Editing 1979 (section)

=== June ===
{{main|June 1979}}
* [[June 1]]
** The [[Vizianagaram district]] is formed in [[Andhra Pradesh]], India.
** The first black-led government of [[Rhodesia]] in 90 years takes power, in succession to [[Ian Smith]] and under his power-sharing deal, in the unrecognized republic of [[Zimbabwe Rhodesia]].
** The [[Seattle SuperSonics]] win the NBA Championship against the [[Washington Bullets]].
* [[June 2]]
** [[Pope John Paul II]] arrives in his native Poland on his first official, nine-day stay, becoming the first Pope to visit a [[Communist]] country. This visit, known as nine days that changed the world, brings about the solidarity of the Polish people against Communism, ultimately leading to the rise of the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] movement.
** [[Los Angeles]]' city council passes the city's first [[homosexual rights]] bill signed without fanfare by mayor [[Tom Bradley (American politician)|Tom Bradley]].
* [[June 3]]
** [[Ixtoc I oil spill]]: A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern [[Gulf of Mexico]] causes at least 600,000 tons (176,400,000 gallons) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the worst oil spill to date. Some estimate the spill to be 428&nbsp;million gallons, making it the largest unintentional [[oil spill]] until it is surpassed by the [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill|''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill]] in 2010.
** [[1979 Italian general election]]: The [[Italian Communist Party]] loses a significant number of seats.
* [[June 4]]
** [[Joe Clark]] becomes Canada's 16th and youngest Prime Minister.
** [[Flight Lieutenant]] [[Jerry Rawlings]] takes power in [[Ghana]] after a military [[coup d'état|coup]] in which [[General officer|General]] [[Fred Akuffo]] is overthrown.
** Following the "[[Muldergate]]" Information Scandal, [[John Vorster]] resigns as [[State President of South Africa]].<ref name="RSA">[http://www.archontology.org/nations/south_africa/sa_pres1/ Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Heads of State: 1961–1994]. Accessed 14 April 2017.</ref>
* [[June 7]] – [[1979 European Parliament election]]: The first direct elections to the [[European Parliament]] begin, allowing citizens from across all nine (at this time) [[European Communities#Members|member states of the European Communities]] to elect 410 [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]]s. It is also the first international election in history.
* [[June 9]]–[[June 23|23]] – The [[1979 Cricket World Cup]] is held in England with West Indies defeating England in the final.
* [[June 12]] – [[Bryan Allen (hang glider)|Bryan Allen]] flies the man-powered ''[[Gossamer Albatross]]'' across the [[English Channel]].
* [[June 13]] – The [[1979 NHL Expansion Draft]] takes place, restocking the franchises from [[Edmonton Oilers|Edmonton]], [[Hartford Whalers|Hartford]], [[Quebec Nordiques|Quebec]], and [[Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996)|Winnipeg]], which are being admitted from the [[World Hockey Association|WHA]] as expansion teams.
* [[June 15]]
** [[McDonald's]] introduces the [[Happy Meal]] in the United States in a nationwide advertising campaign after testing the product since February in franchises in the U.S. state of [[Missouri]].<ref>''Wausau (WI) Daily Herald'', June 15, 1979, p. 9; ''Helena (MT) Independent-Record'', June 19, 1979, p. 31; ''Grand Junction (CO) Daily Sentinel'', June 19, 1979, p. 3; ''Seymour (IN) Tribune'', June 20, 1979, p. 15</ref>
** The ecological horror-thriller ''[[Prophecy (film)|Prophecy]]'' is [[theatrical release|released]] in the United States by [[Paramount Pictures]].
* [[June 18]] – [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Leonid Brezhnev]] sign the [[SALT II]] agreement in [[Vienna]].
* [[June 19]] – [[Marais Viljoen]] becomes [[State President of South Africa]].<ref name="RSA"/>
* [[June 20]] – A [[Nicaragua]]n National Guard soldier kills [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC TV]] news correspondent [[Bill Stewart (television journalist)|Bill Stewart]] and his interpreter Juan Espinosa. Other members of the news crew capture the killing on tape.
* [[June 22]] 
** Former [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] leader [[Jeremy Thorpe]] was acquitted of [[Thorpe affair|conspiracy to murder]] [[Norman Josiffe|Norman Scott]], who had accused Thorpe of having a relationship with him.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Auberon Waugh |last= Waugh |first= Auberon |title= The Last Word |location= London |publisher= Michael Joseph |year= 1980 |isbn= 0-7181-1799-9|pages=236&ndash;238}}</ref> 
** The [[World Hockey Association|WHA]] formally ceases operations, completing the [[1979 NHL expansion|merger]] with the [[National Hockey League|NHL]].
* [[June 23]] – [[New South Wales]] Premier [[Neville Wran]] officially opens the [[Eastern Suburbs Railway]] in Sydney. It operates as a shuttle between Central and Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line in 1980. 
* [[June 24]] – The [[Permanent Peoples' Tribunal]], an international opinion tribunal, is founded in [[Bologna]] at the initiative of Senator [[Lelio Basso]].
* [[June 25]] – [[NATO]] [[Supreme Allied Commander]] [[Alexander Haig]] escapes an assassination attempt in Belgium by the [[Red Army Faction|Baader-Meinhof terrorist organization]].