Date in year · 1978 · The 1970s

May 4, 1978

On May 4, 1978, the South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people. The year's #1 song was "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb. Antonio de Nigris, Mirka Federer, Anamaria Marinca would arrive in the same year.

Events

1

Births

3

Deaths

0

Year

1978

1970s

Around 1978

The year in brief

1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1978th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 978th year of the 2nd millennium, the 78th year of the 20th century, and the 9th year of the 1970s decade.

Read the full year of 1978 →

What happened

On May 4, 1978

  1. 1978 The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people.

    Military of South Africa from 1957 to 1994

    The South African Defence Force (SADF) comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994.

Arrivals

Born on May 4, 1978

Erin Andrews 1978– American sportscaster and television personality (born 1978)
Igor Biscan 1978– Croatian footballer and manager
James Harrison 1978– American football player (born 1978)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1978

The class of 1978

Others born in 1978

Antonio de Nigris 1978– Mexican footballer (died 2009)
Mirka Federer 1978– Slovak-Swiss tennis player
Anamaria Marinca 1978– Romanian-English actress
Etan Thomas 1978– American basketball player
Carles Puyol 1978– Spanish footballer
Roland Lessing 1978– Estonian biathlete

Step through

Nearby

Keep going

More to explore