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Headlines from March 7, 1980

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of March 5, 1980, covering March 7, 1980.

  1. 1
    Album cover for The Wall by Pink Floyd

    The Wall

    Pink Floyd

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    13
  2. 2
    Album cover for Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

    Damn The Torpedoes

    Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    18
  3. 3
    Album cover for Phoenix by Dan Fogelberg

    Phoenix

    Dan Fogelberg

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    14
  4. 4
    Album cover for Permanent Waves by Rush

    Permanent Waves

    Rush

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    6
  5. 5
    Album cover for Off The Wall by Michael Jackson

    Off The Wall

    Michael Jackson

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    28

Notable Births

Eric Godard

1980Eric Godard, Canadian ice hockey player[†]

Eric Godard is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League with the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Godard was known as an enforcer for his physical style of play and regularly dropping the gloves. His nickname is "the Hand of God", a nickname derived from the play on his surname.

Laura Prepon

1980Laura Prepon, American actress[†]

Laura Prepon is an American actress and television director. She rose to fame with her role as Donna Pinciotti in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show (1998–2006). She is also known for portraying Alex Vause in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). Prepon made her film debut in 2001 with the independent drama Southlander. Her other films include the romantic drama Come Early Morning (2006), the comedy Lay the Favorite (2012), the thriller The Girl on the Train (2016), and the drama The Hero (2017).

Famous People Who Share Your Birthday

Birthday Twins

10 notable people born on March 7, across different years.

Portrait of Alessandro Manzoni, born in 1785

Photo: Francesco Hayez · Public domain · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: Francesco Hayez

Credit: The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN : 3936122202 .

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Born 1785

Alessandro Manzoni

Italian poet and novelist (1785–1873)

Portrait of Maurice Ravel, born in 1875

Photo: Unknown author Unknown author The image holder, the Bibliothèque… · Public domain · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: Unknown author Unknown author The image holder, the Bibliothèque nationale de France has not identified a photographer. (Follow link and click on "Detailed information".)

Credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France

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Born 1875

Maurice Ravel

French composer (1875–1937)

Portrait of Tomáš Masaryk, born in 1850

Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: Unknown author Unknown author

Credit: http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/hst/scientific-identity/fullsize/SIL14-M002-01a.jpg

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Born 1850

Tomáš Masaryk

Founding father of Czechoslovakia (1850–1937)

Portrait of John Herschel, born in 1792

Photo: W. Ward · Public domain · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: W. Ward

Credit: from https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/20/ed/332312425c9e7f74117db3af38cc.jpg

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Born 1792

John Herschel

English polymath (1792–1871)

Portrait of Piet Mondrian, born in 1872

Photo: Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: Anonymous Unknown author

Credit: http://archiefdienst.exsilia.net/mondriaan/pagina.php?hid=6&pid=5 http://www.mondriantrust.com/chronology/ Transferred from nl.wikipedia to Commons by GijsvdL using CommonsHelper .

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Born 1872

Piet Mondrian

Dutch painter (1872–1944)

Weekly No. 1

Box Office

The film reported at No. 1 at the United States box office for March 7, 1980.

Market
United States
Reported period
March 7, 1980
Source
Wikipedia

Reported period gross: $1,144,802

Direct period match: This is the reported box-office period matched to March 7, 1980.

  1. #1

    All That Jazz

    Historical No. 1 listing.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Source period March 6, 1980–March 12, 1980.

Historical Context for March 7, 1980

In 1980, the world population was approximately 4,447,606,236 people[†]

I was wondering if anything interesting on the news was going on when I was born, and decided to create this website for fun. The purpose is to show people what was going on when they were born. With this website I've found out that it was a pretty slow news day on my birthday, but I bet it would feel cool to know a historical event happened on your birthday.

The data used in this project is provided by the New York Times API. They have by far the best API I was able to find, with articles dating back to the 1950s. There weren't any other major newspapers that had an API with close to as much data. The closest was the Guardian API, but theirs only went back to the 1990s. I decided to only use articles from the New York Times because their API was by far the best. This tool works if you have a birthday after the 1950s or so.

Some important dates in history I'd recommend looking up on this website are:

  • 9/11/2001: The September 11 Attacks happened on this day, the news articles from this date provide great context to the tragedy our nation suffered and the immediate response from the American people. The headlines capture the shock, confusion, and unity that emerged in the aftermath of this devastating event.
  • 7/20/1969: The historic Apollo 11 moon landing, when humans first set foot on another celestial body. The articles from this date showcase humanity's greatest achievement in space exploration and the culmination of the space race.
  • 11/9/1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the beginning of the end of the Cold War. The coverage provides fascinating insights into this pivotal moment in world history and the emotions of people as decades of division came to an end.
  • 1/20/2009: Barack Obama's inauguration as the first African American President of the United States, a watershed moment in American history that represented a major milestone in the ongoing journey toward racial equality.
  • 8/15/1969: The Woodstock Music Festival began, marking a defining moment in American counterculture and music history. The coverage captures the spirit of the era and the unprecedented gathering of young people.

These historical events are just a few examples of the fascinating moments in history you can explore through this tool. Whether you're interested in your own birthday, significant historical dates, or just curious about what was making headlines on any given day, this website offers a unique window into the past through the lens of contemporary news coverage.

You can read more on our blog.