Top 100 1980 Events

Catastrophic volcanic eruption on May 18, killing 57 people and devastating 230 square miles of Washington State

The Beatles legend shot and killed outside his New York apartment on December 8 by Mark David Chapman

Republican Ronald Reagan defeats incumbent Jimmy Carter in a landslide, winning 489 electoral votes

65 nations led by the United States boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Iraq invades Iran on September 22, launching an 8-year conflict that would claim over a million lives

Ted Turner launches CNN on June 1, creating the world's first 24-hour cable news network

52 American diplomats held hostage in Tehran for the entire year, becoming a defining crisis of the Carter presidency

US military attempt to rescue Iran hostages on April 24 ends in catastrophe with helicopter crashes in the Iranian desert

Lech Walesa leads Polish workers in forming Solidarity, the Soviet Bloc's first independent trade union, at Gdansk shipyard

US hockey team shocks the world defeating heavily favored Soviet Union 4-3 at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies on May 4, ending 35 years of rule and raising fears of Balkan instability

Former Rhodesia becomes Zimbabwe on April 18 under Robert Mugabe, ending white minority rule after guerrilla war

Namco releases Pac-Man arcade game in May in Japan and October in North America, revolutionizing video game culture

Star Wars sequel opens on May 21 to massive acclaim, revealing Darth Vader as Luke's father in cinema's greatest twist

World Health Organization officially certifies global eradication of smallpox on May 8, history's greatest public health achievement

Erno Rubik's puzzle reaches international markets, becoming the best-selling toy of the decade with 100 million sold

NASA's Voyager 1 makes closest approach to Saturn on November 12, revealing stunning details of the rings and discovering new moons

XIII Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York, featuring Eric Heiden's record 5 gold medals in speed skating

Back in Black released July 25 as tribute to late vocalist Bon Scott, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time

AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott found dead on February 19 aged 33 after a night of heavy drinking in London

Pink Floyd tours their landmark The Wall album with elaborate theatrical productions featuring a giant wall being built on stage

Pink Floyd's anti-education anthem tops charts worldwide, triggering bans and protests in several countries

The mystery of who shot J.R. Ewing is resolved on November 21, drawing 83 million viewers in the most-watched TV episode ever

Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel premieres on May 23, with Jack Nicholson's performance becoming iconic

Martin Scorsese's biopic of boxer Jake LaMotta with Robert De Niro releases November 14, widely considered a masterpiece

Summer Games proceed in Moscow July-August despite major boycott, with Soviet Union and East Germany dominating medal count

Muhammad Ali suffers brutal defeat to Larry Holmes on October 2 in what many called an unnecessary and tragic last fight

The Phillies defeat Kansas City Royals in 6 games for their first World Series championship in franchise history

Steelers defeat LA Rams 31-19 on January 20, winning their fourth Super Bowl in six years under coach Chuck Noll

Magic Johnson leads the Lakers to the NBA title over Philadelphia 76ers, launching the Showtime Lakers dynasty

The Islanders defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games to win their first Stanley Cup, beginning a dynasty run

Blondie's theme from American Gigolo becomes the best-selling single of 1980, cementing Debbie Harry's pop icon status

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star in the musical comedy on a mission from God, featuring legendary soul and R&B artists

ZAZ parody film becomes a massive hit redefining comedy filmmaking with rapid-fire gags and deadpan humor

Robert Redford's directorial debut wins the Academy Award for Best Picture over Raging Bull in one of Oscar's most debated decisions

Sean Cunningham's slasher film introduces Jason Voorhees and launches one of cinema's most profitable horror franchises

Freddie Mercury and Queen release the bass-driven anthem that becomes one of the best-selling singles in history

Lipps Inc.'s disco-electronic track dominates radio worldwide, becoming one of the last great disco era hits

Kenny Rogers' ballad 'Lady' written by Lionel Richie tops charts for 6 weeks, becoming the year's biggest country crossover

Bjorn Borg defeats John McEnroe in an epic five-set final to claim a record fifth straight Wimbledon championship

3M launches Post-it Notes nationwide in the US following failed glue research by Spencer Silver, transforming office culture

The Sony Walkman, introduced in 1979, becomes a global phenomenon as portable personal music listening transforms daily life

Master Sergeant Samuel Doe overthrows and kills President William Tolbert on April 12 in a brutal military coup

Powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake destroys the city of El Asnam on October 10, killing over 3,500 people

President Carter declares second state of emergency at Love Canal, relocating 700 more families from toxic waste site

VHS increasingly dominates over Betamax as rental stores standardize on JVC's format, shaping home entertainment

Jack Nicklaus wins his fourth US Open at Baltusrol Golf Club, cementing his legacy as golf's greatest champion

British middle-distance runner Sebastian Coe sets three world records in 41 days and wins Olympic 1500m gold in Moscow

Roberto Duran shocks boxing world defeating Sugar Ray Leonard in June, then utters 'no mas' in the rematch in November

Alan Parker's musical drama about New York performing arts students becomes a hit spawning a long-running TV series

NBC's epic 12-hour miniseries based on James Clavell's novel about feudal Japan draws 120 million viewers over 5 nights

Dino De Laurentiis production with Queen soundtrack and Sam Jones as Flash Gordon becomes a cult classic

Olivia Newton-John's musical fantasy film is a box office disappointment but its soundtrack spawns several major hits

David Lynch's black-and-white drama starring John Hurt as Joseph Merrick receives 8 Oscar nominations and critical acclaim

Media mogul Ted Turner's purchase of the Braves baseball team marks his growing empire in sports and entertainment

ABC News Nightline launches as a permanent late-night news program, having grown from Iranian hostage crisis coverage

Reagan's debate performance against Carter, including the famous 'There you go again' line, seals his path to the presidency

IBM contracts Microsoft to provide an operating system for its new personal computer, setting Microsoft on path to dominance

The first killer app for home consoles drives Atari 2600 sales to unprecedented levels as Space Invaders arrives at home

The Xanadu ballad 'Magic' by Olivia Newton-John tops the US charts for 4 weeks, becoming her biggest solo hit

Filming completes on Superman II with Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor added to cast amid major production upheavals

Tom Watson wins his third British Open at Muirfield, continuing his rivalry with Jack Nicklaus for golf dominance

Hollywood legend Steve McQueen dies of cancer on November 7 aged 50, mourned as the King of Cool

Inspector Clouseau star Peter Sellers dies of a heart attack on July 24 aged 54, ending a legendary comic career

The master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock dies on April 29 aged 80, leaving behind an unmatched cinematic legacy

McEnroe's outbursts at Wimbledon including confrontations with officials make him the most controversial player in tennis

Pope John Paul II makes a historic return visit to communist Poland, bolstering the Solidarity movement

The boycotted Moscow Olympics see alternative games organized called the Liberty Bell Classic in Philadelphia

Irene Cara's theme song 'Fame' from the film becomes an international anthem for young aspiring performers

Woody Allen's experimental film about a filmmaker's memories divides critics but showcases his artistic evolution

Stephen King's dystopian novel published under pseudonym Richard Bachman gains cult following

The disco anthem continues its extraordinary cultural impact as a song of empowerment well into 1980

Toni Morrison publishes her fourth novel exploring race and identity, building toward her Nobel Prize legacy

Christopher Tolkien compiles and publishes his father's unfinished works, expanding Middle-earth lore posthumously

Carl Sagan's landmark 13-part documentary series airs on PBS, reaching 500 million viewers and inspiring scientific wonder

Gary Numan's electronic single Cars dominates charts establishing synth-pop as a major force in pop music

The Buggles' synth-pop hit, later to become the first video played on MTV, captures the spirit of technological change

Diana Ross returns to #1 with the Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards produced Upside Down, blending disco and pop

Devo's New Wave anthem 'Whip It' becomes a top 20 hit and one of the defining sounds of the early 1980s

Talking Heads release their experimental Remain in Light album incorporating African rhythms with Brian Eno producing

Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis dies by suicide on May 18, the same day as Mount St. Helens eruption, aged 23

Reports emerge of Iraq deploying chemical weapons against Iranian forces in one of the century's worst war crimes

IRA prisoners at Maze Prison in Northern Ireland begin hunger strikes demanding political prisoner status

George H.W. Bush challenges Reagan for the Republican nomination, coining the term 'voodoo economics'

Carter oversees continued implementation of Camp David Accords with Egypt and Israel including troop withdrawals

Mauritania becomes the last country in the world to officially abolish slavery on November 9

6.9 magnitude earthquake devastates the Irpinia region of southern Italy on November 23, killing nearly 3,000 people

In June, Israel conducts early planning for what will become Operation Opera, targeting Iraq's nuclear ambitions

The Polish government signs the Gdansk Agreement on August 31 granting workers the right to strike and form unions

Eric Heiden wins all five speed skating events at Lake Placid Winter Olympics, an unprecedented athletic achievement

Bruce Jenner remains a cultural figure from 1976 Olympics as American athletic culture evolves toward the 1980s

Reagan wins 44 states on November 4 in one of the biggest landslides in US presidential election history

Billy Joel releases Glass Houses featuring It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, his first number-one hit single in the US

Queen releases The Game album featuring Another One Bites the Dust and Crazy Little Thing Called Love, their most successful LP

Barbra Streisand's Woman in Love written by Barry Gibb tops charts worldwide becoming one of her signature songs

Atari's 3D wireframe tank game Battlezone becomes an arcade sensation and is adapted by the US Army for training

NASA prepares Space Shuttle Columbia for its first flight, conducting final tests as the shuttle era approaches launch

Stephen King's novel about a man who gains psychic powers after emerging from a coma becomes a bestseller

Nintendo releases Donkey Kong in arcades in Japan, introducing Mario (Jumpman) and beginning Nintendo's gaming dynasty

The cultural afterglow of Grease and its stars continues to influence music, fashion and teen culture into 1980