Historical Events in 1980

Events 1 - 200 of 759

• Jan 1 Chrysler UK renamed Talbot
• Jan 1 International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins
• Jan 1 Mob storms Russian embassy in Tehran
• Jan 1 Premier Adbou Diouf becomes president of Senegal
• Jan 1 Sweden changes order of succession to throne
• Jan 1 Victoria is crowned princess of Sweden.
• Jan 1 66th Rose Bowl: #3 Southern California beats #1 Ohio State, 17-16
• Jan 1 46th Sugar Bowl: #2 Alabama beats #6 Arkansas, 24-9
• Jan 1 46th Orange Bowl: #5 Oklahoma beats #4 Florida State, 24-7
• Jan 2 British Steel workers go on a national strike

• Jan 2 68th Women's Australian Open: Barbara Jordan beats Sharon Walsh (6-3, 6-3)
• Jan 3 Gold hits record $634 an ounce
• Jan 3 Babrak Karmal defends the Soviet-backed coup in first public appearance since taking power as President of Afghanistan
• Jan 6 "1940's Radio Hour" closes at St James Theater NYC after 105 performances

• Jan 6 Phil Flyers set NHL record of 35 straight games without a defeat
• Jan 6 The beginning of the first GPS epoch.
• Jan 6 AFC Championship Game: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Houston Oilers 27-13
• Jan 6 NFC Championship Game: Los Angeles Rams beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0
• Jan 7 Minn ends Philadelphia Flyers' NHL record 35 game unbeaten streak ends

• Jan 8 Islander Glenn Resch's 20th shut-out opponent-Canucks 3-0
• Jan 8 NCAA decides to sponsor women's championships in 5 sports
• Jan 9 63 beheaded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
• Jan 10 Last broadcast of "The Rockford Files" on NBC
• Jan 10 Jim Stewart, Bruin's rookie goalie allows 3 goals in his 1st 4 mins & a total of 5 in 1st period; he never again plays in NHL
• Jan 11 Debut of first Pretenders album "Pretenders"
• Jan 12 Mike Bratz (Phoenix) begins NBA free throw streak of 57 games
• Jan 12 Björn Borg of Sweden wins his first of 2 season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles outclassing American Vitas Gerulaitis 6–2, 6–2 at Madison Square Garden, NYC
• Jan 13 "King of Schnorrers" closes at Playhouse Theater NYC after 63 performances
• Jan 13 Head of narcotic brigade arrested for drug smuggling in Belgium
• Jan 13 Togo's constitution becomes effective
• Jan 14 Shakuntala Devi, mentally multiplies 2 13-digit #s in 28 sec
• Jan 15 Pam Gems' "Piaf!" premieres in London

• Jan 17 NASA launches Fltsatcom-3
• Jan 17 A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb prematurely detonates on a passenger train near Belfast, killing three and injuring five (including the bombers)
• Jan 18 Gold reaches $1,000 an ounce

• Jan 18 Studio 54 owners Steve Rubell & Ian Schrager sentenced to 3½ years in prison for tax evasion & fined $20,000


• Jan 20 President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow
• Jan 20 US female Figure Skating championship won by Linda Fratianne
• Jan 20 US male Figure Skating championship won by Charles Tickner
• Jan 20 Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers beat LA Rams, 31-19 in Pasadena, MVP: Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, QB
• Jan 21 Gold hits record $850 an ounce
• Jan 21 Les Henson, Virginia Tech, makes 89' 3" basketball field goal

• Jan 22 PGA begins a senior golf tour
• Jan 22 West Indies beat England 2-0 to win cricket's 1st World Series Cup
• Jan 25 Bani Sadr elected president of Iran
• Jan 25 Dutch government demands boycott of Olympics
• Jan 25 Highest speed attained by a warship, 167 kph, USN hovercraft
• Jan 25 Paul McCartney is released from Tokyo jail & deported

• Jan 26 Islanders & Whalers play a NHL penalty-free game
• Jan 26 Israel & Egypt establish diplomatic relations
• Jan 26 Mary Decker became 1st woman to run a mile in under 4½ minutes
• Jan 27 "Comin' Uptown" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 45 performances
• Jan 27 NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 37-27

• Jan 28 USCGC Blackthorn (WLB-391) collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa Florida and capsizes killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
• Jan 29 6 Iranian-held US hostages escape with help of Canadians
• Jan 29 Cleveland Cavaliers beat LA Lakers 154-153 in quadruple OT

• Jan 31 Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41
• Feb 1 Sears Radio Theater moves from CBS to Mutual Broadcasting System
• Feb 1 Soap opera "Love of Life" ends a 28 year run
• Feb 1 "Call Me" single released by Blondie (Billboard Song of the Year 1980)
• Feb 2 FBI releases details of Abscam, a sting operation that targeted 31 elected & public officials for bribes for political favors

• Feb 3 Mohammed Ali tours Africa as President Carter's envoy
• Feb 3 30th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 144-136 (OT) at Landover, Maryland
• Feb 4 Bani Sadr sworn in as premier of Iran
• Feb 4 Studio 54 holds its grand closing party on its last night in business
• Feb 5 32nd NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 6-3 at Detroit
• Feb 5 Egyptian parliament votes to end boycott of Israel

• Feb 10 Ianford Wilsons "Talley's Folly" premieres in NYC
• Feb 12 "Canterbury Tales" opens at Rialto Theater NYC for 16 performances
• Feb 12 NY Islanders 2nd scoreless tie, vs Winnipeg Jets

• Feb 13 Apollo Computer Inc incorporated
• Feb 13 NZ beats West Indies by one wicket in cricket at Dunedin
• Feb 14 "West Side Story" opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 341 performances
• Feb 14 13th Winter Olympic games open in Lake Placid, New York
• Feb 14 US launches Solar Maximum Mission Observatory to study solar flares
• Feb 15 Eric Heiden skates Olympic record 500m in 38.03 sec
• Feb 15 Wayne Gretzy assists on NHL-record-tieing 7 goals
• Feb 16 Continuous traffic jam extends 176 km north of Lyons, France
• Feb 16 Eric Heiden skates 5k in 7:02.29 (Olympic Record)
• Feb 17 Dot Germain wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
• Feb 17 22nd Daytona 500: Buddy Baker wins (177.602 MPH)
• Feb 18 Billy Wyman said he will leave Rolling Stones in 1983 (Sure!)
• Feb 18 Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Liberal Party wins Canadian elections
• Feb 18 30th Berlin International Film Festival: "Heartland" and "Palermo or Wolfsburg" win the Golden Bear (tie)
• Feb 19 Botham a century & 13 wickets in Jubilee Test Cricket at Bombay
• Feb 19 Eric Heiden skates Olympic record 1000m in 1:15.18
• Feb 21 Eric Heiden skates Olympic record 1500m in 1:55.44
• Feb 21 Hanni Wenzel is 1st Liechtensteiner to win Olympic gold, for the giant slalom
• Feb 22 Afghanistan declares martial law

• Feb 23 Eric Heiden wins all 5 speed skating golds at Lake Placid Olympics
• Feb 23 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
• Feb 23 Oil tanker explosion off Pilos, Greece, causes 37-mil-gallon spillage
• Feb 24 "Canterbury Tales" closes at Rialto Theater NYC after 16 performances
• Feb 24 Rangers score 5 power-play goals against Islanders
• Feb 24 USA Olympic hockey team defeated Finland, 4-2, to win the gold medal
• Feb 25 Coup ousts PM Henck Arron of Suriname


• Feb 26 Egypt & Israel exchange ambassadors for 1st time
• Feb 26 Military coup under Desi Bouterse in Suriname
• Feb 26 Richard Hadlee scores Test Cricket century v Roberts, Garner, Holding, Croft

• Feb 27 Israel & Egypt exchange ambassadors
• Feb 27 Terrorists occupies Dominican embassy in Bogota
• Feb 28 "The Well-Tuned Piano" by La Monte Young premieres (takes 4 h 12 m)
• Feb 28 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

• Feb 29 Michael Bracey ends 59 h 55 m trapped in an elevator, England
• Mar 1 Commonwealth Trade Union Council established
• Mar 1 Hilbert van der Duim becomes world champion all-round skater
• Mar 1 Patti Smith & MC5 guitarist Fred Sonic Smith wed in Detroit
• Mar 1 Snow falls in Florida
• Mar 1 The US enacts the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act as part of a compromise between the Carter Administration and the Congress over the decontrol of crude oil prices
• Mar 1 27th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke beats Maryland, 73-72
• Mar 1 21st SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: LSU beats Kentucky, 80-78
• Mar 2 3rd Islander scoreless tie-Penguins in Pitts
• Mar 2 Mike Bratz (Phoenix) ends NBA free throw streak of 57 games
• Mar 3 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
• Mar 3 1st nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus is decommissioned

• Mar 4 Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) comes to power, winning the parliamentary election in Zimbabwe, making Mugabe Zimbabwe's first black prime minister
• Mar 5 Earth satellites record gamma rays from remnants of supernova N-49
• Mar 6 Emmy 7th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 1st time
• Mar 6 Princess Theater (Latin Quarter, Cotton Club) opens at 200 W 48th NYC
• Mar 6 French Academy, founded in 1635, elects it 1st woman novelist (Marguerita Youcenar)
• Mar 8 Greg Chappell 235 & Yallop 172, for 217 stand at Faisalabad
• Mar 8 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• Mar 8 The first festival of rock music kicks off in the Soviet Union

• Mar 9 Flemish and Walloon battle in Belgium, 40 injured
• Mar 10 Willard Scott becomes the weather forcaster on the Today Show
• Mar 11 Rod Marsh bowls 10 overs for 51 runs in dull Aust v Pak cricket draw
• Mar 12 Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago
• Mar 12 NY Islanders 3rd scoreless tie, vs Pittsburgh Penguin
• Mar 13 Eric Heiden skates world record 1000m (1:13.60)
• Mar 13 Ford Motor Co found innocent in death of 3 women in a fiery Pinto
• Mar 13 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Dortmund won by Jan Hoffmann GDR


• Mar 13 American John Wayne Gacy receives the death sentence in Illinois for the murder of 12 people
• Mar 14 Ice Dance Championship at Dortmund West Germany won by Regoczy & Sallay
• Mar 14 Ice Pairs Championship at Dortmund won by Cherkasova & Shakhrai (USSR)
• Mar 14 Polish airliner crash kills all 87 aboard (22 are US amateur boxers)
• Mar 14 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champ in Dortmund won by Anett Potzsch
• Mar 18 Vostok rocket explodes on the launch pad while being refueled, killing 50
• Mar 20 The Mi Amigo ship containing England's pirate radio Caroline sinks
• Mar 20 US appeals to International Court on hostages in Iran
• Mar 21 On TV show "Dallas", J.R. is shot
• Mar 23 Allan Border becomes the first and only batsman to reach 150 in each innings of a test Australia v Pakistan Third Test in Lahore
• Mar 23 France performs nuclear test
• Mar 23 Shah of Iran arrives in Egypt
• Mar 23 AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament, Old Dominion beat Tennessee 68-53 at Mount Pleasant
• Mar 23 18 year old American tennis star Tracey Austin wins her only WTA Tour Championship; upsets Martina Navratilova in the final 6–2, 2–6, 6–2 in NYC
• Mar 24 42nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats UCLA 59-54

• Mar 24 Capitol Records releases some rare Beatles tracks
• Mar 26 Bombay gets its 1st rock concert in 10 years (The Police)
• Mar 27 "Happy New Year" opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 17 performances
• Mar 27 "Reggae" opens at Biltmore Theater NYC for 21 performances
• Mar 27 Elevator in Vaal Reefs gold mine, South Africa plunges more than 1900m killing all 23 miners aboard

• Mar 27 Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212
• Mar 29 134th Grand National: Charlie Fenwick aboard Ben Nevis wins
• Mar 30 Mark Medoff's "Children of a Lesser God" premieres in NYC
• Mar 31 Larry Holmes TKOs Leroy Jones in 8 for WBC heavyweight boxing title

• Mar 31 President Jimmy Carter deregulates banking industry
• Mar 31 The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets due to bankruptcy and debt owed to creditors.
• Apr 1 Baseball Players' Association votes to cancel 92 remaining exhibition games
• Apr 1 Failed assassination attempt on Iraqi vice-premier Tariq Aziz
• Apr 1 France performs nuclear test

• Apr 1 New York City's Transit Worker Union 100 begins a strike lasting 11 days.
• Apr 2 Wayne Gretzky becomes 1st teenager to score 50 goals in a season
• Apr 3 France performs nuclear test
• Apr 3 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• Apr 4 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• Apr 6 Gordie Howe completes a record 26th season
• Apr 6 Post It Notes introduced
• Apr 7 Jimmy Carter breaks relations with Iran during hostage crisis
• Apr 8 Islander Potvin's 2 shorthanded goals tie NHL record vs Kings & set NHL rec of 2 shorthanded playoff goals in 1 period
• Apr 9 Belgium's Marten's government resigns
• Apr 9 Los Angeles Kings tie NHL record with two shorthanded playoff goals (vs NY Islanders)
• Apr 9 Soyuz 35 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6
• Apr 11 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulates sexual harassment
• Apr 11 Paul McCartney releases "Coming Up"
• Apr 12 BCMA, Black Consciousness Movement of Azania, forms
• Apr 12 Milwaukee beats Boston Red Sox, 18-1 (Cooper & Money hit grand slams)

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