Timeline September 1977

Events in September 1977 19

• 1896 – 1977 Ethel Waters (1896-1977) American singer and actress who broke barriers on record, on Broadway, in film and on television.
• 1911 – 1977 E. F. Schumacher (1911-1977) Died 4 September 1977, aged 66 E. F. Schumacher was a German-born British economist best known for his book Small Is Beautiful, which argued for human-scale, sustainable economics. His ideas influenced the later environmental and appropriate-technology movements.
• 1915 – 1977 Zero Mostel (1915-1977) Died 8 September 1977, aged 62 Zero Mostel was an American actor best known for originating the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway. He also starred in The Producers and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
• 1917 – 1977 Robert Lowell (1917-1977) Died 12 September 1977, aged 60 Robert Lowell was an American poet and a leading figure of the confessional poetry movement. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice during a career that shaped mid-20th-century American poetry.
• 1923 – 1977 Maria Callas (1923-1977) Died 16 September 1977, aged 53 Maria Callas was a Greek-American soprano widely regarded as one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century. She died in Paris, having largely withdrawn from public performance in her final years.
• 1977 Eagles' Randy Meisner leaves Timothy B. Schmit joins Schmit replaces him on bass.
• 1977 The Silmarillion published posthumously Christopher Tolkien edits and publishes The Silmarillion in September 1977 — four years after his father's death. The book contains the mythology Tolkien had worked on since 1917: the creation of Arda, the Ainulindalë, the Quenta Silmarillion (the history of the Silmarils and the wars of the First Age), the Akallabêth (the fall of Númenor) and Of the Rings of Power. It becomes an immediate bestseller despite its difficulty. Christopher subsequently publishes twelve further volumes of his father's posthumous writings, creating the most extensive record of a literary world-building process in history.
• 1977 Ethel Waters dies in Chatsworth Ethel Waters dies aged 80.
• 1977 German Autumn: Hanns Martin Schleyer kidnapped and killed Red Army Faction terrorism crisis grips West Germany Employer association president Hanns Martin Schleyer was kidnapped by the Red Army Faction, triggering a national crisis that included the hijacking of a Lufthansa airliner. Schleyer was murdered after West Germany refused to release imprisoned RAF leaders.
• 1977 Voyager 1 launched Will become most distant human object NASA launched Voyager 1 on September 5, 1977. It flew past Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980, and in 2012 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space.
• 1977 Panama Canal Treaty signed US agrees to hand over canal President Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed the Panama Canal Treaty on September 7, 1977, agreeing that the US would transfer control of the canal to Panama by December 31, 1999.
• 1977 Annie Hall released Woody Allen's Oscar-winning masterpiece Woody Allen's romantic comedy Annie Hall was released in 1977, winning four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
• 1977 Steve Biko dies in detention Anti-apartheid activist killed by South African police Steve Biko, the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa, died in police custody on September 12, 1977 after being beaten during interrogation. His death caused international outrage.
• 1977 First optical fibre telephone call Voice transmitted by light in Turin The world's first telephone call transmitted over optical fibre cables took place in Turin, Italy on September 15, 1977, a breakthrough that would eventually revolutionise global telecommunications.
• 1977 – present James Marsden American actor American actor born September 18, 1973, known for roles in the X-Men films, Westworld, Enchanted and Sonic the Hedgehog.
• 1977 Marc Bolan dies T. Rex founder killed in car crash Marc Bolan, founder of glam rock band T. Rex and one of the defining stars of the early 1970s, was killed in a car crash in London on September 16, 1977, just two weeks before his 30th birthday.
• 1977 Vietnam admitted to the United Nations Reunified Vietnam joins the world body The Socialist Republic of Vietnam was admitted as a member of the United Nations two years after the end of the Vietnam War. The admission marked a step toward Vietnam's reintegration into international diplomacy.
• 1977 Djibouti joins UN Newly independent African nation admitted Djibouti, which had gained independence from France in June 1977, was admitted to the United Nations on September 25, 1977.
• 1977 Billy Joel releases The Stranger Just the Way You Are His breakthrough, one of Columbia's best-selling albums.