On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Article on Jefferson County (NY) Surrogate Judge Leon Schwerzmann Jr facing charges that he gave free legal advice, violation of State law that prohibits full‐time judges from practicing law; case revd; Judge Schwerzmann comments; illus (M)
US Amb to Israel Samuel W Lewis says talks between Dayan and Vance were ‘very useful’ illus (M)
HR, 259‐140, approves bill requiring disclosures by lobbyists despite last‐minute opposition to 3 amendments stiffening requirements; Sen Govt Affairs Com is reptdly working on version of bill that will be even tougher than HR version (M)
Commerce Dept says oil imports totaled $3.1 billion in Mar; graph shows US oil imports and trade deficit, Jan '77 to Mar '78 (S)
The Government rested its case in the antitrust suit against the International Business Machines Corporation. The defense called a witness in a turning point in the trial, which began nearly three years ago. Page D3.
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of April 26, 1978, covering April 27, 1978.
Soundtrack
Eric Clapton
Wings
Billy Joel
George Benson
1978John Ehrlichman, a former aide to U.S. President Richard Nixon, is released from the Federal Correctional Institution, Safford, Arizona, after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes.[†]
John Daniel Ehrlichman was an American political aide who served as White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important influence on Nixon's domestic policy, coaching him on issues and enlisting his support for environmental initiatives.
1978The Saur Revolution begins in Afghanistan, ending the following morning with the murder of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.[†]
The Saur Revolution, also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was a violent coup d'état and uprising staged on 27–28 April 1978 by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which overthrew Afghan president Mohammad Daoud Khan, who had himself taken power in the 1973 Afghan coup d'état and established an autocratic one-party system in the country. Daoud and most of his family were executed at the Arg presidential palace in the capital city of Kabul by Khalqist military officers, after which his supporters were also purged and killed. The successful PDPA uprising resulted in the creation of a socialist Afghan government that was closely aligned with the Soviet Union, with Nur Muhammad Taraki serving as the PDPA's General Secretary of the Revolutionary Council. Saur is the Dari-language name for the second month of the Solar Hijri calendar, during which the events took place.
1978Willow Island disaster: In the deadliest construction accident in United States history, 51 construction workers are killed when a cooling tower under construction collapses at the Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia.[†]
The Willow Island disaster was the collapse of a cooling tower under construction at the Pleasants Power Station at Willow Island, West Virginia, on April 27, 1978. Fifty-one construction workers were killed. It is thought to be the deadliest construction accident in U.S. history.
In 1978, the world population was approximately 4,292,097,502 people[†]