Explore 4219 historical events from 1980–1989.
Tank Man is an unidentified individual, presumed to be a Chinese man, who stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks on Chang'an Avenue near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5,…
An anonymous demonstrator, later dubbed "Tank Man", single-handedly stopped a column of Chinese tanks during the Tiananm
Surinam Airways Flight 764 was an international scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport in Surina…
Surinam Airways Flight 764 (pictured) crashed while approaching Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, in Zanderij, k
Protests led by students and workers, known in China as the June Fourth Incident, were held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsu…
Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre the 13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party appointed Jiang Z
Slobodan Milošević was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 until h…
President Slobodan Milošević gave a speech at Gazimestan in which he described the possibility of "armed battles" in the
Protests led by students and workers, known in China as the June Fourth Incident, were held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsu…
Following the Tiananmen Square massacre, the 13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party appointed Jiang…
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and …
United States National Security Council member Oliver North was given a suspended sentence, probation, and community…
Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer was an American actress and model. She began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed the role of Patricia "Patti" Russel…
American actress Rebecca Schaeffer was shot and killed by Robert John Bardo, eventually prompting the passage of…
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter…
After colliding with the dredger Bowbelle on the River Thames in London, the pleasure boat Marchioness sank in thirty…
The O-Bahn Busway is a guided busway that is part of the bus rapid transit system servicing the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The O-Bahn system was conceived b…
The final stage of the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Australia, was finished, completing at the time the world's…
The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Li…
Singing Revolution: Approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres…
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as researc…
The NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of…
Maui is the second-largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of Maui County's four siz…
Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle "C
Illinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC is the Bell Operating Company serving Illinois. It is owned by AT&T through AT&T Teleholdings, formerly Ameritech.
A fire at Illinois Bell's Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the "w
Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, the legislative branch of Australia's federal tier of government. The building also houses the core of the exe…
New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens
Operation Praying Mantis was the 18 April 1988 attack by the United States on Iranian naval targets in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a U.S. warship four days ea…
The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government an…
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The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikh…
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect
The Ariane 4 was a European expendable launch vehicle, developed by the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It …
The Ariane 4 rocket is launched on its maiden flight
John Demjanjuk, was a Trawniki and Nazi camp guard at Sobibor extermination camp, Majdanek, and Flossenbürg. Demjanjuk became the center of global media attention in the 1980s, whe…
In Israel John Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II, although the verdict is later o
On May 4, 1988, a fire followed by several explosions occurred at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada, United Stat…
The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire
Widerøe Flight 710, known as the Torghatten Accident, was a controlled flight into terrain into the mountain of Torghatten in Brønnøy Municipality, Norway. The Widerøe-operated de …
All thirty-six passengers and crew are killed when Widerøe Flight 710 crashes into Mt
The Carrollton bus collision occurred on May 14, 1988, on Interstate 71 in unincorporated Carroll County, Kentucky, United States. The collision involved a former school bus in use…
Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky hits a conve
The Soviet–Afghan War took place in Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 47-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Afgh…
Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afgha
Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in t…
Pope John Paul II canonizes 117 Vietnamese Martyrs