1979: The Year in People

Generation X · Year of the Goat 🐐 · Born in 1979 turn 47 in 2026

The year in numbers

Gas, per gallon

$0.86

Median home

$37,900

Minimum wage

$2.90/hr

Movie ticket

$2.51

US population

4.38B

US president

Jimmy Carter

Top song

"My Sharona" — The Knack

Top film

Kramer vs. Kramer

Top TV show

Laverne & Shirley

Best Picture

Kramer vs. Kramer

In the news: Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident

What happened in 1979

1979 (MCMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1979th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 979th year of the 2nd millennium, the 79th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1970s decade.

Summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Born in 1979

708 people in our data · most viewed first

Christina Koch

b. 1979 · January 29

American astronaut

Autumn Durald Arkapaw

b. 1979 · December 14

American cinematographer

Heath Ledger

1979–2008 · April 4

Australian actor

Jason Momoa

b. 1979 · August 1

American actor

Morena Baccarin

b. 1979 · June 2

American actress

Claire Danes

b. 1979 · April 12

American actress

Natasha Lyonne

b. 1979 · April 4

American actress, producer, writer, and director

Benji Madden

b. 1979 · March 11

American guitarist

Aaliyah

1979–2001 · January 16

American singer

Adam Brody

b. 1979 · December 15

American actor

Brandy Norwood

b. 1979 · February 11

American singer, songwriter and actress

Caitríona Balfe

b. 1979 · October 4

Irish actress

Aaron Paul

b. 1979 · August 27

American actor

Bam Margera

b. 1979 · September 28

American skateboarder and stuntman

Adam Levine

b. 1979 · March 18

American singer

Anders Behring Breivik

b. 1979 · February 13

Norwegian terrorist

Craig Bellamy

b. 1979 · July 13

Welsh footballer and coach

Evangeline Lilly

b. 1979 · August 3

Canadian actress

Busy Philipps

b. 1979 · June 25

American actress, singer and comedian

Brandon Routh

b. 1979 · October 9

American actor

B. J. Novak

b. 1979 · July 31

American actor

Chris O'Dowd

b. 1979 · October 9

Irish actor and comedian

Andrea Pirlo

b. 1979 · May 19

Italian football player and manager

Aaron Ashmore

b. 1979 · October 7

Canadian actor

Died in 1979

Conrad Hilton1887–1979 · American hotel tycoon and politician
Barbara Hutton1912–1979 · American philanthropist and socialite
Jimmy McCulloch1953–1979 · Scottish musician
Donny Hathaway1945–1979 · American singer-songwriter
Charles Mingus1922–1979 · American jazz musician
Charles Coughlin1891–1979 · Canadian-American Catholic priest
Francisco Macías Nguema1924–1979 · President of Equatorial Guinea from 1968 to 1979
Hanna Reitsch1912–1979 · German aviator and test pilot
Hafizullah Amin1929–1979 · Afghan communist politician
Airey Neave1916–1979 · British politician, military officer and lawyer
Darryl F. Zanuck1902–1979 · American film producer
Dhyan Chand1905–1979 · Indian field hockey player