Many major events dominated headlines of 1978 newspapers. The 1970s were a tumultuous time in America, in some ways acting as a continuation of the 1960s. Many social groups continued their fight for equality, and many joined the protest against the war in Vietnam. It was also the decade of space hoppers, Star Wars, flared trousers and Blue Nun.
January 19, 1978Â
Federal Appeals Court judge William H. Webster is appointed Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
January 25-27Â
The Great Blizzard of 1978 strikes the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes, causing 51 deaths in Ohio.
February 5-7, 1978Â Â
The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 hits the New England region and the New York metropolitan area, killing about 100 and causing over $520 million in damage.
February 8, 1978Â
United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.
February 15, 1978Â
Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Pensacola, Florida.
February 16, 1978
The first computer bulletin board system (CBBS) is created in Chicago.
April 2, 1978
Dallas, the popular CBS soap opera, is launched. The show is set to be aired later in the year in several different countries, including by the BBC in the United Kingdom.
April 7, 1978Â
President Jimmy Carter decides to postpone production of the neutron bomb – a weapon which kills people with radiation but leaves buildings relatively intact.
April 10, 1978
Volkswagen becomes the second, after Rolls-Royce. non-American automobile manufacturer to open a plant in the United States. This commences production of the North American version of the Volkswagen Golf, known as the Rabbit.
April 25, 1978
St. Paul, Minnesota becomes the second U.S. city to repeal its gay rights ordinance after Anita Bryant’s successful 1977 anti-gay campaign in Dade County, Florida.
April 28, 1978Â
The WAC is abolished and women are integrated into the regular Army.
May 5, 1978Â
Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds gets his 3000th major league hit.
May 17, 1978
Charlie Chaplin’s coffin is found ten miles away from the cemetery it had been stolen from, near Lake Geneva.
May 20, 1978Â
53-year-old Mavis Hutchinson becomes the first woman to run across the United States. Her trek took her 69 days to complete.
May 26, 1978Â
The first legal casino in the eastern United States opens in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International.
June 16, 1978Â
The musical film Grease is released, starting 24-year-old John Travolta and 29-year-old Olivia Newton-John.
June 28, 1978Â
The rainbow flag of the LGBT movement flies for the first time, in its original form, at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
July 25, 1978
Louise Brown is born in Oldham in Manchester, becoming the world’s first test tube baby.
August 6, 1978
Pope Paul VI dies in Rome.
August 13, 1978Â
The 5.8 Mw Santa Barbara earthquake affected the central coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), causing 65 injuries and $12 million in financial losses.
September 28, 1978
Pope John Paul I dies after only thirty-three days of papacy.
October 4, 1978Â
Pier 39 opens on Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, as a tourist attraction.
December 13, 1978Â
The first Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
December 22, 1978Â
Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who is subsequently convicted of the murder of 33 young men, is arrested.
December 25, 1978
Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
There’s no doubt this year was a particularly memorable date in history, with many of our 1978 headlines capturing vital news of the time. The musical “Evita” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice premiered in London. The BBC banned “No One is Innocent” by the Sex Pistols and the cult classic, “Dawn of the Dead” by George A. Romero was released.
In 1978, two incremental events became notorious worldwide; the first, a Jonestown newspaper on the massacre in Guyana, where over 900 members of The Peoples Temple commit suicide at the hands of Rev. Jim Jones. Up until the September 11th attacks, the tragedy represented the largest number of American civilian casualties not caused by a natural disaster.
The second occurred in New York city where musician, Sid Vicious was charged for the murder of Nancy Spungen. As these events are of great historic interest, you can find exact Jonestown newspapers by contacting research@historic-newspapers.co.uk for in-depth articles, features and interviews from papers offering coverage of the date.
Some of the most significant moments in history are reported on in our 1978 news headlines. Life-changing events and people that characterized the decade instantly come to mind, many of which can be found in the archive. Have a browse to see what made 1978 so fascinating.