1978

1978 was the 107th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

Business

• February: Red Mountain Museum opened.
• September: K. L. Jones purchased the Parliament House hotel out of bankruptcy.
• The first gifts from the Dwight and Lucille Beeson Collection were received by the Birmingham Museum of Art.
• WBRC was the first station to use a microwave-transmitting live news truck for newsgathering.
• BE&K's Redrock Construction Company was shut down.
• Salem's Diner opened.
• Town of Adam Brown subdivision was established.
• Beautiful 94 went on the air.
• Birmingham (SSN-695), a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine went into service.

Media

• May 20: Sun Ra and his Arkestra were the musical guests on Saturday Night Live.

Sports

• Bear Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide football team won the National Championship.
• Mel Allen was awarded the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award.
• Gene Bartow began the UAB Blazers men's basketball program.
• Bobby Allison won the Daytona 500.
• Alabama Barons baseball team played their only season.

Works

• Birmingham Mural Project began. Murals completed included Geo-Chromatic Progress.

Books

• Airships, by Barry Hannah
• Baal, by Robert McCammon
• On Human Nature, by E. O. Wilson

Buildings

• March: Trinity United Methodist Church's sanctuary was completed.
• April 7: Demolition of Northington Naval Hospital in Tuscaloosa commenced.
• October 19: Centreville Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
• Barrett Elementary School was rennovated.
• Rennovations to the Birmingham Zoo included remodelling the reptile house, construction of a new big cat area, and completion of the children's zoo.
• Ski Lodge II was built.
• Five Mile Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant was completed.
• Miller Steam Plant went into service.
• Newton DeBardeleben Operations Center was opened.
• Ridgecrest Baptist Church's original Huffman campus was built.
• Corridor X east of Fulton, Mississippi was approved.
• A large brick sanctuary was added to the west side of the John Drish residence by Southside Baptist Church (Tuscaloosa).

Music

• Birmingham Sunlights were formed.
• Lanquidity by Sun Ra was released.
• O'Jays album So Full of Love topped the R&B album charts, and the single "Use ta Be My Girl" was a top 10 hit.
• Cincinnati Stomp by Big Joe Duskin was released.

Individuals

• May: Richard C. Trucks replaced the retiring James Cantrell as minister of Third Presbyterian Church.
• October 5: Pop singer Dana married Damien Scallon.
• November: Pete Clifford was elected to fill Don Hawkins' unexpired seat on the Birmingham City Council. Nina Miglionico assumed Hawkins' role as president.
• Michael Gross became superintendent of Homewood City Schools. Jack Farr replaced Gross as principal at Homewood High School, and Ann Robbins replaced Farr as principal of Edgewood Elementary School.
• John Harbert III was appointed to the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
• John Amari was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives to represent Alabama House District 34.
• Mother Angelica appeared on the "Among Friends" show at the Baptist-affiliated WCFC-TV Chicago, which was a catalyst for her to create EWTN.
• Buddy Gray became the youth pastor at Hunter Street Baptist Church.
• Belon Friday succeeded Monroe Lewis as minister of Highlands United Methodist Church.
• Elmer Moree retired as principal of Coosa Valley Elementary School.
• Ron Sparks entered politics by defeating a two-term incumbent to serve on the DeKalb County Commission.
• Donald Beatty and his wife donated their nearly 300 Jivano artifacts to the Smithsonian Institution, leading to Beatty being awarded the James Smithson Medal.
• Major Bashinsky was admitted into the Alabama State Bar.
• Nancy Crews began her term as mayor of California City, California.
• Tammy Wynette married George Richey.
• Buddy Glasgow was elected Shelby County Sheriff.
• George McMillan was elected Lieutenant Governor of Alabama.

Births

• January 14: William A. Barnes, business owner
• April 11: Josh Hancock, baseball player
• April 20: Clayne Crawford, actor
• May 19: Amy Lemley Bailey, fashionista
• August 3: Tommy Dewey, actor and screenwriter
• September 12: Reuben Studdard, singer
• September 23: Michael Gibbons, prizefighter
• November 9: Jason Standridge, baseball player
• December 11: Roy Wood, Jr, comedian
• Chloe Collins, executive director of the Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival
• Kate Merritt Davis, artist
• Riley Holifield
• Darryl W. Perry, radio station manager
• John Powers, sculptor

Awards

• Pulizter Prize was awarded to E. O. Wilson for On Human Nature.
• The first class of Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame was inducted. Inductees were Frank Adams, Amos Gordon, Erskine Hawkins, Haywood Henry, Sammy Lowe, Fess Whatley.
• George McMillan was named to the 10 Most Outstanding Legislators in the Nation.

Graduations

• Major Bashinsky, juris doctorate, Samford University's Cumberland School of Law
• Stephannie Huey, bachelor of business administration, Miles College
• Kerry James Marshall, bachelor of fine arts, Otis Institute of Art and Design, Los Angeles, California
• Ron Nored, Henry County (Tennessee) High School
• Martha Jane Patton, Cumberland School of Law
• Glennon Threatt, bachelor of science in political science, Princeton University

Deaths

• February 3: Albert Boutwell, Mayor of Birmingham and lieutenant governor of Alabama
• June 20: Jess Lanier, Mayor of Bessemer
• September 11: S. Lawrence Johnson, pastor
• September 23: Lyman Bostock, Jr, baseball player
• Frederick Calder, businessman
• Don Hawkins, president Birmingham City Council
• Shirley Farley, wife of Alabama Power president Joe Farley

See also List of Birmingham homicides in 1978

See also

• 1978 UAB Blazers
• 1978 Iron Bowl

Context

In 1978 the Copyright Act of 1976 took effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. Hollywood film director Roman Polanski fled the country after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl. Serial killers Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy were captured. The first Unabomber attack takes place at Northwestern University. Atlantic City's first legal casino opened. The comic strip Garfield debuted. Pluto's moon, Charon, was discovered. Louise Brown, the first "test tube baby," was born. Two popes died, leading to Pope John Paul II being installed. The Camp David Accords were signed between Israel and Egypt. Love Canal was declared a federal emergency. Premium cable network Showtime went on the air. Muhammad Ali became the heavyweight boxing champion for the third time. The Jonestown Massacre took place.

Notable 1978 births include Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace, Tia and Tamera Mowry, Justin Long, Kobe Bryant, and Clay Aiken. Deaths in 1978 included those of Hubert Humphrey, Robert Shaw, Edgar Bergen, and Norman Rockwell.

Top-grossing films were Greast, Superman, Animal House, Every Which Way But Loose, and Heaven Can Wait. The Deer Hunter swept the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor.

Hit singles included the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever", John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John's "You're the One That I Want", the Village People's "YMCA", and Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing". The Incredible Hulk, Dallas, 20/20, Taxi, Mork & Mind, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Diff'rent Strokes premiered on network television.

1970s

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