Seattle
- The Seattle SuperSonics (Lenny Wilkens, Jack Sikma, Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson) reached the NBA Finals and lost in seven games to the Washington Bullets.
- Microsoft began planning its move from Albuquerque back to the Seattle area.
- Pacific Northwest Ballet was finding its identity under new artistic leadership.
- Seattle Opera's Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival began drawing international audiences for its summer Ring cycles.
The United States
- The Camp David Accords (September), brokered by President Carter, produced a framework that led to peace between Egypt and Israel.
- The Jonestown mass murder–suicide in Guyana killed 918 people on November 18 — the largest deliberate loss of American civilian life until 9/11.
- Animal House and Grease dominated the box office.
- Garfield debuted in 41 newspapers.
- The Supreme Court's Bakke decision permitted affirmative action while striking down strict racial quotas.
- Space Invaders hit American arcades and became a cultural phenomenon.
The World
- Louise Brown, the first child conceived through in-vitro fertilization, was born in Oldham, England on July 25.
- Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła of Poland) was elected, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
- Vietnam invaded Cambodia at year's end, beginning the end of the Khmer Rouge.
- The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack passed 25 million copies and disco hit saturation.
- The first GPS satellite (Navstar 1) was launched in February.
Program
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