- July 10
- Military coup in Mauritania. [1]
- July 11
- More than 200 tourists die in an explosion of a tanker-truck at a campsite in Costa Daurada, Spain. [841]
- July 18
- Egyptian and Israeli officials begin two days of talks. [1]
- July 23
- Israeli cabinet rejects Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's call for return of two Sinai areas. [1]
- July 25
- Two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists are killed in a police ambush. [841]
- Birth of Louise Brown, British citizen, first human born through in vitro fertilization ("test tube baby"). [1] [841] [1379.8]
- July 28
- Price of gold tops US$200 per ounce level for first time. [1] [516.32]
- August 6
- Pope Paul VI dies at age 80 of heart attack at summer residence in Castelgandolfo (born 1897). [1] [841]
- August 8
- Pioneer-Venus 2 with five atmospheric probes launched toward Venus. [1]
- August 17
- Double Eagle II becomes the first balloon to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean, flying from Presque Isle, Maine, USA to Miserey, France. [1] [5] [841]
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- August 19
- 422 die in an arson fire at a movie theater in Iran. [1]
- August 20
- Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al Airline bus in London, England. [1]
- August 26
- Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice becomes Pope John Paul I, succeeding Pope Paul VI as the 263rd Pope. [1] [841]
- Soyuz 31 carries two cosmonauts (one the first East German, Sigmund Jähn) to Salyut 6. [1] [5]
- August 31
- Symbionese Liberation Army founders William and Emily Harris plead guilty to 1974 kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. [1]
- September 3
- Pope John Paul I is officially installed as 264th supreme pontiff. [1]
- Crew of Soyuz 31 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 29. [1]
- September 5
- Israeli Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat begin the peace process at Camp David, Maryland, USA. [1] [841]
- September 8
- Iranian Army troops open fire on rioters in Teheran, killing 122, wounding 4,000. [841]
- September 16
- General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq officially assumes the post of President of Pakistan. [841]
- In Iran, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurs, centered about 600 kilometres southeast of Tehran in the vicinity of Tabas. One of the world's deadliest earthquakes. The death toll is about 15,000, and damage is extensive. Tabas has the highest death toll - 9,000 killed out of a population of 13,000. [1] [53]
- September 17
- Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and US President Jimmy Carter sign the Camp David accord. [1] [841]
- September 20
- General Rahimuddin Khan assumes the post of Martial Law Governor of Balochistan. [841]
- September 23
- 100,000 cheering Egyptians welcome President Anwar Sadat home from Camp David summit. [1]
- 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 broadcast. [841]
- PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in San Diego, California; 144 are killed. [1] [841]
- September 27
- The last Forest Brother guerilla movement fighter is discovered and killed in Estonia. [841]
- September 28
- Pope John Paul I dies at age 65 after only 33 days as Pope (born 1912). [1] [841]
- Israeli Knesset endorses Camp David accord. [1]
- October 1
- Vietnam attacks Cambodia. [841]
- Tuvalu becomes independent from the United Kingdom. [1] [841] [992.31]
- October 3
- Gold hits record US$223.50 an ounce in London, England. [1]
- October 5
- Isaac Bashevis Singer wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. [1]
- October 7
- In New South Wales, the Wran government is re-elected with an increased majority. [841]
- October 10
- A massive short circuit in Seasat's electrical system ends the satellite's scientific mission. [841]
- October 11
- Aristides Royo elected president of Panama. [1]
- October 13
- Tiros N, America's first third-generation weather satellite, is launched. [1]
- October 14
- Daniel arap Moi becomes president of Kenya. [841]
- October 16
- Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla elected supreme pontiff, Pope John Paul II, succeeding Pope John Paul I as the 264th pope. He is the first Polish pope in history. [1] [841]
- October 25
- Israeli Cabinet approves "in principle," a draft compromise peace with Egypt. [1]
- 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. [1] [841]
- November 2
- Crew of Soyuz 29 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 31. [1]
- November 3
- Equatorial Guinea recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). [841]
- Mickey Mouse is given a gold star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame, the first cartoon character to be so honored. [6]
- Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom. [1] [841]
- November 4
- Iranian troops fire on anti-Shah student protesters by Tehran University. [1]
- November 5
- Rioters sack the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran. [841]
- Iranian Prime Minister Jaafar Sharif-Emami resigns to Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. [1]
- November 6
- Shah of Iran places Iran under military rule. [1]
- November 7
- Indira Gandhi is re-elected to the Indian parliament. [841]
- November 9
- Tanzania recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). [841]
- November 10
- Israel's top negotiators break away from Middle East peace talks. [1]
- November 15
- 183 die as Icelandic Airlines DC-8 crashes in Colombo, Sri Lanka. [1]
- November 18
- In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his People's Temple cult in a mass murder-suicide that claims 918 lives in all, including Jim Jones, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. US Congressman Leo J. Ryan and four others are assassinated by gunfire by members of People's Temple shortly beforehand. [1] [841] [1096.147]
- November 25
- American Airlines DC-10 crashes on takeoff from Chicago, kills 275. [1]
- November 27
- In San Francisco, California, Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White. [1] [841]
- November 28
- Burt Webber of Pennsylvania find the remains of the Spanish galleon Concepción, which sunk off the Bahamas in 1641. (Over several months, total recovered is 60,000 silver coins, Chinese pottery, silver dinnerware, and three astrolabes.) [1057.644]
- November 29
- United Nations observes "international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people," boycotted by US and about 20 other countries. [1]
- In Oaxaca, Mexico, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs. [53]
- November 30
- Publication of The Times newspaper of the UK is suspended due to labor problems. (Next issue is November 13, 1979.) [841]
- December 2
- Chanting "Allah is great", anti-Shah protesters pour through Tehran, Iran. [1]
- December 4
- Dutch War criminal Pieter Menten freed. [1]
- December 5
- European Union establishes EMS, European Monetary System. [1]
- December 6
- The Spanish Constitution officially restores the country's democratic government. [1] [841]
- December 10
- In Oslo, Norway, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat accept 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. [1]
- December 11
- Two million demonstrate against the Shah in Iran. [841]
- Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport and make off with US$5.8 million in cash and jewelry. [1] [841]
- December 14
- People's Republic of China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor. [1]
- Near Izeh in Iran, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurs. Seventy-six people killed, considerable damage in the areas of Izeh and Masjed-e-Soleyman. [53]
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- December 15
- Saint Maarten Patriotic Movement (SPM) forms under W James. [1]
- 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. [841]
- Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter's recognition of People's Republic of China. [1]
- December 17
- OPEC raises oil prices 18 percent. [1]
- Referendum approves new constitution of Rwanda. [1]
- December 18
- France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island. [1]
- USSR performs underground nuclear test. [1]
- December 19
- Former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi is arrested and jailed for a week for breach of privilege and contempt of parliament. [1] [841]
- 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. [841]
- Thailand adopts constitution. [1]
- December 25
- Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. About 25,000 Vietnamese troops enter Kampuchea, take control of nation. [841] [889.29]
- December 26
- India's former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, released from jail. [1]
- December 27
- The Constitution of Spain is approved in a referendum, officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship. [841]
- King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's first democratic constitution. [1]
- December 29
- Shah of Iran asks Shapour Bahktiar to form a civilian government. [1]
- December 31
- Iran shah names Chapour Bakhtiar premier. [1]
- Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with the US. [1]
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