May 24
Transatlantic Services to Washington DC from London and Paris begin with two Concorde SSTs, one in British Airways livery and the other in Air France livery, landing simultaneously at Dulles Airport.

July 2
North and South Vietnam are officially reunited, with Hanoi as the capital. Saigon, the former South Vietnam capital will be renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

July 4
America celebrates its 200th Anniversary.

July 20
Viking 1 is the first US spacecraft to land on another planet (Mars).

July 28
The worst earthquake of the century obliviates 20 square miles in China, leaving over 650,000 dead. It registers 8.2 on the Richter scale.

August 1
The Summer Olympics are held in Montreal, Canada.

September 9
Mao Tse Tung (or Mao Zedong), the communist leader of China dies after a 25-year rule.

November
Georgia governor and peanut farmer Jimmy Carter is elected over Gerald R. Ford, the decent and well meaning, but Nixon-appointed (and therefore tainted) incumbent.

ALSO IN 1976:
The Singer company introduces an electronic sewing machine – it can dial up to 25 preset stitches and features a self-winding bobbin.

Multimode fiber cable system is experimented with in Norcross, Georgia, by Bell Laboratories.

The National Air & Space Museum opens in Washington, DC.

The Nobel Prize in Literature goes to American novelist Saul Bellow.

The very first Apple Computer is made, by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The demonstration model’s computer cabinet is made of wood. The user-friendly interface and intuitive operating system is a hit with non-techies. Steve Jobs and (former associate and Microsoft founder) Bill Gates will go head to head in competition for the American consumer. Gates, as everybody should know, emerges eminently victorious from the OS Wars and becomes the richest person in the history of the universe.

The first artificial gene is invented. It duplicates a living cell and is created in a test tube.

The first head of state to send an email message is Queen Elizabeth II.

Barbara Walters becomes the first woman news anchor on a US Network newscast.

The discovery of Legionnaire's disease strikes 182 and kills 29. It is first discovered as flu like symptoms at the American Legion Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At the Movies
Yo, Adrian! Sylvester Stallone's monosyllabic Rocky swings his way into America's box office hearts... He’s Back! King Kong makes a comeback in NYC, this time high atop the brand new World Trade Center.

What's On TV
Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley are numbers one and two on television. New this year is Baretta, a drama series featuring William Blake as undercover cop and master of disguise Tony Baretta.

In Sports
It's Great Year for Women in Sport as Shirley Muldowney wins "Top Fuel" at NHRA World Finals... Dorothy Hamill wins the World Figure Skating Championships... and Nadia Comeneci gets the first perfect score in history during her gymnastics performance at the Olympics.

1976 CHART ACTION
1 TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart (Warner Bros.)
2 A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN - Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band (Private Stock)
3 SILLY LOVE SONGS - Paul McCartney & Wings (Capitol)
4 KISS AND SAY GOODBYE - The Manhattans (Columbia)
5 I WRITE THE SONGS - Barry Manilow (Arista)
6 PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC - Wild Cherry (Epic)
7 AFTERNOON DELIGHT - The Starland Vocal Band (Windsong)
8 DISCO DUCK (pt. 1) - Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots (RSO)
9 LOVE MACHINE (pt. 1) - The Miracles (Tamla)
10 MISTY BLUE - Dorothy Moore (Malaco)
11 IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - Chicago (Columbia)
12 (Shake, Shake, Shake) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY - KC & The Sunshine Band (T.K.)
13 DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART - Elton John & Kiki Dee (Rocket)
14 MUSKRAT LOVE - The Captain & Tennille (A&M)
15 YOU SEXY THING - Hot Chocolate (Big Tree)
16 BOOGIE FEVER - The Sylvers (Capitol)
17 I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT - England Dan & John Ford Coley (Big Tree)
18 LOVE SO RIGHT - The Bee Gees (RSO)
19 GET UP AND BOOGIE (That's Right) - The Silver Convention (Midland Int'l)
20 THE RUBBERBAND MAN - The Spinners (Atlantic)