The following is a list of events relevant to Nickelodeon that happened before the channel's official launch in 1979.
1917
- January 24 - Ernest Borgnine is born
1933
- December 15 - Tim Conway is born
1937
- November 6 - Eugene Pitt is born
1939
- June 26 - Stu Rosen is born
1944
- August 15 - Linda Ellerbee is born
1947
- May 19 - Geraldine Laybourne is born
1949
- November 27 - Arlene Klasky is born
1951
- September 15 - Fred Seibert is born
- November 11 - Marc Summers is born
1952
- April 16 - Billy West is born
- September 29 - Gabor Csupo is born
- November 3 - Jim Cummings is born
1953
- August 8 - Jim Jinkins is born
1954
- August 13 - Peter Hannan is born
1955
- December 18 - Mitch Schauer is born
1956
- January 27 - Susanne Blakeslee is born
- October 18 - Craig Bartlett is born
1957
- January 11 - Herb Scannell is born
1958
- December 25 - Cheryl Hudock is born
1959
- June 6 - Paul Germain is born
- September 18 - Kirk Fogg is born
1960
- July 19 - Steve Viksten is born
1961
- May 3 - Joe Murray is born
- August 21 - Stephen Hillenburg is born
- September 11 - Elizabeth Daily is born
- November 27 - Steve Oedekerk is born
1962
- May 17 - Craig Ferguson is born
- July 13 - Tom Kenny is born
- August 31 - Dee Bradley Baker is born
- December 19 - Jill Talley is born
1963
- August 16 - Christine Cavanaugh is born
- November 22 - Brian Robbins is born
1964
- September 28 - Janeane Garofalo is born
- November 1 - Daran Norris is born
- November 24 - Chris Reccardi is born
1965
- January 10 - Butch Hartman is born
- June 26 - Bobs Gannaway is born
1966
- July 29 - Richard Steven Horvitz is born
1967
- February 20 - Kath Soucie is born
- April 20 - Lara Jill Miller is born
- September 12 - Rob Renzetti is born
1968
- December 22 - Adam Beechen is born
1969
- June 11 - Cristina Pucelli is born
- July 7 - Cree Summer is born
- October 25 - Nika Futterman is born
1971
- October 2 - Chris Savino is born
1972
- October 17 - C.H. Greenblatt is born
1973
- August 24 - Grey DeLisle is born
- November 12 - Tara Charendoff is born
1974
- July 18 - Michael Dante DiMartino is born
- September 1 - Jhonen Vasquez is born
1975
- January 31 - Jorge R. Gutiérrez is born
- June 1 - Bryan Konietzko is born
- July 10 - Stefán Karl Stefánsson is born
1976
- February 2 - Lori Beth Denberg is born
- April 17 - Melissa Joan Hart is born
1977
- December 1 - Nickelodeon is tested under the name of Pinwheel as part of the experimental two-way, multi-programmed cable television system known as QUBE.
1978
- May 10 - Kenan Thompson is born
- August 25 - Kel Mitchell is born
- October 20 - Dionne Quan is born
| Timeline | 1979 | >> |