Editing 1979 (section)

=== March ===
{{Main|March 1979}}
* [[March 1]]
** [[1979 Scottish devolution referendum|Scottish devolution referendum]]: [[Scotland]] votes in favour of a Scottish Assembly, which is not implemented due to failing a condition that at least 40% of the electorate must support the proposal; in a [[1979 Welsh devolution referendum|Welsh devolution referendum]], [[Wales]] votes against devolution.
** [[Philips]] publicly demonstrate a prototype of an [[Compact disc|optical digital audio disc]] at a press conference in [[Eindhoven]], Netherlands.
* [[March 2]] – Uganda–Tanzania War: [[Battle of Tororo]]: Ugandan rebels attack and capture the town of [[Tororo]].
* [[March 4]]
** The U.S. ''[[Voyager 1]]'' spaceprobe photos reveal [[Jupiter's rings]].
** Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Tororo: The Ugandan military retakes Tororo from rebels.
* [[March 5]] – ''Voyager 1'' makes its closest approach to [[Jupiter]] at {{convert|277000|km|mi}}.
* [[March 7]] – The largest [[Magnetar]] ([[Soft gamma repeater]]) event is recorded.
* [[March 8]]
**[[Philips]] demonstrates the [[compact disc]] publicly for the first time.
** Thousands of women participate in the [[International Women's Day Protests in Tehran, 1979]] against the introduction of mandatory veiling during the [[Iranian revolution]].
** Images taken by ''Voyager 1'' prove the [[Volcanism on Io|existence of volcanoes]] on [[Io (moon)|Io]], a [[moon of Jupiter]].<ref name="Morabito1979">{{cite journal |title=Discovery of currently active extraterrestrial volcanism |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |last1=Morabito |first1=L. A. |pages=972 |volume=204 |issue=4396 |date=1979 |doi=10.1126/science.204.4396.972 |pmid=17800432 |bibcode=1979Sci...204..972M |display-authors=1 |last2=Synnott |first2=S. P. |last3=Kupferman |first3=P. N. |last4=Collins |first4=S. A.|s2cid=45693338 }}</ref>
* [[March 10]] – Uganda–Tanzania War: [[Battle of Lukaya]]: The Ugandan military, a Libyan expeditionary force and allied [[Palestine Liberation Organisation]] militants begin a counter-offensive against Tanzanian troops in south-central Uganda. The Ugandan-led alliance retakes [[Lukaya, Uganda|Lukaya]] after a short clash with the Tanzanian military.
* [[March 11]] – Uganda–Tanzania War: Battle of Lukaya: The Tanzanian military counter-attacks at Lukaya, completely defeating the Ugandan-led alliance. This defeat permanently cripples the Ugandan military.
* [[March 13]] – [[Maurice Bishop]] leads a successful coup in [[Grenada]]. His government will be crushed by [[Invasion of Grenada|American intervention]] in [[1983]].
* [[March 14]] – In China, a [[Hawker Siddeley Trident]] crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing 31 people on the ground and injuring 200.
* [[March 16]]
**End of major hostilities in the [[Sino-Vietnamese War]].
** In his letter to the United Nations, [[Elísio de Figueiredo|Elisio De Figueiredo]], the People's Republic of Angola's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, requests an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the question of [[South African Border War|South Africa's continuous acts of aggression in Angola]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Angola |date=1979-03-16 |title=Letter dated 79/03/16 from the Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council. |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/2225|publisher=United Nations Digital Library}}</ref>
* [[March 17]] – The [[Penmanshiel Tunnel]] in the UK collapses, killing two workers.
* [[March 19]] – [[C-SPAN]], an American television channel focusing on government and public affairs, is launched.
* [[March 18]] – Ten miners die in a [[methane]] gas explosion at [[Golborne Colliery]] near [[Wigan]], [[Greater Manchester]], England.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/18/newsid_4226000/4226271.stm|publisher=BBC|work=On This Day|title=1979: Three die in Golborne mine blast|access-date=2013-03-18}}</ref>
* [[March 22]] – The [[National Hockey League]] votes to approve its [[NHL–WHA merger|merger]] with the [[World Hockey Association]], to take effect in three months, following the leagues' respective postseasons.
* [[March 25]] – The first fully functional [[Space Shuttle]] orbiter, [[Space Shuttle Columbia|''Columbia'']], is delivered to the [[Kennedy Space Center]], to be prepared for its first launch.
* [[March 26]] 
** In a ceremony at the [[White House]], President [[Anwar Sadat]] of [[Egypt]] and Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]] of [[Israel]] sign an [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty]].
** [[Michigan State Spartans men's basketball|Michigan State University]], led by [[Magic Johnson|Earvin "Magic" Johnson]], defeats [[Larry Bird]]-led [[Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball|Indiana State]] 75–64 in the [[1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA tournament]] [[1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game|championship game]] at [[Salt Lake City]]. 
* [[March 28]]
** In Britain, [[James Callaghan]]'s minority [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government loses a [[motion of confidence]] by one vote, forcing a general election which is to be held on 3 May.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/28/newsid_2531000/2531007.stm|publisher=BBC|work=On This Day|title=1979: Early election as Callaghan defeated|access-date=2013-03-18}}</ref>
** America's most serious [[nuclear power plant]] accident occurs, at [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]], Pennsylvania.
* [[March 29]] – Sultan [[Yahya Petra of Kelantan]], the 6th [[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]] (Head of State) of [[Malaysia]], dies in office. He is replaced by Sultan [[Ahmad Shah of Pahang]].
* [[March 30]] – [[Airey Neave]], Conservative M.P. in the [[British House of Commons]], is killed, presumably by an [[Irish National Liberation Army]] bomb in the car park for the Houses of Parliament.
* [[March 31]]
** The last British soldier (belonging to the [[Royal Navy]]) leaves the [[Maltese Islands]], after 179 years of presence. [[Malta]] declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).
** [[Milk and Honey (Israeli group)|Milk and Honey]] win the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1979]] for [[Israel]], with the song ''[[Hallelujah (Milk and Honey song)|Hallelujah]]''.