At A Glance

17 July 1979 at a glance

Day of the week
17 July 1979 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Are 'Friends' Electric?” by Tubeway Army.
Top Film of 1979
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1979 was Moonraker.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 July is Cancer.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 July 1979 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 July 1979 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 17 July

  • 1968 Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba'ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.
  • 1973 King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, while having surgery in Italy, is deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan.
  • 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
  • 1976 East Timor is annexed and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.
  • 1976 The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the games because of New Zealand's participation. Contrary to rulings by other international sports organizations, the IOC had declined to exclude New Zealand because of their participation in South African sporting events during apartheid.

Famous people born on 17 July

  • Brett Goldstein, British actor, comedian and writer (born 1980)
  • Billie Lourd, American actress (born 1992)
  • Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer (1935–2024)
  • Queen Camilla, Queen Consort of King Charles III of the United Kingdom (born 1947)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1979 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1979 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 22 February – Saint Lucia becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
  • 3 May – 1979 general election.
  • 7 June – European Parliament election, the first direct election to the European Parliament; the turnout in Britain is low at 32%. The Conservatives have the most MEPs at 60, while Labour only have 17.
More events of 1979 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1979

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

38p

Loaf of Bread

27p

Average House

£19,925

Weekly Wage

£101.00

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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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