WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO MAY 1978
Find out what all happened January to May 1978

The US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity. (28. March 1978)

Korean Air Lines Flight 902 is shot down by the Soviet Union. (20. April 1978)

The first Ironman Triathlon competition takes place on the island of Oahu and is won by Gordon Haller. (18. February 1978)

Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone. (1. May 1978)

The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30. (17. February 1978)

The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois). (16. February 1978)

Four days before the scheduled opening of Japan's Narita International Airport, a group of protestors destroys much of the equipment in the control tower with Molotov cocktails. (26. March 1978)

Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat. (19. February 1978)

Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States to France after pleading guilty to charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. (1. February 1978)

Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing 213. (1. January 1978)

Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped and later killed by his captors. (16. March 1978)

The Great Blizzard of 1978, a rare severe blizzard with the lowest non-tropical atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the US until October 2010, strikes the Ohio – Great Lakes region with heavy snow and winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h). (26. January 1978)

Somalia and Ethiopia signed a truce to end the Ethiopian-Somali War. (15. March 1978)

Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered. (24. January 1978)

The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture. (18. January 1978)

Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time. (8. February 1978)

In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga). The local government asks the U.S.A., France and Belgium to restore order. (12. May 1978)

The last Order of Victory is bestowed upon Leonid Brezhnev. (20. February 1978)

U.S. Food & Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled "paid" or "volunteer" donors. (13. January 1978)

The Israeli Defense Force invades and occupies southern Lebanon, in Operation Litani. (14. March 1978)