1979 History, Facts, and Trivia

In 1979, the Shah of Iran fled, Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile, and 52 Americans ended up spending 444 days as hostages in Tehran. The Sony Walkman arrived and put music in everyone’s pocket. Three Mile Island came within minutes of a full meltdown. Disco was literally blown up at a baseball stadium in Chicago. The Bee Gees were at number one when the year opened. Pope John Paul II visited the United States. A 16-year-old in San Diego shot up an elementary school because she didn’t like Mondays. The phrase “May the Fourth Be With You” was first used. It was, by any reasonable measure, one of the stranger years of the decade.

Quick Facts from 1979

• World-Changing Events: Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iranian Revolution toppled the Shah in February; the Sony Walkman launched in Japan in July, putting portable personal audio in people’s hands for the first time; 52 Americans were taken hostage in Tehran on November 4 and held for 444 days
• Top Song: Too Much Heaven by the Bee Gees was the best-performing single of the year on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100; My Sharona by The Knack spent 6 weeks at number one and was the defining rock hit of the summer
• Must-See Movies: Alien, Apocalypse Now, Rocky II, The Muppet Movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Monty Python’s Life of Brian
• Most Famous Person in America: Pope John Paul II, who visited the United States in October and drew enormous crowds across seven cities
• Notable Books: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• US Life Expectancy: Males: 70.0 years / Females: 77.8 years
• Federal Minimum Wage: $2.90 per hour
• Price of a 100-page Composition Book: 69 cents
• The Funny Late Night Host: Johnny Carson
• Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Goat, associated with creativity, gentleness, and a preference for harmony — qualities that were available in 1979 if you looked in the right places
• The Habit: Jogging while listening to your Sony Walkman, wearing a Lacoste polo shirt with the alligator logo, and designer jeans
• The Conversation: Did you hear about Iran? And what do you think about disco?

Top Ten Baby Names of 1979

Girls: Jennifer, Melissa, Amanda, Jessica, Amy Boys: Michael, Christopher, Jason, David, James

Jennifer had been the most popular girls’ name in America for the better part of a decade. Jessica was climbing steadily toward the top, a rise it would complete in the mid-1980s. Michael remained at number one for boys as it had been for most of the previous three decades.

Fashion Icons and Sex Symbols of 1979

Loni Anderson, Susan Anton, Barbara Bach, Catherine Bach, Kim Basinger, Valerie Bertinelli, Jacqueline Bisset, Christie Brinkley, Lynda Carter, Bo Derek, Farrah Fawcett, Erin Gray, Shelley Hack, Debbie Harry, Marilu Henner, Lauren Hutton, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd, Olivia Newton-John, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Bernadette Peters, Victoria Principal, Diana Ross, Jane Seymour, Brooke Shields, Jaclyn Smith, Suzanne Somers, Donna Summer, Cheryl Tiegs, Charlene Tilton, Mary Woronov

Farrah Fawcett’s influence on the decade’s visual aesthetic was so complete that her feathered hair became the default reference point for the era. Donna Summer was at the absolute peak of her commercial power. Bo Derek arrived in 10 in 1979 and was immediately the subject of more magazine covers than most people see in a lifetime.

Leading Men and Hollywood Heartthrobs of 1979

Gregg Allman, David Cassidy, Patrick Duffy, Sam Elliott, Harrison Ford, Andy Gibb, Mark Hamill, Julio Iglesias, Kris Kristofferson, Lee Majors, Jack Nicholson, Ryan O’Neal, Burt Reynolds, Richard Roundtree, David Lee Roth, Sylvester Stallone, Rod Stewart, John Travolta

Burt Reynolds was the biggest box office draw in America, a position he had held since 1978 and would hold through the early 1980s. Harrison Ford had just had Star Wars in 1977 and would follow it with The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, but 1979 found him between major releases. Sylvester Stallone had Rocky II in 1979. John Travolta had Saturday Night Fever and Grease still resonating from the previous year.

The Quotes

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” — Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, a line whose combination of content and delivery made it one of the most quoted in American cinema, used most often by people who have not recently seen the film in full

“Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” — Brooke Shields, age 14, in a Calvin Klein jeans advertisement, a campaign that generated significant controversy about the sexualization of a teenage girl and significant sales for Calvin Klein

“Reach out and touch someone.” — AT&T, in a campaign that somehow made long-distance telephone calls feel like emotional events rather than expensive obligations

“Have a Coke and smile.” — Coca-Cola

“Quality is job one.” — Ford Motor Company, which was also quietly managing the Pinto fuel tank crisis while this slogan ran

Time Magazine’s Man of the Year

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose return to Iran from 14 years of exile in February 1979 following the Shah’s departure, and whose subsequent establishment of an Islamic Republic, represented one of the most significant geopolitical transformations of the decade. Time‘s selection was based on impact — the Iranian Revolution had upended American foreign policy, triggered an oil crisis, and culminated in the hostage crisis that would consume the Carter presidency. The selection, like several others of the era, was a recognition of consequence rather than admiration.

Miss America and Miss USA

Miss America: Kylene Barker, Roanoke, Virginia Miss USA: Mary Therese Friel, New York

We Lost in 1979

Sid Vicious, the bassist for the Sex Pistols whose stage persona had been one of the defining images of the British punk movement, died February 2, 1979, at age 21, of a heroin overdose at a New York apartment, four months after his girlfriend Nancy Spungen had been found stabbed to death in the same apartment. Vicious had been charged with her murder but died before trial. His guilt or innocence was never legally established.

Emmett Kelly, the circus clown whose “Weary Willie” character — a sad, shuffling tramp with downcast eyes — had made him one of the most recognizable clowns in American history, died March 28, 1979, at age 79.

Nelson Rockefeller, four-term Governor of New York, Vice President of the United States under Gerald Ford, and one of the most consequential figures in Republican politics of the 20th century, died January 26, 1979, at age 70, of a heart attack.

John Wayne, the actor whose 172 films had made him the definitive image of American Western masculinity across four decades, died June 11, 1979, at age 72, of stomach cancer. He had been fighting the disease for years and had lost a lung to cancer in 1964. He received the Congressional Gold Medal weeks before his death. The flag over the Capitol was lowered to half-staff.

Minnie Riperton, the singer whose five-octave vocal range had produced the 1975 hit Lovin’ You and who had been a prominent advocate for breast cancer awareness after her own diagnosis, died July 12, 1979, at age 31.

America in 1979 — The Context

Jimmy Carter was in the third year of his presidency, facing a combination of challenges that were simultaneously structural and circumstantial. The Iran hostage crisis, which began on November 4 when Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran and took 66 Americans hostage, would define the remainder of his term. The rescue attempt in April 1980, Operation Eagle Claw, ended in catastrophic mechanical failure in the Iranian desert. The hostages were not released until January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.

The energy crisis of the late 1970s reached a second peak in 1979, following the disruption of oil supply caused by the Iranian Revolution. Gasoline lines returned. Carter addressed the nation in a speech on July 15, 1979, diagnosing what he called a “crisis of confidence” in American life — a speech immediately labeled the “malaise speech” by critics, a word Carter never actually used. The speech was initially well-received and then rapidly became a political liability.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, beginning a conflict that would last until 1989 and cost approximately 15,000 Soviet lives and over a million Afghan lives. Carter responded by withdrawing the United States from the 1980 Moscow Olympics and imposing a grain embargo on the Soviet Union. The Afghan resistance, the Mujahideen, received significant covert American support through the CIA program known as Operation Cyclone. Some of the weapons and organizational networks developed during this period later appeared in different contexts.

Inflation reached 13.3 percent in 1979, the highest rate since World War II. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, appointed by Carter in August 1979, began an aggressive campaign of interest-rate increases that would eventually break the inflationary cycle at the cost of a severe recession in 1981-82. The medicine worked; the timing was poor for Carter.

The Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran whose government had been supported by the United States since a CIA-assisted coup in 1953, fled Iran on January 16, 1979, as mass demonstrations made his position untenable. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had been living in exile in France, returned to Tehran on February 1, 1979, greeted by an estimated three million people. The Islamic Republic of Iran was proclaimed in April following a referendum.

On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Tehran and seized 66 American diplomatic personnel as hostages, demanding the United States return the Shah — who had been admitted to the US for cancer treatment — for trial. The crisis ran for 444 days. ABC News launched a nightly broadcast, America Held Hostage, which eventually became Nightline. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated.

Three Mile Island

On March 28, 1979, a combination of equipment malfunction, design problems, and operator errors caused the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to partially melt down. The accident released small amounts of radioactive gas. The full extent of the crisis took days to become clear, and conflicting information from plant operators, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Carter administration caused significant public confusion and fear. Approximately 140,000 people were evacuated from the surrounding area.

The accident occurred 12 days after the theatrical release of The China Syndrome, a fictional film about a nuclear accident caused by a faulty sensor reading and a stuck pressure release valve. The Three Mile Island accident was caused by a faulty sensor reading and a stuck pressure release valve. The proximity was not lost on anyone.

The accident produced lasting changes in nuclear power plant regulation, emergency response planning, and operator training. It also effectively ended the construction of new nuclear power plants in the United States for several decades.

Disco Demolition Night

On July 12, 1979, a Chicago radio disc jockey named Steve Dahl organized an event at Comiskey Park between games of a doubleheader in which fans who brought disco records were admitted for 98 cents. Thousands attended, bringing crates of records. Between games, the records were piled in the outfield and detonated. The explosion was larger than anticipated, leaving a hole in the outfield and starting fires in the stands. Fans stormed the field. The White Sox had to forfeit the second game to the Detroit Tigers. The event is remembered as a cultural symbol of the backlash against disco — a backlash that contained elements of racial and sexual politics that went largely unexamined at the time.

Pop Culture Facts and History

The Sony Walkman launched in Japan on July 1, 1979, at a price equivalent to approximately $150, as a portable cassette player that allowed people to listen to music through headphones while doing other things. Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka had been carrying a heavy Sony portable tape recorder around and wanted something smaller for his personal use. The product team produced the TPS-L2, which had two headphone jacks and no recording function. It was released in the United States in June 1980. It sold 50,000 units in its first two months in Japan and permanently altered the relationship between music and mobility.

Alien, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver, opened May 25, 1979, and established a template for science-fiction horror that has not been substantially improved upon. The film’s central creature, designed by H.R. Giger, was unlike anything previously seen in science fiction. Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley was one of the first action protagonists in American cinema to be definitively female without any qualification. The film grossed $104 million on a $11 million budget.

Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando, was released on August 15, 1979, after a production process so chaotic that it became the subject of a documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, released in 1991. The film’s production in the Philippines was disrupted by a typhoon. Brando arrived overweight and without having read the source material, and Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming. The result was one of the most-discussed films of the decade and a meditation on the Vietnam War that audiences and critics have been debating ever since.

The Muppet Movie, the first theatrical film featuring Jim Henson’s Muppets, opened June 22, 1979, and grossed $65 million on a $8 million budget. The film followed Kermit the Frog as he traveled from his swamp to Hollywood to become a star, amassing friends and complications along the way. Its combination of warmth, self-aware humor, and a willingness to acknowledge that the Muppets were a movie — Kermit reads the script during the film — established the template the franchise has followed ever since.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was published as a book in 1979, adapted from the BBC Radio 4 series that had aired in 1978. The book’s opening proposition — that the earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass and the last surviving human is rescued by his alien friend who has been living quietly in Guildford — was so unusual and so funny that it generated a devoted readership that has persisted for decades. The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is 42.

Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang was released on September 16, 1979, and is widely credited as the first hip-hop recording to reach mainstream audiences, peaking at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. The backing track was played live by session musicians — bassist Henry “Hank” Jackson and drummer Chip Shearin, among them — who played the Good Times groove by Chic for 15 minutes continuously, because samplers and drum machines capable of the task did not yet exist. Chic sued for songwriting credit; they eventually received it.

ESPN launched on September 7, 1979, as the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, broadcasting 24 hours a day from Bristol, Connecticut. Its first broadcast featured a slow-pitch softball game and the opening of the NCAA college football season. The network had approximately 1.4 million subscribers at launch and was not yet profitable. It became the most valuable cable property in the history of American television.

Nickelodeon launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable network designed exclusively for children. Its early programming was modest by later standards, but it established the model for children’s television that would produce Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, and several generations of devoted viewers.

The McDonald’s Happy Meal went on sale in June 1979, combining a child-sized meal with a small toy in a themed box. The original Happy Meal was a Circus Wagon theme and retailed for approximately $1.00. It became one of the most successful fast-food promotions in history, generating sustained revenue and ongoing discussions about marketing food to children.

Victoria’s Secret opened its first stores in 1979 in San Francisco, founded by Roy Raymond after he found department store lingerie sections intimidating. The stores were designed to feel more like a Victorian boudoir than a department store. Raymond sold the company in 1982 to Limited Brands for $1 million — a figure he later regretted — and the company went national, becoming the dominant American lingerie retailer.

The first use of the phrase “May the Fourth Be With You” occurred on May 4, 1979, when a Danish political party placed a congratulatory advertisement in the London Evening News marking Margaret Thatcher’s election as Prime Minister with the message: “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations.” The Star Wars pun was accidental from a pop culture perspective and became the foundation of an annual observance four decades later.

The Georgia Guidestones — six granite slabs erected on a hilltop in Elbert County, Georgia, bearing instructions for rebuilding civilization after an apocalyptic event, in eight languages — were commissioned by an anonymous individual or group in 1979 and completed in 1980. The builder was told they had been planned for 20 years. The instructions included keeping humanity’s population below 500 million, which generated considerable speculation about their origin and intent. The Guidestones were destroyed by a bomb blast in July 2022.

Nobel Prize Winners in 1979

Physics was awarded to Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam, and Steven Weinberg for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current — work that represented a major step toward a unified theory of fundamental forces.

Chemistry recognized Herbert Brown and Georg Wittig for their development of boron- and phosphorus-containing compounds, respectively, as important reagents in organic synthesis. These reactions have become standard tools in pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing.

Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Allan Cormack and Godfrey Hounsfield for the development of computer-assisted tomography — the CT scan. Hounsfield had built the first clinical CT scanner in 1971; the Nobel Prize recognized a technology that had already transformed diagnostic medicine. Cormack, a physicist, and Hounsfield, an engineer, had independently developed the mathematical and technical foundations.

Literature went to Odysseas Elytis of Greece, for poetry which, against the background of Greek nature and tradition, depicts with clarity and force man’s struggle for freedom and creativeness. His major work, The Axion Esti, is considered one of the most significant poems in modern Greek literature.

The Peace Prize was awarded to Mother Teresa of Calcutta for her work in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace. Mother Teresa had founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and had been working with the poor and dying in Calcutta for nearly three decades. She accepted the prize in Oslo without the traditional Nobel banquet, requesting that the funds be donated to the poor instead.

Economics turned to Theodore Shultz and Arthur Lewis for their pioneering research into economic development, with particular attention to the problems of developing countries — work that examined how investment in education and human capital contributed to economic growth and how developing economies could industrialize.

1979 Toys and Christmas Gifts

The Sony Walkman was the defining consumer product of the 1979 holiday season. Its combination of portability, sound quality, and the cultural statement of wearing headphones in public — previously unusual — made it the object of significant desire and significant expense. Additional first appearances of 1979 included modern Sudoku under the name “Number Place,” created by American architect Howard Garns and published in Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games.

Broadway in 1979

Evita, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical about the life of Eva Perón, opened September 25, 1979, at the Broadway Theatre and ran until June 26, 1983, completing 1,567 performances. Patti LuPone originated the role of Eva on Broadway and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The production opened in London’s West End in 1978, with Julie Covington’s recording of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” already a hit.

They’re Playing Our Song, a romantic comedy with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager loosely based on their real relationship, opened February 11, 1979, at the Imperial Theatre and ran until September 6, 1981. Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz starred. The show was a modest but steady success.

Sugar Babies, a burlesque revue starring Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, opened on October 8, 1979, at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. It ran until August 28, 1982, producing 1,208 performances. Ann Miller’s tap dancing was considered the show’s defining element.

Best Film Oscar Winner

The Deer Hunter, directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep, won Best Picture at the 51st Academy Awards on April 9, 1979, for the 1978 film year. Cimino won Best Director. Christopher Walken won Best Supporting Actor. The film’s depiction of the Vietnam War through the lens of a working-class Pennsylvania community was controversial for its portrayal of Vietnamese captors forcing prisoners to play Russian roulette — a sequence that historians noted had no documented real-world counterpart. The controversy did not prevent the film from winning five Oscars.

Top Movies of 1979

1. Kramer vs. Kramer (late 1979 release, awards contender)
2. Alien
3. Rocky II
4. The Muppet Movie
5. Apocalypse Now
6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
7. Monty Python’s Life of Brian
8. 10
9. Manhattan
10. Being There

Alien and Apocalypse Now defined the year critically. Kramer vs. Kramer, released December 19, 1979, would win Best Picture at the following year’s ceremony for its story of divorce and custody, featuring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep in career-defining performances. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the most anticipated science fiction film of the year after Star Wars, delivered to audiences who had been waiting since 1969 for a big-screen version of the show, and received reactions ranging from enthusiastic to disappointed — a dynamic that subsequent Trek films addressed with varying success.

Most Popular TV Shows of 1979

1. 60 Minutes (CBS)
2. Three’s Company (ABC)
3. That’s Incredible! (ABC)
4. Alice (CBS)
5. M*A*S*H (CBS)
6. Dallas (CBS)
7. Flo (CBS)
8. The Jeffersons (CBS)
9. The Dukes of Hazzard (CBS)
10. One Day at a Time (CBS)

Dallas had launched its first full season in 1978-79 and was climbing rapidly toward the top of the ratings. M*A*S*H was in its seventh season. The Dukes of Hazzard premiered January 26, 1979, and immediately became one of the most-watched shows on television, generating a car — the General Lee — that became as recognizable as any television vehicle since the Batmobile. That’s Incredible! was a reality show featuring people doing dangerous or unusual things before reality television had that name.

1979 Billboard Number One Hits

December 9 – January 5, 1979: Le Freak – Chic
January 6 – January 19: Too Much Heaven — Bee Gees (2 weeks, year-end number one)
January 20 – February 9: Le Freak — Chic (3 weeks, carryover from 1978)
February 10 – March 9: Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? — Rod Stewart (4 weeks)
March 10 – March 23: I Will Survive — Gloria Gaynor
March 24 – April 6: Tragedy — Bee Gees
April 7 – April 13: I Will Survive — Gloria Gaynor (second non-consecutive run)
April 14 – April 20: What a Fool Believes — The Doobie Brothers
April 21 – April 27: Knock on Wood — Amii Stewart
April 28 – May 4: Heart of Glass — Blondie May 5 – June 1: Reunited — Peaches and Herb (4 weeks)
June 2 – June 8: Hot Stuff — Donna Summer
June 9 – June 15: Love You Inside Out — Bee Gees
June 16 – June 29: Hot Stuff — Donna Summer (second run)
June 30 – July 13: Ring My Bell — Anita Ward
July 14 – August 17: Bad Girls — Donna Summer (5 weeks)
August 18 – August 24: Good Times — Chic
August 25 – October 5: My Sharona — The Knack (6 weeks)
October 6 – October 12: Sad Eyes — Robert John
October 13 – October 19: Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough — Michael Jackson
October 20 – November 2: Rise — Herb Alpert
November 3 – November 9: Pop Muzik — M
November 10 – November 16: Heartache Tonight — The Eagles
November 17 – November 23: Still — The Commodores
November 24 – December 7: No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) — Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer
December 8 – December 21: Babe — Styx
December 22, 1979 – January 4, 1980: Escape (The Piña Colada Song) — Rupert Holmes (carrying into 1980)

Donna Summer dominated 1979 with an extraordinary run — Hot Stuff, Bad Girls, and No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) gave her three separate number ones, with Bad Girls spending five weeks at the top. She also charted throughout the year with additional singles, making her the year’s most commercially successful artist. The Bee Gees opened the year at number one and returned twice more. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor made two separate runs at the top in March-April, and its message resonated well beyond its chart performance. My Sharona by The Knack announced that guitar rock was not finished with the decade, spending six weeks at number one in the summer. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough was Michael Jackson’s first solo number one since 1972’s Ben, announcing his return as a commercial force immediately before Off the Wall established his adult solo career.

Sports Champions of 1979

World Series: The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles four games to three in a Series defined by the Pirates’ theme song We Are Family and by Willie Stargell, nicknamed “Pops,” whose performance as player and leader earned him co-MVP of the regular season and sole MVP of the World Series. The Pirates trailed three games to one before winning three consecutive games. Stargell was 39 years old.

Super Bowl XIII: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 on January 21, 1979, in Miami, in what was widely considered the best Super Bowl to that point. Terry Bradshaw passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Lynn Swann and John Stallworth made spectacular catches. The game was decided in the final minutes. Bradshaw was named MVP. The Steelers had won their third Super Bowl in five years, an achievement that established them as the dynasty of the era.

NBA Champions: The Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Washington Bullets four games to one, winning their first and only NBA championship. Dennis Johnson was named Finals MVP. The Sonics had lost to Washington in the previous year’s Finals; their 1979 rematch produced a more decisive result.

Stanley Cup: The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers four games to one, winning their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup — the last time any NHL franchise has won four in a row. Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, and the supporting cast formed one of the most complete teams in the sport’s modern history.

U.S. Open Golf: Hale Irwin won his second U.S. Open at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, becoming one of the few players to win the title twice. The 1979 tournament was contested in difficult conditions that produced some of the highest scores in recent Open history.

U.S. Open Tennis: John McEnroe won his first Grand Slam title at age 20, defeating Vitas Gerulaitis in the final. Tracy Austin, 16 years old, won the women’s title, becoming the youngest U.S. Open champion in the Open Era at that time.

Wimbledon: Bjorn Borg won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, defeating Roscoe Tanner in five sets in a final that included a 24-game third set that Tanner won. Martina Navratilova won the women’s title.

NCAA Football: Alabama, under Bear Bryant, won the national championship for the 1978 season, defeating Penn State 14-7 in the Sugar Bowl in January 1979.

NCAA Basketball: Michigan State, featuring sophomore Magic Johnson, defeated Indiana State, featuring Larry Bird, 75-64 in the national championship game in Salt Lake City. The game drew a 24.1 Nielsen rating — the highest-rated basketball game, college or professional, in American television history. Neither Johnson nor Bird had yet played an NBA game; the matchup generated anticipation for what the NBA would look like once they arrived. It looked like they expected.

Kentucky Derby: Spectacular Bid won in a time of 2:02.4, trained by Grover “Bud” Delp. Spectacular Bid went on to win the Preakness and entered the Belmont as a heavy favorite for the Triple Crown. He finished third, the defeat later attributed in part to a safety pin found in his hoof that morning. He went on to have one of the most dominant seasons in racing history in 1980 and is considered one of the greatest horses ever to race.

Frequently Asked Questions About 1979

Q: What was the Iranian hostage crisis?
A: On November 4, 1979, Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Tehran and seized 66 American diplomatic personnel as hostages, demanding the United States return the deposed Shah for trial. The crisis lasted 444 days. ABC News launched a nightly broadcast covering the crisis that eventually became Nightline. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as president.

Q: What happened at Three Mile Island?
A: On March 28, 1979, a combination of equipment malfunction, design problems, and operator errors caused a partial meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Small amounts of radioactive gas were released. The accident prompted sweeping changes in nuclear power regulation and effectively ended new nuclear plant construction in the United States for decades. It occurred 12 days after the release of The China Syndrome, a film about a nuclear accident caused by the same combination of factors.

Q: What was the Sony Walkman?
A: The Sony Walkman, launched in Japan on July 1, 1979, was a portable cassette player that allowed people to listen to music through lightweight headphones while moving. It sold 50,000 units in its first two months in Japan, reached the United States in 1980, and sold 200 million units over its lifetime. It fundamentally changed the relationship between music and daily life and established the template for all subsequent portable personal audio devices, including the iPod.

Q: Why is the 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship significant?
A: The final matched Michigan State’s Magic Johnson against Indiana State’s Larry Bird in what was their only collegiate meeting. The game drew a 24.1 Nielsen rating, the highest ever for any basketball game in the United States. It generated enormous anticipation for both players’ NBA careers, which began the following year and produced one of the great rivalries in sports history.

Q: What was Disco Demolition Night?
A: On July 12, 1979, between games of a White Sox doubleheader at Comiskey Park in Chicago, radio DJ Steve Dahl organized an event in which disco records brought by fans were detonated on the field. The explosion was larger than expected, damaging the field and prompting a crowd surge. The White Sox had to forfeit the second game. The event is remembered as a cultural marker of the anti-disco backlash — a backlash that also reflected racial and sexual politics that were not typically discussed alongside the vinyl-burning.

Q: When was ESPN founded?
A: ESPN launched on September 7, 1979, as the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, broadcasting from Bristol, Connecticut, 24 hours a day. Its first broadcast included a slow-pitch softball game and college football highlights. It had approximately 1.4 million subscribers at launch and became the most valuable cable network property in American television history.

In a year when the Ayatollah replaced the Shah, 52 Americans settled in for 444 days in Tehran, the Walkman put music in everyone’s pocket, Donna Summer spent most of the summer at number one, and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird played their only college game against each other before 24 million Americans, 1979 delivered the kind of density that makes decades feel shorter in retrospect than they did in the living. The Bee Gees were at number one when it started. Rupert Holmes was singing about piña coladas when it ended. Disco was demolished in July and was not entirely dead by December. The 1980s were coming.

More 1979 Facts & History Resources:

Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us)
Broadway Shows that Opened in 1979X
1979 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com
Cambodia | Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Fact Monster
Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About 1979
1970s, Infoplease.com World History
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Iranian Revolution
1979 in Movies (according to IMDB)
Retrowaste Vintage Culture
1970s Slang
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Wikipedia 1979