Britain and the World 1980

BRITAIN AND THE WORLD SINCE 1953

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	1980
Jan1	The first national U.K. steel strike since 1926 begins. It lasted until April 1st
Jan4	Joy Adamson the author of "Born Free" is killed by a lion in Kenya
Jan9	In Saudi Arabia, 63 Muslim fanatics were beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November 1979.
Jan21	Anne Maguire the death of whose three children in 1976 led to the formation of the Northern Ireland Peace People Movement committed suicide. Her sister Mairead Corrigan co-founded the movement with Betty Williams
Feb13	Opening ceremonies were held in Lake Placid, New York, for the 13th Winter Olympics.
Feb23	British ice skater Robin Cousins won the figure skating gold medal at Lake Placid
Feb24	Eric Heiden wins five gold medals at the Winter Olympics
Mar4	Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe formerly Rhodesia
Mar10	``Scarsdale Diet'' author Dr. Herman Tarnower was shot to death in Purchase, N.Y. Jean Harris, convicted of murder, served nearly 12 years in prison before being released in 1993.
Mar20	The pirate radio station Radio Caroline, on the ship Mi Amigo, sank after 16 years of broadcasting.
Mar24	One of El Salvador's most respected Roman Catholic Church leaders, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, was shot to death by gunmen as he celebrated Mass in San Salvador.
Mar25	Robert Runcie is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury
Mar27	Mount St Helens becomes active after 123 years erupting on 18th May. The eruption is five hundred times more powerful than the Hiroshima atom bomb. It causes $3 billion damage, but kills sixty people.
Apr6	The Post-It note was invented by Art Fry.
Apr10	Spain and Britain agreed to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain, closed since 1969.
Apr18	Zimbabwe's (Rhodesia) formal independence from Britain (National Day). Robert Mugabe becomes Prime Minister
Apr20	An attempt by the U.S. to rescue the 53 hostages held in Iran fails. The operation ends in disaster when a RH-53D helicopter collides with a C-130 tanker during refueling procedures at the Desert One landing site.
Apr29	Film director Alfred Hitchcock dies
Apr30	Armed gunmen seized the Iranian embassy demanding the release of political prisoners in Iran. SAS free the hostages 5th May
May7	Paul Geidel, convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, was released from prison Beacon, New York, after serving 68 years and 245 days -- the longest-ever time served by an inmate
May18	Ian Curtis musician and lead singer with the band Joy Division dies after hanging himself at his home in Lancashire
	Mount St. Helens, in Washington State, erupted after being dormant for 123 years.
Jun1	CNN begins broadcasting
Jun 23	Sanjay Ghandhi the son of Indira Gandhi dies in an air crash
Jun26	The fascist NAR group place a bomb on a plane that crashes into the sea near Naples. 81 people die
July5	Bjorn Borg wins his fifth successive Men Singles title at Wimbledon beating John McEnroe in the final
July19	Leonid Brezhnev opens the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow
July24	Peter Sellers dies of an heart attack
July30	The Republic of Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides, gained its independence from France and Britain
Aug2	Fascists (Armed Revolutionary Nuclei) plant a bomb in a waiting room at Bologna railway station in Northern Italy. The resultant explosion kills 84 innocent people
Aug12	The wreck of the Titanic is located in the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 12,000ft
Aug14	Lech Walesa leads the first of many strikes at the Gdansk shipyard
Aug20	Italian Reinhold Messner made the first successful solo ascent of Mount Everest.
Sep2	At the close of play at the Centeniary Test at Lords John Arlott retires from the commentary box
Sep5	World's longest road tunnel, St Gothard in Swiss Alps, opens
Sep17	Solidarity Labour Union is formed in Poland - it is predominantly a Catholic organisation
	Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is shot and killed in Paraguay.
Sep22	Iraqi troops seize part of Iran in a border dispute; war begins
Sep25	John Bonham 32 the drummer with Led Zepplin is found dead at a house in Windsor. He died of asphyxiation. He was buried on October 10th 1980 at St Michael's parish churchyard in Rushock near Kidderminster Worcs
Sep27	Alan Minter loses his World Middleweight Title to Marvin Hagler after three rounds. Hagler who kept the Crown until 1987; enjoyed his nickname “Marvelous Marvin” so much he had his name legally changed. His record as a professional boxer was 62-3-2 with 52 KO's.
Oct3	UK Housing Act comes into force allowing council tenants the right to buy their homes
Oct8	British Leyland launch the Mini Metro
Oct14	Bob Marley's last concert. He died on 11th May 1981 at the age of 36
Oct15	Jim Callaghan retires as leader of the Labour Party 17 months after losing the General Election
Nov4	Ronald Wilson Reagan soundly defeats Jimmy Carter in the presidential race, making Reagan the 40th president of the US. He obtained a higher percentage of males' votes than females due in part to his opposition to the ERA. Republicans also gained control of the US Senate.
Nov7	The actor Steve McQueen dies of lung cancer
Nov19	A student Jacqueline Hill is confirmed as The Yorkshire Rippers thirteenth victim
Nov23	4,800 people die in a series of earthquakes in Southern Italy
Dec3	Oswald Mosley the British fascist leader of the 1930's dies aged 80
Dec8	John Lennon is assassinated outside the Dakota building in New York City by Mark David Chapman.
Dec25	Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz 89 dies in Hamburg in penury and obscurity. He succeeded Hitler briefly as Fuhrer in May1945 but was sentenced at Nuremburg to ten years imprisonment for war crimes. On his release in 1956 he received many letters from the Allies paying tribute to his honour and his motives.

Last Updated 08/10/03 11:59

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