1980 – 1990s

Events in the 1980s 118

• 1887 – 1985 Marc Chagall Surrealism · Belarus / France Marc Chagall (July 7, 1887 – March 28, 1985) was a Russian-French artist whose dreamlike, colourful paintings drew on Jewish folklore and his Belarusian childhood. He lived to 97 and worked across painting, stained glass and tapestry.
• 1887 – 1986 Georgia O'Keeffe Modernism · USA Georgia O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American Modernist painter known for her large-scale close-ups of flowers and New Mexico landscapes. She lived to 98 and is considered the mother of American modernism.
• 1897 – 1987 Pola Negri (1897-1987) Polish actress, a star of German silent film under Ernst Lubitsch and one of Hollywood's first European imports.
• 1902 – 1983 Norma Shearer (1902-1983) Canadian-American actress, MGM's first lady in the late 1920s and 1930s and wife of Irving Thalberg.
• 1904 – 1989 Salvador Dalí Surrealism · Spain Salvador Dalí (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989) was a Spanish Surrealist painter whose bizarre, meticulously rendered dreamscapes made him the most famous artist of the 20th century after Picasso. The Persistence of Memory is his most iconic work.
• 1904 – 1983 Dolores del Río (1904-1983) Mexican actress, a Hollywood star of the 1920s and 1930s and later the great lady of Mexican cinema.
• 1905 – 1980 Jean-Paul Sartre French philosopher and writer Sartre was a leading existentialist thinker who explored freedom, responsibility, and human existence.
• 1905 – 1980 Jean-Paul Sartre Philosopher, Playwright, and Voice of Existentialism Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, and political activist who became the foremost public exponent of existentialism in the twentieth century. Through works such as Being and Nothingness, Nausea, and No Exit, he explored themes of freedom, bad faith, and radical responsibility for one's own existence. A lifelong partner of Simone de Beauvoir and a prominent left-wing intellectual, he shaped postwar European thought, engaged directly in the political struggles of his era, and in 1964 became the only person ever to decline the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1906 – 1984 Janet Gaynor (1906-1984) American actress, winner of the first Academy Award for Best Actress.
• 1906 – 1982 Leonid Brezhnev The era of stagnation Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (December 19, 1906 – November 10, 1982) led the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982. His 18-year tenure brought stability but also stagnation. He ordered the invasions of Czechoslovakia (1968) and Afghanistan (1979).
• 1907 – 1986 Ray Milland (1907-1986) Welsh actor who won the Oscar for The Lost Weekend and starred in Dial M for Murder.
• 1909 – 1984 James Mason (1909-1984) English actor with a famous voice, who moved from British melodramas to Hollywood roles in A Star Is Born, North by Northwest and Lolita.
• 1921 – 1986 Donna Reed (1921-1986) American actress, Mary Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life and star of The Donna Reed Show.
• 1923 – 1985 Anne Baxter (1923-1985) American actress, granddaughter of Frank Lloyd Wright, Oscar winner for The Razor's Edge and Eve in All About Eve.
• 1926 – 1989 Emperor Showa (Hirohito) Reign 1926–1989 — war, defeat and postwar recovery Hirohito, posthumously Emperor Showa, was Japan's longest-reigning emperor. His era spanned the rise of militarism, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the catastrophe of 1945, and then Japan's extraordinary postwar reconstruction into an economic superpower. After 1945 he became a symbolic constitutional monarch.
• 1926 – 1984 Michel Foucault French philosopher, historian of ideas, and social theorist Michel Foucault was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, producing genealogical histories of madness, medicine, punishment, and sexuality that exposed how knowledge and power jointly construct the categories through which societies understand themselves. Trained in philosophy and psychology in postwar Paris, he moved between clinical psychiatry, diplomatic teaching posts abroad, and the highest academic chair in France, the Collège de France. His major works — History of Madness, The Birth of the Clinic, The Order of Things, Discipline and Punish, and the multi-volume History of Sexuality — reshaped fields from history and sociology to literary theory and law. He was also a committed activist, co-founding a prison-information group and speaking out on behalf of refugees and dissidents. He died in Paris in 1984 of an AIDS-related illness, the first prominent French public figure known to have died of the disease.
• 1928 – 1987 Andy Warhol Pop Art · USA Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American Pop Art artist who blurred the line between fine art and commercial culture. His Campbell's Soup Cans and Marilyn Monroe prints made him the defining artist of the 1960s.
• 1940 – 1980 John Lennon Singer-songwriter, Beatle English musician, co-founder of the Beatles and co-writer of most of their songs. Solo career with Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. Murdered in New York in 1980.
• 1955 – 1980 Parliament American funk band George Clinton's funk collective, twin of Funkadelic — Mothership Connection, Give Up the Funk and Flash Light.
• 1960 – 1988 Jean-Michel Basquiat Neo-Expressionism · USA Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American Neo-Expressionist painter who rose from graffiti artist to art world star. He died of a heroin overdose at 27. His work now sells for over $100 million.
• 1968 – 1980 Led Zeppelin English rock band Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham — the heaviest and biggest-selling rock band of the 1970s.
• 1975 – 1982 Begins pole vault -- Vitaly Petrov and Donetsk At around 11, Bubka takes up pole vault in Luhansk, then moves to Donetsk to train under coach Vitaly Petrov -- a partnership that lasts his entire career and is one of the most productive athlete-coach relationships in the history of athletics. Petrov develops the technical framework that enables Bubka's explosive, rhythmically precise approach: a short, fast run-up, an unusually high grip on the pole, and a powerful leg drive at take-off. The system is eventually called the "Soviet school" of pole vaulting and influences every serious vaulter who follows.
• 1976 – 1986 The Clash English punk band Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon — the punk band that took in reggae, rockabilly and dub.
• 1977 – 1986 The Police English rock band Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland — a trio that blended punk, reggae and pop into five albums and one of the biggest songs of the 1980s.
• 1978 – 1980 John Farrar writes for Olivia Newton-John "You're the One That I Want", "Suddenly" Former Shadows member John Farrar went on to write and produce major hits for Olivia Newton-John, including "You're the One That I Want" (from "Grease", 1978) and "Suddenly" (from "Xanadu", 1980) — one of the more unexpected legacies of the Shadows' rotating line-up.
• 1979 – 1989 Soviet-Afghan War USSR invades Afghanistan The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, beginning a decade-long conflict that became a significant factor in the eventual collapse of the USSR.
• 1980 – 1989 Continued recording through the 1980s Marvin, Welch & Bennett The core trio of Marvin, Welch and Bennett continued recording and performing through the 1980s, including covers and new material, supported by session musicians on bass.
• 1980 – 1988 Iran–Iraq War Eight years of devastating war with Iraq Iraq's invasion in 1980 began an eight-year war of attrition that cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides, featuring trench warfare, missile attacks on cities and the use of chemical weapons. It ended in 1988 in a bloody stalemate, profoundly shaping the young Islamic Republic.
• 1980 John Lennon assassinated John Lennon assassinated John Lennon was shot outside the Dakota building in New York on 8 December 1980 by Mark David Chapman, who had asked him for an autograph hours earlier. He was 40 and had just released Double Fantasy after five years away from music. Crowds kept vigil in Central Park for days.
• 1980 Emotional Rescue Fifteenth album — June 23, 1980 Emotional Rescue, released on June 23, 1980, reached number 1 in both UK and US. Recorded in sessions that also produced much of Tattoo You, it showed the band embracing disco and funk influences.
• 1980 Wimbledon 1980 Men: Björn Borg · Women: Evonne Goolagong Cawley Borg defeated McEnroe in one of tennis's greatest finals — 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 8-6. Borg's fifth consecutive title.
• 1980 – present Sally Rooney Irish novelist Rooney writes contemporary fiction focusing on relationships, class, and modern communication.
• 1980 Making Movies Third album — October 17, 1980 Making Movies was released on October 17, 1980, recorded in New York with producer Jimmy Iovine. David Knopfler left during recording. The album included "Romeo and Juliet" and "Tunnel of Love" and reached number 4 in the UK and number 19 in the US.
• 1980 John Lennon murdered Shot outside Dakota Building, New York — December 8, 1980 John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment at the Dakota Building in New York City on December 8, 1980, by Mark David Chapman. He was 40 years old. His death shocked the world and prompted an outpouring of grief comparable to the death of a head of state.
• 1980 – present Richie McCaw Openside flanker and the winningest captain in international rugby history Richard Hugh McCaw is a former New Zealand rugby union player regarded as one of the greatest players and captains the sport has produced. An openside flanker renowned for his relentless work rate at the breakdown, he made his Test debut for the All Blacks in 2001 and went on to earn 148 caps, captaining the side in a record 110 of them. Under his leadership New Zealand won back-to-back Rugby World Cups in 2011 and 2015, making him the first captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup twice. He retired from international rugby immediately after the 2015 final with the best win percentage of any long-serving Test captain in history.
• 1981 AIDS epidemic First cases reported The AIDS epidemic was first recognised in 1981. By the end of the century, 25 million had died and 36 million were living with HIV worldwide.
• 1981 Bernard King traded to New York The Knicks acquire forward Bernard King, who becomes one of the most electrifying scorers of the early 1980s.
• 1981 First Space Shuttle launch First Space Shuttle launch Columbia lifted off on 12 April 1981, the first flight of a reusable winged spacecraft and the first crewed launch to fly without an uncrewed test. John Young and Robert Crippen orbited for two days. The shuttle flew 135 missions over thirty years, with two lost crews.
• 1981 Poland: Solidarity Walesa leads trade union uprising Lech Walesa's Solidarity became the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc, challenging Communist rule across Eastern Europe.
• 1981 – present Tears for Fears English pop rock / synth-pop duo, Bath 1981 Tears for Fears are an English band formed in Bath in 1981 by childhood friends Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. From the stark synth-pop of "The Hurting" to the global smashes "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" on "Songs from the Big Chair", through a 1990s split and a 21st-century reunion culminating in "The Tipping Point" (2022), they have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
• 1981 – 1989 Reagan presidency 40th President — 1981 to 1989 Ronald Reagan served as the 40th President from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. Reaganomics cut taxes and deregulated the economy. His arms build-up and "peace through strength" strategy contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• 1981 For Your Eyes Only — Roger Moore A deliberate return to gritty realism after the excess of Moonraker. Bond investigates the theft of a British military encryption device, racing against the KGB. The film opens with Bond scattering the remains of his murdered wife Tracy — a rare moment of genuine emotional continuity in the series. Budget: $28 million. Box office: $195.3 million.
• 1981 Wimbledon 1981 Men: John McEnroe · Women: Chris Evert Lloyd McEnroe ended Borg's five-year reign. Borg retired from tennis shortly after, aged 25.
• 1981 Tattoo You Sixteenth album — August 24, 1981 Tattoo You, released on August 24, 1981, spent nine weeks at number 1 in the US and reached number 2 in the UK. Largely assembled from outtakes from previous sessions, it included "Start Me Up" — one of their most enduring anthems.
• 1981 – present Metallica American heavy metal band James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich's band — the founding thrash metal act that became the best-selling metal band of all time.
• 1982 Compact Disc introduced Compact Disc introduced The compact disc reached shops in Japan in October 1982, developed jointly by Philips and Sony, with Billy Joel's 52nd Street among the first albums released. Its 74-minute capacity and 12cm diameter were settled during those negotiations. The CD overtook vinyl and cassette within a decade and carried the industry until downloads arrived.
• 1982 – present His legacy -- the full picture Ian Thorpe's legacy is twofold. In the pool: the most statistically dominant Australian swimmer in history, whose nine-year career produced records and titles that stood for a decade, and whose 2000 Sydney performance remains the benchmark for home-country Olympic achievement in Australia. Outside the pool: a story about the cost of elite sporting celebrity on mental health, the particular cruelty of being asked to define your sexuality in public as a teenager, and the difficulty -- and possibility -- of honesty after years of enforced concealment. Both stories matter. The Thorpedo's Olympic medals are secure in the record books; the other story is the one he seems to consider more important now.
• 1982 – present Ian Thorpe -- the Thorpedo Ian James Thorpe (born 13 October 1982, Milperra, Sydney) is Australia's most decorated Olympic swimmer: five Olympic gold medals, 13 World Championship gold medals, 10 Commonwealth Games gold medals and 22 world records across a career spanning 1997-2006 (with an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 2011-12). The most successful athlete at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the first person ever to win six gold medals at a single World Championships (2001), he dominated the 200m and 400m freestyle for nearly a decade. Off the pool, his story is equally remarkable: a quiet, introspective man navigating the crushing scrutiny of Australian sporting celebrity, a long struggle with depression and alcohol, decades of denying his sexuality, and an eventual public coming-out in 2014 that he describes as one of the most important acts of his life. The Thorpedo's legacy is both statistical and human.
• 1982 – 2022 Dan Carter All Blacks fly-half and one of rugby union's greatest playmakers Daniel William Carter is a former New Zealand rugby union first five-eighth widely regarded as the greatest fly-half in the sport's history. Over a 13-year international career with the All Blacks he won two Rugby World Cups (2011, 2015), three World Rugby Player of the Year awards, and retired as the leading points scorer in Test rugby history. After leaving the All Blacks he continued at club level with Racing 92 in France and the Kobelco Steelers in Japan, capping a career defined by precision goal-kicking, vision, and composure under pressure.
• 1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Widely considered the finest Star Trek film. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, it pits Kirk against his old nemesis Khan Noonien Singh and culminates in Spock's death to save the Enterprise. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Revitalises the franchise after the cold reception to the first film. Budget: $12 million. Gross: $97 million.
• 1982 Love Over Gold Fourth album — September 24, 1982 Love Over Gold was released on September 24, 1982, featuring the epic "Telegraph Road" and "Private Investigations". It reached number 1 in the UK — their first chart-topper — and number 19 in the US. The last album with drummer Pick Withers.
• 1982 Ian Thorpe born in Milperra, Sydney Ian James Thorpe is born in Milperra, a suburb in Sydney's south-west, the son of Ken and Margaret Thorpe. His father Ken is a former cricket player who, having been pushed into sport by his own father, resolves not to pressure his children. His older sister Christina takes up swimming on medical advice to strengthen a broken wrist, and the young Ian follows her to the pool -- where he promptly discovers a chlorine allergy. Only by wearing a nose-clip can he swim with his face in the water. He will outgrow the allergy, but the nose-clip is an early metaphor for the determination that defines his career: obstacles are obstacles to be managed, not reasons to stop.
• 1983 – present His legacy -- redefining the possible Bubka's legacy is threefold. First, the numbers: 35 world records, 6 World Championship titles, 1 Olympic gold, records that stood for more than a quarter-century. Second, the method: his relationship with Petrov pioneered a scientific approach to pole vault technique that influenced every subsequent generation of vaulters. Third, the human story: a boy from industrial Luhansk who becomes Ukraine's greatest sporting icon, then its most prominent sports diplomat -- navigating Soviet politics, Olympic disappointments, and ultimately his country's war for survival. Armand Duplantis, the man who finally broke his records, consistently cites Bubka as his hero and inspiration.
• 1983 Internet (TCP/IP) Global network live On January 1, 1983, ARPANET adopted the TCP/IP protocol, creating the technical foundation of the modern internet.
• 1983 French Open 1983 Men: Yannick Noah · Women: Chris Evert Lloyd Noah — first French winner of Roland Garros since 1946.
• 1983 Octopussy — Roger Moore Bond investigates a jewel-smuggling ring run by the mysterious Octopussy and uncovers a Soviet general's plot to detonate a nuclear device on a NATO base in West Germany. Moore, by now 55 years old, wears the role lightly. Budget: $27.5 million. Box office: $187.5 million.
• 1983 – present Nirmal Purja Nepalese Mountaineer Nepalese mountaineer and former British Special Forces soldier, known as Nims or Nimsdai, who became one of the most celebrated climbers in history. In 2019, he completed Project Possible, summiting all fourteen of the world's 8,000-metre peaks in just six months and six days — a feat that had previously taken the fastest climber almost eight years. The achievement was documented in the Netflix film 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. In January 2021, he was part of the team that made the first winter ascent of K2. He was killed by an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan at the age of 42.
• 1983 First World Championship gold -- Helsinki 1983 At 19, Bubka wins gold at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Helsinki -- the first world title of what will become an unprecedented six-title streak in the same event. He clears 5.70m to win. The performance announces the arrival of a new force in world athletics; within a year he will be setting world records. The Helsinki gold is the beginning of a 14-year period of complete dominance of the pole vault event at World Championship level.
• 1983 Undercover Seventeenth album — November 7, 1983 Undercover was released on November 7, 1983, showing the Stones experimenting with new wave and funk. It reached number 3 in both UK and US. The video for the title track was famously violent and banned by several TV channels.
• 1984 Apple Macintosh released Apple Macintosh released Apple released the Macintosh on 24 January 1984, the first mass-market computer built around a graphical interface and a mouse, launched with a Ridley Scott commercial shown once during the Super Bowl. It was underpowered and sold poorly at first. Desktop publishing with the LaserWriter and PageMaker saved it.
• 1984 – 1985 Bernard King's injury-shortened MVP-caliber season King is in the midst of a historic scoring season when a severe knee injury derails his career and the Knicks' playoff hopes.
• 1984 – present Dell Technologies Dell Technologies — founded in 1984 by Michael Dell in his University of Texas dorm room with $1,000 — pioneered the direct-to-consumer model for personal computers. This model made Dell the world's largest PC manufacturer by 2001. After going private in 2013 and acquiring EMC in 2016 in the largest technology acquisition in history, Dell Technologies emerged as one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies with over $100 billion in annual revenues.
• 1984 Los Angeles 1984 -- absent due to Soviet boycott The Soviet Union boycotts the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in retaliation for the US-led boycott of Moscow 1980. Bubka -- the reigning world champion and clear favourite -- does not compete. The gold medal goes to Pierre Quinon of France with 5.75m, a height Bubka has already exceeded in training. It is the first of two Olympic disappointments in a career otherwise defined by dominance; the absence at Los Angeles is entirely beyond his control.
• 1984 Michael Jackson becomes Pepsi spokesperson "The Choice of a New Generation" — 1984 In 1984 Pepsi signed Michael Jackson — at the height of the Thriller era — for the "Choice of a New Generation" advertising campaign. It was the biggest celebrity endorsement deal in history at the time. During filming of a commercial in January 1984, pyrotechnics misfired and Jackson's hair caught fire.
• 1984 First world record -- 5.85m, Bratislava, 26 May 1984 On 26 May 1984 in Bratislava, Bubka sets his first outdoor world record: 5.85m. It is the beginning of a decade-long habit of progressive record-setting that no other field athlete in history has matched. He will eventually set 17 outdoor and 18 indoor world records -- 35 in total -- between this day in Bratislava and his final record at Sestriere in July 1994. The incremental approach (usually raising the record by 1cm at a time, then stopping) is partly tactical: it maximises the bonus payments attached to each new record.
• 1984 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Kirk and crew steal the Enterprise to recover Spock's body from the Genesis Planet, where his mind — transferred to Dr. McCoy — can be reunited with a regenerated body. Christopher Lloyd plays Klingon commander Kruge. The Enterprise is destroyed — a landmark moment for the franchise. Directed by Leonard Nimoy. Budget: $16 million. Gross: $87 million.
• 1984 – present LeBron James Basketball player, businessman, b. 1984 LeBron Raymone James (b. 1984) — one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Four NBA championships with three different franchises, four MVP awards, four Finals MVPs, two Olympic gold medals, the NBA all-time leading scorer with 40,000+ points, and a cultural force off the court through the I Promise School, SpringHill Entertainment, and a lifetime Nike deal.
• 1985 Coke blinks — New Coke launched and withdrawn Pepsi's greatest victory — 1985 In April 1985, Coca-Cola reformulated its recipe as "New Coke" in direct response to losing Pepsi Challenge blind tests. The backlash was catastrophic and Coke brought back its original formula as "Coca-Cola Classic" within 79 days. Pepsi celebrated with ads declaring it had "won the Cola Wars" — though Coke's return ultimately strengthened the rival brand.
• 1985 – 1986 Ewing wins Rookie of the Year Patrick Ewing is named NBA Rookie of the Year in his debut season.
• 1985 Knicks win first NBA Draft Lottery A favorable bounce in the league's inaugural draft lottery gives New York the first overall pick.
• 1985 Live Aid concerts Live Aid concerts Live Aid was staged simultaneously at Wembley and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on 13 July 1985, organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure for famine relief in Ethiopia. It was broadcast to an estimated 1.5 billion viewers and raised over $100 million. Queen's twenty-minute set is routinely called the best live performance in rock.
• 1985 Patrick Ewing drafted first overall The Knicks select Georgetown center Patrick Ewing with the No. 1 pick, hailed as the franchise's savior.
• 1985 – present Public Enemy American hip hop group Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Terminator X and Professor Griff — It Takes a Nation of Millions and Fight the Power.
• 1985 Iditarod 1985 — first woman wins Winner: Libby Riddles — 18 days 0h Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod, famously mushing into a blizzard while rivals sheltered. Her victory made international headlines and transformed the race's profile worldwide.
• 1985 – 1991 Gorbachev in power Glasnost, Perestroika and the collapse of the USSR — 1985 to 1991 Gorbachev became Soviet leader on March 11, 1985 and resigned on December 25, 1991, the day the Soviet Union was dissolved. His reforms of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) inadvertently unleashed forces that ended the Cold War and dissolved the USSR.
• 1985 New Coke launched and withdrawn Biggest marketing blunder in history On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola replaced its original formula with "New Coke" — a sweeter recipe designed to beat Pepsi in blind tests. The public backlash was immediate and furious. On July 10, 1985, the company restored the original formula as "Coca-Cola Classic" in what became one of the most famous marketing disasters ever.
• 1985 Brothers in Arms Fifth album — May 17, 1985 Brothers in Arms was released on May 17, 1985, becoming one of the best-selling albums of the 20th century with over 30 million copies sold. The first album to sell a million copies on CD, it reached number 1 worldwide and included "Money for Nothing" and "Walk of Life".
• 1985 A View to a Kill — Roger Moore Moore's final film as Bond. Silicon Valley tech mogul Max Zorin, a product of KGB genetic experiments, plans to trigger an earthquake that will destroy Silicon Valley and give him control of the world's microchip market. Duran Duran contribute the title song, the only Bond theme to reach number one in the United States. Budget: $30 million. Box office: $152.4 million.
• 1985 Wimbledon 1985 Men: Boris Becker · Women: Martina Navratilova Boris Becker, 17, became the youngest Wimbledon men's champion ever.
• 1985 Dire Straits play Live Aid Wembley Stadium — July 13, 1985 Dire Straits delivered one of the most celebrated performances at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985, with an extended "Money for Nothing" that included guest vocals by Sting. The concert was broadcast to 1.9 billion viewers in 150 nations.
• 1985 First to clear six metres -- Paris, 13 July 1985 On 13 July 1985 in Paris, Bubka becomes the first pole vaulter in history to clear 6.00 metres. The barrier is the equivalent of the four-minute mile in athletics -- a psychological and physical threshold that many believed would never be reached. He clears it at 21. The performance is one of the defining moments in the history of field athletics and makes him a global figure beyond the specialist athletics audience. He will go on to become the first to clear 6.10m as well.
• 1985 Money for Nothing launches MTV Europe First video on MTV Europe — August 1, 1985 "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits was the first video played when MTV Europe launched on August 1, 1987. Its groundbreaking computer-animated video, one of the most expensive ever made at the time, became the defining image of 1980s MTV. The song featuring Sting's "I want my MTV" reached number 1 in the US.
• 1986 Brothers in Arms — first million-selling CD Milestone in music technology — 1986 Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms became the first album in history to sell one million copies on CD format, marking a pivotal moment in the transition from vinyl to digital music. The album's pristine production was perfectly suited to showcase the new CD format.
• 1986 Chernobyl disaster Chernobyl disaster An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused the worst nuclear accident in history.
• 1986 Dirty Work Eighteenth album — March 24, 1986 Dirty Work was released on March 24, 1986 during a period of severe tension between Jagger and Richards. Mick Jagger refused to tour in support of the album, nearly breaking the band apart permanently.
• 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear disaster, Ukraine The April 1986 explosion at Chernobyl released radiation across Europe, forcing 350,000 people to evacuate permanently.
• 1986 Hank Marvin moves to Australia Perth, "Nivram Studios" Hank Marvin relocated to Perth, Australia in November 1986, where he built a private recording studio he named "Nivram Studios" — his own surname spelled backwards.
• 1986 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home The most accessible and commercially successful of the original-cast films. Kirk and crew travel back to 1986 San Francisco to retrieve humpback whales and save the future Earth. Fish-out-of-water comedy combined with environmental message. Directed by Leonard Nimoy. Budget: $21 million. Gross: $133 million.
• 1987 Black Monday crash Black Monday crash The Dow Jones fell 22.6 per cent on 19 October 1987, the largest one-day percentage drop in its history, with markets falling worldwide. Portfolio insurance and computerised program trading accelerated the slide. Exchanges introduced circuit breakers afterwards to halt trading during steep falls.
• 1987 – 1994 Early swimming -- outgrowing the allergy Thorpe begins competitive swimming at age eight, following his sister Christina (who will qualify for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics). Despite the chlorine allergy that requires the nose-clip, his natural aptitude for the water is immediately apparent -- particularly his physical gifts: he will eventually stand 6 feet 5 inches tall, weigh 230 pounds, wear a size 17 shoe and carry an arm span of 6 feet 5 inches. His coaches note the extraordinarily powerful kick -- eight to ten leg beats per two arm strokes, where most swimmers manage six. At 13 he breaks 10 national age-group records in a single meet. In 1994, he captains the New South Wales team at the Australian Primary Schools Championships.
• 1987 – 1994 Nirvana American rock band Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl — the band that brought grunge and alternative rock to the mainstream.
• 1987 – present TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) — founded in 1987 by Morris Chang in Hsinchu, Taiwan — invented the pure-play semiconductor foundry model and became the most strategically important company in the world. TSMC manufactures chips for Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Intel and virtually every other technology company, controlling over 90% of the world's most advanced chip production. The 2nm chips rolling off its production lines in 2025 contain transistors smaller than a strand of DNA. No single company is more central to the global technology supply chain — or more geopolitically contested.
• 1987 Australian Open 1987 — moves to January Men: Stefan Edberg · Women: Hana Mandlíková Australian Open permanently moves to January, establishing its place as the first Grand Slam of the year.
• 1987 The Living Daylights — Timothy Dalton Timothy Dalton takes over as Bond, bringing a harder, more faithful-to-Fleming interpretation. Bond helps a Soviet general defect and uncovers an arms and drugs smuggling operation. Dalton is intense and physical — critics respond positively but the film underperforms relative to the Moore peak. Budget: $40 million. Box office: $191.2 million.
• 1987 Second World Championship gold -- Rome 1987 Bubka retains his world title at the 1987 IAAF World Championships in Rome, winning with 5.90m. The performance is part of a period of consistent dominance across all major championships. By 1987 he has set 13 world records; the question is no longer whether he will win competitions but how high he will go. The Rome defence of his title is the second step in what will become an unbroken six-title run at World Championships -- every two years, 1983 through 1997.
• 1987 Star Trek: The Next Generation — Season 1 Set 78 years after the original series, TNG premieres in first-run syndication with Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The first season is uneven but the ensemble — including Brent Spiner as Data, Jonathan Frakes as Riker and LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge — quickly establishes itself as one of television's finest casts. 26 episodes.
• 1988 Ben Johnson stripped Olympic gold Ben Johnson stripped Olympic gold Ben Johnson was stripped of the Seoul 100 metres gold on 27 September 1988, three days after winning in a world record 9.79 seconds, when his sample tested positive for the steroid stanozolol. The Dubin Inquiry that followed exposed systematic doping in Canadian athletics. Six of the eight finalists were later linked to performance-enhancing drugs.
• 1988 Australian Open 1988 — moves to Melbourne Park Men: Mats Wilander · Women: Steffi Graf First Australian Open at Melbourne Park (then Flinders Park) on hard courts. Steffi Graf won the first of four Australian Open titles.
• 1988 – present Stephen Curry Basketball player, b. 1988 Wardell Stephen Curry II (b. 1988) — widely regarded as the greatest shooter in basketball history. Four NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors, two MVP awards (including the first unanimous MVP in NBA history), one Finals MVP, the NBA all-time leader in three-pointers made (4,000+), and the architect of a revolution that transformed how basketball is played at every level.
• 1988 – present David Pocock From Zimbabwean Farm to Wallabies Great to Australian Senator David Pocock is a Zimbabwean-born Australian who built two separate public careers: one as one of the finest openside flankers in rugby history, and a second as an independent Australian senator. After his family fled violence linked to Zimbabwe's land reform program in 2002, Pocock grew up in Brisbane, rose through Super Rugby with the Western Force and Brumbies, and won more than 80 Wallabies caps across four Rugby World Cups. Throughout his rugby career he was equally known for environmental activism, including a widely publicized arrest at a coal mine protest, and for a public stance on marriage equality. In 2022 he was elected to the Australian Senate for the Australian Capital Territory as an independent, becoming one of the most closely watched crossbench voices on climate and integrity legislation, and was re-elected in 2025.
• 1988 French Open 1988 Men: Mats Wilander · Women: Steffi Graf (6-0, 6-0) Steffi Graf won Roland Garros 6-0, 6-0 — one of the most dominant Grand Slam finals ever. She went on to win all four Grand Slams and the Olympics that year.
• 1988 Wimbledon 1988 Men: Stefan Edberg · Women: Steffi Graf Steffi Graf won Wimbledon as part of her calendar Grand Slam.
• 1988 US Open 1988 Men: Mats Wilander · Women: Steffi Graf Steffi Graf won the Golden Slam — all four Grand Slams plus Olympic gold.
• 1988 Olympic gold -- Seoul, 26 September 1988 At the Seoul Olympics on 26 September 1988, Bubka wins the Olympic gold medal with a vault of 5.90m -- the only Olympic title of his career. The performance is emotionally significant: denied at Los Angeles by politics, he finally has his Olympic gold. He is 24. In the context of his career it is almost an afterthought -- he has broken the world record 16 times by this point -- but the Olympic title is the one honour the 1984 boycott took from him, and Seoul restores it.
• 1988 Star Trek: The Next Generation — Season 2 The second season introduces Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) and the recurring Borg threat. Diana Muldaur replaces Gates McFadden as the ship's doctor due to a behind-the-scenes dispute. The season ends strongly with the first appearance of the Borg Queen.
• 1988 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Directed by William Shatner, the film follows a renegade Vulcan who hijacks the Enterprise in search of God at the centre of the galaxy. Generally considered the weakest of the original cast films. Plagued by budget problems and a writers' strike. Budget: $30 million. Gross: $63 million.
• 1989 – 2019 Emperor Akihito (Heisei era) Reign 1989–2019 — abdicated, the first in 200 years Emperor Akihito's Heisei era was a time of economic stagnation after the 1980s bubble, and of natural disasters including the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. A reconciliation-minded monarch, in 2019 he became the first Japanese emperor in over two centuries to abdicate the throne.
• 1989 – 2026 Hayden Panettiere -- child star, breakout actress, advocate Hayden Lesley Panettiere (21 August 1989 - 16 August 2026) was an American actress who began performing before her first birthday and became one of the most recognisable faces on American television through her roles as cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes and country music star Juliette Barnes in Nashville. A two-time Golden Globe nominee, she also appeared in Remember the Titans, the Scream franchise, and the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove. Her later years were marked by candid revelations about addiction, postpartum depression, and the pain of giving up custody of her daughter. She died five days before her 37th birthday in Greenville, South Carolina.
• 1989 – present Her legacy -- from Kent to number one Lauren Bennett's career traces an arc from pub talent contests in a Kent village to a Billboard Hot 100 number one and chart-toppers in more than 20 countries -- a journey that required relocating to Los Angeles at 17, surviving two group disbandments, the loss of a bandmate to suicide, and a decade of persistent solo work after the peak. She was part of one of the most-played songs of the 2010s, a founding member of two internationally recognised girl groups, and a collaborator to artists from CeeLo Green to Pitbull. She died at 36, before an inquest could establish the cause, leaving behind a body of work that will continue to be heard -- most insistently on dancefloors, in the opening bars of "Party Rock Anthem" -- for as long as people play the music of that era.
• 1989 – present Her voice -- what made her distinctive Bennett's voice is consistently described by collaborators and critics as versatile, warm and naturally suited to pop-R&B hybrid production -- not the belting power-vocal that dominates talent shows, but a more conversational, melodically precise instrument that sits well in a mix. It is audible on "Party Rock Anthem" in the hook's clarity, on "Ugly Heart" in its slightly breathy directness, and on "Love Gun" in its comfort within CeeLo Green's gospel-inflected production. Her gift is not grandeur but fit -- finding the line in a song that the production needs and delivering it with the minimum of fuss. It is the same quality that her stage career required: precision, reliability, presence without ego.
• 1989 – 2026 Lauren Bennett (1989–2026) Lauren Diane Bennett (24 June 1989 – 29 May 2026) was a British singer, dancer and model who rose from talent contests in Kent to become an internationally recognised pop voice. She was a founding member of the girl groups Paradiso Girls and G.R.L., and is best known worldwide as the featured vocalist on LMFAO's 2011 global number-one hit "Party Rock Anthem" -- one of the defining pop songs of the early 2010s, which topped the charts in more than 20 countries and sold over five million digital downloads in the United States alone. Throughout her career she collaborated with LMFAO, CeeLo Green, will.i.am, Pitbull, Robin Antin and the Pussycat Dolls. She died in Kent, England, on 29 May 2026, aged 36. Her death was not publicly announced until 6 July 2026, when her G.R.L. bandmates shared the news on Instagram. An inquest is scheduled for 30 October 2026.
• 1989 French Open 1989 Men: Michael Chang · Women: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Michael Chang, 17 years old, became the youngest French Open men's champion ever, defeating Lendl with a famous underarm serve.
• 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre 4 June 1989 — pro-democracy protesters crushed by the military Following weeks of pro-democracy protests centred on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government declared martial law and sent in the army on the night of 3–4 June 1989. Tanks and soldiers killed an estimated hundreds to thousands of protesters. The iconic image of a lone man blocking a column of tanks became one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century. The crackdown ended China's brief period of political liberalisation.
• 1989 Licence to Kill — Timothy Dalton Dalton's second and final Bond film — the darkest entry in the franchise to that point. Bond goes rogue to avenge his CIA friend Felix Leiter, whose wife is murdered by drug lord Franz Sanchez. The film is genuinely menacing and tightly plotted. It is the first Bond film not to use a title from any Ian Fleming work. Budget: $32 million. Box office: $156.2 million.
• 1989 Lauren Bennett born in Meopham, Kent Lauren Diane Bennett is born on 24 June 1989 in Meopham, a village in the borough of Gravesham, Kent, England. She grows up in the county and from an early age shows a strong aptitude for performance -- singing, dancing and entering local talent competitions. Kent is where she will also die, in May 2026, thirty-six years after her birth.
• 1989 Steel Wheels Nineteenth album — August 29, 1989 Steel Wheels, released on August 29, 1989, was widely seen as a comeback album after the Jagger-Richards rift. It reached number 2 in the UK and US and was followed by their most successful tour to date.
• 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation — Season 3 Widely regarded as TNG's first great season. Gates McFadden returns. The season ends with "The Best of Both Worlds" — Picard assimilated by the Borg — the most celebrated cliffhanger in the franchise's history and arguably in all of American television drama.
• 1989 Berlin Wall falls Nov 9, 1989 On November 9, 1989, crowds tore down the Berlin Wall, ending 28 years of division — the defining moment of the Cold War's end.