At A Glance

31 December 1976 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 1976 was a Friday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” by Rod Stewart.
Top Film of 1976
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1976 was Rocky.
Bestselling Novel of 1976
“Trinity” by Leon Uris was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1976.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Happy Days” (ABC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1976–77 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1976 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 1976 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 31 December

  • 1968 The first flight of the Tupolev Tu-144, the first civilian supersonic transport in the world.
  • 1981 A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
  • 1983 The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government.
  • 1983 Benjamin Ward is appointed New York City Police Department's first ever African American police commissioner.
  • 1983 In Nigeria, a coup d'état led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari ends the Second Nigerian Republic.

Famous people born on December 31

  • Val Kilmer, American actor (1959–2025)
  • Sophia Laforteza, Filipino-American singer (born 2002)
  • Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1941)
  • Charles Edward Stuart, Scottish claimant to the throne of England (1720–1788)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1976 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1976 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • February 17 – The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) compilation is released. Globally, it will become probably the second best-selling album of all time, followed by the same band's Hotel California, released on December 8.
  • March 27 – The first 4.6 miles of the Washington Metro subway system opens.
  • April 1 – Apple Computer Company is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in California.
More events of 1976 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1976

President

Gerald Ford

Gas (per gallon)

$0.59

Loaf of Bread

$0.36

Average House

$43,200

Weekly Wage

$203

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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)

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