1977

Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s - 1970s - 1980s 1990s 2000s

Years: 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 - 1977 - 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982

See also:

Events

January 1 - First woman Episcopal priest ordained
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 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 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 4 - An earthquake in southern and eastern Europe kills more than 1,500.
March 9 - Appoximetely 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 - Collision between KLM and PanAm Boeing 747's at Tenerife kills 583.
May 23 - Scientists report using bacteria in lab to make insulin.
May 28 - In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 inside.
June 20 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states are not required to spend Medicaid funds on elective abortions.
July 13 - An electricity blackout hits the City of New York, lasting for 25 hours and resulting 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.
August 4 - US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
August 20 - Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
September 5 - Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay.
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.
October 13 - Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
November 6 - The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39.

A collection of work by JRR Tolkien, The Silmarillion, is published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien.
Swedish music group ABBA passes The Beatles as having most records sold.
2060 Chiron, first of the outer solar system asteroids known as Centaurs, discovered by Charlie Kowal.
Don Novello first appeared on Saturday Night Live.

Year in topic

1977 in film
- Annie Hall
- 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 LucasArts 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.
- Rocky 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
1977 in music
- February 4 - Fleetwood Mac releases Rumours, which is a blockbuster album (recorded on March 3, 1976).
- DJ_Kool_Herc classifies and introduces a new movement in America, calling it Hip hop.
1977 in sports
- May 29 - Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
1977 in television
- May 10 - South Africa has television service for the first time.

Births

January 8 - Amber Benson, actress
January 13 - Orlando Bloom, actor
January 28 - Joey Fatone, musician
February 9 - Shakira, Colombian pop singer
February 11 - Jessica Carlson, United States archer
February 11 - Stephanie Richardson, Canadian swimmer
February 16 - Ian Clarke, Freenet creator
April 14 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, actress
May 23 - Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skating champion
June 27 - Raúl, Spanish football star
July 1 - Liv Tyler, actress
July 14 - Victoria, Princess of Sweden - Crown Princess of Sweden from 1980
July 28 - Emanuel Ginobili, Argentine basketball player
November 3 - Aria Giovanni, model and actress
November 3] - Marco Garcia, famous marketing manager
November 19 - Kerri Strug, gymnast
December - Ahmed Alnami, suspected terrorist
December 3 - Adam Malysz, Polish ski jumper
December 7 - Fernando Vargas, boxer
December 30 - Laila Ali, boxer, daughter of Muhammad Ali

Deaths

January 14 - Peter Finch, actor
January 14 - Anaïs Nin, author
January 14 - Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
January 17 - Gary Gilmore, murderer (executed by firing squad)
January 28 - Freddie Prinze, actor
January 29 - Freddie Prinze, actor/comedian
February 11 - Louis J M Beel, Dutch premier (1946-1948, 1958-1959).
February 28 - Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, actor
March 18 - Marien Ngouabi, President of The Congo
May 5 - Ludwig Erhard, German chancellor (1963-1966.
May 10 - Joan Crawford, actress
June 19 - Lady Olave Baden-Powell, World Chief Guide
July 2 - Vladimir Nabokov, writer
August 16 - Elvis Presley, singer, actor
August 19 - Groucho Marx, comedian
September 12 - South African activist Steve Biko dies in police custody.
September 16 - Marc Bolan, father of punk
October 14 - Bing Crosby, American singer and actor
November 15 - Princess Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet Grimaldi of Monaco, mother of Reigning Prince Rainier III of Monaco
November 25 - Tommy Prince, aboriginal Canadian war hero
December 25 - Charlie Chaplin, comedian, star of silent film

Nobel Prizes

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