July 1979

Sunday 01:

Sony introduces the Walkman.

Monday 02:

The first U.S. coin to honor a woman, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, is introduced.

Tuesday 03:

US President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.

Monday 09:

A car bomb destroys a Renault owned by famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.

Wednesday 11:

The space station Skylab returns to Earth.

Thursday 12:

The island nation of Kiribati declares independence.

Sunday 15:

U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his famous "malaise" speech, where he characterizes the greatest threat to the country as "this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation."

Monday 16:

Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.

Tuesday 17:

Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami.

Thursday 19:

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the US-backed government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.

Friday 20:

Diana Nyad swims the sixty miles from the Bahamas to Florida.