Mario Soares becomes Portugal's first democratically elected prime minister in half a century

The Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins the first of five consecutive singles titles at Wimbledon

19-year-old Spanish golfer Severiano Ballesteros ends the year as number one in Europe

Royal tombs are excavated at Vergina, in Macedonia, probably including that of Philip of Macedon

Jacques Chirac, leader of a recently formed neo-Gaullist party, is elected mayor of Paris

German author Botho Strauss's play Three Acts of Recognition wins him an international audience

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt completes his choral work Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten

The Pompidou Centre, designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, opens in Paris

Kenneth MacMillan turns a double suicide of 1889 into a ferociously dramatic ballet, Mayerling

Hungarian composer György Ligeti's opera Le Grand Macabre has its premiere in Stockholm

John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey, with Leo McKern in the title role, begins its first series of six episodes on British TV

Former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro is abducted and assassinated by the terrorist Red Brigades

Iris Murdoch publishes The Sea, the Sea, and wins the 1978 Booker Prize

English author Andrew Motion publishes his first collection of poems, The Pleasure Steamers

Douglas Adams creates Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a science fiction comedy series for BBC's Radio 4

Czech-born US tennis player Martina Navratilova wins the first of nine singles titles at Wimbledon

English cricketer Ian Botham sets a new Test record, scoring a century and taking eight wickets against Pakistan at Lord's

Louise Brown, born in England, is the first test-tube baby, having been conceived by IVF (In vitro fertilization)

Italian cardinal Albino Luciani is elected pope and takes the name John Paul I

British author Ian McEwan publishes his first novel, The Cement Garden

Pope John Paul I dies, after a pontificate of only 33 days

David Attenborough writes and presents Life on Earth, a television series on evolution – the first of his many surveys of natural history

Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla is elected pope and takes the name John Paul II

Belgian cyclist Eddie Merckz retires after a 14-year career with a record 445 victories

The Conservative party wins the general election and Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female prime minister