istoryworld
All Events
President Reagan is shot outside a hotel in Washington by John W. Hinckley Jr, but survives
Veteran Communist leader Deng Xiaoping secures his position as the real power in China's government
War Music is the first instalment of Christopher Logue's version of the Iliad
Francçois Mitterrand defeats Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the French presidential election
Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children uses the moment of India's independence to launch an adventure in magic realism
Australian entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch buys Britain's establishment newspaper, The Times, and its related titles
A Turkish assailant in St Peter's Square in Rome shoots and seriously wounds John Paul II
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is described for the first time in a US medical journal
The Humber Bridge crosses the Humber estuary in Britain, and is the world's longest suspension bridge with a main span of 4626 feet (1410m)
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Thursday from Light, the first of a seven-part opera cycle, is performed in Milan
Prince Charles marries Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral in London
The IBM PC 5150, the first Personal Computer, is launched with a chip by Intel and software by Microsoft
English author Anita Brookner publishes her first novel, A Start in Life
Raiders of the Lost Ark launches an ongoing series for director Steven Spielberg and actor Harrison Ford
Stolen Generations, by Peter Read, reveals the scandal of Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their parents
Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson, dramatizes the rivalry between two British athletes at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Muslim terrorists assassinate Anwar el-Sadat, in response to his peace agreement with Israel
Sadat is peacefully succeeded in Egypt by his vice-president, Hosni Mubarak
British snooker player Steve Davis wins the first of six world championship titles
16-year-old ballerina Sylvie Guillem joins the Paris Opera Ballet
Polish prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski imposes martial law and suspends Solidarnośc (Solidarity)
Leopoldo Galtieri becomes leader of the military junta ruling Argentina
New South Stand built at Twickenham rugby ground.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, based on the Old Possum poems by T.S. Eliot, opens in London
Richard Avedon photographs a naked Nastassja Kinski with a Burmese python coiled around her, an image which becomes an iconic poster
