UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
23 August 1978 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 23 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 23 August is Virgo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 23 August 1978 fell in the Year of the Horse.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 23 August 1978 was Waning Gibbous.
On this day: 23 August
- 1970 Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins.
- 1975 The start of the Wave Hill walk-off by Gurindji people in Australia, lasting eight years, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 Paul Kelly song and an annual celebration.
- 1975 The Pontiac Silverdome opens in Pontiac, Michigan, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Detroit, Michigan.
- 1977 Waylon Jennings arrested in a drug raid.
- 1985 Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany.
Famous people born on August 23
- River Phoenix, American actor (1970–1993)
- Kobe Bryant, American basketball player and businessman (1978–2020)
- Scott Caan, American actor (born 1976)
- Louis XVI (1754–1793)
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
Or
Browse by Year
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 →