1979
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | |
| Decades: | |
| Years: |
1979 (MCMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar). Template:C20YearTOCtempleton
Events of 1979
January
- January 1 – United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the International Year of the Child. Many musicians donate to the Music for UNICEF Concert fund.
- January 1 – The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations.
- January 4 – The State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of the dead and injured in the Kent State shootings.
- January 7 – Vietnam and Vietnam-backed Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreat west to an area along the Thai border.
- January 8 – The French tanker Betelgeuse explodes at the Gulf Oil terminal at Bantry, Ireland; 50 are killed.
- January 9 – The Music for UNICEF Concert is held at the United Nations General Assembly to raise money for UNICEF 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, Rod Stewart and Earth, Wind & Fire. A soundtrack album is later released.
- January 16 – Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran flees Iran with his family, relocating to Egypt after a year of turmoil.
- January 19 – Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell is released on parole after 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama.
- January 21 – Super Bowl XIII: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Dallas Cowboys 35–31 at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
- January 29 – Brenda Ann Spencer opens fire at a school in San Diego, California, killing 2 faculty members and wounding 8 students.
- January 31 – The police under directions of Jyoti Basu, Chief Minister of the CPM-led government of West Bengal, surround and open fire on unarmed refugee settlement of Morichjhapi island in Sunderbans, West Bengal, India. Hundreds are killed but the official government death toll is 36.[clarification needed]
February
- February 1 – Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence is commuted by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
- February 1 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
- February 3 – Khomeini creates the Council of the Islamic Revolution.
- February 7 – Supporters of Khomeini take over the Iranian law enforcement, courts and government administration; the final session of the Iranian National Consultative Assembly is held.
- February 7 – Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was known to science.
- February 10 – February 11 – The Iranian army mutinies and joins the Islamic Revolution.
- February 11 – Khomeini seizes power in Iran.
- February 12 – Prime Minister Hissène Habré starts the battle of N'Djamena in an attempt to overthrow Chad's President Félix Malloum.
- February 13 – The intense February 13, 1979 Windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
- February 14 – In Kabul, Muslim extremists kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.
- February 14 – Following her 1972 sex reassignment surgery, musician Wendy Carlos legally changes her name from Walter. She later reveals this information in an interview in the May 1979 issue of Playboy Magazine.
- February 15 – A suspected gas explosion in a Warsaw bank kills 49.
- February 17 – The People's Republic of China invades northern Vietnam, launching the Sino-Vietnamese War.
- February 18 – The Sahara Desert experiences snow for 30 minutes.
- February 22 – Saint Lucia becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
- February 26 – A total solar eclipse arcs over northern Canada, and a partial solar eclipse is visible over almost all of North America and Central America. [1]
- February 27 – The annual Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana is canceled due to a strike called by the New Orleans Police Department.
- February 28 – Mr. Ed, the 'talking horse' featured in the television show of the same name, dies.
March
- March 1 – Scotland votes narrowly for home rule, which is not implemented, and Wales votes against it.
- March 4 – The U.S. Voyager I spaceprobe photos reveal Jupiter's rings.
- March 5 – Voyager I makes its closest approach to Jupiter at 172,000 miles.
- March 7 – The largest Magnetar (Soft gamma repeater) event is recorded.
- March 8 – Philips demonstrates Compact Disc publicly for the first time.
- March 13 – Maurice Bishop leads a successful coup in Grenada.
- March 14 – In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing at least 200.
- March 17 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel in the U.K. collapses, killing 2 workers.
- March 25 – The first fully functional space shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center, to be prepared for its first launch.
- March 26 – In a ceremony at the White House, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel sign a peace treaty.
- March 28 – A nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, causes a partial meltdown.
- March 28 – In Britain, Jim Callaghan's government loses a motion of confidence by 1 vote, forcing a general election.
- March 29 – Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim Petra, the 6th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, dies in office. He is replaced by Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Mustain Billah ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Abu Bakar Riayatuddin Al-Muadzam Shah, Sultan of Pahang.
- March 30 – Airey Neave, World War II veteran and Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman, is killed by an Irish National Liberation Army bomb in the British House of Commons car park.
- March 31 – The last British soldier (belonging to the Royal Navy) leaves the Maltese Islands, after 179 years of presence. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).
- March 31 – Gali Atari and Milk and Honey win the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 for Israel, with the song Hallelujah.
April
- April 1 – Iran's government becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, overthrowing the Shah officially.
- April 1–18 – Police lock Andreas Mihavecz in a holding cell in Bregenz, Austria, and forget him there without food or drink.
- April 1- The Nickelodeon Television Channel, a children's cartoon channel, launches as The Pinwheel Network.
- April 2 – Sverdlovsk Anthrax leak: A Soviet biowarfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock.
- April 10 – A tornado hits Wichita Falls, Texas, killing 42 people (the most notable of 26 that day).
- April 11 – Tanzanian troops take Kampala, the capital of Uganda; Idi Amin flees.
- April 15 – 1979 Montenegro Earthquake: A major earthquake (7.0 on the Richter scale) strikes Montenegro (then part of Yugoslavia) and parts of Albania, causing extensive damage to coastal areas and taking 136 live; the old town of Budva is devastated.
- April 17 – Schoolchildren in the Central African Republic are arrested (and around 100 killed) for protesting against compulsory school uniforms. An African judicial commission later determines that Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa "almost certainly" took part in the massacre.
- April 20 – President Jimmy Carter is attacked by a swamp rabbit while fishing in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
- April 23 – Fighting in London between the Anti-Nazi League and the Metropolitan Police's Special Patrol Group results in the death of protestor Blair Peach.
May
- May 1 – Greenland gets home rule.
- May 4 – Conservatives win the British general election; Margaret Thatcher becomes the new prime minister.
- May 8 – The Manchester, England Woolworth's in city centre is seriously damaged by fire; 10 shoppers die.
- May 9 – A Unabomber bomb injures Northwestern University graduate student John Harris.
- May 10 – The Federated States of Micronesia becomes self-governing.
- May 21 – San Francisco gays riot after hearing the verdict for Dan White, assassin of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
- May 25 – American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, a DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, killing 271 on board and 2 people on the ground.
- May 25 – John Spenkelink is executed in Florida, in the first use of the electric chair in America after the reintroduction of death penalty in 1976.
- May 27 – Indianapolis 500: Rick Mears wins the race for the first time, and car owner Roger Penske for the second time.
June
- June 1 – The Vizianagaram district is formed in Andhra Pradesh, India.
- June 1 – The first black-led government of Rhodesia in 90 years takes power, in succession to Ian Smith and under his power-sharing deal.
- June 1 – The Seattle SuperSonics win the NBA Championship against the Washington Bullets.
- June 2 – Pope John Paul II visits his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
- June 3 – A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico 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 ever.
- June 3 – General elections are held in Italy.
- June 4 – Joe Clark becomes Canada's 16th and youngest Prime Minister.
- June 4 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Akuffo is overthrown.
- June 12 – Bryan Allen flies the man-powered Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel.
- June 18 – Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II agreement in Vienna.
- June 20 – A Nicaraguan 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 23 – Sydney: New South Wales Premier Neville Wran officially opens the Eastern Suburbs Railway. It operates as a shuttle between Central & Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line in 1980.
- June 24 – Bologna (Italy): foundation of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, an international opinion tribunal, at the initiative of Senator Lelio Basso.
- June 25 – Belgium: NATO Supreme Allied Commander Alexander Haig escapes an assassination attempt by the Baader-Meinhof terrorist organization.
July
- July 2 – The Susan B. Anthony dollar is introduced in the U.S.
- July 3 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
- July 8 – Los Angeles passes its homosexual 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 its return to Earth, after being in orbit for 6 years and 2 months.
- July 12 – Kiribati declares independence from the United Kingdom.
- July 12 – A Disco Demolition Night publicity stunt goes awry at Comiskey Park, forcing the Chicago White Sox to forfeit their game against the Detroit Tigers.
- July 12 – Carmine Galante, boss of the Bonanno crime family, is assassinated.
- July 12 – A fire at a hotel in Saragossa, Spain leaves 72 dead. Worst hotel fire in Europe in decades.
- July 16 – Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and Vice President Saddam Hussein replaces him.
- July 17 – Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami, Florida.
- July 19 – Maritza Sayalero of Venezuela wins the Miss Universe Pageant; the stage collapses after contestants and news photographers rush to her throne.
- July 19 – The Marxist Sandinistas take control of Nicaragua.
- July 19 – Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo becomes prime minister of Portugal
August
- August 5 – The Polisario Front signs a peace treaty with Mauritania.
- August 9 – The first British nudist beach is established in Brighton.
- August 9 – Raymond Washington, co-founder of the Crips, today one of the largest, most notorious gangs in the United States, is shot and killed 5 months after his arrest for quadruple murder (his killers have not yet been identified).
- August 10 – Michael Jackson releases his first breakthrough album Off The Wall. It sells 7 million copies in the United States alone, making it a 7x platinum album.
- August 14 – A freak storm during the Fastnet Race results in the death of 15 sailors.
- August 27 – Lord Mountbatten and 3 others are assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. He was a British admiral, statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. On the same day, the Warrenpoint ambush occurs: Provisional Irish Republican Army members attack a British convoy at Narrow Water, County Down, killing 18 British soldiers.
- August 28 – The death toll of the previous day's IRA bombing reaches 5 when Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne, 83, dies in a hospital as a result of her injuries.
- August 29 – A national referendum is held in which Somali voters approve a new liberal constitution, promulgated by 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 21,000 km.
- September 7 – The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for $1 billion to avoid bankruptcy.
- September 9 – The long-running comic strip For Better or For Worse begins its run.
- September 7 – The Entertainment Sports Programming Network, known as ESPN, debuts.
- September 12 – Hurricane Frederic makes landfall at 10:00 p.m. on Alabama's Gulf Coast.
- September 16 – Two families flee from East Germany by balloon.
- September 20 – French paratroopers help David Dacko to overthrow Bokassa in the Central African Republic.
- September 22 – The South Atlantic Flash is observed near Bouvet Island, thought to be a nuclear weapons test.
- September 30 – The Hong Kong MTR begins service with the opening of its Modified Initial System (aka Kwun Tong Line).
October
- October 1 – Nigeria terminates military rule, and the Nigerian Second Republic is established.
- October 1–6 – Pope John Paul II visits the United States.
- October 9 – Peter Brock wins the Bathurst 1000 by a record 6 laps, with a lap record on the last lap.
- October 14 – A major gay rights march in the United States takes place in Washington, D.C., involving many tens of thousands of people.
- October 15 – Black Monday events, in which members of a political group sack a newspaper office, unfold in Malta.
- October 16 – A tsunami in Nice, France kills 23 people.
- October 17 – 1979 World Series: The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Baltimore Orioles.
- October 19 – 13 Marines die in a fire at Camp Fuji, Japan as a result of Typhoon Tip.[1]
- October 26 – Park Chung-hee, the President of South Korea, is assassinated by KCIA director Kim Jaegyu.
- October 27 – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gains independence.
November
- November 1 – Iran hostage crisis: Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urges his people to demonstrate on November 4 and to expand attacks on United States and Israeli interests.
- November 2 – French police shoot gangster Jacques Mesrine in Paris.
- November 3 – In Greensboro, North Carolina, 5 members of the Communist Workers Party are shot to death and 7 are wounded by a group of Klansmen and neo-Nazis, during a "Death to the Klan" rally.
- November 4 – Iran hostage crisis begins: 3,000 Iranian radicals, mostly students, invade the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and take 90 hostages (53 of whom are American). They demand that the United States send the former Shah of Iran back to stand trial.
- November 5 – The radio news program Morning Edition premieres on National Public Radio.
- 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 Olympics Games and international sports tournaments and championships.
- November 7 – U.S. Senator Edward Moore Kennedy announces that he will challenge President Jimmy Carter for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination.
- November 9 – The Carl Bridgewater murder trial ends with all 4 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.[2]
- November 12 – Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all oil imports into the United States from Iran.
- 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 16 – Bucharest Metro Line One is opened, in Bucharest, Romania (from Timpuri Noi to Semanatoarea stations, 8.63 km).
- 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 – A group of 200 Juhayman al-Otaibi militants occupy Mecca's Grand Mosque. They are driven out by French commandos (allowed into the city under these special circumstances despite their being non-Muslims) 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 (see Foreign relations of Pakistan).
- November 23 – In Dublin, Ireland, Provisional Irish Republican Army member Thomas McMahon is sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of Lord Mountbatten.
- November 28 – Mount Erebus disaster: an Air New Zealand DC-10 crashes into Mount Erebus (in Antarctica) on a sightseeing trip, killing all 257 people on board.
December
- December 3 – Eleven fans are killed during a stampede for seats before The Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum (now known as the U.S. Bank Arena) in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- December 3 – 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.
- 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 for Star Trek: The Motion Picture is held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
- December 9 – The eradication of the smallpox virus is certified, making smallpox the first and to date only human disease driven to extinction.
- December 12 – A major earthquake and tsunami kills 259 people in Colombia.
- 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 invades Afghanistan.
- December 24 – The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
- December 26 – In Rhodesia, 96 Patriotic Front guerrillas enter the capital Salisbury to monitor a ceasefire that begins December 28.
- December 27 – The Soviet Union seizes control of Afghanistan, and Babrak Karmal replaces overthrown and executed President Hafizullah Amin.
Undated
- The One Child Policy is implemented in China in this year.
- VisiCalc becomes the first commercial spreadsheet program.
- The first usenet experiments are conducted by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis of Duke University.
- Worldwide per capita oil production reaches an historic peak.
Ongoing
Births
January–February
- January 1 – Brody Dalle, Australian singer
- January 1 – Koichi Domoto, Japanese entertainer (Kinki Kids)
- January 2 – Morena Baccarin, Italo-Brazilian actress
- January 4 – Charity Rahmer, American actress
- January 6 – Bernice Liu, Hong Kong actress
- January 7 – Bipasha Basu, Indian actress and model
- January 10 – Chris Smith, American rapper (Kris Kross)
- January 11 – Siti Nurhaliza, Malaysian singer
- January 12 – Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
- January 12 – Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
- January 12 – Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
- January 15 – Drew Brees, American football player
- January 16 – Aaliyah, American singer (d. 2001)
- January 17 – Sharon Chan, Hong Kong actress
- January 18 – Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer and producer
- January 18 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
- January 20 – Rob Bourdon, American rock drummer (Linkin Park)
- January 20 – Asaka Kubo, Japanese gravure idol
- January 21 – Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby union player
- January 23 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
- January 24 – Tatyana Ali, American actress
- January 27 – Rosamund Pike, British actress
- January 29 – BJ Flores, American boxer
- January 31 – Jenny Wolf, German speed skater
- February 1 – Julie Augustyniak, American footballer
- February 2 – Yuichi Tsuchiya, Japanese actor
- February 2 – Philip Venables, British composer
- February 8 – Martin Rowlands, Irish footballer
- February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress and model
- February 9 – Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
- February 11 – Brandy Norwood, American singer and actress
- February 12 – Antonio Chatman, American football player
- February 12 – Jesse Spencer, Australian actor
- February 13 – Rafael Márquez, Mexican footballer
- February 13 – Mena Suvari, American actress
- February 15 – Gordon Shedden, Scottish race car driver
- February 16 – Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer
- February 18 – Tyrone Burton, American actor
- February 19 – Mariana Ochoa, Mexican singer and actress
- February 21 – Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and singer
- February 21 – Carly Colón, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
- February 22 – Patrick Merrill, Canadian lacrosse player
- February 25 – László Bodnár, Hungarian footballer
- February 28 – Sébastien Bourdais, French racing driver
March–April
- March 4 – Ben Fouhy, New Zealand flatwater canoeist
- March 4 – Geoff Huegill, Australian swimmer
- March 4 – John Lawler (John Fratelli), Scottish singer (The Fratellis)
- March 5 – Tang Gonghong, Chinese weightlifter
- March 6 – Érik Bédard, Canadian pitcher
- March 8 – Tom Chaplin, British singer (Keane)
- March 9 – Melina Perez, American professional wrestler
- March 11 – Benji Madden and Joel Madden, American musicians (Good Charlotte)
- March 12 – Pete Doherty, British singer and guitarist (The Libertines, Babyshambles)
- March 14 – Nicolas Anelka, French footballer
- March 14 – Gao Ling, Chinese badminton player
- March 17 – Samoa Joe, American wrestler
- March 18 – Adam Levine, American singer (Maroon 5)
- March 20 – Freema Agyeman, British actress
- March 20 – Molly Jenson, American musician
- March 25 – Lee Pace, American actor
- March 25 – Traxamillion, American producer rapper
- March 25 – Gorilla Zoe, American rapper
- March 26 – Jason McGill, American writer
- March 30 – Norah Jones, American musician
- March 31 – Amey Date, Indian playback singer
- April 4 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
- April 8 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish rock guitarist (Children of Bodom)
- April 9 – Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
- April 9 – Mario Matt, Austrian alpine skier
- April 10 – Rachel Corrie, American activist (d. 2003)
- April 10 – Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese entertainer (Kinki Kids)
- April 10 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor, British singer
- April 10 – Dre, American producer
- April 11 – Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player
- April 12 – Claire Danes, American actress
- April 12 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress
- April 13 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
- April 14 – Pierre Roland, Indonesian actor
- April 16 – Christijan Albers, Dutch racing driver
- April 17 – Sung Si Kyung, South Korean pop/ballad singer
- April 18 – Michael Bradley, American basketball player
- April 18 – Yusuke Kamiji, Japanese actor
- April 18 – Anthony Davidson, English racing driver
- April 19 – Kate Hudson, American actress
- April 19 – Antoaneta Stefanova, Bulgarian chess player
- April 21 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
- April 22 – Daniel Johns, Australian musician (Silverchair)
- April 23 – Lauri Ylönen, Finnish singer (The Rasmus)
- April 23 – Jaime King, American actress
- April 23 – Yana Gupta, Indian actress of Czech origin
- April 24 – Laurentia Tan, Singaporean Paralympic equestrienne
- April 25 – Andreas Kuettel, Swiss ski jumper
- April 26 – Janne Wirman, Finnish keyboardist (Children of Bodom)
- April 27 – Travis Meeks, American musician (Days of the New)
- April 28 – Bahram Radan, Iranian actor
- April 30 – Casey Mongoven, American composer
May–June
- May 1 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
- May 2 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
- May 2 – Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
- May 4 – Wes Butters, British broadcaster
- May 6 – Kerry Ellis, English actress
- May 6 – Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower
- May 9 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
- May 9 – Pierre Bouvier, Canadian musician
- May 12 – Adrian Serioux, Canadian footballer
- May 13 – Carl Philip, Prince of Sweden
- May 16 – Jessica Morris, American actress
- May 18 – Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
- May 19 – Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
- May 22 – Maggie Q, American actress
- May 24 – Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
- May 25 – Jonny Wilkinson, British rugby player
- May 26 – Ashley Massaro, American wrestler and model
- May 29 – Casey Sheehan, American soldier, son of peace activist Cindy Sheehan (d. 2004)
- May 29 – Brian Kendrick, American wrestler
- May 30 – Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
- June 5 – Pete Wentz, American musician and lyricist
- June 8 – Pete Orr, Canadian baseball player
- June 9 – Émilie Loit, French tennis player
- June 12 – Dallas Clark, American football player
- June 12 – Jodie Prenger, British actress
- June 12 – Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter
- June 13 – Nila Håkedal, Norwegian beach volleyball player
- June 14 – Paradorn Srichaphan, Thai tennis player
- June 15 – Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian athlete
- June 16 – Ari Hest, American singer-songwriter
- June 18 – Chris Neil, Canadian hockey player
- June 18 – Yumiko Kobayashi, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
- June 19 – John Duddy, Irish boxer
- June 22 – Sandra Klösel, German tennis player
- June 23 – LaDainian Tomlinson, American football player
- June 24 – Craig Shergold, British cancer patient
- June 24 – Petra Nemcova, Czech model
- June 26 – Ryan Tedder, American singer (OneRepublic)
- June 28 – Randy McMichael, American football player
- June 29 – Barış Akarsu, Turkish musician (d. 2007)
- June 29 – Marleen Veldhuis, Dutch swimmer
- June 30 – Rick Gonzalez, American actor
July–August
- July 2 – Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer
- July 2 – Ayiesha Woods, American singer
- July 3 – Ludivine Sagnier, French model and actress
- July 5 – Amélie Mauresmo, French tennis player
- July 5 – Shane Filan, Irish singer (Westlife)
- July 7 – Gucci Mane, American rapper
- July 9 – Ella Koon, Hong Kong actress
- July 14 – Axel Teichmann, German cross-country skier
- July 15 – Travis Fimmel, Australian fashion model and actor
- July 16 – Kinya Kotani, Japanese singer
- July 18 – Rick Baxter, American politician
- July 21 – David Carr, American football player
- July 24 – Lee Si-yeon, South Korean actress
- July 24 – Stat Quo, American rapper
- July 24 – Rose Byrne, Australian actress
- July 26 – Johnson Beharry, British recipient of the Victoria Cross
- July 26 – Derek Paravicini, British pianist
- July 26 – Tamyra Gray, American singer
- July 26 – Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player
- July 27 – Jorge Arce, Mexican boxer
- July 27 – Shannon Moore, American professional wrestler
- July 30 – Graeme McDowell, Northern Irish professional golfer
- July 30 – Show Luo, Taiwanese singer
- August 1 – Honeysuckle Weeks, British actress
- August 1 – Jason Momoa, American actor
- August 3 – Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress
- August 5 – David Healy, Northern Irish footballer
- August 4 – Patryk Dominik Sztyber, Polish metal musician
- August 8 – Azumi Kawashima, Japanese idol and AV idol
- August 10 – Joanna Garcia, American actress
- August 10 – Ted Geoghegan, American screenwriter
- August 11 – Bubba Crosby, American baseball player
- August 13 – Taizō Sugimura, Japanese politician
- August 15 – Dan Marshall, Canadian hockey player
- August 16 – Sarah Balabagan, Filipina prisoner and singer
- August 19 – Oumar Kondé, Swiss footballer
- August 22 – Matt Walters, American football player
- August 24 – Elva Hsiao, Taiwanese singer
- August 26 – Jamal Lewis, American football player
- August 26 – Cristian Mora, Ecuadorian footballer
- August 27 – Giovanni Capitello, American filmmaker/actor
- August 28 – Robert Hoyzer, German football referee
- August 28 – Yuki Maeda, Japanese singer
- August 30 – Tavia Yeung, Hong Kong actress
- August 30 – Niki Chow, Hong Kong actress
- August 31 – Mickie James, American professional wrestler
September–October
- September 1 – Neg Dupree, British comedian
- September 2 – Ron Ng, Hong Kong actor
- September 4 – Maxim Afinogenov, Russian ice hockey player
- September 5 – John Carew, Norwegian footballer
- September 5 – Stacey Dales, Canadian basketball player and sportscaster
- September 6 – Ned Collette, Australian singer and musician
- September 8 – Pink, American singer
- September 12 – 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
- September 14 – Kamya Panjabi, Indian television actress
- September 15 – Amy Davidson, American actress
- September 16 – Fanny, French singer
- September 17 – Akin Ayodele, American football player
- September 18 – Alison Lohman, American actress
- September 19 – Noémie Lenoir, French supermodel
- September 20 – David Long, American author
- September 24 – Justin Bruening, American actor and model
- September 24 – Erin Chambers, American actress
- September 26 – Naomichi Marufuji, Japanese professional wrestler
- September 28 – Bam Margera, American skateboarder
- September 30 – Clio-Danae Othoneou, Greek actress, musician and pianist
- October 1 – Rudi Johnson, American football player
- October 1 – Marko Stanojevic, English-born Italian rugby player
- October 3 – John Hennigan, American professional wrestler
- October 3 – Matt Davis (comedian), American stand-up comedian
- October 4 – Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress
- October 7 – Susan Eldridge, American supermodel
- October 9 – Vernon Fox, American football player
- October 9 – Brandon Routh, American actor
- October 10 – Mýa, American singer and actress
- October 10 – Wu Zun, Bruneian actor, model, and singer
- October 11 – Gabe Saporta, Uruguayan singer (Cobra Starship)
- October 13 – Ryan Malcolm, Canadian singer
- October 13 – Mamadou Niang, Senegalese footballer
- October 14 – Stacy Keibler, American professional wrestler
- October 16 – Erin Brown, American actress
- October 17 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
- October 19 – Ne-Yo, American singer and songwriter
- October 20 – Paul O'Connell, Irish rugby player
- October 20 – John Krasinski, American actor
- October 23 – Vanessa Petruo, German pop singer
- October 23 – Jorge Solis, Mexican professional boxer
- October 24 – Ben Gillies, Australian drummer
- October 28 – Martin Skoula, Czech ice hockey player
- October 30 – Yukie Nakama, Japanese actress
November–December
- November 1 – Coco Crisp, American baseball player
- November 1 – Milan Dudić, Serbian footballer
- November 3 – Tim McIlrath, American rock singer, songwriter (Rise Against)
- November 4 – Audrey Hollander, American pornographic actress
- November 6 – Lamar Odom, American basketball player
- November 6 – Myolie Wu, Hong Kong actress
- November 7 – Jon Peter Lewis, American singer and songwriter
- November 8 – Aaron Hughes, Northern Irish footballer
- November 9 – Dania Ramirez, Dominican-American actress
- November 12 – Cote de Pablo, Chilean actress
- November 13 – Ron Artest, American basketball player
- November 14 – Mavie Hörbiger, German actress
- November 14 – Olga Kurylenko, Ukrainian model and actress
- November 17 – Matthew Spring, English footballer
- November 19 – Larry Johnson (American football), American football player
- November 20 – Ericson Alexander Molano, Colombian gospel singer
- November 21 – Kim Dong Wan, South Korean singer and actor
- November 22 – Mohammad Tanzeel-ul-siddiqi al-husaini, Pakistani author
- November 22 – Chris Doran, Irish singer
- November 23 – Ivica Kostelic, Croatian alpine skier
- November 23 – Kelly Brook, English actress/model
- November 27 – Ricky Carmichael, American motorcycle and stock car racer
- November 27 – Hilary Hahn, American violinist
- November 28 – Jamie Korab, Canadian curler
- November 28 – Hakeem Seriki, American rapper (Chamillionaire)
- November 29 – Jayceon Taylor, American rapper (The Game)
- December 3 – Rainbow Sun Francks, Canadian actor and singer
- December 3 – Rock Cartwright, American football player
- December 3 – Daniel Bedingfield, English pop singer and songwriter
- December 3 – Kanako Hoshino, Japanese singer
- December 5 – Evonne Hsu, Taiwanese singer
- December 7 – Ayako Fujitani, Japanese actress
- December 7 – Sara Bareilles, American singer, songwriter and pianist
- December 8 – Raymond Lam, Hong Kong actor
- December 9 – Olivia Lufkin, English-Japanese singer, songwriter
- December 14 – Michael Owen, English footballer
- December 15 – Adam Brody, American actor
- December 16 – Trevor Immelman, South African golfer
- December 16 – Flo Rida, American rapper
- December 17 – William Green, American football player
- December 17 – Matt Murley, American hockey player
- December 18 – Amy Grabow, American actress
- December 23 – Summer Altice, American model and actress
- December 26 – Mzbel, Ghanaian singer
- December 26 – Dimitry Vassiliev, Russian ski jumper
- December 26 – Chris Daughtry, American singer and guitarist
- December 27 – Carson Palmer, American football player
- December 28 – James Blake, American tennis pro
- December 29 – Diego Luna, Mexican actor
- December 30 – Milana Terloeva, Chechen journalist and author
- December 31 – Elaine Cassidy, Irish actress
- December 31 – Bob Bryar, American drummer (My Chemical Romance)
Deaths
January–March
- January 3 – Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (b. 1887)
- January 5 – Charles Mingus, American musician (b. 1922)
- January 5 – Billy Bletcher, American actor (b. 1894)
- January 8 – Sara Carter, American bluegrass and country singer (b. 1898)
- January 13 – Donny Hathaway, African-American musician (Where Is The Love?) (b. 1945)
- January 26 – Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York, Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)
- February 2 – Sid Vicious, English musician (Sex Pistols) (drug overdose) (b. 1957)
- February 2 – Issa Pliyev, Soviet general (b. 1903)
- February 7 – Josef Mengele, German Nazi war criminal (b. 1911)
- February 9 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
- February 12 – Jean Renoir, French film director (b. 1894)
- February 14 – Reginald Maudling, British politician (b. 1917)
- February 23 – W.A.C. Bennett, Canadian politician (b. 1900)
- March 1 – Mustafa Barzani, Iraqi Kurdish politician (b. 1903)
- March 19 – Richard Beckinsale, British actor (b. 1947)
- March 23 – Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)
- March 28 – Emmett Kelly, American clown (b. 1898)
- March 29 – Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim Petra, King of Malaysia (b. 1917)
- March 30 – Airey Neave, British politician (assassinated) (b. 1916)
April–June
- April 1 – Barbara Luddy, American actress (b. 1908)
- April 4 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, President and Prime Minister of Pakistan (executed) (b. 1928)
- April 4 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)
- April 10 – Nino Rota, Italian composer (b. 1911)
- April 23 – Blair Peach, New Zealand-born anti-Nazi campaigner (killed by police) (b. 1946)
- May 2 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- May 11 – Lester Flatt, American bluegrass and folk singer (b. 1914)
- May 11 – Barbara Hutton, American socialite (b. 1912)
- May 29 – Mary Pickford, Canadian actress and studio founder (b. 1892)
- June 1 – Werner Forssmann, German physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1904)
- June 4 – Lazar Lagin, Soviet satirical and children's writer (b.1903)
- June 11 – John Wayne, American actor (True Grit) (b. 1907)
- June 14 – Ahmad Zahir, Afghan singer and composer (b. 1946)
- June 17 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player (b. 1888)
- June 19 – Paul Popenoe, American eugenicist (b. 1888)
- June 21 – Angus MacLise, American rock percussionist (Velvet Underground) (b. 1938)
- June 25 – Dave Fleischer, American animator (b. 1894)
- June 29 – Lowell George, American rock musician (Little Feat) (b. 1945)
July–September
- July 3 – Louis Durey, French composer (b. 1888)
- July 8 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- July 8 – Robert B. Woodward, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
- July 10 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (Boston Pops) (b. 1894)
- July 12 – Minnie Riperton, African-American singer (Lovin' You) (b. 1947)
- July 13 – Ludwig Merwart, Austrian painter and graphic artist (1913)
- July 15 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican President (b. 1911)
- July 16 – Alfred Deller, English countertenor (b. 1912)
- July 22 – Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (b. 1929)
- July 29 – Bill Todman, American game show producer (b. 1916)
- August 2 – Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre, Peruvian politician, founder of the APRA Party (b. 1895)
- August 2 – Thurman Munson, American baseball player (b. 1947)
- August 3 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- August 6 – Feodor Felix Konrad 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 12 – Ernst Boris Chain, German-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (b. 1906)
- August 16 – John Diefenbaker, Canadian Prime Minister (b. 1895)
- August 17 – Vivian Vance, American actress (b. 1909)
- August 19 – Mary Millington, British porn star (b. 1945)
- August 19 – Joel Teitelbaum, Hungarian Rebbe (b. 1887)
- August 27 – Earl Mountbatten, British Viceroy of India (assassinated) (b. 1900)
- August 31 – Sally Rand, American dancer (b. 1904)
- September 4 – Canuplin, Filipino magician and bodabil entertainer (b. 1904)
- September 5 – Alberto di Jorio, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1884)
- September 8 – Jean Seberg, American actress (b. 1938)
- September 9 – Norrie Paramor, British music producer (b. 1914)
- September 10 – Agostinho Neto, Angolan nationalist (b. 1922)
- September 14 – Nur Muhammad Taraki, President of Afghanistan (b. 1917)
- September 20 – Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, King of Malaysia (b. 1907)
- September 20 – Ludvík Svoboda, president of Czechoslovakia (b. 1895)
- September 22 – Abul Ala Maududi, Pakistani journalist and philosopher (b. 1903)
- September 27 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish Guitarist (Paul McCartney & Wings) (b. 1953)
- September 28 – John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist (b. 1921)
- September 29 – Francisco Macías Nguema, first president of Equatorial Guinea (executed) (b. 1924)
October–December
- October 6 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (b. 1911)
- October 10 – Dr Christopher Evans, British psychologist and computer scientist (b. 1931)
- October 12 – Katharine Blodgett, American Scientist and inventor (b. 1898)
- October 13 – Rebecca Helferich Clarke, English composer and violist (b. 1886)
- October 16 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author (b. 1903)
- October 22 – Nadia Boulanger, French composer and composition teacher (b. 1887)
- October 26 – Park Chung-Hee, President of South Korea (b. 1917)
- October 30 – Barnes Wallis, British aeronautical engineer (b. 1887)
- October 30 – Donna Rachele Mussolini, Italian, wife of Benito Mussolini (b. 1890)
- November 1 – Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States (b. 1896)
- November 17 – Immanuel Velikovsky, Russian author and psychiatrist (b. 1895)
- November 21 – Marie Byles, Australian conservationist (b. 1900)
- November 21 – Paul Wexler, American actor (b. 1929)
- November 29 – Zeppo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1901)
- December 3 – Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey player (b. 1905)
- December 23 – Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (b. 1898)
- December 25 – Jordi Bonet, Canadian artist (b. 1932)
- December 27 – Hafizullah Amin, General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, President of Afghanistan (b. 1929)
Unknown dates
- Dave Line, British author
Nobel Prizes
- Physics – Sheldon Lee Glashow, Abdus Salam, Steven Weinberg
- Chemistry – Herbert C. Brown, Georg Wittig
- Medicine – Allan M. Cormack, Godfrey N. Hounsfield
- Literature – Odysseas Elytis
- Peace – Mother Teresa
- Economics – Theodore Schultz, Arthur Lewis
Templeton Prize
Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1979.