The following events occurred in December 1978:
December 1, 1978 (Friday) The longest road tunnel in the world up to that time, the Arlberg Strassentunnel, opened to traffic in Austria between St Anton am Arlberg in Tyrol and Langen am Arlberg in Vorarlberg, almost four and a half years after construction started on July 5, 1974. U.S. President Jimmy Carter issued an executive order designating 56 million acres (87,500 square miles or larger than the U.S. state of Minnesota) of federally-owned land, the most ever set aside by an American president, as a set of 17 new U.S. national monuments. The move came 16 days before a federal prohibition against oil and gas exploration was set to expire. Carter said in a statement, "The actions I have taken today provide for urgently needed permanent protections. However, they are taken in the hope that the 96th Congress will act promptly to pass Alaska lands legislation." ATS-3, the third Applications Technology Satellite geostationary weather satellite, was deactivated more than 11 years after its launch on November 5, 1967. the ATS-3 had transmitted the first full color images of the Earth and had been expected to operate for only three years. The Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) was formed in the United States by U.S. President Jimmy Carter with the issuance of Executive Order 12065. The ISOO became part of the National Archives with guidance from the U.S. National Security Council. Born: Jen Psaki, U.S. government official, White House Press Secretary for U.S. President Joe Biden in 2021 and 2022; in New York City Samvel Shahramanyan, Armenian politician who served for the last four months of 2023 as the fifth and last President of the short-lived Republic of Artsakh during its breakaway from the Republic of Azerbaijan; in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union Died: Botha Sigcau, 65, African paramount chief of a sub-tribe of the Mpondo people in South Africa and the first President of the homeland of Transkei on October 29, 1976, died two years after taking office. He was succeeded briefly by Zwelibanzi Maneli Mabandla who served as acting president until Prime Minister Kaiser Matanzima became President on February 20, 1979.Harris M. Lentz, Heads of States and Governments Since 1945, 2014, S. 756
December 2, 1978 (Saturday) The Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, which would overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot with aid from Vietnam in 1979, was formed by Heng Samrin and 70 other dissidents in Kratié province in Democratic Kampuchea, near the border with Vietnam.Ben Kiernan, The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975–1979 (Yale University Press, 2006) p.442 An overloaded boat carrying refugees fleeing Vietnam sank off the coast of Malaysia in rough seas, drowning 130 people. Another 148 refugees were able to swim ashore or were rescued. A similar accident on November 22 had killed 254 people. Born: Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer known for the song "Promiscuous" and the album Loose; in Victoria, British Columbia Nine Nine (stage name for Tin Zaw Latt), Myanmar Burmese film actor; in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar)
December 3, 1978 (Sunday) Elections were held in Venezuela for a new president and for all 199 seats of the Cámara de Diputados and all 44 seats of the Senado. Luis Herrera Campins of the COPEI party defeated two other candidates, Luis Piñerúa Ordaz of Acción Democrática and José Vicente Rangel of Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS). Died: William Grant Still, 83, American composer
December 4, 1978 (Monday)
Pioneer 12, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, launched from the U.S. on May 20, 1978, entered an elliptical orbit around Venus. It would transmit data for almost 14 years until decaying from orbit and crashing on Venus on October 22, 1992. Serial killers Gary and Thaddeus Lewingdon claimed their eighth and final murder victim, as Gary Lewington shot a 56-year-old man, Joseph Ennick."Ohio Legion aide slain by robber", AP report in Akron (O.) Becon-Journal, December 6, 1978, p.A-1 The homicide took place slightly less than a year after their the two brothers had killed their first victim on December 10, 1977, in what the press called "The .22 caliber murders" because of the gun used. After being arrested, Gary would implicate his brother Thaddeus in the other murders."Two Charged With Murder— Possible Link to .22 Caliber Slayings", by Mike Belek, Lancaster (O.) Eagle-Gazette, December 11, 1978, p.1 Vietnamese troops entered northeastern Cambodia in support of the new Kampuchean United Front headed by Heng Semrin, in what was described as an attempt to create a "liberated zone" and a rival Communist "state within a state." Born: Lars Bystøl, Norwegian ski jumper, 2006 Olympic gold medalist; in Voss Died: William A. Steiger, 40, U.S. Representative for Wisconsin since 1967. Steiger, a Republican, had gained national attention for helping secure a reduction in the capital gains tax and had "appeared headed for a top role in his party's congressional leadership" after being elected to an 11th term in November.
December 5, 1978 (Tuesday) The Fifth Modernization, the most famous of the "big-character posters" to be put on the Democracy Wall in Beijing, was written by former Red Guard Wei Jingsheng. Addressing the "Four Modernizations doctrine approved by the Chinese Communist Party to improve industry, agriculture, science and defense, Wei advocated that "People should have democracy. When they ask for democracy, they are only demanding what is rightfully theirs. Anyone refusing to give it to them is a shameless bandit no better than a capitalist who robs workers of their money earned with their sweat and blood. Do the people have democracy now? No. Do they want to be masters of their own destiny? Definitely yes.""The Fifth Modernization", by Wei Jingsheng Wei proposed that, with freedom of choice of their leaders, the Chinese people would achieve modernization. In response, however, Wei was arrested and imprisoned for 14 years for being a "counter-revolutionary" activities.Rone Tempest, "Longtime Prisoner Freed in China", Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1993. The leaders of six nations in the Council of Europe— Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands— agreed to implement the new European monetary system where the values of their respective currencies would fluctuate against each other "within tightly limited bounds", with the members contributing to a joint fund of $30 billion (in U.S. dollars) to protect the agreed-upon currency values. Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom declined to join the new system. The Soviet Union and the new Communist government of Afghanistan signed a 20-year treaty of friendship. Born: Olli Jokinen, Finnish professional ice hockey player for 10 different NHL teams and four European teams between 1995 and 2015; in Kuopio Neil Druckmann, Israeli-born American video game designer; in Tel Aviv Died: U.S. Air Force General George S. Brown, 60, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1974 until his retirement on June 20, died of prostate cancer.
December 6, 1978 (Wednesday) A national referendum was held in Spain on whether to approve or reject the proposed The Spanish Constitution, which set the provisions for completing the restoration of the European kingdom's democratic government. Despite irregularities in voter registration in some provinces and a lowering of the voting age to 18 before the election, voters overwhelmingly approved the new constitution by a margin of almost 92%, with only 1.4 million out of 17 million voting to reject. Born: Jack Thorne, British playwright and screenwriter; in Bristol Mijailo Mijailović, Swedish assassin known for the 2003 stabbing death of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh; in Stockholm Died: Norman Lee (stage name for Norman Uehle), 57, American band leader formerly with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, was shot to death along with his wife and his publicist at the Lees' home near Wichita, Kansas. A warrant for murder was filed against Charles G. Martin, a former employee of Lee, on December 18.
December 7, 1978 (Thursday) Masayoshi Ōhira formally took office as the new Prime Minister of Japan after being elected as the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. A fire destroyed almost all of the newsreel films stored by the U.S. National Archives in 21 vaults in Suitland, Maryland. In order to work on an upgrade of the facility's air conditioning system, contractors had disabled several sprinklers, and a spark from a power tool ignited flammable nitrate film stock. The local fire department then opened fireproof doors to search for employees who might be trapped inside other vaults, causing the fire to spread. Edward R. Schreyer was approved as the new Governor General of Canada by Queen Elizabeth II, to take office in January. Born: Shiri Appleby, American TV actress and the star of Roswell; in Los Angeles Donny Alamsyah, Indonesian film actor known for Sunday Morning in Victoria Park; in Jakarta Died: Alexander Wetmore, 92, American ornithologist and avian palaeontologist
December 8, 1978 (Friday) South Korea enacted a change to its compulsory military service law, continuing to conscript medical students of draft age, but assigning them to the Public Health Doctor program, to serve as physicians and dentists in underserved rural areas. In 1979, its first full year in effect, 300 physicians and 34 dentists were assigned to villages in farming and fishing areas.Public health physician placement (in Korean) Five days of voting concluding in Namibia (at the time, referred to as South-West Africa and a trusteeship of white-ruled South Africa, as black Namibians voted for candidates for a constituent assembly in advance of granting Namibia independence. South African troops guarded the 1,100 polling places, and voter turnout was described as high. The Democratic Turnhalle Alliance, a party led by white Namibian rancher Dirk Mudge and consisting of 11 tribal and racial groups, won 41 of the 50 seats in the Namibian Assembly, while another white-led party, the Action Committee for the Preservation of Turnhalle Principles, won six seats. The United Nations had denounced the election and set its own supervised elections for July 1979. Born: Ian Somerhalder, American TV actor, known for The Vampire Diaries and Lost; in Covington, Louisiana Died: Golda Meir, 80, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel (from 1969 to 1974) and the first woman to hold that post.
December 9, 1978 (Saturday)
All five space components of the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe from Pioneer 13, launched by the U.S. on August 8, landed at different areas of the planet Venus, with four probes entering the Venusian atmosphere between 18:45 and 18:56 UTC and descending to their respective targets on the planet. The largest of the probes was the first to make impact, transmitting data until it crashed at 19:39:53 UTC. The North Probe crashed less than three minutes later, at 19:42:40. The Day Probe was the only one to survive impact, landing at 19:47:59 and then transmitting data for one hour and almost eight minutes. The "Bus" that had carried the probes entered the atmosphere at 20:21 and it signal was lost on its way down. The Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), the first U.S. pro basketball league for women, played its first game. At Milwaukee Arena in Wisconsin, the Chicago Hustle defeated the Milwaukee Does, 92 to 87 before a crowd of 7,824 people.Harvin, Al. "Female Pros Make History; Playing Game Alone", The New York Times, December 10, 1978. Accessed July 26, 2010. The other franchises in the 8-team league, playing a 34-game schedule, were the Dayton (O.) Rockettes, the Houston Angels, the Iowa Cornets, the Minnesota Fillies, the New Jersey Gems, and the New York Stars.