Timeline April 1979

Events in April 1979 8

• 1928 – 1979 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928-1979) Died 4 April 1979, aged 51 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, was executed by hanging after being convicted of authorizing a political murder, a trial widely regarded as a judicial farce. He had been overthrown in a 1977 military coup by General Zia-ul-Haq. His execution on 4 April 1979 remains one of the most controversial episodes in Pakistani history.
• 1979 Black Sabbath fire Ozzy Osbourne Singer out Ozzy is fired and starts a solo career.
• 1979 – 2008 Heath Ledger (1979-2008) Died 22 January 2008, aged 28 Australian actor known for roles in Brokeback Mountain and, posthumously, as the Joker in The Dark Knight. He died in New York City from an accidental overdose of prescription medications.
• 1979 – 2003 Rachel Corrie (1979-2003) Died 16 March 2003, aged 23 Rachel Corrie was an American activist with the International Solidarity Movement who was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer while trying to obstruct the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. Her death became the subject of a play and lasting dispute over the circumstances.
• 1979 Uganda-Tanzania War ends Idi Amin's rule Tanzanian forces oust the Ugandan dictator Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles captured Kampala on 11 April 1979, forcing dictator Idi Amin to flee into exile. The war began after Amin's failed 1978 invasion of Tanzania and ended eight years of brutal rule marked by mass killings. Amin never returned to Uganda and died in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2003.
• 1979 1979 Montenegro earthquake A magnitude 7.0 quake strikes the Adriatic coast A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Montenegrin coast of Yugoslavia on 15 April 1979, killing around 136 people and damaging the historic town of Budva and the Bay of Kotor. It was the strongest earthquake recorded in the region in the 20th century. Reconstruction of damaged monuments continued for years afterward.
• 1979 1979 World Snooker Championship Terry Griffiths Win A qualifying player won the title. Winner: Terry Griffiths; Runner-up: Dennis Taylor. Score: 24–16.
• 1979 Ray Charles' Georgia on My Mind becomes Georgia's state song State song Georgia adopts his version as its official song.