Here are SOME things that happened in '79, but the list is by no means comprehensive: The Iranian Revolution occurred in January, when the rule of Reza Shah II was swept away
… and replaced by the Islamic fundamentalist rule of Ayatollah Khomenei. A couple of months later, the Iranian Hostage Crisis began, when dozens of Americans were held captive in the US Embassy by Shi'ite militants. Margaret Thatcher came to power in Britain on 4th May- she was the UK's first female Prime Minister, and remains so to date. Pol Pot's ruthless and cruel Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia was overthrown following a Vietnamese invasion of the country. The Three Mile Island nuclear disaster occurred in the US state of Pennsylvania on 30th March, following a leak in the cooling system of the atomic plant there. Amazingly, nobody died as a result. An erroneous nuclear alert was triggered within the US Strategic Air Command in December, following a technical problem with a spy satellite- it was discovered within minutes. The USSR invaded Afghanistan on 27th December, to protect the pro-Soviet Afghan government against civil war being waged by Mujahadeen militia's. Pakistani Prime Minister Sulfakir Bhutto (father of Benazir Bhutto) was executed on 4th April, and the ruthless regime of General Zia took power. The Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua swept the dictatorship of General Anastosio Delbayle from power on 17th May, installing a pro-Cuban Socialist government. This ended 17 years of civil war. African dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa was overthrown in the Central African Republic on 20th September by his nephew, David Dacko, who re-introduced democracy. In the UK, devolution referendums for Scotland and Wales resulted in a 'No' vote for both countries. Israeli PM Begin and Egyptian President Sadat signed a peace treaty between their two countries on 26th March. Britain agreed to give independence to Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe). Idi Amin was deposed by a force of exiled Ugandans on 11th April and fled to exile himself in France- his country returned to democracy. Canadian Prime Minister Joseph Clark was elected to office on 22nd May- as leader of the Progressive Conservatives, he was the youngest ever Canadian premier, aged only 40. The Caribbean islands of St. Kitts, St. Vincent and St. Lucia became independent of Britain. Pope John Paul II visited Poland on 2nd June, the first Pontiff to visit an Eastern Bloc nation since the end of WW2. The European Monetary System (EMS) was introduced on New Year's Day. Panama took control of the American Canal Zone on 1st October. South Korean President Park Chung Hee was assassinated on 26th October by his own Head of Intelligence. Two Aeroflot airliners collided over the Ukraine on 15th August- hundreds died. 700 people on the Indonesian island of Lomblen were killed in a tsunami on 22nd July. Eighteen yachtsmen died in the UK during rough weather in the Fastnet International Sailing Race on 14th August. The IRA assassinated Earl Mountbatten on 27th August, after placing a bomb aboard his boat Shadow V in Co. Sligo. He was the last British Viceroy to have rulled India. British Conservative MP Airey Neave was also killed by the IRA, on 30th March, by a bomb attached to his car in the House of Commons underground car park. Former Sex Pistol Sid Vicious (real name Simon Beverley) died in New York on 2nd February whilst on remand awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Other deaths included actor John Wayne, actress Mary Pickford, US Republican politician Nelson Rockefeller, and French film director Jean Renoir. British athlete Sebastian Coe became the first athlete in history to hold the 800m, 1500m and mile world records simultaneously. Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros began his rise to dominate the sport after winning the British Open. Elton John held a historic concert in Moscow in May. Films included Alien, The Black Hole, Kramer v. Kramer, Being There, The Life Of Brian, Apocalypse Now, The Muppet Movie, Manhattan, The China Syndrome and Star Trek - The Motion Picture. ....These are the main events of 1979, though you can look up other happenings if you key in '1979 main events' to Google, and have a search. Other contributors may add still more facts. (MORE) 
