Historical Events in July 1979

Historic Event

Jul 2 Susan B. Anthony dollar is issued, 1st US coin to honor a woman

Jul 4 Algerian ex-president Ben Bella freed

Wimbledon Women's Tennis

Jul 6 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova successfully defends her title beating Chris Evert Lloyd 6-4, 6-4

Jul 6 IRA bomb explodes in British consulate in Antwerp

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 7 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Björn Borg beats American Roscoe Tanner 6-7, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 for his 4th consecutive Wimbledon title

Jul 7 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
Jul 8 The Democratic Republic of the Congo adoptsa new constitution
Jul 8 Don Martina's MAN party wins election in Dutch Antilles

Voyager 2 Spacecraft

Jul 8 Voyager 2 takes 1st ever photo of Jupiter's satellite Adrastea (J14)

Jul 9 Dr Walter Massey named director of Argonne National Laboratory
Jul 9 Voyager 2 flies past Jupiter
Jul 9 A car bomb destroys a Renault owned by famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.

Music History

Jul 10 Chuck Berry sentenced to 4 months for $200,000 in tax evasion

Jul 11 US Skylab enters atmosphere over Australia and disintegrates
Jul 12 Ian Paice joins Whitesnake
Jul 12 Kiribati (formerly Gilbert Islands) declares independence from UK

Down With Disco!

Jul 12 "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park: fans go wild destroying disco records and cause the White Sox to forfeit second game of a doubleheader to the Detroit Tigers

Anti-disco baseball fans hold a 'Disco Sucks' sign during Disco Demolition Night in Chicago, 1979

Sports History

Jul 13 Calif's Nolan Ryan and Boston's Steve Renko each lose no-hitters in 9th

Music Single

Jul 13 George Harrison releases single "Faster"

Jul 14 USSR performs nuclear Test
Jul 15 US Open Women's Golf, Brooklawn CC: Jerilyn Britz wins her first LPGA Tour event (and only major), 2 shots ahead of runners-up Debbie Massey and Sandra Palmer
Jul 15 Morarji Desai resigns as premier of India

Historic Event

Jul 16 Premier/pres al-Bakr of Iraq is succeeded by Saddam Hussein

Jul 17 50th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 7-6 at Kingdome, Seattle
Jul 17 All star MVP: Dave Parker (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Sports History

Jul 17 David Gower 200* in England score of 5-633 v India at Edgbaston

Jul 17 Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle flees to Miami

World Record

Jul 17 Sebastian Coe runs world record 3:49 mile in Oslo

Jul 17 Simone Veil becomes chairman of European Parliament
Jul 18 Gold hits record $303.85 an ounce in London
Jul 18 USSR performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
Jul 19 2 supertankers collide off Tobago-260,000 tons of oil spill
Jul 19 Maritza Sayalero, 18, of Venezuela, crowned 28th Miss Universe
Jul 19 Nicaragua Liberation Day; Sandinistas take over from Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Jul 19 Patricia Harris becomes sect of HEW
Jul 20 44-kg Newfoundland dog pulls 2293-kg load, Bothell, Washington

British Golf Open

Jul 21 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Lytham & St. Annes: Spaniard Seve Ballesteros wins by 3 from Jack Nicklaus & Ben Crenshaw; Nicklaus runner-up for record 7th time