| World Events |
- Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot becomes prime minister (and virtual dictator) of Cambodia after Prince Sihanouk steps down (April 2).
- Israeli airborne commandos attack Uganda’s Entebbe Airport and free 103 hostages held by pro-Palestinian hijackers of Air France plane; one Israeli and several Ugandan soldiers killed in raid (July 4).
- 19-month civil war ends in Lebanon after threatening to escalate to global level (Nov.).
| U.S. Events |
- US Supreme Court rules that blacks and other minorities are entitled to retroactive job seniority (March 24).
- Ford signs Federal Election Campaign Act (May 11).
- US Supreme Court rules that death penalty is not inherently cruel or unusual and is a constitutionally acceptable form of punishment (July 3).
- Nation celebrates Bicentennial (July 4).
- Mysterious disease strikes American Legion convention in Philadelphia, eventually claiming 29 lives (Aug. 4).
- Jimmy Carter elected US President (Nov. 2).
| Economics |
US GDP (1998 dollars): $1,819.00 billion
Federal spending: $371.79 billion
Federal debt: $629.0 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $12,686
Consumer Price Index: 56.9
Unemployment: 7.7%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.13
| Sports |
Super Bowl
Pittsburgh d. Dallas (21-17)
World Series
Cincinnati d. NY Yankees (4-0)
NBA Championship
Boston d. Phoenix (4-2)
Stanley Cup
Montreal d. Philadelphia (4-0)
Wimbledon
Women: Chris Evert d. E. Cawley (6-3 4-6 8-6)
Men: Bjorn Borg d. I. Nastase (6-4 6-2 9-7)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Bold Forbes
NCAA Basketball Championship
Indiana d. Michigan (86-68)
NCAA Football Champions
Pittsburgh (12-0-0)
| Entertainment |
Events
- The Steadicam is used for the first time in Rocky.
- Philip Glass completes Einstein on the Beach, the first widely known example of minimalist composition.
- NBC broadcasts Gone with the Wind and scores record-breaking ratings.
Movies
- Rocky, Taxi Driver, Network, All the President’s Men
Music
- Philip Glass Einstein on the Beach,
Books
- Raymond Carver, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?
- Judith Guest, Ordinary People
- Alex Haley, Roots
- Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
- Robert Lowell, Selected Poems
- Gabriel García Márquez, Autumn of the Patriarch
- Gore Vidal, 1876
| Science |
- Air France and British Airways begin the first regularly scheduled commercial supersonic transport (SST) flights. Background: Famous Firsts in Aviation
- Viking I lands on Mars. Background: US Unstaffed Planetary and Lunar Programs
- The US Navy tests the Tomahawk cruise missile.
- Richard Leakey discovers a 1.5 million year old Homo erectus skull in Kenya. Background: human evolution
- Cosmic string theory first postulated by Thomas Kibble. Background: Astronomy
| Deaths |
- Agatha Christie
- Andre Malraux
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