Historical Events
- "Beatlemania" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 920 performances
- D Bautista of Mexico completes 20,000 m walk in record 1:20:06.8
Nobel Prize
Mother Teresa of Calcutta awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Mother Teresa
- Pittsburgh Pirates beat Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 3 in 76th World Series
Event of Interest
US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating Department of Education

Jimmy Carter
Famous Birthdays
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish auto racer (F1 World Champion 2007), born in Espoo, Finland

Kimi Räikkönen
- Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
- Marcela Bovio, Mexican heavy metal singer and violinist (Stream of Passion; MaYans), born in Monterrey, Mexico
Famous Deaths
- John Stuart, Scottish actor (Kittie, Superman, Number Seventeen), dies at 81
- Karel Reiner, Czech composer, dies at 69
- S J Perelman, American author, humorist and screenwriter (The New Yorker, Around the World in 80 Days), dies at 75
1979 Highlights
About October 17, 1979
Day of the Week: Wednesday
How Long Ago? 41 years, 3 months and 11 days
Leap Year: No
Generation Generation X
Chinese Zodiac: Goat/Sheep
Star Sign: Libra