a letter bomb from a pro-independence activist. October 12 – The People's Republic of China announces that Hua Guofeng is the successor to Mao Zedong as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party following the latter's death on September 9 from a heart attack. October 13 – The United States Commission on Civil Rights releases the report, Puerto Ricans in the Continental United States: An Uncertain Future, that documents that Puerto Ricans in the United States have a poverty rate of 33 percent in 1974 (up from 29 percent in 1970), the highest of all major racial-ethnic groups in the country (not including Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory). October 18 – Ford officially launches volume production of the Fiesta car at its Valencia plant in Spain. October 19 The Battle of Aishiya is fought in Lebanon. The Copyright Act of 1976 extends copyright duration for an additional 19 years in the United States. The Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is placed on the list of endangered species. October 20 – The Mississippi River ferry MV George Prince is struck by a ship while crossing from Destrehan, Louisiana to Luling, Louisiana, killing 78 passengers and crew. October 22 Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, the 5th President of Ireland, resigns after being publicly insulted by the Minister for Defense. The Damned release their debut single "New Rose", making them the first British punk band to release a single, beating the Sex Pistols by a month. October 24 – James Hunt wins a very political Formula One World Championship by just 1 point driving a McLaren M23-D as rival Niki Lauda retires from the Japanese Grand Prix due to heavy rain. October 25 – Clarence Norris, the last known survivor of the Scottsboro Boys, is pardoned. October 26 – Transkei gains "independence" from South Africa. October 28 – British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene is published, introducing the term memetics. November November – Diffie–Hellman key exchange cryptography is proposed. November 2 – 1976 United States presidential election: Jimmy Carter narrowly defeats incumbent Gerald Ford, becoming the first candidate from the Deep South to win since the Civil War. November 4 – Mark Fidrych, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, wins 1976 Major League Baseball Rookie Of The Year Award. November 12 – Disappearance of Renee MacRae and her 3-year-old son Andrew from Inverness in Scotland; this becomes Britain's longest-running missing persons case. November 15 – The