1977 - Definition and Overview

For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album).

Events

January-February

• January 1 - First woman Episcopal priest ordained.
• January 6 - EMI sacks the Sex Pistols
• January 18 - Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious "legionnaire's disease"
• January 18 - Australia experiences its worst railway disaster at Granville, near Sydney, in which 83 people died.
• January 19 - President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose").
• January 19 - Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that this occurs.
• January 20 - Gerald Rudolph Ford, 38th President of the United States is succeeded by Jimmy Carter.
• January 21 - President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders.
• February 7 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24.
• February 11 - A 20.2-kg lobster is caught off Nova Scotia (heaviest known crustacean).
• February 18 - The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle goes on its maiden "flight" while sitting on top of a Boeing 747.

March-April

• March 1 - Sara Lowndes Dylan files for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Bob Dylan
• March 4 - An earthquake in southern and eastern Europe kills more than 1,500
• March 9 - Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims take over three buildings in Washington, DC, killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation ends two days later.
• March 21 - Birth of Celine Lorent.
• March 27 - Collision between KLM and PanAm Boeing 747's at Tenerife, Canary Islands, kills 583
• April 1 - Hay-on-Wye declares independence
• April 7 - German Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light near his home in Karlsruhe. "The Ulrike Meinhoff Commando" later claims responsibility
• April 7 - Toronto Blue Jays play their first-ever game of baseball against the Chicago White Sox
• April 28 - Stuttgart court sentences RAF members Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carle Raspe to life imprisonment

May-June

• May 23 - Scientists report using bacteria in lab to make insulin
• May 23 - Moluccan terrorists take over a school in Bovensmilde, northern Netherlands (105 hostages) and a passenger train in Bovensmilde-Assan route nearby (90 hostages) at the same time. June 11 Dutch Royal Marines storm the train - six terrorists and two hostages are killed
• May 28 - In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 inside
• June 5 - A coup takes place in Seychelles.
• June 5 - The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale.
• June 10 - James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee (he was recaptured on June 13).
• June 15 - Spain has its first democratic elections after 41 years under the Franco regime.
• June 20 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states are not required to spend Medicaid funds on elective abortions.
• June 20 - TV-program Alternative Three shown in British television

July-August

• July 13 - The New York City Blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours and results in looting and other disorder.
• July 20 - A flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, caused by thunderstorms, kills over 70 people.
• July 22 - The purged Chinese communist leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power as the "Gang of Four" is expelled from the Communist Party of China.
• July 28 - First oil through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System reaches Valdez, Alaska
• July 30 - Left-wing German terrorists Susanne Albrect, Brigitte Mohnhaupt and a third person assassinate Jürgen Ponto, chairman of the Dresdener Bank in Oberursel, West Germany
• August 3 Two months after the Apple II and Commodore PET ship, Tandy announces the TRS-80
• August 4 - US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy
• August 12 - NASA space shuttle makes its first test flight off the back of a jetliner
• August 15 - The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by The Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "WOW!" signal for notation made by a volunteer on the project.
• August 16 - Rock singer Elvis Presley dies in Tennessee.
• August 20 - Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft

September

• September 5 - Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay
• September 5 - Hanns-Martin Schleyer, President of the Employers Association, is kidnapped in Cologne, West Germany. Kidnappers kill three escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand release of Red Army Faction prisoners
• September 6 (approx) - Steve Biko suffers a massive head injury in police custody in South Africa.
• September 7 - Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The US agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century
• September 8 - INTERPOL releases copyright laws that govern the reproduction of video tapes & other material.
• September 11 - The last "wild" infection of smallpox is reported in Somalia.
• September 12 - Steve Biko dies of his injuries.
• September 21 - Nuclear-proliferation pact, curbing spread of nuclear weapons, is signed by 15 countries including the United States and USSR.
• September 28 - Porsche 928 debuts at the Geneva Auto Convention

October-December

• October 13 - Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction
• October 18 - Three Palestinian hijackers are killed when a German anti-terrorist squad storms a Lufthansa aircraft at Mogadishu Airport
• October 18 - Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Gudrun Ensslin commit suicide in Stannheim prison. Irmgard Möller fails. Their supporters continue to claim they were murdered. Bodies are buried October 27
• October 19 - Kidnapped industrialist Hans-Martin Schleyer is found killed in West Berlin
• October 20 - Three members of rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd die in charter plane crash
• November 6 - The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39
• November 19 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel when he meets with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement (much of the Arab world is outraged by the visit).
• November 22 - British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service
• December 4 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor.
• December 4 - A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 is hijacked and then blown up in mid-air over the Straits of Johor, killing 100.

Unknown dates

• A collection of work by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, is published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien.
• Swedish music group ABBA passes The Beatles as having most records sold.
• 2060 Chiron, first of the outer solar system asteroids known as Centaurs, discovered by Charlie Kowal.
• Don Novello first appeared on Saturday Night Live.
• 2000 AD the UK sci-fi comic is launched, featuring Judge Dredd.

Year in topic

• 1977 in film
  • Annie Hall
  • The science fiction saga Star Wars, later renamed to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, makes its first outing to the cinema and makes George Lucas and the team at LucasArts a staggering $461 million.
  • John Travolta discoed in Saturday Night Fever.
  • In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network.
  • Annie Hall picks up an Academy Award for Best Picture and All The President's Men wins Jason Robards the Supporting Actor and an Art Direction for George Jenkins and George Gaines.
• 1977 in literature
• 1977 in music
  • February 4 - Fleetwood Mac releases Rumours, which is a blockbuster album (recorded on March 3, 1976).
  • DJ_Kool_Herc classifies and introduces a new movement in America, calling it Hip hop.
  • The Talking Heads release their debut album, Talking Heads: 77.
  • The Police formed
• 1977 in rail transport
  • Auto-Train Corporation launches and then discontinues Auto Train service to Louisville, Kentucky.
• 1977 in sports
  • May 29 - Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
  • Creation of the WilliamsF1 Formula One racing team by Frank Williams.
  • October 1 - Football (soccer) legend Pelé plays the last game of his storied career, a friendly match between his current team, the New York Cosmos, and his old Brazilian club Santos, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Pelé played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos.
• 1977 in television
  • May 10 - South Africa has television service for the first time.
  • September 15-CHiPs premiers on NBC.

Births

January-March

• January 7 - Dustin Diamond, actor (Saved by the Bell)
• January 8 - Amber Benson, actress
• January 13 - Orlando Bloom, actor (Fellowship of the Ring, Troy)
• January 28 - Daunte Culpepper, American football quarterback
• January 28 - Joey Fatone, musician
• February 2 - Shakira, Colombian pop singer
• February 8 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
• February 11 - Jessica Carlson, United States archer
• February 11 - Stephanie Richardson, Canadian swimmer
• February 11 - Mike Shinoda, musician
• February 11 - Randy Moss, NFL star
• February 16 - Ian Clarke, Freenet creator
• February 20 - Stephon Marbury, basketball player
• March 5 - Wally Szczerbiak, NBA basketball player
• March 28 - Devon, erotic actress

April-June

• April 14 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, actress
• April 14 - Chandra Levy, intern at the Bureau of Prisons in Washington, DC.
• April 21 - Jamie Salé, figure skater
• April 22 - Andruw Jones, Major League Baseball All-Star
• April 24 - Carlos Beltran, baseball player
• May 7 - Fluffyhearts, artist
• May 13 - Samantha Morton, actress
• May 14 - Ada Nicodemou, Australian actress
• May 14 - Roy Halladay, baseball pitcher
• May 23 - Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skating champion
• June 1 - Danielle Harris, voice actress
• June 8 - Kanye West, rapper, producer
• June 9 - Peja Stojakovic, Serbian NBA star
• June 14 - Chris McAlister, American football player
• June 16 - Kerry Wood, baseball pitcher
• June 19 - Peter Warrick, American football player
• June 27 - Raúl, Spanish football star

July-November

• July 1 - Jarome Iginla, NHL hockey player
• July 1 - Liv Tyler, actress
• July 8 - Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
• July 8 - Amr Aly, Egyptian Graphic designer
• July 14 - Victoria, Princess of Sweden - Crown Princess of Sweden from 1980
• July 28 - Emanuel Ginobili, Argentine basketball player
• July 31 - Tim Couch, American football quarterback
• August 9 - Chamique Holdsclaw, WNBA basketball player
• August 12 - Plaxico Burress, American football player
• August 15 - Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast
• August 17 - Thierry Henry, French football star
• August 27 - Deco, football player
• September 1 - Aaron Schobel, American football player
• September 11 - Ludacris, rapper
• September 26 - Pablo Díaz, spanish football
• October 7 - Meighan Desmond, actress
• November 3 - Aria Giovanni, model and actress
• November 13 - Chanel Cole, singer
• November 16 - Oksana Baiul, figure skater
• November 19 - Kerri Strug, gymnast
• November 21 - Jonas Jennings, American football player

December

• December - Ahmed al-Nami, suspected terrorist
• December 3 - Adam Malysz, Polish ski jumper
• December 7 - Fernando Vargas, boxer
• December 12 - Dahm triplets - Nicole, Erica, and Jaclyn Dahm, Playmates of the Month for December 1998
• December 23 - Alge Crumpler, American football player
• December 30 - Laila Ali, boxer, daughter of Muhammad Ali

Deaths

January-August

• January 14 - Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• January 14 - Peter Finch, actor
• January 14 - Anaïs Nin, author
• January 17 - Gary Gilmore, murderer (executed by firing squad)
• January 19 - Yvonne Printemps, singer, actress
• January 29 - Freddie Prinze, actor/comedian
• February 11 - Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1946-1948, 1958-1959) (b. 1902)
• February 28 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, actor
• March 4 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951)
• March 16 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze
• March 18 - Marien Ngouabi, President of The Congo
• April 21 - Gummo Marx, actor, comedian, Marx Brothers (b. 1892)
• May 5 - Ludwig Erhard, German chancellor (1963-1966)
• May 10 - Joan Crawford, actress (b. 1904)
• June 19 - Lady Olave Baden-Powell, World Chief Guide
• June 19 - Ali Shariati, sociologist
• July 2 - Vladimir Nabokov, writer
• July 13 - Carl Gustav von Rosen, military aviator
• August 14 - Ron Haydock, actor, writer, musician
• August 16 - Elvis Presley, singer, actor
• August 19 - Groucho Marx, comedian (b. 1890)

September-December

• September 1 - Ethel Waters, singer (b. 1896)
• September 10 - Hamida Djandoubi, last guillotine execution in France
• September 12 - Steve Biko, South African activist
• September 13 - Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882)
• September 16 - Marc Bolan, rock star and glam rock pioneer
• September 16 - Maria Callas, American soprano
• October 14 - Bing Crosby, American singer and actor
• November 8 - Bucky Harris, Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1896)
• November 15 - Princess Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet Grimaldi of Monaco, mother of Reigning Prince Rainier III of Monaco
• November 25 - Tommy Prince, aboriginal Canadian war hero
• December 19 - Jacques Tourneur, director
• December 25 - Charlie Chaplin, comedian, star of silent film

Nobel Prizes

• Physics - Philip Warren Anderson, Sir Nevill Francis Mott, John Hasbrouck van Vleck
• Chemistry - Ilya Prigogine
• Medicine - Roger Guillemin, Andrew V. Schally, Rosalyn Yalow
• Literature - Vicente Aleixandre
• Peace - Amnesty International
• Economics - Bertil Ohlin, James Meade