1979

1979 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	1979; MCMLXXIX
Ab urbe condita	2732
Armenian calendar	1428; ԹՎ ՌՆԻԸ
Assyrian calendar	6729
Baháʼí calendar	135–136
Balinese saka calendar	1900–1901
Bengali calendar	1386
Berber calendar	2929
British Regnal year	27 Eliz. 2 – 28 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2523
Burmese calendar	1341
Byzantine calendar	7487–7488
Chinese calendar	戊午年 (Earth Horse); 4676 or 4469; — to —; 己未年 (Earth Goat); 4677 or 4470
Coptic calendar	1695–1696
Discordian calendar	3145
Ethiopian calendar	1971–1972
Hebrew calendar	5739–5740
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2035–2036
- Shaka Samvat	1900–1901
- Kali Yuga	5079–5080
Holocene calendar	11979
Igbo calendar	979–980
Iranian calendar	1357–1358
Islamic calendar	1399–1400
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 54; (昭和５４年)
Javanese calendar	1910–1912
Juche calendar	68
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4312
Minguo calendar	ROC 68; 民國68年
Nanakshahi calendar	511
Thai solar calendar	2522
Tibetan calendar	阳土马年; (male Earth-Horse); 2105 or 1724 or 952; — to —; 阴土羊年; (female Earth-Goat); 2106 or 1725 or 953
Unix time	283996800 – 315532799

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century; 20th century ; 21st century;
Decades:	1950s; 1960s; 1970s ; 1980s; 1990s;
Years:	1976; 1977; 1978; 1979 ; 1980; 1981; 1982;

1979 (MCMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1979th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 979th year of the 2nd millennium, the 79th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1970s decade.

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January

January 1
- United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the International Year of the Child.^[1] 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 (Taiwan). 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 are brutally killed in Geylang Bahru, Singapore. The children were aged 5 to 10.
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 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 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 (CELAM) 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.^[2]
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 1.3 km (0.81 mi) long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.^[3]
- 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.^[4]
February 15 – A suspected gas explosion in a Warsaw bank kills 49.
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.^[5]
- 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.^[6]
- 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.^[7]

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 277,000 kilometres (172,000 mi).
March 7 – The largest Magnetar (Soft gamma repeater) 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.^[8]
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.^[9]
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.^[10]
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.^[11]
- 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 (Head of State) 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 (belonging to the Royal Navy) leaves the Maltese Islands, after 179 years of presence. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).
- Milk and Honey win the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 for Israel, with the song Hallelujah.

April

April 1
- Iran's government becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, overthrowing the Shah officially.
- Nickelodeon launches from QUBE's Pinwheel experiment and begins airing on various Warner Cable systems beginning in Buffalo, New York, expanding its audience reach.
- Dale Earnhardt Sr. wins his first career NASCAR race at the 1979 Southeastern 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He would go on to win 76 races and seven championships during his career.
April 1–18 – Police lock Andreas Mihavecz in a holding cell in Bregenz, Austria and forget about him, leaving him there without food or drink.
April 2 – Sverdlovsk anthrax leak: A Soviet biowarfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock. It is a violation of the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972.
April 2 – In Japan, the channel of TV Asahi premieres Doraemon.
April 4 – Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is executed by hanging for the murder of a political opponent.
April 6 – Student protests break out in Nepal.
April 7 – In Japan, Yoshiyuki Tomino directs Mobile Suit Gundam, the first series of the metaseries of the same name.
April 10 – A tornado hits Wichita Falls, Texas, killing 42 people (the most notable of 26 tornadoes that day).
April 11 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Fall of Kampala: Tanzanian troops take Kampala, the capital of Uganda; Idi Amin flees.
April 13 – The La Soufrière volcano erupts in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
April 14 – The Progressive Alliance of Liberia stages a protest, without a permit, against an increase in rice prices proposed by the government, with clashes between protestors and the police resulting over 70 deaths and over 500 injured.^[12]
April 15 – 1979 Montenegro earthquake: A 6.9 M_w shock affects Montenegro (then part of Yugoslavia) and parts of Albania, causing extensive damage to coastal areas and taking 136 lives; the old town of Budva is devastated.
April 17 – Schoolchildren in the Central African Republic are arrested (and around 100 killed) for protesting against compulsory school uniforms. An African judicial commission later determines that Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa "almost certainly" took part in the massacre.
April 22 – The Albert Einstein Memorial is unveiled at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.
April 23 – Fighting breaks out in London between the Anti-Nazi League and the Metropolitan Police's Special Patrol Group; protester Blair Peach receives fatal injuries during the incident, now officially attributed to the SPG.

May

May 1 – Greenland is granted limited autonomy from Denmark, with its own Parliament sitting in Nuuk.
May 3 – The 1979 United Kingdom general election for the House of Commons takes place, giving the Conservatives a majority, and designating Margaret Thatcher the nation's first woman prime minister, ending the rule of James Callaghan's Labour government.^[13]
May 4 – Thatcher is appointed the prime minister of the United Kingdom.
May 8 – Ten shoppers die in a fire at the Woolworths department store in Manchester city centre in England.
May 9
- The Salvadoran Civil War begins.
- The Unabomber bomb injures Northwestern University graduate student John Harris.
May 10 – The Federated States of Micronesia becomes self-governing.
May 15 – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Lira: Tanzania and its Uganda National Liberation Front allies capture Lira, Uganda, from the forces of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
May 21
- Dan White is convicted of manslaughter, rather than murder, for the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, after using what would become known as the "Twinkie defense" and persuading a jury that the crime was not premeditated. The maximum sentence is seven years imprisonment, with eligibility for early parole, prompting the "White Night riots" in the gay community.
- The Montreal Canadiens defeat the New York Rangers four games to one to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup.
May 24
- Thorpe Park: Opens its doors having attractions such as Phantom Fantasia also next door had a farm called Thorpe Farm
May 25
- American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, a DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, killing all 271 on board and 2 people on the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history.
- John Spenkelink is executed in Florida, in the first use of the electric chair in America after the reintroduction of the death penalty in 1976.
- Etan Patz, six years old, is kidnapped in New York. He is often referred to as the "Boy on the Milk Carton" and the investigation later sprouts into one of the most famous child abduction cases of all time. This is a cold case until 2010 when it is re-opened. In April 2017, Pedro Hernandez is convicted of the murder and kidnapping and sentenced to life imprisonment.
May 27 – Indianapolis 500: Rick Mears wins the race for the first time, and car owner Roger Penske for the second time.

June

June 1
- The Vizianagaram district is formed in Andhra Pradesh, India.
- The first black-led government of Rhodesia in 90 years takes power, in succession to Ian Smith and under his power-sharing deal, in the unrecognized republic of Zimbabwe Rhodesia.
- The Seattle SuperSonics win the NBA Championship against the Washington Bullets.
June 2
- Pope John Paul II arrives in his native Poland on his first official, nine-day stay, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country. This visit, known as nine days that changed the world, brings about the solidarity of the Polish people against Communism, ultimately leading to the rise of the Solidarity movement.
- Los Angeles' city council passes the city's first homosexual rights bill signed without fanfare by mayor Tom Bradley.
June 3
- Ixtoc I oil spill: A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 600,000 tons (176,400,000 gallons) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the worst oil spill to date. Some estimate the spill to be 428 million gallons, making it the largest unintentional oil spill until it is surpassed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.
- 1979 Italian general election: The Italian Communist Party loses a significant number of seats.
June 4
- Joe Clark becomes Canada's 16th and youngest Prime Minister.
- Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
- Following the "Muldergate" Information Scandal, John Vorster resigns as State President of South Africa.^[14]
June 7 – 1979 European Parliament election: The first direct elections to the European Parliament begin, allowing citizens from across all nine (at this time) member states of the European Union to elect 410 MEPs. It is also the first international election in history.
June 9–23 – The 1979 Cricket World Cup is held in England with West Indies defeating England in the final.
June 12 – Bryan Allen flies the man-powered Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel.
June 13 – The 1979 NHL Expansion Draft takes place, restocking the franchises from Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, and Winnipeg, which are being admitted from the WHA as expansion teams.
June 15
- McDonald's introduces the Happy Meal in the United States in a nationwide advertising campaign after testing the product since February in franchises in the U.S. state of Missouri.^[15]
- The ecological horror-thriller Prophecy is released in the United States by Paramount Pictures.
June 18 – Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II agreement in Vienna.
June 19 – Marais Viljoen becomes State President of South Africa.^[14]
June 20 – A Nicaraguan National Guard soldier kills ABC TV news correspondent Bill Stewart and his interpreter Juan Espinosa. Other members of the news crew capture the killing on tape.
June 22
- The Muppet Movie is released.
- Former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe was acquitted of conspiracy to murder Norman Scott, who had accused Thorpe of having a relationship with him.^[16]
- The WHA formally ceases operations, completing the merger with the NHL.
June 23 – New South Wales Premier Neville Wran officially opens the Eastern Suburbs Railway in Sydney. It operates as a shuttle between Central and Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line in 1980.
June 24 – The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, an international opinion tribunal, is founded in Bologna at the initiative of Senator Lelio Basso.
June 25 – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Alexander Haig escapes an assassination attempt in Belgium by the Baader-Meinhof terrorist organization.

July

July 1
- Sweden becomes the first country to outlaw corporal punishment in the home.
- The Sony Walkman goes on sale for the first time in Japan.
July 3 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan.
July 5 – Queen Elizabeth II attends the millennium celebrations of the Isle of Man's Parliament, Tynwald.^[17]
July 8 – Los Angeles passes its gay and lesbian civil rights bill.
July 9 – A car bomb destroys a Renault owned by Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.
July 11 – NASA's first orbiting space station, Skylab, begins falling back Earth as its orbit decays after more than six years.
July 12
- The Gilbert Islands become fully independent of the United Kingdom as Kiribati.
- A Disco Demolition Night publicity stunt goes awry at Comiskey Park, forcing the Chicago White Sox to forfeit their game against the Detroit Tigers.
- Carmine Galante, boss of the Bonanno crime family, is assassinated in Brooklyn.
- A fire at a hotel in Zaragoza, Spain, leaves 72 dead, the worst hotel fire in Europe in decades.
July 15 – President Jimmy Carter addresses the nation in a televised speech talking about the "crisis of confidence in America today"; it would go on to be known as his "national malaise" speech.
July 16 – Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and Vice President Saddam al-Tikriti, more commonly referred to in the Western press as "Saddam Hussein", replaces him (which is finally dismantled by American invasion of Iraq in 2003).
July 17 – Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami.
July 18 – Over 500 people die after a tsunami occurs on Lembata Island, triggered by a landslide on the Iliwerung volcano.^[18]
July 21
- The Sandinista National Liberation Front concludes a successful revolutionary campaign against the Somoza dynasty and assumes power in Nicaragua.
- Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo becomes prime minister of Portugal.
- Maritza Sayalero of Venezuela wins the Miss Universe pageant; the stage collapses after contestants and news photographers rush to her throne.
- The disco music genre dominates and peaks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the first six spots (beginning with Donna Summer's Bad Girls), and seven of the chart's top ten songs ending that week.
July 22 – 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge: Iraqi president Saddam Hussein arranges the arrest and later execution of nearly seventy members of his ruling Ba'ath Party.
July 28 – Morarji Desai resigns as India's prime minister and Charan Singh succeeds him.

August

August 3 – Dictator Francisco Macías Nguema of Equatorial Guinea is overthrown in a bloody coup d'état led by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
August 4 – Opening game of the American Football Bundesliga played between Frankfurter Löwen and Düsseldorf Panther, first-ever league game of American football in Germany.^[19]
August 5 – The Polisario Front signs a peace treaty with Mauritania. Mauritania withdraws from the Western Sahara territory it had occupied, and cedes it to the SADR.
August 6 – Bauhaus releases their debut single "Bela Lugosi's Dead", considered to be the first gothic rock release.
August 8 – Two American commercial divers, Richard Walker and Victor Guiel, die of hypothermia after their diving bell becomes stranded at a depth of over 160 metres (520 ft) in the East Shetland Basin. The legal repercussions of the accident will lead to important safety changes in the diving industry.^[20]^[21]
August 9 – Raymond Washington, co-founder of the Crips, today one of the largest, most notorious gangs in the United States, is killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles; the killers have not yet been identified.
August 10 – Michael Jackson releases his breakthrough album Off the Wall. It sells 7 million copies in the United States alone, making it a 7× platinum album.
August 11
- The former Mauritanian province of Tiris al-Gharbiyya in Western Sahara is annexed by Morocco.
- The Machchu-2 dam in Morbi, India, collapses, killing between 1800 and 25000 people in one of the worst ever dam failures.
August 14 – A freak storm during the Fastnet Race results in the deaths of 15 sailors.
August 17 – The controversial religious satirical film Monty Python's Life of Brian premieres in the United States.
August 27 – The Troubles: Lord Mountbatten of Burma and two others are killed in a bombing on his boat in the Republic of Ireland by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Mountbatten was a British fleet admiral, statesman and an uncle of The Duke of Edinburgh. On the same day, the Warrenpoint ambush occurs, killing 18 British soldiers. Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne would die in a hospital the following day from injuries sustained in the bombing.
August 29 – A national referendum is held in which Somali voters approve a new liberal constitution, promulgated by President Siad Barre to placate the United States.

September

September 1
- The U.S. Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 kilometres (13,000 mi).
- Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps is formed.
September 7 – The first cable sports channel, the Entertainment Sports Programming Network (better known as ESPN), is launched in the United States.
September 9 – The long-running comic strip For Better or For Worse begins its run, in Canada, before becoming syndicated elsewhere in North America and the world.
September 12 – Hurricane Frederic makes landfall at 10:00 p.m. on Alabama's Gulf Coast.
September 13 – South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa).
September 16
- East German balloon escape: Two families flee from East Germany by balloon.
- The Sugarhill Gang release Rapper's Delight in the United States, the first rap single to become a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
September 20 – French paratroopers help David Dacko to overthrow Emperor Bokassa in the Central African Empire.
September 22 – Vela incident: The "South Atlantic Flash" is observed near the Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, thought to be a nuclear weapons test conducted by South Africa and Israel.
September 29 – The overthrown dictator Francisco Macías Nguema of Equatorial Guinea is convicted of genocide and executed by firing squad.
September 30 – The MTR in Hong Kong begins service with the opening of its Modified Initial System, the Kwun Tong Line.

October

October 1 – Nigeria terminates military rule, and the Second Nigerian Republic is established.
October 1–7 – Pope John Paul II visits the United States, starting in Boston.
October 1 – The MTR, the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong, opens.
October 2 – Pope John Paul II arrives in New York City for his first papal tour where he addresses the U.N. General Assembly against all forms of concentration camps and torture.
October 6 – Federal Reserve System changes from an interest rate target policy to a money supply target policy.
October 7 – Pope John Paul II ends his first U.S. papal visit in Washington, D.C., with his first-ever visit to the White House.
October 9 – Peter Brock wins the Bathurst 1000 by a record six laps, with a lap record on the last lap.
October 12
- Near Guam, Typhoon Tip reaches a record intensity of 870 millibars, the lowest pressure recorded at sea level. This makes Tip the most powerful tropical cyclone in known world history.
- Thorbjörn Fälldin returns as Prime Minister of Sweden, replacing Ola Ullsten who is named Foreign Minister of Sweden.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first novel by Douglas Adams, is published in the United Kingdom
October 14 – National March for gay rights takes place in Washington, D.C., involving tens of thousands of people.
October 15 – Black Monday events, in which members of a political group sack a newspaper office, unfold in Malta.
October 16 – A tsunami in Nice, France kills 23 people.
October 17 – The Pittsburgh Pirates become only the fourth MLB team (as well as the only MLB franchise to accomplish the feat twice) to recover from a 3-games-to-1 deficit to win the 1979 World Series.
October 19 – 13 U.S. Marines die in a fire at Camp Fuji, Japan as a result of Typhoon Tip.^[22]
October 20 – The first McDonald's in Singapore opens at Liat Towers in Orchard Road.^[23]^[24]
October 26 –
- Park Chung Hee, the President of South Korea, is assassinated by KCIA director Kim Jae-gyu.
- The eradication of the smallpox virus is announced by the World Health Organization,^[25]^[26] making smallpox the first of only two human diseases that have been driven to extinction (rinderpest in 2011 being the other).
October 27 – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gains independence from the UK.
October 31 – Western Airlines Flight 2605 crashes upon landing at Mexico City International Airport, killing 72 occupants plus one on the ground; 16 people on board survive.

November

November 1
- Military coup in Bolivia.
- Iran hostage crisis: Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urges his people to demonstrate on November 4 and to expand attacks on United States and Israeli interests.
November 2
- French police shoot gangster Jacques Mesrine in Paris.
- Assata Shakur (née Joanne Chesimard), a former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, escapes from a New York prison to Cuba, where she remains under political asylum.
November 3 – In Greensboro, North Carolina, five members of the Communist Workers Party are shot to death and seven are wounded by a group of Klansmen and neo-Nazis, during a "Death to the Klan" rally.
November 4 – Iran hostage crisis begins: 500 Iranian radicals, mostly students, invade the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and take 90 hostages (53 of whom are American). They demand that the United States send the former Shah of Iran back to stand trial.
November 5
- All Saints' Massacre: The military junta in Bolivia initiates a violent crack-down on its opponents.
- The radio news program Morning Edition premieres on National Public Radio in the United States.
November 6 – At Montevideo, Uruguay, the International Olympic Committee adopts a resolution, whereby Taiwan Olympic and sports teams will participate with the name Chinese Taipei in future Olympic Games and international sports tournaments and championships.
November 7 – U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy announces that he will challenge President Jimmy Carter for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination.
November 9
- The Carl Bridgewater murder trial ends in England with all four men found guilty. James Robinson, 45, and 25-year-old Vincent Hickey are sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended 25-year minimum for murder. 18-year-old Michael Hickey is also found guilty of murder and sentenced to indefinite detention. Patrick Molloy, 53, is found guilty on a lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in prison.^[27]
- Nuclear false alarm: the NORAD computers and the Alternate National Military Command Center in Fort Ritchie, Maryland, detect an apparent massive Soviet nuclear strike. After reviewing the raw data from satellites and checking the early-warning radars, the alert is cancelled.^[28]
November 10 – 1979 Mississauga train derailment: A 106-car Canadian Pacific freight train carrying explosive and poisonous chemicals from Windsor, Ontario, Canada derails in Mississauga, just west of Toronto, causing a massive explosion and the largest peacetime evacuation in Canadian history and one of the largest in North American history.
November 12
- Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all oil imports into the United States from Iran.
- Süleyman Demirel, of the Justice Party (AP) forms the new government of Turkey (43rd government, a minority government).
November 13 – Ronald Reagan announces his candidacy for President of the United States, 9 days after the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis.
November 14 – Iran hostage crisis: U.S. President Jimmy Carter issues Executive Order 12170, freezing all Iranian assets in the United States and U.S. banks in response to the hostage crisis.
November 15 – British art historian and former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt's role as the "fourth man" of the 'Cambridge Five' double agents for the Soviet NKVD during World War II is revealed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom;^[29] she gives further details on November 21.^[30]
November 16 – Bucharest Metro Line One is opened, in Bucharest, Romania (from Timpuri Noi to Semanatoarea stations, 8.63 kilometres (5.36 mi)).
November 17 – Iran hostage crisis: Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of 13 female and African American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
November 20 – Grand Mosque seizure: A group of 200 Juhayman al-Otaybi militants occupy Mecca's Masjid al-Haram, the holiest place in Islam. They are driven out by Saudi military forces after bloody fighting that leaves 250 people dead and 600 wounded.
November 21 – After false radio reports from the Ayatollah Khomeini that the Americans had occupied the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan is attacked by a mob and set afire, killing four, and disturbing Pakistan–United States relations.
November 23 – The Troubles: In Dublin, Ireland, Provisional Irish Republican Army member Thomas McMahon is sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of Lord Mountbatten of Burma in August. He was released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
November 25 – The last cargo of phosphate was shipped from Banaba Island in Kiribati in the South Pacific Ocean, bringing an end to the island's chief industry.
November 28 – Air New Zealand Flight 901: an Air New Zealand DC-10 crashes into Mount Erebus in Antarctica on a sightseeing trip, killing all 257 people on board.
November 29 – After 12 years of environmental controversy and legal action, the Tennessee Valley Authority's Tellico Dam project is completed.^[31] It remains the last dam to be built by the agency as of 2023.^[32]
November 30 – The Wall, a rock opera concept album by Pink Floyd, is first released.

December

December 3
- The Who concert disaster: Eleven fans are killed during a crowd crush for unreserved seats before The Who rock concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.
- The United States dollar exchange rate with the Deutsche Mark falls to 1.7079 DM, the all-time low so far; this record is not broken until November 5, 1987.
- Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.
December 4 – The Hastie fire in Kingston upon Hull, England, leads to the deaths of 3 boys and begins the hunt for Bruce George Peter Lee, the UK's most prolific killer.
December 5 – Jack Lynch resigns as Taoiseach of Ireland; he is succeeded by Charles Haughey.
December 6 – The world premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
December 12
- The NATO Double-Track Decision: is the decision of NATO from December 12, 1979, to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe, following the so-called "Euromissile Crisis".
- The 8.2 M_w Tumaco earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 300–600, and generating a large tsunami.
- Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-hah, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.
- The unrecognised state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia returns to British control and resumes using the name Southern Rhodesia.
December 13 – The Canadian Progressive Conservative minority government of Prime Minister Joe Clark, falls in a non-confidence motion.
December 15 – The directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki, The Castle of Cagliostro based on the manga series Lupin III is released in Japan.
December 21 – A ceasefire for Rhodesia is signed at London.
December 23 – The highest aerial tramway in Europe, the Klein Matterhorn, opens.
December 24
- The Soviet Union covertly launches its invasion of Afghanistan – 3 days later, PDPA general secretary Hafizullah Amin is executed in Operation Storm-333 and Babrak Karmal replaces him, beginning the war.
- The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
December 26 – In Rhodesia, 96 Patriotic Front guerrillas enter the capital Salisbury to monitor a ceasefire that begins December 28.