On this day

October 17, 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 October 11, 1978, covering October 17, 1978.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Grease by Soundtrack

    Grease

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    22
  2. 2
    Album cover for Don't Look Back by Boston

    Don't Look Back

    Boston

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    7
  3. 3
    Album cover for Double Vision by Foreigner

    Double Vision

    Foreigner

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    15
  4. 4
    Album cover for Who Are You by The Who

    Who Are You

    The Who

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    6
  5. 5
    Album cover for Some Girls by The Rolling Stones

    Some Girls

    The Rolling Stones

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    17

Notable Births

1978Jerry Flannery, Irish rugby player and coach[†]

Jeremiah Paul Flannery is an Irish rugby union former player and current coach. During his playing career, Flannery, a hooker, played for Munster and Ireland, before being forced to retire in March 2012 due to injury problems. He joined Munster as a coach before leaving in 2019, and, in 2020, joined English Premiership club Harlequins as their lineout coach.

Pablo Iglesias Turrión

1978Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Spanish politician[†]

Pablo Iglesias Turrión is a Spanish political scientist and former politician. During his political career, he served as Second Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda of the Government of Spain from 2020 to 2021. He also served as Member of the Congress of Deputies from 2016 to 2021, representing Madrid. Iglesias is a co-founder of Podemos, a left-wing political party that he led from 2014 until his resignation in 2021.

Erin Karpluk

1978Erin Karpluk, Canadian actress[†]

Erin Karpluk is a Canadian actress. She is known for her portrayal of Erica Strange on the CBC Television series Being Erica from 2009 to 2011.

Chuka Umunna

1978Chuka Umunna, English lawyer and politician[†]

Chuka Harrison Umunna is a British businessman and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabinet from 2011 to 2015. He left Labour in February 2019, when he resigned to form The Independent Group, later Change UK, along with six other MPs. Later in 2019, he left Change UK and, after a short time as an independent MP, joined the Liberal Democrats. In the 2019 general election, he failed to be re-elected, and did not return to the House of Commons.

Notable Deaths

1978George Clark, American race car driver (born 1890)[†]

George H. Clark was an American racing driver.

Giovanni Gronchi

1978Giovanni Gronchi, Italian educator, soldier, and politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (born 1887)[†]

Giovanni Gronchi, was an Italian politician from Christian Democracy who served as President of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "opening to the left" in Italian politics. He was reputed the real holder of the executive power in Italy from 1955 to 1962, behind the various Prime Ministers of this time.

Historical Context for October 17, 1978

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