At A Glance

31 October 1979 at a glance

Day of the week
31 October 1979 was a Wednesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “One Day at a Time” by Lena Martell.
Top Film of 1979
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1979 was Moonraker.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 October is Scorpio.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 October 1979 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 October 1979 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 31 October

  • 1968 Great Drought of 1968: Amidst a collapse of hydropower President of Chile Eduardo Frei Montalva decrees the establishment of daylight saving time.
  • 1998 Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
  • 1999 Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
  • 2000 Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.
  • 2002 A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.

Famous people born on 31 October

  • Marcus Rashford, English footballer (born 1997)
  • Nick Saban, American football player and coach (born 1951)
  • John Candy, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (1950–1994)
  • Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (1936–1991)

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.

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

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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