1977

Also: 1977 (album) by Ash.

Year 1977 (MCMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1977 Gregorian calendar).

Events of 1977

January

January 1 - The Australian state of Queensland abolishes death duties.
January 3 - Apple Computer Inc. is incorporated.
January 10 - Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

January 10 - Ocean Park opens in Hong Kong.
January 15 - Kälvesta air disaster: A Swedish airliner crashes into a residential area of Stockholm, killing all 22 on board.
January 17 - Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah (the first execution after the reintroduction of the death penalty in the USA).
January 18 - Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.
January 18 - Australia's worst railway disaster at Granville, near Sydney, leaves 83 people dead.
January 18 - SFR Yugoslavia Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and 6 others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
January 19 - U.S. President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose").
January 19 - Snow falls in Miami, Florida (despite its ordinarily tropical climate) for the only time in its history. Snowfall has occurred farther south in the United States only on the high mountains of the state of Hawaii.
January 20 - Jimmy Carter succeeds Gerald Ford as the 39th President of the United States.
January 21 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders.
January 23 - Roots begins its phenomenally successful run on ABC.
January 24 - Massacre of Atocha during the Spanish transition to democracy.
January 27 - Record company EMI sacks the controversial United Kingdom punk rock group the Sex Pistols
January 28 - Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 hits Buffalo, NY
January 29 - Actor Freddie Prinze dies from a self inflicted bullet wound.
January 31 - The Centre Georges Pompidou is officially opened by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

February

February 4 - Fleetwood Mac's Grammy-winning album Rumours is released.
February 7 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24 (Viktor Gorbatko, Yuri Glazkov) to dock with the Salyut 5 space station.
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, at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
February 18 - Prog 1 of 2000AD, currently the UK's longest running comic, is launched. Issue dated 26th February 1977
February 28 - State Opening of the New Zealand Parliament, by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

March

March 4 - The 1977 Bucharest Earthquake kills 1,500.
March 5 - Formula One driver Tom Pryce dies after colliding with a track marshal at the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami.
March 8 - State Opening of the Australian parliament by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.
March 9 - Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims take over 3 buildings in Washington, DC, killing 1 person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation ends 2 days later.
March 12 - The Centenary Test between Australia and England begins at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
March 15 - Tenor Luciano Pavarotti and the PBS opera series Live from the Met both make their American television debuts. Pavarotti stars in a complete production of Puccini's La Boheme.
March 26 - Focus on the Family is founded by Dr. James Dobson
March 27 - Tenerife disaster: a collision between KLM and PanAm Boeing 747s at Tenerife, Canary Islands, kills 583 (the worst single aviation accident on record).

April

April 1 - Hay-on-Wye declares independence as a publicity stunt.
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 - The Toronto Blue Jays play their first-ever game of baseball against the Chicago White Sox.
April 8 - Punk band The Clash's debut album The Clash (album) is released in the UK on CBS Records.

April 11 - London Transport's Silver Jubilee buses are launched.
April 22 - First use of optical fiber to carry live telephone traffic.
April 27 - The Guatemala City air disaster kills 28 people.
April 28 - A Stuttgart court sentences Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe to life imprisonment.

May

May 1 - Taksim Square massacre in Istanbul: 34 dead, hundreds injured
May 3 - HMS Invincible is launched at Barrow-in-Furness by Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom.
May 7 - Marie Myriam wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 for France with her song L'oiseau et l'enfant ("The Bird and the Child").
May 14 - The 1977 IAS Cargo Boeing 707 airplane crash in Lusaka, Zambia kills all 6 on board.
May 14 - In Milan, Italy, during a far-left demonstration, a hooded person shoots at the police, killing a policeman, Antonio Custra. The scene is photographed and the picture of the hooded man shooting in the middle of the street will appear in many magazines around the world.
May 17 - The Likud Party, led by Menachem Begin, wins the elections in Israel.
May 17 - Elizabeth II commences her 1977 Silver Jubilee tour in Glasgow.
May 23 - Scientists report using bacteria in a 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. On June 11, Dutch Royal Marines storm the train; 6 terrorists and 2 hostages are killed.
May 25 - Star Wars opens in cinemas and subsequently becomes the then-highest grossing film of all time.
May 26 - George Willig climbs the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
May 27 - Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, opens the new Air Terminal Building at Edinburgh Airport.
May 27 - The 1977 Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 airplane crash in Cuba kills 69 people.
May 28 - In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 inside.
May 29 - Indianapolis 500: A.J. Foyt becomes the first driver to win a (to date) record 4 times.

June

June 5 - A coup takes place in Seychelles.
June 5 - The first Apple II computers go on sale.
June 6-June 9 - Jubilee celebrations are held in the United Kingdom to celebrate twenty-five years of Elizabeth II's reign.
June 7 - After campaigning by Anita Bryant and her anti-gay "Save Our Children" crusade, Miami-Dade County, Florida voters overwhelmingly vote to repeal the county's gay rights ordinance.
June 10 - James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee (he is recaptured on June 13).
June 15 - Spain has its first democratic elections, after 41 years under the Franco regime.
June 16 - Oracle Corporation was incorporated in Redwood Shores, California as Software Development Laboratories (SDL) by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.
June 20 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states are not required to spend Medicaid funds on elective abortions.
June 20 - Anglia Television broadcasts the fake documentary "Alternative 3", which enters into the conspiracy theory canon.
June 25 - American Roy Sullivan is struck by lightning for the 7th time.
June 26 - Some 200,000 protesters march through the streets of San Francisco, protesting Anita Bryant's anti-gay remarks and the murder of Robert Hillsborough.

July

July 1 - CKO a now-defunct Canadian all news radio network began broadcasting on this date.
July 5 - General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq overthrows Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.
July 13 - The New York City blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours, resulting in looting and other disorder.
July 14 - Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden is born.
July 15 - Anti-drug campaigner Donald Mackay disappears near Griffith, New South Wales (presumed murdered).
July 19 to July 20 - Flood in Johnstown, PA caused by massive rainfall, kills over 75 people and causes billions in damage.
July 22 - The purged Chinese Communist leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power nine months after the "Gang of Four" was expelled from power in a coup d'état.
July 24 - Led Zeppelin play their last U.S. concert in Oakland, CA at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. A brawl erupts between Led Zeppelin's crew and promoter Bill Graham's staff resulting in criminal assault charges for several of Led Zeppelin's entourage including drummer John Bonham.
July 28 - The first oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System reaches Valdez, Alaska.
July 30 - Left-wing German terrorists Susanne Albrecht , Brigitte Mohnhaupt and a third person assassinate Jürgen Ponto , chairman of the Dresdner Bank in Oberursel, West Germany.

August

August 3 - United States Senate hearings on MKULTRA are held.
August 3 - The Tandy Corporation TRS-80 Model I computer is announced at a press conference.
August 4 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
August 9 - The military-controlled Government of Uruguay announces that it will return the nation to civilian rule through general elections in 1981 for a President and Congress.
August 10 - David Berkowitz is captured in Yonkers, New York, after over a year of murders in New York City as the Son Of Sam.
August 12 - The NASA Space Shuttle, named Enterprise, makes its first test free-flight from the back of a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).
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 a notation made by a volunteer on the project.
August 15 - Herbert Kappler escapes from the Caelian Hill military hospital in Rome.
August 16 - Australian rock group INXS is formed.
August 20 - Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

September

September 3 - The Commodore PET computer is first sold.
September 5 - Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay.
September 5 - German Autumn: Employers Association President Hanns-Martin Schleyer is kidnapped in Cologne, West Germany. The kidnappers kill 3 escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand the release of Red Army Faction (RAF) prisoners.
September 6 - Steve Biko suffers a massive head injury in police custody in South Africa, later dying.
September 7 - Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The U.S. agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century.
September 8 - INTERPOL issues a resolution against the piracy of video tapes and other material, which is still cited in warnings on opening pre-credits of videocassettes and DVDs today.
September 10 - Hamida Djandoubi's is the last guillotine execution in France.
September 16 - Talking Heads' debut album Talking Heads: 77 is released.
September 18 - Courageous (U.S.), skippered by Ted Turner, sweeps Australia (Australia) in 24th America's Cup.
September 19 - Under pressure from the Carter Administration, President Somoza lifts the state of siege in Nicaragua.
September 21 - A nuclear non-proliferation pact is signed by 15 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union.
September 28 - The Porsche 928 debuts at the Geneva Auto Convention.
September 29 - The modern Food Stamp Program began when the Food Stamp Act of 1977 was enacted.

October

October 1 - Pelé plays his final professional football game as a member of the New York Cosmos.
October 13 - German Autumn: Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 Red Army Faction members (see Lufthansa Flight 181).
October 14 - Bing Crosby died of heart attack.
October 14 - David Bowie releases his album "Heroes".
October 17-October 18 - German Autumn: GSG 9 troopers storm a hijacked Lufthansa passenger plane in Mogadishu, Somalia; 3 of the 4 hijackers die.
October 18 - German Autumn: Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Gudrun Ensslin commit suicide in Stammheim prison; Irmgard Möller fails (their supporters still claim they were murdered). They are buried October 27.
October 18 - Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, opens the 3rd session of the 30th Canadian Parliament.
October 18 - Reggie Jackson blasts 3 home runs to lead the New York Yankees to World Series victory.
October 19 - German Autumn: Kidnapped industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer is found killed in Mulhouse, France.
October 20 - Three members of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die in a charter plane crash outside Gillsburg, Mississippi three days after the release of their fifth studio album Street Survivors.
October 21 - The European Patent Institute is founded.
October 26 - The last natural smallpox case is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination and, by extension, of modern science.
October 28 - Hong Kong police forces attack the ICAC headquarters.
October 28 - Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols is released in the United Kingdom.
October, exact date unknown - Atari 2600 game system is released.

November

November 1 - 2060 Chiron, first of the outer solar system asteroids known as Centaurs, is discovered by Charlie Kowal.
November 2 - The worst storm in Athens' modern history causes havoc across the Greek capital and kills 38 people.
November 6 - The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia fails, killing 39.
November 8 - Greek Archaeologist Manolis Andronikos discovers the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina.
November 8 - San Francisco elects City Supervisor Harvey Milk who is the first openly gay elected official of any large city in the US.
November 9 - Gen. Hugo Banzer, President of the military government of Bolivia, announces that the constitutional democracy will be restored in 1978 instead of 1980 as previously provided.
November 19 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, seeking a permanent peace settlement.
November 19 - TAP Portugal Flight 425 crashes at Madeira Airport, Funchal, Portugal, killing 131 and leaving 33 survivors.
November 21- The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta Aka Delta Force is Created.
November 22 - British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service.
November 22 - First three nodes of the ARPAnet are connected, in what would eventually become the Internet.

December

December 1 - First flight of Lockheed's top-secret stealth aircraft project designated Have Blue, precursor to the U.S. F-117A Nighthawk.
December 4 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor.
December 4 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 is hijacked and crashed in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, killing all the 100 passengers and crew aboard the flight.
December 13 - A DC-3 charter plane carrying the University of Evansville basketball team to Nashville, Tenn., crashes in rain and dense fog about 90 seconds after takeoff from Evansville Dress Regional Airport. Twenty-nine people die in the crash, including 14 members of the team and its head coach Bob Watson.
December 16 - Mikhail Baryshnikov's production of The Nutcracker, adapted from his stage version, and in which he stars with Gelsey Kirkland and the American Ballet Theatre, is shown on television for the first time by CBS. It later moves to PBS, where it becomes an annual attraction for many years. The production eventually becomes the most popular video version of the ballet.

Undated

Color TV Game 6 is created by Nintendo.
Portugal's traditional naming conventions change such that children's surnames can come from either the mother or the father, not just from the father.
The Usu volcano erupts in Japan.
Chiara Lubich is awarded the Templeton Prize.
Soviet National Anthem's lyrics are returned after a 24 year period, with Joseph Stalin's name omitted.