Date in year · 1977 · The 1970s

December 4, 1977

On December 4, 1977, jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire. The year's #1 song was "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" by Rod Stewart. Vitor Belfort, Haimar Zubeldia, Ivonne Teichmann would arrive in the same year.

Events

2

Births

3

Deaths

0

Year

1977

1970s

Around 1977

The year in brief

1977 (MCMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1977th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 977th year of the 2nd millennium, the 77th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1970s decade.

Read the full year of 1977 →

What happened

On December 4, 1977

  1. 1977 Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.

    Leader of Central Africa from 1966 to 1979

    Jean-Bédel Bokassa was a Central African politician and military officer who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR), after seizing power in the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état on 1 January 1966. He later established the Central African Empire (CAE) with himself as emperor, reigning as Bokassa I until his overthrow in a 1979 coup.

  2. 1977 Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjong Kupang, Johor, killing 100.

    1977 aircraft hijacking in Malaysia

    Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 was a scheduled domestic flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, operated by Malaysian Airline System (MAS). On the evening of 4 December 1977, the Boeing 737-200 aircraft flying the service crashed at Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, while purportedly being diverted by hijackers to Singapore. It was the first fatal air crash for Malaysia Airlines, with all 93 passengers and 7 crew killed.

Arrivals

Born on December 4, 1977

Ajit Agarkar 1977– Indian cricketer and commentator (born 1977)
Darvis Patton 1977– American sprinter (born 1977)
Morten Veland 1977– Norwegian musician (born 1977)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1977

The class of 1977

Others born in 1977

Vitor Belfort 1977– Brazilian-American boxer and mixed martial artist
Haimar Zubeldia 1977– Spanish cyclist
Ivonne Teichmann 1977– German runner
Margus Tsahkna 1977– Estonian lawyer and politician
Nate Fox 1977– American basketball player (died 2014)
Martin Kaalma 1977– Estonian footballer

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