1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 13
10 July 1979 - Metz to Ballon d'Alsace, 202 km (126 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 14
11 July 1979 - Belfort to Évian-les-Bains, 248 km (154 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 15
12 July 1979 - Évian-les-Bains to Morzine Avoriaz, 54 km (34 mi) (ITT)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 16
13 July 1979 - Morzine Avoriaz to Les Menuires, 201 km (125 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 17
15 July 1979 - Les Menuires to Alpe d'Huez, 167 km (104 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 18
16 July 1979 - Alpe d'Huez to Alpe d'Huez, 119 km (74 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 19
17 July 1979 - Alpe d'Huez to Saint-Priest, 162 km (101 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 20
18 July 1979 - Saint-Priest to Dijon, 240 km (150 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 21
19 July 1979 - Dijon to Dijon, 49 km (30 mi) (ITT)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 22
20 July 1979 - Dijon to Auxerre, 189 km (117 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 23
21 July 1979 - Auxerre to Nogent-sur-Marne, 205 km (127 mi)


1979 Tour de France, Stage 13 to Stage 24, Stage 24
22 July 1979 - Le Perreux-sur-Marne to Paris Champs-Élysées, 180 km (110 mi)


1979 Tour de Romandie
The 1979 Tour de Romandie was the 33rd edition of the Tour de Romandie cycle race and was held from 8 May to 13 May 1979. The race started in Neuchâtel and finished in Geneva. The race was won by Giuseppe Saronni.


1979 Tour de Suisse
The 1979 Tour de Suisse was the 43rd edition of the Tour de Suisse cycle race and was held from 13 June to 22 June 1979. The race started in Zürich and finished in Hendschiken. The race was won by Wilfried Wesemael of the TI–Raleigh team.


1979 Tour du Haut Var
The 1979 Tour du Haut Var was the 11th edition of the Tour du Haut Var cycle race and was held on 25 February 1979. The race started in Nice and finished in Seillans. The race was won by Joop Zoetemelk.


1979 Tour of Flanders
The 63rd Tour of Flanders cycling classic was held on Sunday, 1 April 1979. The race was won by Dutch rider Jan Raas in Meerbeke after a 15 km solo attack. 34 of 180 riders finished.


1979 Tour of Flanders, Route
The race started in Sint Niklaas and finished in Meerbeke (Ninove) – covering 267 km. There were nine categorized climbs:


1979 Tour of the Basque Country
The 1979 Tour of the Basque Country was the 19th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country cycle race and was held from 2 April to 6 April 1979. The race started in Tolosa and finished in Arantzazu. The race was won by Giovanni Battaglin.


1979 Tournament Players Championship
The 1979 Tournament Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held March 22–25 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. The sixth Tournament Players Championship, it was the third at Sawgrass and Lanny Wadkins won in the wind at 283 (−5), five strokes ahead of runner-up Tom Watson.


1979 Tournament Players Championship
The first two years at Sawgrass had resulted with both winners at 289 (+1), but Wadkins jumped out to a 36-hole score of 135 (−9). Gusty winds and dry greens on the weekend caused high scores, but he held on with an even-par 72 in the final round for a comfortable win.


1979 Tournament Players Championship
Defending champion Jack Nicklaus finished seventeen strokes back, in a tie for 33rd place.


1979 Tournament Players Championship, Venue
This was the third of five Tournament Players Championships held at Sawgrass Country Club; it moved to the nearby TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in 1982. The course length this year was reduced by 91 yards (83 m) to 7,083 yards (6,477 m).


1979 Tournament Players Championship, Eligibility requirements
Miller Barber, Andy Bean (2), Ben Crenshaw (2), Lee Elder (2), Raymond Floyd, Rod Funseth (2), Al Geiberger, Lou Graham, Hubert Green (2), Mark Hayes, Jerry Heard (2), Dave Hill, Lon Hinkle (2), Hale Irwin, Don January, Tom Kite (2), Billy Kratzert, Bruce Lietzke, John Mahaffey (2), Jerry McGee, Mac McLendon (2), Johnny Miller, Gil Morgan (2), Jack Nicklaus (3), Andy North (2), Jerry Pate (2), Gary Player (2), Bill Rogers, Jim Simons (2), Ed Sneed, Dave Stockton, Lee Trevino (2), Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson (2), Tom Weiskopf, Fuzzy Zoeller (2)


1979 Tournament Players Championship, Eligibility requirements
2. Winners of major PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved events beginning with the 1978 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament immediately preceding the 1979 TPC


1979 Tournament Players Championship, Eligibility requirements
Seve Ballesteros, Craig Stadler, Barry Jaeckel, Jeff Hewes, Jack Newton, Victor Regalado, Ron Streck


1979 Tournament Players Championship, Eligibility requirements
4. Leaders In PGA Tour Official Standings as necessary to complete the field, beginning with the 1978 Tournament Players Championship and concluding with the tournament scheduled to end on the Sunday immediately preceding the 1979 TPC, the Doral-Eastern Open


1979 Tournament Players Championship, Field
Tommy Aaron, Wally Armstrong, Seve Ballesteros, Miller Barber, Dave Barr, Andy Bean, Frank Beard, Don Bies, Homero Blancas, Brad Bryant, George Burns, Bob Byman, George Cadle, Rex Caldwell, Bill Calfee, Billy Casper, Jim Colbert, Bobby Cole, Frank Conner, Charles Coody, Ben Crenshaw, Rod Curl, Jim Dent, Terry Diehl, Dale Douglass, Bob Eastwood, Danny Edwards, David Edwards, Dave Eichelberger, Lee Elder, Randy Erskine, Keith Fergus, Ed Fiori, Marty Fleckman, Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Rod Funseth, Buddy Gardner, Al Geiberger, Gibby Gilbert, Bob Gilder, David Graham, Lou Graham, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, Joe Hager, Dan Halldorson, Phil Hancock, Morris Hatalsky, Mark Hayes, Jerry Heard, Jeff Hewes, Dave Hill, Mike Hill, Lon Hinkle, Joe Inman, Hale Irwin, Don Iverson, Peter Jacobsen, Barry Jaeckel, Don January, Tom Kite, Gary Koch, Billy Kratzert, Wayne Levi, Bruce Lietzke, John Lister, Bob Lunn, Mark Lye, Bob Mann, Graham Marsh, Fred Marti, Rik Massengale, Gary McCord, Mike McCullough, Mark McCumber, Pat McGowan, Mac McLendon, Artie McNickle, Steve Melnyk, Lee Mikles, Allen Miller, Johnny Miller, Lindy Miller, Jeff Mitchell, Florentino Molina, Orville Moody, Gil Morgan, Mike Morley, Bob Murphy, Jim Nelford, Larry Nelson, Jack Newton, Jack Nicklaus, Andy North, Peter Oosterhuis, Arnold Palmer, Alan Pate, Jerry Pate, Eddie Pearce, Calvin Peete, Mark Pfeil, Gary Player, Don Pooley, Greg Powers, Tom Purtzer, Victor Regalado, Mike Reid, Jack Renner, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Bill Rogers, Ed Sabo, Cesar Sanudo, John Schroeder, Bob Shearer, Jim Simons, Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson, J. C. Snead, Ed Sneed, Craig Stadler, Dave Stockton, Curtis Strange, Ron Streck, Mike Sullivan, Alan Tapie, Barney Thompson, Leonard Thompson, Jim Thorpe, Lee Trevino, Howard Twitty, Bobby Wadkins, Lanny Wadkins, Bobby Walzel, Tom Watson, D. A. Weibring, Tom Weiskopf, Carlton White, Bob Wynn, Kermit Zarley, Bob Zender, Larry Ziegler, Fuzzy Zoeller


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season
The 1979 Toyota Tamaraws season was the fifth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Summary
The defending All-Filipino Conference champions had one new acquisition during the off-season, former University of Visayas cager Arnie Tuadles, taking the spot left by Fort Acuña, who retired to become coach Dante Silverio's assistant on the bench. The Tamaraws were tied with rival Crispa Redmanizers on top of the standings with 14 wins and 2 losses after 16 games. In the semifinal round, Toyota scored four straight victories to become the first team to enter the finals.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Summary
On June 21, the Crispa Redmanizers formalized a return match with Toyota in the final playoffs after two years and six conferences with a 172-142 victory over the Tamaraws for their fourth win in five games on the night Atoy Co scored 50 points while Abe King of Toyota scored a season-high 60 points. The Tamaraws lost to Crispa in the championship series in five games.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Summary
Bruce "Sky" King return for Toyota in the Open Conference and his import partner was 6-8 Andrew Fields, a former standout of Pennsylvania's Cheyney College. Fields debut with 16 points in Toyota's 124-118 overtime win over Gilbey's Gin, which got a combined 89-point output from their two imports, Larry McNeill and Dean Tolson, in the opening game of the second conference on August 5. Toyota finish a game behind Royal Tru-Orange after the two-round eliminations with 12 wins and 4 losses. Toyota makes it to the championship round against RTO, who were led by imports Larry Pounds and Otto Moore. The Tamaraws ended up bridesmaid for the second straight conference by losing to the Orangemen in four games of the title series.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Summary
Three Toyota players namely Ramon Fernandez, Abe King and Ernesto Estrada skipped action in the round-robin of six teams in the Invitational championship, they were being sideline because of the disciplinary measures instituted by coach Dante Silverio, who felt the three did not play their best on several occasions in the second conference where Toyota lost in the finals to Royal. Despite their absence, the Tamaraws still made it to the championship for the third time in the season and played against rival Crispa Walk Tall Jeans. After the Tamaraws lost Game one by a whooping 28-point margin, the Toyota management decided to reactivate Fernandez, King and Estrada. Coach Dante Silverio resigned earlier in the day as both manager and coach upon learning on the management decision.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Summary
Toyota retains the crown they won from last season and avoided a repeat of three runner-up finishes back in 1976 by defeating Crispa Walk Tall Jeans in the finals series, 3 games to 1, winning Game four, 98-87 on December 15 for their 6th PBA title. The victory snapped Toyota's five straight finals losses to Crispa, they won the championship this time under new coach Fort Acuña.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Notable dates
June 21: Abe King scored a conference-high 60 points in Toyota's 142-172 semifinal loss to Crispa. The 60-point output broke the previous record of 51 points set by Tony Torrente of RTO.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Notable dates
November 27: Francis Arnaiz became the second player to reach 5,000 career points in Toyota's 88-81 win over Royal Tru Orange.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Notable dates
December 11: Dante Silverio resigns as Toyota head coach after management reinstates Ramon Fernandez, Ernesto Estrada and Abe King in Game Two of the Invitational Conference finals.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Awards
Arnie Tuadles was voted the season's Rookie of the year. Tuadles was also named in the mythical first team.


1979 Toyota Tamaraws season, Awards
Ramon Fernandez lost out to Atoy Co in a close balloting for the season's Most Valuable Player award and settled for the mythical first team award along with Arnie Tuadles and Robert Jaworski.


1979 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to Trafford Council were held on Thursday, 3 May 1979, on the same day as the 1979 UK General Election. One third of the council was up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a four-year term of office, expiring in 1983. The Conservative Party retained overall control of the council.


1979 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:


1979 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament
The 1979 Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) Baseball Tournament, the first-ever for the league known since the 2001–02 school year as the Atlantic Sun Conference, was held at Centenary Park on the campus of Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana from May 10 through 13. Mercer won the first tournament championship. As a new conference, the TAAC did not have an automatic bid to the 1979 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


1979 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, Format
The new league used a blind draw to determine matchups, and records for any earlier games between conference members are incomplete. The teams played a five team, double elimination tournament.


1979 Trans America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team. No MVP was named until 1985.


1979 Trans-Am Series
The 1979 Trans-Am Series was the fourteenth running of the Sports Car Club of America's premier series. All races except for the Six Hours of Watkins Glen ran for approximately one hundred miles. For the first time in series history, the schedule included a round held outside the United States and Canada, with the first round being contested in Mexico.


1979 Trans-Am Series, Results
‡ - The Watkins Glen Six Hours was a round of the World Championship for Makes. Overall winner was an FIA Group 5 Porsche 935.


1979 Transamerica Open
The 1979 Transamerica Open, also known as the Pacific Coast Championships,  was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California in the United States. The event was part of the 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the 89th edition of the tournament and was held from September 24 through September 30, 1979. The singles event had a field of 64 players. First-seeded John McEnroe won his second consecutive singles title at the event.


1979 Transamerica Open, Finals, Doubles
Peter Fleming /  John McEnroe defeated  Wojciech Fibak /  Frew McMillan 6–1, 6–4


1979 Trenton Twin Indy
The 1979 Trenton Twin Indy were the fifth and sixth rounds of the 1979 IndyCar season, held on June 10, at Trenton Speedway, Hamilton Township, Mercer County, near Trenton, New Jersey


1979 Trenton Twin Indy, Race 1, Summary
Gordon Johncock won the pole for the race, with Bobby Unser starting second, Al Unser starting third, Tom Sneva starting fourth, and Johnny Rutherford starting fifth.


1979 Trenton Twin Indy, Race 1, Summary
In the race, Johncock held the lead for the first 44 laps, before Bobby Unser took the lead on lap 45 after Johncock entered the pits. Johncock fell further to third after he spun out on lap 49. Al Unser moved up to second, and was two seconds behind Bobby Unser when a caution came out on lap 57, but when the green flag flew again Bobby Unser won over his brother. Johncock finished third, Wally Dallenbach finished fourth, and Rick Mears finished fifth.


1979 Trenton Twin Indy, Race 2, Summary
Starting positions for the race were determined by finishes in the first race, putting Bobby Unser on the pole. In the race itself, Unser briefly lost the lead to Gordon Johncock on the first lap,  but he took it back and except for 5 laps led by Pancho Carter controlled the rest of the race. Wally Dallenbach finished second, Johnny Rutherford in third, Tom Bagley in fourth, and Gordon Johncock in fifth.


1979 Tufts Jumbos football team
The 1979 Tufts Jumbos football team was an American football team that represented Tufts University in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) during the 1979 NCAA Division III football season. In their second season under head coach Vic Gatto, the Jumbos compiled a perfect 8–0 record and won the NESCAC championship. It was the first Tufts team to record a perfect season since 1934. The team played its home games at the Frederick M. Ellis Oval in Somerville, Massachusetts. Key players included quarterback Chris Connors.


1979 Tulane Green Wave football team
The 1979 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by Larry Smith. The Green Wave played home games in the Louisiana Superdome. The team finished with a record of 9–3 and played in the 1979 Liberty Bowl, losing 6–9 to Penn State.


1979 Tulane Green Wave football team
The offense scored 318 points while the defense allowed 179 points. Two members of the Green Wave team were drafted into the National Football League.


1979 Tulane Green Wave football team
The Wave opened the season by smashing Stanford 33-10, spoiling John Elway's collegiate debut.


1979 Tulane Green Wave football team
In the 77th edition of the Battle for the Rag, Tulane beat LSU 24–13 in what was LSU coach Charles McClendon's final regular season game after 18 seasons.


1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The 1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach John Cooper, the Golden Hurricane compiled a 6–5 record (2-0 against conference opponents) and won the Missouri Valley Conference championship.


1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Bill Blankenship with 627 passing yards, Paul Roberson with 546 rushing yards, and Paul Johns with 408 receiving yards. Head coach John Cooper was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.


1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team, 1980 NFL Draft
The following Golden Hurricane was selected in the 1980 NFL draft.


1979 Tumaco earthquake
The 1979 Tumaco earthquake occurred at 02:59 local time on 12 December with a moment magnitude of 8.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The epicenter was just offshore from the border between Ecuador and Colombia, near the port city of Tumaco. It triggered a major tsunami, which was responsible for most of the estimated 300–600 deaths. The hardest hit area was Colombia's Nariño Department.


1979 Tumaco earthquake, Tectonic setting
Coastal parts of Ecuador and southern Colombia lie above the convergent boundary where the Malpelo Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate along the Colombia–Ecuador Trench. At this location the Malpelo Plate, the microplate northeast of the Nazca Plate, is moving to the east relative to South America at a rate of 58 mm per year. North of the Carnegie Ridge, the subduction interface has four recognisable segments, from south to north, the Esmeraldas, Manglares, Tumaco and Patia segments. This plate boundary has been the location of several great historical earthquakes, most associated with damaging tsunamis. In 1906 a 5–600 km long segment of the plate interface ruptured, causing a M 8.8 earthquake (rupturing all four segments) and a trans-Pacific tsunami.


1979 Tumaco earthquake, Earthquake
This event was the last of three earthquakes that ruptured adjacent parts of the plate interface, forming a northeastward migrating sequence. The 1942 earthquake ruptured the Esmeraldas segment, the 1958 earthquake ruptured the Manglares segment and the 1979 event ruptured the Tumaco and Patia segments. Together they ruptured the same part of the megathrust as the 1906 earthquake. The rupture area of the 1979 earthquake measured 280 km long by 130 km wide.


1979 Tumaco earthquake, Earthquake
The earthquake was widely felt in both Ecuador (including Guayaquil, Esmeraldas and Quito) and Colombia (including Bogotá, Cali, Popayán and Buenaventura). The coast in the epicentral region subsided by up to 1.6 m during the earthquake and the land movement locally disrupted river drainage.


1979 Tumaco earthquake, Tsunami
The coast nearest the epicenter was hit by the first wave of the tsunami about three minutes after the earthquake. Three to four waves were observed, with the third being the highest. The third wave coincided with low tide, greatly reducing the extent of the inundation and the likely death toll. The maximum observed water height was 6.0 m at San Juan de la Costa, northeast of Tumaco. The tsunami was observed on the east coast of Japan, in Hawaii, Tahiti and Mexico.


1979 Tumaco earthquake, Damage
The earthquake caused widespread damage, particularly in Tumaco, where about a tenth of all buildings were destroyed, including 1,280 houses, and 25 people were reported either dead or missing. The fishing village of Charco was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami, the waves washing the houses inland into a nearby lake. 93 of the original population of 4,000 were reported either dead or missing. The tsunami also destroyed all the houses in San Juan de la Costa, with 199 reported either dead or missing. The total death toll was estimated to be 500–600 with another 4,000 injured.


1979 Tumaco earthquake, Aftermath
The damage caused by this earthquake and the 1983 Popayán earthquake, near central Colombia, led to the development of a national building code for earthquake-resistant structures for Colombia, which came into law in 1984.


1979 Tunisian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Tunisia on 4 November 1979, with a presidential election not required after Habib Bourguiba had been made President-for-life in 1975. At the time the country was a one-party state with the Socialist Destourian Party (PSD) as the sole legal party. Unlike previous elections, in which the PSD put forward a single list of candidates in each constituency, for this election there were multiple PSD candidates to choose from. Voter turnout was 80.55%.


1979 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash
The 1979 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash occurred on December 23, 1979, when a Turkish Airlines Fokker F28 Fellowship 1000  airliner, registration TC-JAT, named Trabzon, on a domestic passenger flight from Samsun Airport to Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, flew into the side of a hill 1,400 m (4,600 ft) near the village of Kuyumcuköy in Çubuk district of Ankara Province, 32 km (20 mi) north-northeast of the destination airport on approach to landing.


1979 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash
The crew had deviated from the localizer course while on an ILS approach experiencing severe turbulence.


1979 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash, Crew and passengers
The aircraft had four crew and 41 passengers on board. 38 passengers and three crew were killed in the accident.


1979 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash, Aircraft
The aircraft, a Fokker F28 Fellowship 1000 with two Rolls-Royce RB183-2 "Spey" Mk555-15 turbofan jet engines, was built by Fokker with manufacturer serial number 11071, and made its first flight in 1973.


1979 Turkish Senate election
Turkey held senate elections for one-third of the 150 seats of the Senate of the Republic.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships
The 1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships was a men's Grand Prix and women's Colgate Series tennis tournament. The event was held for the first time at the newly built Indianapolis Sports Center in Indianapolis in the United States and played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 11th edition of the tournament in the Open Era and was held in from August 6 through August 12, 1979. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the men's singles title and the $25,000 first-prize money. First-seeded Chris Evert-Lloyd claimed the women's singles title and $20,000 first-prize money.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships, Finals, Men's Doubles
Gene Mayer /  John McEnroe defeated  Jan Kodeš /  Tomáš Šmíd 6–4, 7–6


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships, Finals, Women's Doubles
Kathy Jordan /  Anne Smith defeated  Penny Johnson /  Paula Smith 6–1, 6–0


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Men's Doubles
Gene Mayer returned with John McEnroe to defend the title he had won with Hank Pfister. Top-seeds Mayer and McEnroe defeated No.2 pair Jan Kodeš and Tomáš Šmíd in the final for a prize of $9,200.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Men's Doubles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Men's Singles
Top-seed Jimmy Connors claimed the title and first prize money of $25,000 by defeating third-seeded Guillermo Vilas in the final.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Men's Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Women's Doubles
Third-seeded pair Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith won the title after defeating Penny Johnson and Paula Smith in the final.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Women's Doubles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Women's Singles
Top-seed Chris Evert-Lloyd won the title beating third-seed Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the final for a first-prize of $20,000. It was Evert-Lloyd's fifth title at the U.S. Clay Courts and followed an absence of three years during which World Team Tennis commitments clashed with the event.


1979 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


1979 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The 1979 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place in Cincinnati, Ohio from January 30 to February 3. Medals were awarded in three colors: gold (first), silver (second), and bronze (third) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice.


1979 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The event determined the U.S. teams for the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships.


1979 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1979 U.S. Open was the 79th U.S. Open, held June 14–17, at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Hale Irwin won his second U.S. Open title, two strokes ahead of former champions Jerry Pate and Gary Player.


1979 U.S. Open (golf)
Hale Irwin, the 1974 champion, held a three-stroke lead over Tom Weiskopf going to the final round. Irwin did not play particularly well, recording bogeys at 11, 14, and 18, and a double-bogey at 17. His final-round 75 tied the post-World War II tournament record for highest final round score by the champion. Jerry Pate, the 1976 champion, began the day five behind Irwin and carded a 72 to finish two back. 1965 champion Gary Player, nine behind at the start of the round, fired a 68 to tie Pate for 2nd. Weiskopf struggled on his way to a 76 and finished in 4th.


1979 U.S. Open (golf)
During the first round a mini controversy sprung up when Lon Hinkle purposefully hit his tee shot on the par 5 8th hole on to the fairway of hole 17, dramatically shortening the hole by cutting off the dogleg. Hinkle reached the green in two with an iron, two putted for birdie and shared the first-round lead. USGA officials were not pleased by Hinkle's ingenuity and the following morning planted a tree off the side of the 8th tee so that players would not be able to take Hinkle's shortcut again.


1979 U.S. Open (golf)
Player's runner-up finish was his final top-10 in a U.S. Open. Fred Couples, age 19, played in his first major championship and was low amateur.


1979 U.S. Open (golf)
This was the fourth U.S. Open at Inverness, which hosted in 1920, 1931, and 1957. It later hosted the PGA Championship in 1986 and 1993.


1979 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Second round
Amateurs: Couples (+8), Rassett (+8), Cook (+9), Britton (+11), Clampett (+11), Ogrin (+13), McGough (+16), Gusmus (+18), Inskeep (+21), Kemp (+21), Peddy (+21), Rentz (+21), Clements (+22), Nordling (+24), Taylor (+26), Marrello (WD).


1979 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
Amateurs: Fred Couples (+18), John Cook (+20), Joey Rassett (+20).


1979 U.S. Pro Indoor
The 1979 U.S. Pro Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts that was part of the 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. It was played at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States and was held from January 22 through January 28, 1979. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won his second consecutive title at the event.


1979 U.S. Pro Indoor, Finals, Doubles
Wojciech Fibak /  Tom Okker defeated  Peter Fleming /  John McEnroe 5–7, 6–1, 6–3


1979 U.S. Pro Indoor – Doubles
Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan were the defending champions, but Hewitt did not participate this year. McMillan partnered Bob Carmichael, losing in the semifinals.


1979 U.S. Pro Indoor – Doubles
Wojtek Fibak and Tom Okker won the title, defeating Peter Fleming and John McEnroe 5–7, 6–1, 6–3 in the final.


1979 U.S. Pro Indoor – Singles
Connors successfully defended his title, defeating Arthur Ashe, 6–3, 6–4, 6–1 in the final.


1979 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
The 1979 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor green clay courts (Har-Tru) at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. The event was part of the 1979 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 52nd edition of the tournament and was held from August 20 through August 26, 1979. First-seeded José Higueras won the singles title and the accompanying $24,500 first-prize money. The doubles final was not played due to rain.


1979 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, Finals, Doubles
Syd Ball /  Kim Warwick vs.  Heinz Günthardt /  Pavel Složil Not Played


1979 U.S. Women's Open
The 1979 U.S. Women's Open was the 34th U.S. Women's Open, held July 12–15 at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut.


1979 U.S. Women's Open
Jerilyn Britz won her first LPGA Tour event (and only major), two shots ahead of runners-up Debbie Massey and Sandra Palmer.


1979 U.S. Women's Open
Co-leading after the first round and leading after the second, Britz shot a four-over-par 75 in the third round on Saturday. She entered the final round three strokes behind Massey and shot a two-under 69 for an even-par 284 total.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad
On 21 November 1979, Pakistani people, enraged by a radio report claiming that the United States had bombed the Masjid al-Haram, Islam's holy site at Mecca, stormed the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, and burned it to the ground. The Grand Mosque had suffered a terrorist attack, but the U.S. was not involved. The U.S. diplomats survived by hiding in a reinforced area. Marine Security Guard Corporal Steven Crowley, 20, Army Warrant Officer Bryan Ellis, 30, and two Pakistani staff members were killed in the attack.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, Events
Islamism started to become popular in Pakistan after Saudi Arabia, which had a state religion of Wahhabism, began sponsoring religious endowments in the country. In 1977 Army Chief of Staff Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrew and executed the secular Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a 1977 coup d'etat and began implementing Islamic law.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, Events
On 20 November 1979, a Saudi Arabian Islamic zealot group led a takeover of the Mosque in Mecca. The group's demands included calling for the cutoff of oil exports to the United States and the expulsion of all foreign civilian and military experts from the Arabian Peninsula. However, there was confusion over who had perpetrated the attack, and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini accused the United States and Israel. This claim was repeated in media reports the morning of 21 November. It was fueled by Voice of America reports that President Jimmy Carter had sent U.S. Navy aircraft carriers to the Indian Ocean in response to the ongoing Iran hostage crisis.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, Events
The seizure was mostly planned by students at Quaid-i-Azam University, where the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami had recently won elections for the student body. The protesters shouted anti-American slogans. At first glance the event seemed to be a small protest outside the embassy's walls. Later, buses filled with Jamaat-i-Islami supporters arrived at the main gate. Hundreds of people began climbing over the walls and trying to pull the walls down using ropes. According to the staff at the neighboring British Embassy there were as many as 1,500 demonstrators.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, Events
According to an American investigation, the protesters, believing that an American Marine on the roof of the embassy had fired first, opened fire after a bullet fired at the gate's lock by one rioter ricocheted and struck other protesters. Twenty-year-old Marine Steve Crowley was struck by a bullet and transported to the embassy's secure communication vault along with the rest of personnel serving in the embassy. The rioters breached the compound and set fire to the lower floors of the chancery with Molotov cocktails. Although the marines used tear gas against the protestors, embassy officials denied them permission to use lethal force. Several American civilians were taken hostage in the embassy residences by rioters intending to take them back to campus for a sham trial for espionage, but they were rescued by Pakistani police.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, Events
Although the U.S. State Department credited Pakistan with resolving the crisis, there was very little Pakistani security response. The Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee claimed to have been unavailable because they were accompanying Zia-ul-Haq on a bicycle tour of Rawalpindi. Later, the Pakistan Army surveilled the damage by helicopter, and according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency decided to let the embassy burn down and not confront the rioters.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, Events
Locked behind steel-reinforced doors the Americans waited for help to come and rescue them from the smoke-filled building. During the wait the rioters attempted to break in and shot at them through the ventilation shafts. After nightfall a Marine unit was able to sneak out a back exit from the vault as the front door was too damaged to open. Finding the embassy empty they led the rest of the 140 people from the vault out into the courtyard.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, Events
After the attack, nonessential embassy personnel were evacuated back to the United States. Ayatollah Khomeini praised the attack, while Zia-ul-Haq condemned it in a televised address, stating "I understand that the anger and grief over this incident were quite natural, but the way in which they were expressed is not in keeping with the lofty Islamic traditions of discipline and forbearance."


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, In media
A detailed narrative of this event is provided in the book Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Libya
On 2 December 1979, the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, was burned during protests over allegations that the United States was involved in the Grand Mosque seizure in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.


1979 U.S. embassy burning in Libya
The United States had already withdrawn the U.S. Ambassador to Libya in 1972. Following the 1979 attack, all remaining U.S. government personnel were withdrawn and the embassy closed. Diplomatic presence resumed on February 8, 2004 with the arrival of the U.S. Interests Section in Tripoli. That mission was upgraded to a Liaison Office on June 24, 2004.


1979 UAE national football team results
This article details the fixtures and results of the UAE national football team in 1979.


1979 UAE national football team results
After a two year wait, the national team finally played more international football matches and the first games to be played in their homeland for the 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification games. The first time the UAE had entered the AFC Asian Cup.


1979 UAE national football team results
The UAE also entered the 5th Arabian Gulf Cup held in Iraq.


1979 UC Davis Aggies football team
The 1979 UC Davis football team represented the University of California, Davis in the 1979 NCAA Division II football season. UC Davis competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC).


1979 UC Davis Aggies football team
The Aggies were led by head coach Jim Sochor in his 10th year. They played home games at Toomey Field. UC Davis finished the season as champion of the FWC for the 9th consecutive season and it was their 10th consecutive winning season. On the field, the Aggies finished the season with a record of six wins, three losses and one tie (6–3–1, 5–0 FWC). With the 5–0 conference record, they stretched their conference winning streak to 33 games dating back to the 1973 season. The Aggies outscored their opponents 217–155 for the 1979 season.


1979 UC Davis Aggies football team
It was later determined that Cal Poly Pomona had used ineligible players during the season so they were required to forfeit all of their victories. One of those was the October 20 game against UC Davis, so the Aggies adjusted record becomes (7–2–1, 5–0 FWC).


1979 UC Davis Aggies football team, NFL Draft
The following UC Davis Aggies players were selected in the 1980 NFL Draft.


1979 UCF Knights football team
The 1979 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida (UCF) as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division III football season. This was first varsity football team fielded by UCF. The Knights were led by head coach Don Jonas and played their home games at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, now known as Camping World Stadium in downtown Orlando.


1979 UCF Knights football team
UCF played its first football game on September 22, against Saint Leo. The Knights proved victorious with a 21–0 shutout, and less than a week later, the Knights won their first home game by defeating Fort Benning, 7–6. Jonas led the Knights to a 6–2 inaugural season, behind an average attendance of 11,240, including an NCAA Division III record crowd of 14,138 for the game against Fort Benning.


1979 UCF Knights football team
The humble beginnings for the Knights football team were exemplified during their inaugural season. The team had no locker room, the coaching staff was composed of volunteers, players were asked to bring their own cleats, and all equipment and supplies were donated. Practices took place on a driving range, and players had to go to a classroom building on campus to find showers. Jonas famously offered to take the head coaching position for no salary.


1979 UCI Road World Championships
The 1979 UCI Road World Championships took place on 26 August 1979 in Valkenburg, the Netherlands.


1979 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The men's road race at the 1979 UCI Road World Championships was the 46th edition of the event. The race took place on Sunday 26 August 1979 in Valkenburg, the Netherlands. The race was won by Jan Raas of the Netherlands.


1979 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 1979 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1979. Twelve events were contested, 10 for men (3 for professionals, 7 for amateurs) and 2 for women.


1979 UCLA Bruins football team
The 1979 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was Terry Donahue's fourth season as the Bruins' head coach.


1979 UEFA Cup Final
The 1979 UEFA Cup Final was played on 9 May 1979, and 23 May 1979, between Red Star Belgrade of SFR Yugoslavia and Borussia Mönchengladbach of West Germany. Mönchengladbach won 2–1 on aggregate.


1979 UEFA European Under-18 Championship
The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1979 Final Tournament was held in Austria.


1979 UEFA European Under-18 Championship squads
Players in bold have later been capped at full international level.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 53rd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary
The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) released the annual returns, with totalisator turnover down, at £70,685,971 and attendances up, recorded at 6,585,491 from 5712 meetings. White City remains the top earner with an average meeting tote turnover of £55,677, some £5,000 more than closest rival Walthamstow Stadium.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Summary
Desert Pilot, a white and brindle dog and Kilmagoura Mist, a brindle bitch, were voted joint Greyhound of the Year. Desert Pilot won the Select Stakes and Wembley Summer Cup, Kilmagoura Mist won the St Leger. Sarahs Bunny, a kennelmate of Desert Pilot  won the 1979 English Greyhound Derby.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Tracks
Three tracks closed, Rochester (4 October), Halifax and the Horton Road Stadium in Gloucester (6 July).


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, News
The BGRF (British Greyhound Racing Federation) went into voluntary liquidation, the organisation body that had only been formed in 1977 between the NGRC and track promoters had been a disaster. Bizarrely despite the financial losses of the body a new replacement called the British Greyhound Racing Board was set up within months, with the aim to promote and elevate the greyhound racing industry, to improve the welfare and rules of racing.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, News
Leeds closed their track kennels and lost three top trainers in the process, Joe Kelly, Tommy Brown and Jim Brennan (better known for his spell at Sheffield). Kelly was recruited by Racing Manager Terry Meynell and moved into the kennels of the late Harry Bamford, who had died aged just 40 while Brown and Brennan retired. Contracted trainers replacing them at Leeds were Pete Beaumont, Jim Brown and Ray Andrews. New Southend trainer Tom Lanceman also supplied runners for Ipswich, he was one of the first ever trainers to take up a dual attachment. Lanceman also trained the Grand National winner Topofthetide to a second successive win, the greyhound had won in 1978 for Tim Forster at odds on.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, News
Lacca Champion was retired after the Derby and Joe De Mulder, former trainer and father of Geoff De Mulder died.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Competitions
A newcomer called Sports Promoter reared by Pat and Linda Mullins broke the track record over 400 metres at Cambridge in his first race  and went on to win the Romford Puppy Cup and Sporting Life Juvenile. The Olympic returned after an eight year absence, the event was resurrected by Brighton.


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Competitions
John Honeysett won a closely fought Trainers Championship at Crayford after defeating John Coleman by just two points. Both had three winners on the night, Honeysett (Sandpiper Folly, Langford Dan, Triple Aspect), Coleman (Noble Brigg, Head Prefect, Our Rufus).


1979 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year, Ireland
The Bord na gCon announced a massive 60% hike in prize money. The grand re-opening of Galway was on 25 May, with the modernisation costing over £500,000.


1979 UK Athletics Championships
The 1979 UK Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for the United Kingdom held at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham.


1979 UK Athletics Championships
It was the third edition of the competition limited to British athletes only, launched as an alternative to the AAA Championships, which was open to foreign competitors. However, due to the fact that the calibre of national competition remained greater at the AAA event, the UK Championships this year were not considered the principal national championship event by some statisticians, such as the National Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS). Many of the athletes below also competed at the 1979 AAA Championships.


1979 UK Athletics Championships
Two athletes claimed a third straight title: Geoff Capes in the men's shot put and Meg Ritchie in the discus throw. Athletes to claim a second consecutive UK title were David Black (10,000 m), Chris Black (hammer throw), David Ottley (javelin throw), and Sue Reeve (long jump). Heather Hunte won her first titles in the 100 metres and 200 metres, beating out Kathy Smallwood and Beverley Goddard in both events.


1979 UK Athletics Championships
The main international track and field competition for the United Kingdom that year was the 1979 European Cup. The secondary status of the UK event at national level was indicated by the fact that the six individual medallists at the European competition were all absent from the championships in Birmingham. Several of the European women's relay medallists did compete however, including Hunte, Smallwood and Joslyn Hoyte-Smith.


1979 UK Championship
The 1979 UK Championship (also known as the 1979 Coral UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 19 November and 1 December 1979 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. This was the third edition of the UK Championship that would later become part of snooker's Triple Crown. The event was sponsored by Coral for the second year in a row.


1979 UK Championship
John Virgo won the championship, in his only major tournament win, by defeating Terry Griffiths 14–13 in the final, despite being deducted two frames for arriving late. The defending champion, Doug Mountjoy, was defeated 5–9 by Steve Davis in the opening round. Griffiths compiled the tournament's highest break of 119 in his semi-final win over Bill Werbeniuk. The last session of the final was broadcast by the BBC on their Grandstand programme; however, due to a strike by BBC personnel, the final frames of the match – including Virgo being awarded the championship – were never broadcast or recorded.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary
The 1979 UK Championship was a professional non-ranking event held between 19 November and 1 December 1979 at the Preston Guild Hall, England. The tournament was the third annual UK Championship, first held in 1977. The event saw 27 players compete, with the highest-ranked eight players based on the previous years world championship receiving a bye to the last 16, and the last six players competing in a playoff round. This was the first time that any seedings list for a professional snooker tournament had occurred. Ray Reardon did not compete at the event, having signed a sponsorship contract with General Motors to only play in specific tournaments and exhibitions. World Championship semi-finalist Eddie Charlton and Rex Williams did not play at the event, instead opting to play in a tour of Australia.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary
Matches until the final were contested as best-of-17-frames matches, with the final played as best-of-27-frames. The preliminary rounds saw two matches reach a final frame decider, with both John Dunning and Jackie Rea winning matches 9–8.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary, Early rounds
The last 24 round was played from 20 to 23 November 1979. Future six-time world champion Steve Davis made his debut in the competition and defeated John Dunning 9–3. Another future world champion Joe Johnson also made his debut in the competition, playing his third professional tournament, but lost 3–9 to Bill Werbeniuk. All three players who competed in the preliminary round were defeated in the last 24.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary, Early rounds
The round of 16 saw Steve Davis overcome reigning champion Doug Mountjoy 9–5. World number four and three-time world champion John Spencer was defeated by Bill Werbeniuk 8–9. Former winner Patsy Fagan defeated two-time Pot Black champion Graham Miles 9–5. John Virgo defeated Tony Meo 9–6, despite being 5–0 and 5–3 down after the first session, making a break of 102 in frame 11. Dennis Taylor and Willie Thorne contested a final frame decider, with Taylor defeating Thorne to win 9–8. Having won the 1979 World Snooker Championship earlier that year, Terry Griffiths defeated Cliff Wilson 9–4.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary, Quarter–semi-finals
The quarter-finals were contested from 24 to 26 November 1979. John Virgo took an early lead over Steve Davis 4–3, and later 8–7 in their match. In frame 16, Virgo had the chance to win, and Davis accidentally dropped his cue, making a loud sound. Virgo still potted the next shot during the noise and make a clearance to win the match 9–7. Post-match, Davis commented to Virgo that it was the only time he had ever wanted his opponent to not miss. Elsewhere, Dennis Taylor defeated Patsy Fagan 9–6, Bill Werbeniuk defeated Ray Edmonds 9–8, and Terry Griffiths defeated Alex Higgins 9–7.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary, Quarter–semi-finals
The semi-finals were played from 27 to 29 November 1979. The semi-finals were similar to the 1979 World Snooker Championship, where John Virgo played Dennis Taylor and Terry Griffiths played Eddie Charlton. In place of Charlton, Bill Webeniuk took on Griffiths. Despite having lost heavily at the world championships (12–19), Virgo defeated Taylor 9–4 to reach his only major final. In the second semi-final, Terry Griffiths defeated Werbeniuk 9–3.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary, Final
The final was contested as a best-of-27 frame match, held between 30 November and 1 December 1979. The match was held over three sessions, with two on the first day and the final on the second, between John Virgo and world champion Terry Griffiths. Virgo took an early lead, winning the first five frames including breaks of 63 and 67. Griffiths won two of the remaining frames, but trailed 7–2 after the first session. The second session saw Griffiths win the first three frames to trail 7–5 before Virgo led 11–7 at the end of the session.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary, Final
The final session was played on 1 December 1979 and was broadcast on Grandstand. With the final being live on national television, the match was moved from the regular 1:45 p.m. start time to 12 p.m. Virgo, having not seen that the times had changed, was reading a paper in his hotel room when he was informed that he had missed the start time for the session. Virgo  was over 30 minutes late to the arena and was docked two frames for arriving late. Griffiths took the two remaining frames before the interval to tie the match 11–11.


1979 UK Championship, Tournament summary, Final
During the interval, Griffiths approached Virgo and offered half of the prize money for the event, apologetic at the situation of having frames awarded. Virgo replied: "You haven't won it yet," noting the match hadn't finished. Virgo won frame 23 to lead 12–11, before Griffiths tied the match again at 12–12. Griffiths made a break of 68 to lead 13–12, before a break of 50 in frame 26 by Virgo took the match into a deciding frame. Virgo won the final frame to claim the match 14–13 and his sole major title win. The final frames of the final were unaired, due to a strike of BBC staff, with cameramen leaving the arena during the final frame.


1979 UK Championship, Main draw
The following is the full results from the event. Players in bold are denoting match winners.


1979 UK Championship, Main draw, Final
43–61, 50–73, 65–44, 17–91 (56), 26–96 (68), 74–19 (50), 78–8


1979 UK Championship, Century breaks
A total of five century breaks were made during the tournament, the highest of which being a 119 by Terry Griffiths.


1979 UMass Minutemen football team
The 1979 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Bob Pickett and played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Minutemen came into the 1979 season on the heels of an appearance in the inaugural I-AA National Championship Game. Despite the high expectations, the team was still able to repeat as Yankee Conference Champions, though they did not earn a postseason berth. UMass finished the season with a record of 6–4 overall and 4–1 in conference play.


1979 UNLV Rebels football team
The 1979 UNLV Rebels football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach Tony Knap, the team compiled a 9–1–2 record.


1979 US Open (tennis)
The 1979 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City in New York in the United States. It was the 99th edition of the US Open and the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year. The tournament was held from August 28 to September 9, 1979. John McEnroe and Tracy Austin won the singles titles.


1979 US Open (tennis), Seniors, Men's doubles
John McEnroe /  Peter Fleming  defeated  Bob Lutz /  Stan Smith 6–2, 6–4


1979 US Open (tennis), Seniors, Women's doubles
Betty Stöve /  Wendy Turnbull defeated  Billie Jean King  Martina Navratilova 7–5, 6–3


1979 US Open (tennis), Seniors, Mixed doubles
Greer Stevens /  Bob Hewitt defeated  Betty Stöve /  Frew McMillan 6–3, 7–5


1979 US Open – Men's Doubles
The Men's Doubles tournament at the 1979 US Open was held from August 28 to September 9, 1979 on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City, United States. John McEnroe and Peter Fleming won the title, defeating Bob Lutz and Stan Smith in the final.


1979 US Open – Men's Singles
John McEnroe defeated Vitas Gerulaitis 7–5, 6–3, 6–3 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1979 US Open. Jimmy Connors was the defending champion but lost in the semifinals to McEnroe. Connors' loss broke a string of five consecutive men's finals reached, a record since broken by Ivan Lendl.


1979 US Open – Men's Singles
During the second round Ilie Nastase was defaulted from his match against John McEnroe. The umpire had docked Nastase a point in the third set and then a game in the fourth for arguing and stalling. A near riot followed as the crowd disagreed with the umpire's decision, by throwing beer cans and cups on court. The match was eventually restarted with the umpire being replaced before McEnroe came out the winner. McEnroe did not have to play in the third round (a walk over against Lloyd) and only had to play three games in the quarter finals (because of early retirement by Eddie Dibbs).


1979 US Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. John McEnroe is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1979 US Open – Mixed Doubles
Betty Stöve and Frew McMillan were the defending champions, but lost in the final against Greer Stevens and Bob Hewitt. The score was 6–3, 7–5.


1979 US Open – Women's Doubles
Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova were the defending champions but lost in the final 5-7, 3-6 against Betty Stöve and Wendy Turnbull.


1979 US Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated. Three seeded teams and 13 unseeded teams received byes into the second round.


1979 US Open – Women's Singles
Tracy Austin defeated four-time defending champion Chris Evert in the final, 6–4, 6–3, to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 1979 US Open. Austin became the youngest US champion in the Open Era, aged 16 years and 9 months.


1979 US Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Tracy Austin is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1979 US Open – Women's Singles Qualifying
Players who neither had high enough rankings nor received wild cards to enter the main draw of the annual US Open Tennis Championships participated in a qualifying tournament held over several days before the event.


1979 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1979 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place between June 16–17 at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. The decathlon took place on June 3–4. This was the last time the meet was organized by the AAU. Their status as the national governing body was terminated at the end of the year as a result of the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. They were replaced by the newly formed organization The Athletics Congress, hosting the meet at this same location.


1979 USAC Championship Car season
The 1979 USAC Championship Car season consisted of seven races, beginning in Ontario, California on March 25 and concluding in West Allis, Wisconsin on August 12. The USAC National Champion was A. J. Foyt and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Rick Mears. With the exception of the Indianapolis 500, most top drivers instead competed in races sanctioned by CART.


1979 USAC Championship Car season
During the summer of 1979, after the California 500 switched alliances mid-season to become a CART series race, USAC proposed a Labor Day weekend race meet that would consist of a USAC Stock Car/Championship Car doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A 250-mile stock car race on Saturday would be followed by a 250-mile Indy car race on Sunday. However, the plan never materialized.


1979 USAC Championship Car season, Schedule and results
The California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway was originally scheduled as a USAC race for September 2, but was switched mid-season to a CART series race.


1979 USAC Mini-Indy Series season
The 1979 USAC Mini Indy Series season was the third and final full season of the USAC sanctioned Formula Super Vee championship.


1979 USC Trojans football team
The 1979 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach John Robinson, the Trojans compiled an 11–0–1 record (6–0–1 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 389 to 171. The team was ranked #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final UPI Coaches Poll.


1979 USC Trojans football team
Quarterback Paul McDonald led the team in passing, completing 164 of 264 passes for 2,223 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. Charles White led the team in rushing with 332 carries for 2,050 yards and 19 touchdowns. Dan Garcia led the team in receiving with 29 catches for 492 yards and three touchdowns.


1979 USC Trojans football team
The team was named national champion by the College Football Researchers Association, an NCAA-designated major selector.


1979 USC Trojans football team, Season summary, at Oregon State
Paul McDonald completed eight of nine passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns in just one half of action while Charles White watched from the sidelines with an injured shoulder. McDonald led the Trojans to touchdowns on their first five possessions before he and the rest of USC starters sat for the second half.


1979 USSR Chess Championship
The 1979 Soviet Chess Championship was the 47th edition of USSR Chess Championship. Held from 29 November to 27 December 1979 in Minsk. The tournament was won by Efim Geller. He won it at the age of 54 and was the oldest player ever to have won the Championship, and did so in a field where young players abounded as never before. The qualifying tournaments took place in Bălți and Bishkek.


1979 USSR Chess Championship, Qualifying, Swiss Qualifying
The Swiss Qualifying was held in Bălți from 8-28 August 1979 with 62 players. Nukhim Rashkovsky won gaining a direct promotion to thefinal.


1979 USSR Chess Championship, Final
The position after 11 rounds was exciting with Balashov, Geller, Kasparov, Kupreichik and Yusupov all sharing the lead on seven points. However, Geller finished like an express train. He had begun with seven draws before he won in rounds 8, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15. Tal's result was catastrophic, and lost him 40 rating points. His poor formwas largely due, according to chief judge Flohr in the bulletin, to the fact that he could not resist a wave of influenza which other participants threw off without too much difficulty.


1979 UTEP Miners football team
The 1979 UTEP Miners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the Western Athletic Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach Bill Michael, the team compiled a 1–11 record.


1979 Uganda Cup
1979 Uganda Cup was the fifth season of the main Ugandan football Cup.


1979 Uganda Cup, Overview
The competition has also been known as the Kakungulu Cup and was won by Kampala City Council FC who were awarded a walk-over for their match against Uganda Commercial Bank FC in the final. The results are not available for the earlier rounds


1979 Uganda National League
The 1979 Uganda National League was the 12th season of the Ugandan football championship, the top-level football league of Uganda.


1979 Uganda National League, Overview
The 1979 Uganda National League was contested by 14 teams and was won by Uganda Commercial Bank FC, while Kilembe Mines FC, Lint Marketing Board and UT Mills were relegated.


1979 Uganda National League, Leading goalscorer
The top goalscorer in the 1979 season was Davis Kamoga of Kampala City Council FC with 18 goals.


1979 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election
The 1979 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election saw James Molyneaux succeed Harry West as leader on 7 September. At a specially convened meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council at the Ulster Hall, Belfast, in early September, Molyneaux (MP for South Antrim) beat Reverend Robert Bradford (MP for Belfast South) by a three to one majority (with Austin Ardill coming a distant third). Molyneaux had previously been parliamentary leader of the United Ulster Unionist Council since 22 October 1974 (West had lost his seat in that month's general election).


1979 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, Notes
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1979 United Bank Classic
The 1979 United Bank Classic, also known as the Denver WCT, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Denver, Colorado in the United States that was part of the 1979 Grand Prix circuit. It was the eighth edition of the tournament and took place from February 19 through February 25, 1979. Sixth-seeded Wojciech Fibak won the singles competition.


1979 United Bank Classic, Finals, Doubles
Stan Smith /  Bob Lutz defeated  Wojciech Fibak /  Tom Okker 7–6, 6–3


1979 United Kingdom general election
The 1979 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservatives operated with the slogan "Labour Isn't Working".


1979 United Kingdom general election
The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher, ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats. The election was the first of four consecutive election victories for the Conservative Party, and Thatcher became the United Kingdom's and Europe's first elected female head of government, marking the beginning of 18 years in government for the Conservatives and 18 years in opposition for Labour. Unusually the date chosen coincided with the 1979 United Kingdom local elections. The local government results provided some source of comfort to the Labour Party (UK), who recovered some lost ground from local election reversals in previous years, despite losing the general election. The parish council elections were pushed back a few weeks.


1979 United Kingdom general election
The previous parliamentary term had begun in October 1974, when Harold Wilson led Labour to a majority of three seats, seven months after forming a minority government following a hung parliament and the failure of Edward Heath's Conservative government to form a coalition with the Liberals. Wilson had previously led the party in government from October 1964 to June 1970, and had served as party leader since February 1963.


1979 United Kingdom general election
However, after just two years back in Downing Street he had resigned as Prime Minister, and was succeeded by James Callaghan, and within a year the government's narrow parliamentary majority had gone. Callaghan made agreements with the Liberals and later the Ulster Unionists, as well as the Scottish and Welsh nationalists, in order to remain in power. This pact lasted until July 1978.


1979 United Kingdom general election
However, on 28 March 1979, following the defeat of the Scottish devolution referendum, Thatcher tabled a motion of no confidence in Callaghan's Labour government, which was passed by just one vote (311 to 310), triggering a general election five months before the end of the government's term.


1979 United Kingdom general election
The Labour campaign was hampered by a series of industrial disputes and strikes during the winter of 1978–79, known as the Winter of Discontent, and the party focused its campaign on support for the National Health Service and full employment. After intense media speculation that a general election would be held before the end of 1978, Callaghan had announced early in the autumn of that year that a general election would not take place that year, having received private polling data which suggested a parliamentary majority was unlikely.


1979 United Kingdom general election
The Conservative campaign employed the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and pledged to control inflation as well as curbing the power of the trade unions. The Conservatives also ran their campaign on the theme that "Labour Isn't Working" (unemployment reached a 40-year high of 1.5 million during 1978). The Liberal Party was damaged by allegations that its former leader Jeremy Thorpe had been involved in a homosexual affair, and had conspired to murder his former lover. The Liberals were now being led by David Steel, meaning that all three major parties entered the election with a new leader.


1979 United Kingdom general election
The election saw a 5.2% swing from Labour to the Conservatives, the largest swing since the 1945 election, which Clement Attlee won for Labour. Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, and Callaghan was replaced as Labour leader by Michael Foot in 1980. Results for the election were broadcast live on the BBC, and presented by David Dimbleby and Robin Day, with Robert McKenzie on the "Swingometer", and further analysis provided by David Butler. It was the first general election to feature Rick Wakeman's song "Arthur" during the BBC's coverage.


1979 United Kingdom general election
Because of the anaemic economic and social backdrop in this election, it presaged the 1980 United States presidential election which occurred in 18 months later in which under similar circumstances, incumbent US President Jimmy Carter, like James Callaghan, was also defeated by Republican challenger Ronald Reagan.


1979 United Kingdom general election
Future Prime Minister John Major, who went on to succeed Thatcher in November 1990, entered Parliament at this election, retaining the Huntingdon seat in Cambridgeshire for the Conservatives. Jeremy Thorpe, Shirley Williams and Barbara Castle were all among the members of parliament who resigned or lost their seats.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Timeline
After suffering a vote of no confidence on 28 March 1979, Prime Minister James Callaghan was forced to announce that he would request a dissolution of Parliament to bring about a general election. The key dates were as follows:


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background
Britain's economy during the 1970s was so weak that Labour minister James Callaghan warned his fellow Cabinet members in 1974 of the possibility of "a breakdown of democracy", telling them: "If I were a young man, I would emigrate." Callaghan succeeded Harold Wilson as the Labour prime minister after the latter's surprise resignation in April 1976. By March 1977, Labour had become a minority government after two by-election defeats cost them the three-seat majority they had won in October 1974, and from March 1977 to August 1978 Callaghan governed by an agreement with the Liberal Party through the Lib–Lab pact.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background
Callaghan had considered calling an election in the autumn of 1978, but ultimately decided that imminent tax cuts, and a possible economic upturn in 1979, could favour his party at the polls and delayed the election until the following year. Although published opinion polls suggested that he might win, private polls commissioned by the Labour Party from MORI had suggested the two main parties had much the same level of support.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background
However, events would soon overtake the Labour government and prove Callaghan's decision to delay an election to be a costly mistake. A series of industrial disputes in the winter of 1978–79, dubbed the "Winter of Discontent", led to widespread strikes across the country and seriously hurt Labour's standings in the polls, while boosting support for the Conservative opposition. When the Scottish National Party (SNP) withdrew support for the Scotland Act 1978, a vote of no confidence was held and passed by one vote on 28 March 1979, forcing Callaghan to call a general election. As the previous election had been held in October 1974, Labour could have held on until the autumn of 1979 if it had not been for the lost confidence vote.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background
Margaret Thatcher had had won her party's 1975 leadership election over former leader Edward Heath, taking over the leadership of the party in February 1975, four months after the party's failure to win the October 1974 election. Heath had led the party for a decade but lost three of the four elections he contested.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background
David Steel had replaced Jeremy Thorpe as leader of the Liberal Party in 1976, after allegations of homosexuality and conspiracy to murder his former lover forced Thorpe to resign. The Thorpe affair led to a fall in the Liberal vote, after what had been thought to be a breakthrough in the February 1974 election.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign
This was the first election since 1959 to feature three new leaders for the main political parties. The three main parties all advocated cutting income tax. Labour and the Conservatives did not specify the exact thresholds of income tax they would implement but the Liberals did, claiming they would have income tax starting at 20% with a top rate of 50%.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign
Without explicitly mentioning Thatcher's sex, Callaghan was (as Christian Caryl later wrote) "a master at sardonically implying that whatever the leader of the opposition said was made even sillier by the fact that it was said by a woman". Thatcher used the tactics that had defeated her other male opponents: constantly studying, sleeping only a few hours a night, and exploiting her femininity to appear as someone who understood housewives' household budgets.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign
A proposal for the two main party leaders to participate in two televised debates was put forward by former Labour MP turned broadcaster Brian Walden. These would have been produced by LWT and were planned to be shown on ITV on 22 & 29 April 1979. While Jim Callaghan immediately accepted Walden's proposal, Margaret Thatcher decided to "wait a few days before replying" to the invitation.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign
According to The Glasgow Herald Some of Mrs Thatcher's advisers were concerned that she had more to lose from such debates, fearing that it would lead to a "presidential-style 'Her or me' campaign" which would see policy issues become of less importance. However it was also reported that the danger of declining was that Mrs Thatcher would be charged by Labour as being "scared" to face the Prime Minister. At the insistence of the Liberals, their leader David Steel was also invited by LWT to take part, and accepted the offer. However Mrs Thatcher declined the offer to take part, saying that the election was for a government, not a president, which meant that the debates did not go ahead.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Labour
The Labour campaign reiterated their support for the National Health Service and full employment and focused on the damage they believed the Conservatives would do to the country. In an early campaign broadcast, Callaghan asked: "The question you will have to consider is whether we risk tearing everything up by the roots." Towards the end of Labour's campaign Callaghan claimed a Conservative government "would sit back and just allow firms to go bankrupt and jobs to be lost in the middle of a world recession" and that the Conservatives were "too big a gamble to take".


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Labour
The Labour Party manifesto, The Labour way is the better way, was issued on 6 April. Callaghan presented four priorities:


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Conservatives
The Conservatives campaigned on economic issues, pledging to control inflation and to reduce the increasing power of the trade unions who supported mass strikes. They also employed the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi who had created the "Labour Isn't Working" poster.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Conservatives
The Conservative campaign was focused on gaining support from traditional Labour voters who had never voted Conservative before, first-time voters, and people who had voted Liberal in 1974. Thatcher's advisers, Gordon Reece and Timothy Bell, co-ordinated their presentation with the editor of The Sun, Larry Lamb. The Sun printed a series of articles by disillusioned former Labour ministers (Reginald Prentice, Richard Marsh, Lord George-Brown, Alfred Robens and Lord Chalfont) detailing why they had switched their support to Thatcher. She explicitly asked Labour voters for their support when she launched her campaign in Cardiff, claiming that Labour was now extreme.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Conservatives
Choosing to start her campaign in the strongly Labour-supporting city was part of Thatcher's strategy of appealing to skilled manual workers (NRS social group C2), whom both parties had previously seen as certain Labour voters; she thought that many of these would support her promises to reduce unions' power and enact the right to buy their homes. An analysis of the election result showed that the Conservatives gained an 11% swing among the skilled working class (the C2s) and a 9% swing amongst the unskilled working class (the DEs).


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Conservatives
Thatcher's stance on immigration in the late 1970s (following the vast immigration from Asian and Afro-Caribbean nations during the 1950s and 1960s) was perceived as part of a rising racist public discourse, As Leader of the Opposition, Thatcher believed that the National Front (NF) was winning over large numbers of Conservative voters with warnings against floods of immigrants. Her strategy was to undermine the NF narrative by acknowledging that many of its voters had serious concerns in need of addressing. The National Front had a relatively small following and did not win any seats in parliament.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Conservatives
Thatcher criticised Labour immigration policy in January 1978, with the goal of attracting voters away from the NF and to the Conservatives. Her rhetoric was followed by an increase in Conservative support at the expense of the NF. Critics on the left reacted by accusing her of pandering to racism. Sociologists Mark Mitchell and Dave Russell responded that Thatcher had been badly misinterpreted, arguing that race was never an important focus of Thatcherism. Throughout her premiership both major parties took similar positions on immigration policy, having in 1981 passed the British Nationality Act with bipartisan support. No policies aimed at restricting immigration were passed or proposed by her government, and the subject of race was never highlighted by Thatcher in any of her major speeches as Prime Minister.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Background, Campaign, Conservatives
The Conservative manifesto, drafted by Chris Patten and Adam Ridley and edited by Angus Maude, reflected Thatcher's views and was issued on 11 April. It promised five major policies:


1979 United Kingdom general election, Results
In the end, the overall swing of 5.2% was the largest since 1945, and gave the Conservatives a workable majority of 43 for the country's first female Prime Minister. The Conservative victory in 1979 also marked a change in government which would continue for 18 years, including the entire 1980s, until the Labour victory of 1997. It marked a period of political stability in the United Kingdom following four changes of government in the space of 15 years.


1979 United Kingdom general election, Results
The SNP saw a massive collapse in support, losing 9 of its 11 MPs. The Liberal Party had a disappointing election; its scandal-hit former leader Jeremy Thorpe lost his seat in North Devon to the Conservatives.


1979 United Kingdom general election in England
The 1979 Kingdom general election saw the Conservative Party win the most votes and seats in England. They receieved 12.26 million English votes, a record at the time.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
The 1979 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 3 May with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland, Results
The election was after Labour Party prime minister James Callaghan lost a vote of confidence by 311 votes to 310. The election was won by the Conservative Party led by Margaret Thatcher, and began a period of 18-year government by the party.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland, Results
Ulster Unionist leader Harry West failed to win a seat for the second time, and would resign later that year after failing to win a seat at the first European Parliament election. The Democratic Unionist Party increased its representation, and the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party had disbanded.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland, Results
Frank Maguire was re-elected as an Independent Nationalist, beating the leaders of both the UUP and the new United Ulster Unionist Party, as well as Austin Currie, a member of the SDLP standing without the support of the party. Maguire's death on 5 March 1981 led by a by-election won by Bobby Sands, an IRA prisoner who died later that year as a result of a hunger strike. The Representation of the People Act 1981 disqualified prisoners detained for more than a year from membership of the House of Commons, so the resulting by-election was contested by Sands's election agent Owen Carron, rather than by another prison on hunger strike.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
These are the results of the 1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland. The election was held on Thursday 3 May 1979 and all 71 seats in Scotland were contested.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland, Background
The 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, held on 1 March, had resulted a  majority of those voting casting their votes in favour of the creation of a Scottish Assembly, but the rules of the referendum required at least 40% of the total electorate supporting the proposal, a total which was not reached. The minority Labour government, knowing that many of its own MPs would rebel if they pressed on with the legislation to create the Assembly, refused demands form the SNP and Plaid Cymru to do so.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland, Background
On 28 March, the SNP joined the Conservatives, Liberals and others in supporting a motion of no confidence in the Government which passed by one vote, forcing a general election. After the election, Anthony Finlay wrote in The Glasgow Hearld that the SNP's support for the motion of no confidence "seemed an odd move at the time", but was based on the notion that Scottish electors would be so outraged at devolution not being enacted, despite winning the support of 52% who voted, that they would turn to the SNP in protest.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland, Background
As Finlay noted, the SNP's stance was to prove a "fundamental error of judgement". At an election rally in Glasgow at the start of the campaign, Callaghan attacked the SNP's role in joining with the Conservatives to bring his Government down. He  described them as "turkeys voting for Christmas" and urged his Scottish supporters to "carve them up in the polling booths."


1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland, Background
At the end of April, an Opinion Research Centre opinion poll for The Scotsman  predicted Labour would win 42% of the votes in Scotland with the Conservatives winning 34%, the SNP 15% and the Liberal Party 8%.


1979 United Kingdom general election in Scotland, Results, Outcome
Of the 11 SNP MPs elected at the previous election, seven were defeated by Conservatives and two by Labour candidates. The two survivoring SNP MPs were Gordon Wilson in Dundee East and Donald Stewart in the Western Isles. Wilson's survival was attributed by Anthony Finlay as being due to Labour's choice of Jimmy Reid as their candidate to oppose him. Labour also gained Glasgow Cathcart from the Conservative's Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Teddy Taylor. Jim Sillars, a former Labour MP who had led the breakaway Scottish Labour Party lost his South Ayrshire seat to Labour's George Foulkes.


1979 United Kingdom local elections
Local elections were held in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1979 (the same day as the general election). The results provided some source of comfort to the Labour Party (UK), who recovered some lost ground from local election reversals in previous years, despite losing the general election to the Conservative Party on the same day. The Liberals also gained councillors and a council.


1979 United Kingdom local elections
Labour gained 766 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 7,410.


1979 United Kingdom local elections
The Conservatives lost 423 seats, leaving them with 12,222 councillors.


1979 United Kingdom local elections
The Liberal Party gained 136 seats and finished with 1,059 councillors.


1979 United Kingdom local elections
Labour gain from no overall control: Bassetlaw, Carlisle, Hartlepool, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Tyneside


1979 United Kingdom local elections
Labour gain from Conservative: Barrow-in-Furness, Coventry, Derby, Ipswich, Nottingham, Sandwell, Tameside, Welwyn Hatfield


1979 United Kingdom local elections
Conservative lose to no overall control: Birmingham, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Kirklees, Leeds, Pendle, Rochdale, Rugby, Warrington, Wyre Forest


1979 United Kingdom local elections
Independent lose to no overall control: South Lakeland, West Lindsey


1979 United Kingdom local elections, England, Metropolitan boroughs, Whole council
In 6 metropolitan boroughs the whole council was up for election.


1979 United Kingdom local elections, England, Metropolitan boroughs, Whole council
In 6 boroughs there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.


1979 United Kingdom local elections, England, Metropolitan boroughs, Third of council
30 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.


1979 United Kingdom local elections, England, District councils, Whole council
In 252 districts the whole council was up for election.


1979 United Kingdom local elections, England, District councils, Whole council
In 153 districts there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.


1979 United Kingdom local elections, England, District councils, Third of council
In 44 districts one third of the council was up for election.


1979 United Nations Security Council election
The 1979 United Nations Security Council election was held from 26 October 1979 to 7 January 1980 during the Thirty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected East Germany, Mexico, Niger, the Philippines, and Tunisia, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing January 1980. Taking 155 rounds of voting to resolve, it remains the longest Security Council election in history. Additionally, this was the first time Niger was elected and the only time East Germany was elected member of the Council.


1979 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.


1979 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
In accordance with the rules whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:


1979 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
To be elected, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. If the vote is inconclusive after the first round, three rounds of restricted voting shall take place, followed by three rounds of unrestricted voting, and so on, until a result has been obtained. In restricted voting, only official candidates may be voted on, while in unrestricted voting, any member of the given regional group, with the exception of current Council members, may be voted on.


1979 United States Grand Prix
The 1979 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 7, 1979 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the fifteenth and final race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 8, 1979 in Long Beach, California.


1979 United States Grand Prix
The 59-lap race took place in wet conditions, and was won by Gilles Villeneuve, driving a Ferrari. René Arnoux finished second in a Renault, with Didier Pironi third in a Tyrrell-Ford. The win, Villeneuve's third of the season, enabled him to secure second place in the Drivers' Championship behind team-mate Jody Scheckter.


1979 United States Grand Prix
This was the final Formula One race for the 1969 and 1970 championship runner-up Jacky Ickx, Alex Ribeiro, Arturo Merzario and former Brabham driver Hans-Joachim Stuck, as well as the final race for the Wolf team. Villeneuve's win was also to be the final one for a car with a flat-12 engine and the three points scored by Elio de Angelis would be the last points scored by the Shadow team.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
By the time the teams got to Watkins Glen for the last race of the 1979 season, Jody Scheckter had already clinched the Drivers' Championship, while his Ferrari team had secured the Constructors' Championship.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
On Friday, the rain was heavy enough all day that only a few cars made any serious attempt at a lap time. Of the six that did actually record a time, Gilles Villeneuve was fastest by over nine seconds.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Saturday started bright and sunny, and Alan Jones topped the charts in his Williams for the entire session. He ended up 1.3 seconds quicker than the Brabham of Brazilian Nelson Piquet, who gained the front row in his first drive at Watkins Glen. Scheckter had trouble with the engine in his race car and traffic with his spare, and ended up 16th, one spot ahead of the previous season's champion, Mario Andretti.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
The forecast for Sunday was a 50% chance of rain. About twenty minutes before the start, the rain came, and all but two of the cars started with rain tires. The two that did not were Piquet and Andretti, who, in 17th spot on the grid, had nothing to lose by the gamble.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
At the start, Piquet suffered with wheelspin on his slicks and was left behind. Scheckter took an outside line through turn one, but he got pushed onto the grass and had to wait for the entire field to go by before re-entering. Keke Rosberg spun and recovered, but he forced Bruno Giacomelli off behind him and into retirement with a bent steering arm. After one lap, the order was Villeneuve, Jones, Carlos Reutemann, Jacques Laffite, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Clay Regazzoni, René Arnoux, Didier Pironi, John Watson and Jean-Pierre Jarier. After two laps, Villeneuve had extended his lead to five seconds.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
By lap three, Jacky Ickx, in his last Grand Prix, had moved his Ligier from 24th to twelfth. As he closed on Derek Daly's Tyrrell approaching the turn before the pit entrance, however, he bumped Daly from behind and went off. His teammate, Jacques Laffite, running in fifth place, spun off on the next lap at the same place. Reutemann crashed out on lap seven from third place when his fire extinguisher sensing unit came loose and interfered with his pedals. The other Lotus, driven by Andretti, decided his gamble to start on slicks had not worked and pitted for wets, since it was still raining. He returned in 20th, but retired soon after when his gearbox became permanently lodged in fourth.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
The gap between Villeneuve and Jones varied, with Regazzoni quite a bit back in third. When the rain became heavier, the Ferrari's Michelins performed better; when it slacked off, the intermediate surface favored the Goodyears on the Williams. On lap 20, Scheckter, now in third after fighting his way back from last place, pitted for slicks, as did Regazzoni. Scheckter later said that it was still too early, as he began sliding around down the straight, but the lap time comparison with Villeneuve helped the Ferrari crew to decide when to bring Villeneuve in.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
On lap 21, Rosberg caught up with Pironi and tried to overtake on the inside. He could not hold his line, and when he slid wide, he took the Tyrrell with him. Pironi was able to continue, but Rosberg retired with a damaged gearbox. Beginning on lap 25, most of the cars came in for slicks, except the three leaders, Villeneuve, Jones and Arnoux. As the circuit continued to dry, Jones cut into Villeneuve's lead, taking off two seconds per lap. By lap 31, Jones was on his tail, and then quickly past. In two laps, he was 3.1 seconds clear. Villeneuve came in to change tires on lap 34, and returned 39.5 seconds behind Jones.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
The Williams crew prepared to fit Jones' car with slicks as he came in on lap 37. After some difficulty removing the right rear, the racing manager waved the jacks away and the car out. As the mechanic on the right rear shouted and waved that he was not finished, the car sped from the pits. At the beginning of the back straight, the wheel came off and Jones retired.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Villeneuve now led Scheckter by almost a lap. Arnoux lost two positions, to fifth, when he pitted for tires, but regained third place, ahead of Daly and Pironi, in two laps. On lap 48, Scheckter felt his car floating about and thought he had a puncture. He decided to go one more lap, but never made it back. The tire shredded and he retired, leaving only nine cars still running. Daly spun off from fourth, and Piquet, after setting fastest lap of the race in pursuit of John Watson's McLaren, dropped out with a broken driveshaft five laps from the flag.


1979 United States Grand Prix, Summary
Villeneuve coasted home, allowing Elio de Angelis and Hans-Joachim Stuck to unlap themselves, but finishing with a 48-second margin over Arnoux. Later, Villeneuve revealed that he had been nursing the car with failing oil pressure for the final 25 laps. The American Shadow team celebrated de Angelis' fourth place, his only points of the year. The win by Villeneuve was his third, matching champion Scheckter's total, securing a one-two finish in the Drivers' Championship.


1979 United States Grand Prix West
The 1979 United States Grand Prix West, formally titled the Lubri Lon Long Beach Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race held on April 8, 1979, at Long Beach, California. Canadian Gilles Villeneuve captured pole, fastest lap and the win for Scuderia Ferrari, followed by his teammate Jody Scheckter, as the Prancing Horses took a big step toward reclaiming the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships from Team Lotus. Villeneuve's win came by almost half a minute over Scheckter, and Alan Jones joined them on the podium for Williams. It was the third win of Villeneuve's career, his second in succession, and the third United States Grand Prix win in a row for Ferrari.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
Qualifying was a battle between Ferrari, Lotus and Ligier, and, as is usually the case at Long Beach, the circuit was littered with broken cars by the end of each session. Carlos Reutemann, in the second Lotus, held the pole until the very end of the final session, when Villeneuve bumped him.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
With only Ferrari and Renault on Michelin tires, Villeneuve was able to use seven sets of qualifiers in the final session, while the Goodyear runners had only two sets per car. On his final charge, Villeneuve switched off his rev limiter at the end of the straight, raising the revs by 200 to 12,600 and giving him enough extra speed to pip Reutemann by six hundredths of a second. Scheckter was third, ahead of the two Ligiers of Patrick Depailler and Jacques Laffite, then Mario Andretti in sixth.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
On Saturday morning, Jean-Pierre Jabouille had a driveshaft on his Renault break on the curving back "straight," flinging him into the wall at 180 mph. A badly sprained arm would keep him out of the race. Then, in the Sunday morning warmup, a stronger version of the driveshaft, produced by the team in the garage, broke on teammate René Arnoux's car. Rather than taking a chance on duplicating Jabouille's incident, the team withdrew their remaining car from the race, allowing Derek Daly's Ensign onto the starting grid.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
100,000 fans gathered on Sunday, which turned sunny and warm just in time for the race. As with the previous year, the start would be on the Shoreline Drive straight, rather than in front of the pits, giving the drivers more of a run down to the first corner. On the warmup lap preceding the drive around to the grid, Reutemann's engine cut out, and he had to be helped back to the pits. The problem was quickly solved, and, while the organizers ruled that he must start from the back of the grid, Reutemann ignored the officials and went back out.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
The cars made their way around for the start on Shoreline Drive, and, as they approached the grid markings, pole-sitter Villeneuve drove right past his starting position! This confused the entire field, who were taking their cue from Villeneuve. Some actually thought the race had started, and everyone ended up back at the pits! On the way to the grid, Laffite's Ligier had suddenly slid across the track when the back end seized. He was allowed to switch to his spare car and, when they finally got under way, he started the race from the pits with Reutemann. After only eight laps, Laffite retired with overheated brakes, and Reutemann broke a driveshaft after just 21, so two of the top five qualifiers were out early, and the door was wide open for the Ferraris.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
At the end of one full lap, Villeneuve led Depailler, Scheckter, Jean-Pierre Jarier,Andretti, Riccardo Patrese, Jones and Nelson Piquet. Villeneuve got to the first corner ahead of Scheckter and quickly began to draw away. Scheckter lost a position to Depailler on the first half lap, but began pushing hard to take back second place. When Depailler missed a gear, Scheckter nearly hit him in the back, and Jarier slipped his Tyrrell past both of them. On the next lap, Scheckter also got around Depailler, whose troubles with fourth gear would last the entire race.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
Villeneuve continued to run untroubled in the lead, expanding his margin whenever he chose and setting the race's fastest lap before half-distance. The battle for second, however, was fierce as Jarier, Scheckter, Depailler, Andretti and Jones formed a massive train. Jarier was fighting a wheel vibration and holding everyone up, but no one could pass him on the straight.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
On lap 28, Scheckter got by the struggling Tyrrell, but it was not until laps 45 and 46, respectively, that Depailler and Jones could follow. By that time, Scheckter had a cushion of nearly twenty seconds back to Depailler in third. With the Ligier still struggling, Jones moved into third place on lap 63. This left Andretti behind Depailler and the two traded positions several times, the Lotus able to go through in the curvy sections, while the Ligier continually repassed on the straight. Finally, as Depailler attempted to lap Jarier, now in sixth spot, he bent his front wing against Jarier's wheel, and Andretti was able to take hold of fourth place for good.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
Depailler's persistence was rewarded with a hard-earned fifth place, and Jarier inherited sixth when Héctor Rebaque, having come from twenty-third to the points, collided with Daly while trying to lap him in the esses.


1979 United States Grand Prix West, Summary
It was the second win of the season for Villeneuve and put him on top of the Driver's standings.


1979 United States House of Representatives elections
There were two special elections in 1979 to the United States House of Representatives in the 96th United States Congress. Both of them were won by Republicans, filling seats that were vacant since the January 3, 1979 beginning of the term.