The 1980s
The 1980s are a historical period in modern times, covering the years from 1980 to 1989. Part of the 20th century, they follow the 1970s and precede the 1990s.
Timeline[]
1980[]
May 18: Joy Division's Ian Curtis hangs himself--Manchester, England.
Jake Blues released from prison--Joliet, Illinois.
November 4: Ronald Reagan elected President of the United States.
December 8: John Lennon assassinated--New York City.
December 24: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; U.S. recruits Mujahedeen to fight.
1981[]
June 5: AIDS first identified--Los Angeles.
January 20: Ronald Reagan sworn in; Iranian students release hostages at the same moment--Washington, D.C.; Tehran.
CIA, Columbian cartels set up Contras.
Freddy Kruger (1940-1968) begins terrorizing kids on Elm Street.
1982[]
April 2: Falklands War
ET appears in California
Vietnam vet John Rambo goes to war with law enforcement officers in Hope, Washington.
Positronic robots invented--following Asimov Laws.
Kevin Flynn enters the ENCOM mainframe with the help of the program TRON.
1983[]
Escape of serial killer Hannibal Lecter. He is never heard from again.
Invasion of Grenada
1984[]
May 12: First Terminator robot arrives in past
January 31: J. R. "Bob" Dobbs assassinated--San Francisco, California.
(Big Brother--in parallel universe?)
Oliver North manages Iran-Contra operation from White House basement, aided by Fawn Hall.
Drug dealers operating out of Mena, Arkansas.
Gen. John Singlaub supports Contra operations.
Crockett and Tubbs battle Contra-backed drug operations in Miami.
1985[]
John Rambo rescues MIA soldiers from Vietnam.
October 26: Marty McFly sent into the past by Doc Emmett Brown (b. 1920).
November 20: Microsoft introduces the Windows operating system.
1987[]
First Predator spotted on Earth.
1988[]
John Rambo fights in Afghanistan alongside future Al-Qaeda members.
Pat Robertson founds the Christian Coalition.
Ray Kinsella, told "If you build it, he will come," lays out a baseball field--Dyersville, Iowa.
September 14: Morpheus, King of Dreams, escapes from captivity--Wych Cross, England.
September 26: Salman Rushdie publishes The Satanic Verses.
October 2: Donnie Darko warned of the impending end of the world by a demonic rabbit.
Former CIA chief and Skull & Bones member George Bush elected president.
1989[]
March 23: Researchers at the University of Utah announce the discovery of cold fusion.
March 24: The Exxon Valdez spills 30 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska.
The U.S. invades Panama to unseat former ally Gen. Manuel Noriega (b. 1938).
Chernobyl disaster
Berlin Wall falls
Michael Moore makes Roger and Me.