Culture: Nobel Peace Prize to Amnesty International
Entertainment: In exchange for 20k salary cut George Lucas retains merchandising rights to all Star Wars films Rocky, Star Wars, and Annie Hall (Woody Allen) debut Miniseries Roots draws audience of 130 million
Fashion: Yves St. Laurent launches Opium perfume
Literature: J.R.R. Tolkien's last work published posthumously
Medicine: Smallpox wiped out First coronary angioplasty accomplished
Science: Rings around Uranus discovered - part of Voyager II trip past outer planets
Possible discovery of quark – one third electron charge Sun's magnetic field determined by Pioneer II spacecraft
Discovery of mini-planet between Saturn and Uranus Discovery of methanogens (first archaea)
Death: Sir Charles (Charlie) Chaplan, Earl of Avon and Prime Minister Sir Robert Anthony Eden, Opera singer Maria Callas, Vladimir Nabokov,
Zero Mostel, Joan Crawford, Groucho Marx, Joe Musial (Katzenjammer Kids), Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Wernher von Braun,
W German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard
Africa
General: Clashes between Somali and Ethiopian forces over Ogaden area Rift Valley Fever emerges in Egypt
Bophuthatswana: Independent from South Africa to 1994 - formerly Afars and Issas
Central African Republic: Cannibal and president for life Jean Bedel Bokassa declares self Emperor Bokassa I
Djibouti: French Somaliland (formerly Afars and Issas) changes name
Ethiopia: Civil War Death of Ethiopian leader Teferi Bante, and ruling military council names Mengistu Haile Mariam head of state
Rhodesia: Prime Minister Ian Smith announces government will work out political settlement with black majority
South Africa: Death of black leader Steven Biko Tom Pryce a formula One race driver killed in South African Grand Prix when struck in the face with a fire extinguisher
Tanzania: Black activist Bishop Josiah M Kibira elected head of Lutheran World Federation
Uganda: Atrocities under Amin regime
Zaire: Katanga rebels from Angola invade but are defeated Eruption of Nyiragongo
Zimbabwe: Rhodesia agrees to name change and rebels agree to majority rule of blacks
Americas
Argentina: Earthquake devastates north-west
Brazil: Pele plays last professional soccer game,
Canada: French adopted as official language of Quebec Canadian Cindy Nichold completes round-trip swim across English Channel
El Salvador: US backs military ruler in coup that kills 70k Salvadorans and four American nuns
Guyana: California sect "People's Temple" Jim Jones followers move to Guyana to build utopia
Panama: Panama Canal treaty signed by Panama chief Omar Torrijos and Carter
Trinidad and Tobago: Janelle Penny Commissiong becomes first black Miss Universe
Asia
Cambodia: Pol Pot named Secretary General of Cambodia's Communists
India: Indira Gandhi ousted/resigns and Morarji Desai rules Cyclone kills 20k and leaves 2 million homeless
Japan: Volcano Sadaharu Oh hits 756th home run
Laos: Friendship treaty signed with Vietnam communists
Philippines: Filipino couple receive bank error getting $1,000,000 instead of $1,000 – money spent by time bank notices Typhoon
South Korea: US Justice Department looks for South Korean lobbyist coverup
Taiwan: Typhoon
Thailand: Military junta takes control
Europe
General: Last run of Oriental Express between Paris and Istanbul Regular passenger service begins on Concorde between US and Europe
Austria: Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg dies
Canary Islands: Worst major airline disaster reported over Canary Island of Tenerife, killing 581
Czechoslovakia: New human rights manifesto signed by 240 activists and intellectuals – harassed by police
France: Jacques Chirac former French Premier elected Mayor of Paris
Great Britain: Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee British scientists report first complete genome of an organism
Greece: Tomb of Philip II of Macedon found
Italy: Volcano
Norway: Offshore oil well in North Sea capped after blowing for eight days – 8.2 million gallons spilled
Portugal: Socialist minority government of Premier Mario Soares falls
Romania: Quake kills 1500 death of Romanian adventruess Magda Lupescu
Soviet Union: Helsinki accord monitoring group (many from Israel) arrested by Soviet authorities Leonid Brezhnev elected Soviet president
USSR adopts new text for national anthem US seizes two fishing vessels for violating 200 mile zone Civil rights' protesters arrested
Spain: First post-war elections following death of Franco in 1975
Middle East
Cyprus: Death of President Archbishop Makarios III
Egypt: Anwar Sadat visits Israel initiating peace process
Israel: Menachem Begin becomes prime minister of Israel after Yitzhak Rabin resigns Sadat of Egypt visits Israel and starts negotiations
Rudolf Barshai the Russian conductor emigrates to Israel
Lebanon: Religious civil war Death of Lebanese politician Kamal Jumblatt
Pakistan: Army overthrows government and imposes martial law Palistinian National Council calls for independent state
Turkey: Government divided – minority government setps down and Suleyman Demirel becomes Premier until his coalition falls
Pacific
Australia: "Advance Australia Fair" as national song
Pres: Gerald Ford Pres: James E. "Jimmy" Carter inaugurated
General
Crime: G Gordon Liddy released from prison
Culture: Anita Bryant leads anti-gay protest sparking boycott of orange juice which she had been spokesperson
Education: SAT Scholastic Aptitude Tests show steady decline since 1963
Entertainment: Elvis Presley dies Alex Haley's Roots broadcast Toni Morrison publishes
Saturday Night Fever released making disco more popular and also starting the end of disco with increased popularity and over-commercialism
Environment: Carter warns that energy crisis in US could bring a national catastrophe amd calls for changes in oil consumption
Finance: Inflation and unemployment high
Medicine: Intelligence agencies in US forbidden from experimenting on humans without informed consent
National Institute of Health reports successful treatment of herpes encephalitis
Military: Carter offers amnesty to draft evaders US Government awards Jeanne Connell $400,000 as sole survivor from Col. Warren's plutonium injections
US tests neutron bomb which kills with massive radiation and leaves buildings intact
Politics: Department of Energy created Reagan loses run for presidency
Religion: John Neopomucene Neumann canonized as first male US saint Jacqueline Means becomes first woman ordained Episcopal priest in America
US Orthodox Church selects first American-born prelate – Archbishop Theodosius
Science: Submersible Alvin reveals deep-sea vent creatures US probes atmosphere of Venus
Sports: Seattle Slew wins Triple Crown Jim Vicks starts running – loses 60 pounds and creates running craze and jogging suit popularity
Technology: US space shuttle Enterprise makes first manned flight
Voyager I and II begin journeys to explore outer solar system US scientists note rings around Uranus
Deaths: Leader of women's movement Alice Paul
East
New York: Blackouts in New York City with lootings and killings with 4500 arrested and 515 police injured - 9 million without power for 25 hours "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz arrested
Clubs in NYC open - Studio 54 for Disco scene, and Plato's Retreat as swinger's club Edward I Koch elected Mayor of NYC
Pennsylvania: Johnstown PA flood
Midwest
South
Florida: Snow falls in Miami, major citrus damage
West and Pacific
Alaska: Trans-Alaska pipeline ships from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez port
California: End of killings of Kearney a freeway killer who targeted males for necrophilia – killed 28 in California
First black mayor of Los Angeles reelected
Colorado: First use of man-made snow in CO as high pressure in UT deflects storms around