Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
1979 in science
open-in-new
<h2 id="astronomy-and-space-exploration">Astronomy and space exploration</h2> <ul><li>February 7 – <a href="/facts/Pluto/egq7MBeR">Pluto</a> enters a 20-year period inside the orbit of <a href="/facts/Neptune/1eucwHIC">Neptune</a> for the first time in 230 years.</li> <li>March 7 – The largest <a href="/facts/Magnetar/By90KFyJ">magnetar</a> (<a href="/facts/Soft_gamma_repeater/0VryRaB8">soft gamma repeater</a>) event is recorded.</li> <li>July 11 – America's first space station, <i><a href="/facts/Skylab/h7v9LWKE">Skylab</a></i>, is deliberately allowed to burn up on <a href="/facts/Atmospheric_entry/p7TMk9sa">atmospheric entry</a> over the Indian Ocean due to its decaying orbit and the lack of time to build a new spaceship to boost it up.</li> <li>September 1 – The American <i><a href="/facts/Pioneer_11/9QgrnSWp">Pioneer 11</a></i> becomes the first spacecraft to visit <a href="/facts/Saturn/D54LcGJ9">Saturn</a> when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 km.</li> <li>December 24 – The maiden launch of <a href="/facts/Ariane_1/eNnQsLD8">Ariane 1</a>, the first rocket in the <a href="/facts/Ariane_(rocket_family)/bxpEpRRh">Ariane</a> launcher family.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Amateur_Achievement_Award_of_the_Astronomical_Society_of_the_Pacific/JBgm8geB">Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific</a> given for the first time.</li></ul> <h2 id="biology">Biology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Arthur_William_Baden_Powell/fpRu20WS">Arthur William Baden Powell</a> publishes <i>New Zealand Mollusca</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="computer-science">Computer science</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/May_8/PEe2X6Xh">May 8</a> - <a href="/facts/Radio_Shack/EHzYMpkP">Radio Shack</a> releases <a href="/facts/TRSDOS/EGdAADeD">TRSDOS</a> 2.3</li> <li><a href="/facts/VisiCalc/6xnHrMKp">VisiCalc</a> becomes the first <a href="/facts/Spreadsheet/0cvc1GeB">spreadsheet program</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/US_Federal_Government/VJCxUaf7">US Federal Government</a> releases the initial, draft version of <a href="/facts/Ada_(programming_language)/Y2yHel4l">Ada (programming language)</a>, a strongly typed, comb-structured language with <a href="/facts/Exception_handler/VrJxgb9r">exception handlers</a>, for embedded systems.</li></ul> <h2 id="conservation">Conservation</h2> <ul><li>April 5 – First stage of <a href="/facts/Kakadu_National_Park/Cc1cllsA">Kakadu National Park</a> declared in <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="earth-sciences">Earth sciences</h2> <ul><li>The <a href="/facts/RISE_project/RxmEXLHw">RISE project</a> first discovers <a href="/facts/Hydrothermal_vent/0xPqNUkY">hydrothermal vents</a> known as 'black smokers', on a <a href="/facts/Mid-ocean_ridge/wYdgdSW3">mid-ocean ridge</a> in the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="history-of-science">History of science</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Robert_Gwyn_Macfarlane/HyEFm4kS">Robert Gwyn Macfarlane</a> publishes <i>Howard Florey: The Making of a Great Scientist</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li>'<a href="/facts/Monstrous_moonshine/WbyFQ68w">Monstrous moonshine</a>': <a href="/facts/John_Horton_Conway/g3PA1zoK">John Conway</a> and <a href="/facts/Simon_P._Norton/RSlrwIBp">Simon P. Norton</a> prove there is a connection between the <a href="/facts/Monster_group/MlwslQ7H">Monster group</a> <i>M</i> and the <a href="/facts/J-invariant/H1a38AJF"><i>j</i>-function</a> in number theory.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li> <li>The first modern <a href="/facts/Sudoku/I5Savmhf">Sudoku</a>, known as <i>Number Place</i>, appears in <i>Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games</i> (United States), devised by <a href="/facts/Howard_Garns/jz3ys0Sv">Howard Garns</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li>August – The <a href="/facts/Eating_disorder/3GwQ71sD">eating disorder</a> <i><a href="/facts/Bulimia_nervosa/vha4lPpd">Bulimia nervosa</a></i> is first described and named by British psychiatrist <a href="/facts/Gerald_Russell/cuRaVr05">Gerald Russell</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li>December 9 – The <a href="/facts/World_Health_Organization/YNN3bgug">World Health Organization</a> certifies the global eradication of <a href="/facts/Smallpox/cxNeetP4">smallpox</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li> <li>The last naturally occurring cases of <a href="/facts/Polio/6dYyXUhE">polio</a> are reported in the United States.</li> <li>Tumor <a href="/facts/Protein/Jxmagu3E">protein</a> <a href="/facts/P53/YEGULLgM">p53</a> is identified by <a href="/facts/Lionel_Crawford/TgA2E6kg">Lionel Crawford</a>, <a href="/facts/David_Lane_(oncologist)/4PoTw77f">David Lane</a>, <a href="/facts/Arnold_J._Levine/snqQSnCQ">Arnold J. Levine</a> and <a href="/facts/Lloyd_J._Old/Uvqg4koX">Lloyd J. Old</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="paleontology">Paleontology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Dinosaur_egg/bBypgTYQ">Dinosaur eggs</a> found in the <a href="/facts/Two_Medicine_Formation/15eFMjs3">Two Medicine Formation</a> of <a href="/facts/Montana/jPFKMuK5">Montana</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li>March 1 – <a href="/facts/Philips/Xp4uczGg">Philips</a> publicly demonstrate a prototype of an <a href="/facts/Compact_disc/g51GRloc">optical digital audio disc</a> at a press conference in <a href="/facts/Eindhoven/7ngIHCVT">Eindhoven</a>, Netherlands.</li> <li>June 12 – <a href="/facts/Human-powered_aircraft/Hg4brNs1">Human-powered aircraft</a> <a href="/facts/Gossamer_Albatross/9EyGD5qr">Gossamer Albatross</a>, built by an <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">American</a> team led by <a href="/facts/Paul_MacCready/UxkqDs1R">Paul MacCready</a> and piloted by <a href="/facts/Bryan_Allen_(cyclist)/MBumd0rj">Bryan Allen</a>, makes a successful crossing of the <a href="/facts/English_Channel/UPjaSEXf">English Channel</a> to win the second <a href="/facts/Kremer_prize/S6vnGDaj">Kremer prize</a>.</li> <li>First sale of <a href="/facts/Post-It_Note/TuxUjwJC">Post-It Notes</a> in Boise, Idaho.</li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize/3z1Y3oFL">Nobel Prizes</a> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Physics</a> – <a href="/facts/Sheldon_Glashow/KNS7qjog">Sheldon Glashow</a>, <a href="/facts/Abdus_Salam/M4GNh8dE">Abdus Salam</a>, <a href="/facts/Steven_Weinberg/G61D6kJw">Steven Weinberg</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Chemistry</a> – <a href="/facts/Herbert_C._Brown/gzHbbzR3">Herbert C. Brown</a>, <a href="/facts/Georg_Wittig/XKGpFMEJ">Georg Wittig</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Medicine</a> – <a href="/facts/Allan_M._Cormack/0SVy7eLY">Allan M. Cormack</a>, <a href="/facts/Godfrey_N._Hounsfield/u2BHgbbq">Godfrey N. Hounsfield</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Turing_Award/HbEEp0GF">Turing Award</a> – <a href="/facts/Kenneth_E._Iverson/2K4c4hsh">Kenneth E. Iverson</a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>June 29 – <a href="/facts/Artur_Avila/QMeAHXcQ">Artur Avila</a>, <a href="/facts/Brazil/QHkG46GL">Brazilian</a>-born <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January – <a href="/facts/Oscar_H._Banker/P8Juwe14">Oscar H. Banker</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1895_in_science/j51E1l1p">1895</a>), <a href="/facts/Armenian_American/SQ4x3opx">Armenian American</a> inventor.</li> <li>March 11 – <a href="/facts/No%25C3%25ABl_Poynter/n3duduWW">Noël Poynter</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1908_in_science/zY4oD4uc">1908</a>), English <a href="/facts/Medical_historian/P2xSfuYF">medical historian</a>.</li> <li>March 17 – <a href="/facts/Henry_Aaron_Hill/5rgkthgf">Henry Aaron Hill</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1915_in_science/NMYGub5y">1915</a>), <a href="/facts/Americans/srd9GJ5U">American</a> <a href="/facts/Fluorocarbon/jA9N6aoT">fluorocarbon</a> chemist, first <a href="/facts/African_American/pTgcAdo8">African American</a> president of the <a href="/facts/American_Chemical_Society/Alf3uhaF">American Chemical Society</a>.</li> <li>April 5 – <a href="/facts/Eug%25C3%25A8ne_Gabritschevsky/0XhqkxeP">Eugène Gabritschevsky</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1893_in_science/N2wKwyPt">1893</a>), <a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn">Russian</a> <a href="/facts/Biologist/yJJGXyKR">biologist</a> and <a href="/facts/Artist/7kfrXB5P">artist</a>.</li> <li>May 6 – <a href="/facts/Karl_Wilhelm_Reinmuth/EpyRDzy7">Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1892_in_science/tfqwTHgh">1892</a>), <a href="/facts/Germans/F7mBCrJ4">German</a> <a href="/facts/Astronomer/ronF8j4a">astronomer</a>.</li> <li>June 1 – <a href="/facts/Werner_Forssmann/WBgx2Xbm">Werner Forssmann</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1904_in_science/qfWv7vt5">1904</a>), German <a href="/facts/Physician/qJ3woFvG">physician</a>, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.</li> <li>September 26 – Sir <a href="/facts/Barnes_Wallis/sEor1lvs">Barnes Wallis</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1887_in_science/3TPmT9t4">1887</a>), <a href="/facts/English_people/IeI9c7BK">English</a> <a href="/facts/Aeronautical_engineer/2Ib02w7f">aeronautical engineer</a>.</li> <li>October 10 – <a href="/facts/Guido_Fanconi/nblNLu4j">Guido Fanconi</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1892_in_science/tfqwTHgh">1892</a>), <a href="/facts/Swiss_people/3ecWX2K6">Swiss</a> <a href="/facts/Pediatrician/hnkMfLeg">pediatrician</a>.</li> <li>October 12 – <a href="/facts/Katharine_Burr_Blodgett/MVseIwkp">Katharine Burr Blodgett</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1898_in_science/fdxwBTSM">1898</a>), American physicist and chemist.</li> <li>December 7 – <a href="/facts/Cecilia_Payne-Gaposchkin/omItk5SS">Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1900_in_science/tY9grWXa">1900</a>), English-born American astronomer and astrophysicist.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Conway, J. H.; Norton, S. P. (1979). "Monstrous Moonshine". Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society. 11 (3): 308–339. doi:10.1112/blms/11.3.308. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Pegg, Ed Jr. (2005-09-15). "Ed Pegg Jr.'s Math Games: Sudoku Variations". MAA Online. The Mathematical Association of America. Retrieved 2006-10-03. <a href="http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_09_05_05.html" target="_blank">http://www.maa.org/editorial/mathgames/mathgames_09_05_05.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Russell, Gerald (August 1979). "Bulimia nervosa: an ominous variant of anorexia nervosa". Psychological Medicine. 9 (3): 429–48. doi:10.1017/S0033291700031974. PMID 482466. S2CID 23973384. <a href="/wiki/Psychological_Medicine" target="_blank">/wiki/Psychological_Medicine</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Palmer, Robert (December 2004). "Bulimia nervosa: 25 years on". British Journal of Psychiatry. 185 (6): 447–8. doi:10.1192/bjp.185.6.447. PMID 15572732. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192%2Fbjp.185.6.447" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1192%2Fbjp.185.6.447</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Smallpox". WHO Factsheet. Archived from the original on 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2007-09-22. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070921235036/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/smallpox/en/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070921235036/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/smallpox/en/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. 2007. ISBN 9780387304007. <a href="9780387304007" target="_blank">9780387304007</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>