1979

Events

January

• January 1
• * United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the International Year of the Child. Many musicians donate to the Music for UNICEF Concert fund, among them ABBA, who write the song Chiquitita to commemorate the event.
• * In 1979, the United States officially severed diplomatic ties with the Republic of China. This decision marked a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy, turning to view the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China.
• * The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations.
• * Following a deal agreed during 1978, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's European operations, which are based in Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France.
• January 6 – Geylang Bahru family murders: Four children, aged five to ten, are brutally killed in Geylang Bahru, Singapore.
• January 7 – Cambodian–Vietnamese War: The People's Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreat west to an area along the Thai border, ending large-scale fighting.
• January 8 – Whiddy Island Disaster: The French tanker Betelgeuse explodes at the Gulf Oil terminal at Bantry, Ireland; 50 people are killed.
• January 9 – The Music for UNICEF Concert is held at the United Nations General Assembly to raise money for UNICEF and promote the Year of the Child. It is broadcast the following day in the United States and around the world. Hosted by the Bee Gees, other performers include Donna Summer, ABBA, Rod Stewart and Earth, Wind & Fire. A soundtrack album is later released.
• January 16 – Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran with his family, relocating to Egypt after a year of turmoil.
• January 19 – Former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell is released on parole after 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama.
• January 20 – Capital punishment in Peru: Following a hasty conviction on espionage and treason charges, Air Force member Julio Vargas Garayar became the last person to be executed by Peru.
• January 22 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Mutukula: The Tanzanian military captures the Ugandan border town of Mutukula after a short battle.
• January 25 – Pope John Paul II arrives in Mexico City for his first visit to Mexico, mainly for 1979's Latin American Episcopal Conference or Conference of Puebla.
• January 28 – Deng Xiaoping arrives in Washington, D.C., for the first visit of a paramount leader of the People's Republic of China to the United States.

  February

• February 1 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
• February 3 – Ayatollah Khomeini creates the Council of the Islamic Revolution.
• February 7
• * Iranian Revolution: Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini take over the Iranian law enforcement, courts, and government administration; the final session of the Iranian National Consultative Assembly is held.
• * Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was known to science.
• * Nazi criminal Josef Mengele suffers a fatal stroke and drowns while swimming in Bertioga, Brazil. His remains are found in 1985.
• February 10 – 11 – The Iranian Revolution ends with the Iranian army withdrawing to its barracks leaving power in the hands of Ayatollah Khomeini, ending the Pahlavi dynasty.
• February 11 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Simba Hills: The Tanzanian military began its assault on the Simba Hills near the town of Kakuuto.
• February 12 – Prime Minister Hissène Habré starts the Battle of N'Djamena in an attempt to overthrow Chad's President Félix Malloum.
• February 13
• * An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
• * The Guardian Angels are formed in New York City as an unarmed organization of young crime fighters.
• February 14 – In Kabul, Muslim extremists kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, who is killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.
• February 15 – A suspected gas explosion in a Warsaw bank kills 49 people.
• February 17 – The People's Republic of China invades northern Vietnam, launching the Sino-Vietnamese War.
• February 18
• *The 1979 Daytona 500 is televised on CBS, the first ever full airing of a 500-mile race on US television, Richard Petty wins after Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison battle for first place on the final lap and crash out, leading to a fist fight. This race brought NASCAR to a wider audience.
• * The Khomeini government in Iran cuts diplomatic relations with Israel.
• February 21 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Gayaza Hills: A Tanzanian brigade successfully dislodged Ugandan forces from the Gayaza Hills. The battle is hard-fought, and the Tanzanians suffer their largest number of casualties in a single engagement of the war.
• February 22 – Saint Lucia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
• February 26
• * A total solar eclipse, the last visible from the continental United States until 2017, arcs over northwestern conterminous US and central Canada ending in Greenland. A partial solar eclipse is visible over almost all of North America and Central America including the eastern half of Alaska and the western half of the UK.
• * The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
• February 27
• *The annual Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans is cancelled due to a strike called by the New Orleans Police Department.
• *The Soviet oil tanker Antonio Gramsci suffers a minor shipwreck in shallow waters shortly after leaving shore in Ventspils, resulting in a 5,000 ton oil spill, the largest that has ever occurred on the Baltic Sea.

  March

• March 1
• * Scottish devolution referendum: Scotland votes in favour of a Scottish Assembly, which is not implemented due to failing a condition that at least 40% of the electorate must support the proposal; in a Welsh devolution referendum, Wales votes against devolution.
• * Philips publicly demonstrate a prototype of an optical digital audio disc at a press conference in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
• March 2 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Tororo: Ugandan rebels attack and capture the town of Tororo.
• March 4
• * The U.S. Voyager 1 spaceprobe photos reveal Jupiter's rings.
• * Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Tororo: The Ugandan military retakes Tororo from rebels.
• March 5 – Voyager 1 makes its closest approach to Jupiter at.
• March 7 – The largest Magnetar event is recorded.
• March 8
• *Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
• * Thousands of women participate in the International Women's Day Protests in Tehran, 1979 against the introduction of mandatory veiling during the Iranian revolution.
• * Images taken by Voyager 1 prove the existence of volcanoes on Io, a moon of Jupiter.
• March 10 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Lukaya: The Ugandan military, a Libyan expeditionary force and allied Palestine Liberation Organisation militants begin a counter-offensive against Tanzanian troops in south-central Uganda. The Ugandan-led alliance retakes Lukaya after a short clash with the Tanzanian military.
• March 11 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Lukaya: The Tanzanian military counter-attacks at Lukaya, completely defeating the Ugandan-led alliance. This defeat permanently cripples the Ugandan military.
• March 13 – Maurice Bishop leads a successful coup in Grenada. His government will be crushed by American intervention in 1983.
• March 14 – In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing 31 people on the ground and injuring 200.
• March 16
• *End of major hostilities in the Sino-Vietnamese War.
• * In his letter to the United Nations, Elisio De Figueiredo, the People's Republic of Angola's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, requests an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the question of South Africa's continuous acts of aggression in Angola.
• March 17 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel in the UK collapses, killing two workers.
• March 19 – C-SPAN, an American television channel focusing on government and public affairs, is launched.
• March 18 – Ten miners die in a methane gas explosion at Golborne Colliery near Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
• March 22 – The National Hockey League votes to approve its merger with the World Hockey Association, to take effect in three months, following the leagues' respective postseasons.
• March 25 – The first fully functional Space Shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center, to be prepared for its first launch.
• March 26
• * In a ceremony at the White House, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel sign an Egypt–Israel peace treaty.
• * Michigan State University, led by Earvin "Magic" Johnson, defeats Larry Bird-led Indiana State 75–64 in the NCAA tournament championship game at Salt Lake City.
• March 28
• * In Britain, James Callaghan's minority Labour government loses a motion of confidence by one vote, forcing a general election which is to be held on 3 May.
• * America's most serious nuclear power plant accident occurs, at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania.
• March 29 – Sultan Yahya Petra of Kelantan, the 6th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, dies in office. He is replaced by Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang.
• March 30 – Airey Neave, Conservative M.P. in the British House of Commons, is killed, presumably by an Irish National Liberation Army bomb in the car park for the Houses of Parliament.
• March 31
• * The last British soldier leaves the Maltese Islands, after 179 years of presence. Malta declares its Freedom Day.
• * Milk and Honey win the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 for Israel, with the song Hallelujah.