On this day

August 22, 1978

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of August 16, 1978, covering August 22, 1978.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Grease by Soundtrack

    Grease

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    14
  2. 2
    Album cover for Some Girls by The Rolling Stones

    Some Girls

    The Rolling Stones

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    9
  3. 3
    Album cover for Natural High by Commodores

    Natural High

    Commodores

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    13
  4. 4
    Album cover for Double Vision by Foreigner

    Double Vision

    Foreigner

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    7
  5. 5
    Album cover for Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by Soundtrack

    Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    7
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    2

Notable Births

James Corden

1978James Corden, English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter[†]

James Kimberley Corden is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey. In the United States, he gained recognition as the host of The Late Late Show with James Corden, a late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023.

Ioannis Gagaloudis

1978Ioannis Gagaloudis, Greek basketball player[†]

Ioannis "Gaga" Gagaloudis is a Greek professional basketball player for Esperos Kallitheas B.C. of the Greek B Basket League. He is 1.92 m tall and 86 kg (190 lbs.) in weight. Born in Athens, Greece, he can play at both the point guard and shooting guard positions.

Notable Deaths

Jomo Kenyatta

1978Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan politician, 1st President of Kenya (born 1894)[†]

Jomo Kenyatta was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and a conservative, he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party from 1961 until his death.

Historical Events

Nicaraguan Revolution

1978Nicaraguan Revolution: The FSLN seizes the National Congress of Nicaragua, along with over a thousand hostages.[†]

The Nicaraguan Revolution began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution revealed the country as one of the major proxy war battlegrounds of the Cold War.

District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment

1978The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment is passed by the U.S. Congress, although it is never ratified by a sufficient number of states.[†]

The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would have given the District of Columbia full representation in the United States Congress, full representation in the Electoral College system, and full participation in the process by which the Constitution is amended. It would have also repealed the Twenty-third Amendment, which granted the District of Columbia the same number of electoral votes as that of the least populous state, but gave it no role in contingent elections.

Historical Context for August 22, 1978

In 1978, the world population was approximately 4,292,097,502 people[†]