February 1, 1979: The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran, after a 15-year exile. It is seen as the high point of the Iranian Revolution, a.k.a. the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
He was born on May 17, 1900 in Khomeyn, hence his surname. His homeland was known as Qajar Iran, or "The Sublime State of Persia," until 1925. The Pahlavi dynasty took hold, and in 1935, changed the country's name from Persia to Iran.
As a young man, Khomeini was fascinated with both his native Shia Islamic culture and the ancient Greeks, in particular Aristotle. He became a leading Shia scholar and a published poet in the 1920s. By the 1940s, he was writing political books.
In 1963, having been awarded the honorific "Ayatollah," meaning "Sign of God" -- and there are many Ayatollahs, it's just that he's the one who ended up being referred to as the Ayatollah -- he opposed the "White Revolution," a liberalization of the nation announced by the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. He was placed under house arrest, and was expelled from the country on November 4, 1964, living in Bursa, Turkey for a year, and then in Najaf, Iraq until 1978, when he was expelled from that country by its new dictator, Saddam Hussein. He fled to Paris.
Aware of the importance of broadening his base, Khomeini reached out to Islamic reformist and secular enemies of the Shah, groups that were suppressed after he took and consolidated power. Khomeini became the most influential leader of the opposition to the Shah.
Adding to his mystique was the circulation among Iranians in the 1970s of an old Shia saying attributed to the Imam Musa al-Kadhem. Prior to his death in AD 799, al-Kadhem was said to have prophesied that "[a] man will come out from Qom and he will summon people to the right path." By late 1978, Khomeini was increasingly regarded as a messianic figure in Iran, and perceived by many as the spiritual as well as political leader of the revolt.
Late in 1978, the Shah announced, "I have heard the voice of your revolution," and promised major reforms. He soon released political prisoners, but it wasn't enough. He saw military leaders end their support for him. He heard that the key Western leaders: Presidents Jimmy Carter of American and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing of France, Prime Minister James Callaghan of Britain, and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany, were going to meet to discuss the crisis. The Shah took this to mean that they were looking for a way to abandon him.
On January 16, 1979, the Shah and his family fled, leaving Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar in charge of the country. He dissolved SAVAK, the much-hated secret police, freed the remaining political prisoners, and invited Khomeini to return to Iran.
This was a terrible mistake by Bakhtiar. On February 1, Khomeini returned to a rapturous reception at the airport. Bakhtiar had to leave as well, and did so on February 11. Khomeini was now a dictator, and he seemed to be the one the nation wanted.
Time magazine named Khomeini its "Man of the Year" for 1979. This led to thousands of outraged letters from the magazine's readers. The editors reminded them that it's not an award, it's a distinction: The man (or person, as it's been "Person of the Year" from 2000 onward) who, in the editors' collective opinion, has most affected the news in the past year.
All references to the imperial family were removed. Taj Football Club, one of the most successful sports teams in the country, had to change its name, which means "Crown." It became Esteghlal, meaning "Independence." Its rivalry with fellow Tehran team Perseopolis remains vicious, and women are still not allowed to attend soccer games in Iran.
Because he seemed like a tyrant, to young men who had never known true tyranny, Herb Brooks, the head coach of the U.S. hockey team that went on to win the Gold Medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics, was nicknamed "The Ayatollah." So was George Graham, manager of London soccer team Arsenal F.C. from 1986 to 1995. Having had a bit of a playboy image as a player, but become a disciplinarian, he freely admitted, "The player I was could never have played for the manager that I am."
But the Ayatollah of Ayatollahs, Ruhollah Khomeini, ruled Iran with an iron fist for the next 10 years, dying on June 3, 1989, at the age of 89. He was succeeded by the similarly-named Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As of February 1, 2022, he is still in charge, at the age of 82. In 1991, he ordered Bakhtiar's assassination, even though he was in exile. For the Shah, it wasn't necessary, as he died of cancer in exile in 1980.
Reza Pahlavi was 18 years old and the Crown Prince of Iran when his father, the Shah, was overthrown. Luckily for him, he was already in the U.S., training as a fighter pilot, much as was his cousin and fellow heir to a Middle Eastern throne, now King Abdullah II of Jordan.
He now lives in Potomac, Maryland, outside Washington. He is the founder and leader of the Iran National Council, a government-in-exile, having gotten a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. Unlike his father, he has been an outspoken supporter of human rights, saying that in order to bring freedom to his homeland, "Idealism and realism, behavior change and regime change do not require different policies but the same: Empowering the Iranian people."
On his website, he calls for a separation of religion and state in Iran, and for free and fair elections "for all freedom-loving individuals and political ideologies." A follower of Shia Islam, he has stated that he believes that religion has a humanizing and ethical role in shaping individual character and infusing society with greater purpose.
His supporters have referred to him as "His Imperial Majesty Reza Shah II" since his father's death, but he officially calls himself "the former Crown Prince," and admits he has no realistic hope of the monarchy being restored, even when the Ayatollahs are finally and rightfully toppled. He has written 3 books about his homeland, and in 2014 he founded OfoghIran, a television and radio network.
Although he has been married for 34 years, his 3 children are all girls, so an older cousin, Patrick Ali Pahlavi, is next in line to the throne, followed by his son Davoud.
UPDATE: It took me until 2024 to think of this, but the 1970s were Schrödinger's Decade. There was too much political movement, and, at the same time, not enough of it.
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February 1, 1979 was a Thursday. Actress Rachelle Lefevre was born.
Baseball and football were out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Seattle SuperSonics, 107-102 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Eric Money led all scorers on the night, with 40 points in defeat for the Nets. Jack Sikma led the Sonics with 30.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120-116 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richield, Ohio.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls, 128-105 at the Chicago Stadium. Julius "Dr. J" Erving scored 32 points.
* And the Washington Bullets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 123-122 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. Bob Dandridge scored 36 points. George "the Iceman" Gervin scored 37 points in defeat.
There were 4 games in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-1 at the Boston Garden.
* The Atlanta Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1 at The Omni in Atlanta.
* And the Minnesota North Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
And there was 1 game in the World Hockey Association: The Birmingham Bulls beat the Quebec Nordiques, 7-5 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (now the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex) in Birmingham, Alabama.
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