On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Mayor Koch authorizes city attorneys to proceed with foreclosure action against Co-Op City, Bronx, which, if successful, will result in city becoming owner of housing complex or else collect back taxes, which may be as high as $38 million; development has not paid taxes since '74; counterclaims by city and state as to amount of taxes owed noted (M)
Persistent efforts of thousands of East Germany to escape country each year reviewed; illus; West Berlin refugee organization estimates 60% of 5,000 East German political prisoners are held on charges related to unlawful border crossings; estimates over 200 people have died in attempted escapes since '61; East Germany spends over $500 million annually on border fortifications; sample of refugees cuts across economic, social and educational lines and many are 'simple' people rather than intellectuals (M)
Sen Intelligence Committee says treaty enhances ability of US to monitor deployment of Soviet strategic nuclear weapons; treaty proponents cite statement as factor that should help win Sen approval; opponents cite failure of committee to draw any firm conclusions that terms of treaty are adequately verifiable; say failure to certify that cheating by USSR could not occur might weaken support for treaty among undecided and wavering senators; committee members stated that numbers of Soviet strategic weapons could be counted by US with 'high or high-moderate' degrees of confidence; that 'most' improvements in quality of Soviet weapons could be detected with 'high to moderate confidence,' but that some treaty provisions could be monitored with only 'low level' of confidence (M)
MIT appoints Dr Paul E Gray president; Gray interview; career reviewed; por (M)
Hambletonian Society votes to move race to Meadowlands (NJ) Race Track after Meadowlands bid $800,000 in purse money for '81 race, $850,000 in '82 and $1 million in '83 (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of October 3, 1979, covering October 6, 1979.
Led Zeppelin
The Knack
Bob Dylan
Commodores
Michael Jackson
1979David Di Tommaso, French footballer (died 2005)[†]
David di Elias Alemu Tommaso was a French professional footballer who played as a central defender.
1979Mohamed Kallon, Sierra Leonean footballer and manager[†]
Mohamed Kallon MOR is a Sierra Leonean football manager and former player who is the manager of the Sierra Leone national football team. He was a striker and played for Inter Milan from 2001 to 2004, competing for spots with players such as Christian Vieri, Ronaldo, Álvaro Recoba, Adriano, Hakan Şükür and Nicola Ventola. He is widely considered the most famous footballer from Sierra Leone.
1979Richard Seymour, American football player[†]
Richard Vershaun Seymour is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, and was drafted by the Patriots sixth overall in the 2001 NFL draft.
1979Pascal van Assendelft, Dutch sprinter[†]
Pascal van Assendelft is a former Dutch sprinter. She started her career in athletics at the age of thirteen and was to become a sprinting athlete, competing at European and Olympic level.
1979Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and short-story writer (born 1911)[†]
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Award winner in 1970, and the recipient of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1976. Dwight Garner argued in 2018 that she was perhaps "the most purely gifted poet of the 20th century". She was also a painter, and her poetry is noted for its careful attention to detail; Ernest Hilbert wrote “Bishop’s poetics is one distinguished by tranquil observation, craft-like accuracy, care for the small things of the world, a miniaturist’s discretion and attention."
1979Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House.[†]
Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005.
In 1979, the world population was approximately 4,368,539,528 people[†]