Explore 1450 historical events from 1980–1989.
Aurèle Émile Joliat, nicknamed the "Mighty Atom" and "Little Giant", was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the …
Aurèle Joliat, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1901)
Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox, known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer.
Anna Neagle, English actress and singer (born 1904)
Henri Pauli Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his younger br…
Henri Toivonen was killed in an accident while leading the Tour de Corse rally, resulting in FISA banning the popular Gr
The Isles of Scilly are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of mainland Cornwall. One of the islands, St Agnes, is over four miles further south than the most southerly po…
The Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace, having hypothetically been at war for 335 years without a single
Mswati III is the Ngwenyama (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He heads an absolute monarchy, as he has unrestricted political authority and veto power over all…
Mswati III (pictured) was crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, 16.5 kilomet…
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (pictured) near Chernobyl, Ukrainian SSR, suffered a steam explosion, resulting in a f
A stationary front is a weather front or transition zone between two air masses when each air mass is advancing into the other at speeds less than 5 knots at the ground surface. Th…
A stationary front began over the central Caribbean Sea, leading to severe floods that over two weeks killed dozens of p
Radio y Televisión Martí is an international broadcaster based in Miami, Florida, financed by the federal government of the United States through the U.S. Agency for Global Media. …
Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba
Luol Ajou Deng is a South Sudanese-born British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Bo…
Luol Deng, Sudanese-English basketball player
Nathan Donald Diaz is an American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is currently a free agent. Diaz is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting…
Nate Diaz, American mixed martial artist
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly abbreviated as the ATF, is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice.…
Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist survivalist group The Covenant, the Sw
In 1985, a raid took place at a laboratory belonging to the University of California, Riverside (UCR) that resulted in the removal of a monkey by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).…
University of California, Riverside 1985 laboratory raid: Animal Liberation Front rescues 467 animals being tested in a
Brendon Leonard is a New Zealand rugby union footballer.
Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
Taye Ismaila Taiwo is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer
Patricia Rooney Mara is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a British Academy Film Award.
Rooney Mara, American actress
Luke Mitchell (born 17 April 1985) is an Australian actor. He attended the Film and Television Studio International, and won the role of Chris Knight in Neighbours in 2008. Mitchel…
Luke Mitchell, Australian actor and model
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in Februa…
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
Łukasz Marek Fabiański is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club West Ham United.
Łukasz Fabiański, Polish footballer
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) was a far-right survivalist anti-government militia which advocated Christian Identity and was active in the United States du…
The compound of the militant group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord surrenders to federal authorities in
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers dri…
Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke
Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century s…
Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on STS-51-B
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he became an im…
Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg and the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he mak
The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, kil…
Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire
The 1985 MOVE bombing, locally known by its date, May 13, 1985, was the aerial bombing of a house, and the destruction of 61 more houses by the subsequent fire, in the Cobbs Creek …
Police bombed MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 c