Editing 1978 (section)

=== 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>