At A Glance

12 April 1979 at a glance

Day of the week
12 April 1979 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.
Top Film of 1979
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1979 was Moonraker.
Bestselling Novel of 1979
“The Matarese Circle” by Robert Ludlum was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1979.
Top-Rated TV Show
“60 Minutes” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1979–80 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 12 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 12 April 1979 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 12 April 1979 was Full Moon.

On this day: 12 April

  • 1980 The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is violently deposed.
  • 1980 Canadian runner and athlete Terry Fox begins his Marathon of Hope Run in St. John's, NF
  • 1981 The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission.
  • 1983 Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
  • 1985 Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-51D to deploy two communications satellites.

Famous people born on April 12

  • Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress (born 1994)
  • Claire Danes, American actress (born 1979)
  • Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer (1971–2024)
  • Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian (born 1946)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1979 in the United States

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

  • February 20 – This Old House premieres on PBS.
  • March 29 – America's most serious nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania.
  • April 1 – Nickelodeon debuts on cable television, playing children's television shows 24 hours a day. Pinwheel, which first premiered on the channel C-3 in 1977, was one of the first shows to be broadcast on the channel.

Life in the US in 1979

President

Jimmy Carter

Gas (per gallon)

$0.86

Loaf of Bread

$0.43

Average House

$62,900

Weekly Wage

$250

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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