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World Timeline (1981-1988)
Browse a chronology of major events that occurred during Reagan's presidency.
1981 |
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is first identified
Francois Mitterand becomes president of France
President of Egypt Anwar Sadat is assassinated
Israeli air force bombs a nuclear plant in Iraq
Americans held hostage in Iran freed |
1982 |
UN Conference adopts the "Law of the Sea"
Martial law ends in Poland; Solidarity leader Lech Walesa is released from prison
Falkland War between Great Britain and Argentina occurs
Israeli troops invade Lebanon |
1983 |
Millions starve in Ethiopian drought
Pope John Paul II visits Poland
Benino Aquino, political opponent of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, is murdered
US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is bombed by Shiite Moslems
Violent conflict breaks out between Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka
US troops invade Grenada
South Korean airliner shot down by Soviets, killing 269 people |
1984 |
Poisonous gas leak kills 2,500 people in Bhopal, India
Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi assassinated
UK and China agree that Hong Kong will revert to Chinese rule in 1997
Soviet leader Andropov dies; succeeded by Chernenko |
1985 |
British scientists discover a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica
An earthquake hits Mexico City, killing 7,000 people
Live Aid concerts are held in England and the U.S. to provide famine relief to Ethiopia
UK and Ireland sign the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Palestinian terrorists hijack the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro
French intelligence agents sink a Greenpeace ship in New Zealand
Soviet leader Chernenko dies, succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev unilaterally stops nuclear missile deployment in Europe |
1986 |
Nuclear reactor disaster in Chernobyl, USSR, occurs
U.S. space shuttle "Challenger" explodes on takeoff, killing the entire crew
Swedish prime minister Olof Palme is assassinated
U.S. air force bombs Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya
Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda flee the Philippines; Corazon Aquino is elected president |
1987 |
Stock markets around the world crash
Soviet leader Gorbachev begins policies of "glasnost" and "perestroika"
U.S. and USSR sign INF treaty banning short- and medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe
Riots in Mecca result in the deaths of 402 Moslem pilgrims |
1988 |
Earthquake in Armenia kills 80,000 people
Terrorists blow up a Pan American 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all aboard and several people on the ground
"Intifada" Palestinian resistance movement begins in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
Benazir Bhutto becomes president of Pakistan and the first female to lead a Moslem country |
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