On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Commerce Dept repts retail sales in Jan dropped 3.1%, sharpest decline in 15 yrs; links decline to severe weather; revises Dec decline in retail sales to 0.6%; Fed Reserve Bd repts indus production index in Jan dropped 0.7% to 138.6 (1967 equals 100); charts on retail sales and indus output (M)
Feb 16: Prime Min Begin, in speech to Parliament, urges Carter to reappraise his decision to sell mil planes to Egypt and Saudi Arabia; Begin says Saudi Arabia's acquisition of F-15 jets would transform that nation into 'confrontation state;' says Saudis pledged to unnamed Arab country that planes would, in due course, be used against Israel; mil analyst says strengthening of Egyptian and Saudi air forces would make it more vital for Israel to maintain Sinai air bases; Begin also announces he has accepted Carter's invitation to visit Washington; says he never stated that Carter had specifically endorsed Israel's intention to retain settlements in Sinai after peace agreement and restoration of Egyptian sovereignty (M)
Joan Kron article on gadgets displayed last mo at Consumer Electronics show, Las Vegas; illus (M)
Begin says he has accepted inv from Pres Carter to visit Washington (S)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of February 15, 1978, covering February 16, 1978.
Soundtrack
Billy Joel
Queen
Earth| Wind & Fire
Rod Stewart
1978Tia Hellebaut, Belgian high jumper and chemist[†]
Tia Hellebaut is a Belgian former track and field athlete. She started out in her sports career in the heptathlon, and afterwards specialized in the high jump event. She has cleared 2.05 metres both indoors and outdoors.
1978Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer[†]
Wasim Jaffer is an Indian retired professional cricketer. He was a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right arm off-break bowler. In 2011 he became the highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy cricket, surpassing Amol Muzumdar. In November 2018, he became the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in the competition. In January 2019, he became the most capped player in Ranji Trophy history with appearance of his 146th match surpassing Madhya Pradesh's Devendra Bundela (145). He was appointed as batting coach for Bangladesh cricket team. In March 2020, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
1978John Tartaglia, American actor, singer, and puppeteer[†]
John Nicholas Tartaglia is an American puppeteer, actor, and singer.
1978The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).[†]
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user performs functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with other users through public message boards and sometimes via direct chatting. In the early 1980s, message networks such as FidoNet were developed to provide services such as NetMail, which is similar to internet-based email.
In 1978, the world population was approximately 4,292,097,502 people[†]