March 9 - Approximately a dozen armed HanafiMuslims take over three buildings in Washington, DC, killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation ends two days later.
April 7 - German Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light near his home in Karlsruhe. "The Ulrike Meinhoff Commando" later claims responsibility
May 23 - Moluccan terrorists take over a school in Bovensmilde , northern Netherlands (105 hostages) and a passenger train in Bovensmilde -Assan route nearby (90 hostages) at the same time. June 11Dutch Royal Marines storm the train - six terrorists and two hostages are killed
May 25 - Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) opens a limited run in theaters before expanding to become the highest grossing movie to date.
July 25 - About 9 pm a group of three boys were at play in a residential back yard. Two large birds approached, and chased the boys. Two escaped unharmed, but the third boy, ten-year-old Marlon Lowe, did not. One of the birds reportedly clamped his shoulder with its claws, then lifted Lowe about two feet off the ground, carrying him some distance. Lowe fought against the bird, which released him.
July 28 - First oil through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System reaches Valdez, Alaska
July 30 - Left-wing German terrorists Susanne Albrect , Brigitte Mohnhaupt and a third person assassinate Jürgen Ponto , chairman of the Dresdener Bank in Oberursel, West Germany
November 19 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel when he meets with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement (much of the Arab world is outraged by the visit).
Kenny Rogers tops the charts with the country classic "Lucille", the first of more than 20 number 1 hit singles on the country and/or pop charts for the former First Edition star.
DJ_Kool_Herc classifies and introduces a new movement in America, calling it Hip hop.
