What Happened in 1980 — Events, Births & Deaths

U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.

The New England Journal of Medicine publishes the letter Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics, which is later misused to downplay the general risk of addiction to opioids.

Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.

Mother Teresa is honored with India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.

Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.

USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.

Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.

First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.

Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3.

Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.

The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.

Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.

Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal.

The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister.

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashes during final approach near Warsaw, Poland, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team.

A Vostok-2M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43 explodes during a fueling operation, killing 48 people.

Cold War: American President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War.

Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.

El Salvadorian Archbishop Óscar Romero is assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.

The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.

United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act.

US Congress restores a federal trust relationship with the 501 members of the Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and the Indian Peaks and Cedar City bands of the Paiute people of Utah.

During the Iran hostage crisis, the United States severs relations with Iran.

The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.

The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is violently deposed.

Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis, Brazil. Fifty-five out of the 58 people on board are killed.

Canadian runner and athlete Terry Fox begins his Marathon of Hope Run in St. John's, NF

The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency.

The town of Elmore City, Oklahoma holds its first dance in the town's history.

Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.

One hundred forty-six people are killed when Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashes near Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Beatrix is inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands following the abdication of Juliana.

The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London.

Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.

The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.

In Florida, United States, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 430-meter (1,400 ft) section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 46 metres (150 ft) into the water and die.

In Norco, California, United States, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase.

An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.

Salvadoran Civil War: The Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador.

General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.

On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.

Rioting breaks out in downtown Miami, following the acquittal of four white police officers in the killing of Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance salesman.

Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.

Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.

Rioting spreads to Miami's mostly African-American neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City following the previous day's courthouse protests.

In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, with 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.

The Shining, the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, is premiered on 10 screens in New York City and Los Angeles on the Memorial Day weekend.

The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.

Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.

The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, United States, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $1172 million in 2025) worth of damage.

The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.

The 'Ustica massacre': Itavia Flight 870 crashes in the sea while en route from Bologna to Palermo, Italy, killing all 81 on board.

"O Canada" officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.

Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).

Institution of sharia law in Iran.

During the Lebanese Civil War, 83 Tiger militants are killed during what will be known as the Safra massacre.

The inaugural 1980 State of Origin game is won by Queensland who defeat New South Wales 20–10 at Lang Park.

Aeroflot Flight 4225 crashes near Almaty International Airport in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Kazakhstan), killing all 166 people on board.

Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Phạm Tuân becomes the first Vietnamese citizen and the first Asian in space when he flies aboard the Soyuz 37 mission as an Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut.

The Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia wins the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the swimming event at Olympic level.

Iran adopts a new "holy" flag after the Islamic Revolution.

Vanuatu gains independence.

Israel's Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.

A train crash kills 18 people and injures over 170 more in County Cork, Ireland.

A bomb explodes at the railway station in Bologna, Italy, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200.

Lech Wałęsa leads strikes at the Gdańsk, Poland shipyards.

Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.

Otłoczyn railway accident: In Poland's worst post-war railway accident, 67 people lose their lives and a further 62 are injured.

Zimbabwe joins the United Nations.

The last performance of the Jahrhundertring at the Bayreuth Festival receives ovations of 45 minutes.

After John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, in the United States, the FBI inadvertently detonates the bomb during its disarming.

South Korean presidential election: After successfully staging the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, General Chun Doo-hwan, running unopposed, has the National Conference for Unification elect him President of the Fourth Republic of Korea.

The Gotthard Road Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 16.9 kilometres (10.5 mi) stretching from Göschenen to Airolo.

A new constitution of Chile is established under the influence of then Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, which is subject to controversy in Chile today.

The 43rd government of Turkey is overthrown in a coup d'état led by General Kenan Evren.

Florida Commuter Airlines Flight 65 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off West End, Bahamas, killing 34 people.

After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.

Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.

A fuel leak from a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile at a USAF base near Damascus, Arkansas, results in an explosion in a missile silo, killing one person and injuring 21 others.

Iraq invades Iran, sparking the nearly eight year Iran–Iraq War.

A terrorist bombing at the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, kills 13 people and injures 213 others.

Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Michael Myers becomes the first member of either chamber of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War.

Pope John Paul II greets the Dalai Lama during a private audience in Vatican City.

The 7.1 Mw El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria, killing 2,633 and injuring 8,369.

The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is founded in El Salvador.

The 6th Congress of the Workers' Party ended, having anointed North Korean President Kim Il Sung's son Kim Jong Il as his successor.

As part of the Holy See–United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican.

The government of Poland legalizes the Solidarity trade union.

Proceedings on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction conclude.

The Chun Doo-hwan government forcibly arrests and investigates monks and personnel of the Jogye Order.

Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in a crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base's Duke Field, Florida, leading to the cancellation of Operation Credible Sport.

El Salvador and Honduras agree to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.

A Latin Carga Convair CV-880 crashes at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Venezuela, killing four.

Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.

The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes the first images of its rings.

Lake Peigneur in Louisiana drains into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe had been drilled into the Diamond Crystal Salt Mine, causing water to flow down into the mine, eroding the edges of the hole.

A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally's Las Vegas). Eighty-five people are killed and more than 650 are injured in the worst disaster in Nevada history.

The 6.9 Mw Irpinia earthquake shakes southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 2,483–4,900, and injuring 7,700–8,934.

Sangoulé Lamizana, president of Upper Volta, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Colonel Saye Zerbo.

Iran–Iraq War: Operation Morvarid: The bulk of the Iraqi Navy is destroyed by the Iranian Navy in the Persian Gulf. (Commemorated in Iran as Navy Day.)

Salvadoran Civil War: Four American missionaries are raped and murdered by a death squad.

John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.

Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, an incident called "Britain's Roswell".

Raimonds Vaikulis, Latvian basketball player

Jeanette Biedermann, German singer-songwriter and actress

Hamzah bin Hussein, Jordanian prince

Molly Brodak, American poet and writer (died 2020)

Chris D'Elia, American stand-up comedian, actor and writer

Bill Demong, American skier

Kelli Giddish, American actress

Emma Husar, Australian politician

Tony Romo, American football player and announcer

Quincy Timberlake, Kenyan-Australian activist, engineer, and politician

Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player

Evgeny Lebedev, Russian-English publisher and philanthropist

Michelle McManus, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress

Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer

Rishi Sunak, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Louis-Jean Cormier, Canadian singer and songwriter

Pete Hegseth, American author, political commentator and 29th United States Secretary of Defense

Pau Gasol, Spanish basketball player

Eric Chouinard, American-Canadian ice hockey player

Robbie Keane, Irish footballer

Javier Camuñas, Spanish footballer

Brett Goldstein, British actor, comedian and writer

Ryan Miller, American ice hockey player

Chris Simms, American football player

David Diehl, American football player and sportscaster

Dallas Green, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Zachary Levi, American actor and singer

Chrissy Metz, American actress

Vanessa Lachey, Filipino-American television host and actress

Dominique Maltais, Canadian snowboarder

John-Michael Liles, American ice hockey player

Aaron Mokoena, South African footballer

Alviro Petersen, South African cricketer

Robert Hayden, American poet and academic (born 1913)

Elizabeth Craig, Scottish journalist and economist (born 1883)

Philip Guston, Canadian-American painter and educator (born 1913)

Henry Miller, American novelist and essayist (born 1891)

Carlos López Moctezuma, Mexican actor (born 1909).