Explore 6636 historical events from 1980–1989.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the primary armed forces of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of fo…
The People's Liberation Army suppressed the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, leaving hundreds of people dead and wo
Ruhollah Mostafavi Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the leader of …
Following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Assembly of Experts elected Ali Khamenei to be Supreme Leader of Iran
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…
Typhoon Sarah, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Openg, was a powerful typhoon that caused extensive damage along an erratic path across the Western Pacific in September 1989. Or…
Typhoon Sarah dissipated after causing extensive damage along an erratic path across the Western Pacific, killing 71…
UTA Flight 772 was a scheduled international passenger flight of the French airline Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) operating from Brazzaville in the People's Republic of the Con…
UTA Flight 772 was bombed up over Niger by the Libyan government while flying from Chad to France, killing all 170…
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999, having previously served as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of th…
During a tour of the United States, Soviet politician Boris Yeltsin visited a grocery store in Texas that had a major…
A civil union, also known by a variety of other terms, is a legal recognition of a relationship. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with child adoption being…
Civil unions between same-sex couples were legalised in Denmark, the first country to do so.
The Castro Sweep was a police riot that occurred in the Castro District of San Francisco on the evening of October 6, 1989. The riot, by about 200 members of the San Francisco Poli…
About 200 members of the San Francisco Police Department instigated a police riot in the Castro following a peaceful…
TAN-SAHSA Flight 414 was a scheduled flight from Juan Santamaría International Airport, San José, Costa Rica, to Toncontín Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with a stopover at Augu…
TAN-SAHSA Flight 414 crashed in approach to Toncontín International Airport, killing 131 out of 146 people onboard.
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
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