WHAT ALL HAPPENED APRIL TO OCTOBER 1979
Find out what all happened April to October 1979

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua. (19. July 1979)

The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in the Western Pacific during Typhoon Tip. (12. October 1979)

Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the United States. (21. August 1979)

The Hong Kong MTR commences service with the opening of its Modified Initial System (aka. Kwun Tong Line). (30. September 1979)

U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. (3. July 1979)

Several tornadoes strike the city of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada and the surrounding communities. (7. August 1979)

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

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published. (12. October 1979)

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

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

SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union. (18. June 1979)

Pope John Paul II denounces all forms of concentration camps and torture while speaking at the U.N. in New York City. (2. October 1979)

Afghan President Nur Muhammad Taraki is assassinated upon the order of Hafizullah Amin, who becomes the new president. (14. September 1979)

Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community. (28. May 1979)

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

Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs. (21. October 1979)

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

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)

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