Seattle
- The Kingdome opened on March 27 with a 64,000-seat capacity, instantly becoming the city's largest concert and sports venue.
- The Seattle Seahawks played their first NFL season under coach Jack Patera.
- The Sounders continued to draw sellout NASL crowds.
- Pike Place Market reopened after a major restoration following the 1971 ballot save.
The United States
- The Bicentennial: Tall Ships in New York Harbor, fireworks nationwide, the first sustained good mood since Watergate.
- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in a Cupertino garage on April 1.
- Jimmy Carter was elected president on a promise never to lie to the American people.
- Rocky and Network faced off at the Oscars.
- NASA's Viking 1 became the first spacecraft to land safely on Mars and send back color photos.
The World
- Mao Zedong died on September 9; the Gang of Four was arrested within weeks and Deng Xiaoping's ascendance began.
- The Soweto uprising in June, in which South African police killed Black students protesting Afrikaans-language instruction, internationalized the anti-apartheid movement.
- The Concorde began commercial transatlantic service.
- The Montreal Summer Olympics were boycotted by 22 African nations.
- North and South Vietnam formally reunified.
