80s

By 16kboelter

  • Mt. Saint Helens erupts

    Mt. Saint Helens erupts
    • Everything within eight miles of the blast was completely gone.
    • The area affected by the direct blast force was 230 square miles.
    • 540 million tons of ash drifted 2,200 square miles.
    • 57 People died and 200 homes were destroyed.
    • An estimated 1.1 billion dollars was lost as a cause of the eruption.

  • American hostages freed

    American hostages freed
    • Iran released 52 Americans that had been held hostage for 444 days just shortly after presidency had been passed from Carter to Reagan.
      • Started on Nov. 4, 1979
      • At the end of Carter’s term, he made an agreement with Iran to release the hostages on Jan. 19th, 1981. They were released the next day.

  • Ronald Reagan was shot

    Ronald Reagan was shot
    • Was shot 69 days into his presidency
    • John Hinckley shot Reagan and three others at Washington Hilton Hotel
    • Reagan had a punctured lung and heavy internal bleeding
    • Was shot in the chest and in the lower right arm

  • New Plague - Aids

    New Plague - Aids
    January 15, Nick Rock becomes the first known AIDS death in New York City. April 24, San Francisco resident Ken Horne, the first AIDS case in the United States to be recognized at the time, is reported to the Center for Disease Control

  • Baseball strike

    Baseball strike
    • the fourth work stoppage in the Major League Baseball since 1972
    • Strike began on June 12th 1981
    • forced the cancellations of 713 games (38% of the season)

  • Michael Jackson releases "Thriller"

    Michael Jackson releases "Thriller"
    • Thriller was the sixth album released Michael Jackson.
    • There were nine tracks on the album.
    • A popular song called “Beat It” was one of the songs included on the album along with the song “Thriller”.

  • Challenger Disaster

    Challenger Disaster
    • Broke up 73 seconds after liftoff
    • Two rubber O-rings had failed because of cold temperatures.
    • Christa McAuliffe, a high school social studies teacher, was to be the first ordinary citizen in space.
    • All seven crew members died.

  • US bombs Libya

    US bombs Libya
    The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps via air strikes, in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing. There were 40 reported Libyan casualties, and one US plane was shot down, resulting in the death of two airmen.
    Operation El Dorado Canyon - Code name
    response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing.

  • The Chernobyl disaster

    The Chernobyl disaster
    • occurred on April 26th 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
    • An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere.
    • 31 people died in the accident itself

  • DNA used to convict criminal

    DNA used to convict criminal
    Colin Pitchfork was convicted by evidence of DNA left on his rape victims.He was arrested in 1987. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 January 1988, after admitting both murders.

  • US shoots down Iranian airliner

    US shoots down Iranian airliner
    • The US warship shot down an Iranian passenger jet after mistaking it for an F-14 fighter.
    • There were 300 people dead and no survivors on the flight.
    • Reagan mentioned he regretted the loss of life.

  • Fall of the Berlin Wall

    Fall of the Berlin Wall
    • The wall split Berlin into Eastern and Western halves.
    • Ronald Reagan wanted the wall torn down and gave a famous speech about it.
    • Marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War