About the day » Saturday February 17, 1979Calender converter

• Matthew Donald McPHERSON († 1979)
• Filip Frans Lydia Vertommen, Duffel († 2000)

• Arthur Stanley Sherren (51), Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
• Christine Hollenberg (73), Nürnberg
• Aart Huibert Mastbergen (76), Rotterdam
• Catharina Verduin (77), Uitgeest
• Cornelia Neeltje van Zeijl (60), Diever
• Allegonda Martens (89), Boxmeer
• Amalia Van Gelder (81), Diest
• Adriana Antonia Vianen (89), Kamerik
• Aartje Alida (Lydia) Schriek (87), Hazlet, Monmouth, New Jersey, Verenigde Staten
• Christina Elisabeth Boegheim (77), Gouda, Zuid-Holland, Nederland

• 1975 » Václav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
• 1978 » Rory Kinnear, English actor and playwright
• 1980 » Al Harrington, American basketball player
• 1980 » Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
• 1981 » Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
• 1981 » Paris Hilton, American model, media personality, actress, singer, DJ, author and businesswoman
• 1981 » Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer († 2014)
• 1982 » Adriano, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 » Brian Bruney, American baseball player
• 1982 » Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer-songwriter

• 1970 » Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
• 1970 » Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
• 1972 » Friday Hassler, American race car driver (b. 1935)
• 1977 » Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop and saint (b. 1922)
• 1979 » William Gargan, American actor (b. 1905)
• 1982 » Lee Strasberg, American actor and director (b. 1901)
• 1982 » Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1922)
• 1982 » Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
• 1986 » Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (b. 1895)
• 1988 » John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (b. 1923)

1. Peter
2. Jan
3. Jeroen
4. Johannes
5. Martijn
6. Mark
7. David
8. Dennis
9. Robert
10. Richard
11. Michael
12. Pieter
13. Paul
14. Erik
15. Gerrit
16. Bart

1. Maria
2. Wendy
3. Marieke
4. Anna
5. Kim
6. Sandra
7. Johanna
8. Linda
9. Vanessa
10. Judith
11. Monique
12. Esther
13. Jessica
14. Patricia
15. Jennifer
16. Petra

• Koningin Juliana (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from September 4, 1948 till April 30, 1980 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, December 19, 1977 to Friday, September 11, 1981 the cabinet Van Agt I, with Mr. A.A.M. van Agt (CDA/KVP) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 14.0 million citizens.
• January 30 » A Varig Boeing 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
• September 13 » South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa).
• October 1 » The MTR, the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong, opens.
• October 27 » Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
• December 12 » The 8.2 M_w  Tumaco earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 300–600, and generating a large tsunami.
• December 21 » Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia is signed in London by Lord Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and S.C. Mundawarara.

The temperature on February 17, 1979 was between -8.3 °C and -4.6 °C and averaged -6.1 °C. There was 0.5 mm of rain during 0.7 hours. The almost completely overcast was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the northeast.