1980's

Pac-Man Video Game Released

May 22, 1980

Released in Japan and in the U.S. quickly became a popular arcade game.

Ted Turner est. CNN

Jun 1, 1980

First channel to provide 24-hour news coverage.

Assasination of John Lennon

Dec 8, 1980

Founder of the Beatles; John Lennon was assasinated by Mark David Chapman

Assassination attemp on Ronald Reagan

Mar 30, 1981

While leaving a speaking engagement in Washington D.C. the U.S. president Ronald Reagan was shot along with three others and wounded by John Hinckley Jr.

Assasination attempt on the Pope

May 13, 1981

Pope John Paul II was shot and critically wounded when entering into the square.

AIDS

Jul 3, 1981

New plague identified as AIDS transmitted by unprotected sex and needle exchange.

Sandra Day O' Connor

Jul 7, 1981

First woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Falkland Islands invaded by Argentina

Apr 1, 1982

Marked the beginning of Falklands War.

E.T. Movie Released

Jun 11, 1982

Science-Fiction filmed produced and directed by Steven Spielberg

Vietnam War Memorial opens

Nov 13, 1982

A national memorial in Washington D.C. that honors U.S. service members who fought in the Vietnam War.

Star Wars

Mar 23, 1983

President Reagan announces defense plan called Star Wars that was supposed to protect the U.S. from attack by nuclear missiles.

Sally Ride

Jun 18, 1983

Joined NASA in 1978 and at the age of 32 became the first woman in space.

Soviets shoot down Korean airline

Sep 1, 1983

The aircraft was en route when it flew through prohibited Soviet airspace. The Soviet Union claimed that the aircraft was on a spy mission.

Michael Jackson releases Thriller

Dec 2, 1983

Was Mtv's first world premiere video. Sold over 9 million copies and voted as most influential pop music of all time.

PG-13 movie rating created

Jul 1, 1984

Too many complaints made by parents over explicit violence in PG ratings led Steven Spielberg to suggest a new rating for movies with too much more adult content for PG but not enough for R.

Bhopal DIsaster

Dec 2, 1984

Huge gas poison gas leak in Bhopal, India was considered the world's worst industrial incident. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals.

Famine in Ethiopa

Jun 26, 1985

The worst famine to hit the country in a century, led up to 400,000 deaths and more today.

Titanic found

Sep 1, 1985

Until 1 September 1985, the location of the wreck was unknown. Many failed due to bad weather, technological difficulties and poor search strategy

U.S. bombs Libya

Apr 15, 1986

The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps in response to the Berlin discotheque bombing.

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

Apr 26, 1986

At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine an explosion and fire occurred that released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere causing many of the cities near completely abondoned.

DNA first used to convict criminals

May 26, 1987

Technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles.

Black Monday

Oct 19, 1987

Stock markets around the world crashed, shedding a huge value in a very short time.

Broccoli!

Mar 23, 1989

U.S. President Bush announces that he does not like broccoli and never wants to see one on his plate EVER.

Gallons of oil spills

Mar 24, 1989

Occurred in Alaska, about 11 million gallons of crude oil were spilled and this was considered to be one of the most devestating human caused environment disasters.

Berlin Wall Falls

Nov 9, 1989

The wall tumbled down and Germany was completely united. As a result, a massive emigration from East to West began.