In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II undertook major royal tours of the Middle East and Africa and officiated at state ceremonies, while facing personal tragedy with the assassination of her cousin, Lord Mountbatten, by the Provisional IRA.
From top to bottom, left to right: the Soviet–Afghan War begins as the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan; the Iran hostage crisis erupts when militants seize the U.S. embassy in Tehran; American Airlines Flight 191 crashes in Chicago, killing 271 in the deadliest U.S. air disaster; Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey ...
The "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" single hit number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, unable to dislodge "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" from #1 for 2 weeks, and became the first US number-one hit for the band, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
1979 was the the year of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster and controversial SALT-II treaty negotiations with the Soviet Union. President Jimmy Carter promised to bring the hostages home from Iran as the dramatic situation inside the American embassy unfolded before a national television audience.
3 May – 1979 general election. 4 May – The Conservatives win the General Election by a 44-seat majority and Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe is the most notable MP to lose his seat in the election.
Things That Were Popular During The 1979 Eclipse
Marichjhapi massacre or Marichjhapi incident refers to the 1979 eviction of post-partition Bengali refugees who had moved out of the Dandakaranya camps in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and settled in protected forest lands on Marichjhapi island in the Sundarbans, West Bengal.
Examples include the personal computer, the drugs Cisplatin, lovastatin and Omeprazole, the dual cyclone vacuum cleaner, voicemail, and genetic engineering.
If Queen Elizabeth had abdicated, it could have been interpreted that she viewed being queen as just a job, not a divine obligation. It also would have represented a break with British monarchy traditions, as no other monarch had stepped down due to age.
Pop Hits: 1979
Freddie Mercury's last words are reported differently depending on who is sharing, with his partner Jim Hutton recalling his final utterance as a request to go to the toilet ("Pee, pee!") while being helped, and friend Peter Freestone stating his last words to him were a simple, poignant "Thank you," possibly for his care or for their years together. Other final messages include his public farewell "I still love you" in the video for "These Are The Days Of Our Lives," and his wish for unfinished music to be released, notes the Facebook post with his companion Mary Austin.
Now, on to some facts about 1979.
How the Iran Hostage Crisis Became a 14-Month Nightmare for President Carter and the Nation. In November 1979, a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held its occupants hostage, beginning a 444-day standoff that nearly brought the two countries to war.
February 7, 1979 - Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor who performed medical experiments at the Auschwitz death camps, dies of a stroke while swimming in Brazil—although his death was not verified until 1985.
Nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island
At 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, one of the worst accidents in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close.
The three songs tied for the longest unbroken run in the top spot during 1979 with "Every Which Way but Loose" by Eddie Rabbitt, "Golden Tears" by Dave & Sugar and "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" by the Bellamy Brothers, each of which also spent three weeks atop the listing.
On August 2, 1979, New York Yankees Captain Thurman Munson died in a plane crash while he was practicing takeoffs and landings at the Canton, Ohio, Airport.
September 11, 1979 (Tuesday)
For the first time in the history of the United States Navy, women were deployed overseas on a warship when about 50 female sailors and six officers were sent to patrol the Mediterranean Sea on the 730-member repair ship USS Vulcan.
December 31, 1979 (Monday)
The Eiffel Tower, operated since 1889 as a private business by the Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, came under the control of the city of Paris and to a management group of private investors.
Biggest Artists 1979
It was a two horse race this year with ABBA's five Top 10 hits (including an unofficial No. 1) edging out Blondie. Had Union City Blue done a little better, the US group would have secured the No. 1 spot.
May 1979 - The Cure
UK band The Cure release their debut album Three Imaginary Boys. Though well received by music critics, the album reaches only #44 UK. The lead single "Boys Don't Cry" fails to chart in the UK. The band would go on to release thirteen studio albums.
Classic releases from multiple genres like rock, rap, R&B, disco, and new wave were crashing up against our ears on our radios, our boomboxes, and — in the Summer of '79 — on a new device called the Sony Walkman.