1977

For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album).

1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar).

Events

January-February

• January 1 - First woman Episcopal priest ordained.
• January 6 - Record company EMI sacks the controversial UK punk rock group the Sex Pistols
• January 18 - Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious "legionnaire's disease"
• January 18 - Australia experiences its worst railway disaster at Granville, near Sydney, in which 83 people died.
• January 19 - President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose").
• January 19 - Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that this occurred, and the farthest south a snowfall has been recorded in the United States.
• January 20 - Gerald Rudolph Ford, 38th President of the United States is succeeded by Jimmy Carter.
• January 21 - President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders.
• February 7 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24.
• February 11 - A 20.2-kg (44-lb.-9-oz.) lobster is caught off Nova Scotia (heaviest known crustacean).
• February 18 - The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle goes on its maiden "flight" while sitting on top of a Boeing 747.

March-April

• March 1 - Sara Lowndes Dylan files for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Bob Dylan
• March 4 - 1977 Bucharest Earthquake - kills more than 1,500
• March 9 - Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims take over three buildings in Washington, DC, killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation ends two days later.
• March 27 - A collision between KLM and PanAm Boeing 747s at Tenerife, Canary Islands, kills 583
• April 1 - Hay-on-Wye declares independence
• April 7 - German Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light near his home in Karlsruhe. "The Ulrike Meinhof Commando" later claims responsibility
• April 7 - Toronto Blue Jays play their first-ever game of baseball against the Chicago White Sox
• April 28 - Stuttgart court sentences RAF members Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe to life imprisonment

May-June

• May 23 - Scientists report using bacteria in lab to make insulin
• May 23 - Moluccan terrorists take over a school in Bovensmilde, northern Netherlands (105 hostages) and a passenger train in Bovensmilde-Assen route nearby (90 hostages) at the same time. June 11 Dutch Royal Marines storm the train - six terrorists and two hostages are killed
• May 25 - Star Wars opens in theaters.
• May 26 - George Willig climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
• May 28 - In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 inside.
• June 5 - A coup takes place in Seychelles.
• June 7 - After campaigning by Anita Bryant and her anti-Gay "Save Our Children" crusade, Dade County, Florida voters overwhelmingly vote to repeal the county's Gay rights ordinance, igniting a wave of violence against Gays across the United States.
• June 6-9 - Jubilee celebrations are held in the United Kingdom to celebrate twenty-five years of Elizabeth II's reign.
• June 10 - James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee (he was recaptured on June 13).
• June 15 - Spain has its first democratic elections after 41 years under the Franco regime.
• June 20 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states are not required to spend Medicaid funds on elective abortions.
• June 22 - Robert Hillsborough, a Gay San Franciscan, is brutally stabbed to death just steps from his home by four youths, calling him "fag" and "queer" and allegedly shouting "this one's for Anita Bryant".
• June 26 - Some 200,000 Gays march through the streets of San Francisco, protesting Anita Bryant's homophobia and Robert Hillsborough's murder.

July-August

• July 4 - Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty is sensationally sacked by the club's directors.
• July 13 - The New York City Blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours and results in looting and other disorder.
• July 22 - The purged Chinese communist leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power as the "Gang of Four" is expelled from the Communist Party of China.
• July 28 - First oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System reaches Valdez, Alaska
• July 30 - Left-wing German terrorists Susanne Albrecht[1], Brigitte Mohnhaupt[2] and a third person assassinate Jürgen Ponto[3], chairman of the Dresdner Bank in Oberursel, West Germany
• August 3 United States Senate Hearing on MKULTRA.
• August 4 - US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy
• August 12 - NASA space shuttle makes its first test flight off the back of a jetliner
• August 15 - The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by The Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "WOW!" signal for notation made by a volunteer on the project.
• August 16 - Rock singer Elvis Presley dies in Tennessee.
• August 19 - Groucho Marx dies.
• August 19 - Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami of 1977
• August 20 - Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft

September

• September 5 - Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay
• September 5 - Hanns-Martin Schleyer, President of the Employers Association, is kidnapped in Cologne, West Germany. Kidnappers kill three escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand release of Red Army Faction prisoners
• September 6 (approx) - Steve Biko suffers a massive head injury in police custody in South Africa.
• September 7 - Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The US agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century
• September 8 - INTERPOL releases copyright laws that govern the reproduction of video tapes & other material.
• September 11 - The last "wild" infection of smallpox is reported in Somalia.
• September 12 - Steve Biko dies of his injuries.
• September 21 - Nuclear-proliferation pact, curbing spread of nuclear weapons, is signed by 15 countries including the United States and USSR.
• September 28 - Porsche 928 debuts at the Geneva Auto Convention

October-December

• October 13 - Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction
• October 18 - Three Palestinian hijackers are killed when a German anti-terrorist squad storms a Lufthansa aircraft at Mogadishu Airport
• October 18 - Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Gudrun Ensslin commit suicide in Stammheim prison. Irmgard Möller fails. Their supporters continue to claim they were murdered. Bodies are buried October 27
• October 19 - Kidnapped industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer is found killed in West Berlin
• October 20 - Three members of rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd die in charter plane crash
• November 6 - The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39
• November 19 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel when he meets with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement (much of the Arab world is outraged by the visit).
• November 22 - British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service
• December 1 - First flight of Lockheed's top-secret stealth project aircraft designated Have Blue, the precursor to the US F-117A Nighthawk.
• December 4 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor.
• December 4 - A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 is hijacked and then blown up in mid-air over the Straits of Johor, killing 100.

Unknown dates

• 2060 Chiron, first of the outer solar system asteroids known as Centaurs, discovered by Charlie Kowal.

• Color TV Game 6 is created by Nintendo.

Year in topic

• 1977 in film
  • Annie Hall
  • Dot And The Kangaroo (Australia)
  • Storm Boy (Australia)*
  • May 25 - The science fiction saga Star Wars, later renamed to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, makes its first outing to the cinema and makes George Lucas and the team at Lucasfilm a staggering $461 million.
  • John Travolta discoed in Saturday Night Fever.
  • In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network.
  • Annie Hall picks up an Academy Award for Best Picture and All The President's Men wins Jason Robards the Supporting Actor and an Art Direction for George Jenkins and George Gaines.
• 1977 in literature
  • A collection of work by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, is published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien.
  • 2000 AD, the UK sci-fi comic is launched, featuring Judge Dredd.
• 1977 in music
  • Punk rock music reaches its peak, with landmark records and performances by the Clash, the Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones, and The Damned. Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols becomes the most legendary of the '77 records.
  • February 4 - Fleetwood Mac releases Rumours, which is a blockbuster album (recorded on March 3, 1976).
  • Kenny Rogers tops the charts with the country classic "Lucille", the first of more than 20 number 1 hit singles on the country and/or pop charts for the former First Edition star.
  • DJ_Kool_Herc classifies and introduces a new movement in America, calling it Hip hop.
  • The Talking Heads release their debut album, Talking Heads: 77.
  • The Police is formed
  • Swedish music group ABBA passes The Beatles as having most records sold.
• 1977 in rail transport
  • Auto-Train Corporation launches and then discontinues Auto Train service to Louisville, Kentucky.
• 1977 in sports
  • May 29 - Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
  • Creation of the WilliamsF1 Formula One racing team by Frank Williams.
  • October 1 - Football (soccer) legend Pelé plays the last game of his storied career, a friendly match between his current team, the New York Cosmos, and his old Brazilian club Santos, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Pelé played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos.
• 1977 in television
  • March 15 - Eight is Enough premieres on ABC.
  • June 20 - Alternative 3 shown on British television
  • September 15-CHiPs premieres on NBC.
  • Don Novello first appeared on Saturday Night Live.
• 1977 in video gaming and computing
  • June 5 - The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale.
  • August 3 Two months after the Apple II and Commodore PET ship, Tandy announces the TRS-80
  • The Atari 2600 Video Computer System is released.

Births

January-March

• January 7 - Dustin Diamond, actor (Saved by the Bell)
• January 8 - Amber Benson, actress
• January 13 - Orlando Bloom, actor (Fellowship of the Ring, Troy)
• January 26 - Vince Carter, American basketball star
• January 28 - Daunte Culpepper, American football quarterback
• January 28 - Joey Fatone, musician
• February 2 - Shakira, Colombian musician
• February 8 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
• February 11 - Mike Shinoda, musician
• February 11 - Randy Moss, NFL star
• February 16 - Ian Clarke, Freenet creator
• February 20 - Stephon Marbury, basketball player
• February 21 - Kevin Rose, former co-host of Attack of the Show and The Screen Savers
• March 5 - Wally Szczerbiak, NBA basketball player
• March 28 - Devon, erotic actress

April-June

• April 9 - Gerard Way, Musician
• April 14 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, actress
• April 14 - Chandra Levy, intern at the Bureau of Prisons in Washington, DC (d. 2001)
• April 21 - Jamie Salé, figure skater
• April 22 - Andruw Jones, Major League Baseball All-Star
• April 24 - Carlos Beltrán, baseball player
• April 25 - Kim Jong Kook, Korean musician
• May 13 - Samantha Morton, actress
• May 14 - Ada Nicodemou, Australian actress
• May 14 - Roy Halladay, baseball pitcher
• May 23 - Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skating champion
• June 1 - Danielle Harris, voice actress
• June 8 - Kanye West, rapper, producer
• June 9 - Peja Stojakovic, Serbian NBA star
• June 14 - Chris McAlister, American football player
• June 16 - Kerry Wood, baseball pitcher
• June 19 - Peter Warrick, American football player
• June 27 - Raúl, Spanish international football star

July-November

• July 1 - Jarome Iginla, NHL hockey player
• July 1 - Liv Tyler, actress
• July 8 - Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
• July 14 - Victoria, Princess of Sweden - Crown Princess of Sweden from 1980
• July 28 - Emanuel Ginóbili, Argentine basketball player
• July 31 - Tim Couch, American football quarterback
• August 3 - Angela Beesley, British Internet entrepreneur
• August 3 - Tom Brady, American football player
• August 9 - Chamique Holdsclaw, WNBA basketball player
• August 12 - Plaxico Burress, American football player
• August 15 - Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast
• August 17 - Thierry Henry, French international football player
• August 27 - Deco, Portuguese international football player
• September 1 - Aaron Schobel, American football player
• September 11 - Ludacris, rapper
• September 13 - Fiona Apple, musician
• September 28 - Se Ri Pak, Korean golfer
• October 7 - Meighan Desmond, actress
• October 11 - Claudia Palacios, Colombian journalist and newsreader.
• October 25 - Birgit Prinz, German women's international football player
• November 2 - Randy Harrison, actor
• November 3 - Aria Giovanni, model and actress
• November 13 - Chanel Cole, singer
• November 16 - Oksana Baiul, figure skater
• November 19 - Kerri Strug, gymnast
• November 21 - Jonas Jennings, American football player

December

• December - Ahmed al-Nami, suspected terrorist
• December 3 - Adam Malysz, Polish ski jumper
• December 7 - Fernando Vargas, boxer
• December 12 - Dahm triplets - Nicole, Erica, and Jaclyn Dahm, Playmates of the Month for December 1998
• December 23 - Alge Crumpler, American football player
• December 30 - Laila Ali, boxer, daughter of Muhammad Ali

Deaths

January-March

• January 2 - Errol Garner, American jazz musician (b. 1921)
• January 14
  • Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • Peter Finch, actor
  • Anaïs Nin, author
• January 17 - Gary Gilmore, murderer (executed by firing squad)
• January 19 - Yvonne Printemps, singer, actress
• January 29 - Freddie Prinze, actor/comedian
• February 11 - Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1946-1948, 1958-1959) (b. 1902)
• February 28 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, actor
• March 4 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951)
• March 16 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze
• March 18 - Marien Ngouabi, President of The Congo

April-August

• April 21 - Gummo Marx, actor, comedian, Marx Brothers (b. 1892)
• May 5 - Ludwig Erhard, German chancellor (1963-1966)
• May 10 - Joan Crawford, actress (b. 1904)
• June 19 - Lady Olave Baden-Powell, World Chief Guide
• June 19 - Ali Shariati, sociologist
• July 2 - Vladimir Nabokov, writer
• July 13 - Carl Gustav von Rosen, military aviator
• July 23 - Arsenio Erico, Paraguayan footballer, top-scorer of all-time in Argentina's top division (b. 1915)
• August 14 - Ron Haydock, actor, writer, musician
• August 16 - Elvis Presley, singer, actor
• August 19 - Groucho Marx, comedian (b. 1890)

September-December

• September 1 - Ethel Waters, singer (b. 1896)
• September 6 - John Edensor Littlewood, British mathematician (b. 1885)
• September 10 - Hamida Djandoubi, last guillotine execution in France
• September 12 - Steve Biko, South African activist
• September 13 - Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882)
• September 16 - Marc Bolan, musician
• September 16 - Maria Callas, American soprano
• October 14 - Bing Crosby, American singer and actor
• November 5 - René Goscinny, French comic book writer (b. 1926)
• November 8 - Bucky Harris, baseball player (b. 1896)
• November 15 - Princess Charlotte of Monaco
• November 25 - Tommy Prince, Canadian war hero
• December 19 - Jacques Tourneur, director
• December 25 - Charlie Chaplin, English-born comedian

Nobel Prizes

• Physics - Philip Warren Anderson, Sir Nevill Francis Mott, John Hasbrouck van Vleck
• Chemistry - Ilya Prigogine
• Medicine - Roger Guillemin, Andrew V. Schally, Rosalyn Yalow
• Literature - Vicente Aleixandre
• Peace - Amnesty International
• Economics - Bertil Ohlin, James Meade

Templeton Prize

• Chiara Lubich