On this day

January 19, 1979

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

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Headlines from January 19, 1979

It Was A Struggle Just to Stay on Course

By Unknown Author

Leaning into the wind, pedestrians tried not to lose ground yesterday at 46th Street and Avenue of the Americas. New Yorkers who ventured outside faced gusts of up to 40 miles an hour as northwesterly winds howled through the city' s concrete canyons. High winds and low temperatures resulted in a below‐zero wind‐chill factor.

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Zeckendorf, Hilton in Statler Deal

By Dee Wedemeyer

Investment group headed by William Zeckendorf Jr to buy Statler Hilton Hotel from Hilton Hotels Corp for $24-million; hotel to be called NY Statler and be run by Dunfey Hotels, subsidiary of Aer Lingus airline; hotel 1st opened in 1919 as Pennsylvania and was world's largest until 1927; illus (M)

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of January 17, 1979, covering January 19, 1979.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits; Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand

    Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits; Volume 2

    Barbra Streisand

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    8
  2. 2
    Album cover for 52nd Street by Billy Joel

    52nd Street

    Billy Joel

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    13
  3. 3
    Album cover for Briefcase Full of Blues (Soundtrack) by Blues Brothers

    Briefcase Full of Blues (Soundtrack)

    Blues Brothers

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    5
  4. 4
    Album cover for A Wild And Crazy Guy by Steve Martin

    A Wild And Crazy Guy

    Steve Martin

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    12
  5. 5
    Album cover for C'est Chic by Chic

    C'est Chic

    Chic

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    8

Notable Births

Svetlana Khorkina

1979Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast and sportscaster[†]

Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She competed in three Summer Olympics: 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics, and 2004 Summer Olympics. During her career, Khorkina won seven Olympic medals and twenty World Championship medals. Over time, she medaled in every event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She was also the first gymnast to win three all-around titles at the World Championships and only the second female artistic gymnast ever, after Nadia Comăneci, to win three European All-Around titles. Khorkina is regarded as one of the most successful female gymnasts of all time.

Byung-hyun Kim

1979Byung-hyun Kim, South Korean baseball player[†]

Byung-hyun Kim is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. He had his most successful years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox.

Josu Sarriegi

1979Josu Sarriegi, Spanish footballer[†]

Josu Sarriegi Zumarraga is a Spanish former footballer who played as a central defender.

Wiley (musician)

1979Wiley, English rapper and producer[†]

Richard Kylea Cowie Jr., better known by his stage name Wiley, is a British grime MC, songwriter, DJ and record producer from Bow, London.

Notable Deaths

1979Moritz Jahn, German novelist and poet (born 1884)[†]

Moritz Jahn was a Lower German novelist and an educator. He was also a poet, best known for writing poetry as well, such as ballad, lyric, and narratives. Jahn was born in Lilienthal, a suburb in Lower Saxony to a Low German family. He was the member for Nazi Party. He has written notable books with narration such as Frangula and Lucifer. John was active from the 1920s to 1950s.

Historical Context for January 19, 1979

In 1979, the world population was approximately 4,368,539,528 people[†]