Year by year · 20th century

1978

1978 in world history: 15 events, 18 deaths, 2 states founded and 3 that came to an end. 204 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 25 July

    Louise Brown, the first 'test-tube baby', is born

    Louise Brown was born in Oldham, the first person conceived by in vitro fertilisation, pioneered by Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe. Millions of people have since been born through IVF.

  2. 26 August

    Albino Luciani is elected Pope John Paul I

    The Patriarch of Venice became the first pope to take a double name, honouring his two predecessors. Known as the 'smiling pope', he died after just 33 days.

  3. 17 September

    Egypt and Israel sign the Camp David Accords

    After 13 days of talks hosted by Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin signed two frameworks for peace. They led to the Egypt-Israel peace treaty of March 1979.

  4. 27 November

    Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk are shot in San Francisco

    Former supervisor Dan White shot dead Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk at City Hall. Milk had been one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States.

    United States

  5. Revolution

    Saur Revolution

    The Saur Revolution was the coup of 27–28 April 1978 in which army units loyal to the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan overthrew and killed President Mohammad Daoud Khan.

  6. Event

    Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee

    The Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, held in Beijing in December 1978, confirmed Deng Xiaoping as China's leading figure.

ProfileState200 states with a known seat in 1978Open the atlas at 1978 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Died in 1978 18

States founded 2

States that came to an end 3

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1978. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1978
MLA
“1978.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1978. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1978.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1978.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1978’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1978 (Accessed: ).