What Interesting/Important Happened in 1979?
Every now and then we want to remind ourselves of the good old days, and the 1970s were definitely some good times!
So, let’s take a moment and see what interesting and important happened in 1979, the year of your birth! Here in this article, we serve you the top five highlights from back then.
Therefore, if you would like to learn a bunch of fun facts, just keep reading!
…
John Wayne Died
…
Westerns wouldn’t be westerns without him, nor the movie industry would have been the same if he hadn’t entered the acting waters. But, unfortunately, in 1979, John Wayne lost his tough fight with stomach cancer and left a huge emptiness in the world of acting.
In 1976, Wayne’s very last movie – The Shootist, premiered. Interestingly, in his final performance on the screen, he starred as a cancer-battling gunfighter.
It was believed that Wayne’s illness was caused by strong nuclear contamination during the filming of The Conqueror in 1955 in Utah, having in mind that more than 90 percent of the acting crew who filmed there developed some kind of cancer throughout the time.
If you ever go to leave some flowers on his grave in the Pacific View Memorial Park Cemetery in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, you’ll see a Spanish epitaph – Feo, Fuerte y Formal (“ugly, strong and dignified”).
But, for now, take a moment and watch John Wayne at his final public appearance ever at the 1979 Oscars.
…
Jennifer Love Hewitt Was Born
…
If you remember the two I Know What You Did Last Summer movies from 1997 and 1998, it must be you remember Jennifer Love Hewitt as well. This beautiful and supertalented woman was born in 1979, just like you!
Like many other celebrities, Jennifer also started her successful Hollywood career by starring in some television commercials. Just, she filmed them more than twenty while still being a child! And then, when she appeared in the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated in 1989, she simply blew everybody’s mind!
And it was not any surprise, having in mind that at the age of only 3, she already could sing very well, and by the age of 5, she already learned to tap dance and ballet.
After moving to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue her career as an entertainer, it wasn’t a long time since she got her first role in the Fox teen drama Party of Five from 1995. Just a few years later, and there she was with a Golden Globe nomination. Still, we’re waiting for her time to shine when winning an Oscar in the years to come!
…
The First Walkman Was Introduced
…
You have to admit that today we take all our music players for granted. Can you only imagine the enthusiasm and happiness people felt back in 1979 when they got the opportunity to hold a music player which can be can put in a pocket for the first time? That was the historical moment when music became portable!
The first Walkman was made by Sony, and in 1979 it was sold for $150. Well, not too much for such a luxury of being able to bring music anywhere you go, right?
Somehow, the first Walkman ever was invented thanks to opera. Masaru Ibuka, Sony’s co-founder, wanted some machine to play his favorite opera for him during his flight to another country, and he wanted it to be compact. And then, he told that to Sony designer Norio Ohga, and – voila, the first Walkman was prototyped!
Even in the first few months, Sony sold thousands of copies, and years and years after – that number has reached even 400 million!
…
The Wall Was Released
…
When we think of the most iconic albums in music history, we must think of The Wall by Pink Floyd. It was more than just a rock album, it was a rock epopee, and it was released in 1979, the year of your birth!
At first, critics called it pretentious and overblown, but in the end, it turned out to be one of the best-selling albums ever with more than 30 million copies sold all over the world. Well, it obviously didn’t sound pretentious to its listeners…
Even Rolling Stone magazine put it on the list of the greatest albums of all time – at the position of 87. Would you agree or would you put it in the first ten?
…
The First Bungee Jump Ever
…
Maybe you love extreme sports but are you extreme enough to do a bungee jump? If you said yes, consider yourself a part of a very small group of people in the world brave enough to do so.
Interestingly, the first modern bungee jump ever occurred exactly in the year of your birth, on 1 April. And no, it wasn’t any joke!
The people who jumped back on that day were David Kirke and Simon Keeling from the Oxford University, actually the members of its Dangerous Sports Club. Geoff Tabin, a professional climber back in the time, was the one who tied the ropes. These brave people jumped from Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, at even 76 meters of height! However, they got arrested soon.
And where the idea of such a jump came from, you might be wondering? Well, in Vanuatu, an island republic in the Pacific Ocean, there’s a ritual of men jumping from wooden towers tied up with tree vines around their ankles.
It’s a long story lying behind this tradition, but in short – it was actually a woman from Vanuatu who lived long ago in the past that first jumped like that trying to run away from her husband.
…
Summary
…
So, if you ever again feel like reminding yourself of some interesting or important happenings from the past, you know the right place to visit.
Would you like to find out what are the biggest highlights of the following 1980 right now? Then just move on to our next article!
