At A Glance

21 August 1978 at a glance

Day of the week
21 August 1978 was a Monday.
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 21 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 21 August 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 21 August 1978 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 21 August

  • 1968 Cold War: Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.
  • 1968 James Anderson Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
  • 1982 Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon.
  • 1991 Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940.
  • 1991 Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.

Famous people born on 21 August

  • Hayden Panettiere, American actress (1989–2026)
  • Kenny Rogers, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (1938–2020)
  • Robert Lewandowski, Polish footballer (born 1988)
  • Zion Suzuki, Japanese footballer (born 2002)

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

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.

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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