1979 For the first time in history a woman Margaret
Thatcher is elected Prime minister in the UK. As technology becomes smaller
Sony released the Walkman a worldwide success costing $200 which at that
time was a significant amount of money. Also the first Snowboard is invented
in the USA. The bombing by the IRA in England continues with Lord Mountbatten
and three others assassinated. Following the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini Iran becomes an Islamic Republic and 63 Americans are taken hostage
in the American Embassy in Tehran
Cost of Living 1979
How Much things cost in 1979
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 11.2%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 838
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 15.25%
Average Cost of new house $58,100.00
Average Income per year $17,500.00
Average Monthly Rent $280.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 86 cents
Sony Walkman $200.00
Jox Trainers $14.99
What Events Happened in 1979
USSR Invades
Afghanistan
Margaret Thatcher elected Prime minister
in UK
Severe Atlantic Storm hits Fastnet International
Yacht Race and a number of boats and crew are lost
Following the Burgess, Mclean, Philby and
Sir Anthony Blunt Spy Scandal he is stripped of his knighthood
SALT II arms limitation Talks signed
by US and USSR
Eleven fans are killed and dozens are injured
at a WHO Concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio
Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
after fire at reactor in Pennsylvania US
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns
to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile and takes over the Iranian
law enforcement, courts and government administration and Khomeini seizes
power in Iran
63 Americans are taken hostage in the
American Embassy in Tehran
Iran's government becomes Islamic Republic
when the Shah of Persia is forced to leave
The Dictator Idi Amin is deposed in
Uganda
A mob attack destroys the US Embassy in Islamabad,
Pakistan
The Sahara Desert experiences snow for 30
minutes.
13 Tornadoes ripped through Texas and
Oklahoma
The first black-led government of Rhodesia
in 90 years takes power and the countries name is changed to Zimbabwe,
Pope John Paul II visits his native
Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country
President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and Vice President
Saddam Hussein replaces him in Iraq
The first British nudist beach is established
in Brighton
Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem
Begin sign the first peace treaty between an Arab nation and the Jewish
state
Lord Mountbatten and three others assassinated
by the I.R.A.. He was a British admiral, statesman and an uncle of Prince
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
23 people die in Nice, France, when
the coastal town is hit by a tsunami
The Sandinista National Liberation Front overthrow
the regime in the central American republic of Nicaragua
3000 Iranian radicals, mostly students, invade
the United States embassy in Tehran and take 90 hostages
China institutes the one child per family
rule to help control it's exploding population
The worlds first anthrax epidemic begins
in Ekaterinburg, Russia following a biological weapons plant accident
"American Airlines Flight 191"
crashed and exploded in a field near O'Hare International Airport in
Chicago
The price of oil reaches a new record
of $24 per barrel
The British Conservative MP Airey Neave is
killed by a car bomb
Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto is executed
Popular Culture 1979
Popular Films
Superman The
Movie
Every Which Way But Loose
Rocky II
Alien
The Amityville Horror
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Moonraker
The Muppet Movie
The Deer Hunter
Kramer vs. Kramer
Popular Musicians
Bee Gees with
" Love you Inside Out "
Rod Stewart
Gloria Gaynor with " I will Survive "
Blondie with " heart of Glass "
Michael Jackson
The Eagles
Commodores
Pink Floyd
The Police
Village People
Boomtown Rats
Popular TV Programs
All My Children
Masterpiece Theatre
Old Grey Whistle Test
M*A*S*H
The Price Is Right
The Waltons
The Young and the Restless
Happy Days
Little House on the Prairie
Saturday Night Live
Charlie's Angels
Family Feud
Quincy, M.E.
The Muppet Show
The Love Boat
Three's Company
Dallas
Diff'rent Strokes
Mork amd Mindy
Taxi
Technology 1979
VisiCalc becomes
the first spreadsheet program.
Sony introduces the Sony Walkman costing $200.00
Voyager I photo reveals Jupiter's rings
The European Space Agency launches Ariane
1
Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country
( or attributed to First Use )