WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1979
Find out what all happened January to September 1979

Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah. (1. April 1979)

The first fully functional space shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch. (25. March 1979)

An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge. (13. February 1979)

A coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokasa I. (20. September 1979)

The Sino-Vietnamese War begins. (17. February 1979)

An IRA bomb explodes at the Grote Markt in Brussels. (28. August 1979)

Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to visit Ireland. (29. September 1979)

Formal diplomatic relations are established between China and the United States. (1. January 1979)

The last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt. (16. January 1979)

Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein. (16. July 1979)

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (4. May 1979)

A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded. (3. June 1979)

The Federated States of Micronesia become self-governing. (10. May 1979)

President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed. (4. April 1979)

The American space probe Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 kilometres (13,000 mi). (1. September 1979)

ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime. (20. June 1979)

CompuServe launches the first consumer internet service, which features the first public electronic mail service. (24. September 1979)

South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa). (13. September 1979)

Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country. (2. June 1979)

Don Dunstan resigns as Premier of South Australia, ending a decade of sweeping social liberalisation. (15. February 1979)