* 1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player

* 1978 – Myleene Klass, British singer, pianist, and model ( Hear ’ Say )

* 1978 – Martin Mendez, Uruguayan bassist ( Opeth )

* 1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player

* 1978 – Igor Semshov, Russian footballer

* 1978 – Kendra Todd, American real estate agent and author

* 1921 – Robert Cliche, Canadian politician and magistrate ( d. 1978 )

* 1978 – Guy Berryman, Scottish musician and businessman ( Coldplay and Apparatjik )

* 1978 – Riley Smith, American actor

* 1978 – Tom Fulp, American video game programmer

* 1978 – Brian Maillard, Swiss guitarist ( Dominici )

* 1978 – Marisa Miller, American model and actress

* 1978 – Reuben Rox, American actor, director, and producer

* 1978 – Marvel Smith, American football player

* 1927 – Robert Shaw, English actor ( d. 1978 )

* 1978 – Daniela Denby-Ashe, English actress

* 1978 – Ana Serradilla, Mexican actress

* 1978 – Audrey Tautou, French actress

* 1978 – 150 Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

Largely assisted by the return of Boycott, Brearley's men won the 1977 series 3 – 0 and then completed an overwhelming 5 – 1 series win against an Australian side missing its WSC players in 1978 – 79.

Allan Border made his Test debut for Australia in 1978 – 79.

Ashes series have generally been played over five Test matches, although there have been four-match series ( 1938 ; 1975 ) and six-match series ( 1970 – 71 ; 1974 – 75 ; 1978 – 79 ; 1981 ; 1985 ; 1989 ; 1993 and 1997 ).

* 1978 – The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China is signed.

The 1978 Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees " freedom of religion " with a number of restrictions.

Although Japan eventually recognized the People's Republic in 1972, shortly after Kakuei Tanaka succeeded Sato as Prime Minister of Japan, the memory of this relationship was strong enough to be reported by The New York Times ( April 15, 1978 ) as a significant factor inhibiting trade between Japan and the mainland.

* 1978 – U. S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and cut off all relations with Taiwan

While Deng never held office as the head of state, head of government or General Secretary of the Communist Party of China ( the highest position in Communist China ), he nonetheless served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 to 1992.

As disillusionment set in, in 1978 a prominent member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ), Mir Akbar Khyber ( or " Kaibar "), was killed by the government.

In 1978, market reforms led to an increase in the market and by 1995 a comprehensive Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China was passed, followed in 1998 by the formation of China Insurance Regulatory Commission ( CIRC ), which has broad regulatory authority over the insurance market of China.

On April 27, 1978, in the so-called Saur revolution, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ), seized power in a bloody military coup killing Daoud and his family along with many of his supporters.

In April 1978 there was a coup, known as the Saur Revolution, orchestrated by the Soviets and members of the government loyal to the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ).

Beginning around 1978, the government of the People's Republic of China ( PRC ) began an experiment in economic reform.

Shortly after Mao's death in 1976, Deng Xiaoping started the capitalist reforms of the People's Republic of China ( PRC ) in 1978 beginning the radical change of Mao's ideology in the PRC.

Following the 1978 reforms, the People's Republic of China instituted what it calls a " socialist market economy ", in which most of the economy is under state ownership, but the state enterprises are reorganized into joint-stock companies where various government agencies own controlling shares through a shareholder system.

Between 1949 and 1978 the PBC was the only bank in the People's Republic of China and was responsible for both central banking and commercial banking operations.

Mohammad Daoud Khan, the President of the Republic of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978, was ousted during the Saur Revolution ( April Revolution ) following the death of Mir Akbar Khyber, a Parchamite politician from the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ) who died under mysterious circumstances.

He overthrew the monarchy of his first cousin Mohammed Zahir Shah and declared himself as the first President of Afghanistan from 1973 until his assassination in 1978 as a result of the Saur Revolution led by the Communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ).

Brzezinski advised Carter in 1978 to engage the People's Republic of China and traveled to Beijing to lay the groundwork for the normalization of relations between the two countries.

* 1978 – The leftist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ) seizes power during the Saur Revolution.

The March of the Volunteers was restored by the National People's Congress in 1978, but with different lyrics ; however, these new lyrics were never very popular and caused a great deal of confusion.

The Mao era lasted from the founding of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949 to Deng Xiaoping's grip onto power and policy reversal at the Third Plenum of the 11th Party Congress on December 22, 1978.

Mai Chí Thọ, brother of Lê Đức Thọ, was Chairman of the People's Committee of Hồ Chí Minh City ( equivalent to a Mayor ) from 1978 to 1985.

From 1978 to 1982 Tho was named by Hanoi to act as chief advisor to the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation ( FUNSK ) and later to the nascent People's Republic of Kampuchea.

In late April 1978, the committee reported that Amin was purging his opponents, including Soviet loyalists, that his loyalty to Moscow was in question and that he was seeking diplomatic links with Pakistan and possibly the People's Republic of China ( which at the time had poor relations with the Soviet Union ).

In 1978 all party meetings were to hang portraits of Mao and Hua side-by-side, including at the National People's Congress and CPC Party Congress meetings.

Soong gained his public fame when he addressed the nation following the Carter administration's decision to break ties with the ROC in order to switch diplomatic ties to the People's Republic of China on December 16, 1978 in which he gave a patriotic condemnation of the American position and a ringing defense of the ROC.