1980 Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
Quick Facts from 1980:Table of Contents |
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Top Ten Baby Names of 1980:Jennifer, Amanda, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah, Heather, Nicole, Amy, Elizabeth, Michelle |
The Hotties, Sex Symbols, and Fashion Icons:Loni Anderson, Susan Anton, Barbara Bach, Catherine Bach, Kim Basinger, Valerie Bertinelli, Jacqueline Bisset, Christie Brinkley, Lynda Carter, Charo, Lydia Cornell, Sybil Danning, Bo Derek, Morgan Fairchild, Farrah Fawcett, Jane Fonda, Erin Gray, Shelly Hack, Debbie Harry, Goldie Hawn, Marilu Henner, Lauren Hutton, Cheryl Ladd, Olivia Newton-John, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Bernadette Peters, Victoria Principal, Tanya Roberts, Diana Ross, Jane Seymour, Brooke Shields, Jacquelyn Smith, Suzanne Somers, Donna Summer, Cheryl Tiegs, Charlene Tilton, Mary Woronov |
Hollywood Hunks and Leading Men:Richard Gere, Christopher Reeve, Burt Reynolds, John Travolta |
“The Quotes”“Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon? “ “Who Shot JR?” “Here’s Johnny!” “You dipstick” Striker: “Surely you can’t be serious?!” “No, I am your father” (NOT Luke, I am your father) “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” “Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a miracle…It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!” |
Time Magazine’s Man of the Year:Ronald Reagan |
Miss America:Cheryl Prewitt (Ackerman, MS) |
Miss USA:Shawn Weatherly (South Carolina) /Jineane Ford (Arizona) |
1980 Deaths:On May 18, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington, killing 57 people. Mark David Chapman shot and killed former Beatles member John Lennon outside Lennon’s residence at the Dakota, in NYC. Ian Curtis, singer-songwriter of acclaimed English post-punk band Joy Division, hanged himself in his kitchen. His bandmates later formed the band New Order. AC/DC frontman Bon Scott died after a night of heavy drinking in London. Dorothy Stratten, the 1980 Playboy Playmate of the Year, was murdered by estranged husband Paul Leslie Snider, who then committed suicide. The Pennsylvania Lottery was rigged by six men, including the live TV drawing host, Nick Perry. The Killer Clown (John Wayne Gacy Jr.) was sentenced to death for the murder of 33 boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. Philadelphia Crime Boss Angelo Bruno was shot and killed while in his car in front of his home at the intersection of 10th Street and Snyder Avenue in South Philadelphia. The Washington Post published Janet Cooke’s story of Jimmy, an 8-year-old heroin addict, later proven to be fabricated. She won a Pulitzer Prize for the story. |
World NewsThe Iran-Iraq war began in September when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered his forces to invade Western Iran. Over 1,000,000 people were killed by the time a cease-fire was agreed in 1988. Robert Mugabe was elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. On January 6, The Global Positioning System time epoch began at 00:00 UTC. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provides geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth. On May 8, the global eradication of smallpox was certified by the World Health Organization. Miracle On Ice: The United States Olympic ice hockey team amazed the world at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics on February 22nd, when they beat the Soviet national team. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named the “Miracle on Ice” the top sports moment of the 20th century. President Jimmy Carter signed Proclamation 4771, which required 18- to 25-year-old American males to register for a peacetime military draft. A severe summer heatwave in the Southern US Caused over 1,100 deaths. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) superfund law was passed by the US Congress. 30% of United States car sales were imported. Tim Berners-Lee began his work on ENQUIRE, the system that would eventually lead to his creation of the World Wide Web in 1990. Abscam: FBI personnel target members of the Congress of the United States in a sting operation. 7 members of the US House of Representatives and 4 Philadelphia area politicians were convicted of bribery. |
Pop Culture Facts & HistoryA computer modem was invented. The album Back in Black, one of the Top 10 best-selling albums of all time, was released by the Australian band AC/DC. Video Games became popular with Pac-Man, Battlezone, Missile Command, Space Panic, Zork I, and Olympic Decathlon. Electronic Games hosted the first Arcade Awards and video game awards ceremony, with Space Invaders winning the Game of the Year Award. Erno Rubik patented his “Magic Cube” in Hungary in 1975. Debuting at The British Toy and Hobby Fair in January, by May 1980, it became a worldwide sensation. There has been some debate about 3M’s Post-it notes. The product was used in a test marketing campaign in 1978 as ‘Post N Peel’, and sold nationally in 1980 as ‘Post-it Notes.’ New products are in ‘test mode’ all the time. Created in 1975 by Spencer Silver and Art Fry, we say they went on sale in 1980. Whole Foods was founded in Austin, Texas. CNN began broadcasting from Atlanta, Georgia. Launched in 1977, The Voyager 1 probe confirmed the existence of Janus, a moon of Saturn. The United States led a boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 82 countries boycotted the Games, and athletes from 16 of them participated under a neutral flag. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Kansas City Royals, 4–1, in Game Six of the World Series to win the World Series Championship. According to the 1980 United States Census, 226,545,805 United States residents are there. Cost of a Super Bowl ad in 1980: $222,000 |
Doomsday Clock:7 minutes to midnight, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. |
The Habits:Playing Rubik’s Cube, Pac-Man, Centipede (arcade), Reading The Official Preppy Handbook |
1st Appearances & 1980’s Most Popular Christmas Gifts, Toys and Presents:Rubik’s Cube, Magna doodle |
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1980A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole |
Broadway Shows:42nd Street (Musical) Opened on August 25, 1980, and closed on January 8, 1989 |
Best Film Oscar Winner:Kramer vs. Kramer (presented in 1980) |
The Bomb (Movie):Heaven’s Gate starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Jeff Bridges, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Joseph Cotten, Mickey Rourke, and Willem Dafoe |
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo1. The Empire Strikes Back |
1980 Most Popular TV Shows:1. Dallas (CBS) |
1980 Billboard Number One SongsDecember 22, 1979 – January 4, 1980: January 5 – January 18: January 19 – February 15: February 16 – February 22: February 23 – March 21: March 22 – April 18: April 19 – May 30: May 31 – June 27: June 28 – July 18: July 19 – August 1: August 2 – August 29: August 30 – September 5: September 6 – October 3: October 4 – October 24: October 25 – November 14: November 15 – December 26: December 27, 1980 – January 30, 1981: |
1980 United States Census:Total US Population: 226,542,199 |
Sports:World Series Champions: Philadelphia Phillies |
More 1980 Facts and History Resources:Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com) |