This Year in History:
1980
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
In a very strong reaction to the December 1979 Soviet military intervention into Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter requests that the Senate postpone action on the SALT‑II nuclear weapons treaty and…
On January 2, 1980, in a strong reaction to the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter asks the Senate to postpone action on the SALT II nuclear…
“Former Model Named Head of Fox Productions” ran the headline in the January 2, 1980, issue of the New York Times, over an article announcing that Sherry Lansing had been…
Hip hop’s roots as a musical phenomenon are subject to debate, but its roots as a commercial phenomenon are much clearer. They trace back directly to January 5, 1980, when…
After being released from government control, gold reaches a new record price on January 14, 1980, exceeding $800 an ounce. Gold is scattered sparsely throughout the earth’s crust and since…
On January 20, 1980, bleachers at a bullring in Sincelejo, Colombia, collapse, resulting in the deaths of 222 people. The collapse at Sincelejo, the deadliest tragedy at a sporting event…
On January 20, 1980, in a letter to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and a television interview, U.S. President Jimmy Carter proposes that the 1980 Summer Olympics be moved…
In Moscow, Andrei Dmitriyevich Sakharov, the Soviet physicist who helped build the USSR’s first hydrogen bomb, is arrested after criticizing the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. He was subsequently stripped…
Paul McCartney’s arrival at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on January 16, 1980, marked his first visit to Japan since the Beatles tour of 1966. The occasion was a planned 11‑city…
At the request of President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. Olympic Committee votes to ask the International Olympic Committee to cancel or move the upcoming Moscow Olympics. The action was in…
On February 2, 1980, details of ABSCAM, an FBI operation to uncover political corruption in the government, are released to the public. Thirty‑one public officials were targeted for investigation, including…
Playwright Lillian Hellman filed a lawsuit claiming $2.2 million in damages against novelist Mary McCarthy for libel on February 15, 1980. McCarthy, a sarcastic and critical novelist whose most popular…
In one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history, on February 22, 1980, the underdog U.S. hockey team, made up of college players, defeats the four‑time defending gold‑medal winning…
On February 23, 1980, speed skater Eric Heiden wins the 10,000‑meter race at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, setting a world record with his time and winning…
After watching it utterly dominate the musical landscape of the late 1970s, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave disco their stamp of approval, deciding to give a…
When the Beechcraft Bonanza carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed outside Clear Lake, Iowa, in the early morning hours of February 3, 1959, it struck the…
On March 21, 1980, J.R. Ewing, the character millions love to hate on television’s popular prime‑time drama Dallas, is shot by an unknown assailant. The shooting made the season‑ending episode…
On March 21, 1980, President Jimmy Carter announces that the U.S. will boycott the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Moscow that summer. The announcement came after the Soviet…
A floating apartment for oil workers in the North Sea collapses, killing 123 people, on March 30, 1980. The Alexander Kielland platform housed 208 men who worked on the nearby…
On April 20, 1980, the Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana,…
