From AmericolaWiki
1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday.
[edit] Events
[edit] January
- January 9 - In Saudi Arabia, 63 Muslim fanatics are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November, 1979.
- January 11 - Nigel Short, 14, is the youngest chess player to be awarded the degree of International Master.
- January 20 - The Pittsburgh Steelers become the first NFL franchise to win 4 Super Bowls, defeating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV 31-19 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
- January 21 - The London Gold Fixing hits its highest price ever (adjusted for inflation), at US$850 a troy ounce
- January 22 - Andrei Sakharov, a Soviet scientist and human rights activist, is arrested in Moscow.
- January 26 - Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
- January 27 - Six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran as they board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland, thus ending the Canadian caper operation.
- January 31 - The Spanish Embassy in Guatemala is taken down and set on fire, killing 36 people.
[edit] February
- April 1 - The Mariel boatlift from Cuba begins.
- April 1 - New York City's Transport Works Union Local 100 goes on strike, which continues for 11 days.
- April 2 - The St. Pauls riot breaks out in Bristol.
- April 7 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions, following the taking of American hostages on November 4, 1979.
- April 10 - Spain and the United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain, closed since 1969.
- April 12 - Samuel Doe takes over Liberia in a coup d'etat, ending over 130 years of democratic presidential succession in that country.
- April 18 - Zimbabwe gains independence from the United Kingdom; Robert Mugabe becomes Prime Minister.
- April 19 - Johnny Logan wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song, What's Another Year.
- April 21 - Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston Marathon, but is later exposed as a fraud and stripped of her award.
- April 24 - Pennsylvania Lottery Scheme: the state lottery is rigged by 6 men including the host of the live TV drawing, Nick Perry.
- April 24-April 25 - Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.
- April 27 - The Dominican embassy siege ends with all hostages released and the guerrillas flying to Cuba.
- April 30 - Iranian Embassy Siege: Six Iranian-born terrorists take over the Iranian embassy in London, UK. SAS retakes the Embassy on May 5; 1 terrorist survives.
- April 30 - Luis Muñoz Marín, the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, dies at the age of 82.
- April 30 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicates, and her daughter Beatrix ascends to the throne.
- May 4 - Yugoslav President Tito dies. The funeral ceremony later becomes the world's biggest diplomatic meeting and media event ever, with more than 140 state delegations in Belgrade from all over the world (only the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005 will have more news coverage and a higher number of delegations).
- May 7 - Paul Geidel, convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, is released from prison in Beacon, New York, after 68 years and 245 days (the longest-ever time served by an inmate).
- May 9 - In Florida, a Liberian freighter named the Summit Venture hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, sending 35 people (most of whom were in a bus) to a watery death as a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapses.
- May 11 - Mobster Henry Hill busted on drug possession.
- May 17 - A Miami, Florida court acquits 4 White police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance executive, provoking 3 days of race riots.
- May 18 - Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage.
- May 18-May 27 - Gwangju Massacre: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.
- May 18 - Ian Curtis, joy division lead singer committed suicide in his own house.
- May 20 - 1980 Quebec referendum: Voters in Quebec reject by a vote of 60% a proposal to seek independence from Canada.
- May 21 - The Empire Strikes Back opens in theatres.
- May 24 - The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran.
- May 25 - Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford wins for a third time in car owner Jim Hall's revolutionary ground effect Chaparral car; the victory is Hall's second as an owner.
- May 26 - John Frum supporters in Vanuatu storm government offices on the island of Tanna. Vanuatu government troops land the next day and drive them away.
- May 26 - In South Korea, military government forces and pro-democracy protesters clash; 2,000 protesters die.
- June 1 - In Los Angeles, comedian Richard Pryor is badly burned trying to freebase cocaine.
- June 3 - A series of deadly tornadoes strikes Grand Island, Nebraska, causing over $300m in damage, killing 5 people and injuring over 250.
- June 3 - U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy wins several primaries, including California, on 'Super Tuesday', but not enough to overtake President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Party nomination.
- June 10 - Apartheid: The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela, which says in part: 'UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!'[1]
- June 10 - A Unabomber bomb injures United Airlines president Percy Wood in Lake Forest, Illinois.
- June 19 - Iraqi security forces shoot dead 3 gunmen who attacked the British Embassy in Baghdad. The unknown attackers are killed in the embassy gardens by Iraqi security men, sent at the urgent request of the British ambassador, Alex Stirling.
- June 22 - West Germany beats Belgium 2-1 to win the Euro 80.
- June 23 - Sanjay Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, dies in an air crash.
- June 23-September 6 - 1980 United States heat wave
- June 25 - A Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt against Syrian president Hafez al-Assad fails. Assad retaliates by sending the army against them.
- June 26 - A McDonnell Douglas DC-9 belonging to the Italian Airline Itavia 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.
- June 27 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs a bill requiring 19- and 20-year-old males to register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
- June 29 - Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the president of Iceland.
- July 9 - Pope John Paul II visits Brazil; 7 people are crushed to death in a crowd meeting him.
- July 15 - A severe and destructive thunderstorm strikes 4 counties in western Wisconsin, including the city of Eau Claire. It causes over $250m in damage, and one person is killed.
- July 16 - Former California Governor and actor Ronald Reagan is nominated for U.S. President, at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan. Influenced by the Religious Right, the convention also drops its long standing support for the Equal Rights Amendment, dismaying moderate Republicans.
- July 19 - Former Turkish Prime Minister Nihat Erim is killed by 2 gunmen in Istanbul, Turkey.
- July 19-August 3 - The Summer Olympic Games are held in Moscow, Soviet Union.
- July 25 - Popular Australian hard rock band AC/DC releases ultra popular album Back In Black, featuring hits such as Hell's Bells and You Shook Me All Night Long.
- July 27 - Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, deposed shah of Iran, dies in Cairo.
- July 30 - Vanuatu gains independence.
[edit] August
[edit] September
[edit] October
- October sees the launch of 2 important new cars for the British and European markets. The first is the Austin Metro, (British Leyland's modern entrant into the mini-car sector, designed as an eventual replacement for the 21-year-old Mini. The Ford Escort MK3 brings Ford's medium-sized car up to modern stands thanks to its front-wheel drive chassis and hatchback bodystyle, following the recent worldwide move from traditional rear-wheel drive saloon-only models.
- October 1 - Associated Newspapers announced that the London Evening News would close and merge with the Evening Standard.
- October 10 - Margaret Thatcher tells the Conservative Party conference "U-turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning."
- October 10 - El Asnam in Algeria is destroyed by an earthquake which claimed more than 2,600 lives. After the quake, El Asnam is rebuilt and changes its name to the city of Chlef.
- October 14 - The Staggers Rail Act is enacted, deregulating American railroads.
- October 15 - James Callaghan announces his resignation as Leader of the British Labour Party.
- October 18 - The Fraser Government is re-elected for a third consecutive term in Australia with a reduced majority.
- October 21 - The Philadelphia Phillies win their first World Series beating the Kansas City Royals 4-1 in game six.
- October 22 - The Thomson organisation said that The Times and all associated supplements would close in March 1981 if no buyer could be found.
- October 25 - Proceedings on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction conclude at The Hague.
- October 27 - Six Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners in Maze prison refuse food and demand status as political prisoners; the hunger strike lasts until December.
- October 28 - 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.
- October 30 - El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.
- October 31 - The Polish government recognizes Solidarity.
- October 31 - Reza Pahlavi, eldest son of the shah of Iran, proclaims himself the rightful successor to the Peacock Throne.
[edit] November
[edit] December
[edit] Unknown dates
[edit] World population
| World population
|
|
| 1980
| 1975
| 1985
|
| Image:Globe.png World
| 4,434,682,000
| 4,068,109,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 366,573,000
| 4,830,979,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 396,297,000
|
| Image:Africa satellite orthographic.jpg Africa
| 469,618,000
| 408,160,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 61,458,000
| 541,814,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 72,196,000
|
| Image:Two-point-equidistant-asia.jpg Asia
| 2,632,335,000
| 2,397,512,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 234,823,000
| 2,887,552,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 255,217,000
|
| Image:Europe satellite orthographic.jpg Europe
| 692,431,000
| 675,542,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 16,889,000
| 706,009,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 13,578,000
|
| Image:Latin America terrain.jpg Latin America
| 361,401,000
| 321,906,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 39,495,000
| 401,469,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 40,068,000
|
| Image:LocationWHNorthernAmerica.png Northern America
| 256,068,000
| 243,425,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 12,643,000
| 269,456,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 13,388,000
|
| Image:Oceania.jpg Oceania
| 22,828,000
| 21,564,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 1,264,000
| 24,678,000
| Image:Green Arrow Up.svg 1,850,000
|
[edit] Births
[edit] January-February
- January 1 - Elin Nordegren, Swedish model
- January 1 - Mark Nichols, Canadian curler
- January 2 - Rebekah Teasdale, British model and journalist
- January 7 - Gabriela Bazan, Peruvian activist
- January 8 - Rachel Nichols, American actress
- January 9 - Sergio García, Spanish golfer
- January 10- Janelle Pierzina, American reality star
- January 11 - Mike Williams, American football player
- January 14 - Cory Gibbs, American soccer player
- January 14 - Sosuke Sumitani, Japanese announcer
- January 16 - Albert Pujols, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- January 16 - Michelle Wild, Hungarian actress
- January 17 - Kimberly Spicer, American model
- January 17 - Zooey Deschanel, American actress
- January 18 - Julius Peppers, American football player
- January 18 - Jason Segel, actor
- January 20 - Jenson Button, British racecar driver
- January 21 - Kevin McKenna, Canadian footballer
- January 21 - Nana Mizuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
- January 22 - Christopher Masterson, American actor
- January 24 - Nyncke Beekhuyzen, Dutch actress
- January 24 - Nicole Marie Lenz, March 2000 Playboy Playmate, actress, and model
- January 25 - Christian Olsson, Swedish athlete
- January 25 - Alicia Keys, American musician
- January 25 - Xavi, Spanish soccer player
- January 25 - Michelle McCool-Alexander, American professional wrestler
- January 27 - Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
- January 28 - Nick Carter, American singer, member of Backstreet Boys
- January 30 - Wilmer Valderrama, Venezuelan/Colombian-American comedian
- February 5 - Robin Vik, Czech tennis player
- February 6 - Mamiko Noto, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
- February 10 - César Izturis, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- February 10 - Steve Tully, English footballer
- February 11 - Natasha Bobo, American actress
- February 11 - Matthew Lawrence, American actor
- February 12 - Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
- February 12 - Christina Ricci, American actress
- February 14 - Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress
- February 15 - Conor Oberst, American singer/songwriter
- February 16 - Ashley Lelie, American football player
- February 18 - Regina Spektor, Russian-born American singer-songwriter
- February 20 - Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
- February 20 - Artur Boruc, Polish football (soccer) goalkeeper
- February 21 - Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player
- February 27 - Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former U.S. president Bill Clinton and U.S. senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
- February 28 - Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
- February 28 - Piotr Giza, Polish footballer
- February 29 - Simon Gagne, Canadian hockey player
[edit] March-April
- March 2 - Lance Cade, American professional wrestler
- March 2 - Vince Walker, singer (Suburban Legends)
- March 4 - Omar Bravo, Mexican football player
- March 4 - Jack Hannahan, American baseball infielder
- March 7 - Laura Prepon, American actress
- March 7 - Anthony Ocana, Dominican composer & guitarist
- March 9 - Chingy, American rapper
- March 13 - Molly Stanton, American actress
- March 14 - Aaron Brown, English footballer
- March 16 - Todd Heap, American football player
- March 18 - Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
- March 21 - Ronaldinho, Brazilian football player
- March 21 - Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- March 24 - Alison MacInnis, American actress
- March 30 - Yalin, Turkish pop music singer and songwriter
- March 30 - Paul Wall, American rapper, promoter, DJ and jeweller
- March 31 - Chien-Ming Wang, Taiwanese Major League Baseball player
- April 1 - Randy Orton, American professional wrestler
- April 1 - Yūko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
- April 8 - Ben Freeman, British actor
- April 10 - Kasey Kahne, American Race Car Driver
- April 10 - Bryce Soderberg, Canadian musician lifehouse
- April 12 - Brian McFadden, Irish singer
- April 13 - Jana Cova, Czech pornographic actress
- April 14 - Ben Wells, American actor
- April 17 - Brenda Villa, American water polo player
- April 20 - Jasmin Wagner, German singer
- April 21 - Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
- April 22 - Nicolas Douchez, French footballer
- April 26 - Channing Tatum, American actor and model
- April 26 - Paul London, American professional wrestler
- April 26 - Jordana Brewster, American actress
- April 27 - Marisa Miller, American model
- April 29 - Kian Egan, Westlife
[edit] May-June
- May 3 - Marcel Vigneron, American chef (Top Chef)
- May 6 - Taebin, Korean hip-hop artist (1TYM)
- May 6 - Kate Lawler, English reality TV show star
- May 6 - Kelly van der Veer, Dutch reality TV star
- May 7 - Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
- May 9 - Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
- May 15 - Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox pitcher
- May 15 - Rocky Marquette, American actor
- May 22 - Rhett Fisher, American actor
- May 24 - Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong actress
- May 27 - Niels 't Hooft, Dutch writer and game-journalist
- May 28 - Mark Feehily, Westlife
- May 30 - Steven Gerrard, English footballer
- May 31 - Andy Hurley, American drummer
- June 1 - Oliver James, British actor
- June 2 - Lindsey Yamasaki, Japanese American professional basketball player
- June 10 - Francelino Matuzalem, Brazilian football player
- June 13 - Sarah Connor, German singer
- June 16 - Brad Gushue, Canadian curler
- June 16 - Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- June 17 - Kimeru, Japanese singer
- June 17 - Venus Williams, American tennis player
- June 19 - Jason White, American football player
- June 22 - Ilya Bryzgalov, Russian ice hockey player
- June 22 - Jade Marcela, American actress
- June 23 - Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indian cricketer
- June 25 - Nozomi Takeuchi, Japanese actress
- June 26 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor
- June 26 - Michael Vick, American football player
- June 29 - Katherine Jenkins, Welsh soprano
- June 29 - Martin Truex Jr, American race car driver