UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
16 August 1978 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 16 August 1978 was a Wednesday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Three Times a Lady” by Commodores.
- Top Film of 1978
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1978 was Grease.
- Bestselling Novel of 1978
- “Chesapeake” by James A. Michener was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1978.
- Top-Rated TV Show
- “Laverne & Shirley” (ABC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1978–79 season.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 16 August is Leo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 16 August 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 16 August 1978 was Waxing Gibbous.
On this day: 16 August
- 1964 Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.
- 1966 Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
- 1972 In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.
- 1975 Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically hands over land to the Gurindji people after the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration.
- 1989 A solar particle event affects computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, forcing a halt to trading.
Famous people born on August 16
- Madonna, American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and director (born 1958)
- Sophie Cunningham, American basketball player (born 1996)
- Jannik Sinner, Italian tennis player (born 2001)
- James Cameron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1954)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
Events of 1978 in the United States
A selection from Wikipedia's '1978 in the United States'. Not a complete list.
- February 6 – The first Home Depot opens in Marietta, Georgia.
- April 2 – The CBS soap opera Dallas is launched. It is set to be aired later this year in several countries, including the United Kingdom by the BBC.
- April 3 – The 50th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Bob Hope for the final time, is held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Woody Allen's Annie Hall wins Best Picture, with Allen winning Best Director.
Life in the US in 1978
President
Jimmy Carter
Gas (per gallon)
$0.63
Loaf of Bread
$0.39
Average House
$55,700
Weekly Wage
$234
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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s
Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.
Keri Russell23 March 1976ActressView their day →Tupac Shakur16 June 1971Rapper & actorView their day →Zoe Saldaña19 June 1978ActressView their day →Christopher Nolan30 July 1970FilmmakerView their day →Jon Bernthal20 September 1976ActorView their day →Jason Sudeikis18 September 1975Actor & comedianView their day →Milo Ventimiglia8 July 1977ActorView their day →Sarah Paulson17 December 1974ActressView their day →Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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