[Myka]

^ 78 - the number of Canadians who have died in the war against Iraq to date.

Year 79 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.

June 23 - Titus succeeds his father Vespasian as Roman emperor.
August 24 - Mount Vesuvius erupts, destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Roman Emperor Titus dedicates the famous Roman Colosseum.
Gnaeus Julius Agricola enters Scotland but is resisted by the Caledonians.
To please the Senate, Titus exiles his Jewish mistress, Berenice of Cilicia.

In China, a commission of scholars canonizes the text of works of Confucius and his school.

Births
Emperor He of Han
Ma Rong

Deaths
June 23 — Roman emperor Vespasian
August 24 — Pliny the Elder, Roman writer and scientist (killed by Vesuvius eruption)
September 23 — Pope Linus
Caesius Bassus, Roman poet (killed by Vesuvius eruption)
Empress Ma