What Happened in November 1978

Historical Events

  • Nov 2 Arnold Shapiro's TV documentary "Scared Straight", narrated by Peter Falk as a controversial and questionable deterrent to juvenile delinquency, debuts on Los Angeles' KTLA-TV
  • Nov 2 Crew of Soyuz 29 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 31
  • Nov 2 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
  • Nov 2 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Sports History

Nov 2 Wayne Gretzky is sold to the Edmonton Oilers after just 8 games with the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA (scoring 6 points); scores 104 points in 72 games (both teams combined) and is named WHA rookie of the year

  • Nov 3 Dominica gains independence from UK & adopts constitution
  • Nov 3 First broadcast of "Different Strokes" on NBC TV
  • Nov 3 USSR & Vietnam sign peace & friendship treaty

Sports History

Nov 4 3rd annual reentry free-agent draft, Pete Rose, Tommy John, & Darrell Evans, available

  • Nov 4 Iranian troops fire on anti-Shah student protesters by Tehran University
  • Nov 4 Islanders start 15 game undefeated streak (12-0-3)
  • Nov 4 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

Event of Interest

Nov 5 Iranian PM Jaafar Sharif-Emami resigns to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Event of Interest

Nov 5 Khomeini followers attack British embassy/El Al office in Iran

Sports History

Nov 5 Oakland Raider's John Madden becomes 13th coach to win 100 NFL games

  • Nov 6 Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi places the country under military rule; General Gholām Reza Azhāri forms government
  • Nov 7 Boston Red Sox Jim Rice wins AL MVP
  • Nov 7 CDA-chairman W Aantjes resigns due to his war past
  • Nov 7 Marion Barry Jr. elected as Washington, D.C.'s first African American mayor

Night & Day

Nov 8 Tom Stoppard's play "Night & Day" premieres in London

  • Nov 9 North American Soccer League (NASL) realigns its 24 teams into 6 divisions
  • Nov 10 Israel's top negotiators broke away from Middle East peace talks

Holmes KOs Evangelist

Nov 10 Larry Holmes KOs Alfredo Evangelist in 7 for heavyweight boxing title

  • Nov 10 NY Yankees trade Lyle, Rajsich, McCall, Heath and Ramos to Texas for Righetti, Mirabella, Beniquez, Jemison and Griffin
  • Nov 11 Maumoon Abdul Gayoom becomes president of Maldives
  • Nov 12 Gary William Friedman and Will Holt's musical "Platinum" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC; runs for 33 performances
  • Nov 13 NASA launches HEAO 2
  • Nov 15 183 die as Icelandic Airlines DC-8 crashes in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Betrayal

Nov 15 Harold Pinter's play "Betrayal" premieres in London

  • Nov 15 Pirates outfielder Dave Parker wins NL MVP
  • Nov 16 Major Indoor Soccer League holds its 1st draft
  • Nov 18 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Jonestown Massacre

Nov 18 In Jonestown, Guyana, 918 members of the Peoples Temple are murdered or commit suicide under the leadership of cult leader Jim Jones

  • Nov 18 Leo J Ryan, American politician, and 4 others, killed in Jonestown, Guyana by members of Peoples Temple, followed by ritual mass suicide of 914 members of the religious cult
  • Nov 19 "The Miracle at the Meadowlands", Eagles Herman Edwards returns a fumble for a touchdown with 31 seconds left to give Philadelphia a 19-17 victory over the rival New York Giants

Yarborough Wins a Third

Nov 19 28th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Cale Yarborough wins

  • Nov 21 Bob Horner of Braves wins NL Rookie of Year Award

Muldoon Re-elected

Nov 25 New Zealand general election won by ruling Prime Minister Robert Muldoon and the National Party

  • Nov 26 10 die as fire erupts at Holiday Inn in Rochester, NY
  • Nov 26 1st lesbian themed TV movie - "A Question of Love"
  • Nov 26 CFL Grey Cup, CNE Stadium, Toronto: Edmonton Eskimos first of 5 straight titles; beat Montreal Alouettes, 20-13
  • Nov 26 Christina Crawford autobiography "Mommie Dearest" reaches best-seller status

Assassination of Moscone and Milk

Nov 27 San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White at City Hall

  • Nov 28 44th Heisman Trophy Award: Billy Sims, Oklahoma (RB)

Briefcase Full of Blues

Nov 28 Atlantic Records releases "Briefcase Full of Blues", the debut album by The Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi); album tops the chart and becomes best-selling blues record of all-time

Sparky Anderson

Nov 28 Cincinnati Reds fire their manager Sparky Anderson after 9 years

  • Nov 29 UN observes "international day of solidarity with Palestinian people," boycotted by US & about 20 other countries
  • Nov 29 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • Nov 30 France performs nuclear test
1978 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Nov 1 Danny Koevermans, Dutch soccer striker and coach (4 caps; Sparta Rotterdam), born in Schiedam, Netherlands
  • Nov 1 Manju Warrier, Indian actress (How Old Are You?), born in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India
  • Nov 1 Mary Kate Schellhardt, American actress (What's Eating Gilbert Grape), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • Nov 4 John Grabow, American baseball player, born in Arcadia, California
  • Nov 5 Bubba Watson Jr., American golfer (US Masters 2012, 2014), born in Bagdad, Florida
  • Nov 6 Daniella Cicarelli, Brazilian model and television host, born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
  • Nov 6 Jolina Magdangal, Filipina singer, actress and television host, born in Hagonoy, Bulacan, Philippines
  • Nov 6 Nicole Dubuc, American writer and actress (Robin-Major Dad), born in Orange County, California
  • Nov 6 Sandrine Blancke, Belgian actress, born in Uccle, Belgium
  • Nov 6 Scott Piercy, American golfer (US Open 2016 runner-up), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Nov 6 Taryn Manning, American actress (Hawaii Five-O), born in Falls Church, Virginia
  • Nov 6 Zak Morioka, Brazilian racing driver, born in São Paulo, Brazil
  • Nov 7 Coy Wire, American NFL football player (Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons), and TV sports broadcaster (CNN), born in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania
  • Nov 7 Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Dutch footballer (PSV Eindhoven), born in Oldenzaal, Netherlands
  • Nov 7 Rio Ferdinand, English footballer (England national team 1997-2001), born in Camberwell, England
  • Nov 7 Tomoya Nagase, Japanese actor and singer (TOKIO), born in Kanagawa, Japan
  • Nov 7 Ülo Krigul, Estonian contemporary classical composer, born in Tallinn, Estonia
  • Nov 8 Ali Karimi, Iranian footballer, born in Karaj, Iran
  • Nov 8 Júlio Sérgio Bertagnoli, Brazilian footballer, born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
  • Nov 8 Spyros Gogolos, Greek footballer, born in Corfu Island, Greece
  • Nov 8 Tim de Cler, Dutch footballer, born in Leiden, Netherlands
  • Nov 9 Sisqó [Mark Althavean Andrews], American singer (Dru Hill, Unleash the Dragon), born in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Nov 9 Steven Lopez, American taekwondo martial artist, born in Nicaragua
  • Nov 10 Diplo [Thomas Wesley Perez], American record producer and DJ (Major Lazer; LSD), born in Tupelo, Mississippi
  • Nov 10 Eve [Jeffers-Cooper], American rapper ("Let Me Blow Ya Mind"), actress (Barbershop films), and television personality (The Talk), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Nov 11 Lou Vincent, New Zealand cricketer, born in Warkworth, New Zealand
  • Nov 12 Alexandra Maria Lara, Romanian-German actress, born in Bucharest, Romania
  • Nov 12 Andrew Kinlochan, British pop singer and musician (1st openly gay boyband member - Phixx), born in Hertfordshire, England
  • Nov 12 Ashley Williams, American actress, born in Westchester County, New York
  • Nov 12 Lena Yada, American actress, model, surfer and WWE Diva, born in Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Nov 13 Nikolai Fraiture, American rock bassist (The Strokes), born in New York City
  • Nov 14 Bobby Allen, American ice hockey player
  • Nov 14 Xavier Nady, American baseball player
  • Nov 16 Carolina Parra, Brazilian musician (CSS), born in São Paulo, Brazil
  • Nov 16 Eric Crouch, American football quarterback (Heisman Trophy 2001, U of Nebraska; Green Bay Packers; Toronto Argonauts), born in Omaha, Nebraska
  • Nov 16 Gary Naysmith, Scottish footballer, born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • Nov 16 Kip Bouknight, American baseball player, born in Columbia, South Carolina
  • Nov 16 Santiago Peña, Paraguayan politician and economist (President of Paraguay 2023-), born in Asunción, Paraguay

Rachel McAdams (45 years old)

Nov 17 Canadian actress (Mean Girls Midnight in Paris, Spotlight), born in London, Ontario

  • Nov 17 Reggie Wayne, American football player

Tom Ellis (45 years old)

Nov 17 Welsh actor (Miranda, Lucifer), born in Cardiff, Wales

  • Nov 17 Zoë Bell, New Zealand actress
  • Nov 18 Andris Nelsons, Latvian conductor (Boston Symphony, 2014-present; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, 2017-present), born in Riga, Latvia
  • Nov 18 Damien Johnson, Northern Irish footballer
  • Nov 19 Matt Dusk, Canadian jazz vocalist, born in Toronto, Ontario
  • Nov 19 Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová, Czech athlete, born in Litoměřice, Czechoslovakia
  • Nov 20 Freya Lin, Taiwanese singer, born in Taiwan
  • Nov 20 Nadine Velazquez, American actress and model, born in Chicago, Illinois
  • Nov 20 Ryan Leslie, American hip-hop, neo-soul, and pop singer-songwriter, musician and producer, born in Washington, D.C.
  • Nov 21 Lucía Jiménez, Spanish actress
  • Nov 21 Sara Tanaka, American actress
  • Nov 22 Karen O [Orzolek], American singer (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), born in Busan, South Korea
  • Nov 22 Magdalena Grzybowska, Polish tennis star (1995 Futures Slovakia), born in Poznań, Poland
  • Nov 23 Kayvan Novak, English actor, born in Cricklewood, London
  • Nov 23 Tommy Marth, American rock saxophone player (The Killers, 2008-2010), born in Las Vegas, Nevada (d. 2012)

Katherine Heigl (45 years old)

Nov 24 American actress (Izzie Stevens-Grey's Anatomy; Knocked Up) and model, born in Washington, D.C.

  • Nov 25 Ringo Shiina [Yumiko Shiina], Japanese singer, songwriter and musician (Tokyo Jihen), born in Urawa, Saitama
  • Nov 26 Andrejs Rubins, Latvian soccer midfielder (117 caps; FC Skonto, Crystal Palace, Spartak Moscow, Inter Baku FC), born in Riga, Latvia (d. 2022)
  • Nov 26 Matthew Taylor, American bassist (Motion City Soundtrack), born in Richmond, Virginia
  • Nov 27 Jimmy Rollins, American baseball player
  • Nov 27 Joshua Harris, actor (Locked Up: A Mother's Rage)
  • Nov 27 Mike Skinner, British singer-songwriter and rapper (The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free), born in Chipping Barnet, London, England
  • Nov 27 Tim Yeung, American heavy metal drummer (Vital Remains; I Am Morbid), born in Rochester, New York
  • Nov 28 Brent Albright, American professional wrestler
  • Nov 28 Freddie Mitchell, American football player
  • Nov 28 Haytham Tambal, Sudanese footballer
  • Nov 28 Mehdi Nafti, Tunisian footballer
  • Nov 28 Ryan Leslie, American producer
  • Nov 29 Alessandro Fei, Italian volleyball player, born in Saronno, Italy
  • Nov 29 Dimitrious Konstantopolous, Greek footballer, born in Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Nov 29 Lauren German, American actress (Lucifer), born in Huntington Beach, California
  • Nov 29 Ludwika Paleta, Polish-born Mexican actress, born in Kraków, Poland
  • Nov 30 Clay Aiken, American pop singer-songwriter (American Idol, 2003; "This Is The Night"), television personality, and human rights activist, born in Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Nov 30 Emil Steiner, American writer
  • Nov 30 Gael García Bernal, Mexican actor
Born in 1978

Famous Weddings

Fran Drescher

Nov 4 "The Nanny" actress Fran Drescher (20) weds writer and director Peter Marc Jacobson (20) (divorced 1999)

  • Nov 17 Gerald Lascelles, British aristocrat and son of Princess Mary weds 2nd wife Elizabeth Collingwood in Vienna

Famous Deaths

  • Nov 1 Giuseppe Berto, Italian writer (Heaven Sees Red), dies at 63
  • Nov 5 Denis O'Dea, Irish actor (Niagara, Esther & the King, Treasure Island), dies at 73
  • Nov 6 Flora Campbell, actress (Faraway Hill, Date With Judy), dies at 67
  • Nov 6 Heiri Suter, Swiss road cyclist (Grand Prix Wolber [unofficial World C'ship] 1922, 25), dies at 79
  • Nov 7 Gene Tunney, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1926-28), dies at 80
  • Nov 7 Janet Flanner, American journalist (New Yorker), dies at 86
  • Nov 8 Norman Rockwell, American artist and illustrator (Saturday Evening Post covers), dies at 84
  • Nov 9 Joe Wong, actor (Ken Murray Show), dies at 75
  • Nov 9 Otto Siegl, Austrian composer, dies at 82
  • Nov 10 Theo Lingen, German director and actor (M, Charm of La Boheme), dies at 75
  • Nov 11 Bennie Borgmann, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward and coach (Kingston Colonials, Original Celtics; coach Syracuse Nationals), dies at 77
  • Nov 12 Howard Swanson, American composer known for his settings of poems of Langston Hughes, dies at 71
  • Nov 13 George Hearne, South African cricket batsman (3 Tests; Western Province), dies at 90
  • Nov 15 Dick Chapman, American golfer (1940 US amateur, 1951 British amateur), dies of a stroke at 67

Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

Nov 15 American anthropologist (Coming of Age in Samoa, Thoughts & Female), dies of pancreatic cancer at 76

  • Nov 16 Claude Dauphin, French actor (Barbarella, April in Paris, Deported), dies at 75

Jim Jones (1931-1978)

Nov 18 American pastor and leader of the Peoples Temple cult (Jonestown Massacre), commits suicide at 47

  • Nov 18 Lennie Tristano, American jazz pianist (The New Tristano), dies of a heart attack at 59
  • Nov 18 Leo Ryan, American teacher and politician (U.S. House of Representatives from California, 1973-78), assassinated at 53 in Jonestown, Guyana
  • Nov 20 Giorgio De Chirico, Italian painter (founded the scuola metafisica art movement), dies at 90
  • Nov 20 Vasilisk Gnedov, Russian poet (b. 1890)
  • Nov 25 Elaine Esposito, American woman who held record for longest coma (37 years), dies in a coma at 43
  • Nov 26 Frank Rosolino, American jazz trombonist (The Frank Rosolino Sextet), kills himself after shooting his sons at 52
  • Nov 27 George Moscone, Mayor of San Francisco (1976-78) shot and killed by Dan White aged 49

Harvey Milk (1930-1978)

Nov 27 American politician, gay activist and first openly gay person elected to public office, assassinated by Dan White at 48

  • Nov 28 André Morell [Cecil André Mesritz], British actor (Ben-Hur, The Message, Hound of the Baskervilles), dies from a heart attack at 69
  • Nov 28 Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Argentine football executive (b. 1902)
  • Nov 29 Alan Richardson, Scottish pianist and composer, dies at 74