June 26 – Akwasi Afrifa, Ghanaian soldier and politician, List of heads of state of Ghana, Head of state (1969–1970) (b. 1936) * June 28 – Philippe Cousteau, French diver and cinematographer (b. 1940) * June 29 – Lowell George, American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer (b. 1945)


July

* July 2 – Carlyle Smith Beals, Canadian astronomer (b. 1899) * July 3 – Louis Durey, French composer (b. 1888) * July 4 – Theodora Kroeber, American writer and anthropologist (b. 1897) * July 6 ** Antonio María Barbieri, Uruguay Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1892) ** Van McCoy, American musician noted for his 1975 hit "The Hustle (song), The Hustle" (b. 1940) * July 8 ** Elizabeth Ryan, American 30 Grand Slam (tennis) Tennis Champion (b. 1892) ** Shin'ichirō Tomonaga, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906) ** Michael Wilding (actor), Michael Wilding, English actor (b. 1912) ** Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917) * July 10 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (''Boston Pops'') (b. 1894) * July 12 – Minnie Riperton, American rhythm and blues singer (''Lovin' You'') (b. 1947) * July 13 – Corinne Griffith, American actress and author (b. 1894) * July 15 ** Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican politician, 49th President of Mexico, 1964-1970 (b. 1911) ** Juana de Ibarbourou, Uruguayan poet (b. 1892) * July 16 – Alfred Deller, English countertenor (b. 1912) * July 17 – Edward Akufo-Addo, Ghanese politician and lawyer, 5th President of Ghana (b. 1906) * July 20 – Herbert Butterfield, Sir Herbert Butterfield, English philosopher and historian (b. 1900) * July 22 – Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (b. 1929) * July 28 – George Seaton, American screenwriter and director (b. 1911) * July 29 – Herbert Marcuse, German-American philosopher, sociologist and political theorist (b. 1898)


August

* August 2 ** Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, Peruvian politician, founder and leader of American Popular Revolutionary Alliance, APRA party (b. 1895) ** Thurman Munson, American baseball player (b. 1947) * August 3 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and Liberal politician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (b. 1899) * August 6 – Feodor Lynen, German biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911) * August 9 – Walter O'Malley, American baseball executive (b. 1903) * August 10 ** Dick Foran, American actor (b. 1910) ** Mohammad Nur Ahmad Etemadi, Afghan politician, 9th Prime Minister of Afghanistan (b. 1921) * August 12 – Ernst Chain, German-born British biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906) * August 16 – John Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895) * August 17 – Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (b. 1909) * August 19 – Saad Jumaa, Prime Minister of Jordan (b. 1916) * August 21 – Stuart Heisler, American film and television director (b. 1896) * August 24 ** Ahmad Daouk, Lebanese politician, 12th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1892) ** Hanna Reitsch, German aviator (b. 1912) * August 25 – Stan Kenton, American jazz pianist (b. 1911) * August 26 ** Alvin Karpis, American criminal (b. 1907) ** Mika Waltari, Finnish author (b. 1908) * August 27 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, British Viceroy of India (assassinated) (b. 1900) * August 30 (body found on September 8) – Jean Seberg, American actress (b. 1938) * August 31 – Sally Rand, American dancer (b. 1904)


September

* September 1 – Doris Kenyon, American actress (b. 1897) * September 2 – Felix Aylmer, British actor (b. 1889) * September 5 – Alberto di Jorio, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1884) * September 9 – Norrie Paramor, British music producer (b. 1914) * September 10 – Agostinho Neto, Angolan poet and politician, 1st President of Angola (b. 1922) * September 16 ** Giò Ponti, Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer and artist (b. 1891) ** Rob Slotemaker, Indonesian-born, Dutch Formula 1 racing car driver (b. 1929) * September 20 ** Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, Sultan of Terengganu and 4th King of Malaysia (b. 1907) ** Ludvík Svoboda, 8th President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1895) * September 22 ** Abul A'la Maududi, Pakistani journalist and philosopher (b. 1903) ** Otto Robert Frisch, Austrian-born British physicist (b. 1904) * September 24 – Carl Laemmle Jr., American film studio executive (b. 1908) * September 25 – Yury Kovalyov, Soviet footballer (b. 1934) * September 26 ** John Cromwell (director), John Cromwell, American film director and actor (b. 1887) ** Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (b. 1910) * September 27 ** Gracie Fields, British actress (b. 1898) ** Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish guitarist (Paul McCartney & Wings) (b. 1953) * September 29 ** Francisco Macías Nguema, 1st President of Equatorial Guinea (executed) (b. 1924) ** Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Russian composer (b. 1893)


October

* October 1 – Dorothy Arzner, American film director (b. 1897) * October 6 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (b. 1911) * October 9 – Nur Muhammad Taraki, Afghan revolutionary communist politician, journalist and writer (b. 1917) * October 15 – Jacob L. Devers, American army general (b. 1887) * October 16 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author (b. 1903) * October 18 – Virgilio Piñera, Cuban author, playwright and poet (b. 1912) * October 22 – Nadia Boulanger, French composer and composition teacher (b. 1887) * October 23 – Antonio Caggiano, Argentine cardinal (b. 1889) * October 25 ** Maphevu Dlamini, 2nd Prime Minister of Swaziland (b. 1922) ** Gerald Templer, British field marshal (b. 1898) * October 26 – Park Chung-hee, Korean politician, 3rd President of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) (assassinated) (b. 1917) * October 27 – Father Charles Coughlin, Canadian-born American priest and controversial conservative radio show commentator (b. 1891) * October 30 ** Barnes Wallis, British aeronautical engineer (b. 1887) ** Rachele Mussolini, Italian, wife of Benito Mussolini (b. 1890)


November

* November 1 ** Albert Préjean, French actor (b. 1894) ** Mamie Eisenhower, 34th First Lady of the United States (b. 1896) * November 2 – Jacques Mesrine, French criminal; known as the "French Robin Hood" (b. 1936) * November 5 ** Al Capp, American cartoonist (b. 1909) ** Amedeo Nazzari, Italian actor (b. 1907) * November 8 – Yvonne de Gaulle, French political wife of former President of France Charles de Gaulle (b. 1900) * November 11 – Dimitri Tiomkin, Russian film composer (b. 1894) * November 17 – Immanuel Velikovsky, Russian author and psychiatrist (b. 1895) * November 23 ** Merle Oberon, British actress (b. 1911) ** Judee Sill, American singer and songwriter (b. 1944) * November 26 – Marcel L'Herbier, French movie-maker (b. 1888) * November 30 – Zeppo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1901)


December

* December 3 – Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey player (b. 1905) * December 5 – Sonia Delaunay, Russian-born French artist (b. 1885) * December 7 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, British-born American astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1900) * December 9 – Fulton J. Sheen, American Roman Catholic bishop and venerable (b. 1895) * December 10 – Ann Dvorak, American actress (b. 1911) * December 11 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (b. 1904) * December 13 – Jon Hall (actor), Jon Hall, American actor (b. 1915) * December 15 – Ethel Lackie, American Olympic swimmer (b. 1907) * December 16 – Vagif Mustafazadeh, Azerbaijani jazz musician (b. 1940) * December 21 – Ermindo Onega, Argentine footballer (b. 1940) * December 22 – Darryl F. Zanuck, American film producer (b. 1902) * December 23 ** Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (b. 1898) ** Ernest B. Schoedsack, American film producer and director (b. 1893) * December 24 – Rudi Dutschke, German radical student leader (b. 1940) * December 25 ** Joan Blondell, American actress (b. 1906) ** Lee Bowman, American actor (b. 1914) * December 26 – Helmut Hasse, German mathematician (b. 1898) * December 27 – Hafizullah Amin, 2nd General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, People's Democratic Party and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (Afghanistan), Revolutionary Council (b. 1929) * December 28 – Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly, 43rd President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1904) * December 30 – Richard Rodgers, American composer (b. 1902)


Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam, Steven Weinberg * Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Herbert C. Brown, Georg Wittig * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Medicine – Allan MacLeod Cormack, Godfrey Hounsfield * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Odysseas Elytis * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Mother Teresa * Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Economics – Theodore Schultz, W. Arthur Lewis


Media

* The ''Doctor Who'' story ''City of Death'' is set in 1979, its year of broadcast. * The events of the 2011 science fiction film ''Super 8 (2011 film), Super 8'' take place during 1979. * 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, an interactive drama video game released in 2016, based on the events of the
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
in 1979.


References


Further reading

* Caryl, Christian, ''Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century'' (2013), 1979 as worldwide turning point
excerpt and text search
* Facts on File. ''Facts on File Yearbook: 1979'' (1980) weekly factual report on events worldwide. * Hodson, H.V. ''Annual Register of World Events 1979'' (1980), in-depth coverage of major countries * Paxton, John, ed. ''Statesman's Yearbook 1978–1979'' (1980), statistical details on all countries {{DEFAULTSORT:1979 1979,