Many major events dominated headlines of 1978 newspapers. The ’70s was a difficult political and economic period in Britain. After basking in post-war affluence, our worldwide competitors were leaving us behind, surpassing us industrially.
The period witnessed two miners’ strikes, power cuts and the arrival of Britain’s first female prime minister. It was also the decade of space hoppers, Star Wars, flared trousers and Blue Nun.
18th January 1978
The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
8th April 1978
Regular radio broadcasts of British Parliament proceedings begin.
8th May 1978
Norway opens a natural gas field in the Polar Sea.
10th May 1978
Liverpool FC wins the European Cup, beating FC Bruges 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.
17th May 1978
Charlie Chaplin’s coffin is found ten miles away from the cemetery it had been stolen from, near Lake Geneva.
19th June 1978
Cricketer Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and then take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.
25th June 1978
Host nation Argentina defeats the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time to win the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
7th July 1978
The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
25th July 1978
Louise Brown is born in Oldham in Manchester, becoming the world’s first test tube baby.
6th August 1978
Pope Paul VI dies in Rome.
7th September 1978
A poison-filled pellet, supposedly injected using an umbrella, poisons Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov whilst he is working in London. Markov dies four days later and it is alleged that this murder was by order of Bulgarian intelligence.
19th September 1978
13-year-old newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead after disturbing a burglary. Police in the West Midlands launch a massive murder hunt.
28th September 1978
Pope John Paul I dies after only thirty-three days of papacy.
1st October 1978
Vietnam attacks Cambodia.
8th October 1978
Australia’s Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60 mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
7th November 1978
Indira Gandhi is re-elected to the Indian parliament.
25th December 1978
Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
There’s no doubt this year was a particularly memorable date in history, with many of our 1978 headlines capturing vital news of the time. The musical “Evita” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice premiered in London. The BBC banned “No One is Innocent” by the Sex Pistols and the cult classic, “Dawn of the Dead” by George A. Romero was released.
In 1978, two incremental events became notorious worldwide; the first, a Jonestown newspaper on the massacre in Guyana, where over 900 members of The Peoples Temple commit suicide at the hands of Rev. Jim Jones. Up until the September 11th attacks, the tragedy represented the largest number of American civilian casualties not caused by a natural disaster.
The second occurred in New York city where musician, Sid Vicious was charged for the murder of Nancy Spungen. As these events are of great historic interest, you can find exact Jonestown newspapers by contacting research@historic-newspapers.co.uk for in-depth articles, features and interviews from papers offering coverage of the date.
Some of the most significant moments in history are reported on in our 1978 news headlines. Life-changing events and people that characterised the decade instantly come to mind, many of which can be found in the archive. Have a browse to see what made 1978 so fascinating.