Cost of Living
Yearly Inflation Rate ― 11.2%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average ― 838
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve ― 15.25%
Average Cost of new house ― $58,100
Average Income per year ― $17,500
Average Monthly Rent ― $280
Cost of a gallon of Gas ― 86 cents
Sony Walkman ― $200
Atari Video Computer System ― $199
Mercury Couger XR7 ― $6,430
What Events Happened in 1979
Michael Jackson releases his breakthrough album "Off the Wall" on August 10th
1. A young Michael Jackson begins performing with his brothers in the Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s. They become popular throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.
2. A talented and former child-star in his family singing group, he breaks away in the mid to late 1970s to start a solo career and releases his breakthrough album"Off the Wall" on August 10th, 1979.
2. "Off the Wall" was his first solo album and established him as a serious and adult artist, in sharp contrast to his previous bubblegum pop image and sound that he had as a part of the Jackson 5.
3. This album was the first solo album to produce four top ten hits including "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You."
4. Jackson also won a number of awards for his work on this album such as an AMA for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance on "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough."
5. This was the first step in Jackson's ascension to the throne of popular music as the King of Pop.
On January 22nd, 1979 public sector workers in the United Kingdom go on strike in the largest strike to take place in the country since 1926. The workers from the four largest public sector unions called on their one and a half million members to stop working in protest of the British government’s attempt to create a pay increase ceiling at five percent. The National Union of Public Employees, Confederation of Health Service Employees, General and Municipal Workers Union, and Transport and General Worker’s Union brought the United Kingdom to a standstill during the Harsh winter of 1979. They demanded a £60 a week minimum wage and a 35 hour work week. The strike ended on February 14th. This was the first of several strikes that contributed to the election of Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government in May of 1979 to replace Labour leader James Callaghan’s government.
The ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) television network is launched on cable television at 7pm Eastern Time on September 7th, 1979. The network was created by Bill and Scott Rasmussen along with Ed Eagan as a channel dedicated to true sports fans. ESPN launched with the airing of a live episode of their signature program Sports Center, anchored at the time by George Grande and Lee Leonard. Within a year the network became a 24/7 television service and within a few more years it gained rights to broadcast games for the NBA. ESPN was soon purchased by ABC in 1984 and it blossomed into the powerhouse network it has become today, a popular source for sports news and exclusive sports events.
The United States and Soviet Union reach an agreement during the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks during June of 1979. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT II treaty in Vienna after having held several talks regarding the reduction of nuclear arms from 1972 to 1979. The SALT II treaty banned new missile programs and asked both sides to reduce the number of “delivery vehicles” to 2,250 on each side. Later that year the U.S.S.R. invaded Afghanistan and as a result the U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty. Despite not ratifying the treaty, both sides still agreed to adhere to its conditions until it expired in December of 1985.
The Iranian Revolution comes to an end in February of 1979 when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to power after being in exile for about fifteen years. Khomeini had been exiled for his opposition to the Shah’s land reforms and attempts to modernize and Westernize the country in the 1960s. Khomeini returned not long after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced to flee the country. Shah Reza Pahlavi had been in power since 1941. Khomeini’s first orders were to expel all foreigners from Iran, forcing over 1,000 U.S. State Department workers to leave the country. He also wanted to return the government’s focus to creating a country that followed the principles of Islam and shunned outside interference and Westernization.
The dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, is overthrown on April 11th, 1979. Amin fled from the Ugandan capital of Kampala when a coalition of troops from Tanzania and Ugandan forces who opposed Amin marched to the capital to take over the government. Amin had taken over the country in 1971 and his extreme nationalist policies caused the collapse of the economy. He was also though responsible for the deaths of around 300,000 people due to his genocidal policies against different ethnic groups. Amin escaped and lived in Saudi Arabia until he died in 2003.
The Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in September of 1977 with the mission of gathering information on Jupiter and exploring the outer edges of the solar system. On March 5th of 1979 Voyager 1 made its closest approach to Jupiter and made observations about the moons, rings, radiation, and magnetic fields of the solar system’s largest planet. Voyager 1 is still exploring space and as of August in 2012, the spacecraft entered interstellar space and will continue exploring indefinitely.
More News and Key Events From 1979
Popular Films
Popular Musicians and Songs
Popular TV Programs
Born This Year
Technology
Inventions
Yearly Inflation Rate ― 11.2%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average ― 838
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve ― 15.25%
Average Cost of new house ― $58,100
Average Income per year ― $17,500
Average Monthly Rent ― $280
Cost of a gallon of Gas ― 86 cents
Sony Walkman ― $200
Atari Video Computer System ― $199
Mercury Couger XR7 ― $6,430
What Events Happened in 1979
Michael Jackson releases his breakthrough album "Off the Wall" on August 10th
1. A young Michael Jackson begins performing with his brothers in the Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s. They become popular throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.
2. A talented and former child-star in his family singing group, he breaks away in the mid to late 1970s to start a solo career and releases his breakthrough album"Off the Wall" on August 10th, 1979.
2. "Off the Wall" was his first solo album and established him as a serious and adult artist, in sharp contrast to his previous bubblegum pop image and sound that he had as a part of the Jackson 5.
3. This album was the first solo album to produce four top ten hits including "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You."
4. Jackson also won a number of awards for his work on this album such as an AMA for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance on "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough."
5. This was the first step in Jackson's ascension to the throne of popular music as the King of Pop.
On January 22nd, 1979 public sector workers in the United Kingdom go on strike in the largest strike to take place in the country since 1926. The workers from the four largest public sector unions called on their one and a half million members to stop working in protest of the British government’s attempt to create a pay increase ceiling at five percent. The National Union of Public Employees, Confederation of Health Service Employees, General and Municipal Workers Union, and Transport and General Worker’s Union brought the United Kingdom to a standstill during the Harsh winter of 1979. They demanded a £60 a week minimum wage and a 35 hour work week. The strike ended on February 14th. This was the first of several strikes that contributed to the election of Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government in May of 1979 to replace Labour leader James Callaghan’s government.
The ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) television network is launched on cable television at 7pm Eastern Time on September 7th, 1979. The network was created by Bill and Scott Rasmussen along with Ed Eagan as a channel dedicated to true sports fans. ESPN launched with the airing of a live episode of their signature program Sports Center, anchored at the time by George Grande and Lee Leonard. Within a year the network became a 24/7 television service and within a few more years it gained rights to broadcast games for the NBA. ESPN was soon purchased by ABC in 1984 and it blossomed into the powerhouse network it has become today, a popular source for sports news and exclusive sports events.
The United States and Soviet Union reach an agreement during the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks during June of 1979. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT II treaty in Vienna after having held several talks regarding the reduction of nuclear arms from 1972 to 1979. The SALT II treaty banned new missile programs and asked both sides to reduce the number of “delivery vehicles” to 2,250 on each side. Later that year the U.S.S.R. invaded Afghanistan and as a result the U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty. Despite not ratifying the treaty, both sides still agreed to adhere to its conditions until it expired in December of 1985.
The Iranian Revolution comes to an end in February of 1979 when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to power after being in exile for about fifteen years. Khomeini had been exiled for his opposition to the Shah’s land reforms and attempts to modernize and Westernize the country in the 1960s. Khomeini returned not long after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced to flee the country. Shah Reza Pahlavi had been in power since 1941. Khomeini’s first orders were to expel all foreigners from Iran, forcing over 1,000 U.S. State Department workers to leave the country. He also wanted to return the government’s focus to creating a country that followed the principles of Islam and shunned outside interference and Westernization.
The dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, is overthrown on April 11th, 1979. Amin fled from the Ugandan capital of Kampala when a coalition of troops from Tanzania and Ugandan forces who opposed Amin marched to the capital to take over the government. Amin had taken over the country in 1971 and his extreme nationalist policies caused the collapse of the economy. He was also though responsible for the deaths of around 300,000 people due to his genocidal policies against different ethnic groups. Amin escaped and lived in Saudi Arabia until he died in 2003.
The Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in September of 1977 with the mission of gathering information on Jupiter and exploring the outer edges of the solar system. On March 5th of 1979 Voyager 1 made its closest approach to Jupiter and made observations about the moons, rings, radiation, and magnetic fields of the solar system’s largest planet. Voyager 1 is still exploring space and as of August in 2012, the spacecraft entered interstellar space and will continue exploring indefinitely.
More News and Key Events From 1979
- A mob attack destroys the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan
- The Sahara Desert experiences snow for 30 minutes.
- 13 Tornadoes ripped through Texas and Oklahoma
- The first black-led government of Rhodesia in 90 years takes power onJune 1st and the countries name is changed to Zimbabwe,
- Pope John Paul II visits his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country
- President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and Vice President Saddam Husseinreplaces him in Iraq
- Due to crisis in Iran Oil Prices Increase around the world and the public begin panic buying making things worse.
- During the "Death to the Klan March" organised by communist supporters in Greensboro, North Carolina white supremists open fire killing five marchers
- Eleven fans are killed and dozens are injured at a WHO Concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Three Mile island Nuclear Accident after fire at reactor in Pennsylvania US
- 3000 Iranian radicals, mostly students, invade the United States embassy in Tehran and take 90 hostages, 63 Americans are taken hostage.
- 400 Armed Sunni Islamic Muslims, seize the Grand Mosque in Mecca taking pilgrims present for the annual hajj hostage. The crisis ends after two weeks and more than 250 dead.
- The first British nudist beach is established in Brighton
- The Times news paper is not published for nearly a year due to an industrial dispute
- Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin sign the first peace treaty between an Arab nation and the Jewish state
- A Canadian Pacific freight train carrying dangerous chemicals is derailed causing an explosion and releasing toxic fumes causing mass evacuation in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- Lord Mountbatten and three others assassinated by the I.R.A. onAugust 27th . He was a British admiral, statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
- Eighteen British soldiers are murdered at Warrenpoint, South Down
- 23 people die in Nice, France, when the coastal town is hit by a tsunami
- The Sandinista National Liberation Front overthrow the regime in the central American republic of Nicaragua
- China institutes the one child per family rule to help control it's exploding population
- The worlds first anthrax epidemic begins in Ekaterinburg, Russia following a biological weapons plant accident
- "American Airlines Flight 191" crashed and exploded in a field near O'Hare International Airport in Chicago
- The price of oil reaches a new record of $24 per barrel
- The British Conservative MP Airey Neave is killed by a car bomb
- Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is executed
- USSR Invades Afghanistan
- Margaret Thatcher elected on May 3rd as the Prime minister in UK
- Severe Atlantic Storm hits Fastnet International Yacht Race and a number of boats and crew are lost
- Following the Burgess, Mclean, Philby and Sir Anthony Blunt Spy Scandalhe is stripped of his knighthood
- YMCA sues the Village People for libel because of their song of the same name
- Sid Vicious, a former member of the Sex Pistols dies due to a heroin overdose during the trial for murdering his girlfriend
- Pink Floyd release the multi award winning concept album "The Wall" with the top selling single "Another Brick in the Wall"
- The General Knowledge Quiz Game Trivial Pursuit is Launched
- The First modern Bungee Jumping performed by a group from the Oxford University Dangerous Sports club jumped from the Clifton Suspension Bridge joining England and Wales
Popular Films
- Superman The Movie
- Every Which Way But Loose
- Rocky II
- Alien
- The Amityville Horror
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Moonraker
- The Muppet Movie
- The Deer Hunter
- Kramer vs. Kramer
Popular Musicians and Songs
- Bee Gees with "Love you Inside Out "
- Rod Stewart
- Gloria Gaynor with " I will Survive "
- Blondie with " heart of Glass "
- Donna Summer "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls"
- Michael Jackson
- The Eagles
- Commodores
- Pink Floyd
- The Police
- Village People
- Boomtown Rats
Popular TV Programs
- All My Children
- Masterpiece Theatre
- Old Grey Whistle Test
- Are You Being Served? (UK)
- Emmerdale Farm (UK)
- M*A*S*H
- The Price Is Right
- The Waltons
- Last of the Summer Wine (UK)
- The Young and the Restless
- Happy Days
- Little House on the Prairie
- Saturday Night Live
- Charlie's Angels
- Family Feud
- Quincy, M.E.
- The Muppet Show (UK)
- The Love Boat
- Three's Company
- Dallas
- Diff'rent Strokes
- Mork and Mindy
- Taxi
Born This Year
- Kate Hudson ― April 9th
- Heath Ledger ― April 4th
- Jennifer Love Hewitt ― February 21st
Technology
- VisiCalc becomes the first spreadsheet program.
- Sony introduces the Sony Walkman costing $200.00
- Voyager I photo reveals Jupiter's rings
- The European Space Agency launches Ariane 1
Inventions
- Snowboard USA by Daniel E Chadwick
- First Commercial Cellular Network NTT
- The Sony Walkman Introduced Sony
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