1980s

Contents

1 Events and trends

1.1 Computers, technology
1.2 Science
1.3 War, peace and politics
1.4 Economics
1.5 Popular culture
1.6 Others

2 World Leaders

Events and trends

Computers, technology

Bulletin board system popularity
Popularization of personal computers, Walkmans, VHS videocassette recorders, and compact disc or CD players
Home video games become enormously popular, most notably Atari until the market crashes in 1983; the rise of Nintendo brings about full recovery
Space Shuttle Challenger explodes
Accident at Chernobyl nuclear reactor, April 1986
Framework launched

Science

Discovery of the W and Z bosons at CERN
Development of the scanning tunneling microscope by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer

War, peace and politics

Cold War peaks; fall of the Iron Curtain
- Jimmy Carter announces a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow; Eastern Bloc countries boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
- Solidarity movement in Poland launched in 1981. It eventually topples the country's Communist regime
- Ronald Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative, derided as "Star Wars." Deploys Pershing missiles in Western Europe to counter the Soviety SS-20, to widespread protests
- Soviet fighters down Korean Air Flight 7 in 1983
- Gorbachev introduces Glasnost and Perestroika in the Soviet Union
- Fall of the Berlin Wall in East Germany, preparing the way to German reunification
- Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia
- Revolution in Romania, execution of Ceausescu
Margaret Thatcher and Thatcherism dominate British politics. The so-called Reagan Revolution introduces neoconservatives to Washington
Falklands War; Argentine invades the Falkland islands in 1982 but defeated by Great Britain
Israel invades Lebanon in 1982. A suicide bomber kills 241 U.S. marines stationed there as peacekeepers.
Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988 kills one million people
Over 120,000 flee Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel Airlift
P.W. Botha suppresses anti-apartheid activists; international boycotts of South Africa continue
King Juan Carlos of Spain prevents a military coup in 1980. Spain joined NATO in 1982; it joined the European Union with Portugal in 1986.
In 1989 students protest on Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China and are ruthlessly suppressed
"People Power" in the Philippines topples the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship; military rule ends after protests in Argentina and South Korea
The Soviet Union ends its disastrous military campaign in Afghanistan
Former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is exposed as a former Nazi
Vietnam continues its military occupation of Cambodia
In Europe, rise of right wing parties (Le Pen in France, Schönhuber/Republikaner in Germany, Haider in Austria), parallel to a rise of Green parties.
Political correctness
U.S. invades Grenada
The Reagan doctrine supports anti-communist insurgencies in El Salvador and elsewhere, but leads to the Iran-Contra scandal

Economics

Reaganomics
Longest bull market in history begins in 1983; Dow Jones Industrial Average passes 2000 point milestone January 8, 1987
Largest one-day stock market drop, on October 19, 1987
OPEC controls slip; petroleum prices collapse below $10 per barrel by mid-1986, devastating oil-producing nations such as Mexico
U.S. Midwest Farm Crisis 1981–1985
East Asian Tigers' share of world trade rises significantly
U.S. balance of trade falls into chronic deficit; populists criticize trade relations with Japan
Late 1980s recession

Popular culture

The "Me Generation" manifests itself in conspicuous consumption among American yuppies, but fashions and dialogue trend conservative
Television networks are challenged by cable television. In the U.S., Cheers and The Cosby Show top ratings and the Fox network is launched. CNN becomes the first 24-hour news channel.
The video game console outstrips the arcade game
Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial opens in 1982 and shatters records for box office gross receipts
Music videos (and MTV) begin to have an effect on record industry in the United States. Pop artists Michael Jackson and Madonna are pioneers; groups such as Duran Duran benefit. USA for Africa single "We Are the World" benefits famine relief in Ethiopia. Other artists push for nuclear disarmament. Hair metal enjoys popularity
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Schönberg and Boublil's Les Misérables dominate musical theatre
He-Man, the first animated children's television program built exclusively around a toyline, starts a new trend of increasing the connection between children's programming and toy advertising, alarming many parents and watchdog organizations; an explosive number of toy tie-in cartoons follow
hip hop began to achieve mainstream success in the United States, with artists like Kurtis Blow and N.W.A.; hip hop's spread outside of New York City, especially to Los Angeles, accelerates
"Gorbymania"
The Rubik's cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, "Baby on Board" signs, and Trivial Pursuit fads capture the interest of the American public
Soap operas gain popularity among high-schoolers and college students in the United States, thanks in part to the supercoupling of Luke and Laura on the most popular soap of the day, General Hospital.

Others

Assassination of John Lennon and Olof Palme, attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.
President Tito of Yugoslavia dies.
Release of Americans held hostage in Iran
Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini isssues a fatwa urging the killing of Salman Rushdie
Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland
The AIDS epidemic is identified and named
Violent crime and drug trafficking soar to record levels in most large American cities

World Leaders

Chancellor Bruno Kreisky (Austria)
Chancellor Fred Sinowatz (Austria)
Chancellor Franz Vranitzky (Austria)
Prime Minister Bob Hawke (Australia)
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (Canada)
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (Canada)
General Augusto Pinochet (Chile)
Deng Xiaoping (People's Republic of China)
President Chiang Ching-kuo (Republic of China on Taiwan)
Erich Honecker (East Germany)
President Anwar Sadat (Egypt)
President Hosni Mubarak (Egypt)
President Daniel Ortega (El Salvador)
President Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia)
President Urho Kekkonen (Finland)
President Mauno Koivisto (Finland)
President François Mitterrand (France)
Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou (Greece)
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (India)
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (India)
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Iran)
President Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
President Patrick Hillery (Ireland)
Taoiseach Charles Haughey (Ireland)
Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald (Ireland)
Prime Minister Menachem Begin (Israel)
Prime Minister Shimon Peres (Israel)
Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone (Japan)
Emir Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (Kuwait)
President Muammar al-Qaddafi (Libya)
Pope John Paul II
President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (Mexico)
President Samora Machel (Mozambique)
Prime Minister David Lange (New Zealand)
Queen Juliana (Netherlands)
General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq (Pakistan)
President Ferdinand Marcos (the Philippines)
President Wojciech Jaruzelski (Poland)
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore)
President and Prime Minister P.W. Botha (South Africa)
President Chun Doo-hwan (South Korea)
Premier Leonid Brezhnev (Soviet Union)
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union)
King Juan Carlos (Spain)
Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka
Prime Minister Olof Palme (Sweden)
Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom)
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (United Kingdom)
President George H.W. Bush (United States)
President Jimmy Carter (United States)
President Ronald Reagan (United States)
Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (West Germany)
Chancellor Helmut Kohl (West Germany)
President Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia)
President Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire)
President Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe)

Entertainers

Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Glory)
Phoebe Cates (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Gremlins)
Tom Cruise (Top Gun, Rain Man, Risky Business, The Color of Money)
Emilio Estevez (The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, Young Guns)
Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series, Blade Runner, Witness)
Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future series)
Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon series, Mad Max series)
Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)
Michael Keaton (Batman, Mr. Mom, Night Shift)
George Lucas (Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Captain Eo)
Eddie Murphy (Saturday Night Live, Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places)
Jack Nicholson (Terms of Endearment, The Shining, Batman, Prizzi's Honor, Ironweed, Reds)
Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Predator, Conan the Barbarian)

Film

Television

See Also: 1980s in television

Sports figures

Alexis Arguello (Nicaraguan boxer)
Wilfred Benitez (Puerto Rican boxer)
Larry Bird (U.S. basketball player)
George Brett (U.S. baseball player)
Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexican boxer)
Roberto Duran (Panamanian boxer)
Ric Flair (U.S. wrestler)
Wilfredo Gómez (Puerto Rican boxer)
Wayne Gretzky (Canadian ice hockey player)
Florence Griffith Joyner (U.S. track and field athlete)
Marvin Hagler (U.S. boxer)
Ellery Hanley (English Rugby League player)
Thomas Hearns (U.S. boxer)
Hulk Hogan (U.S. wrestler)
Larry Holmes (U.S. boxer)
Bo Jackson (U.S. American football and baseball player)
Jahangir Khan (Pakistani squash player)
Earvin "Magic" Johnson (U.S. basketball player)
Michael Jordan (U.S. basketball player)
Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czech track and field athlete)
Greg LeMond (U.S. cyclist)
Sugar Ray Leonard (U.S. boxer)
Carl Lewis (U.S. track and field athlete)
Wally Lewis (Australian Rugby League player}
Ronnie Lott (U.S. American football player)
Diego Maradona (Argentinian soccer player)
John McEnroe (U.S. tennis player)
Mal Meninga (Australian Rugby League player}
Mark Messier (Canadian ice hockey player)
1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team ("Miracle On Ice")
Joe Montana (U.S. American football player)
Martina Navratilova (Czech/U.S. tennis player)
Jack Nicklaus (U.S. golfer)
Michel Platini (French soccer player)
Alain Prost (French racing driver)
Nolan Ryan (U.S. baseball player)
Ozzie Smith (U.S. baseball player)
Michael Spinks (U.S. boxer)
Lawrence Taylor (U.S. American football player)
Isiah Thomas (U.S. basketball player)
Daley Thompson (English track and field athlete)
Mike Tyson (U.S. boxer)

Music

Compact Disc introduced, gradually replaces vinyl records.
see hip hop, old school rap, heavy metal music, twee pop, hair metal, New Wave music, New Romantic, shoegazing, jangle pop, alternative rock, dream pop, techno, house, acid house, two-tone
Aerosmith (Pump)
Afrika Bambaataa (Planet Rock)
Alabama (awarded ACM "Artists of the Decade")
Anthrax (State of Euphoria)
a-ha (Hunting High and Low)
Public Enemy (It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back)
The B-52's (The B-52's)
Bad Religion (Suffer)
The Bangles (All Over the Place)
Beastie Boys (License to Ill)
Adrian Belew (Mr. Music Head)
Clint Black (Killin' Time)
Black Flag
David Byrne (The Catherine Wheel)
Kurtis Blow (Kurtis Blow)
The Cars (Heartbeat City)
Celtic Frost (Into the Pandemonium)
Tracy Chapman (Tracy Chapman)
The Clash (London Calling)
Cocteau Twins (Head over Heels)
Phil Collins (Face Value)
De La Soul (Three Feet High and Rising)
Def Leppard (Pyromania)
Devo (Freedom of Choice)
Dokken (Tooth and Nail)
Duran Duran (Rio)
Embrace (Embrace)
Brian Eno & David Byrne (My Life in the Bush of Ghosts)
Eric B. & Rakim (Follow the Leader)
Faith No More (The Real Thing)
The Feelies (Crazy Rhythms)
Fields of the Nephilim (Dawnrazor)
A Flock of Seagulls (A Flock of Seagulls)
John Fogerty (Centerfield)
Peter Gabriel (Gabriel III (melting face cover))
The Go-Go's (The Beauty and the Beat)
Amy Grant (Straight Ahead)
Guns n' Roses (Appetite for Destruction)
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (The Message)
Hüsker Dü (Zen Arcade)
John Cougar Mellencamp (Scarecrow)
Menudo (Reaching Out)
Mercyful Fate (Don't Break the Oath)
Michael Jackson (Thriller)
Mission UK (The First Chapter)
The Jam (Sound Affects)
Jane's Addiction (Nothing's Shocking)
Jesus & Mary Chain (Pyschocandy)
Joy Division (Closer)
Kraftwerk (Computer World)
Cyndi Lauper (She's So Unusual)
k.d. lang (Shadowland)
LL Cool J (Radio)
Madonna (Like a Virgin)
Bob Marley (Uprising)
Ministry (The Land of Rape and Honey)
Sugar Minnott (Good Thing Going)
Mötley Crüe (Shout at the Devil)
My Bloody Valentine (Isn't Anything)
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (I See Good Spirits & I See Bad Spirits)
Nico Demonte (Alive)
Nine Inch Nails (Pretty Hate Machine)
N.W.A. (Straight Outta Compton)
The Offspring (The Offspring)
Quiet Riot (Metal Health)
Augustus Pablo (Earth's Rightful Ruler)
Pennywise (Pennywise)
Pixies (Doolittle)
Poison (Open Up & Say...Ahh!)
The Police (Synchronicity)
The Pogues (Rum Sodomy & the Lash)
The Pretenders (The Pretenders)
Prince (Purple Rain)
R.E.M. (Murmur)
Rainbow (Down to Earth)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Freaky Styley)
The Replacements (Tim)
Rick Springfield (Working Class Dog)
Rockin' Sidney (My Zydeco Shoes Got the Zydeco Blues)
Run DMC (Kings of Rock)
Screaming Trees (Buzz Factory)
Sepultura (Beneath the Remains)
Sick of it All (Blood, Sweat and No Tears)
Simple Minds (Once Upon a Time)
The Sisters of Mercy (Floodland)
Skinny Puppy (VIVISect VI)
Slick Rick (The Great Adventures of Slick Rick)
The Smithereens (11)
The Smiths (The Queen Is Dead)
Soft Cell (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing)
Sonic Youth (Daydream Nation)
Soul Asylum (Hang Time)
Sting (The Dream of the Blue Turtles)
The Specials (More Specials)
Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.)
Stryper (The Yellow and Black Attack)
Talking Heads (Speaking in Tongues)
Tina Turner (Private Dancer)
Randy Travis (Storms of Life)
Peter Tosh (Mama Africa)
U2 (The Joshua Tree)
Van Halen (Women and Children First)
Violent Femmes (Violent Femmes)
W.A.S.P. (F**k Like a Beast)
Wham! (Make It Big)
Whitesnake (Saints and Sinners)
Yellowman (Mister Yellowman)
Yo La Tengo (New Wave Hot Dogs)
Dwight Yoakam (Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.)
ZZ Top (Afterburner)

Various artists - C-86

External links

80's Hate Site

bg:1980-те ca:Dècada de 1980 cy:1980au da:1980'erne de:1980er et:1980. aastad el:Δεκαετία 1980 es:Años 1980 eo:1980-oj fr:Années 1980 it:Anni 1980 nl:1980-90 ja:1980年代 no:1980-årene pl:Lata 80-te XX wieku pt:Década de 1980 ro:Anii 1980 simple:1980s sl:1980. fi:1980-luku sv:1980-talet zh:1980年代