1979 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 1979, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 1979.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 1979 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 1979 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 1979:
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1979
Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of Britain, with the Conservatives winning the election in May after James Callaghan's previous minority Labour government lost a vote of confidence.
Britain' opened its first nudist beach in Brighton.
Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The U.S. Voyager 1 spaceprobe photos revealed Jupiter's rings.
It was the "winter of discontent" as tens of thousands of public-workers went on strike at the start of the year.
Space Invaders won 'game of the year', having become a huge success. [NB: this wasn't the release; it was released a while before.]
A record of more than 1.7 million new cars were sold in the UK. Fords were the most popular, with the Cortina selling more than 190,000 units.
The Pope addressed 285,000 people at a youth rally in Galway, before travelling to Knock, Co. Mayo where a further 300,000 people heard him speak.
Ireland made wearing seat belts became compulsory for car drivers and front seat passengers.
Charles Haughey replaced Jack Lynch as an Taoiseach.
1979 Launches
McDonald's introduced the Happy Meal.
The first J D Wetherspoon pub was established by Tim Martin in Haringey.
Atari release the video game 'Asteroids'.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was published.
Xtra-vision opened their first store.
The new headquarters of the Central Bank of Ireland were officially opened on Dame Street in December.
1979 in Film
Superman was biggest film of the year. [NB: this wasn't the release; it was released last year.]
Films released this year include Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Apocalypse Now and Rocky II.
1979 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): Happy Days, Charlie's Angels and M*A*S*H.
The Dukes of Hazzard debuted on CBS.
Blankety Blank premiered on BBC1.
Long-running British programmes Antiques Roadshow and Question Time launched.
Minder was shown for the first time.
While these facts about 1979 have been checked against third-party sources (and have been used on air before!), they are provided in good faith to inspire your research and no guarantee is made about their accuracy or their uniqueness. You can use the facts however you wish: most people just take a couple of points they remember and talk around then.
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