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October 1978

Month of 1978 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 1978
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The following events occurred in October 1978:

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October 16, 1978: Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Poland elected as the first non-Italian Pope in more than 450 years
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October 1, 1978 (Sunday)

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The flag of Tuvalu
  • The nation of Tuvalu, formerly the British colony of the Ellice Islands, became independent from, but remained in association with, the United Kingdom. Sir Toaripi Lauti became the first prime minister of the South Pacific set of islands and Sir Fiatau Penitala Teo became the first Governor-General as representative of the constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
  • The People's Republic of China and the ruling Chinese Communist Party inaugurated the "Democracy Wall" ( 西单民主墙, Xīdān mínzhǔ qiáng) in Beijing, allowing civilians to freely place their opinions on posters on the city's Xidan Wall, without the prospect of reprisal.[1] The approved Wall was consistent with recommendations made on August 18, 1977 for encouraging limited freedom of speech and debate, with the slogan "To liberate thought, to provide the best service to the people, are the duties of CCP members."
  • To defuse the growing public dissent in Iran, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi announced a general amnesty to all dissidents living outside of Iran, including the Ayatollah Khomeini,[2] but the decree came too late to stop the Iranian Revolution.
  • Voters in the island nation of the Comoros overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, changing the form of government and renaming their country the "Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros".[3]
  • In eastern India, 88 people were killed when a crowded bus fell into a flooded ravine in the remote South 24 Parganas district of the state of West Bengal. The bus driver was attempting to avoid hitting a cow and ran off of the road.[4]
  • In Canada, a fire at the Ripple Cove Inn at Ayer's Cliff, Quebec, killed eight vacationers and left eight others injured and four missing.[5]
  • Born: Katie Aselton, American TV actress known for The League; in Milbridge, Maine
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October 2, 1978 (Monday)

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Allen's mug shot after 1978 arrest
  • American comedian Tim Allen was arrested in Traverse City, Michigan after he and a friend, Gerald Mead, sold 650 grams (1.43 lb) of cocaine to under cover officers of the Michigan State Police.[10] Allen was charged with drug trafficking under his real name, Timothy Alan Dick.[11] Pleading guilty to felony charges and agreeing to become an informant, Allen was sentenced to at least three years in the federal prison in Sandstone, Minnesota and released after serving 28 months. After turning his life around, Allen would go on to success as a comedian, the star of the hit TV sitcom Home Improvement, and a bestselling author.
  • Born: Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese pop singer known as "The Empress of J-pop"; in Fukuoka
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October 3, 1978 (Tuesday)

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October 4, 1978 (Wednesday)

  • The funeral of Pope John Paul I was held in Saint Peter's Square in Rome.[21]
  • The FBI arrested two men who had furnished detailed plans to an undercover agent whom they were attempting to recruit for a 12-man crew, with a goal of stealing the U.S. Navy attack submarine USS Trepang (SSN-674), equipped with nuclear missiles, from its base in New London, Connecticut. According to the plan, given to the FBI agent at a meeting in St. Louis, the men planned to board a sub tender at New London, use plastique explosives to sink it and block the harbor, and possibly to fire a nuclear missile at New London or another U.S. city. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral David Cooney commented, "No 12 people off the street are ever going to operate a submarine like this."[22]
  • Born: Phillip Glasser, American voice actor best known for portraying "Fievel" in An American Tail and its sequels; in Tarzana, California
  • Died: Rocky Dennis, 16, American teenager who had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia who became the basis for the 1985 film Mask.[23]
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October 5, 1978 (Thursday)

  • Sweden's Prime Minister Thorbjörn Fälldin announced his resignation along with his cabinet of ministers after a disagreement on whether Sweden should build two additional nuclear reactors to join the six already operating. His coalition of the Center, Conservative and Liberal parties had been elected in 1976 as the first government since 1932 not to include the Social Democrats. "All parties in a coalition must be able to compromise," Fälldin told reporters, "but no coalition party should demand of another to extinguish its soul."[24] Fälldin's government remained as caretakers until October 18, when a new government was formed by Ola Ullsten.
  • The Environmental Modification Convention, signed on May 18, 1977, and meant to ban contemporary and future weather modification technology in warfare, became effective upon ratification by 20 nations.
  • The Jesus Is Lord Church, which claims one million members in 60 nations,[25] was founded in Manila by Professor Eddie Villanueva of the Philippine College of Commerce, with 15 students as its members.
  • The New York Post became the first of New York City's three major daily newspapers resume publication after News Corp, owned by magnate Rupert Murdoch, reached an agreement with the pressman's union. The Post had last appeared on August 9, the day before the strike against the three dailies.[26]
  • Isaac Bashevis Singer, a Polish-born American Jewish writer of short stories, novels and children's books, was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.[27]
  • Born: James Valentine, American guitarist for Maroon 5; in Lincoln, Nebraska
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October 6, 1978 (Friday)

  • During Operation Unitas in Chile, a joint training exercise by the navies of the United States, Peru and Chile, a U.S. Navy R6 transport crashed into a hill while attempting to land at Santiago, killing all 16 people aboard. The airplane was flying at 2,600 feet (790 m) when it hit the side of the 3,000-foot (910 m) high mountain.[28]
  • The sudden collapse of a steel cofferdam killed seven construction workers at the Lake Keowee reservoir near Pickens, South Carolina. The men had been inside the temporary watertight structure and 40 feet (12 m) lower than the surface to pump out water to allow work on the water system of Greenville County when the wall collapsed, drowning them. One worker who had been standing on the rim of the cofferdam survived after being washed 100 yards (91 m) out to the edge of the lake.[29]
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October 7, 1978 (Saturday)

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October 8, 1978 (Sunday)

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October 9, 1978 (Monday)

October 10, 1978 (Tuesday)

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October 11, 1978 (Wednesday)

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October 12, 1978 (Thursday)

  • The explosion of an oil tanker killed 76 people and injured 69 others at the Juron Shipyard in Singapore.[63] The Greek ship Spyros was in port for repairs, and the blast happened at 2:15 p.m. local time shortly after 150 Singaporean workers had returned to work after a lunch break. An investigation concluded that careless use of a cutting torch had caused a fire that ignited explosive vapors in the fuel tank at the back of the Spyros, causing the deadliest industrial accident in Singaporean history.
  • Punk rock star Sid Vicious (Simon John Ritchie) of the band Sex Pistols was arrested on charges of second-degree murder after his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, was found dead of a stab wound at the room at New York City's Hotel Chelsea, registered to "Mr. and Mrs. Simon Ritchie", with Spungen's wounds found to be rendered by Vicious's five-inch knife. Vicious was released from custody after posting a $50,000 bond, and died of a heroin overdose four months later before he could come to trial.[64]
  • Born: Manuchar Kvirkvelia, Georgian Greco-Roman wrestling champion, 2008 Olympic gold medalist and 2003 world championship gold medalist; in Ozurgeti, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union

October 13, 1978 (Friday)

  • The Soviet Union launched a major Russification campaign throughout the other 14 union republics, with the enactment of an unpublished resolution by the Soviet Council of Ministers, titled "On measures to further improve the teaching and learning of the Russian language in the Union Republics". Decree No. 835, mandating the teaching of Russian starting in first grade in non-Russian schools, was soon enacted at the republic level by the Councils of Ministers across the Soviet Union, declared that Russian was a "second native language" and the only means of participation in social life across the nation. Other decrees mandated that sessions of party organizations and legislative bodies would be conducted in Russian, and that national languages like Ukrainian, Belarusan, Lithuanian and others would be gradually removed from newspapers, radio and television.[65]
  • Brazil's Congress, with the support of President Ernesto Geisel, ended ten years of legalized human rights abuses with the enactment of Amendment No. 11 to the Brazilian Constitution. Effective January 1, 1979, the amendment revoked Institutional Act Number Five (AI-5), enacted by the military government on December 13, 1968.[66] AI-5 had suspended the right of habeas corpus, allowing the Congress of Brazil and state legislatures to be suspended by order of the president, authorizing the federal government to remove and arrest public officials, creating a board of censors to review music, films, stage plays and TV programs before publication or broadcasting, and giving instant effect to presidential decrees.
  • The first major reform of U.S. federal employment since 1939, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), was signed into law by U.S. President Carter after passing the Senate 87–1 and the House of Representatives 365–8.[67]
  • Ola Ullsten was approved as the new Prime Minister of Sweden after only 34 of the 349 members of the Riksdag voted for him. Although the vote on Ullsten was 39 in favor and 66 against, the Swedish constitution provided that a new prime minister could be elected as long as a majority of the Riksdag members— 175 – didn't vote against a candidate. Because 215 of the 320 Riksdag members who were present cast a vote of abstention, equivalent to being neither for or against Ullsten, the only candidate available, it became impossible for him to not be elected.[68] On October 18, Ullsten formed a new 19-member cabinet that included six women.[69]

October 14, 1978 (Saturday)

  • U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed a bill into law to allow homebrewing of beer in the United States.[70]
  • Daniel arap Moi, who had been the acting president of Kenya since the death of Jomo Kenyatta on August 22, was sworn into office to fill the remainder of Kenyatta's five-year term after no other candidate had sought election.[71]
  • Rescue from Gilligan's Island, a made-for-TV film on the NBC television network, became one of the highest rated shows of the week as a sequel, more than 11 years after the popular TV show Gilligan's Island had gone off the air. Almost all of the cast of the series was featured in the film as the characters were finally able to leave their "uncharted desert isle".[72] Though panned by critics[73] the NBC special outdrew its competition on the two other U.S. TV networks in the Nielsen ratings.[74]
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October 15, 1978 (Sunday)

  • Voting for the new President of Brazil was conducted by a 581-member Electoral College.[76] With 296 required for a majority, João Figueiredo of the ARENA Party (Aliança Renovadora Nacional or Alliance for Renewal of the Nation) received 355 votes, and Brazilian Army General Euler Bentes Monteiro of the MDB (Movimento Democrático Brasileiro or Brazilian Democratic Movement) got 226. Figueiredo promised that he would turn control over to a civilian president by 1985.[76][77]
  • A team of four women, members of a 20-woman all-female mountaineering team, reached the top of the world's 10th highest mountain, the 26,502 feet (8,078 m) Annapurna I in the Himalayas. The four became the first Americans and the first women to ever ascend the peak. Announcement of their ascent was made three days later.[78] Two of the women on the team were killed during their descent.[79]
  • Voting began in Vatican City for a successor to the late Pope John Paul I as the 111 members of the College of Cardinals assembled in a closed session of the Sistine Chapel. With two-thirds of the voters (75) required for election, Giuseppe Siri, a conservative cardinal, received 46 votes and Giovanni Benelli was second. After four ballots, the conclave adjourned.[80][81]
  • Died: W. Eugene Smith, 59, American photojournalist, died of a stroke[82]

October 16, 1978 (Monday)

  • Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Krakow, was elected as the 264th pope on the eighth ballot.[83] With non-Italian cardinals being considered following, Wojtyla received a few votes for the first time as balloting began, as did Johannes Willebrands of the Netherlands, who withdrew in favor of Wojtyla. On the eighth ballot, Wojtyla received 94 of the 111 votes cast.[80] Wojtyla, honoring his predecessor Pope John Paul I, took the regnal name Pope John Paul II as 1978 became the first "Year of Three Popes" since 1605. John Paul II of Poland became the first non-Italian pope since Pope Adrian VI in 1523.
  • Died: Dan Dailey, 62, American dancer, film and TV actor, winner of the Golden Globe Award in 1969, died of complications of hip surgery.[84]

October 17, 1978 (Tuesday)

October 18, 1978 (Wednesday)

  • Anatoly Karpov retained the World Chess Championship as challenger Viktor Korchnoi resigned from the 32nd game, allowing Karpov to win, 6 games to 5. Korchnoi, at one time down 2 games to 5 in a match that counted each draw as half-a-game win for both players, had rallied to tie the match, 5 games to 5.[95]
  • Thorbjörn Fälldin was succeeded as Prime Minister of Sweden by Ola Ullsten, the chairman of the liberal People's Party ("Folkpartiet"), who was able to form a new coalition government.
  • Canadian jockey David A. Gall tied a world record by winning 8 races on a single day's racecard. Gall finished in first place in all but two of the 10 races at Cahokia Downs in the U.S. state of Illinois, and narrowly missed winning a ninth race by placing second in a photo finish (a reporter noted that except for that race "there would not have been any need for asterisks").[96] Hubert Jones had won 8 of 13 races in 1944 at Agua Caliente in Tijuana in Mexico, and Jorge Tejeira had won 8 races out of 12, although at two different race courses in the same day.[96]

October 19, 1978 (Thursday)

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  • The Rhodesian Special Air Service and Rhodesian Light Infantry paratroopers began Operation Gatling, an invasion of neighboring Zambia, in a campaign to eradicate guerrillas of the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA).[97][98] As the attack began, Chris Dixon, who identified himself as "Green Leader", contacted the control tower of the Lusaka Airport and asked them to let the Zambian Air Force commander at Mumbwa that the Rhodesian forces were temporarily taking control of Zambian airspace, with an admonition that Rhodesia had no animosity toward Zambia but that the Rhodesians had orders to shoot down any Zambian Air Force planes that attempted to take off. The Zambian authorities kept all airplanes grounded until the attack on the ZIPRA camps was completed.[99]
  • Born: Lee Isaac Chung, American filmmaker and Golden Globe Award winner; in Denver[100]
  • Died: Gig Young (stage name for Byron Elsworth Barr), 64, American film and TV actor, committed suicide after murdering his wife. Young had married West German magazine editor Kim Schmidt only three weeks earlier, and the two were living in his luxury apartment at The Osborne on West 57th Street in Manhattan. At 2:30 in the afternoon, a building employee heard gunshots, and police determined that Young had shot his wife in the back of her head with a .38 caliber pistol, and then turned the gun on himself. No motive was given for the murder-suicide.[101]

[102]

October 20, 1978 (Friday)

October 21, 1978 (Saturday)

  • President Jaafar Numeiri of Sudan dropped his opposition to the recent peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and urged other Arab nations to do likewise. Numeiri issued a statement saying "We do not think it is our right to criticize Egypt for its efforts aiming at a peace treaty that will lead to Israeli withdrawal to its historical boundaries and to liquidation of Israeli settlements in Sinai as a part of efforts to guarantee peace and security within the framework of general principles of an overall settlement in the area.[106]
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Frederick Valentich
  • A 20-year-old Australian civilian pilot, Frederick Valentich, vanished in a Cessna 182 Skylane over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft. Valentich had departed from Melbourne in a Cessna 182 single-engine plane on a training flight over the Bass Strait toward a destination of King Island in the state of Tasmania and reported to the Melbourne Flight Service that an aircraft was following him at an altitude of 4,500 feet (1,400 m), though air traffic control saw nothing on radar. The UFO theory came after Valentich was answering the control tower and said his last words, "It's not an aircraft. It's...", after which an unidentified noise interrupted the transmission and all contact was lost.[107][108][109]
  • Died:
    • Anastas Mikoyan, 82, former Soviet Communist Party official who served as the Soviet Union's head of state in 1964 and 1965[110]
    • Mel Street, 45, American country music singer, committed suicide on his birthday with a gunshot wound to the head. Gibson's death came on the same day that Mercury Records released his new single, "Just Hangin' On".[111]

October 22, 1978 (Sunday)

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Pope John Paul II receives the pallium.
  • John Paul II was formally inaugurated as the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in front of a crowd of 300,000 people from 101 nations.[112]
  • A Solomon Airlines flight with 11 people on board disappeared after departing from Bellona Island toward Honiara in the Solomon Islands. After encountering bad weather, the pilot attempted to return to the airport but was disoriented and could not locate Bellona. It ran out of fuel and ditched into the sea.[113]
  • Imi Lichtenfeld began the worldwide spread of the Israeli martial art of Krav Maga with the founding of the Israeli Krav Maga Association (IKMA).[114] In 1995, the popularity of sport would increase to the point that he would create the International Krav Maga Federation.

October 23, 1978 (Monday)

October 24, 1978 (Tuesday)

October 25, 1978 (Wednesday)

  • The U.S. Federal Communications Commission adopted a policy easing the requirements for American television stations to upload their programming to a communications satellite for transmission to cable television systems around the world, clearing the way for an increase in the number of "superstations". At the time, WTCG in Atlanta was the only existing station to use a satellite to transmit its signal to other cable systems. With the new FCC rules in place, two more "superstations" would be added before the end of 1978, with WGN-TV of Chicago starting on November 9 and KTVU of Oakland, California on December 16.[119]
  • For the first time since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, Israeli Arab Muslims were allowed to begin the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. A group of about 1,500 Muslim residents of the Jewish nation of Israel crossed the Allenby Bridge into Jordan after an interview with local radio stations.[120]
  • The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was signed into law by U.S. President Carter. The FISA act created a specific federal court to review requests by federal agencies and to issue warrants to permit surveillance of suspected spies and espionage agencies operating in the United States.[121]
  • The government of Ecuador arrested a group of 11 people, 8 of whom were American, and accused them of having contact with Ecuadorian citizens who were conspiring to assassinate presidential candidate Jaime Roldos.[122]
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The last Canal Zone stamp

October 26, 1978 (Thursday)

  • The Ethics in Government Act was signed into law by U.S. President Carter, requiring mandatory disclosure of the financial records of all public officials and their immediate families, restricting outside employment for officials making more than a certain amount of money, and prohibiting lobbying work for one year after leaving public office. The Act also created the United States Office of Government Ethics to investigate complaints and to verify compliance.
  • Two female orca whales, Katina and Kasatka, were captured off the coast of Iceland and shipped to SeaWorld San Diego. Katina gave birth to seven calves while in captivity, more than any other captive orca whale. Kasatka died in 2017 at age 41. As of 2024, Katina has been in captivity for 46 years.[125]
  • Born: CM Punk (ring name for Phillip Jack Brooks), American professional wrestler; in Chicago

October 27, 1978 (Friday)

October 28, 1978 (Saturday)

October 29, 1978 (Sunday)

October 30, 1978 (Monday)

  • A team of treasure hunters who had located the Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de Atocha, led by Mel Fisher of Treasure Salvors Inc., were finally able to collect the remainder of the cargo of gold, silver and jewels they had discovered in 1973 after a 14-year search.[135]
  • "Turkeys Away", one of the most memorable episodes of television, was shown as the seventh episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

October 31, 1978 (Tuesday)

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