Dashed left edge = started before August 1979 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond August 1979
Events in August 1979 10
1895 – 1979John Diefenbaker (1895-1979)Died 16 August 1979, aged 83John Diefenbaker, who served as Prime Minister of Canada from 1957 to 1963, died in Ottawa. His Progressive Conservative government introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights and extended the vote to First Nations peoples. He died on 16 August 1979.
1900 – 1979Louis Mountbatten (1900-1979)Died 27 August 1979, aged 79Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India and a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was killed when the IRA planted a bomb on his fishing boat off the coast of County Sligo, Ireland. Three others, including his 14-year-old grandson, also died in the attack. His assassination was one of the most prominent killings of the Troubles.
1938 – 1979Jean Seberg (1938-1979)Died 30 August 1979, aged 40American actress Jean Seberg, known for Breathless and Saint Joan, was found dead in her car in Paris of a barbiturate overdose ruled a probable suicide. She had been the target of an FBI harassment campaign over her support for the Black Panther Party. Her body was discovered on 8 September, though her death is dated to 30 August 1979.
1979US Open 1979Men: John McEnroe · Women: Tracy AustinTracy Austin, 16, became the youngest US Open champion at the time.
1979Van Morrison releases Into the MusicSpiritual turnThe start of a long run of spiritually searching records.
1979Led Zeppelin play KnebworthLast British showsTwo huge shows, their last in Britain with Bonham.
1979Apocalypse Now releasedCoppola's Vietnam War epic reaches cinemasFrancis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, a loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness set during the Vietnam War, opened in US cinemas on 15 August 1979. Its troubled, over-budget production became almost as famous as the film itself. It shared the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier that year.
1979Led Zeppelin release In Through the Out DoorLast studio albumTheir final album recorded with John Bonham.
1979The Doors' The End opens Apocalypse NowFilmFrancis Ford Coppola's film revives interest in the band.
1979Bob Dylan releases Slow Train ComingGospel periodHis conversion to Christianity produces a gospel trilogy, starting here.