What Happened in the 1980’s ?
Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian President, is
The Eighties see the collapse of traditional
communism and the ending of the Cold
War, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Apple begin
to have an impact on all our lives as small
Computers becomes cheaper and more
wide spread including home and Business,
Famine in Ethiopia causes major music
stars to band together to raise money and
awareness, and the early beginnings of
mobile phones as technology gets cheaper
and smaller.1980
1980
Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington
state.
John Lennon is shot and dies.
The popular video arcade game "Pac-Man"
is released.
Ronald Reagan is elected as the President
of the United States.
The United States boycotts the 1980
Olympics in Moscow.
1981
Lady Diana Spencer and Charles the Prince
of Wales are married.
The cable network MTV (Music Television)
is launched.
The AIDS virus is identified in the United
States by scientists.
assassinated.
Sandra Day O'Connor is nominated as the
first female Supreme Court Justice by
President Reagan.
1982
"The Computer" is named Time Magazine's
Man of the Year.
Disney World opens the EPCOT (
Experimental Community of Tomorrow )
park.
The FIFA World Cup is held in Spain and
Italy wins the title.
Japan begins selling the first CD players.
Late Rock n' Roll star Elvis Presley's home
"Graceland" is opened to the public as an
attraction.
Argentina invaded and occupied the
Falkland islands but is subsequently
defeated by the United Kingdom.
1983
Sally Ride becomes the first American
woman in space.
Motorola introduces the first mobile phones
to the United States in 1983.
Microsoft releases "Word" their word
processing program.
The Swiss company "Swatch" introduces
their watches and they become a fashion
craze.
The I.R.A. bombs the popular London
department store Harrods.
1984
India's Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, is
assassinated.
Band Aid records "Do They Know It's
Christmas?" a charity single to raise money
for famine relief in Ethiopia.
The Soviet Union boycotts the 1984 Los
Angeles Olympic Summer Games.
China and the United Kingdom agree that
the U.K. will transfer power over Hong Kong
back to China in the future.
MTV begins the "Video Music Awards" or
VMAs.
1985
The iconic Route 66 is removed from the
highway system in the United States.
In what many consider one of the worst
marketing moves, Coca-Cola introduced
"New Coke" and were forced to return to the
old formula only months later due to
backlash.
The first version of Microsoft Windows is
released.
Legendary basketball player Michael Jordan
is named as the NBA's "Rookie of the Year."
The wreck of the Titanic was discovered.
1986
The Chernobyl nuclear reactor explodes in
the USSR.
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
takes place when the space shuttle
disintegrates after being launched, killing all
on board.
Spain and Portugal are added to the EEC.
Mad Cow Disease (BSE - Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy) is identified in
Britain for the first time.
The first triple organ transplant is performed.
1987
Disposable contact lenses are first sold.
"The Simpsons" make their debut on the
Tracy Ullman Show.
Margaret Thatcher is elected as the British
Prime Minister for the third time.
The Fox television network begins
operations.
Construction begins on the Channel Tunnel.
1988
The Soviet Union withdraws their troops
from Afghanistan.
George H.W. Bush is elected as the U.S.
President after defeating Michael Dukakis.
Two years after the Challenger Disaster,
NASA's Space Shuttle program resumes.
The site of the original Globe Theater is
discovered by archaeologists in London.
The Iran-Iraq war ends.
1989
The Berlin Wall is torn down at the end of
the Cold War.
Pro-Democracy protests take place at
Tiananmen Square in China.
The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spills 240,000
barrels of oil in the Prince William Sound in
Alaska.
The Nintendo Game Boy portable video
game system is released.
NASA launches the Galileo spacecraft.