What Happened in 1980
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Aretha Franklin Releases "Aretha Sings the Blues"
Aretha Sings the Blues is a 1980 compilation of previously released Aretha Franklin recordings from Franklin's tenure with Columbia Records. Read more
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Saudi Arabia Builds $50 Billion Air Defense System
In the 1980's Saudi Arabia built an air defense system. The U.S. built many things for this including schools and bases. The also built a... Read more
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Rogue is Included in the Berkeley Standard Distribution UNIX Distritbution 4.2
A student at University of Berkeley, called Ken Arnold, had designed a library of C functions which allowed programs to do cursor addressing, which... Read more
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Rush release Permanent Waves
Permanent Waves is the seventh studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released January 1, 1980. The album was recorded at Le Studio, Morin... Read more
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Ted Kennedy Authors the Refugee Act of 1980
The Refugee Act is a 1980 United States federal law that reformed United States immigration law and admitted refugees on systematic basis for... Read more
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Wayne Gretzky Wins Hart Memorial Trophy (League MVP) in First NHL Season
In his first NHL season, 1979–80, Gretzky proved his critics wrong. He was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's Most Valuable Player... Read more
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Nissan Leopard F30 is First Produced
The Nissan Leopard is a line of luxury sports cars built by Japanese carmaker Nissan. The Leopard began life in 1980 and was discontinued in 1999.... Read more
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Nintendo Releases 'Silver', the First Game & Watch
Game & Watch (ゲーム＆ウオッチ, Gēmu ando Wocchi, or G&W) is a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. Created by game... Read more
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Ford Laser is First Produced
The Ford Laser is a compact car sold by Ford in Asia, Oceania, and parts of South America, and Africa. It has generally been available as a sedan... Read more
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Microsoft partners with IBM to wrtie the BASIC for the IBM PC
In 1980, IBM approached Microsoft to write the BASIC interpreter for its upcoming personal computer, the IBM PC. When IBM's representatives... Read more
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Funkadelic releases Connections & Disconnections
Connections & Disconnections is a renegade Funkadelic album, performed by original Parliaments members Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon and Grady... Read more
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Super Bowl XIV - Steelers 31, Rams 19
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football... Read more
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'Canadian Caper' Covert Operation Succeeds in Rescuing Six American Diplomats
On January 27, 1980, the American diplomats, now travelling on Canadian passports, boarded a flight for Zürich, Switzerland, at Tehran’s Mehrabad... Read more
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Northeastern defeats Boston College, 5-4
In one tumultuous moment at the end of an emotionally wrenching game, Wayne Turner swept in on the net, picked up a pass from a sprawling Dale... Read more
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XIII Olympic Winter Games Held in Lake Placid, New York, United States
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 13... Read more
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U2 releases first single, "Another Day"
"Another Day" was U2's first single release, and was released in 1980 following their EP, Three, and prior to their debut album, Boy. It was... Read more
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"Coal Miner's Daughter" Is Released
Coal Miner's Daughter is an American 1980 biographical film which tells the story of country music performer Loretta Lynn. It stars Sissy Spacek in... Read more
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Def Leppard release On Through the Night
On Through the Night is the debut album by British Rock band Def Leppard, released in 1980. The album charted at #51 on The Billboard 200 and #15... Read more
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Jacob Miller Dies
Jacob Miller (May 4, 1952 – March 23, 1980) was a Jamaican reggae artist who first recorded with Clement Dodd. While pursuing a prolific solo... Read more
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Louisville Beats UCLA in Final Four
The 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of... Read more
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Van Halen Releases "Women and Children First"
Women and Children First is the third album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1980. It basically continues the trends laid out on... Read more
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Alexander L. Kielland Oil Platform Collapse
The initial collapse occurred within a minute but the Kielland remained floating for another 14 minutes or so after the initial failure. During... Read more
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Scorpions release Animal Magnetism
Animal Magnetism is the seventh studio album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, released in 1980. The RIAA certified Animal Magnetism as... Read more