United Kingdom -- Concorde Commercial Flight

The first commercial Concorde flights take off during January of 1976 as regular passenger service began. There were two simultaneous flights, one from London to Bahrain and another from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. The Concorde aircrafts could carry about 100 passengers and flew at much faster speeds than the typical aircraft. Its cruising speed was about 1,350 miles per hour and could travel between London and New York in just under three hours, cutting the travel time in half for most flights. The Concorde aircrafts were retired in 2003 as interest in the service declined due to safety concerns.

United States -- Classic Film "Rocky" Released

The popular film “Rocky” is released in the United States during December of 1976. It was written by Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the title role. The cast of “Rocky” included Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, and Burt Young. The plot of the movie revolved around underdog boxer Rocky Balboa and his high profile match against champion Apollo Creed. It was a huge hit film, earning over $200 million at the box office and it was critically successful, too. “Rocky” was also nominated for several Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Film Editing. “Rocky” was so popular that Stallone turned it into a franchise with six sequels and counting.

United States -- Presidential Election

Jimmy Carter wins Presidential Election

1. The U.S. Presidential election between Democrat Jimmy Carter and Republican incumbent Gerald Ford takes place in November of 1976.

2. Ford had the distinction of being the only U.S. politician to serve as the Vice President and President without having been elected to either office, rising to power after the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon.

3. In a nation embroiled in political scandals, Carter, a one-term Governor and peanut farmer from Georgia, emerged as the ultimate political outsider and won in one of the biggest political upsets in the history of United States elections.

4. The results were extremely close with Carter winning with just 50.1 percent of the popular vote and 297 electoral votes.

United States - First Space Shuttle

NASA unveils the first space shuttle, the Enterprise.

More Information for the first space shuttle

NASA unveiled the first space shuttle, the Enterprise, to the public during September of 1976. The Enterprise was only a prototype created to conduct test flights and the official launch of the Space Shuttle Program did not occur until April of 1981 with the launch of the Columbia. The Enterprise weighed about 150,000 pounds and cost nearly $10 billion to create. While the first space shuttle never actually made it into space, it did become the first of the space shuttles to fly during a test in the following year after it was unveiled.

United States -- NASA LAGEOS-1 Satellite

The United States launches the LAGEOS-1 satellite.

More Information for LAGEOS-1

NASA launched the LAGEOS-1 (Laser Geodynamic Satellite) during May of 1976. The nine-hundred pound satellite was launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It measured about two feet in diameter and resembled a giant aluminum golf ball. Its mission was to measure geophysical activity using laser beams, resulting in extremely accurate measurements. The launch of LAGEOS-1 was successful and it was put into Earth’s orbit where it continues to study the shape of Earth and tectonic plate movement associated with continental drift.

United Kingdom / Iceland -- Cod Wars

Cod Wars between Iceland and United Kingdom.

More Information for the Cod Wars

Iceland and the United Kingdom come to an agreement over fishing rights in the North Atlantic during June of 1976, ending a series of conflicts known as the “Cod Wars.” The first Cod War took place from 1958 to 1961, the second from 1972 to 1973, and the third and final from 1975 to 1976. The outcome of the wars proved to be positive for Iceland but somewhat devastating for British fishing communities. The terms of the agreement stated that fishing enterprises from the United Kingdom would have to stay specific distances away from Iceland’s fishing regions and would be excluded from using some of the best fishing regions in the North Atlantic.

China -- Hua Guofeng

Hua Guofeng becomes the Chairman of the Communist party in China after Mao Zedong dies.

More Information and Timeline for Hua Guofeng

After the death of former leader Mao Zedong in September of 1976, a new Chairman of the Communist party in China is chosen. Hua Guofeng is announced as the new leader of China on October 7, 1976. One of Hua Guonfeng’s first tasks as the new leader of the People’s Republic of China was ordering the arrest of the so-called Gang of Four which is consisted of party officials accused of treasonous actions. The group included Mao's widow Jian Qing, Wang Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan, and Zhang Chunqiao. Their arrest and Hua Guofeng’s leadership ended the Cultural Revolution.

Nadia Comaneci wins 3 gold medals

Nadia Comaneci wins 3 gold medals at the Montreal Olympics with seven perfect scores.

More Information for Nadia Comaneci

Fourteen-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci wins 5 total medals in gymnastics at the Montreal Olympics. She became the first female gymnast to be award a perfect ten score for her uneven bar routine and went on to garner a total of seven perfect scores throughout the rest of the games. Comaneci also went on to win medals at the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow.

United States -- Viking 1 Lander on Mars

Landing Vehicles from the US Spacecraft Viking I and Viking II set down safely on Mars.

More Information for Viking 1 Lander

NASA’s Viking 1 Lander arrives at Mars during July of 1976. The two-part space probe had been launched during August of the previous year and it consisted of an orbiter and a lander. The Viking 1 Lander’s mission was to land on the Martian surface in order to conduct scientific experiments and take photos. Many of the lander’s experiments tested the atmosphere, soil and looked for signs of life on the planet. The Viking 1 Lander remained operational until November of 1982 when contact with it was lost by NASA.

Austria -- Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games are held in Innsbruck, Austria.

More Information and Timeline for the Innsbruck Winter Olympics.

The 1976 Winter Olympics begin during February of 1976. The games were held in Innsbruck, Austria but had been originally given to the U.S. state of Colorado. Colorado was unable to properly prepare for the games as citizens of the state had voted against using any public funds to support the games. Innsbruck had hosted the Winter Olympics only twelve years before and offered to take over. A total of 1,123 athletes from 37 countries completed in these games with the Soviet Union, East Germany, and United States taking home the most medals. These games marked the debut of Ice Dancing as an event and also featured the very first successful back flip in figure skating by Terry Kubicka of the United States.

More News and Key Events From 1976

US Dollar Gains

Argentina Peso, British Pound and Italian Lira all lose value against the US Dollar

Howard Hughes

Eccentric American billionaire Howard Hughes who had been a recluse for 20 years dies at the age of 70

Earthquake in Tabgshan China

Earthquake in Tabgshan China on July 28 News Events kills 655,000

Italy Earthquake

Earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale strikes in North Eastern Italy

Philippines Tidal Wave

Tidal Wave in Philippines kills 5,000

First Commercial Concorde Flights

The First Commercial Concorde Flights take off

UK Drought

Worst Drought on record hits Britain forcing the use of Standpipes

First Legionnaires Disease

First Legionnaires Disease affects 4,000 delegates in Pennsylvania on July 23rd from a chapter of the American Legion

Soweto riots

Soweto riots in South Africa mark the beginning of the end of apartheid

Son of Sam

In New York City, the "Son of Sam" pulls a gun on July 29th and begins a series of attacks that terrorized the city for the next year.

United States Bicentennial celebrations

The United States celebrates 200th birthday of independence from British Rule

U.S. Three Gunmen abduct a school bus

Three Gunmen abduct a school bus with 26 children and the driver near Chowchilla, Calif ( all children and driver are saved after they dig a tunnel out of the quarry they were buried in. )

Notting Hill Carnival Riots

Rioting breaks out at the Notting Hill Carnival, London, England

The $2.00 bill Issued

The $2.00 bill Issued

Yugoslavia

Two passenger jets collide over Zagreb, Yugoslavia due to air traffic controller errors

world's longest pier

The end of the world's longest pier ( Southen Pier in Britain ) is destroyed by fire

Ebola virus epidemic

The world’s first recorded Ebola virus epidemic begins in Sudan on June 27th

Palestinian extremists hijack an Air France plane

Palestinian extremists hijack an Air France plane in Greece with 246 passengers and 12 crew. They take it to Entebbe, Uganda, where Israeli commandos storm the plane freeing the hostages

Israel Plane Hijack

A Hijacked Sabena Boeing is stormed by Israeli soldiers releasing 100 hostages

Seychelles

Seychelles Gains Independence From Great Britain

Princess Margaret

Princess Margaret Announces Separation from Lord Snowdon ( Antony Armstrong-Jones )

Hurricane Belle

Hurricane Belle Hits US East Coast

James Callaghan

James Callaghan becomes Britains Prime Minister

Montreal Olympics Boycott

32 Black African Nations Boycott Montreal Olympics in protest to continued sporting links between New Zealand and South Africa

Earthquake kills more than 22,000

In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro becomes The President of Cuba

Technology

Concorde operated by Britain and France enters service cuts transatlantic flying time to 3 1/2 hours

Apple Computer Company is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

First laser printer introduced by IBM - the IBM 3800

NASA Unviels first space shuttle, the Enterprise

An American Panel warns that CFC's Chloro-fluorocarbons used in Aerosol Cans damage the Ozone layer

The Olympics, broadcast from Montreal, Canada, draw an estimated one billion viewers worldwide.

Matsushita introduces the VHS home video cassette recorder to compete with Sony's Beta max system.

Landing Vehicles from the US Spacecraft Viking I and Viking II set down safely on Mars

Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )

Ink Jet Printer USA

Calendar For The Year 1976