On this page you will find some memorable moments that occurred in the 80's as well as some moments that you may not have known about. Some interesting stuff here folks. Information is added as it is collected and obtained.
1980
March 27th, 1980 - Mount St. Helen's erupts for the first time since 1857.
May 18th, 1980 - Mount St. Helen's erupts for the second time, without warning. The collapse of the north flank produced the largest land-slide debris avalanche recorded in history.
November 19th, 1980 - CBS bans the Calvin Klein Jeans ad featuring Brook Shields saying : "Nothing comes between me & my Calvins".
November 21st, 1980 - 84 people perish when a fire breaks out in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
December 8th, 1980 - John Lennon is brutally shot and murdered outside the Dakota apartments in New York City. Mark David Chapman shot Lennon five times in the back.
June 1st, 1980 - Ted Turner establishes CNN (Cable News Network) 24-hour news channel and begins broadcasting.
December 3rd, 1980 - Janice Brown, a 98 pound former teacher, flew a tiny experimental solar-powered aircraft "Solar Challenger" 6 miles in 22 minutes near Marara, Arizona.
November 4th, 1980 - Ronald Reagan is elected President Of The United States.
January 18th, 1980 - The owners of Studio 54 (Steve Rubell & Ian Schrager) are sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for tax evasion and fined $20,000.
March 1st, 1980 - Snow falls in Florida.
March 12th, 1980 - A jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 people in Chicago.
February 22nd, 1980 - Afghanistan declares martial law.
March 1st, 1980 - Patti Smith & MC5 guitarist Fred Sonic Smith wed in Detroit, MI.
March 21st, 1980 - The character J.R. is shot on the T.V. show "Dallas".
June 28th, 1980 - New York City transit fare rises from 50¢ to 60¢.
November 21st, 1980 - It is revealed that Kristen shot the character J.R. on the T.V. show "Dallas".
December 14th, 1980 - At 2 P.M. (eastern time) there is a 10 minute silence in memory of John Lennon.
February 2nd, 1980 - The New Mexico State Penitentiary outside Santa Fe has a 36 hour riot. The Penitentiary is designed to hold 850 men, yet it actually has 1300 men being held in horrible conditions. The riot ends with 33 inmates dead and 100 others wounded by fellow inmates. Total damage $25 million.
March 14th, 1980 - Former US Congressman Allard Lowenstein is shot and killed in his New York office by a former associate from the Civil Rights movement.
1981
January 20th, 1981 - Ronald Reagan takes his oath as the 40th President Of The United States.
February 24th, 1981 - Jean Harris is sentenced to 15 years to life for the murder of Dr. Herman Tarnower, the Scarsdale diet doctor.
March 6th , 1981 - Walter Cronkite (CBS Anchorman) participates in his last newscast. Dan Rather replaces him.
March 30th, 1981 - John Hinckley Jr. shoots President Ronald Rreagan along with three other men (Presidential Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy and Metropolitan Police Officer Thomas Delahanty) as they are leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C.
April 12th, 1981 - The US successfully launches the first space shuttle "Columbia". Columbia completes 36 orbits - Astronauts onboard are John Young & Robert Crippen.
May 11th, 1981 - Bob Marley dies at the age of 36.
May 13th, 1981 - Pope John Paul II is shot and seriously wounded by a Turkish Terrorist, Mehmet Ali Agca at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.
July 7th, 1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first female Supreme Court Justice. President Ronald Reagan nominated her. She will be formally sworn in on September 25th, 1981.
July 29th, 1981 - Charles the Prince of Wales weds Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
August 1st, 1981 - The birth of MTV. MTV begins broadcasting music videos 24 hours a day starting at 12:01 a.m.
November 14th, 1981 - The first time a manned vehicle is reused for another space voyage. The space shuttle "Columbia" completes it's second mission.
January 20th, 1981 - 52 American hostages being held in Iran for 444 days are released/freed.
February 6th, 1981 - Beatles McCartney, Starr & Harrison record a tribute to John Lennon.
February 10th, 1981 - 8 people killed and 198 are injured by a fire at the Las Vegas Hilton.
April 11th, 1981 - Ronald Reagan arrives home from the hospital after being shot by Hinckley.
April 11th, 1981 - Valerie Bertinelli marries Eddie Van Halen.
April 27th, 1981 - Beatle Ringo Starr marries actress Barbara Bach.
September 19th, 1981 - Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a New York City concert at Central Park.
November 1st, 1981 - 1st class postagel raised from 18¢ to 20¢.
November 16th, 1981 - Luke marries Laura on "General Hospital".
December 11th, 1981 - Muhammad Ali's 61st and last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick.
December 24th, 1981 - Guardian Angels Curtis Sliwa and Lisa Evers marry.
March 8th, 1981 - First homocide at DisneyLand, an 18 year old is stabbed to death.
March 22, 1981 - 1st class postage raised from 15¢ to 18¢.
March 25th, 1981 - Daniel Goodwin scales outside of Chicago's Sears Tower for 7 hours.
June 23rd, 1981 - NYC Mayor Ed Koch turns down a $7,500.00 offer to perform comedy.
July 3rd, 1981 - NYC transit fares rise from 60¢ to 75¢. A new brass Y-cut out token now in use.
July 26th, 1981 - NYC Mayor Ed Koch is given the Heimlich maneuver in a chinese resturant.
August 24th/25th, 1981 - Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life for John Lennon's murder.
1982
March 5th,1982 - Comedian John Belushi is found dead in a Hollywood hotel room. Apparently from an overdose of speedballs (cocaine & heroin)
September 14th, 1982 - Princess Grace of Monaco (Grace Kelly) is killed in an automobile accident.
September 15th, 1982 - The first issue of "USA Today" hits the newstands.
September 30th, 1982 - Seven people in the Chicago area die after ingesting extra strength Tylenol capsules that were laced with cyanide.
February 25th, 1982 - Final episode of the Lawrence Welk show airs.
March 18th, 1982 - Teddy Pendergrass (singer) is in an automobile accident his spinal cord is severed.
March 31st, 1982 - Rock group "Doobie Brothers" split up.
April 19th, 1982 - Sally Ride is announced to be the first woman astronaut.
April 26th, 1982 - Rod Stewart is mugged. The gunmen steals his $50,000.00 Porsche.
June 7th, 1982 - President Reagan meets Pope John Paul II & Queen Elizabeth.
July 29th, 1982 - Andy Taylor of the rock group "Duran Duran" weds Tracie Wilson.
December 2nd, 1982 - David Blue (rocker) dies while jogging in Greenwich Village, NYC at age 41.
December 7th, 1982 - Charlie Brooks Jr. convicted murderer became the first US prisoner to be executed by lethal injection, at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.
1983
February 25th, 1983 - Famous playwright Tennessee Williams dies in NY after accidently swallowing a plastic bottle cap.
February 28th, 1983 - The final episode of "M*A*S*H" airs, with over 125 million viewers.
May 24th, 1983 - The US Department of Health and Human Services declares AIDS the nations top medical priority.
July 20th, 1983 - Peter Jennings becomes ABC's news anchor after Frank Reynolds dies
September 17th, 1983 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first African-American Miss America.
February 4th, 1983 - Karen Carpenter (singer) dies from complications due to Anorexia Nervosa at age 32.
March 2nd, 1983 - Compact disc recordings developed by Phillips & Sony are introduced.
July 21st, 1983 - A storm cuts short Diana Ross' free concert in NYC's Central Park.
December 27th, 1983 - Pope John Paul II pardons the man who shot him (Mehmet Ali Agca)
1984
April 1st, 1984 - Soul singer Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father during an altercation.
July 12th, 1984 - Democratic nominee for President, Walter Mondale selects Geraldine Ferraro, NY representative, as his running mate. Ferraro becomes the first woman to be placed on a Presidential ticket.
August 25th, 1984 - Literary great Truman Capote author of "In Cold Blood" is found dead in Los Angeles.
December 22nd, 1984 - Bernard Goetz shoots four youths on a NYC subway, severing ones spinal cord and paralyzing him. Goetz disappeared for nine days and then surrendered to New Hampshire police on New Years Eve. Goetz was convicted of one felony and two misdemeanor charges. He was sentenced to 8 months on Rikers Island.
January 1st, 1984 - NYC transit fare rises from 75¢ to 90¢.
January 24th, 1984 - Apple Computer Inc unveils it's Macintosh personal computer.
February 14th, 1984 - Elton John (singer) marries Renate Blauel in Sidney, Australia.
April 25th, 1984 - The rock group "Wings" splits up.
September 12th, 1984 - Barbara Mandrell (country & western singer) is badly injured in a car accident.
October 9th, 1984 - Kathy Sullivan becomes the first woman to walk in space.
October 24th, 1984 - Eleven members of the Colombo crime family are arrested.
December 3rd, 1984 - The oldest groom Harry Stevens age 103 weds Thelma Lucas age 83 in Wisconsin.
December 28th, 1984 - "Edge Of Night" soap opera ends it's 28 year run.
December 31st, 1984 - "Def Leppard" drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in an automobile accident.
January 2nd, 1984 - Apple airs it's famous 60 second commercial introducing the Macintosh during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.
May 11th, 1984 - A fire at Great Adventures Amusement Park in New Jersey kills 8 people.
July 8th, 1984 - President Ronald Reagan gives a speech before the American Bar Association. He claims that Iran is part of the "Confederation of terrorist states ....... America will never make concessions to terrorist".
1985
January 20th, 1985 - Ronald Reagan, now age 73, is sworn in for his second term as President of the United States.
June 12th, 1985 - Karen Ann Quinlan, the focus of the "Right-To-Die" controversy dies at the age of 31.
July 13th, 1985 - "Live Aid" raises millions of dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia.
September 1st, 1985 - The "Titanic" which sunk in 1912 is found 2.5 miles below the surface off the coast of Newfoundland.
October 2nd, 1985 - Rock Hudson (actor) dies of AIDs at age 59. The first major star to fall victim to the deadly disease.
January 1st, 1985 - VH-1 makes it's broadcasting debut.
January 25th, 1985 - "We Are The World" (song) is recorded.
February 7th, 1985 - "New York, New York" became the official anthem of New York, NY.
February 19th, 1985 - Canned & bottled cherry Coke is introduced by Coca-Cola.
March 3rd, 1985 - Willie Shoemaker becomes the first jockey to win $100 million dollars.
March 23rd, 1985 - Billy Joel (singer) weds Christie Brinkley (supermodel).
May 12th, 1985 - Amy Eilberg is ordained in New York as the first woman conservative rabbi.
May 31st, 1985 - 41 tornados in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York & Canada kill 88 and injure more than 1000.
June 10th, 1985 - Coca-Cola announces it will bring back their 99 year old formula.
July 10th, 1985 - Coca-Cola announces it will resume selling old formula coke.
August 10th, 1985 - Michael Jackson buys ATV Music (every Beatles song) for $47 million dollars.
August 16th, 1985 - Madonna (singer) weds Sean Penn (actor).
September 22nd, 1985 - Rock & Country musicians participate in FarmAid in Champaign, Ill.
September 27th, 1985 - Hurricane Gloria's 130 MPH winds hit the Atlantic coast.
December 15th, 1985 - Sylvester Stallone (actor) weds Brigette Nielson.
1986
January 28th, 1986 - The space shuttle "Challenger" explodes 73 seconds after launching. All seven crew members are killed. Onboard - Commander: Francis R. Scobee, Pilot: Michael J. Smith, 1st mission specialist: Judith A. Resnik, 2nd mission specialist: Ellison Onizuka, 3rd mission specialist: Ronald E. McNair, Payload specialist 1: Gregory Jarvis of Hughes Aircraft, Payload specialist 2: Sharon Christa McAuliffe a high school teacher (first private citizen to fly in the shuttle).
May 6th, 1986 - Pepsi pays Michael Jackson $15 million to become a sponser (the biggest sponsership deal of it's kind).
May 25th, 1986 - Five million Americans form a "Hands Across America" human chain across the continent to raise money for the homeless.
November 22nd, 1986 - At the age of twenty Mike Tyson becomes boxing's Heavyweight Champion after defeating Trevor Berbick.
January 1st, 1986 - NYC transit fare rises from 90¢ to $1.00.
January 23rd, 1986 - First induction of Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame (Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley).
February 1st, 1986 - Diana Ross (singer) weds Arne Naess (Norwegian businessman).
April 8th, 1986 - Clint Eastwood elected Mayor of Carmel, California.
April 26th, 1986 - Maria Shriver (anchor woman/news reporter) weds Arnold Schwarzenegger (actor).
May 10th, 1986 - Tommy Lee (drummer of Motley Crue) weds Heather Locklear (actress).
May 24th, 1986 - Garth Brooks (country & western singer) weds Sandy Mahl.
September 2nd, 1986 - Cathy Evelyn Smith sentenced to 3 years in prison for the death of John Belushi.
September 6th, 1986 - Barbara Streisand's first concert in 20 years.
December 20th, 1986 - White teenagers beat up African American teenagers in Howard Beach.
December 26th, 1986 - Soap opera "Search For Tomorrow" ends 35 year run.
January 20th, 1986 - The US officially observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the first time.
1987
March 4th, 1987 - In a nationally televised address, President Reagan accepts full responsibilty for the Iran-Contra affair.
July 2nd, 1987 - Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand make the first transatlantic hot-air balloon flight. 2,790 miles from Sugarloaf Mountain, Maine to Ireland.
June 11th, 1987 - Prime Minister Thatcher wins rare third term in Britian.
October 1st, 1987 - Severe earthquake strikes Los Angeles leaving 100 injured and 6 dead.
January 3rd, 1987 - Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame inducts the first female artist, Aretha Franklin.
January 21st, 1987 - B.B. King donates his 7,000 record collection to the University of Mississippi.
May 7th, 1987 - Diane Chambers (Shelly Long) final episode on "Cheers".
May 9th, 1987 - Tom Cruise (actor) weds Mimi Rogers (actress).
June 6th, 1987 - New York Yankees play their 13,000th game.
June 20th, 1987 - Johnny Carson (talk show host) weds 4th wife Alexis Mass.
August 1st, 1987 - Bananarama's Siobhan Fahey marries Eurythmics Dave Stewart.
August 2nd, 1987 - Michael Andretti runs fastest Indy race in history (171.49 MPH).
October 16th, 1987 - Jessica McClure rescued 58 hours after falling 22 feet into a well shaft.
November 4th, 1987 - Lisa Steinberg battered into a coma by her adoptive father Joel Steinberg.
November 16th, 1987 - Lisa Bonet (actress) weds Lenny Kravitz (singer).
December 22nd, 1987 - Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx overdoses on heroin.
December 23rd, 1987 - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for attempting to assassinate President Ford escapes from Alderson Prison.
December 25th, 1987 - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme is captured.
October 19th, 1987 - Wall Street crashes with a DOW drop of 508, a record.
1988
June 27th, 1988 - Mike Tyson defeats Michael Spinks in 91 seconds in Atlantic City. Tyson wins $20 million dollars.
November 8th, 1988 - George Bush is elected 41st President of the Unites States. Defeating Michael Dukakis.
April 29th, 1988 - Burt Reynolds (actor) and Loni Anderson (actress) marry.
June 30th, 1988 - The borough of Brooklyn dedicated a bus depot honoring Jackie Gleason.
July 9th, 1988 - Lisa Whelchel (actress) marries Steve Cauble.
July 16th, 1988 - Michael J. Fox (actor) marries Tracy Pollan (actress).
August 8th, 1988 - Temperature hits a high 88 on 8/8/88.
November 1st, 1988 - Jeff Goldblum (actor) weds Gina Davis (actress) in Las Vegas.
December 4th, 1988 - Gary Busey (actor) is critically injured in a motorcycle accident.
1989
January 16th, 1989 - Three days of rioting begin in Miami after an Hispanic policeman shoots and killsan unarmed African-American man who was fleeing arrest.
March 24th, 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil tanker causes the worst oil spill in US history. 11 million gallons spill into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
November 11th, 1989 - After 28 years the Berlin Wall is open to the west.
January 20th, 1989 - George Herbert Walker Bush is inaugurated as 41st President of the United States.
August 9th, 1989 - Army General Colin R. Powell is the first African-American Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
April 26th, 1989 - America's beloved comedian Lucille Ball dies at the age of 87.
January 1st, 1989 - New York City transit fare rises from $1.00 to $1.15.
January 18th, 1989 - Otis Redding, Dion, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations & Stevie Wonder are inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame.
February 1st, 1989 - Princess Diana visits NYC.
February 20th, 1989 - A total eclipse of the moon.
March 4th, 1989 - Phoebe Cates (actress) marries Kevin Kline (actor).
March 23rd, 1989 - Joel Steinberg is sentenced to 25 years for killing his adopted daughter.
April 1st, 1989 - First NY Mets vs NY Yankees game in NYC since 1983. Yankees win 4-3.
May 1st, 1989 - 135 acre Disney's MGM Studio officially opens to the public.
May 11,1989 - 217th and final episode of "Dynasty" airs.
May 12th, 1989 - Last graffiti covered NYC subway car is retired.
May 14th, 1989 - Final episode of "Family Ties" airs.
May 28th, 1989 - Delta Burke (actress) marries Gerlad McRaney (actor).
June 2nd, 1989 - Rolling Stones Bill Wyman weds Mandy Smith.
June 3rd, 1989 - Reba McEntire (country & western singer) weds Narvel Blackstone (her manager).
June 14th, 1989 - Carol King (singer/song writer) gets a star in Hollywood's Walk Of Fame.
July 5th, 1989 - Rod Stewart (singer) hits his head while on stage and knocks himself out.
September 16th, 1989 - Natalie Cole (singer) marries Andre Fisher (record producer).
November 7th, 1989 - NYC elects it's first African-American Mayor David Dinkins.
August 20th, 1989 - Lyle & Erik Menendez (The Menendez Brothers) murder their parents.
