- January 7
- Angola revises its constitution. [1]
- Birth of Emilio Palma, Argentine citizen, first human born in Antarctica. [841]
- January 8
- Israel's Cabinet votes to 'strengthen' settlements in occupied Sinai. [1]
- January 9
- Commonwealth of Northern Marianas established. [1]
- January 10
- Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, a critic of the Nicaraguan government, is assassinated. Riots erupt against Somoza's government. [841]
- Soyuz 27 carries two cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station. [1]
- January 11
- Governor Askew dedicates the RCUC solar office building. [1]
- Soyuz 27 links with Salyut 6 and Soyuz 26 (first time three spacecraft link). [1]
- January 14
- In Southern Honshu, Japan, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs. Considerable damage in the area, including many landslides, and damage is estimated at about US$76 million. [53]
- 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. [841]
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- January 22
- Ethiopia declares the ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany Persona non grata. [841]
- January 23
- Belgian industrialist Haron Empain is kidnapped in Paris, France. [1]
- January 24
- Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. [841]
- January 25
- Tango Duke dies in Australia at age 42; oldest known thoroughbred horse. [1]
- (to January 27) The Great Blizzard of 1978 strikes the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, killing 70. [841]
- January 26
- International Ultraviolet Explorer placed in Earth orbit. [1]
- Mario Soares forms Portuguese government. [1]
- Strikers riot in Tunisia, killing about 40. [1]
- January 29
- Sweden outlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban. [5]
- January 31
- Israel turns three military outposts in West Bank into civilian settlements. [1]
- February 1
- A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two garbagemen, a policeman and injuring several others. [841]
- February 5
- (to February 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. [841]
- February 6
- Burmese General Ne Win targets Muslim minorities in the village of Sakkipara. [841]
- February 7
- Ethiopian offensive in Ogaden desert. [1]
- February 8
- Crown Prince Sad Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah becomes Prime Minister of Kuwait. [1]
- February 11
- The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. [1] [841]
- EOKA organization disbands in Cyprus. [1]
- Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, crashes in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, killing 44 of the 50 people on board. [841]
- Somalia mobilizes its troops, due to an apparent Ethiopian attack. [841]
- February 14
- First "micro on a chip" patented by Texas Instruments. [1]
- February 15
- Rhodesia's prime minister Ian Smith and 3 black leaders agree on the transfer to black majority rule. [841]
- Zaire revises constitution. [1]
- February 16
- First Computer Bulletin Board System (Ward and Randy's CBBS, Chicago, Illinois). [1] [841]
- The Hillside Strangler, a serial killer prowling Los Angeles, California, claims a tenth (and final) victim. [841]
- February 19
- Egyptian raid on Larnaca International Airport. [841]
- February 20
- Egypt announces it is pulling its diplomats out of Cyprus. [1]
- February 21
- Electrical workers in Mexico City find the remains of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in the middle of the city. [841]
- February 22
- Two tankers with propane gas explode killing 15 at Waverly, Tennessee. [1]
- February 27
- France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island. [1]
- 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. [1] [841]
- March 3
- Rhodesia attacks Zambia. [841]
- Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of Cuban soldiers against Somalian troops in Ogaden. [841]
- March 5
- Landsat 3 launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. [1]
- March 7
- Belgian baron Charles Bracht is kidnapped. [1]
- Dutch second Chamber votes against neutron bomb. [1]
- March 11
- Terrorists attack mail truck at Tel Aviv, Israel; 34 killed. [1] [841]
- March 13
- Moluccans "suicide commandos" occupy Province house. [1]
- March 14
- US Marines terminate Molukse action in Province house (one dead). [1]
- Israeli forces invade Lebanon. [841]
- March 15
- Operation Litani: Israeli offensive in South Lebanon to rid area of Palestine guerrillas. [1]
- People's Rebublic of China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor. [1]
- March 16
- Former Italian Premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by the Red Brigades; 5 bodyguards are killed. [1] [841]
- Aldo Moro, five-time Prime Minister of Italy, assassinated by terrorists. [1]
- The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground near Portsall, France, spilling about 254 million litres of crude oil, creating a slick covering 200km of Breton coast. [1] [522]
- US Senate accepts Panamá Canal treaty. [1]
- March 17
- The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground on the coast of Brittany. [841]
- March 18
- 250,000 attend rock concert California Jam II in Ontario, California. [1]
- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, is sentenced to death by hanging for ordering the assassination of a political opponent. [1] [841]
- March 19
- 50,000 demonstrate in Amsterdam against neutron bomb. [1]
- March 22
- France performs nuclear test. [1]
- Karl Wallenda, famed American aerialist (Flying Wallendas), dies at age 73 while attempting to walk a wire suspended 123 feet in the air between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico. [1] [467] [841]
- March 26
- The control tower and some other facilities of New Tokyo International Airport are occupied and damaged by terrorist attack by New Left activists. [841]
- March 31
- USSR launches Kosmos 1000 navigational satellite. [1]
- April 1
- New Zealand National Airways Corporation merges with Air New Zealand. [841]
- The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, is converted to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. [841]
- April 2
- Velcro is first put on the market. [1]
- April 3
- European market and China sign trade agreement. [1]
- April 7
- Guttenberg bible sells for US$2 million in New York City. [1]
- 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. [1] [841]
- April 8
- Regular radio broadcasts of British Parliament proceedings start. [841]
- 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. [841]
- 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, at the Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly Plant near New Stanton, Pennsylvania with a unionized (UAW) workforce. [841]
- April 14
- Korean Air Lines' Boeing 707, fired on by Soviets, crashes in Russia. [1]
- Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against an attempt by Soviet authorities to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language. [841]
- April 15
- 43 die as two express trains collide head-on south of Bologna, Italy. [1]
- Great Britain performs nuclear test. [1]
- April 17
- 63,500,000 shares traded on New York stock exchange (record). [1]
- Pulitzer prize awarded to Carl Sagan for Dragons of Eden. [1]
- April 18
- The U.S. Senate votes 68-32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31, 1999. [1] [841]
- April 19
- Yitzhak Navron elected fifth President of Israel. [1]
- April 22
- Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta win the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 for Israel with their song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi". [841]
- The One Love Peace Concert is held at National Heroes Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bob Marley unites two opposing political leaders at this concert, bringing peace to the civil war-ridden streets of the city. [841]
- April 23
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- April 26
- France sends troops to Chad. [1]
- April 27
- Accident at nuclear reactor Willow Island, Charleston, West Virginia, kills 51. [1]
- Afghanistan revolution, pro-Russian military coup. [1]
- Afghanistan President Daoud Khan is killed during a military coup; Nur Mohammed Taraki succeeds him. [1] [841]
- April 30
- The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is proclaimed, under pro-communist leader Nur Mohammed Taraki. [841]
- May 1
- Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone. [1] [5]
- May 3
- "Sun Day" - solar energy events are held in US. [1]
- May 4
- Battle of Cassinga occurs in southern Angola. [841]
- Communist activist Henri Curiel is murdered in Paris. [841]
- May 6
- South Africa military goes into Angola. [1]
- May 8
- Reinhold Messner (Italy) and Peter Habeler (Austria) make the first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. [841]
- Norway opens a natural gas field in the Polar Sea. [841]
- May 9
- In Rome, the corpse of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro is found in a red Renault 4 automobile. [1] [841]
- 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. [841]
- (to May 13) A group of mercenaries led by Bob Denard oust Ali Soilih in the Comoros; ten local soldiers are killed. Denard forms a new government. [841]
- May 15
- Students of the University of Tehran riot in Tabriz; the army stops the riot. [841]
- May 18
- (to May 19) Belgian and French paratroopers fly to Zaire to aid the fight against the rebels. [841]
- Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov is sentenced to 7 years hard labor for distributing 'counterrevolutionary material'. [1] [841]
- Italy legalizes abortion. [1]
- May 19
- (to May 20) French Foreign Legion paratroopers land in Kolwezi, Zaire, to rescue Europeans in the middle of a civil war. [841]
- May 20
- Three PFLP members kill a police officer near El Al airlines in Orly Airport, Paris, France. [1]
- US launches Pioneer Venus 1; produces first global radar map of Venus. [1]
- May 21
- Yamada Mumon Roshi is appointed head of Zen Rinzai Sect. [1]
- May 22
- Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Mohammed Ahmed return to the Comoros. [841]
- May 23
- General strike in Peru. [1]
- May 24
- English Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones divorce after 18-year marriage. [906.34]
- Dutch Investment bill (WIR) law goes into effect. [1]
- May 26
- Atlantic City, New Jersey, opens its first gambling casino, run by Resorts International. New Jersey governor Brendan Byrne opens the casino at 10AM. The first legal bet is made by Steve Lawrence, $10 on craps, pass, loses. (The casino makes a world record US$2.9 million in the first 6 days. The casino is soon earning an average US$600,000 a day.) [39] [86.73] [187.425] [807.45,99] [841] [1009.23]
- May 29
- Ali Soilih is found dead in the Comoros, allegedly shot when trying to escape. [841]
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- June 3
- The Congo Republic recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). [841]
- June 5
- Taito introduces the Space Invaders arcade video game, in Japan. The original name was Space Monsters, created by Toshihiro Nishikado. Over 350,000 machines are sold world-wide over its lifetime. [9]
- June 6
- Treaty transferring jurisdiction of Panama Canal to Panama signed in Panama. [1119.115]
- June 9
- 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. [841]
- Intel introduces the 4.77MHz 8086 microprocessor. It uses 16-bit registers, a 16-bit data bus, and 29,000 transistors, using 3-micron technology. Price is US$360. It can access 1 MB of memory. Speed is 0.33 MIPS. (Later speeds included 8MHz (0.66 MIPS) and 10MHz (0.75 MIPS).) [4]
- Gutenberg Bible (one of 21) sells for US$2.4 million, London, England. [1] [37]
- June 12
- Serial killer David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," is sentenced in New York Supreme Court to 365 years in prison. [1] [841]
- In Japan, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurs, near the east coast of Honshu, Japan. [53]
- June 15
- King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old American Elizabeth Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor. [1] [841]
- Soyuz 29 carries two cosmonauts to Salyut 6. (They stay 139 days.) [1]
- June 19
- The Garfield comic strip debuts, eventually growing to produce over US$1 billion in revenue in over 110 countries. [1] [5] [841]
- June 20
- In Greece, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurs, centered about 30 kilometres northeast of Thessaloniki. At least 50 people killed, and extensive damage in the Thessaloniki area. The shock is felt throughout Bulgaria and southern Yugoslavia. [53] [841]
- June 21
- Iranian helicopters stray into Soviet airspace and are shot down. [841]
- A shootout between Provisional IRA members and the British Army leaves 1 civilian and 3 IRA men dead. [841]
- June 22
- São Tomé and Príncipe recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). [841]
- Charon, a satellite of the dwarf planet Pluto, is discovered by James Christy. [1] [5] [841]
- June 23
- Panamá recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). [841]
- June 24
- Yemen Arab Republic President Ahmad al-Ghashmi is killed. [841]
- 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). [841]
- June 26
- A bombing by Breton nationalists causes destruction in Versailles, France. [1] [841]
- June 27
- Soyuz 30 carries two cosmonauts (one Polish) to Salyut 6 space station. [1]
- June 28
- The U.S. scientific satellite Seasat is launched, the first dedicated oceanographic satellite. [841]
- UNICEF chooses rock group Kansas as ambassadors of goodwill. [1]
- June 30
- Ethiopia begins a massive offensive in Eritrea. [841]
- (month unknown)
- ECF/ARE and Stanford Research Institute fund survey of Sphinx and Sphinx Temple, extensive resistivity scan. Anomalies beneath bedrock found, drilled, just natural cavities. [1618.91]
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