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August 31, 1976

August 31, 1976, was a Tuesday. It was 48 years, 3 months, and 23 days ago. The zodiac star sign for this date is Virgo.

Song charts

Popular songs

On August 31, 1976, the following songs were at the top of the music charts in the USA and the UK:

  • United States: "You Should Be Dancing" by The Bee Gees
  • United Kingdom: "Dancing Queen" by ABBA

The music charts on August 31, 1976

The following songs were dominating the Billboard Hot 100 chart:

  • Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Kiki Dee
  • You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
  • Let 'em In - Wings
  • You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
  • I'd Really Love To See You Tonight - England Dan & John Ford Coley
Play the top singles from 1976
A Spotify playlist of songs from 1976. Let us bring you back to the days of Elton John, Wild Cherry, ABBA and the Bee Gees.
Silent Movie

Top movie

The top movie on this day was "Silent Movie".

Facts

This date occurred 17,646 days ago. Approximately 588 months have passed. It was the 244th day of 1976, in week 36. The decade was the seventies. People who were born on August 31, 1976, are now 48 years old and belong to the Generation X generation. 1976 was a leap year, which means that it had an extra day in February. 196 seasons of weather have come and gone since then.

Take me back to August 31, 1976

Let's go back to the seventies.

The date is August 31, 1976, and it's a Tuesday. Babies who are born today will have the star sign Virgo. The summer of 1976 is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner.

Labor Day weekend is a few days away, which means that many Americans are planning barbecues and other social gatherings. In America, the song "You Should Be Dancing" by The Bee Gees is at the top of the singles charts, while "Dancing Queen" by ABBA is the number-one song in the UK. Gerald Ford is the President of the United States, and the movie Silent Movie is at the top of the box office.

James Callaghan is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. On television, people are watching popular shows such as "M*A*S*H", "Kojak", "Baretta", and "What's Happening!!". Because it's 1976, the music charts are being dominated by the likes of ABBA, Queen, Chicago, Elton John, Kiki Dee, Wings and Rod Stewart.

In fashion, clothes have become baggier and pants have become less flared. Sports clothing and the "disco look" are both popular at the moment. Women are wearing sundresses, strapless tops with t-shirts, shoulder pads, cardigans, knee-length skirts and daisy dukes. Meanwhile, men are wearing tracksuits, flare jeans, low-top sneakers and untucked collared shirts. If you were to travel back to this day, notable figures such as Rosalind Russell, Tommy Bolin, Freddie Prinze, and Elvis Presley would all still be alive. People are playing video games such as "Tank", "Pursuit", "Gun Fight", and "Breakout".

Children and teenagers are watching television shows such as "The Bugs Bunny Show", "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", "The Adventures of Black Beauty", and "Star Trek: The Animated Series". Children are playing with toys such as Troll doll, Operation, VertiBird (toy helicopter), and Stretch Armstrong.

Zodiac info

Zodiac

Zodiac, birthstone, and birth flower information.

Personality summary image

  • Zodiac Sign (Astrology): Anyone born on August 31, 1976, will have the star sign Virgo.
  • Zodiac Element: Earth.
  • Chinese Zodiac Animal: In the Chinese Zodiac, 1976 was the year of the Dragon (Yang Earth).
  • The Life Path Number for this date is 8.
  • Native American Zodiac: August 31, 1976 falls under the Bear.
  • Birthstone: A person during the month of August will have the birthstone Peridot.
  • Birth flower (August): The Gladiolus and the Poppy.
News

News, nostalgia, and fads

These are news stories, trending topics, and fads that were popular on August 31, 1976.

  • The "Son of Sam" is terrorizing New York.

    The "Son of Sam" is terrorizing New York

    A serial killer called the "Son of Sam" terrorized New York City in 1976 and 1977. By the time he was finally caught, David Berkowitz had murdered six people and injured seven others in eight separate gun attacks.
  • Who were the best NBA players in 1976?

    Who were the best NBA players in 1976?

    The best NBA players in 1976 were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George McGinnis, Nate Archibald, Rick Barry and Pete Maravich.
  • 1976 in movies.

    1976 in movies

    Movies released in 1976 included Rocky, To Fly!, A Star Is Born, All the President's Men, The Omen, In Search of Noah's Ark, King Kong, Silver Streak, The Enforcer, Midway, Carrie, Freaky Friday, Car Wash and Taxi Driver.
  • Best soccer players.

    Best soccer players

    In 1976, the best soccer players were Franz Beckenbauer, Rob Rensenbrink, Ivo Viktor, Kevin Keegan, Michel Platini, Anton Ondrus, Johan Cruyff, Ivan Curkovic, Rainer Bonhof, Gerd Müller and Marian Masny.
  • Rocky.

    Rocky

    "Rocky" won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1976.
  • Jimmy Carter.

    Jimmy Carter

    US President Jimmy Carter was named Time Person of the Year in 1976.
  • Barry Manilow - "I Write the Songs"

    Barry Manilow - "I Write the Songs"

    "I Write the Songs" by Barry Manilow would go on to win a Grammy for 1976's Song of the Year.
  • 1976 in music.

    1976 in music

    Top music artists in 1976 included the likes of Wings, KC and the Sunshine Band, Rod Stewart, the Ohio Players, Barry Manilow, England Dan, John Ford Coley, Wild Cherry, Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band, Diana Ross, ABBA, The Manhattans, and The Spinners.
  • Mood rings have become a fad.

    Mood rings have become a fad

    Mood rings were a big fad in 1975 and 1976. The rings contained a special liquid that would show different colors at different temperatures.
  • Roller skates.

    Roller skates

    The popularity of roller skates exploded during the second half of the 1970s.
  • Disco music.

    Disco music

    Disco music became mainstream during the latter half of the 1970s. Nightclub-goers often wore extravagant outfits. Furthermore, dances such as the "Hustle", the "Bump" and the "Penguin" also became popular.
  • Hitchhiking is declining.

    Hitchhiking is declining

    Although hitchhiking is still pretty common, it is beginning to decline due to people's falling trust in strangers, lower air travel prices, an increase in highways, and more affordable cars.
  • Music cassette tapes are becoming popular.

    Music cassette tapes are becoming popular

    Audio cassettes started becoming widespread from about 1972 onward. Although they lacked the sound quality of vinyl records, they were far more convenient and portable.
  • Color TV surpasses black-and-white.

    Color TV surpasses black-and-white

    Sales of color TV sets were beginning to surpass sales of the older black-and-white models. By this stage, almost all of the popular daytime networks were broadcasting in color.
  • Wallpaper.

    Wallpaper

    Wallpaper was extremely common in people's homes throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It wasn't until the mid-late 1980s that "modernism" started to creep in.
  • Office workers are using typewriters.

    Office workers are using typewriters

    Although personal computers began to emerge during the 1970s, typewriters were still the norm for most office workers.
  • Lava lamps are all the rage.

    Lava lamps are all the rage

    Sales of lava lamps increased in the late 1960s. It wasn't until the second half of the 1970s that they started to go out of fashion.

Personality traits

Check out our personality summary for people who were born on August 31, 1976.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

View Personality Summary

Events

What happened around this time?

News stories, pop culture trends, and other events that happened around August 31, 1976.

  • August 1, 1976: Austrian Formula One driver Niki Lauda is badly injured after his car bursts into flames at the 1976 German Grand Prix.
  • August 6, 1976: UK politics: Two years after attempting to fake his own death, former Labour MP John Stonehouse is convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison for fraud.
  • August 13, 1976: Steve Miller releases the song "Fly Like an Eagle".
  • August 15, 1976:
    • The song "Dancing Queen" is released by ABBA.
    • SAETA Flight 011 crashes into the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador, killing 59 people.
  • August 19, 1976: Incumbent US President Gerald Ford wins the Republican Party presidential nomination for the 1976 election.
  • August 21, 1976: 10-year-old Andy Puglisi disappears after wandering away from a pool area near his home in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
  • August 28, 1976: 18-year-old American actress Anissa Jones dies of an overdose.
  • This date: August 31, 1976
  • September 5, 1976: The first episode of the comedy television series "The Muppet Show" is aired.
  • September 6, 1976: Soviet fighter pilot Viktor Belenko lands his MiG-25 in Hakodate, Japan and defects to the West.
  • September 9, 1976:
    • China's Chairman Mao Zedong dies of a heart attack at the age of 82.
    • The VHS (Video Home System) is introduced.
  • September 10, 1976: 176 people die in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, after British Airways Flight 476 collides mid-air with Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 550.
  • September 17, 1976: NASA unveils its first orbiter, the Space Shuttle Enterprise.
  • September 25, 1976: The Irish rock band U2 is formed.
  • September 28, 1976: Boxing: Muhammad Ali defeats Ken Norton in their third fight.

1970s fashion

Photographs of 1970s fashion and hairstyles.

1970s fashion

Television shows

Television shows in August 1976

In August 1976, TV audiences were watching the following series:

TV shows from August 1976.

What's Happening!!
What's Happening!!
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Welcome Back, Kotter
Welcome Back, Kotter
Starsky & Hutch
Starsky & Hutch
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
Baretta
Baretta
Police Woman
Police Woman
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files

Cars in 1976

1976 saw the introduction of cars such as the Ford Fiesta, the Pontiac Phoenix, the BMW 6 Series, the Dodge Aspen, the Volvo 300 Series, and the Plymouth Sapporo.

Cars in 1976.

Children TV shows

Cartoons and children's TV shows in August 1976

If you were a kid on August 31, 1976, then you were probably watching the following cartoons and TV shows:

The Oddball Couple
The Oddball Couple
Return to the Planet of the Apes
Return to the Planet of the Apes
The Great Grape Ape Show
The Great Grape Ape Show

Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost
Bagpuss
Bagpuss
Happy Days
Happy Days
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Schoolhouse Rock!
Schoolhouse Rock!
The Adventures of Black Beauty
The Adventures of Black Beauty
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
The Electric Company
The Electric Company
Toys

Toys in 1976

If you were a child on this date, then you may have had some of the following toys:

Cher dolls
Cher dolls
Stretch Armstrong
Stretch Armstrong
Micronauts
Micronauts
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Connect Four
Connect Four
Magna Doodle
Magna Doodle
Risk board game
Risk board game
Shrinky Dinks
Shrinky Dinks
Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle
Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle
Baby Alive (doll)
Baby Alive (doll)
Shrinky Dinks
Shrinky Dinks
Magnavox Odyssey
Magnavox Odyssey
Video games

Video games

Popular video games that people were playing in August 1976.

Breakout 1976
Breakout
Gun Fight 1975
Gun Fight
Pursuit 1975
Pursuit
Tank 1974
Tank

Were you born on August 31, 1976?

If you were born on this date, then it is unlikely that you will remember anything from the year 1976.

This is because humans find it difficult to retrieve memories of their early childhood.

If you are looking for some childhood nostalgia, then you should check out August 31, 1982, instead.

Celebrity birthdays

Celebrity birthdays

Celebrities, historical figures, and other notable people who were born on August 31.

Richard Gere

Richard Gere

Actor
Born on August 31, 1949
He turned 27 on this day in 1976.

Chris Tucker

Chris Tucker

Actor
Born on August 31, 1971
He turned 5 on this day in 1976.

Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy

Wrestler
Born on August 31, 1977
He was born exactly one year after this date.

Chloe Ferry

Chloe Ferry

TV personality
Born on August 31, 1995
She was born exactly 19 years after this date.

USA

US President

Gerald Ford was the President of the United States on August 31, 1976.

UK

UK Prime Minister

James Callaghan was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Ireland

Irish Taoiseach

Liam Cosgrave was the Taoiseach of Ireland.

Conception

Conception dates

Conception estimates for this date.

  • A baby that was born on August 31, 1976 was most likely conceived around December 9, 1975.
  • The due date for a baby that was conceived on August 31, 1976 is close to May 24, 1977.

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Stats for August 31, 1976

Statistics

Here are some interesting statistics about August 31, 1976:

  • 17,646 days have passed since this date.
  • 2,520 weeks have passed.
  • 1,524,618,000 seconds have passed since August 31, 1976.
  • If you were born on this day, your heart has beat approximately 1,778,721,000 times.
  • Since then, the Earth has traveled approximately 786,702,888,000 miles through space.
  • If you were born on this day, your eyes have blinked approximately 254,103,000 times.
  • You have taken approximately 131,117,148 steps. That's roughly 58,274 miles.
  • 18,295,416 meteors have entered the Earth's atmosphere.
  • How many years ago was 1976?

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