The 1970s

1979

SAETA Flight 011 crashes in Pastaza Province, Ecuador, killing all 57 people on board

On 23 April 1979, SAETA Flight 011, a Vickers Viscount passenger aircraft of Ecuadorian airline SAETA, crashed in a mountainous region of Pastaza Province, Ecuador, killing all 57 …

SAETA Flight 011 crashes in Pastaza Province, Ecuador, killing all 57 people on board

1979

Eruption of Mount Marapi: Mount Marapi, a complex volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, erupts

On 30 April 1979, Mount Marapi, a complex volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the most active complex volcano in West Sumatra province, erupted, killing between 80 and …

Eruption of Mount Marapi: Mount Marapi, a complex volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, erupts

1979

The Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney, Australia, kills seven

The Sydney Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney in Australia killed seven people and destroyed the ride on 9 June 1979. The fire was originally blamed on an electrical fault despit…

The Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney, Australia, kills seven

1979

Blair Peach, a British activist, is fatally injured after being knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstra

Clement Blair Peach 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 A…

Blair Peach, a British activist, is fatally injured after being knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstra

1979

Blair Peach, a New Zealand teacher, dies after being knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstration agains

Clement Blair Peach 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 A…

Blair Peach, a New Zealand teacher, dies after being knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstration agains

1979

The Conservative Party wins the United Kingdom general election

The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Lab…

The Conservative Party wins the United Kingdom general election

1979

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from…

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

1979

SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union

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 C…

SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union

1979

Sony introduces the Walkman.

Sony Group Corporation, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses variou…

Sony introduces the Walkman.

1979

America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut cre…

America's first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

1979

Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once

Iranian Jews constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the biblical era, they originate from the Jews who arrived in Iran as Babylonian captiv…

Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once

1979

White Night riots in San Francisco following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for the assassinations of George M

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 Fra…

White Night riots in San Francisco following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for the assassinations of George M

1979

John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after

John Arthur Spenkelink was an American convicted murderer. He was executed in 1979, the first convicted criminal to be executed in Florida after capital punishment was reinstated i…

John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after

1979

American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago,

American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport. On the afternoon…

American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago,

1979

Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community

Konstantinos G. Karamanlis was a Greek statesman who was the four-time Prime Minister of Greece and two-term president of the Third Hellenic Republic, serving in the former role fr…

Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community

1979

U.S. president Jimmy Carter gives his "malaise speech".

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government an…

U.S. president Jimmy Carter gives his "malaise speech".

1979

Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.

The president of the Republic of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq. Since the mid-2000s, the presidency is primarily a symbolic office, as the position does not possess significant…

Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.

1979

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.

The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augus…

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.

1979

Downeast Airlines Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17

Downeast Airlines Flight 46 was a scheduled airline service in the United States from Boston's Logan International Airport to Rockland, Maine, operated by Downeast Airlines. On May…

Downeast Airlines Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17

1979

The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power

Rhodesia, officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia was the de facto successor to the col…

The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power

1979

Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist cou

Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in t…

Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist cou

1979

A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil t

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 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Ciu…

A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil t

1979

Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown

Flight lieutenant is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank originated in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in 1914. It fel…

Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown

1979

The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.

SS Atlantic Empress was a Greek oil tanker that in 1979 collided with the oil tanker Aegean Captain in the Caribbean, and eventually sank, having created the fifth largest oil spil…

The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.