1979

United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the International Year of the Child. Many musicians donate to the Music for UNICEF Concert fund, among them ABBA, who write the song Chiquitita to commemorate the event.

11 – The Iranian Revolution ends with the Iranian army withdrawing to its barracks leaving power in the hands of Ayatollah Khomeini, ending the Pahlavi dynasty.

Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Tororo: The Ugandan military retakes Tororo from rebels.

America's most serious nuclear power plant accident occurs, at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania.

The Albert Einstein Memorial is unveiled at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles' city council passes the city's first homosexual rights bill signed without fanfare by mayor Tom Bradley.

Sweden becomes the first country to outlaw corporal punishment in the home.

Morarji Desai resigns as India's prime minister and Charan Singh succeeds him.

East German balloon escape: Two families flee from East Germany by balloon.

13 U.S. Marines die in a fire at Camp Fuji, Japan, as a result of Typhoon Tip.

Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all oil imports into the United States from Iran.

The NATO Double-Track Decision: is the decision of NATO from December 12, 1979, to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe, following the so-called "Euromissile Crisis".