01/09/2026
1976, a Year of Firsts and Starts
It was a busy year in Canada with the CN Tower opening on June 26 in time for Canada Day celebrations. Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty, the Timbit made its debut and Montreal welcomed the world to the Summer Olympics, an unforgettable games that saw 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci receive the first ever perfect gymnastic score. On the international front, the G6 became the G7 with the inclusion of Canada as a member.
In science, space travel witnessed the successful landing of the Viking 1 on Mars and the release of the famous “Face on Mars” photo captured by this space craft; later in the year, Viking 2 would also arrive at our planetary neighbour and take the first close-up colour photographs of the planet’s surface.
Technology was big news in 1976 with the formation of many tech giants that continue to be successful to this day. Apple Computer Company was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak with the first personal computer, the Apple I, available to the hobbyist market. Later that year, little-known company, Microsoft, was officially registered as a company and IBM introduced the first commercial laser printer.
In entertainment, moviegoers flocked to see Redford and Hoffman in “All the President’s Men,” Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky” and Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver.” The most popular tv shows of the year were Happy Days, MASH and Laverne and Shirley. In literature readers flipped the pages of Alex Haley’s “Roots, The Saga of an American Family.” In music, Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs” topped the charts.
© Carleton Funeral Home and Crematorium/CFHC Online
