On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Larousse Gastronomique, the authoritative dictionary of gastronomy, quotes C. Gerard, the author of “L'Ancienne Alsace à table,” as follows: “The goose is nothing, but man has made of it an instrument for the output a marvelous product, a kind of living hothouse in which grows the supreme fruit of gastronomy.” That “fruit,” the product of force‐fed geese, is, course, foie gras.
AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Lane Kirkland testifies for defense in Scotto trial; tells jury Scotto's honesty and integrity are 'above reproach;' says Scotto's conviction would change his assessment; New York postal workers union president Morris Bitler also testifies; lauds Scotto's honesty; longshoreman safety official Alfred Small and waterfront carpenter Alfred Astarita also testify for defense (M)
ONE of the most astonishing experiences for the neophyte in the world of wine is that first taste of Sauternes, perhaps the richest, most luscious potion known to man. It is a golden wine of intense natural sweetness balanced with fruit that fills the mouth, creating a taste sensation that clings to the memory. No serious oenophile will ever forget his first encounter with this extraordinary product of the grape.
Matos describes imprisonment, including being kept underground in concrete closet for one year, news conference Costa Rica; says he plans no anti-Castro movement (M)
6 Czechoslovak human-rights activists, among them playwright Vaclav Havel, are convicted of subversion of republic and sentenced to prison terms ranging up to 5 years; official press agency Ceteka says Havel was sentenced to 4 1/2 years and Peter Uhl, former economist, was sentenced to 5-year term; Vaclav Benda, former dissident spokesman, received 4 years; other defendants received lesser sentences; 6 convicted, and 4 still to be tried, are members of subgroup of Charter 77 human-rights movement called Committee for the Defense of Unjustly Persecuted; Government charged that defendants, who were arrested May 29, founded illegal group dedicated to aiding dissidents and to helping foreigners make hostile propaganda against state; Chief Judge Antonin Kaspar reportedly rejected request for release of defendants pending hearing on appeals; others sentenced are Jiri Dienstbier, Mrs Otta Bednarova and Dana Nemcova; French Communist Party and Italian Pres Sandro Pertini are among foreign critics of trial; portraits of Havel, Uhl and Benda (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of October 24, 1979, covering October 24, 1979.
Led Zeppelin
Eagles
Commodores
Styx
Foreigner
1979Ben Gillies, Australian drummer and songwriter[†]
Benjamin David Gillies is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer of Australian rock band Silverchair from 1992 until the band went on hiatus in 2011. In 2003, Gillies formed Tambalane with Wes Carr, initially as a songwriting project; they released a self-titled album in 2005 and toured Australia but subsequently folded. By June 2011, after Silverchair's disbandment, Gillies was in the final stages of about 12 months of working on his solo album, and he said that it was not a continuation of his earlier work with Tambalane. In 2012, he formed Bento, in which he performs lead vocals, and released the band's debut album Diamond Days.
1979Marijonas Petravičius, Lithuanian basketball player[†]
Marijonas Petravičius is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player. He was a member of the Lithuania national team. He mainly played the center position, but he could also play the power forward position.
1979Carlo Abarth, Italian automobile designer and founded of Abarth (born 1908)[†]
Carlo Abarth, born Karl Albert Abarth, was an Italian automobile designer.
In 1979, the world population was approximately 4,368,539,528 people[†]