At A Glance

13 August 1978 at a glance

Day of the week
13 August 1978 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Three Times a Lady” by Commodores.
Top Film of 1978
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1978 was Grease.
Star sign
The star sign for 13 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 13 August 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 13 August 1978 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 13 August

  • 1960 The Central African Republic declares independence from France.
  • 1961 Cold War: East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West, and construction of the Berlin Wall is started. The day is known as Barbed Wire Sunday.
  • 1969 The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
  • 1977 Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.
  • 1997 The animated TV comedy South Park airs its very first episode.

Famous people born on 13 August

  • Sebastian Stan, Romanian-American actor (born 1982)
  • Alfred Hitchcock, English-American director and producer (1899–1980)
  • Fidel Castro, Cuban lawyer and politician, ex-President of Cuba (1926–2016)
  • Sridevi, Indian actress (1963–2018)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1978 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1978 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 11 January – A North Sea storm surge ruins four piers in the UK: Herne Bay, Margate, Hunstanton and Skegness.
  • 9 February – Gordon McQueen, 25-year-old Scotland central defender, becomes Britain's first £500,000 footballer in a transfer from Leeds United to Manchester United.
  • 8 March – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy first broadcast by BBC Radio 4.
More events of 1978 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1978

Prime Minister

James Callaghan

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

34p

Loaf of Bread

24p

Average House

£15,590

Weekly Wage

£88.00

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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

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

Matthew Rhys8 November 1974ActorView their day →Hannah Waddingham28 July 1974ActressView their day →Andy Burnham7 January 1970PoliticianView their day →Christopher Nolan30 July 1970FilmmakerView their day →Lucy Davis17 February 1973ActressView their day →Tom Hardy15 September 1977ActorView their day →Christian Bale30 January 1974ActorView their day →Kelly Macdonald23 February 1976ActressView their day →

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

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