On this day

March 5, 1979

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

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Headlines from March 5, 1979

Amin's Rule in Uganda Imperiled As Tanzanian Force Nears Capital

By John Darnton; Special to The New York Times

Amin faces gravest armed threat to regime since he seized power 8 yrs ago; invading Tanzanian troops have seized major cities in southern Uganda and are marching on Kampala; Ugandan exiles are slipping back across border in significant numbers for 1st time in yrs to take up arms and engage in sabotage; Tanzanian Pres Nyerere denies he is trying to bring down Amin; emphasizes that his troops crossed border in retaliation for Ugandan invasion and are fighting only to insure that another invasion does not occur; illus (M)

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For Sale: Isle of Saints and Kings

By R. W. Apple Jr.; Special to The New York Times

Island, noted as early center of Celtic Christianity, is for sale; 12th Duke of Argyll says he intends to sell island, which has belonged to his family for 300 yrs, in hope of raising enough money to pay about $1 million in estate taxes owed since death of 10th Duke, his great‐uncle, in '49; island's history; map; illus (M)

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of February 28, 1979, covering March 5, 1979.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Spirits Having Flown by Bee Gees

    Spirits Having Flown

    Bee Gees

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    3
  2. 2
    Album cover for Blondes Have More Fun by Rod Stewart

    Blondes Have More Fun

    Rod Stewart

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    11
  3. 3
    Album cover for Cruisin' by Village People

    Cruisin'

    Village People

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    20
  4. 4
    Album cover for Dire Straits by Dire Straits

    Dire Straits

    Dire Straits

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    9
  5. 5
    Album cover for Briefcase Full of Blues (Soundtrack) by Blues Brothers

    Briefcase Full of Blues (Soundtrack)

    Blues Brothers

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    11

Notable Births

Martin Axenrot

1979Martin Axenrot, Swedish drummer[†]

Erik Martin "Axe" Axenrot is a Swedish death metal drummer, best known as the former drummer for progressive metal band Opeth (2005-2021). Since 2004, he is the drummer for Bloodbath. Known for his intricate playing style, his drumming has been highly praised by Opeth members and fans, with Mikael Åkerfeldt calling him "a joy to play with." Axenrot has also been jokingly referred to as The Lord of the Rings character Legolas by band members and fans.

Érik BĂ©dard

1979Érik BĂ©dard, Canadian baseball player[†]

Érik Joseph BĂ©dard is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays. With Baltimore, BĂ©dard was the staff ace, setting the franchise single-season strikeouts per nine innings record at 10.93 in 2007.

Lee Mears

1979Lee Mears, English rugby player[†]

Lee Mears is an English former professional rugby union player who played as a hooker. He played his club rugby for Bath from 1998 until his retirement in 2013. He also played for the England national team from 2004 to 2012; he earned 42 caps and played in two Rugby World Cups, and played for the British & Irish Lions on their 2009 tour to South Africa.

Historical Events

Venera 11

1979Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by "off the scale" gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.[†]

The Venera 11 was a Soviet uncrewed space mission which was part of the Venera program to explore the planet Venus. Venera 11 was launched on 9 September 1978 at 03:25:39 UTC.

Historical Context for March 5, 1979

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