At A Glance

26 September 1979 at a glance

Day of the week
26 September 1979 was a Wednesday.
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 26 September is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 26 September 1979 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for September is Sapphire.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 26 September 1979 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 26 September

  • 1960 In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
  • 1983 Soviet Air Force officer Stanislav Petrov identifies a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike, thus preventing nuclear war.
  • 1983 Soyuz 7K-ST No. 16L, intended to launch a crew to the Salyut 7 space station, explodes on the launch pad. The launch escape system is activated before the Soyuz-U rocket explodes, saving the crew.
  • 1984 The United Kingdom and China agree to a transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, to take place in 1997.
  • 1997 An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.

Famous people born on September 26

  • Serena Williams, American tennis player (born 1981)
  • Jim Caviezel, American actor (born 1968)
  • Olivia Newton-John, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actress (1948–2022)
  • Linda Hamilton, American actress (born 1956)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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

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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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