Yesteryear World: 1980s Timeline

In 1980:

Mt. St Helens in Washington States erupts killing 57 people
U.S. boycotts Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
U.S. announces grain embargo against the Soviet Union with the support of the European Commission.
Ronald Reagan is elected President of the United States
John Lennon is killed
The Rubik's cube is introduced and gains in popularity
The video game Pac Man is introduced

In 1981:

MTV premiers and plays first music video "Video Killed The Radio Star"
Ronald Reagan becomes President, inaugurated on the same day Iran releases hostages
Assassination attempt on U.S. President Reagan by John Hinckley
Assassination attempt in the Pope was made
Sandra Day O'Connor becomes first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court
The first space shuttle, the Columbia, is launched
Prince Charles married Diana Spencer while millions watched
The first personal computer was introduced by IBM

In 1982:

In 1983:

Singer Karen Carpenter dies from complications due to Anorexia Nervosa. This raises awareness of the eating disorder.
Cabbage Patch Dolls become popularity causing mass hysteria during the Christmas shopping season
Soviets Shoot Down a Korean Airliner
US Embassy in Beruit was bombed killing 241 US Marines
United States invades Grenada
Mini Vans were introduced by Chrysler
Reagan Announces Defense Plan Called Star Wars
Sally Ride Becomes the First American Woman in Space

In 1984:

The movie rating PG-13 was introduced
The Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
Ronald Reagan is re elected as President of the US
Awareness of child sexual abuse by pedophiles raised through high-profile media coverage on programs such as 60 Minutes and 20/20.

In 1985:

Famine in Ethiopia and other third world countries raises world awareness and creates events such as "We Are The World" and Live Aid"
Country music singer Willie Nelson organizes the first Farm Aid, to raise money for family farmers facing financial crisis
Awareness of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is raised with the death of actor Rock Hudson.
World Wrestling Federation's flagship star, Hulk Hogan, becomes a cultural icon when Professional Wrestling hits mainstream.
The wreck of the "Titanic" was found
New Coke was introduced and it was a miserable failure
Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev calls for Glasnost and Perestroika

In 1986:

In 1987:

Various scandals among Televangelist take place. Among them were Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart
President Reagan challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall!" while on his visit to Berlin, Germany. The wall he was referring to was the Berlin Wall.
The use of DNA was first used to convict criminals
The New York Stock Exchange suffers a huge drop on what was to be called "Black Monday"

In 1988:

Pan Am flight 103 was bombed over Lockerbie Scotland
Drunk driving awareness raised after a drunk driver's car crashes into a church bus near Carrollton, Kentucky, killing 27.
George H. W. Bush was elected President of the United States
Discovery launched as first post-Challenger space shuttle flight
Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, becomes the last Major League Baseball park to add lights for night games.

In 1989:

Time, Inc. and Warner Communications announce plans for a merger, forming Time Warner.
The oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil
Students were massacred in China's Tiananmen Square
Hurricane Hugo strikes the East Coast, causing $7 billion in damage
Loma Prieta earthquake kills 63 in greater San Francisco Bay Area
The animated comedy The Simpsons debuts
The Berlin Wall comes down while the Cold War ends

Yesteryear World