Today in History for December 1978

Months in 1978: January February March April May June July August September October November

Historical Events

Events 1 - 63 of 63

1st - Pres Carter more than doubles national park system size
1st - Test Cricket debut of Rodney Hogg, v England at the Gabba
1st - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
2nd - Chanting "Allah is great," anti-Shah protesters poured through Tehran
2nd - Neil Diamond & Barbra Striesand's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" hits #1
2nd - Streisand & Diamond's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," goes #1
3rd - "King of Hearts" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 48 performances
3rd - Pat Bradley/Lon Hinkle wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
4th - Dianne Feinstein is named SF 1st female mayor
4th - Dutch War criminal Pieter Menten freed
4th - Pioneer Venus 1 goes into orbit around Venus
4th - War criminal Pieter Menten freed
5th - EG decides establishes EMS, European Monetary System
5th - Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million contract with Phillies
5th - Phillies Pete Rose becomes highest paid baseball player
5th - Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus
5th - Sam Shepard's "Buried Child," premieres in NYC
5th - Islanders took 28 shots in 1 period vs Penguins Penguins' Ross Lonsberry failed on 7th penalty shot against Islanders
6th - Spain adopts constitution
Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond 7th - Islander's Mike Bossy's 1st career hat trick
8th - Commencement of the 1st day/night WSC cricket supertest at VFL Park
9th - Pioneer Venus 2 drops 5 probes into atmosphere of Venus
9th - 1st game of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does
10th - "Platinum" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 33 performances
10th - 67th Davis Cup: USA beats Great Britain in Rancho Mirage (4-1)
10th - In Oslo, Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat accept 1978 Nobel Peace Prize
10th - Islanders ends 15 game undefeated streak (12-0-3) to Canadians
11th - 6 masked men bound 10 employees at Lufthansa cargo area at NY Kennedy Airport & made off with $5.8 M in cash & jewelry
13th - Susan B Anthony dollar, 1st US coin to honor a woman, issued
14th - "Ballroom" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 116 performances
14th - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
14th - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
15th - Saint Maarten Patriotic Movement (SPM) forms under W James
15th - Test Cricket debut of Malcolm Marshall, v India at Bangalore
US President & Actor Ronald Reagan 16th - Ronald Reagan denounces Pres Jimmy Carter's recognition of China PR
16th - Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks.
17th - OPEC raises oil prices 18%
17th - Referendum approves new constitution of Rwanda
17th - The Workers Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe.
18th - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
18th - USSR performs underground nuclear test
19th - France performs nuclear test
19th - Indira Gandhi ambushed in India
20th - H R Haldeman, Nixon's White House chief of staff released from jail
21st - "Broadway Musical" opens/closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC
21st - Police in Des Plaines Ill, arrest John Wayne Gacy Jr for murder
22nd - Kenny Jones becomes The Who's new drummer
22nd - Thailand adopts constitution
23rd - Islanders scored 7 goals in 1 period against NY Rangers, Trottier scores 8 points vs Rangers, 5 goals-NHL record 6 pts in 1 period
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin 26th - India's former PM, Indira Gandhi, released from jail
27th - King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution
27th - Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship.
28th - 30th hat trick in Islander history (Mike Bossy)
29th - Shah of Iran, asks Shapour Bahktiar to form a civilian government
29th - Spain constitution goes into effect
29th - Test Cricket debut of Allan Robert Border, v England at the MCG
30th - "King & I" closes at Uris Theater NYC after 719 performances
30th - Ohio State dismisses Woody Hayes as its football coach
31st - "Magic Show" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 1859 performances
31st - "Runaways" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 199 performances
31st - CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy
31st - Iran shah names Chapour Bakhtiar premier
31st - Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with US

Famous Birthdays

Birthdays 1 - 76 of 76

1st - Mat Kearney, American singer and songwriter
2nd - Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer and songwriter
2nd - Chris Wolstenholme, British bassist (Muse)
2nd - David Rivas, Spanish Footballer plays for Real Betis
2nd - Jason Collins, American basketball player for New Jersey Nets
2nd - Jarron Collins, American basketball player for Utah Jazz
2nd - Peter Moylan, Australian Major League Baseball Pitcher for the Atlanta Braves
3rd - Trina, American rapper
3rd - Jiří Bicek, Slovak ice hockey player
4th - Michele Di Piedi, Italian footballer
4th - Jaclyn Victor, Malaysian singer
5th - Marcelo Zalayeta, Uruguayan footballer
5th - Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
6th - K. D. Aubert, American actress
6th - Chris Basak, American baseball player
6th - Darrell Jackson, American football player
7th - Shiri Appleby, American actress
7th - Frankie J, Mexican-born American singer
7th - Chad Dukes, Radio Personality
8th - Kate Robinson, Peoria Ill, dance skater (& Kate Robinson)
8th - Anwar Siraj, Ethiopian footballer
8th - John Oster, Welsh footballer
8th - Ian Somerhalder, American actor
8th - Vernon Wells, American baseball player
9th - Mandy James, Jacksonville Fla, rhythmic gymnast (US team-96)
9th - Jesse Metcalfe, American actor
10th - Brandon Novak, American skateboarder
10th - Summer Phoenix, American actress
10th - Donna Williams, co-founder of Neopets
12th - Derrick Delmore, Camp Springs Md, fig skater (1996 Grand Prix champ)
12th - Evren Genis, Turkish composer
12th - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
12th - Louis (artist), Korean singer ("Jung Hwa Ban Jum")
12th - Jennifer Rovero Playboy Playmate
13th - Ryo Kawakita, Japanese guitarist (Maximum the Hormone)
13th - BJ Penn, American mixed martial artist
14th - Kim St-Pierre, Canadian ice hockey player
14th - Radu Sârbu, Moldovan singer (O-Zone)
14th - Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player
15th - Henrietta Nagyova, Nove Zamky Slovakia, tennis star (ITF/Cali-COL)
15th - Mark Jansen, Dutch guitarist (Epica)
15th - Jerome McDougle, American football player
16th - Gunter Van Handenhoven, Belgian footballer
16th - Kaine, American rapper (Ying Yang Twins)
17th - Alex Cintrón, Puerto Rican baseball player
17th - Riteish Deshmukh, Indian actor
17th - Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer
17th - Neil Sanderson, Canadian drummer (Three Days Grace)
17th - Chase Utley, American baseball player
18th - Naomi Lang, Arcata California, dance skater (& Peter Tchernyshev)
18th - Ali Curtis, American soccer player
18th - Katie Holmes, American actress
19th - Lauren Petty, Miss New Jersey Teen USA (1997)
19th - Patrick Casey, American screenwriter and actor
20th - Geremi Njitap, Cameroon footballer
20th - Andrei Markov, Russian ice hockey player
21st - Amber Corwin, Harbor City Ca, figure skater (1997 National Sr - 5th)
21st - Michael Vitar, LA California, actor (D2, D3, Sunset Grill, Sandlot Kids)
23rd - Andra Davis, American football player
23rd - Esthero, Canadian musician and singer
23rd - Jodie Marsh, British glamour model
23rd - Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan baseball player
23rd - Estella Warren, Canadian model and actress
24th - Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer
25th - Joel Porter, Australian footballer
25th - Simon Jones, English cricketer
26th - Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player
28th - Chris Coyne, Australian footballer
28th - John Legend, American musician
29th - Alexis Amore, Peruvian pornographic actress
29th - Kieron Dyer, English footballer
29th - LaToya London, American singer
30th - Dikla Hamdy, Miss Israel Universe (1997)
30th - Zbigniew Robert Promiński, Polish drummer
30th - Tyrese, American singer and actor
31st - Papoose, American rapper

Famous Deaths

Deaths 1 - 18 of 18

3rd - William Grant Still, composer, dies at 83
4th - Samuel Abraham Goldsmith, Neth/US phycists, dies at 76
7th - Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist (b. 1886)
8th - Golda Meir, Israel's PM (1969-74), dies in Jerusalem at 80
10th - Edward D Wood Jr, director (Plan 9), dies of heart failure at 54
10th - Miura Isshu, Zen teacher, Hakuin Rinzai line, dies at 75
11th - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist and Nobel laureate (b. 1901)
11th - Paul O'Dea, American baseball player (b. 1920)
12th - Clifton Chenier, US accordionist (Bayou Blues), dies at 53
12th - Fay Compton, actress (Othello), dies at 74
14th - Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish diplomat, writer, historian and pacifist (b. 1886)
15th - Chill Wills, actor (Frontier Circus, Rounders), dies at 75
16th - Blanche Calloway, US singer/dancer/radio hostess, dies at 76
17th - Don Ellis, American jazz band leader (b. 1934)
27th - Bob de Lange, Dutch actor/director (Daniel), dies at 62
27th - Chris Bell, rock guitarist (Big Star), dies at 27 in car crash
27th - Houari Boumédienne, President of Algeria (b. 1932)
28th - Harry Winston, US jeweler for the "rich & famous", dies at 82