1978
Deng launches Chinese reform
At a party plenum in Beijing, Deng Xiaoping and his allies won approval for economic reforms that would pull rural China out of collectivization and open…
First test-tube baby born
At Oldham General Hospital in England, Louise Brown was delivered by Caesarean, the first child conceived outside a human body.
Camp David Accords
After thirteen days sequestered at the American presidential retreat, Jimmy Carter persuaded Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin to sign…
Vietnamese boat people flee
As the postwar Communist regime tightened its grip and persecuted ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese began fleeing by sea in rickety boats.
Jonestown mass suicide
Nine hundred and nine members of Jim Jones's Peoples Temple drank cyanide-laced Flavor Aid in a Guyanese jungle compound.
Harvey Milk assassinated
In San Francisco's City Hall, former supervisor Dan White shot Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay elected official.
John Paul II becomes pope
After only thirty-three days of his predecessor's brief and mysterious reign, the College of Cardinals elected the fifty-eight-year-old archbishop of Krakow…
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1978?
Saeculum lists 8 events from 1978. The most significant is Deng launches Chinese reform.
What era was 1978 part of?
1978 falls within the Modern Era (1901-2000). World wars, cold war, and the splitting of the atom.
Which regions saw notable events in 1978?
The events from 1978 span East Asia, Europe, Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America and North America.