Born in 1978
People born in 1978 turn 48 in 2026. A dollar in 1978 buys what $5.17 buys in September 2026, and about 4.29 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.
Your birthday in 1978
1978
What things cost in 1978
| U.S. average | 1978 | in today’s dollars | latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| One dollar | $1.00 | $5.17 | CPI-U |
| Gallon of regular gasoline APU000074714 | $0.67 | $3.46 | $4.48 |
| Median price of a new house sold MSPUS | $55,850 | $288,474 | $410,700 |
| Federal minimum wage STTMINWGFG | $2.30 | $11.88 | $7.25 |
1978 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED.
Who was in charge in 1978
- United States
- Jimmy Carter (President)
- United Kingdom
- Elizabeth II (Queen); James Callaghan (Prime minister)
- Soviet Union
- Leonid Brezhnev (General Secretary); Leonid Brezhnev (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Alexei Kosygin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
- People's Republic of China
- Hua Guofeng (Chairman; Paramount Leader); Deng Xiaoping (Paramount Leader); Soong Ching-ling (Acting NPC Standing Committee Chairwoman); Ye Jianying (NPC Standing Committee Chairman); Hua Guofeng (Premier)
- France
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (President); Raymond Barre (Prime minister)
- East Germany
- Erich Honecker (Chairmen of the State Council); Willi Stoph (Chairman)
- West Germany
- Walter Scheel (President); Helmut Schmidt (Chancellor)
- Japan
- Hirohito (Emperor); Takeo Fukuda, then Masayoshi Ōhira (Prime minister)
- Republic of India
- Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (President); Morarji Desai (Prime minister)
From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1951–2000) (revision 1371751893), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1978 →
No. 1 songs of 1978
- “How Deep Is Your Love” — Bee Gees (1 week)
- “Baby Come Back” — Player (3 weeks)
- “Stayin' Alive” — Bee Gees (4 weeks)
- “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” — Andy Gibb (2 weeks)
- “Night Fever” — Bee Gees (8 weeks)
- “If I Can't Have You” — Yvonne Elliman (1 week)
- “With a Little Luck” — Wings (2 weeks)
- “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” — Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams (1 week)
- “You're the One That I Want” — John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (1 week)
- “Shadow Dancing” — Andy Gibb (7 weeks)
- “Miss You” — The Rolling Stones (1 week)
- “Three Times a Lady” — Commodores (2 weeks)
- “Grease” — Frankie Valli (2 weeks)
- “Boogie Oogie Oogie” — A Taste of Honey (3 weeks)
- “Kiss You All Over” — Exile (4 weeks)
- “Hot Child in the City” — Nick Gilder (1 week)
- “You Needed Me” — Anne Murray (1 week)
- “MacArthur Park” — Donna Summer (3 weeks)
- “You Don't Bring Me Flowers” — Barbra and Neil (2 weeks)
- “Le Freak” — Chic (3 weeks)
Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with issue dates in 1978, from List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1978 (Wikipedia revision 1380757136).
Famous people born in 1978
- January 28 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer source
- October 26 – CM Punk, wrestler and martial artist source
- 25 January – Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine since 2019 source
- August 23 – Kobe Bryant, basketball player (died 2020) source
- October 14 – Usher, American singer and actor source
- October 14 – Usher Raymond, R&B singer-songwriter source
- 20 June – Frank Lampard, footballer source
- September 14 – Ron DeSantis, American politician, 46th Governor of Florida source
- April 29 – Bob and Mike Bryan, American doubles tennis team source
- January 1 – Philip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer source
- January 28 – Sheamus, Irish professional wrestler source
- February 8 – Francis Pasion, film and television director (died 2016) source
- December 17 – Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician source
- December 5 – Neil Druckmann, Israeli-American video game writer and programmer, founder of Naughty Dog source
- 31 July – Justin Wilson, racing driver (died 2015) source
What happened in 1978
- January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). source
- January 2 – On the orders of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan. It is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills. source
- January 24 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. source
- February 2 - the Reunion Tower opens in Dallas Texas. source
- 1 January – Another Vietnamese refugee boat arrives at night, from a camp off the Malaysian coast. source
- January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. source
- January 6 – The Holy Crown of Hungary (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II. source
- 3 January – Bela Csidei, a prominent Sydney businessman, is alleged in the Darwin Magistrates' Court to have been involved in growing marijuana in the Northern Territory. source