At A Glance
20 July 1978 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 20 July 1978 was a Thursday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb.
- 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 20 July is Cancer.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 20 July 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for July is Ruby.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 20 July 1978 was Full Moon.
On this day: 20 July
- 1969 Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.
- 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'état, organized by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.
- 1976 The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.
- 1977 The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.
- 1985 The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.
Famous people born on July 20
- Haakon VIII (born 1973)
- Chris Cornell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (1964–2017)
- Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer (born 1988)
- Natalie Wood, American actress (1938–1981)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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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.
Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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