Explore 6419 historical events from 1970–1979.
The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1970 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produc…
Three members of the Ulrich family are killed in an accident. This leads to the Ford Pinto litigation.
The Nicaraguan Revolution, or Sandinista Revolution was an armed conflict that took place in the Central American country of Nicaragua between 1961 and 1990.
Nicaraguan Revolution: The FSLN seizes the National Congress of Nicaragua, along with over a thousand hostages.
A conclave was held on 25 and 26 August 1978 to elect a new pope to succeed Paul VI, who had died on 6 August 1978. Of the 114 eligible cardinal electors, all but three attended. O…
Papal conclave: Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.
Electronic mail is a method of transmitting and receiving digital messages using electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the late–20th century as the digita…
The first unsolicited bulk commercial email (which would later become known as "spam") is sent by a Digital Equipment Co
The South African Defence Force (SADF) comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the for…
The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people
Zaire, officially the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1971 and Republic of Zaire from 1971 to 1997, was a country in Central Africa headed by Mobutu Sese Seko from 19…
In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga); the loca
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Sai…
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its priesthood to "all worthy men", ending a 148-year-old policy o
Altaf Hussain is a British Pakistani politician who is known as the founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He holds United Kingdom citizenship and has been living in exile in the…
Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi Univer
Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome, is an indoor stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. It has served as the home venue of the New Orleans Saints of the National F…
At the Superdome in New Orleans, Muhammad Ali outpoints Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the…
The 1978 Tabas earthquake occurred on September 16 at 19:05:55 local time in central Iran. The shock measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity…
The 7.4 Mw Tabas earthquake affects the city of Tabas, Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At…
Tuvalu is an archipelagic country in the Polynesian sub-region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz …
Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom.
Garfield is an American comic strip and media franchise created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as Jon in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978, it chronicles t…
Garfield's first comic strip, originally published locally as Jon in 1976, goes into nationwide syndication
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, Joseph and the Amaz…
The original production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Evita, based on the life of Eva Perón, opens at t
Charon, formal designation (134340) Pluto I, is the largest of the five known natural satellites of the dwarf planet Pluto. It has a mean radius of 606 km (377 mi). Charon is a pla…
Charon, the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James
Ahmad bin Hussein al-Ghashmi was a Yemeni military officer who served as the fourth President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 11 October 1977 until his assassination eight months l…
Ahmad al-Ghashmi, the president of the Yemen Arab Republic, is killed when a bomb exploded in a suitcase carried by a So
The rainbow flag or pride flag is a symbol of LGBTQ pride and LGBTQ social movements, as well as a peace symbol. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community and the spe…
The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade
Eduardo Cruz Villanueva, most commonly referred to as Bro. Eddie Villanueva or ECV, is an evangelist and President and Spiritual Director of the Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JIL…
Brother Eddie Villanueva and 15 others from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines begin the Jesus Is Lord…
Ken Warby was an Australian motorboat racer, who at his death held the water speed record of 275.97 knots, set on Blowering Dam on 8 October 1978.
Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 275.97 knots at Blowering Dam, Australia.
Henrik Igityan National Centre for Aesthetics (NCA) is a gallery and museum in Yerevan, Armenia. It was based on, and as of 2024 includes, the Children's Art Museum, which was foun…
Based on the world's first children's art museum, the Henrik Igityan National Centre for Aesthetics opened in Yerevan.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal cou…
The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of California v
The Northern Territory is an Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Australi…
The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government.
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons, is an archipelagic country consisting of six major islands and over 1,000 smaller islands in Melanesia, Oceania, to the north-ea…
The Solomon Islands becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
Moktar Ould Daddah was a Mauritanian politician who served as the country's first President after it gained its independence from France. Moktar served as the country's first Prime…
President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d'état.
The Los Alfaques disaster was caused by the explosion of a road tanker near a holiday campsite on 11 July 1978 in Alcanar, Spain. The exploding tanker, which was carrying 23 tons o…
Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain…