Explore 5464 historical events from 1980–1989.
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
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 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
Castle in the Sky, also known as Laputa: Castle in the Sky, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was produced by Isao Takah…
The animated film Castle in the Sky, the first from Studio Ghibli, is released.
Typhoon Wayne, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Miding, is one of the longest-lived tropical cyclones on record in the north-western Pacific Ocean. The system meandered for 21 d…
Typhoon Wayne formed over the South China Sea, going on to become one of the longest-lived tropical cyclones in the…
A limnic eruption, also known as a lake overturn, is an extremely rare type of natural hazard in which dissolved carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from deep lake waters, forming a gas…
A limnic eruption of Lake Nyos in Cameroon released a cloud of carbon dioxide, suffocating 1,746 people and 3,500…
Desmond Mpilo Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to…
Desmond Tutu (pictured) became the first black leader of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
Desmond Mpilo Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to…
Desmond Tutu became the first black leader of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
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
The Revolutionary Party of Central American Workers was a political party in Central America.
Members of the Revolutionary Party of Central American Workers, dressed as Salvadoran soldiers, attack the Zona Rosa are
The Val di Stava Dam collapse occurred on 19 July 1985, when two tailings dams above the village of Stava, near Tesero, Italy, collapsed. It resulted in one of Italy's worst disast…
The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
Takao Doi is a Japanese astronaut, engineer and veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions.
Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts.
The 1985–1986 Hormel strike was a labor strike that involved approximately 1,500 workers of the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota, United States. The strike, beginning …
The 1985–86 Hormel strike begins in Austin, Minnesota.
Hans-Joachim Tiedge was a head of West Germany's counter-intelligence in the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) in Cologne. His defection to the East on 19 August …
Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany.
Muhammadu Buhari was a Nigerian general and politician who ruled as military dictator of Nigeria from 1983 to 1985, and later served as the democratically elected civilian presiden…
Major General Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria, is ousted from power in a coup…
Buckminsterfullerene is a type of fullerene with the formula C60. It has a cage-like fused-ring structure made of twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons, and resembles an association…
The discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, the first fullerene molecule of carbon.
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
The Moimenta-Alcafache train crash occurred on 11 September 1985 in Mangualde, Portugal, in the Portuguese Linha da Beira Alta. It killed about 150 people, making it the worst rail…
Moimenta-Alcafache train crash, the worst railway accident to occur in Portugal.
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
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
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