WHAT ALL HAPPENED MARCH TO SEPTEMBER 1979
Find out what all happened March to September 1979

Another section of the Sinai Peninsula is peacefully returned by Israel to Egypt. (25. July 1979)

The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan's government, precipitating a general election. (28. March 1979)

Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown. (4. June 1979)

The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers. (17. March 1979)

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed. (11. April 1979)

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

Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.. (26. March 1979)

A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb kills British retired admiral Louis Mountbatten and three others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. Shortly after, 18 British Army soldiers are killed in an ambush near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland. (27. August 1979)

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

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

In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing at least 200. (14. March 1979)

Philips demonstrates the Compact Disc publicly for the first time. (8. March 1979)

Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000 member strong Jewish community of Iran. (9. May 1979)

American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground. (25. May 1979)

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

White Night riots in San Francisco following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk. (21. May 1979)

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

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 Ghost Train Fire at Luna Park Sydney (New South Wales, Australia) kills seven. (9. June 1979)