July 16, 1979: Saddam Hussein becomes President of IraqJuly 11, 1979: Skylab space station falls in Australian outback on 34,981st orbit[1]July 12, 1979: Gilbert Islands independent as Republic of KiribatiThe largest piece of Skylab debris, an oxygen tank recovered in the state of Western AustraliaJuly 2, 1979: Unpopular Susan B. Anthony dollar (left), similar to a quarter (right) begins circulation in the U.S.
Sweden outlawedcorporal punishment in the home. Sweden became the world's first nation to explicitly ban corporal punishment through an amendment to the Parenthood and Guardianship Code which stated: "Children are entitled to care, security and a good upbringing. Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment.".[2]
The first version of the Walkman
TheSony Walkman, a pocket-sized cassette tape player, went on sale for the first time in Japan and would become a bestselling item in the 1980s
Elections were held in Bolivia for a new president, with nominees from eight political parties receiving votes. Three former Bolivian presidents received more votes than the remaining five candidates, withHernán Siles Zuazo (president 1956 to 1960) finishing first,Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1952-1956 and 1960–1964) was second andHugo Banzer (1971-1978) third. Since no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote[4] the Bolivian constitution provided for the Congress to select the winner.[5] Elections were also held for the Chamber of Deputies and for the Bolivian Senate, with the MNRA (Revolutionary Nationalist Movement–Alliance) party of Paz Estenssoro electing a majority of 16 of the 27 Senators, and 48 of the 117 deputies.
Republic Airlines was formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways.
TheSusan B. Anthony dollar coin was released to the general public, with deliveries to banks throughout the United States.[6] Reaction to the coin was unfavorable because its diameter (26.5 mm) was only slightly larger than that of an Americanquarter (24.26 mm).[7][8]
All 49 people on theIndian ore carrierMVKairali disappeared, along with the ship, when the vessel apparently sank after its last transmission to theKerala Shipping Company. The ship had departedMargao at theGoa state three days earlier with a load of iron ore and was on its way toDjibouti in northeast Africa and was traversing theIndian Ocean when it was last heard from.[10][11]
TheBundestag, the lower house of the parliament ofWest Germany, voted, 255 to 222 to abolish thestatute of limitations forwar crimes committed duringWorld War II, rather than to allow it to expire on December 31. Fiercely debated in the lower house, the bill was already expected to pass in the upper house, theBundesrat, without difficulty.[12]
TheAutoZone chain of automotive parts and accessories was founded with the opening of its first location, a store inForrest City, Arkansas.[13] Originally called "Auto Shack", the company, which now has more than 6,000 franchises, would change its name to AutoZone after being sued for trademark infringement by theTandy Corporation, owner of theRadio Shack chain of electronic stores.
The house arrest ofAhmed Ben Bella, the firstPresident of Algeria, was partially lifted after more than 14 years in conjunction with the 17th anniversary ofAlgeria's independence. Ben Bella had been confined to a house in the city ofM'Sila after being deposed on June 14, 1965.[14][15]
The millennial anniversary of the founding of the parliament of the world's oldest continuously operated parliament, theHigh Court of Tynwald (Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal), was celebrated on theIsle of Man in the United Kingdom.[17] Queen Elizabeth II came to the island's capital,Douglas, to open theTynwald Day ceremonies.[18] The millennial date appeared to have been picked arbitrarily, with no evidence of the founding of Tynwald in the year979 nor of an assembly earlier than the15th century.[19]
Angola's PresidentAgostinho Neto issued a decree requiring all Angolan citizens 18 or older to serve in the military for three years.
Born:
Amélie Mauresmo, Swiss-born French professional tennis player, former ATP No. 1 for five weeks in 2005, and winner of the Australian Open and Wimbledon' inGeneva
Elizabeth Ryan, 87, American-born British professional tennis player who won 19 doubles titles in Grand Slam events (including 12 women's doubles and seven mixed doubles at Wimbledon between 1914 and 1934), and three singles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Ms. Ryan was at Wimbledon to watch the final of the men's doubles, and collapsed after walking to the women's restroom.[23]
Van McCoy, 39, American songwriter known forThe Hustle, died from a heart attack
Dr.Luisa Guidotti Mistrali, 47, Italian physician and Roman Catholic missionary, was shot to death by police in Zimbabwe Rhodesia when she turned her car as she was approaching a roadblock.
Björn Borg of Sweden defeatedRoscoe Tanner of the U.S. for Borg's fourth consecutive men's singles title in tennis at Wimbledon, winning in the 10th game of the fifth set, 6–7, 6–1, 3–6, 6-3 and 6–4.[26]
Died:Ian Mackintosh, 38, British novelist and naval officer, disappeared along with two other people while on a flight over theGulf of Alaska. The airplane, aRallye 235-G was approaching its destination ofKodiak after taking off fromAnchorage. Neither wreckage of the plane, nor its occupants, was ever found.[27]
ThePeople's Republic of China gave permission for foreign investment for the first time since the 1949 Communist revolution, promulgating a 15-article code that would provide rules for foreign corporations to invest capital as part of joint ventures and for the companies to keep their profits.[28]
A crowd of 10,000 spectators at theElstree stadium atHertfordshire, nearLondon, witnessed the death of motorcycle stunt rider Robin Winter-Smith as he was attempting to jump over a 212-foot (65 m) row of Rolls-Royce automobiles. Winter-Smith, a 27-year-old Englishman, had gotten over all 28 of the Rolls-Royces after attaining a speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at takeoff from a ramp, but his motorcycle struck the edge of the landing ramp, throwing him into the scaffolding.[29]
The U.S. interplanetary probeVoyager 2 made its closest approach to the planetJupiter at 22:29 UTC at a range of 400,785 miles (645,001 km). It transmitted new data on the planet's clouds, its newly discovered four moons, and ring system as well as 17,000 new pictures.[33]
InIran, theAyatollah Khomeini proclaimed a general amnesty for "all people who committed offenses under the past regime" during the reign of the Shah of Iran, with the exception of persons involved in murder or torture.[36]
A car bomb destroyed aRenault owned by Nazi huntersSerge Klarsfeld andBeate Klarsfeld at their home in France. The Klarsfelds were not in or near the car when the explosion took place, and there was no second incident. An anonymous claim of responsibility was made by individuals who said they were withODESSA, a group founded afterWorld War II by former SS officers to assist fellow Nazis in escaping from Germany.
Born:Gary Chaw, Malaysian singer-songwriter and star in Taiwan; as Chaw Pak Haw inKota Belud,Sabah
PresidentJimmy Carter of the United States issued an order for all federal buildings to limit their use of air conditioning to no lower than 78 °F (26 °C) during hot months, and no warmer than 65 °F (18 °C) during cold weather.[37]
Thirteen people were killed and 60 injured in the collision of two trains inItaly nearMount Vesuvius and the village of Santa Caterina.[38]
American gangsterAnthony Provenzano, convicted of racketeering on May 25, was sentenced to prison for 20 years. He would die less than 10 years later on December 12, 1988.
NASA's first orbiting space station,Skylab, began falling backEarth as its orbit decayed after more than six years.[40] The debris landed in Australia'sOutback, with the largest surviving piece found 6 miles (9.7 km) south ofRawlinna, Western Australia.[41]
All 61 people aboard aGaruda Airlines jetliner were killed when the Fokker F28 crashed into the side of 7,200 foot (2,200 m)Mount Sibayak at an altitude of 5,560 feet (1,690 m).[42][43] The plane was en route fromPalembang toMedan.
Uroob (pen name for Parutholli Chalappurathu Kuttikrishnan), 64, Indian writer andMalayalam language author.
Giorgio Ambrosoli, 45, Italian prosecutor who was investigating criminal activities of bankerMichele Sindona, was shot to death outside of his home inMilan
TheGilbert Islands became fully independent of the United Kingdom asKiribati.Ieremia Tabai, the 29-year-old Chief Minister of the Gilbert Islands, was sworn in as the first President of Kiribati, after accepting the independence documents brought by Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.[44]
In Spain, afire at the Hotel Corona de Aragón, inZaragoza killed 72 people, and injured 46 others. The blaze started in the kitchen hotel's coffee shop on the ground floor during the frying of cooking oil.[45]
Carmine Galante, boss of theBonanno crime family, was shot to death along with his bodyguard and the owner of the restaurant where he was dining. Galante was at a patio table of the Joe and Mary Italian-American Restaurant on Knickerbocker Avenue inBrooklyn when three gunmen, wearing ski masks, shot him at point-blank range.[46] Killed as well were bodyguard Leonardo Coppolla and restaurateur Giuseppe Turano. The Galante family was subsequently refused a Roman Catholic funeral mass by the Archbishop of New York City, Terence Cardinal Cooke.[47]
A new constitution was promulgated in Peru, bringing an end to 10 years of military rule and replacing the suspended 1933 Constitution. It became effective in 1980 with the re-election of deposed President Fernando Belaúnde Terry. It limited the president to a single five-year term and established a bicameral legislature consisting of a 60-member Senate (upper house) and a 180-member Chamber of Deputies (lower house). It also eliminated the literacy requirement for voting and extended suffrage to all adults 18 or older.
After suing the estate of their mother, film actressJoan Crawford, who had excluded them from her will,Christina Crawford and her brother Christopher settled for $55,000. Christina had written a "tell-all" book the year before,Mommie Dearest.
Born:
Ladyhawke (stage name for Phillipa Brown), New Zealand singer songwriter; inMasterton
The second of two rounds of elections in Nigeria for the 449-seat Nigerian House of Representatives was completed, with the National Party winning 168 seats, followed by 111 for the United Party and three other parties gaining the remaining 170 seats.[52]
Born:Frederik Siouen, Belgian singer and songwriter; inGhent
Died:
Bernard Darke, 54. Guyanese journalist and Jesuit priest, was stabbed to death by supporters of Prime MinisterForbes Burnham while taking pictures of a riot in the South American nation's capital, Georgetown.
Billy McCrary, 32, American professional wrestler who, with his identical twin brother, was part of a tag team wrestling duo called "The McGuire Twins", was killed in a motorcycle accident. At 723 lb (328 kg), McCrary and his 745 lb (338 kg) brother Benny were listed by Guinness World Records as the "World's Heaviest Twins".
U.S. PresidentJimmy Carter addressed the nation on television, talking about the "crisis of confidence" in America at that time as part of measures to respond to the shortage of oil and gasoline, in what would be remembered as the "national malaise" speech.[53] Although the word "malaise" was never actually used, the speech was one of the more pessimistic given by an American president as he told listeners that "I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy," which he identified as a "crisis of confidence". Among Carter's statements were that "For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next 5 years will be worse than the past 5 years," and "there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other institutions."[54]
Morarji Desai announced his resignation asPrime Minister of India, one day before he was facing a vote of no confidence in India's lower house of parliament, theLok Sabha. Earlier in the day, 18 members of parliament announced that they were leaving Desai's Janata Party that formed the largest part of his coalition government.[55]
Soviet cosmonautsVladimir Lyakhov andValery Ryumin set a new record for space flight endurance as they completed their 140th day in orbit aboard theSalyut 6 space station. Lyakhov and Ryumin had arrived at the station on February 25 after being launched aboardSoyuz 32, and broke the record of 139 days, 14 hours and 48 minutes set in November by cosmonautsVladimir Kovalyonok andAleksandr Ivanchenkov ofSoyuz 29.[56]
Iraqi PresidentHasan al-Bakr resigned after almost 11 years in power. Vice PresidentSaddam al-Tikriti, more commonly referred to in the Western press as "Saddam Hussein", replaced him.[57]
Anastasio SomozaEuropean Parliament president Veil[59]
Nicaraguan president GeneralAnastasio Somoza Debayle resigned and fled toMiami as the Sandinista guerrillas approached the capital atManagua. Nicaragua's Congress accepted Somoza's resignation at 1:50 in the morning and named Chamber of Deputies leaderFrancisco Urcuyo as the new president during negotiations for transition of government to a Sandinista-backed junta. Somoza and 45 aides boarded an airplane and departed Managua at 5:10 in the morning, bringing an end to 46 years of rule by the Somoza family.[60]
At the request of U.S. PresidentJimmy Carter, all 34 members of his Cabinet and senior staff of advisers offered their resignations as part of a plan by Carter to reorganize his government, giving him the option to replace any person whose offer he accepted.[62] Among those replaced by Carter were Treasury Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal, Attorney General Griffin Bell and Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) Secretary Joseph A. Califano, Jr. by G. William Miller, Benjamin R. Civiletti and Patricia Roberts Harris, respectively.[63]
Sebastian Coe of England set the newworld record for the shortest time for running one mile (1,609.34m), covering the distance atOslo's Bislet Stadium inNorway in 3 minutes, 48.95 seconds. Coe, who had broken the world record for fastest time in running 1500 meters (0.932 miles) on July 5, broke the mile record, set by New Zealand'sJohn Walker on August 12, 1975, of 3 minutes, 49.4 seconds.[64]
Died:Edward Akufo-Addo, 73,President of Ghana, 1970 to 1972, died from natural causes a month after three other former presidents of Ghana had been executed.
More than 500 people were killed by atsunami that struck the island ofLembata inIndonesia. The tidal wave resulted from massive landslides from a nearby summit, Mount Werung. The waters of theFlores Sea swept inward 450 feet (140 m) in the middle of the night when most of its victims were asleep, washing away houses, trees and farms.[65] The estimate of 539 deaths was made based on the recovery of 175 bodies and the failure to find 364 people who had been missing since the wave had destroyed four villages on the island.[66]
Twenty-six of the crew of the Greek oil tankerSSAtlantic Empress were killed when the ship collided with another oil tanker, SSAegean Captain, which lost one crewman.[68][69] After being set ablaze,[70]Atlantic Empress burned for two weeks and sank on August 4 in the Caribbean Sea 33 kilometres (21 mi) away from the island ofTobago, spilling 287,000 metric tonnes of crude oil, the largest spill ever from a tanker.
A motion in the British House of Commons, to restorecapital punishment as the maximum penalty for crimes, overwhelmingly failed to pass with 243 in favor and 362 against.[72]
Died:Jack Filmer, 83, Australian-born New Zealand agricultural scientist
Thedisco music genre dominated and peaks on theBillboard Hot 100 chart, with the first six spots (beginning withDonna Summer'sBad Girls), and seven of the chart's top ten songs ending that week.
Died:
Boris Giuliano, 48, Italian law enforcement official who led the Squadre Volanti special police unit inPalermo, was shot to death by a Mafia contract killer while at a coffee house.
Six days after taking office as President of Iraq,Saddam Hussein ordered apurge of the leadership of the Ba’ath Party with the arrest and later execution of nearly 70 members of the Party. The government confirmed on July 29 that arrests had been taking place since July 20 of government officials accused of "conspiracy against the party and revolution" and that a seven-member special court of the Revolutionary Command Council was conducting hearings on people accused of treason.[75]
A two-hour battle between the Navy ofSouth Korea and an armed spy ship fromNorth Korea took place off of the southern coastal port ofTongyeong in South Korea. Two South Koreans were killed, and the North Korean vessel was sunk. Five bodies were recovered from the sea around the ship, which went down with an unknown number of crew.[76]
The new Sandinista government ofNicaragua promulgated the Law of National Emergency allowing all media in the Central American nation to be placed under government control.
The first ascent ofMount Demaria, located in Antarctica, was made by four British explorers.[77]
Died:Sándor Kocsis, 49, Hungarian soccer footballer with 68 caps for the Hungary national team, fell to his death from his hospital room inBarcelona
InBeirut, the crash of aTMA Cargo Boeing 707 jet killed all six people aboard theLebanese freight-carrying airplane during a test flight that was part of the qualification procedure for four co-pilots to be promoted to the job of airline captain.[79]
Withdrawal of United Nations peacekeeping forces, from the Sinai Peninsula between Egypt and Israel, was approved by theUnited Nations Security Council, but the Security Council voted to maintain a corps of observers to monitor Israel's agreement to pull back its own troops.[80]
The United States effectively granted recognition of the new, leftist government of Nicaragua by agreeing to continue diplomatic relations with the Central American nation and the news Sandinista regime.[81]
In Iran, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered a ban of all music on radio and television, declaring that music was "no different from opium" and would not be tolerated in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[82]
Serial murdererTed Bundy was convicted for the 1978 murder of twoFlorida State University students.[83] The jury recommended one week later that Bundy be sentenced to death.[84] He would die in the electric chair at the Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989.
A major accident occurred atMoruroa Atoll during a nuclear test by France. A test was conducted at half the usual depth because the nuclear weapon being used got stuck halfway down the 800 m (2,600 ft) shaft. After engineers were unable to move the device to its proper level, the decision was made to leave it in place for detonation. The blast caused a large submarine landslide on the southwest rim of the atoll, causing a significant chunk of the outer slope of the atoll to break loose, causing a tsunami affecting Mururoa and injuring workers. The blast caused a 2 kilometre long and 40 cm wide crack to appear on the atoll.[86]
Israel transferred control of 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2) of territory in theSinai Peninsula, around the populated oasis of Bir Nasseb, back toEgypt, 12 years after the land had been captured in the Six-Day War in 1967.[87]
Dr.George F. Andreasen, an orthodontist and mechanical engineer working at the University of Iowa, received the patent for his creation of the firstshape-memory alloy,Nitinol, allowing for wire that could be manipulated as necessary, then returned to its original configuration after the application of heat. Dr. Andreasen'salloy ofnickel (Ni) andtitanium (Ti) received U.S. Patent No. 4,037,324.
The new government ofNicaragua announced it would allow 199 of 271 refugees to leave the Central American nation, and provide for safe passage, after the group had been given sanctuary at theSalvadoran embassy inManagua. The Sandinista government, however, demanded that El Salvador turn over 72 other former Guardia Nacional members and government officials who were suspected of war crimes.[88]
India's PresidentN. Sanjiva Reddy asked Deputy Prime MinisterCharan Singh to form a new coalition government after Singh had garnered the support of 280 of the 538 members of theLok Sabha, the lower house of India's parliament from various parties.[89]
Morarji Desai, who had already resigned as Prime Minister of India, announced that he was also quitting as leader of the ruling Janata Party. The move came after former Janata Party member and Deputy Prime Minister Charan Singh had challenged Desai's leadership and left the party.[90]
The Australianheavy metal bandAC/DC released its breakthrough album,Highway to Hell, bringing the group to prominence with American audiences.
Born:Jorge Arce, Mexican professional boxer and world flyweight champion, light flyweight, super flyweight, junior featherweight and bantamweight champion for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the WBA, WBC and IBF between 1998 and 2010; inLos Mochis,Sinaloa state
Died:
Zuheir Mohsen, 43, Palestinian and Jordanian politician, was assassinated in France, shot multiple times while walking towards his apartment inCannes after leaving a casino. No group claimed responsibility, and the motive for his killing was never identified.
Shirley Mason (stage name for Leonie Flugrath), 78, American silent film actress
Carless days in New Zealand were introduced by the national government of New Zealand, going into effect at 2:00 in the morning. The first person fined was Gordon Marks of Christchurch, stopped at 3:45 a.m. after a post-party nap in his car. He was fined $50 for the first offense rather than the $400 maximum fine.
The government of Israel's Prime MinisterMenahem Begin survived a vote of no confidence in theKnesset, with 48 in favor of the motion and 58 against. The motion followed a July 15 cabinet meeting that failed to reach an agreement on resolving an economic crisis of inflation of prices.[96]
The long-running Philippine daytime variety showEat ... Bulaga! premiered.
Fifteen of the 44 passengers onDan-Air Flight 34 and both of its pilots were killed when the turboprop crashed into the sea after its takeoff from Scotland'sShetland Islands on a flight toAberdeen.[97]
Shapour Bakhtiar, the last Prime Minister for the Shah of Iran, appeared in public for the first time since he had gone into hiding on February 12, appearing at a press conference inParis.[98]
The city ofLahn, created in the West German state ofHesse on January 1, 1977, by the unpopular merger of the cities of Giessen and Wetzlar, was dissolved and the two municipalities became independent of each other.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously, 414 to 0, tocensure U.S. RepresentativeCharles Diggs ofMichigan following his conviction of 11 counts of mail fraud.
U.S. Army Air Corps Private D. B. Benson, who had been in hiding in Oklahoma for 36 years after goingAWOL (absent without leave) from the air base inAmarillo, Texas, returned to normal life four weeks after turning himself in to authorities. Private Benson was given another-than-honorable discharge after having signed papers on July 3.[100]
^Modig, Cecilia (2009). Never Violence – Thirty Years on from Sweden's Abolition of Corporal Punishment (PDF). Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden; Save the Children Sweden. Reference No. S2009.030. p. 14
^"Mexico's Ruling Party Reports Sweep in Election",The New York Times, July 4, 1979, p. A5
^"Victory Margin in Bolivia Eludes All Eight Candidates",The New York Times, July 3, 1979, p. A3
^"Bolivian Leftist Calls on Supporters to Protest Official Election Results", by Juan de Onis,The New York Times, August 1, 1979, p. A4
^"Susan B. Anthony debuts Monday", by Jack Hemstock,Chicago Tribune, July 1, 1979, p. 3-8
^"The New Dollar— It Won't Blow Away, But Are You Sure It's Not A Quarter?", by Donna Newsome,Tampa Tribune, July 3, 1979, p. B-1
^"Susan B. Anthony dollars start quarter-size confusion", by Brian Mosley,Akron (O.) Beacon Journal, July 3, 1979, p. C5
^Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (Penguin, 2004), p. 87
^"Algerians Decide to Free Ben Bella, Detained 14 Years— President Ousted by Boumediene Can Receive Visitors and Travel Near His Home",The New York Times, July 5, 1979, p. A1
^"Ben Bella 'Free' but Out of Sight in Algeria", by James M. Markham,The New York Times, July 14, 1979, p. A3
^"NBA ref Mendy Rudolph dies",Minneapolis Star, July 5, 1979, p.15B
^"Isle of Man Marks Millenium Of Its Parliament With Style", by R. W. Apple, Jr.,The New York Times, July 6, 1979, p. A4
^"China Code Allows Foreign Investment; Profits From Joint Ventures Can Be Taken Out for First Time Since '49".The Los Angeles Times. July 9, 1979. p. I-4.
^"10,000 See British Motorcyclist Killed".The Los Angeles Times. July 9, 1979. p. I-5.
^"Shinichiro Tomonaga, in Tokyo; Won 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics".The New York Times. July 9, 1979. p. A15.
^Flint, Peter B. (July 9, 1979). "Michael Wilding Is Dead at 66; Briton Starred on Stage and Screen".The New York Times. p. A15.
^"Robert B. Woodward Dead at 62; Harvard Chemist Won Nobel Prize".The New York Times. July 10, 1979. p. D14.
^"Somoza Yields Post and Arrives in U.S.; Fighting Continues", by Alan Riding,The New York Times, July 19, 1979, p. A1
^"Simone Veil of France Is Elected European Parliament's President",The New York Times, July 19, 1979, p. A3
^"Carter Offered Resignations by Cabinet and Senior Staff; Some Going in Days, Aides Say— Unusual Group Move", by Terence Smith,The New York Times, July 18, 1979, p. A1
^"Carter Replaces Bell, Blumenthal, Califano; Miller Goes to Treasury",The New York Times, July 20, 1979, p. A1
^"Coe Runs Mile in 3:49 For a World Record",The New York Times, July 19, 1979, p. A19
