1980

Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebook sold for over $5 million in 1980. In this year that saw the rise of heavy metal. The publishing of the first UK Indie chart was in 1980 as well. Bon Scott the lead singer of the heavy metal band AC/DC died in London. ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ became the highest grossing film of the year at the box office.

It was a tough year for two of ex-Beatles members, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney who with his band Wings returned to Japan since 1966 the last time the Beatles were there. Possession of narcotics led to his arrest at the airport. His incarceration ended on January 25. On December 8, the world was shocked to hear that John Lennon was dead. Mark David Chapman shot the iconic Beatles singer twice in the back just outside his New York apartment. Thousands of people held vigils in New York’s Central Park and other cities in the world to mourn his death.

On June 1, Time Warner Company launched CNN, the world’s first ever 24-hour international news television channel. At 6 p.m. EST, CNN began its broadcast with a story about the assassination attempt of Vernon Jordan a civil rights leader and activist, from their headquarters in Atlanta Georgia. Today, CNN is accessible to more than 160 million households and business across the world.

In 1980, the cold war was creating tension across the world, and the two main sides were the USA and Russia. Coincidentally, Moscow was the host of the 1980 Olympics. Due to the supremacy wars between the two countries, the then USA President, Jimmy Carter announced that USA athletes would not participate in the 1980 Olympics. This declaration was after Russia refused to honor Jimmy Carter's order for them to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan.

The year 1980 marked the beginning of an era of fashion freedoms and it saw the rise of designer’s clothes with vivid and bright colors. Also, the year set off the phenomenon of hippies.

Discover how the world looked like in 1980

Looking for 1980 Calendar ? Here it is: January 1980, February 1980, March 1980, April 1980, May 1980, June 1980, July 1980, August 1980, September 1980, October 1980, November 1980, December 1980

Oscar Winners

All Academy Awards Prize winners of the 53rd edition of the Oscar ceremony

Best picture

Ordinary People

Best director

Robert Redford

Best actor

Robert De Niro

Best actress

Sissy Spacek

Best supporting actor

Timothy Hutton

Best supporting actress

Mary Steenburgen

“Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!” Explosion of Mount St. Helens - May 18th, 1980

Time Person of the Year

Who was the person of the year of 1980?

Ronald Reagan

Reagan was elected President of the United States in 1980, defeating incumbent President Jimmy Carter.

Books

Which were the most popular books released in 1980 ?
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Nobel Prizes

All Nobel Prize winners of 1980

Peace Prize

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Literature

Czesław Miłosz

Physics

James Cronin
Val Logsdon Fitch

Economic Sciences

Lawrence Klein

Chemistry

Paul Berg
Walter Gilbert
Frederick Sanger

Physiology or Medicine

Baruj Benacerraf
Jean Dausset
George Davis Snell

Music charts

Which were the top hits of 1980?

Top #1 songs in the USA

Queen - Another One Bites The Dust
Diana Ross - Upside Down
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall (Part II)
Blondie - Call Me
Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Paul McCartney - Coming Up
Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love
Paul McCartney - Coming Up (Live At Glasgow)
Elton John - Little Jeannie
Billy Joel - It's Still Rock And Roll To Me

Top #1 songs in the UK

Abba - Super Trouper
Don McLean - Crying
David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes
Hot Chocolate - No Doubt About It
The Jam - Going Underground / Dreams Of Children
Odyssey - Use It Up And Wear It Out
Madness - My Girl
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Geno
Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love
The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me

Movies

Which were the most popular Movies released in those months?
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Popular names

Which were the top popular names given to babies born in 1980 in the USA ?

Top #10 male names

Top #10 female names

World Population

Demographic statistics of the year 1980

Population statistics

Total population: 4.5 billion (4,458,003,514 to be precise!)
Urban population: 1.7 billion, that is 39.0% of the total population of 1980 lives in cities
Yearly change: +77.5 million, corresponding to a percentage increase of +1.77%
Average density: 30.0 persons per km²

Historical Events

Which were the important events of 1980?

Events

01 Jan 1980 International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins
02 Jan 1980 US President Jimmy Carter asks the Senate to postpone action on the SALT II nuclear weapons treaty and recalls the U.S. ambassador to Moscow.
03 Jan 1980 Gold hits record US$634 an ounce.
04 Jan 1980 President Carter announces US boycott of Moscow Olympics
06 Jan 1980 Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
07 Jan 1980 U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation approving $1.5 billion in loan guarantees to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
09 Jan 1980 63 beheaded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
10 Jan 1980 Last broadcast of Rockford Files on NBC
11 Jan 1980 Debut of Pretenders
12 Jan 1980 Mike Bratz (Phoenix) begins NBA free throw streak of 57 games
13 Jan 1980 King of Schnorrers closes at Playhouse Theater NYC after 63 performances
14 Jan 1980 Blues Brothers movie with Dan Akwoyd and John Belushi opens
16 Jan 1980 Paul McCartney jailed in Tokyo for 10 days on marijuana possession
17 Jan 1980 NASA launches Fltsatcom-3.
18 Jan 1980 Gold reaches $1,000 an oz
20 Jan 1980 President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow
21 Jan 1980 Gold hits record $850 an ounce
22 Jan 1980 Dissidents Andrei Sacharov and Jelena Bonner banished to Gorki
24 Jan 1980 The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad is ordered to be liquidated due to bankruptcy.
25 Jan 1980 Paul McCartney is released from Tokyo jail and deported
26 Jan 1980 175,000 pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
27 Jan 1980 Near Livermore, California, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurs.
28 Jan 1980 37th Golden Globes: Dustin Hoffman and Sally Field win.
29 Jan 1980 6 Iranian held US hostages escape with help of Canadians
31 Jan 1980 Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41.
01 Feb 1980 Sears Radio Theater moves from CBS to Mutual Broadcasting System
02 Feb 1980 (to February 3) New Mexico State Penitentiary inmates riot; 33 are killed and more than 100 injured.
03 Feb 1980 Muhammed Ali tours Africa as US President Jimmy Carter's envoy.
04 Feb 1980 Bani Sadr sworn in as Premier of Iran
05 Feb 1980 32nd NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 6-3 at Detroit.
09 Feb 1980 Rick Barry, Houston Rockets, is first in NBA to score eight 3-point goals in a game.
10 Feb 1980 Jane Blalock wins LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic.
12 Feb 1980 Canterbury Tales opens at Rialto Theater NYC for 16 performances
13 Feb 1980 Apollo Computer is incorporated.
14 Feb 1980 West Side Story opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 341 performances
15 Feb 1980 Eric Heiden skates Olympics record 500 metre in 38.03 seconds.
16 Feb 1980 Continuous traffic jam extends 176 km north of Lyons, France.
17 Feb 1980 Buddy Baker wins Daytona 500
18 Feb 1980 Billy Wyman said he will leave Rolling Stones in 1983
19 Feb 1980 Eric Heiden skates Olympics record 1000 metre in 1:15.18.
20 Feb 1980 Actress Susan Dey (LA Law) weds producer Bernard Sofronski
21 Feb 1980 Eric Heiden skates Olympics record 1500 metre in 1:55.44.
22 Feb 1980 USA beats USSR in Olympic hockey 4-3 en route to a gold medal
23 Feb 1980 13th Winter Olympic games close at Lake Placid, New York
24 Feb 1980 Canterbury Tales closes at Rialto Theater NYC after 16 performances
25 Feb 1980 Coup ousts Prime Minister Henck Arron of Suriname
26 Feb 1980 Military coup under Desi Bouterse in Suriname
27 Feb 1980 Israel and Egypt exchange ambassadors
28 Feb 1980 The Well-Tuned Piano by La Monte Young premieres
29 Feb 1980 Michael Bracey ends 59 hours 55 minutes trapped in an elevator, England.
01 Mar 1980 CTUC, Commonwealth Trade Union Council, established
02 Mar 1980 3rd Islander scoreless tie - Penguins in Pittsburgh
03 Mar 1980 The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
04 Mar 1980 40th hat trick in New York Islanders' history-Mike Bossy.
05 Mar 1980 Earth satellites record gamma rays from remnants of supernova N-49.
06 Mar 1980 Emmy 7th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 1st time
08 Mar 1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
09 Mar 1980 Flemish / Walloon battles in Belgium, 40 injured
10 Mar 1980 Willard Scott becomes the weather forcaster on the Today Show
12 Mar 1980 Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago, Illinois.
13 Mar 1980 Eric Heiden skates world record 1000 metre (1:13.60).
14 Mar 1980 3rd Emmy Sports Award presentation
16 Mar 1980 Joanne Carner wins LPGA Honda Civic Golf Classic.
18 Mar 1980 Vostok rocket exploded on launch pad while being refueled, killing 50
20 Mar 1980 US appeals to International Court on hostages in Iran.
21 Mar 1980 On TV show Dallas, J.R. is shot
22 Mar 1980 The Georgia Guidestones are erected in Elbert County, Georgia.
23 Mar 1980 Shah of Iran arrives in Egypt
24 Mar 1980 Capitol Records releases some rare Beatles tracks
26 Mar 1980 A mine lift cage at the Vaal Reef gold mine in South Africa falls 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers), killing 23.
27 Mar 1980 Happy New Year opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 17 performances
31 Mar 1980 Jesse Owens, American athlete (Olympics-gold-1936), dies in Tucson, Arizona at age 66 (born 1913).
01 Apr 1980 New York City's Transport Works Union Local 100 goes on strike, which continues for 11 days.
02 Apr 1980 Wayne Gretzky becomes first teenager to score 50 goals in an NHL season.
03 Apr 1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
06 Apr 1980 Post It Notes are introduced.
07 Apr 1980 Jimmy Carter breaks relations with Iran during hostage crisis
09 Apr 1980 Kings tie NHL rec with 2 shorthanded playoff goals in a pd vs. Isles
10 Apr 1980 Samuel Kanyon Doe takes over Liberia in a ''coup d'état'', ending over 130 years of democratic presidential succession in that country.
11 Apr 1980 Paul McCartney releases Coming Up
12 Apr 1980 BCMA, Black Consciousness Movement of Azania, forms
13 Apr 1980 Grease closes at Broadhurst Theater in New York City after 3,388 performances.
14 Apr 1980 1st Cubans of the Mariel boatlift sail to Florida
15 Apr 1980 Libya and Syria recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
16 Apr 1980 Delhi beats Bombay by 240 runs to win Ranji Trophy final.
18 Apr 1980 Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) declares independence from United Kingdom. Robert Mugabe becomes Prime Minister.
20 Apr 1980 Cubans begin to arrive in US from Mariel boatlift
21 Apr 1980 Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWWW Detroit, Michigan
22 Apr 1980 Jane Froman, singer (Jane Froman's USA Canteen), dies at age 72.
23 Apr 1980 Soviet submarine catches fire off Japan, nine die.
24 Apr 1980 US military operation to save 52 hostages in Iran, fails, 8 die
25 Apr 1980 Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Wayne Webb.
26 Apr 1980 Iran begins scattering US hostages from the US Embassy.
27 Apr 1980 Barbara Barrow wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic.
28 Apr 1980 Reunion Arena in Dallas opens
30 Apr 1980 Barnum opens at St. James Theater NYC for 854 performances
01 May 1980 Day in Hollywood, A Night... opens at John Golden NYC for 588 performances
02 May 1980 Joseph Doherty and three other Irish Republican Army men arrested for murder.
03 May 1980 Giants 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits his 521st and final HR
04 May 1980 Dodgers bat out of order against Phillies in 1st inning
05 May 1980 Siege at Iranian Embassy in London ends; British commandos and police stormed the building.
07 May 1980 Josip Tito, Yugoslav President, buried
08 May 1980 World Health Organization announces smallpox has been eradicated.
09 May 1980 35 motorists die as a Liberian freighter rams a Tampa Bay Bridge
10 May 1980 Happy New Year closes at Morosco Theater NYC after 17 performances
11 May 1980 Pam Higgins wins LPGA Lady Michelob Golf Tournament.
12 May 1980 1st nonstop crossing of US via balloon
13 May 1980 Cincinnati Reds' Ray Knight hits two homeruns in 5th inning versus New York Mets.
14 May 1980 Musical Chairs opens at Rialto Theater NYC for 15 performances
15 May 1980 1st trans-US balloon crossing
16 May 1980 Brian May of rock group Queen collapses on stage with hepatitis
17 May 1980 Kumar Anandan balanced on one foot for 33 hours
18 May 1980 China PR launch 1st intercontinental rocket
19 May 1980 Blackstone opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 104 performances
20 May 1980 Drummer Peter Criss quits Kiss
21 May 1980 Empire Strikes Back premieres
22 May 1980 Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue marry.
23 May 1980 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Neil Burton.
24 May 1980 Iran rejects a call to World Court to release US hostages
25 May 1980 Musical Chairs closes at Rialto Theater NYC after 15 performances
26 May 1980 Phillie Steve Carlton is 1st NLer to record 6, 1-hitters
27 May 1980 The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
28 May 1980 Nottingham Forrest wins 25th Europe Cup 1 in Madrid, Spain.
29 May 1980 Billy Bishop Goes to War opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 12 performances
31 May 1980 Love Stinks by J Geils Band peaks at #38
01 Jun 1980 1st transmission of CNN, Cable News Network
03 Jun 1980 Jimmy Carter wins enough delegates for renomination
05 Jun 1980 Soyuz T-2 carries two cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station.
07 Jun 1980 Billy Bishop Goes to War closes at Morosco NYC after 12 performances
08 Jun 1980 26th LPGA Championship won by Sally Little
09 Jun 1980 14th Music City News Country Awards: Statler Brothers and Loretta Lynn
10 Jun 1980 A Unabomber bomb injures United Airlines president Percy Wood in Lake Forest, Illinois.
11 Jun 1980 K-Ingleside streetcar converts to METRO service
12 Jun 1980 Reagan said he would submit to periodic medical tests
13 Jun 1980 Deborah Harry / Meat Loaf film, Roadie, premieres
14 Jun 1980 Theme From NY, New York by Frank Sinatra hits #32
15 Jun 1980 Fearless Frank opens at Princess Theater NYC for 12 performances
16 Jun 1980 Blues Brothers, premieres in Chicago
17 Jun 1980 Led Zeppelin begins their last European tour
18 Jun 1980 Blues Brothers with Dan Akwoyd and John Belushi premieres
19 Jun 1980 Battle between police and demonstrators in Cape Town, 34 killed
20 Jun 1980 California Angels Freddie Patek, hits 3 HRs and double to beat Red Sox 20-2
22 Jun 1980 Jim King begins riding Miracle Strip Roller coaster 368 hours
23 Jun 1980 David Letterman Show, debuts on NBC-TV daytime
24 Jun 1980 Affirmed wins $500,000 Hollywood Cup, first horse to win $2 million.
25 Jun 1980 Fearless Frank closes at Princess Theater NYC after 12 performances
26 Jun 1980 Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 crashes into the sea near Palermo after an explosion occurs in the air 81 people die. A bomb or a missile is suspected to be the cause of the accident but no culprits are ever found.
27 Jun 1980 1st female state police graduates
28 Jun 1980 New York City transit fare rises from 50 cents to 60 cents
29 Jun 1980 Sweeney Todd closes at Uris Theater NYC after 557 performances
30 Jun 1980 West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt visits Moscow
01 Jul 1980 Steve Overt runs world record 3:48.8 mile in Oslo, Norway.
03 Jul 1980 1st US Seniors Golf Open: Roberto deVicenzo
04 Jul 1980 Nolan Ryan strikes out Ceasar Geronimo to record his 3000th career strike out.
05 Jul 1980 87th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Evonne Goolagong beats C Evert
06 Jul 1980 Amy Alcott wins LPGA Mayflower Golf Classic
07 Jul 1980 Jineane Ford, (AZ) replaces S Weatherly (Miss Universe) as 29th Miss USA
08 Jul 1980 51st All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 4-2 at Dodger Stadium, LA
09 Jul 1980 7 die in a stampede to see Pope in Brazil
10 Jul 1980 Alexandra Palace burns down for a second time.
11 Jul 1980 American hostage Richard I Queen freed by Iran
15 Jul 1980 A severe and destructive thunderstorm strikes four counties in western Wisconsin, including the city of Eau Claire. It causes over US$250 million in damage, and one person is killed.
16 Jul 1980 Polish railway workers block railway to Russia
17 Jul 1980 Bolivian military coup; general Garcia Meza becomes President
18 Jul 1980 Failed attack on Iran ex-premier Bakhtiar in Neuilly France
19 Jul 1980 22nd modern Olympic games opens in Moscow; US and others boycott
20 Jul 1980 109th British Golf Open: Tom Watson shoots a 271 at Muirfield Gullane
21 Jul 1980 Jean-Claude Droyer climbs the Eiffel Tower in 2 hours 18 minutes.
23 Jul 1980 Billy Carter admits to being paid by Libya
24 Jul 1980 The Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia wins the Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the event at Olympic level.
25 Jul 1980 Train crash at Winsum, 9 die
27 Jul 1980 Palestinian throws hand grenade on Jewish children in Antwerp, 1 dead
30 Jul 1980 Houston Astro pitcher J R Richard suffers a stroke
31 Jul 1980 John Phillips of Mamas and Papas is arrested on drug charges
01 Aug 1980 Waldemar Cierpinski wins 19th olympics marathon (2:11:03
02 Aug 1980 Fascist bomb attack on Bologna Italy train station, 86 killed
03 Aug 1980 22nd Olympic games close at Moscow, USSR
04 Aug 1980 John andYoko begin recording Double Fantasy
05 Aug 1980 Expos Dick Williams wins his 1,000th career game as a manager
07 Aug 1980 Hurricane Allen ravages Caribisch area, about 70 killed
08 Aug 1980 LBV Conference Center and Club Lake Villas open
09 Aug 1980 Belgian constitution revised
10 Aug 1980 62nd PGA Championship: Jack Nicklaus shoots a 274 at Oak Hill, New York
11 Aug 1980 Angola revises its constitution
13 Aug 1980 Suriname President Johan Ferrier ousted
14 Aug 1980 17,000 workers strike in Gdansk, Poland
16 Aug 1980 Bill Ward quits Black Sabbath
17 Aug 1980 Blackstone closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 104 performances
19 Aug 1980 George Brett ends hitting streak at 30
20 Aug 1980 Mt Everest climbed by Italian Reinhold Messner, alone
21 Aug 1980 Linda Ronstadt opens in Pirates of Penzance on Broadway
22 Aug 1980 Bill Veeck agrees to sell Chicago White Sox to Eddie DeBartolo Sr for $20,000,000, AL owners block the sale
24 Aug 1980 Beth Daniel wins Columbia Savings LPGA Golf Classic
25 Aug 1980 42nd Street opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 3486 performances
26 Aug 1980 Pete Comita replaces Tom Peterson as bassist of Cheap Trick
27 Aug 1980 Chon Doo Hwan elected President of South Korea
31 Aug 1980 Oklahoma! closes at Palace Theater NYC after 301 performances
01 Sep 1980 Dutch embassy in Israel moves from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv
04 Sep 1980 Yes performs its last concert
05 Sep 1980 Poland party leader Edward Gierek resigns
06 Sep 1980 94th US Womens Tennis: Chris E L Mills beats H Mandlikova
07 Sep 1980 32nd Emmy Awards: Taxi, Lou Grant, Ed Asner and Barbara Bel Geddes
08 Sep 1980 Bowie Kuhn suspends Ferguson Jenkins indefinitely due to drug arrest
10 Sep 1980 Expos Bill Gullickson, sets rookie record of striking out 18
11 Sep 1980 Chile adopts its constitution
12 Sep 1980 Military coup under General Kenan Evren in Turkey
13 Sep 1980 1st United Negro College Fund
14 Sep 1980 Charlie & Algernon opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 17 performances
15 Sep 1980 Paul McCartney releases Temporary Secretary
16 Sep 1980 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the United Nations.
17 Sep 1980 Divine Madness starring Bette Midler, premieres
18 Sep 1980 Les Miserables, opens at Palais des Sports, Paris
19 Sep 1980 Titan II missile explosion (Damascus, Arkansas).
20 Sep 1980 Bronze plaque dedicated to memory of Thurman Munson at Yankee Stadium
21 Sep 1980 Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA ERA Real Estate Golf Classic
22 Sep 1980 Iraq invades Iran in an attempt to control the Shatt al-Arab waterway
23 Sep 1980 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opens
24 Sep 1980 Braves join every NL team with 1,000,000+ attendance for this season
25 Sep 1980 Chevy Chase calls Cary Grant a homo on Tomorrow show
26 Sep 1980 Bomb attack on Octoberfest in Munich, 12 killed
27 Sep 1980 WHOT (Brooklyn New York pirate radio station) begins on 1620 AM and 92.5 FM
28 Sep 1980 Charlie & Algernon closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 17 performances
29 Sep 1980 Malcolm McDowell wed Mary Steenburgen
30 Sep 1980 Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel and Xerox introduce the DIX standard for Ethernet, which is the first implementation outside of Xerox, and the first to support 10 Mbit/s speeds.
01 Oct 1980 Cosmonauts Ryumin and Popov break space endurance record of 176 days.
02 Oct 1980 Larry Holmes retains WBC heavweight title defeating Muhammad Ali.
03 Oct 1980 4 dies in attack on synagogue in Paris
05 Oct 1980 Formal opening of meditation hall of Zenshin Temple in Riverdale Bronx
06 Oct 1980 Guyana adopts constitution
07 Oct 1980 Belgium 3rd government of Martens resigns
08 Oct 1980 Bob Marley collapses on stage, brought to Sloan-Kettering Hospital
09 Oct 1980 Nobel prize for literature awarded to Czeslaw Milosz
10 Oct 1980 4,500 die when a pair of earthquakes strikes NW Algeria
11 Oct 1980 Dallas Mavericks 1st game at Reunion Arena beat San Antonio 103-92
12 Oct 1980 7 stabbed at Blood, Sweat and Tears concert in LA
13 Oct 1980 Unprovoked slayings of 6 blacks in Buffalo, New York
14 Oct 1980 Phils rally from 4-0 deficit to beat the Royals, 7-6 to take WS opener
15 Oct 1980 George Brett is forced out of World Series with hemorrhoids
16 Oct 1980 Brigadoon opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 133 performances
17 Oct 1980 1st-class debut of Mike Whitney, NSW vs. Queensland
18 Oct 1980 Brooke Alexander, 18, of Hawaii, crowned Miss World USA
21 Oct 1980 Banjo Dancing opens at Century Theater NYC for 38 performances
22 Oct 1980 4th government of Martens forms in Belgium
23 Oct 1980 Tintypes opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 93 performances
24 Oct 1980 Iraqi troops occupies Khorramshar
25 Oct 1980 Mike Weaver KOs Gerrie Coetzee in 13 for heavyweight boxing title
26 Oct 1980 11th NYC Marathon won by Alberto Salazar in 2:09:41
27 Oct 1980 Astros owner John McMullen replaces GM Tal Smith with Al Rosen
28 Oct 1980 U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Reagan's genial, witty performance causes him to overtake Carter in the polls.
29 Oct 1980 Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base's Duke Field, Florida leading to cancellation of Operation Credible Sport.
30 Oct 1980 Honduras and El Salvador settle their boundary dispute
31 Oct 1980 Senegal routes troops to Gambia due to Libyan threat
03 Nov 1980 Ianford Wilsons 5th of July, premieres in New York City
04 Nov 1980 Islanders start 15 game undefeated streak
08 Nov 1980 In Gorda Plate, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. Most of the damage occurred east of Fields Landing, where two sections of an overpass on U.S. Highway 101 collapsed onto the railroad tracks below.
09 Nov 1980 Iraqi President Saddam Hussein declares holy war against Iran
10 Nov 1980 Dan Rather refuses to pay his cabbie, CBS pays $12.55 fare
11 Nov 1980 Crew of Soyuz 35 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 37.
12 Nov 1980 New York City Mayor Ed Koch admits to trying marijuana
13 Nov 1980 Gabriella Brum, 18, of W Germany crowned 30th Miss World, she resigns the next day, because she wants to marry her 52 year old boyfriend
14 Nov 1980 Guinee-Bissau Premier Vieira fires President Luis Cabral
15 Nov 1980 Pope John Paul II begins five-day visit to West Germany.
16 Nov 1980 Tampa Bay Buccaneer QB Doug Williams throws for 486 yards
17 Nov 1980 John Lennon releases Double Fantasy album in the UK
18 Nov 1980 Despite missing 45 games, George Brett wins AL MVP
20 Nov 1980 Steve Ptacek in Solar Challenger makes 1st solar-powered flight
21 Nov 1980 Fire at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas kills 84
22 Nov 1980 Georgia tanker at Pilottown, Louisiana, spills 1.3 million gallons of oil after an anchor chain caused the ship to leak.
23 Nov 1980 4,800 die in series of earthquakes that devastated southern Italy
24 Nov 1980 Ronald Reagan Jr marries Doria Palmieri
25 Nov 1980 Coup in Burkina abolishes constitution
26 Nov 1980 Columbia mated to SRBs and external tank at Vehicle Assembly Building
27 Nov 1980 Soyuz T-3 carries three cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station, launched.
30 Nov 1980 Banjo Dancing closes at Century Theater NYC after 38 performances
01 Dec 1980 Mel Harris appears on M*A*S*H in Cementing Relationships
02 Dec 1980 Four American Maryknoll nuns killed by death squads in El Salvador.
03 Dec 1980 New York Federal jury finds Reps Thompson D-New Jersey and Murphy, D-NY, guilty
04 Dec 1980 English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbands, following the death of drummer John Bonham on September 25th.
06 Dec 1980 Jim Bakker rapes Jessica Hahn
08 Dec 1980 John Lennon, an English musician and peace activist, is murdered by Mark David Chapman, a mentally unstable fan, in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.
10 Dec 1980 Soyuz T-3 returns to Earth.
11 Dec 1980 Dirk Wellham scores 100 on first-class debut, New South Wales versus Victoria.
12 Dec 1980 USA's copyright law amended to include computer programs.
13 Dec 1980 Perfectly Frank closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 16 performances
14 Dec 1980 Onward Victoria opens / closes at Martin Beck NYC for 1 performance
15 Dec 1980 New York Yankees' Dave Winfield becomes highest-paid player, ten years $15 million.
16 Dec 1980 US President-elect Ronald Reagan announces Alexander Haig as Secretary of State.
17 Dec 1980 Mauritania provisional constitution published.
18 Dec 1980 Vietnam adopts constitution.
19 Dec 1980 Anguilla becomes a British dependency separate from Saint Kitts.
20 Dec 1980 USSR formally announces death of Alexei Kosygin.
21 Dec 1980 Harold Carmichael ends NFL streak of 127 consecutive game receptions.
22 Dec 1980 US President-elect Ronald Reagan appoints Jean Kirkpatrick (UN delegate) and James Watt (Interior).
24 Dec 1980 Americans remembered Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds
26 Dec 1980 Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento," kills himself by overdose on San Quentin prison death row (born 1950).
27 Dec 1980 Calvin Murphy (Rockets) begins longest NBA free throw streak of 78
28 Dec 1980 MTxico terminates fishing agreements with US.
29 Dec 1980 Shuttle STS-1 moves from Vandenberg AFB to Launch Complex 39A
30 Dec 1980 Wonderful World of Disney, last performance on NBC-TV
31 Dec 1980 Senegal President Leopold Senghor resigns.

1980

Your place in the Universe on 1980

Find out more about your Moon Sign

Oscar Winners

Best picture

Ordinary People

Ordinary People

Best director

Robert Redford

Ordinary People

Best actor

Robert De Niro

Raging Bull

Best actress

Sissy Spacek

Coal Miner's Daughter

Best supporting actor

Timothy Hutton

Ordinary People

Best supporting actress

Mary Steenburgen

Melvin and Howard

Related stories

“Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!” Explosion of Mount St. Helens - May 18th, 1980

Time Person of the Year

Books

The Bourne Identity

Kane & Abel

Nothing Down

The Devil'S Alternative

How You Can Become Financially Independent By Investing In Real Estate

Have a look at the old UK newspapers from 1980 and get them!

Do you remember those beautiful old magazines?

Nobel Prizes

Peace Prize

Literature

Physics

Economic Sciences

Chemistry

Physiology or Medicine

Music charts

Top #1 songs in the USA

Top #1 songs in the UK

Movies

Fox

The Shining

The Elephant Man

Raging Bull

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears

1980 Chinese Zodiac and Horoscope

Popular names

Top #10 male names

Top #10 female names

World Population

Population statistics

Historical Events

Events