1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was .

Events 
 January 14 – The Sex Pistols played their final show (until a 1996 reunion) at San Francisco's Winterland
 March 1 - The Princesses series by Universal Studios.
 April 22 – The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live. The duo of Jake & Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) are introduced by Paul Shaffer (as Don Kirschner) and perform "Hey Bartender"
 April 26 – Ringo Starr's, Ringo, a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper airs on American television. Starr's fellow former Beatle George Harrison provides the narration
 May 8 – Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler are the first humans on the Mount Everest without oxygen tanks
 July 25 – First human birth from in vitro fertilization
 August 6 – Pope Paul VI dies at the age of 80. Albino Luciani become the new pope, Pope John Paul I
 August 17 – Double Eagle II becomes the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
 August 26 – The first Canada Jam Festival is held in Ontario, featuring sets by the Doobie Brothers, the Commodores, Kansas, Dave Mason, and the Atlanta Rhythm Section
 September 28 – Pope John Paul I dies after 34 days in office
 October 1 – Vietnam attacks Cambodia
 October 16 – Karol Wojtyła elected pope, and calls himself Pope John Paul II
 November 18 – Jim Jones and his followers commit suicide
 November 27 – San Francisco politician Dan White assassinates Harvey Milk and George Moscone
 December 21 - John Wayne Gacy is arrested for the killings of 33 boys and young men.
 Garfield, a comic strip, debuts
 Space Invaders is created by the Taito Corporation

Births 
 January 13 – Tinga, Brazilian footballer
 January 28 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
 January 30 – Daniel Lindström, Swedish singer
 February 7 – Ashton Kutcher, American actor
 March 11 – Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
 March 21 – Kevin Federline, American doofus
 April 4 - Sam Moran, Australian musician (The Wiggles)
 April 6 – Myleene Klass, English musician
 April 30 – Tom Fulp, Newgrounds creater
 May 22 – Katie Price, English model and singer
 June 9 – Matthew Bellamy, English singer
 June 9 – Miroslav Klose, Polish footballer
 June 11 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor
 June 19 – Dirk Nowitzki,
 June 21 – Frank Lampard, English footballer
 June 29 – Nicole Scherzinger, American singer and actress
 July 19 – Chiara Zanni, Canadian actress
 August 22 – Jeff Stinco, Canadian Musician- Simple Plan
 August 23 – Kobe Bryant, NBA star (d. 2020)
 September 25 – Rafał Wiechecki, Polish politician
 September 28 – Bushido, German singer
 September 30 – Candice Michelle, American model and wrestler
 October 2 – Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
 October 6 – Carolina Gynning, Swedish model
 October 5 – Gerald Asamoah, German footballer
 October 7 – Alesha Dixon, English singer
 October 26 - CM Punk, American professional wrestler
 November 25 – Ringo Shiina, Japanese singer
 December 2 – Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer
 December 2 – Chris Wolstenholme, English musician
 December 18 – Katie Holmes, American actress
 Alison Balsom, English musician
 Miri Ben-Ari, Israeli violinist

Deaths 
 January 14 – Kurt Gödel, Czech mathematician (b. 1906)
 March 21 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, 5th President of Ireland (b. 1911)
 May 14 – Robert Menzies, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
 May 17 – Armin T. Wegner, German writer (b. 1886)
 August 6 – Pope Paul IV, heart attack (b. 1897)
 September 7 - Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (b. 1946)
 September 28 – Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)
 November 19 – Jim Jones, American cult leader (b. 1931)

Movies released 
 Convoy
 F.I.S.T.
 The Deer Hunter
 Grease
 Halloween
 Jaws II
 Midnight Express
 The Last Waltz
 The Lord of the Rings, animated movie by Ralph Bakshi
 Superman, starring Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve

Nobel Prizes 
 Nobel Prize in Physics – Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Arno Allan Penzias, Robert Woodrow Wilson
 Chemistry – Peter D Mitchell
 Medicine – Werner Arber, Daniel Nathans, Hamilton O Smith
 Literature -Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polnish writer and journalist
 Peace – Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat and Menachem Begin
 Economics – Herbert Simon

References