National
Headlines
|
Sally Ride becomes America's
first female astronaut aboard the space shuttle
Challenger. Harold Washington is elected the first black
mayor of Chicago. Secretary of the Interior James Watt
resigns after more than two years of controversy. A
scandal over the Environmental Protection Agency's
administration of the toxic waste disposal program leads
to the resignation of agency chief Anne Burford. |
International
Headlines
|
President Reagan sends US.
Marines into war-torn Lebanon. Over 250 Marines are
killed in two bomb attacks. Over 6,000 American troops
are sent to the Caribbean island nation of Grenada to
evacuate U.S. medical students and aid installation of a
pro-Western government. A Soviet fighter shoots down a
South Korean civilian airliner that strayed over Soviet
airspace, killing all 269 aboard. Lech Walesa, leader of
the Polish labor union Solidarity, wins the Nobel Peace
Prize. Reagan announces plans to develop a space-based
nuclear defensive weapon system, the Strategic Defense
Initiative. A German magazine is duped into publishing
phony diaries of Adolf Hitler. |
Fads
& Fashion
|
There is pandemonium in
stores over Cabbage Patch Kids, the toy fad of
the decade. |
Sports
|
The Washington Redskins, led
by Joe Theismann and John Riggins, defeat the Miami
Dolphins in the Super Bowl. The Baltimore Orioles triumph
in the World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Julius Erving and Moses Malone carry the Philadelphia
76ers past the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals.
North Carolina State stuns Houston in the NCAA basketball
title game. The New York Islanders are National Hockey
League champions for the fourth straight time. Martina
Navratilova enjoys one of the most dominant years in the
history of women's tennis. Flamboyant Yannick Noah
becomes the first Frenchman in over 30 years to win the
French Open. |
Movies
|
Return Of The Jedi,
the conclusion of George Lucas' Star Wars
trilogy, is the year's #1 box office hit. It is followed
by Trading Places, War Games, and Superman
III. Terms Of Endearment is the big Oscar
winner for best picture and best actress (Shirley
MacLaine). The Big Chill becomes a cultural
symbol for the generation of Americans that came of age
in the 1960s. |
Television
|
The Day After,
depicting the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, is the
most-talked-about TV movie ever made. After 11 years as
one of network television's all-time classics, the final
episode of M*A*S*H is seen by a record audience
of 125 million. The Winds Of War is a miniseries
blockbuster. The most popular series of the fall season
are Dallas, 60 Minutes, Dynasty,
The A-Team, and Simon & Simon. Kate
& Allie is the season's most-acclaimed new show. |
National
Headlines
|
Ronald Reagan wins an
overwhelming re-election victory. Democratic nominee
Walter Mondale, who held off a strong challenge by
Senator Gary Hart, selects Representative Geraldine
Ferraro as the first woman vice-presidential nominee of a
major party. The Rev. Jesse Jackson is the first black
presidential candidate to become a major force, receiving
millions of votes in the Democratic primaries. The Bell
Telephone System is broken up under court order. Miss
America Vanessa Williams gives up her crown following
publication of nude photographs. |
International
Headlines
|
Newly elected Soviet leader
Yuri Andropov dies, and is replaced by Konstantin
Chernenko. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is
assassinated. Over 2,500 die after a Union Carbide
storage plant in Bhopal, India leaks poison gas. U.S.
Marines are pulled out of Lebanon. International
controversy is stirred by the revelation that the CIA
mined Nicaraguan harbors. Following a four-year period in
which right-wing death squads killed some 30,000
civilians in El Salvador, Jose-Napolean Duarte is elected
president. |
Fads
& Fashion
|
The video revolution enters
a new stage, with 15 million Americans now owning video
cassette recorders. The cliché of the year is yuppies
as advertisers and politicians go after young
upwardly-mobile professionals. Break dancing is a
national fad. |
Sports
|
Heroes of the Los Angeles
Olympics include sprinter/long jumper Carl Lewis, hurdler
Edwin Moses, and gymnast Mary Lou Retton. The Winter
Olympics are highlighted by British ice dancers Jayne
Torvill and Christopher Dean. The Los Angeles Raiders
crush the Washington Redskins in the Super Bowl. The
University of Miami upsets Penn State in the Orange Bowl
to claim the 1983 national championship. The Detroit
Tigers top the San Diego Padres in the World Series; the
Chicago Cubs thrill their legion of long-suffering fans
by winning the National League East title. Larry Bird and
the Boston Celtics conquer the Los Angeles Lakers for the
NBA championship. John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova
each win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. |
Movies
|
The year's biggest hits are Ghostbusters,
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, Beverly
Hills Cop (starring Eddie Murphy), Gremlins,
and The Karate Kid. Amadeus earns
best-picture honors. Another acclaimed film of the year
is Places In The Heart (starring Sally Field). |
Television
|
The fall season's big
ratings winners are Dynasty, Dallas, The
Cosby Show, 60 Minutes, and Family Ties.
The Jewel In The Crown is public television's
most popular dramatic series. |
National
Headlines
|
The Walker family spy
scandal is one of several revelations of Americans
selling national secrets to other countries. The death of
actor Rock Hudson stimulates a new awareness of the
deadly and rapidly spreading disease AIDS (Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Eleven die and over 60 homes
are destroyed when Philadelphia authorities drop an
explosive device to drive out a radical sect. As the
federal budget deficit soars to $200 billion, Congress
enacts the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law imposing new
restrictions on federal spending. |
International
Headlines
|
It is a year of escalating
international terrorism as an American airliner is seized
in Beirut and the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro
is hijacked, before hostages in each case are released.
For the third time in four years, a Soviet leader dies;
Konstantin Chernenko is succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev,
who introduces a bolder style of leadership. China makes
unprecedented political reforms and expands its ties with
the industrialized world. Popular music's USA for Africa,
Band Aid and Live Aid raise millions of dollars to combat
mass starvation in Africa. |
Fads
& Fashion
|
The Coca-Cola Company
introduces the New Coke, which stirs such
widespread protests that the old formula is brought back
as Coca-Cola Classic. |
Sports
|
Joe Montana and the San
Francisco 49ers win their second Super Bowl by defeating
the Miami Dolphins and their record-breaking quarterback
Dan Marino. The Kansas City Royals upset the St. Louis
Cardinals in the World Series; Dwight Gooden of the New
York Mets enjoys a historic pitching season. The Los
Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA
championships. Villanova shocks defending champion
Georgetown to win the NCAA basketball championship. The
Edmonton Oilers win professional hockey's Stanley Cup for
the second straight year; Oiler superstar Wayne Gretsky
earns the sixth of his seven consecutive Most Valuable
Player awards. Seventeen-year-old Boris Becker becomes
the youngest Wimbledon champion in history. Michael
Spinks upsets Larry Holmes to earn the world heavyweight
boxing title. |
Movies
|
Back To The Future
is the most popular movie of the year, followed by Rambo
and Rocky IV (both starring Sylvester Stallone),
and Cocoon. Out Of Africa (starring
Robert Redford and Meryl Streep) is the big Oscar winner.
The Color Purple (featuring Whoopi Goldberg) is
another of the year's top films. |
Television
|
Bill Cosby and The Cosby
Show reign supreme on the nation's airwaves,
followed in popularity by Family Ties, Murder,
She Wrote, 60 Minutes, and Cheers.
Miami Vice becomes a TV trendsetter. |
National
Headlines
|
The space shuttle Challenger
explodes after liftoff, killing its crew of seven,
including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Democrats win
back control of the U.S. Senate. Congress enacts a
sweeping tax reform bill. William Rehnquist replaces the
retiring Warren Burger as Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court. Growing national concern over drug abuse is
symbolized by the death of college basketball star Len
Bias. Ivan Boesky is fined $100 million for trading
stocks on insider information. Martin Luther King Day is
celebrated as a national holiday for the first time. The
Statue of Liberty's lavish 100th birthday party is
attended by some six million people in New York. The
experimental American craft Voyager becomes the
first plane to fly around the world without landing or
refueling. |
International
Headlines
|
Philippine dictator,
Ferdinand Marcos is driven out of office by a peaceful
people's revolution which brings Corazon Aquino into
power. The meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
in the Soviet Union leaves 31 dead and a 60-square-mile
area permanently contaminated. The Reagan administration
is torn by a scandal involving the secret sale of arms to
Iran and the alleged laundering of funds to the Contras
seeking to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. The U.S.
bombs Libyan targets as revenge against the rising tide
of terrorism. President Reagan and Soviet leader
Gorbachev meet in Iceland to discuss arms control, but no
agreements are reached. Congress overrides a presidential
veto and imposes U.S. economic sanctions against South
Africa's apartheid government. Sarah Ferguson marries
Britain's Prince Andrew. |
Fads
& Fashion
|
Compact discs make their
mass-market breakthrough as the decade's audio
phenomenon. |
Sports
|
The Chicago Bears crush the
New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. The New York Mets
come from behind to defeat the Boston Red Sox in the
World Series. The Boston Celtics top the Houston Rockets
in the NBA finals. Jack Nicklaus wins the Masters at age
46. Boris Becker wins his second straight Wimbledon, as
Ivan Lendl takes his second U.S. Open; Chris Evert
Lloyd's French Open victory gives her a Grand Slam tennis
championship for the 14th consecutive year. Cyclist Greg
LeMond is the first American ever to win the prestigious
Tour de France. |
Movies
|
The year's top moneymakers
include Top Gun (starring Tom Cruise), the
Australian comedy Crocodile Dundee, Aliens,
and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Woody Allen's
Hannah And Her Sisters, The Color Of Money
(starring Paul Newman), and the Vietnam epic Platoon
(Best Picture Oscar) are the year's most acclaimed films. |
Television
|
Standing atop the ratings
are The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers,
Murder, She Wrote, and The Golden Girls.
The most-talked-about show of the year is Moonlighting. |
