* Soviet leader Chernenko dies at 73 and is replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev, 54 (March 11). Under the slogans of glasnost and Perestroika, Gorbachev initiates a broad program of reform and liberalization. Background: Rulers of Russia since 1533

* Two Shi'ite Muslim gunmen capture TWA airliner with 133 aboard, 104 of them Americans (June 14); 39 remaining hostages freed in Beirut (June 30).

* PLO terrorists hijack Achille Lauro, Italian cruise ship, with 80 passengers, plus crew (Oct. 7); American, Leon Klinghoffer, killed (Oct. ; Italian government toppled by political crisis over hijacking (Oct. 16).

* Reagan and Gorbachev meet at summit (Nov. 19); agree to step up arms control talks and renew cultural contacts (Nov. 21). Background: nuclear disarmament

* Terrorists seize Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner after takeoff from Athens (Nov. 23); 59 dead as Egyptian forces storm plane on Malta (Nov. 24).

More History...

U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: Ronald W. Reagan
Vice President: George Bush
Population: 237,923,795
Life expectancy: 74.7 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 52.1
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 46.5

More U.S. Statistics...

* Ronald Reagan, 73, takes oath for second term as 40th President (Jan. 20).

* General Westmoreland settles libel action against CBS (Feb. 1.

* US Supreme Court, 5–4, bars public school teachers from parochial schools (July 1).

* Arthur James Walker, 50, retired naval officer, convicted by federal judge of participating in Soviet spy ring operated by his brother, John Walker (Aug. 9).

* US budget-balancing bill enacted (Dec. 12).

More History...

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars): $4,180.70 billion
Federal spending: $946.39 billion
Federal debt: $1817.5 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $23,618
Consumer Price Index: 107.6
Unemployment: 7.2%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.20 ($0.22 as of 2/17/1985)

More Economics...

Sports

Sports Links

Pro Football Summary

Pro Basketball Summary

Pro Baseball Summary

Super Bowl
San Francisco d. Miami (38-16)

World Series
Kansas City d. St. Louis Cardinals (4-3)

NBA Championship
LA Lakers d. Boston (4-2)

Stanley Cup
Edmonton d. Philadelphia (4-1)

Wimbledon
Women: Martina Navratilova d. C. Evert Lloyd (4-6 6-3 6-2)
Men: Boris Becker d. K. Curren (6-3 6-7 7-6 6-4)

Kentucky Derby Champion
Spend A Buck

NCAA Basketball Championship
Villanova d. Georgetown (66-64)

NCAA Football Champions
Oklahoma (11-1-0)

Entertainment

Entertainment Awards

Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Foreign Affairs, Alison Lurie
Music: Symphony RiverRun, Stephen Albert
Drama: Sunday in the Park with George, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

Oscars awarded in 1985
Academy Award, Best Picture: Amadeus, Saul Zaentz, producer (Orion)

Nobel Prize for Literature: Claude Simon (France)

1985 Emmy Awards

1985 Tony Awards

Grammys awarded in 1985
Record of the Year: "What's Love Got to Do With It," Tina Turner
Album of the Year: Can't Slow Down, Lionel Richie (Motown)
Song of the Year: "What's Love Got to Do With It," Graham Lyle and Terry Britten, songwriters

Miss America: Sharlene Wells (UT)
More Entertainment Awards...

Events

* Rock Hudson dies of AIDS at age 59. He's the first major star to fall victim to the disease.

* Madonna launches her first road show, the Virgin Tour.

* Dozens of top-name musicians and bands perform at the Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London. The shows benefit African famine victims.

* With the availability of relatively inexpensive laser printers and computers, tools for desktop publishing begin to be commonly used.

Movies

* Kiss of the Spider Woman, Out of Africa, Prizzi's Honor, The Color Purple

Books

* Robert Bly, Loving a Woman in Two Worlds

* Keri Hulme, The Bone People

* Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove



Science
Nobel Prizes in Science

Chemistry: Herbert A. Hauptman and Jerome Karle (both US), for their outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures

Physics: Klaus von Klitzing (Germany), for developing an exact way of measuring electrical conductivity

Physiology or Medicine: Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein (both US), for their work, which has drastically widened our understanding of the cholesterol metabolism and increased our possibilities to prevent and treat atherosclerosis and heart attacks

* British scientists report the opening of an enormous hole in the earth's ozone layer over Antarctica. Background: Environment & Nature

* Researchers at IBM develop the scanning tunneling microscope, which can visualize images on an atomic scale.

* Coca-Cola attempts to change its 99-year-old formula in an effort to attract younger drinkers. "New" Coke is poorly received, and the company soon reintroduces the original, "Classic" beverage. Background: carbonated beverages

1983.....

WORLD EVENTS

# Pope John Paul II signs new Roman Catholic code incorporating changes brought about by Second Vatican Council (Jan. 25).

# Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., 50, political rival of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in Manila (Aug. 21).

# South Korean Boeing 747 jetliner bound for Seoul apparently strays into Soviet airspace and is shot down by a Soviet SU-15 fighter after it had tracked the airliner for two hours; all 269 aboard are killed. (Aug. 30).

# Terrorist explosion kills 237 US Marines in Beirut (Oct. 23).

# US invades Grenada (Oct. 25).


U.S EVENTS

# Second space shuttle, Challenger, makes successful maiden voyage, which includes the first US space walk in nine years (April 4).

# US Supreme Court declares many local abortion restrictions unconstitutional (June 15).

# Sally K. Ride, 32, first US woman astronaut in space as a crew member aboard space shuttle Challenger (June 1.

# US admits shielding former Nazi Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie, 69, the "butcher of Lyon," wanted in France for war crimes (Aug. 15).


ECONOMICS

US GDP (1998 dollars): $3,514.50 billion
Federal spending: $808.38 billion
Federal debt: $1371.7 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $20,885
Consumer Price Index: 99.6
Unemployment: 9.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.20


SPORTS

Super Bowl
Washington d. Miami (27-17)

World Series
Baltimore d. Philadelphia Phillies (4-1)

NBA Championship
Philadelphia 76ers d. LA Lakers (4-0)

Stanley Cup
NY Islanders d. Edmonton (4-0)

Wimbledon
Women: Martina Navratilova d. A. Jaeger (6-0 6-3)
Men: John McEnroe d. C. Lewis (6-2 6-2 6-2)

Kentucky Derby Champion
Sunny's Halo

NCAA Basketball Championship
N.C. State d. Houston (54-52)

NCAA Football Champions
Miami-FL (11-1-0)


ENTERTAINMENT

Events

* With the introduction of noise-free compact discs, the vinyl record begins a steep decline.

* Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy wins the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and Tony Award for best play, marking the acceptance of gay theater.

* Singer Karen Carpenter dies of complications from anorexia nervosa at age 32.

* More than 125 million viewers tune in to the last episode of M*A*S*H.

Movies

* The Big Chill, Terms of Endearment, Fanny & Alexander, The Right Stuff

Books

* J.M. Coetzee, Life & Times of Michael K

* William Kennedy, Ironweed

Theater

* Torch Song Trilogy


SCIENCE

# "Crack" cocaine is developed in the Bahamas, and soon appears in the United States. Background: Nationwide Trends in Drug Abuse

# The FCC authorizes Motorola to begin testing cellular phone service in Chicago.

# The El Niño phenomenon disrupts global weather patterns. Background: What's Wrong With Our Weather?


DEATHS

# Tennessee Williams

# Joan Miró

# Buckminster Fuller

# Jack Dempsey

on the exact date of my birth (15th may 1984) the australian one dollar coin
was released to phase out the one dollar note..


im sure there was more but none that i can think of off the top of my head..

well that is except that i was born.... obviously a greta thing for all humanity

i have no idea, i was born in 1984........you tell me if owt significant happened

cheers

cheers for finding that out for me. i you find owt else please let me know.

General Manuel Noriega surrenders in Panama (Jan. 3).


Yugoslav Communists end 45-year monopoly of power (Jan. 22).


Communist Party relinquish sole power in Soviet government (Feb. 7). Background: Dissolution of the USSR


South Africa frees Nelson Mandela, imprisoned 27½ years (Feb. 11).


US-Soviet summit reaches accord on armaments (June 1).


Western Alliance ends Cold War and proposes joint action with Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (July 6).


Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, setting off the Persian Gulf War (Aug. 2 et seq.). Background: The Persian Gulf War


East and West Germany reunited (Aug. 31 et seq.).


Margaret Thatcher resigns as British Prime Minister (Nov. 22); John Major succeeds her (Nov. 2.


Lech Walesa wins Poland's runoff Presidential election (Dec. 9).

Syria frees captured US Navy pilot, Lieut. Robert C. Goodman, Jr. (Jan. 3).


US and Vatican exchange diplomats after 116-year hiatus (Jan. 10).


Reagan orders US Marines withdrawn from Beirut international peacekeeping force (Feb. 7).


Yuri V. Andropov dies at 69; Konstantin U. Chernenko, 72, named Soviet leader (Feb. 9). Background: Rulers of Russia since 1533


Italy and Vatican agree to end Roman Catholicism as state religion (Feb. 1.


Soviet Union withdraws from summer Olympic games in US, and other bloc nations follow (May 7 et seq.).


José Napoleón Duarte, moderate, elected president of El Salvador (May 11).


Three hundred slain as Indian Army occupies Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar (June 6).


Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards; 1,000 killed in anti-Sikh riots; son Rajiv succeeds her (Oct. 31).


Toxic gas leaks from Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killing 2,000 and injuring 150,000 (Dec. 3).


More History...

U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: Ronald W. Reagan
Vice President: George Bush
Population: 235,824,902
Life expectancy: 74.7 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 50.3
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 44.9

More U.S. Statistics...
Bell System broken up (Jan. 1).


Congress rebukes President Reagan on use of federal funds for mining Nicaraguan harbors (April 10).


Thirty-ninth Democratic National Convention, nominates Walter F. Mondale and Geraldine A. Ferraro (July 16–19).


Thirty-third Republican National Convention renominates President Reagan and Vice President Bush (Aug. 20-25).


President Reagan re-elected in landslide with 59% of vote (Nov. 7).


More History...

Economics


US GDP (1998 dollars): $3,902.40 billion
Federal spending: $851.85 billion
Federal debt: $1564.7 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $22,415
Consumer Price Index: 103.9
Unemployment: 7.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.20



More Economics...

Sports

Sports Links

Pro Football Summary

Pro Basketball Summary

Pro Baseball Summary


Super Bowl
LA Raiders d. Washington (38-9)

World Series
Detroit d. San Diego (4-1)

NBA Championship
Boston d. LA Lakers (4-3)

Stanley Cup
Edmonton d. NY Islanders (4-1)

Wimbledon
Women: Martina Navratilova d. C. Evert Lloyd (7-6 6-2)
Men: John McEnroe d. J. Connors (6-1 6-1 6-2)

Kentucky Derby Champion
Swale

NCAA Basketball Championship
Georgetown d. Houston (84-75)

NCAA Football Champions
BYU (13-0-0)

1984 Summer Olympics

1984 Winter Olympics


Entertainment

Entertainment Awards


Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Ironweed, William Kennedy
Music: Canti del Sole, Bernard Rands
Drama: Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet

Oscars awarded in 1984
Academy Award, Best Picture: Terms of Endearment, James L. Brooks, producer (Paramount)

Nobel Prize for Literature: Jaroslav Seifert (Czechoslovakia)

1984 Emmy Awards

1984 Tony Awards

Grammys awarded in 1984
Record of the Year: "Beat It," Michael Jackson
Album of the Year: Thriller, Michael Jackson (Epic/CBS)
Song of the Year: "Every Breath You Take," Sting, songwriter

Miss America: Vanessa Williams (NY) / Suzette Charles (NJ)

More Entertainment Awards...
Events

The Cosby Show debuts on NBC. The sitcom is widely considered the most popular show of the 1980s.


The Supreme Court rules that taping television shows at home on VCRs does not violate copyright law.


Led by Bob Geldof, the band Band Aid releases "Do They Know It's Christmas," with proceeds of the single going to feed the starving in Africa.


Movies

Amadeus, The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, The Pope of Greenwich Village


Books

Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Alison Lurie, Foreign Affairs




Science
Nobel Prizes in Science


Chemistry: R. Bruce Merrifield (US), for research that revolutionized the study of proteins

Physics: Carlo Rubbia (Italy) and Simon van der Meer (Netherlands), for their role in discovering three subatomic particles, a step toward developing a single theory to account for all natural forces

Physiology or Medicine: Cesar Milstein (UK/Argentina), Georges J. F. Kohler (West Germany), and Niels K. Jerne (UK/Denmark), for their work in immunology

Joe W. Kittinger makes the first solo transatlantic balloon flight in the helium-filled Rosie O'Grady's Balloon of Peace. He travels 3,535 miles from Caribou, Maine to Savona, Italy. Background: Famous Firsts in Aviation


Apple introduces the user-friendly Macintosh personal computer. Background: Computers and Internet




Deaths

Indira Gandhi


Francois Truffaut


Truman Capote


Count Basie

Yep! In 1971, I was born!