Editing 1978 (section)

== Events ==
=== January ===
{{Main|January 1978}}
* [[January 1]] – [[Air India Flight 855]], a [[Boeing 747]] passenger jet, crashes off the coast of [[Bombay]], killing 213.<ref name="ASN">{{ASN accident|title=VT-EBD |id=19780101-1}}</ref>
* [[January 5]] – [[Bülent Ecevit]], of [[Republican People's Party|CHP]], forms the new government of [[Turkey]] (42nd government).<ref>{{cite news |title=The World |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 6, 1978 |page=I-2}}</ref>
* [[January 6]] – The [[Holy Crown of Hungary]] (also known as [[Stephen of Hungary]] Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Vance Returns Ancient Crown in Solemn Rites |last=Seeger |first=Murray |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 7, 1978 |page=I-1}}</ref>
* [[January 10]] – [[Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal]], a critic of the [[Nicaragua]]n government, is assassinated; riots erupt against [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle|Somoza]]'s government.<ref>{{cite news |title=Editor Opposed to Somoza Slain on Nicargua Street |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 11, 1978 |page=I-5}}</ref>
* [[January 13]] – Former American Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]], a Democrat, dies of cancer in [[Waverly, Minnesota]], at the age of 66.<ref>{{cite news |title=Humphrey Dies of Cancer at His Home— Leading Proponent of 'Politics of Joy' Slipped Into Coma, 'Suffered No Pain' |last=Averill |first=John R. |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 14, 1978 |page=I-1}}</ref>
* [[January 18]] – The [[European Court of Human Rights]] finds the British government guilty of mistreating prisoners in [[Northern Ireland]], but not guilty of torture.<ref>{{cite news |title=Britain Ruled Guilty of Prisoner Abuse |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 19, 1978 |page=I-4}}</ref>
* [[January 22]] – [[Ethiopia]] declares the ambassador of West Germany ''[[persona non grata]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The World |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 23, 1978 |page=I-2}}</ref>
* [[January 24]]
** [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] satellite [[Kosmos 954]] burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's [[Northwest Territories]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Russ Nuclear Satellite Loses Its Orbit, Burns— Disintegrates Over Northwest Canada; No Danger of Radioactive Fallout Seen |last=Toth |first=Robert C. |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 25, 1978 |page=I-14}}</ref>
** [[Rose Dugdale]] and Eddie Gallagher become the first convicted prisoners to marry in prison since the establishment of the [[Republic of Ireland]].
* [[January 25]] – [[January 27|27]] – The [[Great Blizzard of 1978]] strikes the [[Ohio Valley]] and [[Great Lakes]], killing 70.<ref>{{cite news |title=Troops Aid in Saving 1,400 on Ohio Roads; 15-Foot Drifts Strand Motorists in Blizzard; Death Toll Reaches 77 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 28, 1978 |page=I-1}}</ref>

=== February ===
{{Main|February 1978}}
* [[February 1]] – Film director [[Roman Polanski]] skips [[bail]] in the United States and flees to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in [[Statutory rape|sex]] with a 13-year-old girl.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/02/archives/polanski-facing-court-sentence-flies-to-europe-warrant-issued.html |title=Polanski, Facing Court Sentence, Flies to Europe |date=February 2, 1978 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |at=Page B5, columns 1-2 |access-date=24 April 2024}}</ref>
* [[February 5]]–[[February 7|7]] – The [[Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978]] hits the [[New England]] region and the [[New York metropolitan area]], killing about 100, and causing over US$520&nbsp;million in damage.
* [[February 6]] – [[King Dragon operation in Arakan]]: Burmese General [[Ne Win]] targets Muslim minorities in the village of Sakkipara.
* [[February 8]] – [[United States Senate]] proceedings are broadcast on [[radio]] for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_congress/text/page25_text.html |title=Advice and Consent: The Panama Canal Treaties |publisher=[[archives.gov]] |access-date=June 16, 2018}}</ref>
* [[February 9]] – The [[Budd Company]] unveils its first [[Budd SPV-2000|SPV-2000]] self-propelled railcar in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crouse |first=Chuck |title=Budd Car, the RDC Story |year=1990 |publisher=Weekend Chief Publishing |location=[[Mineola, New York]] |isbn=0-9612814-2-1 |page=141}}</ref>
* [[February 11]]
** [[Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314]], a [[Boeing 737]]-200, crashes in [[Cranbrook, British Columbia]], killing 44 of the 50 people on board.<ref>[https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/328932 Aviation Safety Database]</ref>
** [[Somalia]] mobilizes its troops to deal with an apparent [[Ethiopia]]n attack.
** The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by [[Aristotle]], [[William Shakespeare]] and [[Charles Dickens]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gabay |first=Jonathan |title=Gabay's Copywriters' Compendium: The Definitive Professional Writer's Guide |year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9780750683203 |page=612 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zeggqKDO9_gC&q=china+ban+on+aristotle+shakespeare&pg=PA612 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |via=[[Google Books]] |language=en}}</ref>
* [[February 13]] – [[Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing]]: A bomb explodes outside the [[Hilton Hotel]] in Sydney, Australia, killing a policeman and two civilians, and injuring several other people.
* [[February 15]] – [[Rhodesia]], one of only two remaining white-ruled African nations (the other being South Africa), announces that it will accept [[multiracial democracy]] within 2 years.
* [[February 19]] – [[Egyptian raid on Larnaca International Airport]]: [[Sa'ka Forces|Egyptian Special Forces]] attempt to rescue several hostages in Larnaca, Cyprus; 20 Egyptian commandos are injured or killed.
* [[February 25]] – The [[1978 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|first Legislative Assembly election]] is held in [[Arunachal Pradesh]], India.
* [[February 27]] – The first [[global positioning satellite]], the [[Rockwell International]]-built [[GPS satellite blocks#Block I satellites|Navstar 1]], is launched by the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aldridge |first=Robert C. |title=First Strike!: The Pentagon's Strategy for Nuclear War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x__CgnLTLqkC&pg=PA122 |year=1983 |publisher=[[South End Press]] |location=[[Boston]] |isbn=978-0-89608-154-3 |page=122 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== March ===
{{Main|March 1978}}
* [[March 1]] – [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.<ref name="ArafatBBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20507503|title=Yasser Arafat: 10 other people who have been exhumed|date=November 27, 2012|access-date=November 27, 2012|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
* [[March 2]] – ''[[Soyuz 28]]'' ([[Aleksei Gubarev]], [[Vladimír Remek]]) is launched on a rendezvous with ''[[Salyut 6]]'', with the first cosmonaut from a country other than the US or USSR (Czechoslovakian Vladimír Remek).
* [[March 3]]
** [[Ethiopia]] admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of [[Cuba]]n soldiers, against [[Somalia]]n troops in the [[Ogaden]].
** [[Rhodesia]] attacks [[Zambia]].
** The ''[[New York Post]]'' publishes an article about [[David Rorvik]]'s book ''The Cloning of Man'', about a supposed [[human cloning|cloning of a human being]].
* [[March 8]] – The first radio episode of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', by [[Douglas Adams]], is transmitted on [[BBC Radio 4]].
* [[March 10]] – ''[[Soyuz 28]]'' lands.
* [[March 11]]
** [[Coastal Road massacre]]: [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] [[terrorism|terrorists]] kill 34 [[Israel]]is.
** [[Claude François]], French entertainer born 1939, dies by electrocution in his home in [[Paris]].
* [[March 14]] – [[Operation Litani]]: [[Israel]]i forces invade [[Lebanon]].
* [[March 15]] – [[Somalia]] and [[Ethiopia]] sign a truce to end the [[Ethio-Somali War]].
* [[March 16]] – Former Italian Premier [[Aldo Moro]] is kidnapped by the [[Red Brigades]]; 5 bodyguards are killed.
* [[March 17]] – An oil tanker, ''[[Amoco Cadiz]]'', runs aground on the coast of [[Brittany]].
* [[March 18]]
** [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]], [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]], is sentenced to death by hanging, for ordering the assassination of a political opponent.
** [[California Jam II]] is held at the [[Ontario Motor Speedway]] in [[Ontario, California]], attracting more than 300,000 fans.
* [[March 22]] – [[Karl Wallenda]] of [[The Flying Wallendas]] dies, after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]].
* [[March 26]] – The [[control tower]] and some other facilities of [[Narita International Airport|New Tokyo International Airport]], which were scheduled to open on March 31, are illegally occupied and damaged in a terrorist attack by [[New Left]] activists, forcing a rescheduling of its opening date to May 20.
* [[March 28]]
** [[San Francisco]]'s City Council signs the United States's most comprehensive [[gay rights]] bill.
** ''[[Stump v. Sparkman]]'' (435 U.S. 349): The [[Supreme Court of the United States]] hands down a 5–3 decision, in a controversial case involving involuntary [[Human sterilization|sterilization]] and [[judicial immunity]].

=== April ===
{{Main|April 1978}}
* [[April 1]]
** [[New Zealand National Airways Corporation]] (the domestic airline of New Zealand) is merged with New Zealand's international airline, [[Air New Zealand]].
** [[Dick Smith (entrepreneur)|Dick Smith]] of [[Dick Smith Foods]] tows a fake [[iceberg]] to [[Sydney Harbour]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hoaxes.org/af_database/permalink/the_sydney_iceberg/ |last=Boese |first=Alex |title=The Sydney Iceberg (April Fool's Day - 1978) |year=2015 |website=[[The Museum of Hoaxes]] |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref>
** The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, is converted to the [[Polytechnic University of the Philippines]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Marcos |first=Ferdinand E. |author-link=Ferdinand Marcos |title=Presidential Decree No. 1341 |work=PHILIPPINE LAWS, STATUTES and CODES |url=https://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno1341.html#.YSMS_0uSmUl |date=1 April 1978 |publisher=Chan Robles Virtual Law Library |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 2]] – ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' debuts on [[CBS]], and gives birth to the modern day primetime soap opera.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dallasdecoder.com/2012/04/02/critique-dallas-episode-1-diggers-daughter/ |last=Baker |first=Chris |title=Critique: 'Dallas' Episode 1 – 'Digger's Daughter' |date=2 April 2012 |website=Dallas Decoder |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 3]] – The [[50th Academy Awards]] are held at the [[Dorothy Chandler Pavilion]] in [[Los Angeles]], with ''[[Annie Hall]]'' winning [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1978 |website=[[Oscars.org]] |date=5 October 2014 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978 |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 7]] – U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]] decides to postpone production of the [[neutron bomb]], a weapon that kills people with radiation, but leaves buildings relatively intact.<ref>{{cite news |title=BBC ON THIS DAY <nowiki>|</nowiki> 7 April <nowiki>|</nowiki> 1978: Carter delays N-bomb production |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/7/newsid_2523000/2523051.stm |year=2008 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 9]] – [[Somalia|Somali]] [[Military of Somalia|military officers]] stage an unsuccessful coup against the government of [[Siad Barre]]; security forces thwart the attempt within hours, and several conspirators are arrested.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/10/archives/new-jersey-pages-somali-regime-says-it-crushed-a-revolt-by-military.html |title=SOMALI REGIME SAYS IT CRUSHED A REVOLT BY MILITARY OFFICERS |date=10 April 1978 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 14]] – [[1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations]]: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against an attempt by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] authorities to change the constitutional status of the [[Georgian language]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/inside/publications/0419dissertation.pdf |last=Cornell |first=Svante E. |author-link=Svante Cornell |title=Autonomy and Conflict: Ethnoterritoriality and Separatism in the South Caucasus – Cases in Georgia. Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Report No. 61 |page=150 |year=2002 |isbn=91-506-1600-5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630141309/http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/inside/publications/0419dissertation.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2007 |publisher=[[Uppsala University]] |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 18]] – The U.S. Senate votes, 68–32, to turn the [[Panama Canal]] over to [[Panama]]nian control on December 31, [[1999]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Milestones: 1977–1980: The Panama Canal and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/panama-canal |publisher=[[Office of the Historian]], [[Foreign Service Institute]], [[United States Department of State]] |access-date=28 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 18]]– [[April 30|30]] – The [[Khmer Rouge]] massacres 3,157 civilians in [[Ba Chúc]], Vietnam.<ref>{{cite news |title=MEANWHILE: When the Khmer Rouge came to kill in Vietnam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/07/opinion/meanwhile-when-the-khmer-rouge-came-to-kill-in-vietnam.html |last=Pringle |first=James |author-link= |work=The New York Times |date=7 January 2004 |access-date=11 March 2024}}</ref>
* [[April 20]] – A Soviet air defense plane shoots down [[Korean Air Lines Flight 902]]; the plane makes an emergency landing on a frozen lake.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/23/archives/south-korean-plane-plunged-30000-feet-after-being-fired-on-several.html |last=Apple |first=R. W. Jr. |author-link=R. W. Apple Jr. |title=SOUTH KOREAN PLANE PLUNGED 30,000 FEET AFTER BEING FIRED ON |work=The New York Times |date=23 April 1978 |access-date=19 August 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 22]]
** Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta win the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1978]] for [[Israel]] with their song ''A-Ba-Ni-Bi''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/paris-1978 |title=Paris 1978 |website=[[Eurovision Song Contest]] |publisher=[[EBU]] |access-date=19 August 2021}}</ref>
** The [[One Love Peace Concert]] is held at National Heroes Stadium in [[Kingston, Jamaica]]. [[Bob Marley]] unites two opposing political leaders at this concert, bringing peace to the civil war-ridden streets of the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://dancecrasher.co.uk/peaceconcert.html |last=Griffith |first=Pat |title=Marley meets Manley as "One Love" triumphs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050908052432/http://dancecrasher.co.uk/peaceconcert.html |archive-date=8 September 2005 |journal=[[Echoes (magazine)|Black Echoes]] |date=May 1978 |page=12 |access-date=28 August 2021 |via=Dance Crasher}}</ref>
* [[April 25]] – [[St. Paul, Minnesota]] becomes the second U.S. city to repeal its gay rights ordinance, after [[Anita Bryant]]'s successful 1977 anti-gay campaign in [[Miami-Dade County, Florida]].
* [[April 27]]
** [[Saur Revolution]] – [[Republic of Afghanistan (1973-1978)|Afghanistan]]'s president [[Mohammad Daoud Khan]] and his family are murdered; [[Nur Muhammad Taraki]] succeeds him, beginning the [[Afghanistan conflict (1978–present)|Afghan war]] which has not ended yet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyguy.com/afghan_civil_war.html |title=The Afghan Civil War (1978–Present) |publisher=Historyguy.com}}</ref>
** [[Willow Island disaster]] – In the deadliest construction accident in United States history, 51 construction workers are killed when a [[cooling tower]] under construction collapses at the [[Pleasants Power Station]] in [[Willow Island, West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/28/archives/51-killed-in-collapse-of-scaffold-at-power-plant-in-west-virginia.html |last=Peterson |first=Iver |title=51 Killed in Collapse of Scaffold At Power Plant in West Virginia |date=28 April 1978 |work=The New York Times |page=A1 |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref>
* [[April 30]] – The "[[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]" is proclaimed, under pro-communist leader [[Nur Muhammad Taraki]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdgnEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22abdul+qadir+nuristani%22&pg=PR45 |last1=Johnson |first1=Thomas H. |author-link1=Thomas Howard Johnson |last2=Adamec |first2=Ludwig W. |author-link2=Ludwig W. Adamec |title=Chronology |dictionary=Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan |edition=Fifth |series=Historical dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East |location=[[Lanham, Maryland|Lanham]], [[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder]], [[New York City|New York]], [[London]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2021 |page=xlv |isbn=9781538149294 |access-date=25 August 2021}}</ref>

=== May ===
{{Main|May 1978}}
* [[May 4]]
** The [[Battle of Cassinga]] occurs in southern [[Angola]].
** [[Communist]] activist [[Henri Curiel]] is murdered in Paris.
* [[May 8]]
** Norway opens a [[natural gas]] field, in the [[Arctic Ocean|Polar Sea]].
** [[Reinhold Messner]] (Italy) and [[Peter Habeler]] (Austria) make the first ascent of Mount Everest, without supplemental oxygen.
* [[May 9]] – In Rome, the corpse of former Italian prime minister [[Aldo Moro]], is found in a red [[Renault 4]].
* [[May 12]] – In [[Zaire]], rebels occupy the city of [[Kolwezi]], the mining centre of the province of [[Katanga Province|Shaba]]. The Zairean government asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
* [[May 12]]–[[May 13|13]] – A group of [[mercenary|mercenaries]], led by [[Bob Denard]], oust [[Ali Soilih]] in the [[Comoros]]; ten local soldiers are killed. Denard forms a new government.
* [[May 15]] 
** Students of the [[University of Tehran]] riot in [[Tabriz]]; the army stops the riot.
** First [[Timezone (video arcades)|Timezone]] Opens in [[Perth, Western Australia]]
* [[May 17]] – [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s coffin is found some {{convert|15|km|mi}} from the cemetery from which it was stolen, near Lake Geneva.<ref name="ArafatBBC"/>
* [[May 18]]
** Soviet dissident [[Yuri Orlov]] is sentenced to 7 years' hard labor, for distributing 'counterrevolutionary material'.
** [[Sarajevo]] is selected to host the [[1984 Winter Olympics]], and Los Angeles is selected to host the [[1984 Summer Olympics]].
* [[May 18]]–[[May 19|19]] – Belgian and French paratroopers fly to Zaire, to aid the fight against the rebels.
* [[May 19]]–[[May 20|20]] – [[French Foreign Legion]] [[paratrooper]]s land in [[Kolwezi]], [[Zaire]], to rescue Europeans in the middle of a civil war.
* [[May 20]] – [[Mavis Hutchinson]], 53, becomes the first woman to run across the U.S.; her trek took 69 days.
* [[May 22]] – Exiled leaders [[Ahmed Abdallah]] and [[Muhammad Ahmad]] return to the [[Comoros]].
* [[May 23]] – American basketball player center [[Bill Walton]] of the [[Portland Trail Blazers]] was named the [[National Basketball Association]] regular season MVP.
* [[May 25]]
** First [[Unabomber]] attack: A bomb explodes in the security section of [[Northwestern University]], wounding a security guard.
** In a rematch of the previous season, the [[Montreal Canadiens]] again defeat the [[Boston Bruins]], this time four games to two, to win the [[Stanley Cup]].
* [[May 26]] – In [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], Resorts International, the first legal [[casino]] in the eastern United States, opens.
* [[May 28]] – [[Indianapolis 500]]: [[Al Unser]] wins his third race, and the first for car owner [[Jim Hall (racing driver)|Jim Hall]].
* [[May 29]] – [[Ali Soilih]] is found dead in the [[Comoros]], allegedly shot when trying to escape.

=== June ===
{{Main|June 1978}}
* [[June 1]] – The [[1978 FIFA World Cup]] starts in [[Argentina]].
* [[June 2]]  – [[Japan Air Lines Flight 123#1978 tailstrike incident|Japan Air Lines 115]] had its tail struck on the runway on the airport it landed in. The same aircraft would be involved in a 2nd accident 7 years later
* [[June 10]] – [[Affirmed]] holds off [[Alydar]] to win the [[Belmont Stakes]] and becomes the last horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown of Horse Racing until [[2015]].
* [[June 15]] – King [[Hussein of Jordan]] marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby, who takes the name [[Queen Noor of Jordan|Queen Noor]].
* [[June 19]] 
** England cricketer [[Ian Botham]] becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.
** ''[[Garfield]]'s'' first [[comic strip]], originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, goes into nationwide [[Print syndication|syndication]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Garfield {{!}} comic strip by Davis {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Garfield |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
* [[June 20]] – The 6.2 {{M|w|link=y}} [[1978 Thessaloniki earthquake|Thessaloniki earthquake]] shakes [[Northern Greece]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of IX (''Violent''). Fifty people were killed.
* [[June 21]]
** A shootout between [[Provisional IRA]] members and the British Army in Northern Ireland leaves one civilian and three IRA men dead.
** [[1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown]]: Iranian helicopters stray into Soviet airspace and are shot down.
* [[June 22]] – [[Charon (moon)|Charon]], a satellite of [[Pluto]], is discovered.
* [[June 24]] – The Gay & Lesbian Solidarity March is held in Sydney, Australia to mark the 9th Anniversary of the [[Stonewall riots]] (which later becomes the annual [[Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras]]; later incorporating a festival).
* [[June 25]]
** [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] defeats [[Netherlands national football team|the Netherlands]] 3–1 after [[extra time]] to win the [[1978 FIFA World Cup]].
** The [[Rainbow flag (LGBT)|rainbow flag]] of the [[LGBT]] movement flies for the first time (in its original form) at the [[San Francisco Pride|San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade]].
* [[June 26]] – A bombing by [[Breton nationalist]]s causes destruction in the [[Palace of Versailles]].
* [[June 30]] – [[Ethiopia]] begins a massive offensive in [[Eritrea]].

=== July ===
{{Main|July 1978}}
* [[July 1]] – Australia's [[Northern Territory]] is granted [[Self-governance|self-government]].
* [[July 3]] – The [[Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization|Amazon Co-operation Treaty]] (ACT) is signed.
* [[July 7]] – The [[Solomon Islands]] become independent from the United Kingdom.
* [[July 11]] – At least 217 tourists die in an [[Los Alfaques disaster|explosion of a tanker-truck at a campsite]] in [[Costa Daurada]], Spain.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chernov |first1=Dmitry |last2=Sornette |first2=Didier |title=Critical Risks of Different Economic Sectors: Based on the Analysis of More Than 500 Incidents, Accidents and Disasters |date=3 December 2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-25034-8 |page=170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZnBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA170 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[July 24]] – In [[Acapulco]], [[Mexico]], [[Margaret Gardiner (beauty queen)|Margaret Gardiner]] of [[South Africa]] is crowned [[Miss Universe]].
* [[July 25]] – [[Louise Brown]], the world's first [[test tube baby]], is born in [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], UK.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3077913.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |first=Martin |last=Hutchinson |title=I helped deliver Louise |date=July 24, 2003}}</ref>

=== August ===
{{Main|August 1978}}
* [[August 6]] – [[Pope Paul VI]] dies, at [[Castel Gandolfo]].
* [[August 12]] – The [[Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China]] is concluded.
* [[August 17]] – ''[[Double Eagle II]]'' becomes the first balloon to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean, flying from [[Presque Isle, Maine]], to [[Miserey]], France.
* [[August 22]] 
**[[Sandinista]]s seize the Nicaraguan National Palace.
** Kenya's first president and founding father, [[Jomo Kenyatta]] dies aged 89 in [[Mombasa]].
* [[August 26]] – [[Pope John Paul I]] succeeds Pope Paul VI as the 263rd Pope.

=== September ===
{{Main|September 1978}}
[[File:Sadat Carter Begin, Camp David 1978.gif|thumb|250px|[[September 6]]: [[Anwar Sadat]], [[Jimmy Carter]], and [[Menachem Begin]] meet on the Aspen Cabin patio at [[Camp David]].]]
* [[September 5]] – [[Camp David Accords]]: Hosted by U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]], Israel's Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]] and Egypt's President [[Anwar Sadat]] met at [[Camp David]] in [[Maryland]] to discuss a peace agreement between the two nations.
* [[September 7]] – In [[London]], UK, a poison-filled pellet, supposedly injected using an umbrella, fatally poisons [[Bulgaria]]n [[defector]] [[Georgi Markov]]; he dies four days later.
* [[September 8]] – Iranian Army troops [[Black Friday (1978)|open fire]] on rioters in [[Tehran]], killing 122, wounding 4,000.
* [[September 12]] – The Declaration of Alma Ata is signed and released in the Capital City of Kazakh, USSR. Known as the core document on Primary Health Care Practices and Equity in Healthcare, it paved the way for the modern-day State-sponsored Healthcare System.
* [[September 16]]
** The 7.4 {{M|w|link=y}} [[1978 Tabas earthquake|Tabas earthquake]] killed at least 15,000 people in the city of [[Tabas]] in [[Iran]]. The quake was measured with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of IX (Violent). 
** General [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] officially assumes the post of [[President of Pakistan]].
* [[September 17]] – The [[Camp David Accords]] are signed between Israel and Egypt.
* [[September 19]]
** Police in the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] of England launch a massive murder hunt, when 13-year-old newspaper boy [[Carl Bridgewater]] is shot dead after disturbing a burglary.
** The [[Solomon Islands]] join the United Nations.<ref>{{cite book |author=United Nations Department of Public Information |title=Yearbook of the United Nations 2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_iqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1462 |date=31 December 2015 |publisher=[[United Nations]] |isbn=978-92-1-057510-2 |pages=1462}}</ref>
* [[September 20]] – General [[Rahimuddin Khan]] assumes the post of [[martial law]] Governor of [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]].
* [[September 23]] – [[California Angels]] outfielder [[Lyman Bostock]] is shot to death at age 27 while visiting friends in [[Gary, Indiana]] during an Angels' road trip in [[Chicago, Illinois]].
* [[September 24]] – [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s opera ''[[Otello]]'' makes its first appearance on ''[[Live from the Met]]'', in a complete production of the opera starring [[Jon Vickers]]. This is the first complete television broadcast of the opera in the U.S. since the historic 1948 one.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
* [[September 25]] – [[PSA Flight 182]], a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in [[San Diego]], [[California]]; 144 are killed.
* [[September 27]] – The last [[Forest Brothers|Forest Brother]] [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] movement fighter is discovered and killed in [[Estonia]].
* [[September 28]] – [[Pope John Paul I]] dies after only 33 days as the Roman Catholic Pontiff.
* [[September 30]] – [[Finnair Flight 405]] aircraft is hijacked by Aarno Lamminparras in [[Oulu]], [[Finland]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Lauri |last=Puintila |title=Kaappari Lamminparras: Suomen ensimmäisen konekaappauksen tarina |publisher=[[Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö|WSOY]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-951-0-35501-5 |language=fi}}</ref>
* September – Attempted poisoning of 500 members of the [[African National Congress]] by South African government infiltrators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2652 |author=[[African National Congress]] |title=The ANC's second submission to the TRC: Operations Report – 2.2. June 1976 |location=[[Kabwe]] |year=1985 |access-date=May 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007224203/http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2652 |archive-date=October 7, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== October ===
{{Main|October 1978}}
* [[October 1]]
** [[Vietnam]] attacks [[Cambodia]].
** [[Tuvalu]] becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
* [[October 2]] – ''[[Mommie Dearest]]'', written by [[Christina Crawford]] that discusses her adoptive mother [[Joan Crawford]]'s abusive nature, is published. It is the first celebrity tell-all [[memoir]].
* [[October 7]] – ''Wranslide'' in [[New South Wales]]: the [[Neville Wran|Wran]] government is re-elected with an increased majority.
* [[October 8]] – Australia's [[Ken Warby]] sets the current world [[water speed record]] of 317.6&nbsp;mph (511.13&nbsp;km/h) at Blowering Dam, Australia.
* [[October 9]] – [[P. W. Botha|P.W. Botha]] succeeds [[B. J. Vorster|John Vorster]] as [[Prime Minister of South Africa]].<ref name="RSA"/>
* [[October 10]]
** [[Daniel arap Moi]] becomes president of [[Kenya]].
** [[B. J. Vorster|John Vorster]] becomes [[State President of South Africa]].<ref name="RSA">[http://www.archontology.org/nations/south_africa/sa_pres1 A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Heads of State: 1961–1994], Archontology.org; accessed April 14, 2017.</ref>
** A massive short circuit in [[Seasat]]'s electrical system ends the satellite's scientific mission.
** United States President [[Jimmy Carter]] signs a bill that authorizes the minting of the [[Susan B. Anthony dollar]].
* [[October 13]] – The [[Soviet Union]] launches a major [[Russification]] campaign throughout all union republics.
* [[October 14]] – U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]] signs a bill into law which allows [[homebrewing]] of [[beer in the United States]].
* [[October 16]] – [[Pope John Paul II]] succeeds [[Pope John Paul I]] as the 264th pope, resulting in the first [[Year of Three Popes]] since 1605. He is the first Polish pope in history, and the first non-Italian pope since [[Pope Adrian VI]] (1522–1523).
* [[October 18]] – [[Thorbjörn Fälldin]] steps down as Prime Minister of Sweden, and is succeeded by [[Ola Ullsten]], the Leader of the liberal People's Party ("''Folkpartiet''").
* [[October 20]] – The first [[Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras]] is held as a protest march and commemoration of the [[Stonewall riots]].
* [[October 21]] – Australian civilian pilot [[Disappearance of Frederick Valentich|Frederick Valentich]] vanishes in a [[Cessna 182 Skylane]] over the [[Bass Strait]] south of [[Melbourne]], after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.<ref name=CSICOP>{{cite web |last=Nickell |first=Joe |title=The Valentich Disappearance: Another UFO Cold Case Solved|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_valentich_disappearance_another_ufo_cold_case_solved |work=Volume 37.6, November/December 2013 |date=November 2013 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref>
* [[October 27]] – Egyptian President [[Anwar Sadat]] and Israeli Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]] win the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.
* [[October 31]] – The [[South African Railways]] sets a still unbeaten [[Land speed record for rail vehicles|world rail speed record]] on [[Cape gauge]].<ref name="Paxton-Bourne">{{Paxton-Bourne|pages=128–29}}</ref>

=== November ===
{{Main|November 1978}}
* [[November 2]]: 8:00 pm – The [[Republic of Ireland]]'s second television channel [[RTÉ Two|RTÉ 2]] goes on air (renamed Network 2, [[1988]]; RTÉ Network Two, [[1995]]; N2, [[1997]]; and RTÉ Two in [[2004]]).
* [[November 3]] – [[Dominica]] gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
* [[November 5]] – [[Indira Gandhi]] is elected to the Indian parliament for the first time in 20 months after winning a by-election.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mrs. Gandhi, in Comeback, Wins Seat in Parliament |agency=AP |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=November 8, 1978 |page=I-5}}</ref>
* [[November 18]] – In [[Guyana]], [[Jim Jones]] leads his [[Peoples Temple]] cult in a mass [[murder–suicide]] in his commune, [[Jonestown]], that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at [[Jonestown]] itself, including over 270 children. [[Leo Ryan|Representative Leo J. Ryan]] is assassinated by members of Peoples Temple shortly beforehand.
* [[November 24]] – China starts an experimental "[[household responsibility system]]", in [[Anhui|Anhui Province]].
* [[November 26]] – Two British [[commercial diver]]s, Michael Ward and Tony Prangley, die of [[hypothermia]] and drowning in the [[East Shetland Basin]] after their [[diving bell]] [[Star Canopus diving accident|plunges to the seabed]] at a depth of over {{Convert|100|m}}.<ref name="Limbrick">{{cite book|title=North Sea Divers – a Requiem|last=Limbrick|first=Jim|pages=157–58|location=Hertford|publisher=Authors OnLine|year=2001|isbn=0-7552-0036-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPp68NAoUF0C&pg=PA157}}</ref>
* [[November 27]] – [[Moscone-Milk assassinations]]:  San Francisco Mayor [[George Moscone]] and Supervisor [[Harvey Milk]] are assassinated by disgruntled former Supervisor [[Dan White]].

=== December ===
{{Main|December 1978}}
* [[December 4]] – [[Dianne Feinstein]] succeeds the murdered [[George Moscone]], to become the first woman mayor of [[San Francisco]]; she will remain in office until January 8, 1988.
* [[December 6]] – The [[Spanish Constitution of 1978|Spanish Constitution]] officially restores the country's democratic government.<ref>{{cite web |title=Spain starts a new post-Franco era - archive, 1978 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2018/jun/01/spain-constitution-new-era-1978 |website=The Guardian |access-date=8 March 2022 |language=en |date=1 June 2018}}</ref>
* [[December 11]]
** [[Lufthansa heist]]: Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City's [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]].
** Two million demonstrate against the Shah in [[Iran]].
*[[December 15]] – ''[[Superman (1978 film)|Superman: The Movie]]'' is released in cinemas in the United States.
* [[December 16]]
** Train 87 from [[Nanjing]] to [[Xining]] collides with train 368 from [[Xi'an]] to [[Xuzhou]] near Yangzhuang railway station in China, killing 106, injuring 218.
** ''[[The Mystery of Mamo]]'' is released in cinemas in Japan.
* [[December 19]] – Former [[Prime Minister of India]] [[Indira Gandhi]] is arrested and jailed for a week for breach of privilege and contempt of parliament.
* [[December 22]]
** The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for [[Chinese economic reform]].
** Chicago serial killer [[John Wayne Gacy]], who was subsequently convicted of the murder of 33 young men and boys committed between 1972 and 1978, is arrested.
** [[Argentina]] begins [[Operation Soberanía]] against [[Chile]], but Argentinian forces quickly withdraw.
* [[December 25]] – [[Vietnam]] launches a major offensive against the [[Khmer Rouge]] of [[Cambodia]].
* [[December 27]] – The [[Spanish Constitution of 1978|Constitution of Spain]] is approved in a referendum, officially ending 40 years of military [[dictatorship]].

=== Date unknown ===
* [[Myriodontium keratinophilum]] is first isolated in Italy during the screening of soil [[Microorganisms|microbes]].<ref name="samson1978">{{cite journal|last1=Samson|first1=Robert|last2=Polonelli|first2=Luciano|title=Myriodontium keratinophilum|journal=Persoonia|date=1978|volume=9|pages=505–509}}</ref>
* Synthetic [[insulin]] is developed.
* Romanian painter [[Doina Bumbea]] is abducted by the North Korean government.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/400381/n-korea-kidnap-victim-brother-wants-pyongyang-to-come-clean|title=N. Korea kidnap victim's brother wants Pyongyang to come clean|newspaper=[[Bangkok Post]]|date=17 March 2014}}</ref>
* [[Abortion]] is legalized in Italy for the first time.
* In [[Seoul]], South Korea, construction begins on [[Seoul Subway Line 2]].