Explore 5094 historical events from 1980–1989.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Rein Taaramäe is an Estonian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Continental team Kinan Racing Team.
Rein Taaramäe, Estonian cyclist
Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Mainly a centre-back, he also played as a left-back.
Jan Vertonghen, Belgian international footballer
Varun Dhawan is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, Dhawan has appeared in a variety of genres, from romantic-comedies to action. Between …
Varun Dhawan, Indian actor
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
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
The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc …
Cold War: At the Brandenburg Gate, U
The dusky seaside sparrow is an extinct non-migratory subspecies of the seaside sparrow, found in Florida in the natural salt marshes of Merritt Island and along the St. Johns Rive…
With the death of the last individual of the species, the dusky seaside sparrow becomes extinct
ETA, an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, was an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization active in Spain and France between 1959 and 2018. It was founded in 1959, dur…
Basque separatist group ETA commits one of its most violent attacks, in which a bomb is set off in a supermarket, Hiperc
Abdoul-Razak "Razak" Boukari is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a winger.
Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer
Jorge Andújar Moreno, known as Coke, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer