Explore 1450 historical events from 1980–1989.
The Iranian Embassy siege took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy on Prince's Gate in South Kensington, London.
Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege
The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The refe…
In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, with 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independe
Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN) is an American multinational news media company and the flagship namesake property of CNN Worldwide, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Foun…
Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is head…
The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox
Florida is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, t…
In Florida, United States, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay,
Norco is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States. Located roughly 40 miles (64 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean, Norco is known as "Horsetown, USA" and …
In Norco, California, United States, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out
The Fujita scale, or Fujita–Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The of…
An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan
Fabián Andrés Vargas Rivera is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his professional career playing for América de Cali and Boca…
Fabián Vargas, Colombian footballer
Curtis Woodhouse is an English former professional footballer turned professional boxer and football manager, most recently in charge of Marske United. Woodhouse played football as…
Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer, boxer, and manager
Emma Husar is a former Australian Labor Party (ALP) member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Lindsay, which she represented from 2016 to 2019. During a…
Emma Husar, Australian politician
Antonio Ramiro Romo is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played colle…
Tony Romo, American football player and announcer
The Salvadoran Civil War was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí Nati…
Salvadoran Civil War: the Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador
Chun Doo-hwan was a South Korean army general who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. A member of the Democratic Justice Party, he ruled the country as …
General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress stud
Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial…
On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town
The 1980 Miami riots were race riots that occurred in Miami, Florida, United States, starting in earnest on May 18, 1980, following an all-White male jury acquitting five white Dad…
Rioting breaks out in downtown Miami, following the acquittal of four white police officers in the killing of Arthur McD
Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It lies 52 miles (83 km) northeast of Port…
Mount St
Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake is a Kenyan political activist, occultist, and former presidential candidate, now resident in Australia. Along with Esther Arunga and Joseph Hellon,…
Quincy Timberlake, Kenyan-Australian activist, engineer, and politician
Nicole den Dulk is a Paralympic equestrian.
Nicole den Dulk, Dutch Paralympic equestrian
Fernando Enrique Arce Ruiz is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
Karen Asrian was an Armenian chess player. Awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1998, he was a three-time Armenian champion. Asrian was a member of the gold medal-winning Ar…
Karen Asrian, Armenian chess player (died 2008)
The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as May 18 Democratization Movement, was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980,…
Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms
The 1980 Miami riots were race riots that occurred in Miami, Florida, United States, starting in earnest on May 18, 1980, following an all-White male jury acquitting five white Dad…
Rioting spreads to Miami's mostly African-American neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City following the previous day
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson. It is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel and st…
The Shining, the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, is premiered on 10 screens in New York City and
The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as May 18 Democratization Movement, was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980,…
The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at