Events Date 1978 December | History by KabAstro

Rodney Hogg

Dec 1 Australian cricket fast bowler Rodney Hogg debuts in 1st Test v England in Brisbane; after Australia all out 116, Hogg makes instant impact by dismissing both high profile England openers Graham Gooch (2) and Geoff Boycott (13)

Dec 1 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

National Parks Doubled

Dec 1 US President Jimmy Carter more than doubles national park system size

Dec 2 43rd Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 34-16 in Birmingham, Alabama

You Don't Bring Me Flowers

Dec 2 Neil Diamond & Barbra Streisand's duet single "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" hits #1

Singer-Songwriter and Actress Barbra Streisand

Dec 2 Protesters chant "Allah is great" at an Anti-Shah protest in Tehran, Iran

Gavaskar's Double Century

Dec 2 Sunil Gavaskar scores his second double century (205) in Test cricket (as well as 73 on the final day) to guide India to a draw against the West Indies in the 1st Test in Bombay

Dec 2 The Sporting News announces Baltimore Orioles shortstop Mark Belanger winner of his 8th (and final) MLB Gold Glove Award
Dec 3 "King of Hearts" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 48 performances
Dec 4 Dianne Feinstein is named as San Francisco's 1st female and Jewish mayor after the assassination of George Moscone, then elected for two full terms

Pieter Menten

Dec 4 Dutch war criminal Pieter Menten freed

Dec 4 Pioneer Venus 1 goes into orbit around Venus

Rose Highest Paid Player

Dec 5 Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million contract with Phillies becoming highest paid baseball player

Dec 5 New York Islanders took 28 shots in 1 period vs Pittsburgh Penguins; Penguins' Ross Lonsberry failed on 7th penalty shot against Islanders
Dec 5 Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus
Dec 5 Sam Shepard's "Buried Child" premieres in NYC
Dec 6 Spain adopts constitution

The Deer Hunter

Dec 8 "The Deer Hunter", directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1979)

Dec 8 Commencement of the 1st day/night World Series Cricket supertest at VFL Park, Melbourne
Dec 9 1st game of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does
Dec 9 Pioneer Venus 2 drops 5 probes into atmosphere of Venus

Superman: The Movie

Dec 10 "Superman: The Movie", directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder premieres at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.

Dec 10 67th Davis Cup: USA beats Great Britain in Rancho Mirage (4-1)
Dec 10 Gary William Friedman and Will Holt's musical "Platinum" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC, after 33 performances
Dec 10 Islanders ends 15 game undefeated streak (12-0-3) to Canadians

Peace Negotiators Receive Nobel

Dec 10 Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo for negotiating peace between Egypt and Israel

President of Egypt and Nobel Laureate Anwar Sadat

Dec 11 6 masked men bound 10 employees at Lufthansa cargo area at NYC Kennedy Airport and made off with $5.8M in cash & jewelry; all of the participants and some associates were later killed on order of the alleged organized crime mastermind, loot never recovered
Dec 11 NBC premiere of "A Woman Called Moses"
Dec 13 CBS' premiere of "Lovey: A Circle of Children Part II", sequel to "A Circle of Children", which is also based on Mary Mac Cracken
Dec 14 "Ballroom" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 116 performances
Dec 14 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
Dec 14 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

Rosanne Cash

Dec 15 German label Ariola Records releases eponymous debut album "Rosanne Cash", produced by future husband Rodney Crowell

Dec 15 Saint Maarten Patriotic Movement (SPM) forms under W. James
Dec 15 Test Cricket debut of Malcolm Marshall, v India at Bangalore
Dec 16 Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks.

Reagan Denounces Carter

Dec 16 Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter's recognition of People's Republic of China

Dec 17 OPEC raises oil prices by 18% and agrees on a 14.5% petroleum price increase for 1979, to be implemented quarterly
Dec 17 Referendum approves new constitution of Rwanda
Dec 17 The Workers' Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe
Dec 18 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
Dec 18 USSR performs underground nuclear test
Dec 19 France performs nuclear test

Arrest of Indira Gandhi

Dec 19 Indira Gandhi arrested on corruption charges in India

4th Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi

Haldeman Released from Jail

Dec 20 H. R. Haldeman, Nixon's White House Chief of Staff released from jail after serving 18 months

Nixon's White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman

"A Broadway Musical"

Dec 21 Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' musical "A Broadway Musical" opens and closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater, NYC, after 1 performance

John Wayne Gacy Arrested

Dec 21 Police in Des Plaines, Illinois, arrest John Wayne Gacy for murder

New Drummer for The Who

Dec 22 Kenney Jones becomes The Who's new drummer, replacing the deceased Keith Moon

Dec 22 Thailand adopts constitution

Trootier Sets Scoring Record

Dec 23 NY Islanders center Bryan Trottier sets NHL record scoring 6 points - 4 goals & 2 assists - in 2nd period of 9-4 win over rival NY Rangers; adds goal & assist for game total 8 points; Islanders undefeated home streak stands at 16 games

Dec 25 8th Fiesta Bowl: #8 Arkansas ties #15 UCLA, 10-10
Dec 26 India's former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi is released from jail
Dec 27 Ballon d'Or: Hamburg's English forward Kevin Keegan wins his 1st of 2 consecutive trophies as best football player in Europe; beats Barcelona striker Hans Krankl and Anderlecht winger Rob Rensenbrink

"Les Miserables"

Dec 27 CBS Television's premiere of its version of "Les Misérables", starring Richard Jordan and Anthony Perkins

Dec 27 Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of dictatorship as King Juan Carlos ratifies Spain's 1st democratic constitution

Islander's 30th Hat Trick

Dec 28 30th hat trick in NHL New York Islander franchise history, scored by Mike Bossy

Bahktiar Asked to Form Government

Dec 29 Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi asks Shapour Bahktiar to form a civilian government

Dec 29 Spain constitution goes into effect
Dec 29 Test Cricket debut of Allan Robert Border, v England at the MCG
Dec 30 Ohio State dismisses Woody Hayes as its football coach
Dec 30 Revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "The King & I" closes at Uris Theater, NYC after 719 performances
Dec 31 "Magic Show" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 1859 performances
Dec 31 "Runaways" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 199 performances
Dec 31 CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy
Dec 31 Iran shah names Shapour Bakhtiar as Prime Minister
Dec 31 Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with US
Dec 31 The Runaways' band's last ever concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California
Dec 31 Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California closes after 556 concerts; Final show is the Grateful Dead, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and The Blues Brothers; program lasts for over 8 hours, with the Grateful Dead playing for nearly 6 hours; concert broadcast on local PBS TV station KQED, and simulcast by radio station KSAN-FM, after the show, the crowd was treated to a hot, buffet-style breakfast.