The following events occurred in September 1979:
September 1, 1979 (Saturday) The U.S. interplanetary probe Pioneer 11 became the first Earth spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passed the planet at a distance of less than . At 16:29:34 UTC it came within of Saturn. Less than two hours earlier, it had come within of the moon Epimethus. Hurricane David swept through the Dominican Republic as a Category 5 storm, devastating much of the western side of the island of Hispaniola and killing at least 2,000 people there. Neighboring Haiti, on the eastern side of Hispaniola, was not affected. A 33-year old woman, Jessie Thomas, became the first person to receive an artificial spine, following a successful 19-hour surgery at the University of Maryland in Baltimore during which a metal device took the place of four vertebrae of her lower back. Dr. Charles Edwards designed the metal spinal prosthesis and led the surgical team in performing the surgery. Color television was introduced to Indonesia as the TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) network began color broadcasting. The Australian rock band INXS performed its first concert under that name, after having been formed on August 16, 1977 by Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss as "The Farriss Brothers". After briefly performing as "The Vegetables" in 1978, the group adopted its current name shortly before playing at the Ocean Beach Hotel in Umina, New South Wales. Died: Doris Kenyon, 81, American film and TV actress Aaron Rosenberg, 67, American college athlete and film producer
September 2, 1979 (Sunday) The Transglobe Expedition, the first trip around the world from south to north to both poles, began as Ranulph Fiennes, Charles R. Burton, and Oliver Shepard departed London. They would reach the South Pole on December 15, 1980 and the North Pole on April 11, 1982, before returning to London on August 29, 1982. The championship game of the Gaelic Athletic Association's hurling competition was played at Croke Park in Dublin before a crowd of over 53,000 between Kilkenny GAA of Leinster, and Galway GAA of Connacht. Kilkenny won 2-12 (two three-point goals and 12 points) to 1-8, equivalent to an 18 to 11 win.
The first, and only, flag of Zimbabwe Rhodesia was approved by the transitional government of the southern African nation. The Palace of Gold of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was dedicated in the relatively new, unincorporated community of New Vrindaban, West Virginia, near Moundsville in Marshall County. Born: Ron Ng (Ron Ng Cheuk-hei), Hong Kong TV actor Iten, Kenya Died: Felix Aylmer, 90, English character actor
September 3, 1979 (Monday) The U.S. Navy combat supply ship USS White Plains rescued 154 Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea, the largest number saved by the U.S. since it had started its search for "boat people" in July. A Navy F-3 Orion patrol plane had spotted two overloaded boats from the Philippines. Aeroflot Flight 513 crashed in the Soviet Union as it was approaching the airport in Amderma, after having taken off from Archangelsk on a trip. Only three of the 43 people on board survived when the plane crashed on a hillside. Born: Júlio César (Júlio César Soares de Espíndola), Brazilian soccer football goalkeeper; in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro
September 4, 1979 (Tuesday) The United States banned the importation of tuna from Canada in retaliation for the seizure of 19 American tuna fishing boats by the Canadian Coast Guard on charges of fishing in Canada's territorial waters, defined by Canadian law as within of Canada's coastline. The cargo of each of the 19 boats had been confiscated, and a company was required to post a $5,000 bond for the release of a boat pending criminal action. At the time, the amount of Canada's exports of tuna to the U.S. was worth only $130,000. Died: Alberto di Jorio, 95, Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal and Vatican Bank advisor Guy Bolton, 96, English screenwriter and playwright