THE 80S TIMELINE

1980

January: Rubik’s Cube debuts at the International Toy Fair.
April 24: U.S. rescue attempt to save hostages in Tehran fails.
May 18: Mount St. Helens erupts.
May 22: Pac-Man video game is released.
June 1: Ted Turner establishes CNN.
June 9: Richard Pryor sets himself on fire while freebasing cocaine.
November 21: 83,000,000 viewers tune in to find out Who shot J.R.? on “Dallas”.
December 8: John Lennon is murdered “9 to 5” starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin is released.

1981

January 12: “Dynasty” debuts.
March 30: John Hinckley Jr. attempts to assassinate President Reagan.
April 12: The Space Shuttle Columbia is launched.
May 13: Mehmet Ali Agca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II.
July 29: Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer.
December 28: Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first U.S. IVF baby, is born.
AIDS recognized by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
MS-DOS released.
The first IBM-PC released.

1982

April 2: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
June 11: The movie “E.T.” released.
September: Jane Fonda releases her “Workout” video.
November 13: Vietnam War Memorial opens in Washington, D.C.
Calvin Klein’s first underwear ad featuring Tom Hintnaus stops traffic in Times Square.
14-year old skateboarder Tony Hawk joins the Bones Brigade and turns professional.

1983

February 28: “M*A*S*H” ends after 251 episodes.
March 23: President Reagan announces defence plan called Star Wars.
April 18: U.S. Embassy in Beirut bombed.
June 18: Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
October 13: The first commercial cell phone call is made.
December 2: Michael Jackson releases “Thriller”.

1984

January 24: Steve Jobs introduces the first Macintosh computer.
September 14: Madonna performs “Like a Virgin” at the first-ever MTV Awards.
September 20: “The Cosby Show” debuts.
Huge poison gas leak at Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India.
Two bodyguards assassinate Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
October 16: Bishop Desmond Tutu receives Nobel Peace Prize.
Lee Iacocca appears in television commercials for Chrysler.
Bernhard Goetz shoots four would-be attackers on a New York subway.

1985

January 28: “We Are the World” is recorded in Los Angeles.
May 24: Steve Jobs leaves Apple Computers.
August 20: Iran-Contra scandal erupts.
September 3: Bob Ballard discovers the wreck of the Titanic.
November 20: Microsoft introduces Windows.
Hole in the ozone first reported.
Nike releases the Air Jordan 1.
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for glasnost and perestroika.
“Back to the Future” starring Michael J. Fox is released.

1986

January 28: Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lift-off.
February 20: USSR launches Mir Space Station.
April 26: Chernobyl nuclear meltdown occurs.
July 4: RUN DMC releases “Walk This Way”.
Oliver Stone wins Academy Award for best director for “Platoon”.

1987

April 18: “Headbangers Ball” debuts on MTV.
October 4: U.S. and Canada sign free trade agreement.
October 19: U.S. stock market plunges on Black Monday.
December: Eli Lilly Drug Company receives final approval to market Prozac.
DNA first used to convict criminals and exonerate innocent prisoners on death row.
West German pilot lands in Red Square.
Motivational speaker and firewalker Tony Robbins publishes his first book, “Unlimited Power”.

1988

February 20: Salt n’ Pepa’s “Push It” peaks on the Billboard charts at #19.
May 15: Soviet troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan after nine-year occupation.
November: George Bush Sr. elected president of the United States.
December 21: Pan Am Flight 103 is bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland.
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is the top-grossing film of the year.
CDs outsell vinyl records and tapes for the first time.
President Reagan names Ben and Jerry Small Business Persons of the Year.

1989

March 24: Exxon Valdez spills millions of gallons of oil on Alaskan coastline.
June 4: Student protesters killed in China’s Tiananmen Square.
September 20: F. W. DeKlerk becomes president of South Africa, promising apartheid reforms.
November 9: Berlin Wall falls.
September 22: “Bay Watch” debuts.
December 17: “The Simpsons” debuts.
Gameboy is released.
The Internet goes global.