At A Glance
19 January 1979 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 19 January 1979 was a Friday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Too Much Heaven” by Bee Gees.
- 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 19 January is Capricorn.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 19 January 1979 fell in the Year of the Horse.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for January is Garnet.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 19 January 1979 was Waning Gibbous.
On this day: 19 January
- 1966 Indira Gandhi becomes India's first female prime minister.
- 1977 President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
- 1978 The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
- 1990 Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in Indian-administered Kashmir due to an insurgency.
- 1991 Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
Famous people born on January 19
- Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress (1946–2026)
- Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer (1944–2026)
- Mac Miller, American rapper (1992–2018)
- Edgar Allan Poe, American short story writer, poet, and critic (1809–1849)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
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
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 →
