At A Glance

20 September 1979 at a glance

Day of the week
20 September 1979 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “My Sharona” by The Knack.
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 20 September is Virgo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 September 1979 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for September is Sapphire.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 September 1979 was New Moon.

On this day: 20 September

  • 1971 Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.
  • 1973 Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome.
  • 1977 Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.
  • 1979 A French-organized coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokassa I.
  • 1982 NFL season: American football players in the National Football League begin a 57-day strike.

Famous people born on September 20

  • Jon Bernthal, American actor (born 1976)
  • George R. R. Martin, American novelist and short story writer (born 1948)
  • Asia Argento, Italian actress (born 1975)
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov, Russian mixed martial artist (born 1988)

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.
More events of 1979 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

The 1940s
1940194119421943194419451946194719481949
The 1950s
1950195119521953195419551956195719581959
The 1960s
1960196119621963196419651966196719681969
The 1970s
1970197119721973197419751976197719781979
The 1980s
1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
The 1990s
1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
The 2000s
2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
The 2010s
2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
The 2020s
20202021202220232024

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)

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 →