Travel Through History
Pick any year and discover what was happening around the world. Enter a year or use the timeline below.
Jump to notable years
No events recorded for 1979 CE
But here are some events from nearby years:
First Mobile Phone Call Made
Martin Cooper made the first call on a handheld mobile phone, weighing 2.5 pounds. He called his rival at Bell Labs to brag.
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
Reactor No. 4 exploded at the Soviet nuclear plant, releasing 400 times more radiation than the Hiroshima bomb. The nearby city of Pripyat remains abandoned.
First Humans Walk on the Moon
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface. 600 million people watched live on TV.
Berlin Wall Falls
East German authorities opened the border, and thousands of people flooded through. The Cold War was effectively over.
Malcolm X Assassinated
The civil rights leader was shot 21 times while giving a speech in Manhattan. He was 39 years old.