1978
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
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Template:C20YearInTopicX 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). Template:C20YearTOCtempleton
Events of 1978
January
- January 1 – The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law.
- January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes into the ocean near Bombay, killing 213.
- January 4 – A referendum in Chile supports the policies of Augusto Pinochet.
- January 6 – The Holy Crown of Hungary (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II.
- January 10 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, a critic of the Nicaraguan government, is assassinated. Riots erupt against Somoza's government.
- January 14–15 – The body of former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda, following his death from cancer.
- January 18 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
- January 19 – Federal Appeals Court Judge William H. Webster is appointed FBI Director.
- January 22 – Ethiopia declares the ambassador of West Germany Persona non grata.
- January 24 – Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering debris over Canada's Northwest Territories.
- January 24 – Rose Dugdale and Eddie Gallagher become the first convicted prisoners to marry in prison in the history of the Republic of Ireland.
- January 28 – Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento", is arrested.
- January 30 – Blizzards in the U.S. kill 90.
February
- February 1 – A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing 2 garbagemen, a policeman and several others.
- February 1 – Hollywood film director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
- February 5–7 – The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 hits the New England region and the New York metropolitan area, killing about 100 and causing over US$520 million in damage.
- February 6 – King Dragon operation in Arakan: Burmese General Ne Win targets Muslim minorities in the village of Sakkipara.
- February 8 – United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- February 11 – Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, crashes in Cranbrook, British Columbia, killing 44 of the 50 people onboard.
- February 11 – Sixteen Unification Church couples wed in New York, New York.
- February 11 – Somalia mobilizes its troops, due to an apparent Ethiopian attack.
- February 11 – The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.
- February 15 – Rhodesia's prime minister Ian Smith and 3 black leaders agree on the transfer to black majority rule.
- February 15 – Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Pensacola, Florida.
- February 16 – The Hillside Strangler, a serial killer prowling Los Angeles, claims a 10th and final victim.
- February 16 – The first computer bulletin board system (CBBS) is created in Chicago.
- February 21 – Electrical workers in Mexico City find the remains of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in the middle of the city.
March
- March 1 – Charlie Chaplin's remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
- March 2 – Soyuz 28 (Aleksei Gubarev, Vladimir Remek) is launched on a rendezvous with Salyut 6, with the first cosmonaut from a third country (besides the Soviet Union and United States) – Czechoslovak citizen Vladimír Remek.
- March 3 – Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of Cuban soldiers against Somalian troops in Ogaden.
- March 3 – Rhodesia attacks Zambia.
- March 3 – The New York Post publishes an article about David Rorvik's book The Cloning of Man, about a supposed cloning of a human being.
- March 6 – American porn publisher Larry Flynt is shot and paralyzed in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
- March 10 – Soyuz 28 lands.
- March 11 – Coastal Road Massacre: Palestinian terrorists kill 34 Israelis.
- March 14 – Operation Litani: Israeli forces invade Lebanon.
- March 16 – Former Italian Premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by the Red Brigades; 5 bodyguards are killed.
- March 17 – The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground on the coast of Brittany.
- March 18 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, is sentenced to death by hanging for ordering the assassination of a political opponent.
- March 22 – Karl Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- March 28 – Stump v. Sparkman (435 U.S. 349): The Supreme Court of the United States hands down a 5–3 decision in a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
April
- April 1 – Dick Smith of Dick Smith Foods tows a fake iceberg to Sydney Harbour.
- April 1 – The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, is converted to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
- April 3 – The 50th Academy Awards are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California with Annie Hall winning Best Picture.
- April 7 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter decides to postpone production of the neutron bomb – a weapon which kills people with radiation but leaves buildings relatively intact.
- April 8 – Regular radio broadcasts of British Parliament proceedings start.
- April 9 – Somali military officers stage an unsuccessful coup against the government of Siad Barre; security forces thwart the attempt within hours, and several conspirators are arrested.
- April 10 – Volkswagen becomes the second (after Rolls-Royce) non-American automobile manufacturer to open a plant in the United States, commencing production of the Rabbit, the North American version of the Volkswagen Golf, in New Stanton, Pennsylvania with a unionized (UAW) workforce (the plant closes in 1992.)
- April 14 – 1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against an attempt by Soviet authorities to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.
- April 16 – In Cologne, 15,000 Ashok Kumar come into the pictureNazism.
- April 18 – The U.S. Senate votes 68–32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31, 1999.
- April 22 – Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta win the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 for Israel with their song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi".
- April 22 – The One Love Peace Concert is held at National Heroes Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bob Marley unites 2 opposing political leaders at this concert, bringing peace to the civil war-ridden streets of the city.
- April 22 – Robert Kofi Lane is born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- April 25 – St. Paul, Minnesota becomes the 2nd U.S. city to repeal its gay rights ordinance after Anita Bryant's successful 1977 anti-gay campaign in Dade County, Florida.
- April 27 – Afghanistan President Daoud Khan is killed during a military coup; Nur Mohammed Taraki succeeds him.
- April 30 – The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is proclaimed, under pro-communist leader Nur Mohammed Taraki.
May
- May 4 – Battle of Cassinga occurs in southern Angola.
- May 4 – Communist activist Henri Curiel is murdered in Paris.
- May 5 – Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds gets his 3,000th major league hit.
- May 8 – Norway opens a natural gas field in the Polar Sea.
- May 9 – In Rome, the body of Aldo Moro, the Italian president of the Christian Democrats, is found in a parked car.
- May 12–13 – A group of mercenaries lead by Bob Denard oust Ali Soilih in the Comoros; 10 local soldiers are killed. Denard forms a new government.
- May 12 – In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining centre of the province of Shaba. The Zairean government asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
- May 15 – Students of the University of Tehran riot in Tabriz; the army stops the riot.
- May 17 – Charles Chaplin's coffin is found 10 miles from the cemetery it was stolen from, near Lake Geneva.
- May 18 – Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov is sentenced to 7 years hard labor for distributing 'counterrevolutionary material'.
- May 18–19 – Belgian and French paratroopers fly to Zaire to aid the fight against the rebels.
- May 19–20 – French Foreign Legion paratroopers land in Kolwezi, Zaire, to rescue Europeans in the middle of a civil war.
- May 20 – Mavis Hutchinson, 53, becomes the first woman to run across the U.S.; her trek took 69 days.
- May 22 – Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Mohammed Ahmed return to the Comoros.
- May 25 – A bomb explodes in the security section of Northwestern University, wounding a security guard (the first Unabomber attack).
- May 26 – In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
- May 28 – Indianapolis 500: Al Unser wins his third race, and the first for car owner Jim Hall.
- May 29 – Ali Soilih is found dead in the Comoros, allegedly shot when trying to escape.
June
- June 1 – The 1978 FIFA World Cup starts in Argentina.
- June 6 – California voters approve Proposition 13, which slashes property taxes nearly 60%.
- June 8 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extends the priesthood and temple blessings to 'all worthy males', ending a general policy of excluding 'Canaanites' from Priesthood ordination and temple ordinances (see Blacks and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
- June 12 – Serial killer David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," is sentenced to 365 years in prison.
- June 15 – King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
- June 19 – Cricketer Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take 8 wickets in 1 inning of a Test match.
- June 19 – Garfield, which eventually becomes the world's most widely syndicated comic strip, makes its debut.
- June 20 – A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, killing 45 people, injuring hundreds and damaging some of the city's Byzantine landmarks.
- June 21 – A shootout between Provisional IRA members and the British Army leaves 1 civilian and 3 IRA men dead.
- June 22 – Charon, a satellite of Pluto, is discovered.
- June 23 – Josip Broz Tito is named Yugoslav president for life.
- June 24 – Yemen Arab Republic President Ahmad al-Ghashmi is killed.
- June 24 – The Gay & Lesbian Solidarity March is held in Sydney, Australia to mark 10th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (which later becomes the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras; later incorporating a festival).
- June 25 – Argentina defeats the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time to win the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
- June 26 – A bombing by Breton nationalists causes destruction in Versailles.
- June 28 – The U.S. scientific satellite Seasat is launched.
- June 28 – University of California Regents v. Bakke: The Supreme Court of the United States bars quota systems in college admissions but affirms the constitutionality of programs which give advantages to minorities.
- June 30 – Ethiopia begins a massive offensive in Eritrea.
July
- July 7 – The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
- July 11 – More than 200 tourists die in an explosion of a tanker-truck at a campsite in Costa Daurada, Spain.
- July 25 – Cerro Maravilla Incident: Two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists are killed in a police ambush.
- July 25 – Louise Brown, the worlds first test tube baby was born in Oldham, Manchester, UK.
August
- August 6 – Pope Paul VI dies in Rome.
- August 17 – Double Eagle II becomes the first balloon to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean, flying from Presque Isle, Maine, to Miserey, France.
- August 26 – Pope John Paul I succeeds Pope Paul VI as the 263rd Pope.
September
- September 5 – Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin the peace process at Camp David, Maryland.
- September 7 – In London, England, a poison-filled pellet, supposedly injected using an umbrella, poisons Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov, probably on orders of Bulgarian intelligence; he dies 4 days later.
- September 8 – Iranian Army troops open fire on rioters in Teheran, killing 122, wounding 4,000.
- September 16 – General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq officially assumes the post of President of Pakistan.
- September 17 – The Camp David Accords are signed between Israel and Egypt.
- September 19 – Police in the West Midlands of England launch a massive murder hunt, when 13-year-old newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead after disturbing a burglary.
- September 20 – General Rahimuddin Khan assumes the post of Martial Law Governor of Balochistan.
- September 25 – PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in San Diego, California; 144 are killed.
- September 25 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Otello makes its first appearance on Live from the Met, in a complete production of the opera starring Jon Vickers. This is the first complete television broadcast of the opera in the U.S. since the historic 1948 one.
- September 27 – The last Forest Brother guerilla movement fighter is discovered and killed in Estonia.
- September 28 – Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.
October
- October 1 – Vietnam attacks Cambodia.
- October 1 – Tuvalu become independent from the United Kingdom.
- October 2 – The New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox 5–4 at Fenway Park to clinch the AL East after being 14 games out of first place only two months earlier. The Yankees would eventually go on to defeat the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers and win the World Series.
- October 7 – Wranslide in New South Wales: the Wran government is re-elected with an increased majority.
- October 8 – Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60 mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
- October 10 – A massive short circuit in Seasat's electrical system ends the satellite's scientific mission.
- October 10 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs a bill that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
- October 14 – Daniel arap Moi becomes president of Kenya.
- October 14 – United States President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law which allows homebrewing of beer in the United States.
- October 16 – Pope John Paul II succeeds Pope John Paul I as the 264th pope. He is the first Polish pope in history.
- October 17 – The New York Yankees clinch their 22nd World Series championship, defeating the Dodgers 7–2 in Los Angeles and winning the Series 4 games to 2.
- October 20 – The first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held as a protest march and commemoration of the Stonewall Riots.
- October 27 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin win the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.
November
- November 2 – RTÉ 2 went on air in 1978 at 8:00 pm and the channel renamed in 1988 as Network 2, later RTÉ Network Two in 1995, later N2 in 1997 and finally, RTÉ Two in 2004 and still on air.
- November 3 – Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- November 5 – Rioters sack the British Embassy in Tehran.
- November 7 – Indira Gandhi is re-elected to the Indian parliament.
- November 7 – California voters defeat the Briggs Initiative that would have prohibited gay school teachers.
- November 18 – Jonestown incident: In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder-suicide that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo J. Ryan is assassinated by members of Peoples Temple shortly beforehand.
- November 19 – The first U.S. Take Back the Night march occurs in San Francisco.
- November 27 – In San Francisco, California, Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White.
- November 30 – Publication of The Times is suspended due to labor problems until November 13, 1979.
December
- December 3 – The Southern Crescent passenger train derails at Shipman, Virginia, killing 6, injuring 60.
- December 4 – Dianne Feinstein succeeds the murdered George Moscone as San Francisco, California's first woman mayor (she serves until January 8, 1988).
- December 6 – The Spanish Constitution officially restores the country's democratic government.
- December 11 – Lufthansa heist: Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City's Kennedy airport.
- December 11 – Two million demonstrate against the Shah in Iran.
- December 13 – The first Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
- December 15 – Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American city to go into default since the Great Depression, under Mayor Dennis Kucinich.
- December 16 – Train 87 from Nanjing to Xining collides with train 368 from Xi'an to Xuzhou near Yangzhuang railway station in China, killing 106, injuring 218.
- December 19 – Former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi is arrested and jailed for a week for breach of privilege and contempt of parliament.
- December 22 – The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.
- December 22 – Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who was subsequently convicted of the murder of 33 young men, is arrested.
- December 22 – Argentina started the Operation Soberanía against Chile.
- December 25 – Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
- December 27 – The Spanish Constitution is approved in a referendum, officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship.
Undated
- Artificial insulin is invented.
- David Rorvik claims he has participated in a creation of a human clone in his book In His Image.
- Abortion is legalized in Italy for the first time.
- Seoul, Korea begins construction on Seoul Subway Line 2.
Ongoing
Births
January–February
- January 1 – Alex Leigh, British model
- January 1 – Phillip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer
- January 2 – Toyoguchi Megumi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)
- January 3 – Kimberley Locke, American singer and model
- January 3 – Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress
- January 4 – Karine Ruby, French snowboarder (d. 2009)
- January 5 – Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver
- January 5 – Karnail Pitts, American rapper (d. 1999)
- January 7 – Emilio Palma, Argentine citizen, first human born in Antarctica
- January 9 – Chad Ocho Cinco, American football player
- January 9 – AJ McLean, American pop musician (Backstreet Boys)
- January 12 – Kris Roe, American rock guitarist and singer (The Ataris)
- January 12 – Jeremy Camp, American Christian guitarist and singer
- January 14 – Eddie Berlin, American football player
- January 14 – Shawn Crawford, American runner
- January 15 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian professional road racing cyclist
- January 20 – Sid Wilson, American rock turntablist (Slipknot, DJ Starscream)
- January 24 – Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor/voice actor
- January 26 – Kelly Stables, American actress
- January 28 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian goalkeeper (football)
- January 28 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer
- January 31 – Brad Rutter, Highest Money Winner on Jeopardy
- January 31 – Ibolya Oláh, Hungarian singer
- February 2 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer
- February 2 – Guido Kaczka, Argentine television show host and actor
- February 5 – Brian Russell, American football player
- February 7 – Christopher Ashton Kutcher, American actor (That '70s Show)
- February 12 – Gethin Jones, British (Welsh) television presenter
- February 12 – Silver Meikar, Estonian politician
- February 13 – Niklas Bäckström, Finnish hockey player (Minnesota Wild)
- February 14 – Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
- February 14 – Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player
- February 15 – Tuan Le, American poker player
- February 16 – John Tartaglia, American Broadway actor and Muppeteer
- February 16 – Tia Hellebaut, Belgian atlete
- February 17 – Jacob Wetterling, American child kidnapping victim (missing since 1989)
- February 19 – Kenyatta Wright, American football linebacker
- February 20 – Julia Jentsch, German actress
- February 23 – Dan Snyder, Canadian hockey player (d. 2003)
- February 24 – John Nolan, American rock lead singer (Straylight Run)
- February 24 – Leon Constantine, British Leeds United footballer
- February 27 – Kakha Kaladze, Georgian and AC Milan footballer
- February 28 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier
- February 28 – Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter
March–April
- March 1 – Jensen Ackles, American actor
- March 2 – Tomas Kaberle, Czech hockey player
- March 4 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer
- March 6 – Sage Rosenfels, American football player
- March 10 – Benjamin Burnley, American musician
- March 11 – Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast footballer
- March 12 – Masuimi Max, American fetish model
- March 12 – Claudio Sanchez, American singer/songwriter (Coheed & Cambria)
- March 13 – Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian dancer
- March 14 – Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
- March 14 – Carl Johan Bergman, Swedish biathlete
- March 14 – Moon Hee Jun, Korean singer
- March 14 – Carlo Giuliani, Italian anarchist (d. 2001)
- March 21 – Kevin Federline, American musician
- March 21 – Rani Mukherji, Indian actress
- March 22 – Josh Heupel, American football player
- March 31 – Stephen Clemence, English footballer
- March 31 – Jérôme Rothen, French footballer
- March 31 – Tony Yayo, American rapper
- April 1 – Vitor Belfort, Brazilian martial artist
- April 3 – John Smit, South African rugby union player
- April 4 – Jason Ellison, American baseball player
- April 5 – Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
- April 6 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player
- April 7 – Duncan James, English singer
- April 9 – Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
- April 9 – Veronica Taylor, American actress
- April 9 – Rachel Stevens, English singer
- April 11 – Thomas Thacker, Canadian singer
- April 12 – Guy Berryman, Scottish rock bass player (Coldplay)
- April 13 – Kyle Howard, American television and movie actor
- April 16 – Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
- April 16 – Lara Dutta, Indian actress
- April 17 – Jason White, Scottish rugby union player
- April 17 – Juan Guillermo Castillo, Uruguayan goalkeeper
- April 19 – James Franco, American actor
- April 20 – Mirei Kuroda, Japanese gravure idol
- April 20 – Matt Austin, Canadian actor
- April 21 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (Nightwish)
- April 22 – Jason Stollsteimer, American lead singer and guitarist (The Von Bondies)
- April 23 – Princess Tamara Czartoryski-Borbon, Spanish athlete
May–June
- May 3 – Paul Banks, American rock vocalist (Interpol (band))
- May 3 – Lawrence Tynes, American football player
- May 6 – Aleksandr Fyodorov, Russian bodybuilder
- May 7 – Brian Clevinger, American author
- May 8 – Josie Maran, American supermodel and actress
- May 9 – Marwan al-Shehhi, United Arab Emirates hijacker (d. 2001)
- May 10 – Kenan Thompson, American actor (Saturday Night Live)
- May 10 – Marcelo Moretto, Brazilian footballer
- May 11 – Laetitia Casta, French supermodel and actress
- May 12 – Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter
- May 12 – Jason Biggs, American actor
- May 12 – Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer, writer, and fashion designer
- May 13 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player
- May 13 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
- May 15 – Caroline Dhavernas, French-Canadian actress
- May 15 – Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian footballer
- May 15 – David Krumholtz, American actor
- May 15 – Krissy Taylor, American model (d. 1995)
- May 18 – Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
- May 19 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
- May 21 – Briana Banks, German-American porn star
- May 21 – Adam Gontier, Canadian-born rock musician (Three Days Grace)
- May 22 – Jordan, English model
- May 23 – Carolyn Moos, American model and professional basketball player
- May 23 – Scott Raynor, American rock musician (Blink-182)
- May 25 – Brian Urlacher, American football player
- May 26 – Benji Gregory, Former American Actor, Retired United States Navy
- May 29 – Lorenzo Odone, American adrenoleukodystrophy patient (d. 2008)
- June 6 – Carl Barât, English rock singer and guitarist (The Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things)
- June 6 – Judith Barsi, American child actress (d. 1988)
- June 7 – Adrienne Frantz, American actress
- June 7 – Bill Hader, American actor (Saturday Night Live)
- June 8 – Maria Menounos, American actress, journalist, and television presenter
- June 9 – Matthew Bellamy, British rock musician (Muse)
- June 9 – Miroslav Klose, German football player
- June 10 – Shane West, American actor
- June 10 – Han Hee-Won, South Korean golfer
- June 11 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor
- June 13 – Jason Michael Carroll, American country musician
- June 19 – Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball player
- June 19 – Mía Maestro, Argentine actress
- June 20 – Frank Lampard English footballer
- June 20 – Mark Powell, Australian politician
- June 21 – Erica Durance, Canadian actress
- June 21 – Jean-Pascal Lacoste, French singer, actor and TV host
- June 22 – Champ Bailey, American football player
- June 22 – Dan Wheldon, English race car driver
- June 22 – Tim Driesen, Belgian Actor and Singer-songwriter.
- June 24 – Emppu Vuorinen, Finnish rock musician (Nightwish)
- June 24 – Juan Roman Riquelme, Argentine football player
- June 25 – Aftab Shivdasani, Indian Bollywood actor
- June 25 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
- June 25 – Layla El, British wrestler, WWE Diva Search Winner
- June 25 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican baseball player
- June 27 – Anna Kumble, English pop singer and TV presenter
- June 29 – Nicole Scherzinger, American pop lead singer (Pussycat Dolls)
- June 30 – Ben Cousins, Australian rules footballer
July–August
- July 1 – Hillary Tuck, American actress
- July 3 – Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
- July 4 – Tony Reali, American sports personality
- July 4 – Becki Newton, American actress
- July 6 – Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- July 6 – Tia and Tamera Mowry, American actresses
- July 8 – Rachel Lillis, American actress
- July 9 – Linda Park, Korean-born actress
- July 9 – Mark Medlock, German pop singer ('Deutschland sucht den Superstars Season 4)
- July 12 – Bradley Eustace, Australian composer
- July 12 – Topher Grace, American actor
- July 18 – Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player
- July 18 – Ben Sheets, American baseball player
- July 20 – Elliott Yamin, American singer
- July 21 – Josh Hartnett, American acto
- July 21 – Kyoko Iwasaki, Japanese swimmer
- July 23 – Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
- July 23 – Stefanie Sun, Singapore singer
- July 25 – Louise Brown, British citizen, first human born through in vitro fertilization
- July 25 – Gerard Warren, American football player
- July 26 – Jehad Muntasser, Libyan footballer
- August 1 – Dhani Harrison, English musician and son of George Harrison of The Beatles
- August 1 – Jonathan Wilkes, British TV presenter
- August 3 – Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer
- August 4 – Kurt Busch, American race-car driver
- August 6 – Marisa Miller, American supermodel
- August 7 – Alexandre Aja, French director
- August 7 – Vanness Wu, Taiwanese singer
- August 7 – Linsey Dawn McKenzie, English model and porn star
- August 7 – Cirroc Lofton, American actor
- August 7 – Jamey Jasta, American rock singer (Hatebreed)
- August 8 – Countess Vaughn, American actress
- August 15 – Tim Foreman, American rock bassist (Switchfoot)
- August 17 – Vibeke Stene, Norwegian rock singer (Tristania)
- August 18 – James Corden, English actor and comedian
- August 21 – Reuben Droughns, American football player
- August 21 – Alan Lee, Irish footballer
- August 23 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
- August 23 – Julian Casablancas, American rock musician (The Strokes)
- August 24 – Rafael Furcal, Dominican baseball player
- August 25 – Kel Mitchell, American actor
- August 28 – Albina Digaeva, Chechen-American human rights activist
- August 29 – Danielle Hampton, Canadian actress
- August 30 – Swizz Beatz, American record producer and rapper
September–October
- September 4 – Wes Bentley, American actor
- September 6 – Cisco Adler, American musician
- September 6 – Mathew Horne, English actor
- September 7 – Devon Sawa, Canadian actor
- September 9 – Johnny Shentall, English singer
- September 11 – Ed Reed, American football player
- September 11 – Ben Lee, Australian singer
- September 12 – Ruben Studdard, American singer
- September 14 – Ben Cohen, English rugby union player
- September 15 – Eiður Guðjohnsen, Icelandic football player
- September 17 – Jennifer Rosales, Filipino golfer
- September 20 – Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player
- September 20 – Patrizio Buanne, Italian singer
- September 20 – Sarit Hadad, Israeli pop music singer
- September 22 – Harry Kewell, Australian footballer
- September 23 – Worm Miller, American screenwriter, director, actor
- September 24 – Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
- September 25 – Jodie Kidd, English model
- September 29 – Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer
- September 30 – Candice Michelle, American professional wrestler and model
- October 2 – Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
- October 3 – Jake Shears, American singer
- October 3 – Shannyn Sossamon, American actress
- October 4 – Kei Horie, Japanese actor
- October 4 – Mark Day (actor), Canadian actor
- October 5 – Shane Ryan, Irish Gaelic footballer
- October 5 – Morgan Webb, television personality, gameshow host
- October 9 – Nicky Byrne, Irish musician (Westlife)
- October 10 – Francis Escudero, Filipino congressman, senator (Chiz)
- October 14 – Usher Raymond, American musician
- October 14 – Paul Hunter, English snooker player (d. 2006)
- October 18 – Wesley Jonathan, American actor
- October 20 – Kira, German singer
- October 20 – Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
- October 20 – R'sonist, Jamaican Hip Hop Producer
- October 21 – Joey Harrington, American football player
- October 22 – Shaun Riaz, Trinidadian artist
- October 24 – Carlos Edwards, Trinidadian footballer
- October 25 – Russell Anderson, Scottish footballer
- October 26 – Antonio Pierce, American football player
- October 26 – Phil "CM Punk" Brooks, American professional wrestler
- October 26 – Jimmy Aggrey, English footballer
- October 27 – Vanessa-Mae, Singaporean musician
- October 28 – Justin Guarini, American singer
- October 29 – Travis Henry, American football player
November–December
- November 1 – Manju Warriar, Indian actress
- November 6 – Paul O'Grady, Australian soccer player
- November 6 – Taryn Manning, American actress
- November 6 – Sandrine Blancke, Belgian actress
- November 7 – Zaheer Khan, Indian cricketer
- November 8 – Ali Karimi, Iranian football player
- November 9 – Sisqó, American actor and singer (Dru Hill)
- November 10 – Eve, American rapper
- November 10 – Kyla Cole, Czech adult model
- November 11 – Jyothika, Indian actress
- November 12 – Kelly Overton, American actress.
- November 13 – Nikolai Fraiture, American rock bassist (The Strokes)
- November 13 – Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese actress (d. 2007)
- November 14 – Bobby Allen, American ice hockey player
- November 14 – Xavier Nady, American baseball player
- November 17 – Reggie Wayne, American football player
- November 17 – Rachel McAdams, Canadian actress
- November 18 – Damien Johnson, Northern Irish footballer
- November 19 – Matt Dusk, Canadian jazz musician & singer
- November 21 – Annie, Norwegian singer
- November 22 – Karen O, American pop singer (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
- November 24 – Katherine Heigl, American actress
- November 25 – Shina Ringo, Japanese singer and musician
- November 27 – Mike Skinner, English musician
- November 29 – Ludwika Paleta, Polish-Mexican actress
- November 30 – Emil Steiner, American author
- November 30 – Clay Aiken, American singer (American Idol)
- November 30 – Gael Garcia Bernal, Mexican actor
- December 2 – Nelly Furtado, Canadian-born singer and songwriter
- December 2 – Chris Wolstenholme, English base player (Muse)
- December 5 – Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
- December 7 – Shiri Appleby, American actress
- December 8 – Ian Somerhalder, American actor
- December 8 – Vernon Wells, American baseball player
- December 9 – Jesse Metcalfe, American actor
- December 10 – Brandon Novak, American freestyle skateboarder and TV/radio personality
- December 12 – Evren Genis, Turkish composer
- December 12 – Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
- December 15 – Jerome McDougle, American football player
- December 16 – Joe Absolom, British actor
- December 17 – Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer
- December 17 – Chase Utley, American baseball player
- December 18 – Daniel Cleary, Canadian ice hockey player
- December 18 – Katie Holmes, American actress
- December 19 – Patrick Casey, American screenwriter and actor
- December 20 – Geremi, Cameroon footballer
- December 20 – Jacqueline Saburido, Venezuelan-born drunk driving accident survivor and promoter of non-drunk driving
- December 22 – Edo Maajka, Bosnian rapper
- December 23 – Andra Davis, American football player
- December 23 – Jodie Marsh, British model
- December 23 – Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan baseball player
- December 23 – Estella Warren, Canadian swimmer, model, and actress
- December 24 – Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer
- December 24 – Carlson Twins, American models
- December 26 – Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player
- December 29 – Alexis Amore, Peruvian actress, dancer, and model
- December 29 – LaToya London, American singer
- December 29 – Steve Kemp, British musician (Hard-Fi)
- December 30 – Heath Evans, American football player
Unknown dates
- Laurence Fox, English actor
- Eve Myles, Welsh actress
Deaths
January–March
- January 5 – Wyatt Emory Cooper, American screenwriter and author (b. 1927)
- January 5 – Sally Eilers, American actress (b. 1908)
- January 9 – Noble Johnson, American actor (b. 1881)
- January 13 – Hubert Humphrey, U.S. Vice President and Senator (b. 1911)
- January 13 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (b. 1887)
- January 14 – Harold Abrahams, English athlete (b. 1899)
- January 14 – Kurt Gödel, Austrian-born mathematician (b. 1906)
- January 18 – Carl Betz, American actor (b. 1921)
- January 18 – Walter H. Thompson, English Scotland Yard detective (b. 1890)
- January 22 – Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer (b. 1894)
- January 23 – Terry Kath, American rock musician (Chicago) (b. 1946)
- January 23 – Jack Oakie, American actor (The Great Dictator) (b. 1903)
- January 26 – Leo Genn, English actor (b. 1905)
- January 27 – Oskar Homolka, Austrian actor (b. 1898)
- January 29 – Tim McCoy, American actor (b. 1891)
- February 2 – Wendy Barrie, British actress (b. 1912)
- February 11 – James B. Conant, American chemist and headmaster of Harvard University (b. 1893)
- February 11 – Harry Martinson, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- February 15 – Ilka Chase, American actress (b. 1900)
- February 18 – Maggie McNamara, American actress (b. 1928)
- February 22 – Ernest Palmer, American cinematographer (b. 1885)
- February 27 – Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (b. 1912)
- February 28 – Philip Ahn, Korean-American actor (b. 1905)
- February 28 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
- March 12 – John Cazale, American actor (b. 1935)
- March 18 – Leigh Brackett, American author (b. 1915)
- March 18 – Peggy Wood, American actress (b. 1892)
- March 19 – Gaston Julia, French mathematician (b. 1893)
- March 20 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
- March 21 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (Carroll Daly), 5th President of Ireland (b. 1911)
- March 22 – Karl Wallenda, American circus performer (b. 1905)
- March 31 – Charles Best, American-born medical scientist (b. 1899)
April–June
- April 8 – Lon L. Fuller, American legal philosopher (b. 1902)
- April 9 – Michael Wilson, American screenwriter (b. 1914)
- April 14 – F.R. Leavis, British literary critic (b. 1895)
- April 16 – Lucius D. Clay, American military governor of Germany after World War II (b. 1897)
- April 21 – Sandy Denny, English singer (b. 1947)
- April 22 – Basil Dean, English film director and producer (b. 1887)
- April 22 – Will Geer, American actor (b. 1902)
- April 25 – Leo Najo, American baseball player (b. 1899)
- April 27 – John Doeg, American tennis champion (b. 1908)
- May 1 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer (b. 1903)
- May 6 – Ethelda Bleibtrey, American Olympic swimmer (b. 1902)
- May 8 – Duncan Grant, Scottish painter (b. 1885)
- May 9 – Aldo Moro, former Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1916)
- May 14 – Robert Menzies, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- May 22 – Joe Colombo, American gangster (b. 1914)
- May 26 – Tamara Karsavina, Russian ballerina (b. 1885)
- May 28 – Arthur Brough, British actor (b. 1905)
- June 7 – Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- June 9 – Prince Nicholas of Romania (b. 1903)
- June 18 – Walter C. Alvarez, American physician (b. 1884)
- June 20 – Mark Robson, Canadian film director (b. 1913)
- June 22 – Jens Otto Krag, Danish politician (b. 1914)
- June 24 – Robert Charroux, French writer (b. 1909)
- June 25 – Barry Brown, American actor and writer (b. 1951)
- June 27 – Josette Day, French actress (b. 1914)
- June 29 – Bob Crane, American actor (b. 1928)
July–September
- July 3 – James Daly, American actor (b. 1918)
- July 8 – Osman Lins, Brazilian novelist (b. 1924)
- July 10 – Joe Davis, English snooker and billiards player (b. 1901)
- July 16 – Howard Estabrook, American actor (b. 1884)
- July 20 – Gerald Warner Brace, American writer, educator, sailor and boat builder (b. 1901)
- July 25 – Masao Koga, Japanese composer (b. 1904)
- July 30 – Umberto Nobile, Italian aviator (b. 1885)
- August 2 – Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer (b. 1899)
- August 2 – Totie Fields, American comedienne (b. 1930)
- August 4 – Frank Fontaine, American comedian and singer (b. 1920)
- August 5 – Queenie Smith, American actress (b. 1898)
- August 6 – Pope Paul VI (b. 1897)
- August 6 – Edward Durell Stone, American architect (b. 1902)
- August 7 – Eddie Calvert, American musician (b. 1922)
- August 11 – Hugh MacDiarmid, Scottish poet (b. 1892)
- August 14 – Nicolas Bentley, British writer and illustrator (b. 1907)
- August 16 – Jean Acker, American actress (b. 1893)
- August 21 – Charles Eames, American architect and designer (b. 1907)
- August 22 – Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan statesman
- August 24 – Louis Prima, Italian-American singer and actor (b. 1910)
- August 26 – Charles Boyer, French actor (b. 1899)
- August 28 – Bruce Catton, American Civil War historian, Pulizer Prize winner (1954) (b. 1899)
- August 28 – Robert Shaw, English actor (Jaws) (b. 1927)
- August 31 – Lee Garmes, American cinematographer (b. 1898)
- September 7 – Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (b. 1946)
- September 9 – Jack Warner, Canadian film studio founder (b. 1892)
- September 11 – Mike Gazella, American baseball player (b. 1895)
- September 11 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident (b. 1929)
- September 11 – Ronnie Peterson, Swedish Formula One driver (b. 1944)
- September 15 – Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft engineer (b. 1898)
- September 23 – Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (b. 1950)
- September 24 – Ruth Etting, American singer (b. 1896)
- September 25 – Bret Morrison, American voice actor (b. 1912)
- September 26 – Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- September 28 – Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)
- September 30 – Edgar Bergen, American actor and ventriloquist (b. 1903)
October–December
- October 6 – Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (b. 1935)
- October 9 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer (b. 1929)
- October 10 – Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (b. 1910)
- October 12 – Nancy Spungen, American groupie and girlfriend of Sid Vicious (b. 1958)
- October 16 – Dan Dailey, American actor (b. 1915)
- October 19 – Gig Young, American actor (b. 1913)
- October 20 – Gunnar Nilsson, Swedish race car driver (cancer) (b. 1948)
- October 23 – Maybelle Carter, American singer (b. 1909)
- October 28 – Geoffrey Unsworth, British cinematographer (b. 1914)
- October 30 – Wallace MacDonald, Canadian actor (b. 1891)
- November 6 – Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (b. 1915)
- November 7 – Gene Tunney, American boxer (b. 1897)
- November 8 – Norman Rockwell, American artist and illustrator (b. 1894)
- November 10 – Theo Lingen, German actor (b. 1903)
- November 15 – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (b. 1901)
- November 16 – Claude Dauphin, French actor (b. 1903)
- November 18 – Jim Jones, Peoples Temple founder (b. 1931)
- November 20 – Robert Alan Aurthur, American screenwriter (b. 1922)
- November 20 – Giorgio de Chirico, Greek painter (b. 1888)
- November 27 – Harvey Milk, American gay rights activist (b. 1930)
- November 27 – Susan Shaw, American actress (b. 1929)
- November 28 – André Morell, British actor (b. 1909)
- December 8 – Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1898)
- December 10 – Ed Wood, American filmmaker (b. 1924)
- December 11 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
- December 12 – Fay Compton, English actress (b. 1894)
- December 15 – Chill Wills, American actor (b. 1902)
- December 27 – Houari Boumédiènne, President of Algeria (b. 1932)
Unknown dates
- Pankaj Mullick, Bengali composer and singer (b. 1904)
- Mark A. Shaw, American temperance movement leader and Prohibition Party candidate for vice-president in 1964
Ship events
- List of ship launches in 1978
- List of ship commissionings in 1978
- List of ship decommissionings in 1978
- List of shipwrecks in 1978
Fields Medalists
Nobel Prizes
- Physics – Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Arno Allan Penzias, Robert Woodrow Wilson
- Chemistry – Peter D. Mitchell
- Medicine – Werner Arber, Daniel Nathans, Hamilton O. Smith
- Literature – Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Peace – Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat and Menachem Begin
- Economics – Herbert Simon
Templeton Prize
Notes
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