Explore 3174 historical events from 1980–1989.
Robert Arthur Allison was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, wh…
A crash by Bobby Allison at the Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama fencing at the start-finish line would lead NASCAR to d
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra was a Fijian medical doctor who founded the Fiji Labour Party and served as the Prime Minister of Fiji for one month in 1987.
Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant colonel Sitiveni Rabuka
Aeroflot Flight N-528 was a regular commercial flight from Odesa to Berdyansk that crashed at 11:22 local time while attempting to land in poor weather conditions.
Aeroflot Flight N-528 crashes at Berdiansk Airport in present-day Ukraine, killing eight people
Cenk Akyol is a Turkish professional basketball coach and former player who played at the shooting guard position. He is assistant coach for Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Turkish Basket…
Cenk Akyol, Turkish basketball player
Aaron Justin Lennon is an English former professional footballer who played as a right winger.
Aaron Lennon, English international footballer
The Iran–Contra affair, also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Contragate, Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that cente…
Iran–Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The…
The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Warsaw to New York City. In the late-morning hours of 9 May 1987, the Ilyushin Il-62 operating t…
LOT Flight 5055 Tadeusz Kościuszko crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing all 183 people on board
The Iran–Iraq War began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980. After eight years of conflict, both countries accepted a ceasefire deal brokered by the United Nations, w…
Iran–Iraq War: An Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two missiles into the U
The Hashimpura massacre was the killing of 42 Indian Muslim men by police on or around 22 May 1987 near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state, India, during the 1987 Meerut communal riot…
Hashimpura massacre occurs in Meerut, India
Charles Joseph John Hart is an English football pundit, coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He was most recently the goalkeeper coach of EFL League Two club Shrewsb…
Joe Hart, English footballer
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. …
Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
Eduardo Jorge Costa Pinto is a Portuguese environmental engineer, politician and member of the Assembly of the Republic, the national legislature of Portugal. A member of the LIVRE…
Jorge Pinto, Portuguese politician
David Luiz Moreira Marinho is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Cypriot First Division club Pafos. He is primarily a centre-back, but has also been de…
David Luiz, Brazilian footballer
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches while Australia hosted 11 matches. The tournam…
First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand
Mathias Rust is a German aviator. In 1987, as a teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, without authorization. According to Russian claims, he was tracked…
An 18-year-old West German pilot, Mathias Rust, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in Red Square
New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island —and over 600 smaller islands. It is th…
New Zealand's Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarm
The June Democratic Struggle, also known as the June Democracy Movement and the June Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests f…
June Democratic Struggle: The June Democratic Struggle starts in South Korea, and people protest against the government
Diane Julie Abbott is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. She was the first black woman elected to …
Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain
Michael Antonio Arroyo Mina is an Ecuadorian professional footballer, who plays for Espartanos as a winger or attacking midfielder.
Michael Arroyo, Ecuadorian footballer
John Boye is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a defender.
John Boye, Ghanaian footballer
Emily Fox is an American former basketball player and former world record holder in sport stacking. She set the overall world record in the cycle in April 2002 and the 3–6–3. Howev…
Emily Fox, American basketball player
Benjamin John Howard is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut extended play (EP) Games in the Dark (2008) was followed by two more EPs, These…
Ben Howard, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country located in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Demo…
The Central African Republic's former emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa is sentenced to death for crimes he had committed durin