istoryworld
All Events
Communist measures in Afghanistan provoke a Muslim jihad and the murder of more than 100 Russians in Herat
The Conservative party wins the general election and Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female prime minister
The emergency measures underpinning military rule are repealed in Brazil, and an amnesty restores political rights
John Paul II makes an emotional and influential return to Poland, the country of his birth
Peter Shaffer's play about Mozart, Amadeus, has its premiere in London
A Sandinista junta, headed by Daniel Ortega, takes power in Nicaragua – bringing to an end four decades of brutal rule by the Somoza dynasty
Daniel Ortega leads the Sandinistas to electoral victory in Nicaragua
Lord Mountbatten is killed by an IRA bomb that explodes on his boat in the bay of Donegal
Opponents of the Sandinistas flee from Nicaragua into Honduras, where they become known as the Contras
Saddam Hussein begins a reign of terror in Iraq, reading out at a meeting the names of fellow Ba'athists who are to be taken out and shot
20-year-old US tennis player John McEnroe wins the singles title in the US Open for the first of four times
British artist Richard Long lays out his Slate Circle at the Tate Gallery in London
French paratroops bring to an end the savage rule of Bokassa in the Central African Republic
Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini seize the US embassy in Tehran, taking hostage 66 US citizens
Soviet troops invade Afghanistan to suppress anti-communist anarchy
A conference in London, at Lancaster House, finally achieves agreement on Southern Rhodesia
Britain agrees to fund the purchase of land of British farmers in Southern Rhodesia willing to sell, for a much-needed land distribution programme
The Global Commission for the Eradication of Smallpox announces that the world is free of the disease
Rhodesia becomes independent, taking the name Zimbabwe, with Robert Mugabe as prime minister
The small firm of Microsoft wins the contract to provide the operating system of the IBM personal computer
The USA ends all aid to Nicaragua and provides funds to train and equip the Contras in neighbouring Honduras
Archbishop Oscar Romero, an exponent of liberation theology, is killed as he celebrates Mass in San Salvador
Italian academic Umberto Eco publishes The Name of the Rose, a medieval murder mystery
The threat of a hunger strike persuades the British government to authorize S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru), a television channel broadcasting in Welsh
