istoryworld
All Events
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
The Saudi fundamentalist Osama bin Laden joins the mujaheddin in their fight against the Soviet occupiers of Afghanistan
Steven Spielberg directs E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, in which an alien is stranded on earth and is befriended by a young boy
5000 Argentinian troops land in the Falkland Islands, provoking war with Britain
Dustin Hoffman, in Tootsie, plays a man who becomes a star in the persona of an actress
Chilean author Isabel Allende publishes her first novel, The House of the Spirits
Congress in Washington passes the Boland Amendment, banning US military aid to the Contras
The Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano is sunk by a British torpedo, with the loss of 368 lives
Little Shop of Horrors, by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, opens in New York
Michael Frayn's farce Noises Off opens in London's West end
Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church (or 'Moonies'), is convicted in the USA of tax fraud and imprisoned
Senegal and the Gambia partially merge as Senegambia, in a confederation which lasts seven years
Israeli Minister of Defence Ariel Sharon heads Israel's invasion of Lebanon to expel the PLO
British troops recapture Port Stanley, after which the Argentinian forces in the Falklands surrender
The leader of the Argentinian junta, Leopoldo Galtieri, resigns three days after the Falklands defeat
Local volunteers take over regular filling of Kew Pond from Richmond Council so that constant water level can be maintained
Australian novelist Thomas Keneally publishes Schindler's Ark and wins the Booker Prize
Yasser Arafat and the PLO move to Tunisia, after being driven out of Lebanon by Israel
Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona is sold to Barcelona for a new record fee of about £3 million, almost double the highest previous figure
8,000-year-old human remains are found in a waterlogged burial site at Windover, in Florida
British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, promoter of the punk style, shows a collection called Punkature
