At A Glance

26 September 1978 at a glance

Day of the week
26 September 1978 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Summer Nights” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Top Film of 1978
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1978 was Grease.
Star sign
The star sign for 26 September is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 26 September 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for September is Sapphire.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 26 September 1978 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 26 September

  • 1960 In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
  • 1983 Soviet Air Force officer Stanislav Petrov identifies a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike, thus preventing nuclear war.
  • 1983 Soyuz 7K-ST No. 16L, intended to launch a crew to the Salyut 7 space station, explodes on the launch pad. The launch escape system is activated before the Soyuz-U rocket explodes, saving the crew.
  • 1984 The United Kingdom and China agree to a transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, to take place in 1997.
  • 1997 An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.

Famous people born on 26 September

  • Serena Williams, American tennis player (born 1981)
  • Jim Caviezel, American actor (born 1968)
  • Olivia Newton-John, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actress (1948–2022)
  • Linda Hamilton, American actress (born 1956)

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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