1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday.

Events

January-February

• January 1-April 1 - National steel strike in the United Kingdom
• January 1 - Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother
• January 4 - American president Jimmy Carter proclaims, with support of the European Commission, a grain embargo against the USSR.
• January 5 - Hewlett-Packard announces release of its first personal computer
• January 7 - President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out Chrysler Corporation.
• January 9 - In Saudi Arabia, 63 Muslim fanatics are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November 1979
• January 11 - Nigel Short, 14 years old, is the youngest chess player to be awarded the degree of International Master.
• January 22 - Andrei Sakharov is arrested in Moscow
• January 26 - Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations
• january 27 - Merchant banker Frank Nugan found dead in his car at Bowenfels near Lithgow NSW (Aus)
• February 2 - Abscam: Reports surface that FBI personnel were targeting members of the U.S. Congress in a sting operation.
• February 4 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran
• February 23 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament would decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.

March

• March 1 - Voyager 1 probe confirms that Janus (moon of Saturn) exists
• March 1 - Patti Smith marries former MC5 member Fred Sonic Smith
• March 3 - Pierre Trudeau returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.
• March 4 - Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
• March 10 - Jean Harris shoots doctor Herman Tarnower , the inventor of the Scarsdale diet
• March 14 - In Poland, a plane crashes during an emergency landing near Warsaw killing a 14-man American boxing team and 73 others
• March 18 - In Russia, a Vostok rocket explodes on its launch pad during a fueling operation killing 50
• March 20 - The pirate radio station Radio Caroline sinks
• March 21 - President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
• March 24 Australia announces it will send a Olympic delegation to Moscow dispite objections by P.M Malcom Fraser
• March 24 - Archbishop Óscar Romero is killed by gunmen while celebrating Mass in San Salvador
• March 26 - A mine lift cage at the Vaal Reef gold mine in South Africa falls 1.2 miles down - 23 dead
• March 27 - The Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.

April

• April 1 - The Mariel Boatlift begins.
• April 7 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions following the taking of American hostages on Sunday, November 4, 1979
• April 10 - Spain and United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain, closed since 1969
• April 18 - Zimbabwe's formal independence from United Kingdom. Robert Mugabe takes his post as a Prime Minister
• April 21 - Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston Marathon but is later exposed as a fraud and stripped of her award
• April 24-25 - Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops were killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation
• April 30 – Iranian Embassy Siege – 6 Iranian-born terrorists take over Iranian embassy in London, UK. SAS attacks May 5 – one terrorist survives
• April 30 - Luis Muñoz Marín, first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, dies at the age of 82.
• April 30 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicates, and her daughter Beatrix ascends to the throne.

May-June

• May 7 - Paul Geidel , convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, is released from prison in Beacon, New York, after 68 years and 245 days - the longest-ever time served by an inmate
• May 9 - In Florida, a Liberian freighter named the Summit Venture hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay sending 35 people (most of whom were in a bus) to a watery death as a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapsed
• May 18 - Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington killing 57 and causing US$ 3 billion in damage
• May 20 - Referendum in Quebec where the population rejects by a vote of 60% the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
• May 24 - The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. embassy hostages in Tehran.
• June 1 - The Cable News Network, or CNN, is launched in the United States.
• June 1 - Comedian Richard Pryor is badly burned trying to freebase cocaine.
• June 3 - A series of deadly tornadoes strikes Grand Island, Nebraska, causing over $300m in damage, killing five people and injuring over 250.
• June 10 - Apartheid: The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela which says in part 'UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!'[1]
• June 23 - Sanjay Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, dies in an air crash
• June 25 – Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt against Syrian president Hafez al-Assad fails. Assad retaliates by sending the army against them
• June 26 - The fascist NAR group places a bomb on a plane that crashes into the sea near Naples - 81 people dead
• June 29 - Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the president of Iceland

July-August

• July 15 - A severe and destructive thunderstorm strikes four counties in western Wisconsin, including the city of Eau Claire. It caused over $250m in damage, and one person was killed.
• July 19 - Former Turkish Prime Minister Nihat Erim is killed by two gunmen in Istanbul, Turkey.
• July 19 — August 3 - Summer Olympic Games in Moscow USSR
• July 30 - Vanuatu gains independence
• August 2 - Armed Revolutionary Nuclei fascists group plants a bomb in a waiting room at Bologna railway station in Northern Italy - 84 dead
• August 14 - Lech Walesa leads the first of many strikes at the Gdansk (German:Danzig) shipyard
• [August 17]-baby azaria chamberlin dissapers from acampsite at Ayers Rock (Ulru), Reportedley taken by a dingo (aus)
• August 25 - Microsoft announces their version of UNIX, Xenix

September-October

• September 5 - The St. Gothard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.
• September 12 - Military coup in Turkey lead by Kenan Evren. It stopped political violence among gangs, but was the beginning of stronger state violence which lead to the execution of many young activists.
• September 17 - After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.
• September 17 - Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Paraguay
• September 22 - The command council of Iraq ordered its army to "deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets," initiating the Iran-Iraq War.
• September 26 - The Mariel Boatlift officially ends.
• September 29 - Washington Post publishes Janet Cooke's story of Jimmy, an 8-year-old heroin addict (later proven to be fabricated)
• [October 18]- Fraser Government re-elected for a third consecutive term (aus)
• October 27 - Six IRA prisoners in Maze prison refuse food and demand status as political prisoners - hunger strike lasts until December
• October 30 - El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.

November

• November 4 - U.S. presidential election, 1980: Republican challenger Ronald Reagan defeats incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter by a wide margin.
• November 12 - Voyager program: The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn when it flies within 77,000 miles of the planet's cloud-tops and sends the first high resolution images of the world back to scientists on Earth
• November 20 - The trial of the Gang of Four begins in China.
• November 21 - A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada kills 87 people.
• November 23 - A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people.

December

• December 8 - John Lennon is shot outside his New York apartment, by Mark Chapman.
• December 16 - During a summit on the island of Bali, the OPEC decides to raise the price of petroleum by 10%.

Unknown dates

• NEC creates the first successful digital signal processor, the NEC µPD7710 .
• SCART plug is made mandatory on all televisions sold in France.
• The Staggers Rail Act is passed deregulating American railroads.
• Lawrence Klein is awarded the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
• Hassan Fathy and Plenty International / Stephen Gaskin are awarded the Right Livelihood Award.
• Victoria decriminilizes homosexual acts between consenting adults.

Year in topic

• 1980 in film
  • Wednesday, May 21, 1980 - The Empire Strikes Back
  • Friday, November 14, 1980 - Raging Bull starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, directed by Martin Scorsese
  • Caddyshack
  • Coal Miner's Daughter
  • Ordinary People
  • The Blues Brothers
  • The Elephant Man
  • The Gods Must Be Crazy
• 1980 in literature
  • A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
  • The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
• 1980 in music
  • Monday, December 8, 1980 - Former Beatle John Lennon is shot and killed in front of his residence in New York City
• 1980 in sports
  • July 19 - Leonid Brezhnev opens the Olympic Games in Moscow.
• 1980 in television
  • Thursday, February 14, 1980 - Walter Cronkite announces his retirement from CBS Evening News.
  • Friday, October 24, 1980 - Australia's multicultural television network SBS begins transmission in Sydney and Melbourne
  • Tuesday, December 30, 1980 - After 25 years, the longest-running prime-time TV series The Wonderful World of Disney is cancelled by NBC.
  • CNN is launched as the first 24 hour a day news network.

Births

January-June

• January 1 - Rebekah Teasdale, British model and journalist
• January 1 - Elin Nordegren, Swedish model
• January 2 - Michelle Clack , British model
• January 9 - Sergio García, Spanish golfer
• January 11 - Mike Williams, American football player
• January 14 - Cory Gibbs, American soccer player
• January 16 - Albert Pujols, baseball player
• January 20 - Jasmin Wagner, German pop singer
• January 22 - Christopher Masterson, actor (Malcolm in the Middle)
• January 25 - Christian Olsson, Swedish triple jumper
• February 10 - César Iztúris, baseball player
• February 11 - Natasha Bobo, actress
• February 11 - Matthew Lawrence, actor
• February 12 - Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
• February 12 - Christina Ricci, actress
• February 16 - Ashley Lelie, American football player
• February 20 - Imanol Harinordoquy, French international rugby player
• February 27 - Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton
• March 16 - Todd Heap, American football player
• March 18 - Alexei Yagudin, figure skater
• March 21 - Ronaldinho, Brazilian soccer player
• April 17 - Brenda Villa, water polo player
• April 21 - Vincent Lecavalier, NHL hockey player
• May 8 - Nilay Koyunoglu , artist
• May 9 - Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
• June 1 - Oliver James , British actor
• June 13 - Sarah Connor, German pop singer
• June 16 - Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
• June 17 - Venus Williams, tennis player
• June 22 - Jade Marcela , erotic actress
• June 23 - Ramnaresh Sarwan, cricketer
• June 26 - Jason Schwartzman, actor
• June 26 - Michael Vick, football quarterback

July-December

• July 6 - Pau Gasol, Catalan NBA star
• July 7 - Michelle Kwan, figure skater
• July 8 - Robbie Keane, Irish international footballer
• July 10 - Adam Petty, NASCAR driver (d. 2000)
• July 10 - Jessica Simpson, singer
• July 22 - Kate Ryan, Belgian singer
• August 11 - Lee Suggs, American football player
• August 26 - Macaulay Culkin, actor
• August 28 - Debra Lafave, teacher
• September 7 - Mark Prior, baseball pitcher
• September 12 - Yao Ming, Chinese NBA star
• September 12 - Sean Burroughs, Major League Baseball player
• September 21 - Kareena Kapoor, Bollywood actress
• September 30 - Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
• October 13 - Ashanti, US pop music artist
• October 14 - Terrence McGee, American football player
• October 16 - Sue Bird, WNBA basketball star
• November 12 - Ryan Gosling, actor
• November 17 - Isaac Hanson, musician
• November 21 - Hank Blalock, baseball player
• December 10 - Alexa Rae, erotic actress
• December 18 - Christina Aguilera, pop singer
• December 19 - Jake Gyllenhaal, actor (The Day After Tomorrow)
• December 19 - Marla Sokoloff, actress (Full House, The Practice)
• December 30 - Eliza Dushku, actress

Deaths

January-May

• January 3 - Joy Adamson, conservationist and author of Born Free (killed by a servant in northern Kenya).
• January 8 - John Mauchly, co-inventor of the ENIAC computer
• January 10 - George Meany, labor leader
• January 18 - Sir Cecil Beaton, fashion designer
• January 29 - Jimmy Durante, actor, singer, comedian, vaudevillian
• January 30 - Professor Longhair, King of New Orleans music
• February 7 - Secondo Campini, Italian jet pioneer
• February 13 - David Janssen, actor
• February 19 - Bon Scott, lead singer for AC/DC (b. 1946)
• February 20 - J.B. Rhine, parapsychologist and ESP researcher (b. 1895)
• March 5 - Jay Silverheels, actor
• March 16 - Tamara de Lempicka, Art Deco painter
• March 25 - Walter Susskind, Czech conductor (b. 1913)
• March 29 - Mantovani, "easy listening" conductor and arranger (b. 1905)
• March 31 - Jesse Owens, American athlete
• April 4 - Red Sovine , country music entertainer
• April 12 - Clark McConachy, snooker and billiards player
• April 29 - Alfred Hitchcock, British film director (b. 1899)
• May 4 - Josip Broz Tito, president of Yugoslavia (born 1892)
• May 18 - Ian Curtis, band member of Joy Division
• May 28 - Rolf Nevanlinna, mathematician (born 1895)

June-November

• June 7 - Henry Miller, writer
• June 12 - Milburn Stone, actor
• June 13 - Walter Rodney, historian, political figure
• June 21 - Bert Kaempfert, German orchestra leader and songwriter
• June 23 - Clyfford Still, painter
• July 7 - Dore Schary, stage/motion picture personality
• July 17 - Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran
• July 17 - Boris Delaunay, Soviet/Russian mathematician
• July 24 - Peter Sellers, actor
• July 26 - Kenneth Tynan, theatre critic, b. 1927.
• August 7 - Jackie Cochran, American aviatrix
• August 10 - Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan
• August 14 - Dorothy Stratten, Playboy playmate (murdered)
• August 24 - Yootha Joyce, British actress
• September 25 - John Bonham, drummer of Led Zeppelin
• October 25 - Victor Galindez, boxing light heavyweight world champion, in car race accident.
• November 4 - Elsie MacGill, aeronautical engineer, "Queen of the Hurricanes"
• November 7 - Steve McQueen, actor
• November 20 - John McEwen, eighteenth Prime Minister of Australia
• November 22 - Mae West, actress

December

• December 2 - Romain Gary, writer
• December 4 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (died in office).
• December 4 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-American sprinter
• December 8 - John Lennon, musician, founding member of The Beatles
• December 16 - Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (born 1890)
• December 16 - Hellmuth Walter, engineer and inventor
• December 24 - Karl Dönitz, former President of Germany.
• December 29 - Tim Hardin, musician
• December 31 - Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and professor

Unknown dates

• Clement Martyn Doke, South African linguist

Nobel Prizes

• Physics - James Watson Cronin, Val Logsdon Fitch
• Chemistry - Paul Berg, Walter Gilbert, Frederick Sanger
• Medicine - Baruj Benacerraf, Jean Dausset, George D. Snell
• Literature - Czeslaw Milosz
• Peace- Adolfo Pérez Esquivel