On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 1978, the world population was approximately 4,292,097,502 people[†]
1978Jim Chalmers, Australian politician[†]
James Edward Chalmers is an Australian politician and economist who has been serving as the treasurer of Australia in the Albanese government since May 2022. A member of the Labor Party (ALP), he has been the member of parliament for the Queensland division of Rankin since 2013.
1978Gabby Eigenmann, Filipino actor and singer[†]
Gabriel John Celebre Eigenmann is a Filipino actor, singer, host and model. He is currently working as an exclusive talent of GMA Network.
1978Lee Hodges, English footballer and manager[†]
Lee Hodges is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Herongate Athletic. He made three appearances in the Premier League for West Ham United and made 184 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, Leyton Orient, Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town, Southend United, Scunthorpe United, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers.
1978Sebastian Janikowski, Polish gridiron football player[†]
Sebastian Paweł Janikowski is a Polish former professional player of American football who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was selected 17th overall in the 2000 NFL draft by the Raiders. During his final season, Janikowski played for the Seattle Seahawks.
1978Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player[†]
Tomáš Kaberle is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as for the Boston Bruins, with whom he won the Stanley Cup, Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens. Kaberle also played in the Czech Extraliga for HC Kladno and HC Kometa Brno.
1978Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.[†]
Czechoslovakia was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland became part of Nazi Germany, while the country lost further territories to Hungary and Poland. Between 1939 and 1945, the state ceased to exist, as Slovakia proclaimed its independence and Carpathian Ruthenia became part of Hungary, while the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed in the remainder of the Czech Lands. In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, former Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš formed a government-in-exile and sought recognition from the Allies.
1978The late iconic actor Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from his grave in Switzerland.[†]
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from his childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both accolade and controversy.
Portrait 1080 × 1920 PNG · created on your device
Commerce Dept repts new construction spending in Jan at $173.2 billion, down 4%; graphs show construction contracts and total dollar value from Feb '77 to Jan '78 (M)
Comment on univ's varsity show; excerpts from several of show's songs; illus (M)
Stock prices steadied yesterday, reflecting a modest improvement in the dollar in foreign‐exchange dealings, one day after the Dow Jones industrial’ average had plunged to a three‐year low.
A source in the Carter Administration said yesterday that the White House was hardening its. position in the air‐fare dispute with Britain and that the Administration was considering renouncing the British‐American air pact signed last summer.
SS Erna Elizabeth arrives at Chevron USA's Perth Amboy, NJ, terminal on Mar 1 with 1st load of Alaskan oil to reach NY area; illus; map of journey from Prudhoe Bay (S)
I'M CLEANING out our attic, throwing out old useless things to make way for new useless things. The shuffle, Neer, tack and jib of taste call for constant revision, remorseless relegations. That piece we bought and showed with so much‐pride first grew doubtful, then downright wrong. We've fallen out of love again: up to the attic with it.
Continental Airlines Inc: DC-10 jetliner, with 194 persons aboard on Los Angeles-Honolulu flight, blows tires during takeoff from Los Angeles Internatl Airport and crashes at end of runway killing 2 and injuring 50; pilot Capt Gene Hersche is credited with saving lives by keeping plane from plunging into gasoline storage area and car-rental parking lot; was on last trip before mandatory retirement; had never experienced previous mishap; survivors describe incident; Hersche and wreckage illus (M)
dollar falls to record 1.9920 marks before closing at 2.0075 in Frankfurt; W Ger central bank buys $26.6-million in attempt to slow decline of dollar; foreign exch dealers note W Ger Min Otto von Lambsdorff warned that rate of 1.80 marks to dollar could not be ruled out; dollar also touches low of 1.76 Swiss francs before turning slightly upward in Zurich; W Ger spokesman Armin Grunewald says psychological effect is not good; Hans-Joachim Schreiber says he sees no halt in dollar's depreciation until Carter Adm adopts cohesive energy-saving program; graph depicts dollar's drop against W Ger mark, '70-77 (M)
A line of victims, all of whom went home sometime in the recent past to find something they had cherished gone, snaked across the waxed floors of Police Headquarters in New York yesterday on its way to a table made brilliant by precious, stolen possessions.
US Steel withdraws antidumping suit against 6 Japanese steel producers, removing possible obstacle to Carter Adm's reference price system; Deputy Treas Sec Peter D Ehrenhaft welcomes action (M)
Natl Hwy Traffic Safety Adm survey indicates that auto fleet operators, including Fed Govt, will buy over 60,000 cars a yr equipped with air bags; Admr Joan Claybrook, Kemper Ins Cos exec vp James W Harding and NYS Gov Carey comment (M)