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Failed U.S. Rescue Attempt to Save Hostages in Tehran
On April 24, 1980, an ill-fated military operation to rescue the 52 American hostages held in Tehran ends with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued.
With the Iran Hostage Crisis stretching into its sixth month and all diplomatic appeals to the Iranian government ending in failure, President Jimmy Carter ordered the military mission as a last ditch attempt to save the hostages. -
Mount St. Helens Erupts
The eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 was the worst volcanic disaster in U.S. history; however, it offered scientists an exceptional opportunity to examine and study a large volcanic eruption, which has enriched scientific knowledge of volcanoes. -
March 30: John Hinckley Jr. attempts to assassinate President Reagan.
The attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan occurred on Monday, March 30, 1981, 69 days into his presidency. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr. -
The Space Shuttle Columbia is launched.
Columbia was the first shuttle to reach space, in 1981. Columbia carried dozens of astronauts into space during the next two decades, reaching several milestones. Columbia also underwent upgrades as technology advanced. -
New Plague Identified as AIDS
On June 5, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publish a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), describing cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles. On June 5, the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times report on the MMWR. -
First Woman Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. On September 21, the United States Senate confirmed O'Connor in a vote of 99 for and zero against. Sandra Day O'Connor was officially sworn in and took her seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. -
Falkland Islands Invaded by Argentina
The US provided the United Kingdom with military equipment ranging from submarine detectors to the latest missiles.[32][33][34][35] President Ronald Reagan approved the Royal Navy's request to borrow the Sea Harrier-capable amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) if the British lost an aircraft carrier. The United States Navy developed a plan to help the British man the ship with American military contractors, likely retired sailors with knowledge of the Iwo Jima's systems. -
Vietnam War Memorial Opened in Washington, DC
On Nov. 10, 1982, the first visitors toured the newly completed Vietnam Veterans Memorial near the National Mall in Washington. Commonly called “The Wall,” the memorial features a long V-shaped expanse bearing the names of all United States service members killed during the conflict in Vietnam/Southeast Asia -
Reagan Announces Defense Plan Called Star Wars
On March 23, 1983, in a nationally televised address on national security, President Ronald Reagan proposed the development of the technology to intercept enemy nuclear missiles. The plan, called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or S.D.I., was dubbed “Star Wars” by its critics. -
Sally Ride Becomes the First American Woman in Space
Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space when she flew on the space shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983. She made two shuttle flights, and later became a champion for science education and a role model for generations. -
Huge poison gas leak at Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India.
On the night of December 2, 1984 a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India leaked methyl isocynate gas and other chemicals creating a dense toxic cloud over the region and killing more than 8,000 people in just the first few days. when the incident happened a coalition of labor and environmental groups put out a call for safety at U.S. chemical plants. -
Bernhard Goetz shoots four would-be attackers on a New York subway.
The incident sparked a nationwide debate on race and crime in major cities, the legal limits of self-defense, and the extent to which the citizenry could rely on the police to secure their safety. Although Goetz – who was dubbed the "Subway Vigilante" by New York City's press – came to symbolize New Yorkers' frustrations with the high crime rates of the 1980s, he was both praised and vilified in the media and public opinion. -
Mikhail Gorbachev Calls for Glasnost and Perestroika
When Mikhail S. Gorbachev (1931-) became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, he launched his nation on a dramatic new course. His dual program of “perestroika” (“restructuring”) and “glasnost” (“openness”) introduced profound changes in economic practice, internal affairs and international relations. -
Hole in the ozone first reported
In 1985, scientists startled the world with an ominous discovery. While monitoring the stratosphere over Antarctica, they discovered a hole in the earth's ozone layer. By 1987, the hole had increased to the size of the continental U.S. Last winter, scientists found evidence of the same destructive process at work in the Arctic's stratosphere. Worldwide deterioration of the ozone shield had begun and was progressing at an alarming rate. -
Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lift-off.
The flight marked the first American orbital mission to involve in-flight fatalities. It was also the first American human spaceflight mission to launch and fail to reach space. -
Chernobyl nuclear meltdown occurs
The world's worst nuclear power plant accident occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union. Thirty-two people died and dozens more suffered radiation burns in the opening days of the crisis, but only after Swedish authorities reported the fallout did Soviet authorities reluctantly admit that an accident had occurred.The U.S gave aid such as financial support for construction of a new containment structure to entomb the damaged nuclear reactor. -
U.S. and Canada sign free trade agreement.
October 4th marks an important date in Canada-U.S. trade relations. In 1987, both countries agreed to the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA). Negotiations toward a free trade agreement with the U.S. began in 1986. The two nations agreed to a historic agreement that placed Canada and the United States at the forefront of trade liberalization. Key elements of the agreement included the elimination of tariffs. it was among the first trade agreements to address trade in services. -
U.S. stock market plunges on Black Monday.
It was on this day that the stock market again crashed, precipitating one of the first finacial crises of the modern globalized era, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 508 points, or 22.6% of its value.
Within that one day, over $500 billion was lost from the Dow Jones Index. When people heard what was happening on Wall Street, they tried to contact their brokers, but could not reach them due to the influx of phone calls. Millions were lost instantly.
