1980
President Carter authorized the use of government land for the Viet Nam War Memorial.
U.S. Senator Harrison Williams and seven members of congress were among 31 public officials implicated in Operation Abscam, an FBI corruption investigation.
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance resigned in opposition to a failed mission to rescue American hostages from Iran.
The doctor of the late Elvis Presley was indicted on charges of over-prescribing medication to Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Mt. St. Helens in southwest Washington erupted, killing 62 and spreading thick ash over an area of 250 square miles. A geologist who barely escaped after monitoring the eruption said the blast was hundreds of times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The eruption toppled trees and stripped them of their bark in a national forest 20 miles from the explosion.
14 died in race riots in Miami following the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating death of a black man.
Ronald Reagan was nominated as the Republican candidate for U.S. President. Reagan and running mate George Bush soundly defeated Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in the November election.
John Lennon was murdered by a deranged fan outside his apartment building on New York's Central Park West.
Richard Burton returned to Broadway for a 56-performance revival of Camelot.
Popular movies included Best Picture-winner Ordinary People, The Empire Strikes Back, Raging Bull, Superman II and Coal Miner's Daughter.
Dallas was the top TV show. Hill Street Blues debuted on NBC.
Hit tunes included Funkytown by Lipps, Inc., Call Me by Blondie, (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon, It's Still Rock & Roll To Me by Billy Joel and Sailing by newcomer Christopher Cross, who snagged Grammys for Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year.
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1981
After 444 days in captivity, 52 American hostages were released by Iran on the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president.
John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to assassinate President Reagan with a .22 handgun. The president quickly recovered from a wound to his left lung after surgery, but press secretary James Brady suffered severe brain damage. A secret service agent and Washington police officer were also shot.
The federal minimum wage was raised to $3.35 per hour.
President Reagan lifted a ban on commercial recycling of nuclear fuel, despite fears that the action could put weapons-grade plutonium in the hands of terrorists. The president authorized development of the neutron bomb.
President Reagan issued an excutive order giving the CIA its first full authority to conduct domestic covert operations.
The U.S. Navy shot down two Libyan jets that had fired upon them while conducting training excercises in the Gulf Of Sidra.
Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Columbia, the nation's first space shuttle, was launched April 12th.
The royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana drew more Americans to their TV sets than coverage of the assassination attempt on the president.
Chariots Of Fire won the Oscar for best picture. Raiders Of The Lost Ark became the first film to draw over $100 million in its first two weeks at the box office.
Walter Cronkite retired from The CBS Evening News.
The top-selling song of the year was Physical by Olivia Newton-John.
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1982
San Francisco banned the sale and possession of handguns.
President Reagan reinstituted draft registration for young men aged 18 to 21.
George Schultz replaced Alexander Haig as Secretary Of State.
The president proposed a $26,000,000,000 program to develop MX multiple-warhead missiles.
Although the Justice Department cleared Richard Allen of taking $1000 from a foreign newspaper in exchange for an interview with the first lady, the national security advisor resigned his post.
Conservative columnist Phyllis Schlaffley expressed her pleasure at the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, which failed to get the required ratification of 38 states.
Seven deaths due to cyanide-filled Tylenol capsules led the government to impose new tamper-resistant packaging for over-the-counter drugs.
78 died when an Air Florida jet crashed into a bridge over the Potomac River in D.C.
154 died when a Pan Am jet crashed after takeoff in New Orleans.
22 died in flooding in Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri.
The first successful artificial heart transplant took place at the University Of Utah Medical Center.
Comedian John Belushi died of an overdose of cocaine and heroin.
Automobile mogul John Delorean was arrested for cocaine possession.
Cats and the musical version of Little Shop Of Horrors opened on Broadway.
CBS's 60 Minutes returned to the #1 ratings spot. Cheers debuted on NBC.
Elvis Presley's Memphis home, Graceland, was opened to the public.
Hit tunes included Maneater by Hall & Oates, I Love Rock & Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Mickey by Toni Basil and Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson.
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1983
The Justice Department launched an investigation of the Reagan presidential campaign's alleged 1980 theft of briefing books from President Jimmy Carter's staff.
Elizabeth Dole replaced Drew Lewis as Secretary Of Transportation.
General Motors announced a partnership with rival Toyota to produce fuel-efficiant cars car for U.S. market.
President Reagan challenged the country's weapons engineers to create a Star Wars system which would ward off nuclear attack with armed satellites.
A federal disaster area was declared when dangerous amounts of dioxin were found in the soil at Times Beach, Missouri.
California's strongest earthquake in 12 years caused massive destruction in Coalinga and western Fresno county, an area not usually affected by temblors.
The United American Bank Of Knoxville failed, forcing the FDIC to pay off $760,000,000 to depositors.
250,000 participated in a 20th anniversary recreation of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil rights March On Washington.
William Clark replaced Interior Secretary James Watt after Watt joked about minorities at a press briefing.
241 U.S. Navy and Marines personnel were killed in a suicide bombing attack in Beirut. Seven Americans were killed in embassy bomb attacks in Kuwait.
U.S. forces invaded Grenada to guard evacuations of U.S. citizens after a Marxist takeover.
As a crew member of the space shuttle Challenger, Sally Ride became America's first woman in space.
Hit films included Flashdance, Return Of The Jedi, The Big Chill, Risky Business, The Right Stuff and Sudden Impact.
120 million watched as M*A*S*H ended its CBS-TV run with a two-hour special.
Chart-topping songs included Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics, Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners, Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Bonnie Tyler and Down Under by Men At Work. Michael Jackson was awarded Grammys for Album Of The Year for Thriller, Record Of The Year for Beat It and Best Male Vocal for the song Thriller.
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1984
President Reagan ordered the withdrawl of the U.S. Marines from Beirut.
Rev. Jesse Jackson negotiated the release of 22 Americans with Cuban premier Fidel Castro.
During an audio level check prior to his regular radio address, President Reagan joked that the U.S. had launched a nuclear attack on the Soviets. Although the remark was not broadcast on all U.S. radio stations, the Soviet Union went into a brief state of red alert because they were monitoring the White House's communications satellite channel.
Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan was charged with 136 counts of fraud.
For the first time, American astronauts walked untethered in space and repaired orbiting satellites during shuttle missions.
Singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father out of self-defense during a violent argument at the home they shared in Los Angeles. The singer had been exhibiting signs of mental instability and suicidal tendencies. Gaye's last live performance had been his a capella rendition of The Star Spangled Banner at the NBA All Star Game.
The U.S. re-established full diplomatic relations with the Vatican. They had been suspended in 1867.
Texaco and Getty Oil entered into the planet's largest corporate merger to date. Texaco would later be penalized $3,000,000,000 for attempting to thwart Pennzoil's bid to merge with Getty.
Former Vice President Walter Mondale named Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate following his Democratic nomination.
In the largest landslide for Republicans in U.S. history, Ronald Reagan and George Bush were re-elected by winning 49 states.
The World Court labeled the U.S. as an aggressor nation as the CIA mined ports in Nicaragua.
25 died when winds raging over 100 miles per hour blew through Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota.
29 perished in 36 inches of blowing snow as fast-moving blizzards swept across Utah and Colorado.
18 died when a storm of sleet and hail crippled the eastern seaboard from Washington to Cape Cod.
Tornadoes in the Carolinas killed 71 and caused $400,000,000 damage.
Dow and several other chemical companies established the Agent Orange Fund for Viet Nam vets who had been exposed to the herbicide.
President Reagan dedicated the Viet Nam Memorial, a V-shaped wall of names designed by Yale student Maya Lang Yin.
Disneyland celebrated Donald Duck's 50th birthday.
A Chorus Line broke the Broadway endurance record.
Indiana Jones In The Temple Of Doom and Beverly Hills Cop were the top two movies in box office receipts. Amadeus got the Oscar for Best Picture.
The highest rated broadcast of the year was the TV Movie The Burning Bed, starring Farrah Fawcett. Miami Vice debuted on NBC and became an instant hit.
Number one songs included Karma Chameleon by Culture Club, Jump by Van Halen, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham!, Like A Virgin by Madonna, When Doves Cry by Prince and the triple-Grammy-winner What's Love Got To Do With It? by Tina Turner.
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1985
Outdoor portions of the Reagan/Bush inauguration were canceled due to extremely cold weather. The bitter cold wave was responsible for at least 40 deaths, with record-breaking low temperatures near -25°F from the east coast to the midwest.
13 people were charged with spying against the U.S. in the course of the year. Most were past or present members of the CIA, FBI or U.S. Navy.
William Brock was nominated to replace Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan. Ed Meece became the Attorney General.
Newport, Rhode Island millionaire Claus Von Bulow was found not guilty of attempting to murder his wife.
Coca Cola outraged its customers by introducing a reformulated version of the long-popular soft drink. 20 weeks later, the company announced it would bring back the old recipe under the name Coke Classic.
3 died and 300,000 were evacuated when hurricane Gloria ripped through coastal communities from North Carolina to Rhode Island.
Hurricane Juan killed 7 and created a billion dollars worth of damage along the Gulf Coast.
President Reagan and Communist Party Leader Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to work on a plan for strategic arms limitations at a summit meeting in Geneva.
After a long period of denial, Rock Hudson announced he was suffering from AIDS and died October 2nd. Mother Teresa dedicated an AIDS hospice in New York City on Christmas Eve.
Hit movies included Back To The Future and Cocoon. Out Of Africa received Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
The Cosby Show became America's #1 TV show.
Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie co-wrote We Are The World, which became an all-star performance under the direction of Quincy Jones. Featuring vocals by artists as diverse as Bob Dylan and Cyndi Lauper — under the name USA For Africa — the song and its video helped raise millions of dollars for starving children in famine-stricken Africa.
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1986
Reduced safety standards in an attempt to speed up the launch date resulted in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger shortly after takeoff. Elementary school teacher Christa McAulliffe — appointed to the mission by President Reagan — died in the blast as her students watched TV coverage in her Concord, New Hampshire classroom.
4 Americans were among those killed when a bomb exploded aboard a TWA jet en route to Athens from Rome.
6,000,000 participated in Hands Across America, raising money for programs for the country's homeless.
25 died when a plane and helicopter collided over the Grand Canyon.
The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty took place on Independence Day. The statue had undergone a massive renovation before the event.
The surviving crewman of a plane shot down over Nicaragua confirmed that the CIA was running weapons to the Contras. Three weeks later, it was disclosed that the U.S. had been secretly selling arms to Iran. After Attorney General Ed Meece admitted that the arms proceeds were being diverted to arming the Contras, President Reagan fired security advisors Admiral John Pointdexter and Lt. Col. Oliver North. The president insisted he had no knowledge of the operation.
Congress authorized $20 million in military aid to Honduras to protect Contras under attack by Nicaraguan invaders.
President Reagan signed a relaxed gun control law which would allow interstate retail sales of rifles. Police associations had lobbied against the revised law. Former press secretary James Brady, who had been critically injured in the assassination attempt against the president in 1981, was appalled that Reagan signed the measure.
By a landslide vote, Republican Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California.
Popular movies included Top Gun, The Color Of Money, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon, Alien and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Fatherhood by Bill Cosby topped the bestseller list while his TV series remained #1. L.A. Law debuted on NBC. Bruce Willis received an Emmy for Best Actor In A Drama for ABC's Moonlighting.
That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick & Friends (Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder) was the number one song of the year. Royalties benefitted pediatric AIDS research.
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1987
During a visit to the Berlin Wall, President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
Incorrect track assignments resulted in the crash of an Amtrak passenger train into three Conrail engines in Maryland. 15 were killed and 180 were injured.
A freak blizzard blanketed the entire east coast — from Florida to Maine — with snow. Over 20 inches of snow fell in a 24-hour period in North Carolina. The storm caused 41 deaths.
7 died and 111 were injured when the Los Angeles area was rocked by a 6.1-Richter-Scale earthquake.
The worst Stock Market crash since 1929 took place on October 19th as the Dow slipped 508 points — down nearly 23%.
Congress overrode President Reagan's veto of the Clean Water Act.
The Tower Commission blamed President Reagan for failing to understand the impact of selling arms to Iran and diverting the proceeds to Contra rebels. The commission also laid blame on Chief Of Staff Donald Regan, who the president fired the next day. After three months of Iran-Contra hearings conducted by a Congressional committee, Reagan was blamed for failing his constitutional duties as president in allowing aides to carry out the operations, whether or not they did so with his knowledge.
TV Evangelist Jim Bakker, who with his wife Tammy hosted the popular PTL Club, was convicted of 24 counts of fraud and defrocked by the Assemblies Of God church.
28 died and 53 were injured when a Continental passenger jet broke into three pieces attempting to take off during a heavy snowstorm in Denver.
Vice President George Bush declared his intention to seek the GOP nomination for the presidency. Democratic front-runner Gary Hart withdrew from the primary race after a sex scandal.
Greg Lamonde became the first American to win the Tour De France.
Popular movies included Fatal Attraction, Broadcast News, Moonstruck and The Last Emperor.
The angst-ridden yuppie drama Thirtysomething debuted on ABC-TV. The Cosby Show was still number one.
Hit tunes included I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2, Faith by George Michael, At This Moment by Billy Vera & The Beaters (reissued after being featured in an episode of Family Ties) and Open Your Heart by Madonna.
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1988
The Arizona State Senate voted 21-to-9 to remove the governor. Evan Mecham had been convicted of lending $80,000 in state money to his car dealership. He also was convicted of obstructing justice in the investigation into an alleged death threat made by one of his staffers to a Grand Jury witness.
Structural failure was blamed when a hole in the fuselage of a Boeing 737 over Hawaii caused a flight attendant to be sucked out of the jet.
Attorney General Ed Meece resigned after an investigation claimed he had attempted to take a bribe from a company in exchange for defense contracts. A special prosecutor also accused Meece of filing a false income tax return.
The Puyallup Indians of Washington State were given $162 million in exchange for dropping their claim to the city of Tacoma.
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart confessed his sins to Jesus on live TV after it was learned he had a trist with a prostitute. His church banned him from preaching for a year.
The first shuttle since the Challenger exploded, the Discovery, was launched successfully. Celebrities like William Shatner, The Beach Boys and Robin Williams volunteered their talents to do special wake-up messages for the crew.
John F. Kennedy, Jr. was named Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine shortly after delivering a charismatic address to the Democratic National Convention. Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were nominated to the ticket.
On a platform which included a promise of " no new taxes," George H. Bush won his party's nomination, with running mate Dan Quayle. A tearful Ronald Reagan passed the torch to Bush upon his victory in November.
President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement to dismantle short-range nuclear missiles in Europe.
Eugene Mariho became the first African American bishop in the Catholic Church.
Rain Man garnered Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Dustin Hoffman's performance earned him the Best Actor award. Box office hits also included A Fish Called Wanda and Die Hard.
The Cosby Show was the year's most popular TV show for the fourth straight year. CBS introduced Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown. Roseanne debuted on ABC and shot to number one in the weekly ratings. Thirtysomething grabbed the Emmy for Best Drama Series.
Roy Orbison, enjoying a comeback as a member of the Traveling Wilburys and as a solo act, died of a heart attack at 52.
Number one hits included Got My Mind Set On You by George Harrison and Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin.
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1989
3,980 were injured and 66 were killed when an earthquake measuring 6.9 shook the San Francisco-Oakland-Santa Cruz area, causing a double-tiered freeway bridge to collapse. The quake struck as the third World Series Game was about to begin at Candlestick Park. Damage to the region was estimated at $10,000,000,000.
House Speaker Jim Wright resigned after the Ethics Committee accused him of accepting inappropriate gifts. He was replaced by Thomas Foley.
President Bush — who had campaigned with the promise of no tax raises — called for an increase in income taxes to help curb the deficit which had begun to snowball during the Reagan administration.
The Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound, creating the largest domestic oil spill in history. The tanker's captain, Joseph Hazelwood, was accused of drunkeness and negligence.
97 per cent of the buildings in St. Croix were destroyed by Hurricane Hugo. The storm caused billions of dollars in damage to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and portions of the east coast. Amazingly, only 25 lives were lost.
47 sailors died in an explosion aboard the U.S.S. Iowa. The Navy originally said a sailor had caused the blast in a suicide attempt, but later recinded that conclusion without offering another explanation.
Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry was arrested after being videotaped smoking crack cocaine in a motel room.
The logging industry braced for hard times and court battles when the Northern Spotted Owl was added to the Endangered Species List.
23 Americans were killed and over 300 were wounded after President Bush authorized an invasion of Panama in an attempt to arrest General Manuel Noriega. The invasion took place just before Christmas and Noriega surrendered just after the New Year. He was taken to the U.S. to stand trial for drug trafficking.
Lincoln Savings & Loan chief Charles Keating was indicted on 42 criminal fraud charges.
Baseball superstar Pete Rose was banished from the game for life by the Commisioner Of Baseball. Rose had admitted to gambling on professional sports but denied the Commissioner's finding that he had bet on his own team.
Driving Miss Daisy received the Academy Award for Best Picture. Its star, Jessica Tandy, was named Best Actress.
NBC's Cheers became the number one TV series. Law & Order debuted.
Hit songs included Vogue by Madonna and Another Day In Paradise by Phil Collins, which received a Grammy for Record Of The Year.
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