At A Glance

20 October 1978 at a glance

Day of the week
20 October 1978 was a Friday.
Kent Music Report No. 1
The Kent Music Report No. 1 was “Are You Old Enough?” by Dragon.
Top Film of 1978
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1978 was Grease.
Best-Selling Vehicle of 1978
Australia's top-selling new vehicle in 1978 was the Holden Kingswood.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 October is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 October 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 October 1978 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 20 October

  • 1961 The Soviet Navy performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.
  • 1962 China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.
  • 1973 The Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction.
  • 1976 The Luling–Destrehan Ferry MV George Prince is struck by the Norwegian freighter SS Frosta while crossing the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew die, and only 18 people aboard the ferry survive.
  • 1995 Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-73.

Famous people born on 20 October

  • Kenneth Walker III, American football player (born 2000)
  • John Krasinski, American actor, director, and producer (born 1979)
  • Viggo Mortensen, American-Danish actor and producer (born 1958)
  • Snoop Dogg, American rapper, producer, and actor (born 1971)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1978 in Australia

A selection from Wikipedia's '1978 in Australia'. Not a complete list.

  • 1 January – Another Vietnamese refugee boat arrives at night, from a camp off the Malaysian coast.
  • 3 January – Bela Csidei, a prominent Sydney businessman, is alleged in the Darwin Magistrates' Court to have been involved in growing marijuana in the Northern Territory.
  • 14 March – Stephen Matthews, aged 20, swept from the Natural Bridge off Albany, by a King Wave. Rescued by whale ship, the Cheynes II. First recorded survival of someone swept into the sea at The Gap and Natural Bridge.

Life in Australia in 1978

Prime Minister

Malcolm Fraser

Monarch

Queen Elizabeth II

Petrol (per litre)

$0.12

Loaf of Bread

$0.50

Average House

$36,000

Weekly Wage

$185.00

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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