At A Glance

17 February 1978 at a glance

Day of the week
17 February 1978 was a Friday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Take a Chance on Me” by ABBA.
Top Film of 1978
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1978 was Grease.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 February is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 February 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for February is Amethyst.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 February 1978 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 17 February

  • 1965 Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the crewed Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
  • 1972 Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
  • 1974 Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
  • 1979 The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
  • 1980 First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.

Famous people born on 17 February

  • Case Keenum, American football player (born 1988)
  • Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1991)
  • Michael Jordan, American basketball player, executive, and businessman (born 1963)
  • Jensen Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia (born 1963)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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.

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

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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