At A Glance

9 January 1979 at a glance

Day of the week
9 January 1979 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Y.M.C.A.” by Village People.
Top Film of 1979
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1979 was Moonraker.
Star sign
The star sign for 9 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 9 January 1979 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 9 January 1979 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 9 January

  • 1962 Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, then known as the "Advanced Saturn", to carry human beings to the Moon.
  • 1964 Martyrs' Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians.
  • 1991 Representatives from the United States and Iraq meet at the Geneva Peace Conference to try to find a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
  • 1992 The Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina proclaims the creation of Republika Srpska, a new state within Yugoslavia.
  • 1992 The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.

Famous people born on 9 January

  • Joely Richardson, English actress (born 1965)
  • Richard Nixon, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 37th President of the United States (1913–1994)
  • J. K. Simmons, American actor (born 1955)
  • Nina Dobrev, Bulgarian-Canadian actress (born 1989)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

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

James Callaghan

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

38p

Loaf of Bread

27p

Average House

£19,925

Weekly Wage

£101.00

Or

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →