1983(MCMLXXXIII) was acommon year starting on Saturdayof theGregorian calendar,the 1983rd year of theCommon Era(CE) andAnno Domini(AD) designations, the 983rd year of the2nd millennium,the 83rd year of the20th century,and the 4th year of the1980sdecade.
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1983 saw both the official beginning of theInternet[1]and the first mobilecellular telephonecall.
Events
editJanuary
edit- January 1– The migration of theARPANETtoTCP/IPis officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the trueInternet).[2]
- January 24– Twenty-five members of theRed Brigadesare sentenced to life imprisonment for the1978murder of Italian politicianAldo Moro.
- January 25–IRASis launched fromVandenberg AFB,to conduct the world's first all-skyinfraredsurvey from space.
- January 27– The pilot shaft of theSeikan Tunnel,the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) in Japan, breaks through.[3]
February
edit- February 2–Giovanni Vigliottogoes on trial on charges ofpolygamyinvolving 105 women.
- February 3–Prime Minister of AustraliaMalcolm Fraseris granted adouble dissolutionof both houses of parliament, forelections on March 5, 1983.As Fraser is being granted the dissolution,Bill Haydenresigns as leader of theAustralian Labor Party,and in the subsequentleadership spillBob Hawkeis elected as Hayden's successor unopposed.
- February 5–6– The team ofA. J. Foyt,Preston Henn,Bob WollekandClaude Ballot-Lénawin the24 Hours of Daytonaautomobile race in aPorsche 935.
- February 12– 100 women protest inLahore,Pakistan, against military dictatorZia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women are tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up but are successful in repealing the law.
- February 16– TheAsh Wednesday bushfiresinVictoriaandSouth Australiaclaim the lives of 75 people, in one of Australia's worst bushfire disasters.
- February 18
- TheVenezuelan bolívaris devalued and exchange controls are established in an event now referred to asBlack Fridayby many Venezuelans (the Bolívar had been the most stable and internationally accepted currency).[clarification needed]
- Nellie massacre:Over 2,000 people, mostly Bangladeshi Muslims, are massacred inAssam,India, during theAssam agitation.
- Wah Mee massacre:13 people are killed in an attempted robbery in the Chinatown area ofSeattle,United States.[4]
- February 28– The final episode of the TV seriesM*A*S*H,entitledGoodbye, Farewell and Amen,airs on CBS, to a total audience of 121.6 million.
March
edit- March 1– TheBalearic IslandsandMadridbecomeAutonomous communities of Spain.
- March 5–Australian federal election:TheLabor Partyled byBob Hawkedefeats theLiberal/NationalCoalitiongovernmentled byPrime MinisterMalcolm Fraser.Hawke is to be sworn in onMarch 11.As soon as the results become clear, Fraser resigns from the Liberal leadership; he isreplacedby outgoingMinister for Industry and CommerceAndrew Peacock.
- March 9– The3D printeris invented byChuck Hull.[5]
- March 21–Yamoussoukroofficially becomes theIvorianpolitical capital after transfer fromAbidjan.[6]
April
edit- April 4– TheSpace ShuttleChallengeris launched on its maiden voyage:STS-6.
- April 11– Spain'sSeve Ballesteroswon the 47th PGAMasters Tournament
- April 18
- The1983 United States embassy bombing in Beirutkills 63 people.
- The Disney Channellaunches in the United States.
- April 22– A reactor shutdown due to failure of fuel rods occurs atKursk Nuclear Power Plant,Russia.
May
edit- May 6–Sternmagazine publishes the "Hitler Diaries"(which are later found to be forgeries).
- May 11–Aberdeen F.C.beatReal Madrid2–1 (after extra time) to win theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup in 1983and become only the thirdScottishside to win a European trophy.
- May 17–Lebanon,Israel,and the United States sign anagreementon Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
- May 20
- Two separate research groups led byRobert GalloandLuc Montagnierindependently declare that a novelretrovirusmay have been infecting people withHIV/AIDS,and publish their findings in the same issue of the journalScience.[7][8]
- Church Street bombing:A car bombing inPretoria,South Africa, kills 19 people. The bomb has been planted by members ofUmkhonto we Sizwe,a military wing of theAfrican National Congress.
- May 25–Hamburger SVdefeatJuventus1–0 in the final of theEuropean Cup.[9]
- May 26– The 7.8 Mw Sea of Japan earthquakeshakes northernHonshuwith a maximumMercalli intensityof VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.
- May 27–Benton fireworks disaster.An explosion at an unlicensed and illegalfireworksoperation nearBenton, Tennessee,kills eleven and injures one. The blast is heard within a radius of 20 miles (32 km).[10]
- May 28– The9th G7 summitbegins atWilliamsburg, Virginia,United States.
June
edit- June 5– TheSecond Sudanese Civil Warbegins inSudan.
- June 9– Britain'sConservativegovernment, led byMargaret Thatcher,isre-electedby a landslide majority.[11]
- June 9–25– The1983 Cricket World Cupis held in England with India defeating West Indies in the final.
- June 13
- Pioneer 10passes the orbit ofNeptune,becoming the first human-made object to leave the vicinity of the major planets of theSolar System.
- The first worldwide mobile telephone, theMotorola DynaTAC,enters the market.
- June 18–IranianteenagerMona Mahmudnizhadand nine other women are hanged because they are members of theBaháʼí Faith.
- June 18–19– The team ofVern Schuppan,Al HolbertandHurley Haywoodwins the24 Hours of Le Mans.
- June 22–Emanuela Orlandi,a 15-year-oldVaticangirl, mysteriously disappears inRomewhile returning home from a music lesson. The disappearance of the girl led to many speculations involving international terrorism, Italian organized crime, and even a plot inside the Vatican to cover a sexual scandal inside theHoly See.Because of all these theories, the Orlandi case would later becomeItaly's most famous mystery.
- June 25– India wins theCricket World Cup,defeating theWest Indiesby 43 runs.
- June 30– A total loss ofcoolantoccurs at theEmbalse Nuclear Power Station,Argentina.It is classified as an "Accident With Local Consequences" – level 4 on theInternational Nuclear Event Scale.
July
edit- July 1
- ANorth KoreanIlyushin Il-62M jet, en route to Conakry Airport inGuinea,crashesinto the Fouta Djall Mountains ofGuinea,killing all 23 people on board.
- A technical failure causes the release ofiodine-131from thePhilippsburg Nuclear Power Plant,Germany.
- July 7– Ten-year-old American girlSamantha Smithaccepts her invitation from Soviet PremierYuri Andropovand begins her visit to the USSR with her parents.
- July 11–Reading Rainbowdebuts onPBS.
- July 15
- Nintendo's Family Computer, also known as theFamicom,goes on sale in Japan.
- TheOrly Airport attackin Paris leaves eight dead and 55 injured.
- July 16–Sikorsky S-61 disaster:A helicopter crashes off theIsles of Scilly,causing 20 fatalities.
- July 20– The government of Poland announces the end ofmartial lawand amnesty for political prisoners.
- July 21– Thelowest temperature on Earthis recorded inVostok Station,Antarctica with −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
- July 22– AustralianDick Smithcompletes his solocircumnavigationof the world in a helicopter.
- July 23
- 13Sri Lanka Armysoldiers are killed during adeadly ambushby the militantLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,thus beginning theSri Lankan Civil War,which would continue until2009.
- Heavy rain and mudslides in westernShimane Prefecture,Japan, kill 117.
- July 24– TheBlack Julyanti-Tamil riots begin inSri Lanka,killing between 400 and 3,000Sri Lankan TamilsandHill-country Tamils.
August
edit- August 4–Thomas Sankarabecomes President ofUpper Volta.
- August 18
- Hurricane Aliciahits theTexascoast, killing 22 and causing over US $3.8 billion (2005dollars) in damage.
- Five people are killed and 18 others injured when a road train is deliberately driven into a motel atAyers Rockin the Northern Territory of Australia (the driver, Douglas Edward Crabbe, is convicted inMarch1984).
- August 21–Benigno Aquino Jr.,Philippinesopposition leader, isassassinatedinManilajust as he returns from exile.
- August 26– Heavy rain triggers flooding atBilbao,Spain, and surrounding areas, killing 44 people and causing millions in damages.
September
edit- September 1–Cold War:Korean Air Lines Flight 007is shot down bySoviet Union Air ForceSu-15 Flagonpilot Major Gennadi Osipovich nearMoneron Islandwhen the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed, including U.S. CongressmanLarry McDonald.
- September 6– TheSoviet Unionadmits to shooting downKorean Air Lines Flight 007,stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace.
- September 19
- Saint Kitts and Nevisbecomes an independent state.[12]
- Press Your Luckpremieres onCBS.
- September 23
- Gulf Air Flight 771crashes in theUnited Arab Emiratesafter a bomb explodes in the baggage compartment, killing 117.
- Violence erupts inNew Caledoniabetween nativeKanaksand French expatriates. The French government withdraws the promise ofindependence.[13]
- September 26
- 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident:Soviet military officerStanislav Petrovaverts a worldwide nuclear war by correctly identifying a warning of attack by U.S. missiles as afalse alarm.
- TheSoyuz T-10-1mission ends in a pad abort at theBaikonur Cosmodrome,when a pad fire occurs at the base of theSoyuz Urocket during the launch countdown. The escape tower system, attached to the top of the capsule containing the crew andSoyuz spacecraft,fires immediately, pulling the crew safe from the vehicle a few seconds before the rocket explodes, destroying the launch complex.
- Themass burialof around 700,000 unsoldAtarivideo game cartridges, consoles, and computers occurs inAlamogordo,New Mexico.
- The AustralianyachtAustralia IIwins theAmerica's Cup,the first successful challenge to theNew York Yacht Club's 132-year defence of thesailingtrophy.
- September 27– TheGNU Projectis announced publicly on the net.unix-wizards and net.usoftnewsgroups.
October
edit- October 2–Neil Kinnockis elected leader of the BritishLabour Party.
- October 4– British entrepreneurRichard Noblesets a newland speed recordof 633.468 mph (1,019.468 km/h), drivingThrust2at theBlack Rock Desert,Nevada.[14]
- October 9– TheRangoon bombingkills South Korea's Foreign Minister,Lee Bum Suk,and 21 others. The perpetrators are believed to beNorth Koreans.
- October 12– Japan's former Prime MinisterKakuei Tanakais found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe fromLockheed,and sentenced to 4 years in jail.
- October 13– The world's first commercial mobile cellular telephone call is made, in Chicago, United States.[15]
- October 19–Maurice Bishop,Prime Minister ofGrenada,and 40 others are assassinated in a military coup.
- October 21– At the 17th General Conference on Weights and Measures, the metre is defined in terms of thespeed of lightas the distance light travels in avacuumin 1/299,792,458 of a second.
- October 23–Beirut barracks bombing:Simultaneous suicide truck-bombings destroy both the French Army andUnited States Marine Corpsbarracks inBeirut,killing 241 U.S. servicemen, 58 French paratroopers and 6 Lebanese civilians.
- October 25
- Invasion of Grenadaby United States troops at the behest ofEugenia CharlesofDominica,a member of theOrganization of American States.
- Word processorsoftwareMulti-Tool Word,soon to becomeMicrosoft Word,is released[16][17][18]in the United States. It is primarily the work of programmersRichard BrodieandCharles Simonyi.Free demonstration copies on disk are distributed with the November issue ofPC Worldmagazine.[19]
- October 30–Argentine general election:The first democratic elections inArgentinaafter seven years ofmilitary ruleare held.
November
edit- November 2– South Africa approves anew constitutiongranting limited political rights toColouredsandAsiansas part of a series of reforms toapartheid.
- November 3– Commencement of thebattle of TripolibetweenArafatloyalists andPLOdissidents.[20]
- November 5–Byford Dolphinrig diving bell accident: Off the coast of Norway, 5 divers are killed and 1 is severely wounded in anexplosive decompressionaccident.
- November 7
- Able Archer 83:Many Soviet officials misinterpret thisNATOexercise as a nuclearfirst strike,causing the last nuclear scare of theCold War.
- 1983 U.S. Senate bombingA bomb explodes in theUnited States Senatewith the intent to killRepublicansenators; no one is injured. The perpetrators are members of theMay 19th Communist Organization.[21]
- November 11–Ronald Reaganbecomes the first U.S. president to address theNational Diet,Japan's national legislature.
- November 13– The first United Statescruise missilesarrive atRAF Greenham Commonin the UK amid protests from peace campaigners.[22]
- November 14– Theimmunosuppressantcyclosporineis approved by theFDA,leading to a revolution in the field of transplantation.
- November 15– The Turkish part ofCyprusdeclares independence.
- November 17– TheZapatista Army of National Liberationis founded in Mexico.
- November 19– An attemptedhijackingofAeroflot Flight 6833inSoviet Georgiaresults in several dead and wounded.
- November 20–ABCaired the most watched and controversial TV movie,The Day After.
- November 27–ColombianAvianca Flight 011crashes nearBarajas AirportinMadrid,Spain, killing 181 of the 192 on board.
December
edit- December 4
- General electionsare celebrated inVenezuelain which the opposition party,Democratic Action,wins a majority in both chambers of the Venezuelan Congress and the presidency for the 1984–1989 period underJaime Lusinchi.Voter turnout is 87.3% and Lusinchi obtains 58.4% of the votes.
- Solar eclipse of December 4, 1983.
- December 5–ICIMODis established and inaugurated with its headquarters inKathmandu,Nepal,and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal this same year.
- December 7– Two Spanish passenger planes collide on the foggy runway at aMadridairport, killing 90 people.
- December 9– TheAustralian dollaris floated by Federal treasurerPaul Keating.Under the old flexible peg system, the Reserve Bank bought and sold all Australian dollars and cleared the market at the end of the day. This initiative is taken by the government ofBob Hawke.
- December 10– Military rule ends anddemocracyis restored inArgentina,with the beginning ofRaúl Alfonsín's first term asPresident of Argentina.
- December 13–Turgut Özal,ofANAPforms the new government ofTurkey(45th government); beginning a new civilian regime.
- December 17
- TheAlcalá 20 nightclub fireinMadrid,Spain, injuring 47 and killing 83 people.
- Harrods bombings:aProvisional IRAcar bomb kills 6 people and injures 90 outsideHarrodsdepartment store in London.
- December 19– TheJules Rimet Trophyis stolen from the Brazilian Soccer Confederation building inRio de Janeiro.As of 2022[update],the trophy has not been recovered.
- December 27–Pope John Paul IIvisitsRebibbia prisonto forgive his would-be assassinMehmet Ali Ağca.
- December 31– Two bombs explode in France: one on a Paris train kills three and injures 19; the other at Marseille station kills two and injures 34.
Date unknown
edit- Leopold Kohr,the people ofBelau,AmoryandHunter Lovins/Rocky Mountain InstituteandManfred Max Neef/CEPAURwin theRight Livelihood Award.
- The meteorological1982–83 El Niño eventcauses severe weather worldwide.
Births and deaths
editNobel Prizes
editReferences
edit- ^"A Closer Look At The Controversy Over The Internet's Birthday! You Decide".circleid.RetrievedJune 23,2018.
- ^Parry, Robert (2001).The map library in the new millennium.Chicago; London: American Library Association Library Association Pub. p. 90.ISBN9780838935187.
- ^Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn; Buddhima Indraratna; Jian Chu (November 7, 2005).Ground Improvement: Case Histories.Elsevier.ISBN978-0-08-045736-9.
- ^"13 slain in Chinatown gambling club robbery; 2 suspects in custody".UPI. February 19, 1983.RetrievedMarch 22,2019.
- ^"You Can Now See the First Ever 3D Printer—Invented by Chuck Hull—In the National Inventors Hall of Fame".3DPrint.June 10, 2015.
- ^Blackburn, Peter (May 28, 1983). "New capital grows in rural Africa: PETER BLACKBURN reports on Yamoussoukro's dramatic promotion from an obscure village buried in the bush to the capital of the Ivory Coast".South China Morning Post.ProQuest1553829422.
- ^RC Gallo; PS Sarin; EP Gelmann; M Robert-Guroff; E Richardson; VS Kalyanaraman; D Mann; GD Sidhu; RE Stahl; S Zolla-Pazner; J Leibowitch; M Popovic (1983). "Isolation of human T-cell leukemia virus in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)".Science.220(4599): 865–867.Bibcode:1983Sci...220..865G.doi:10.1126/science.6601823.PMID6601823.
- ^Barre-Sinoussi, F.; Chermann, J.; Rey, F.; Nugeyre, M.; Chamaret, S.; Gruest, J.; Dauguet, C.; Axler-Blin, C.; Vézinet-Brun, F.; Rouzioux, C.; Rozenbaum, W.; Montagnier, L. (1983). "Isolation of a T-lymphotropic retrovirus from a patient at risk for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)".Science.220(4599): 868–871.Bibcode:1983Sci...220..868B.doi:10.1126/science.6189183.PMID6189183.S2CID390173.
- ^"Champions League 1982/1983 » Final » Hamburger SV - Juventus 1:0".worldfootball.net.May 25, 1983.
- ^"Fireworks suspect charged with deaths".ay 3news.google.The Spokesman-Review.May 30, 1983.RetrievedApril 19,2014.
- ^"1983: Thatcher wins landslide victory".June 9, 1983 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^Treaties in Force: A List of Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States in Force on.U.S. Government Printing Office. 2006. p. 277.
- ^Aldrich, Robert (1993).The Crisis in New Caledonia in the 1980s. In: France and the South Pacific since 1940.Palgrave Macmillan, London. p. 242.ISBN978-1-349-10830-5.
- ^Howard, Geoffrey (1986).Automobile aerodynamics: theory and practice for road and track.London Osceola, Wis., USA: Osprey for Motorbooks International. p. 53.ISBN9780850456653.
- ^"Witness the First Commercial Cellular Call Being Made in 1983".April 17, 2013.
- ^Allen, Roy A. (2001)."Chapter 12: Microsoft in the 1980s"(PDF).A History of the Personal Computer: the People and the Technology.Allan Publishing. pp. 12/25–12/26.ISBN978-0-9689108-0-1.Archived(PDF)from the original on October 9, 2022.RetrievedNovember 7,2010.
- ^"Microsoft Office online, Getting to know you...again: The Ribbon".Archived fromthe originalon May 11, 2011.RetrievedJune 8,2011.
- ^"The history of branding, Microsoft history".Archived fromthe originalon May 28, 2009.RetrievedJune 8,2011.
- ^Pollack, Andrew (August 25, 1983)."Computerizing Magazines".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on May 12, 2011.RetrievedJune 8,2011.
- ^Treaster, Joseph B. (November 4, 1983)."ARAFAT SAYS SYRIA AND LIBYA HAVE JOINED TRIPOLI BATTLE".The New York Times.
- ^Frederick S. Calhoun (1998).Hunters and Howlers: Threats and Violence Against Federal Judicial Officials in the United States, 1789-1993.U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service. p. 15.
- ^Nordheimer, Jon (November 15, 1983)."FIRST U.S. MISSILES ARRIVE BY PLANE AT A BRITISH BASE".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 8,2024.