1980 CE

The Iran–Iraq War begins; Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 people; John Lennon is shot and killed in New York City, shocking the world; the 1980 Summer Olympics are held in Moscow amid a widespread boycott led by the United States; the Bologna massacre kills 85 people in Bologna; Operation Eagle Claw fails in Iran during the Iran hostage crisis; the Iranian Embassy siege unfolds in London; the 1980 Irpinia earthquake devastates southern Italy; and the 1980 United States presidential election sees Ronald Reagan defeat Jimmy Carter, ushering in the Reagan era.

In the 1980s, the 20th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 14 – Indian National Congress party leader Indira Gandhi returns to power as the Prime Minister of India.source
February 4 – Abolhassan Banisadr is sworn in as the first President of Iran after winning the January 25 presidential election.source
February 15 – In Vanuatu, followers of John Frum's cargo cult on the island of Tanna declare secession as the nation of Tafea.source
February 22 – The US upset the USSR in the Olympics, a hockey game known as the Miracle on Ice. They then proceeded to defeat Finland to secure their first of two gold medals since 1960.source
February 23 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.source
March 1 – The Commonwealth Trade Union Council is established.source
March 3 – Pierre Trudeau returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.source
March 4 – Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.source
April 14 – The People's Redemption Council is established, with Samuel Doe as its chairman and head of state of Liberia.Liberia source
April 15 – Libya recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.Libya source
April 15 - Syria recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.Syria source
April 18 – Zimbabwe gains de jure independence from the United Kingdom with Robert Mugabe as its first Prime Minister.source
April 30 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicates and her daughter Beatrix accedes to the throne.source
30: The abdication of Queen Juliana in favor of her oldest daughter Beatrix. The inauguration of Beatrix as Queen of the Netherlands is marred by large riots known as the Kroningsoproer (see Amsterdam coronation riots).Netherlands source
May 2 – Referendum on system of government held in Nepal.source
18 May – In the 1980 Austrian presidential election, Rudolf Kirchschläger is re-elected with the support of both major parties and 80% of the vote.Austria source
May 20 – 1980 Quebec referendum: Voters in Quebec reject, by a vote of 60%, a proposal to seek independence from Canada.source
May 20 - Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo order the National Assembly of Korea to be dissolved, using troops to enforce the order.South Korea source
May - The village level administrative bodies were formed for the first time under the title of "Swanirvar Gram Sarkar" (Self-sufficient village Government).Bangladesh source
June 29 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland, making her the first woman democratically elected as head of state.source
1 July: Cornelius Cloete, a member of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), becomes the first leader of the newly founded Namaland.Namibia source
July 30 – Vanuatu gains independence.source
July 30 – Israel's Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law.source
August 1 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir becomes the 4th President of Iceland, the world's first democratically directly elected female president.source
September 21 – Bülent Ulusu, ex admiral, forms the new government of Turkey (44th government, composed mostly of technocrats).source
October 14 – The 6th Congress of the Workers' Party ends, having anointed North Korean President Kim Il Sung's son Kim Jong Il as his successor.source
October 15 – James Callaghan announces his resignation as leader of the British Labour Party.source
October 18 – 1980 Australian federal election: Malcolm Fraser's Liberal/National Country Coalition government is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority, defeating the Labor Party led by Bill Hayden. The Government also loses control of the Senate, with the Australian Democrats winning the balance of power.source
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.source
October 31 – The Polish government recognizes Solidarity.source
October 31 – Reza Pahlavi, eldest son of the Shah of Iran, proclaims himself the rightful successor to the Peacock Throne.source
November 4 – 1980 United States presidential election: Republican challenger and former Governor Ronald Reagan of California defeats incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter and is elected the 40th President of the United States.source

Conflict & Security

January 31 – Burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala: The Spanish Embassy in Guatemala is invaded and set on fire, killing 36 people. In the United States, it is dubbed "Spain's own Tehran".source
February 25 – A coup in Suriname ousts the government of Henck Arron; leaders Dési Bouterse and Roy Horb replace it with a National Military Council.source
February 27 – M-19 guerrillas begin the Dominican embassy siege in Colombia, holding 60 people hostage, including 14 ambassadors.source
March 21 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.source
25 March – Bangladeshi armed forces allegedly attacked the village of Kawkhali and left about 300 dead.Bangladesh source
3: The army removes barricades after the mayor of Amsterdam assigns them to reconquer the Vondelstraat from the squatters.Netherlands source
April 2 – The St Pauls riot breaks out in Bristol.source
April 12 – 1980 Liberian coup d'état: Samuel K. Doe overthrows the government of Liberia in a violent coup d'état, executing President William Tolbert and ending over 130 years of democratic presidential succession in that country.source
April 12 – 1980 Liberian coup d'étatLiberia source
April 27 – The Dominican embassy siege in Colombia ends with all remaining hostages released after the guerrillas are allowed to escape to Cuba.source
April 30 – Iranian Embassy siege: Six Iranian-born terrorists take over the Iranian embassy in London, England. SAS retakes the Embassy on May 5; one terrorist survives.source
May 14 – The Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador.source
May 17 – Internal conflict in Peru: On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho.source
May 17 - Coup d'état of May Seventeenth: General Chun Doo-hwan forces the Cabinet to extend martial law to the whole nation.South Korea source
May 18–27 – Gwangju Uprising: Students in Gwangju, South Korea, begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.source
May 24 – The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran.source
May 26 – John Frum supporters in Vanuatu storm government offices on the island of Tanna. Vanuatu government troops land the next day and drive them away.source
June 10 – Apartheid: The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.source
13 June – U.N. Security Council Resolution 472 was adopted and noted that, due to the existing circumstances, the presence of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) would continue to be essential for a peaceful settlement.Cyprus source
June 25 – A Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt against Syrian president Hafez al-Assad fails. Assad retaliates by sending the army against them.source
June 25 - A Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt against President Hafez al-Assad fails. Assad retaliates by sending the army against them.Syria source
June 27 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs Proclamation 4771, requiring 18- to 25-year-old males to register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.source
July 8 – A wave of strikes begins in Lublin, Poland.source
July 16 – Former California Governor and actor Ronald Reagan is nominated for U.S. president, at the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit. Influenced by the Religious Right, the convention also drops its long-standing support for the Equal Rights Amendment, dismaying moderate Republicans.source
August – A tribal uprising in eastern Libya triggers five days of fighting.Libya source
September 12 – Kenan Evren stages a military coup in Turkey. It stops political gang violence, but begins stronger state violence leading to the execution of many young activists.source
Youth riots in the capital of the Soviet Republic of Estonia were quickly forced down.Estonia source

Exploration & Expansion

8 January – Tryggve Gran, aviator, explorer and author (b.1889)Norway source
February – Johore Safari World, Malaysia's first safari park was opened to public.Malaysia source
April 10 – In Lisbon, Portugal, the governments of Spain and the United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain (closed since 1969) in 1985.source
August 26 – Doe leaves to visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in his first international visit since his taking power.Liberia source
August 31 – Victory of the strike in Gdańsk Shipyard, Poland. The Gdańsk Agreement is signed, opening a way to start the first free (i.e. not state-controlled) trade union in the communist bloc, "Solidarity" (Solidarność).source
September 17 – After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.source
9 October – Gloagtrotter of Perth, trading as GT Coaches, begins operation of an express coach service from Dundee to London as The Stage Coach, origin of the Stagecoach Group.Scotland source
Mexico at the 1980 Summer Paralympics.Mexico source
New Zealand was unplaced in the Oceania Cup tournament held in New CaledoniaNew Zealand source
Robert Dunlop makes first appearance at the Cookstown 100.Northern Ireland source
The Pakistan Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) was establishedPakistan source

Religion & Belief

22 January – Yitzhak Baer (born 1888), German-born Israeli historian and an expert in medieval Spanish Jewish history.Israel source
March 12 – The Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk and its three sister churches announce that they have no objection to reconsideration of the Immorality- and Mixed Marriages Acts.South Africa source
April 1 – The Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) is formed in Lusaka, Zambia.source
May - the Federal Shariat Court was establishedPakistan source
July 9 – Pope John Paul II visits Brazil; seven people are crushed to death in a crowd waiting to see him at afternoon Mass at the stadium in Fortaleza.source
July 9: On the 10th day of Pope John Paul II's visit to Brazil, in an effort to get good seats, the crowd at the Castelao Stadium broke down an unguarded gate and trampled those killed in the rush.Brazil source
September 22 – The command council of Iraq orders its army to "deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets", initiating the Iran–Iraq War.source
October – Letter of 40 intellectuals.Estonia source
December 12 – During a meeting in the Vatican City, Pope John Paul II announces to the representatives of Chile and Argentina his proposed resolution of the Beagle Conflict.Chile source
December 28–30. Council of Association of Polish Writers convenes in Warsaw, electing Józef Szczepański as president,Poland source
Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Sultan Ahmad ShahMalaysia source

Economy & Finance

January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.source
January 21 – The London Gold Fixing hits its highest price ever of $843 per troy ounce ($2,249.50 in 2020 when adjusted for inflation).source
24 February – The shekel replaces the Israeli pound.Israel source
1 April - New regulation came into effect enabling the protection of foreign investments in Bangladesh from Government actions like nationalization and expropriation.Bangladesh source
30 April – Automotive company Chrysler Australia Limited is taken over by Japanese company Mitsubishi after the American-based Chrysler Corporation sold its Australian subsidiary to the dynamic Japanese automobile manufacturer for $80 million. The declining fortunes of Chrysler's North American operations forced the sale.Australia source
April Unknown date – Fancl Cosmetics, as predecessor of FANCL was founded.Japan source
May 20 – Guangming Huaqiao Electronic Industry, as predecessor of Konka Group was founded.China source
8: In urban and regional public transportation strip tickets are implemented as part of the national tariff system.Netherlands source
September 3 – Zimbabwe breaks diplomatic and consular relations with South Africa, even though it maintains a commercial mission in Johannesburg.source
22 November – Gaston Thorn steps down as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg and is succeeded by Colette Flesch. Camille Polfer replaces Flesch as Mayor of Luxembourg City.Luxembourg source
6th Congress of the Workers' Party of KoreaNorth Korea source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.source
1 February – The opening of Dong-ao Station, Hanben Station and Wuta Station of Taiwan Railways Administration in Nan'ao Township, Yilan County.Taiwan source
March 28 – The Talpiot Tomb is discovered by construction workers in Jerusalem.source
10 April – Andy Ram, Israeli tennis playerIsrael source
June 1 – The first 24-hour news channel, Cable News Network (CNN), is launched.source
June 23 – Tim Berners-Lee begins work on ENQUIRE, the system that will eventually lead to the creation of the World Wide Web in autumn 1990.source
25: Prime minister Dries van Agt hands the 37 first inhabitants of Almere their house keys.Netherlands source
August 2 – Strage di Bologna: A terrorist bombing at the Bologna Centrale railway station in Italy kills 85 people and wounds more than 200.source
August 7–31 – Lech Wałęsa leads the first of many strikes at the Gdańsk Shipyard in the Polish People's Republic.source
31 August – Colour television launched in Sabah and Sarawak by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM)Malaysia source
September 5 – The Gotthard Road Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel, at 16.3 km, stretching from Göschenen to Airolo beneath the Gotthard Pass.source
September 30 – Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel and Xerox introduce the DIX standard for Ethernet, which is the first implementation outside of Xerox and the first to support 10 Mbit/s speeds.source
October 14 – The Staggers Rail Act is enacted, deregulating American railroads.source
October 20 – In continuous production since 1962, the last MG MGB roadster rolls off the assembly line at the Abingdon-on-Thames (England) factory, ending production for the MG Cars marque.source
October - The religious show Ang Dating Daan starts its radio broadcast through DWWA.Philippines source
17 December – A new ferry terminal will be built in Sentosa, which will be finished by September 1981.Singapore source
Mohammedan SC won 1980 Dhaka First Division League title, while Team BJMC came out runners-up.Bangladesh source
Work begins on the building of the Foyle Bridge in Derry.Northern Ireland source

Science & Discovery

January 27 – Canadian Caper: Six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran, as they board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland, on Swissair.source
February 16 – A total solar eclipse is seen in North Africa and West Asia. It was the 50th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 130.source
March 1 – The Voyager 1 probe confirms the existence of Janus, a moon of Saturn.source
19 April – Norway was represented by Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta, with the song '"Sámiid Ædnan", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest.Norway source
1 May – The Australian branch of Earthwatch Institute is established in Sydney.Australia source
May 22 – Namco's Pac-Man, the highest-earning arcade game of all time, is released in Japan.source
16 June – Jacob Talmon (born 1916), Russian (Poland)-born Israeli author and professor of modern history.Israel source
18 July - SLV-3 successfully launched from Sriharikota.India source
October 16 – The most recent atmospheric nuclear weapons test to date was conducted by China.source
October 28 – The National Energy Program is introducedCanada source
November 10–12 – Voyager program: The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn, when it flies within 77,000 mi of the planet's cloud-tops and sends the first high-resolution images of the world back to scientists on Earth.source
November 10 – November 12 – Voyager program: The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn, when it flies within 77,000 mi of the planet's cloud-tops and sends the first high resolution images of the world back to scientists on Earth.United States source
The Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas is established.Mexico source
Best Speciality: 1979 SPT International Track SeriesNew Zealand source

Health & Medicine

1 March – The federal executive of the Australian Labor Party decides to intervene in the Queensland branch, with most key office-holders replaced.Australia source
2 April – Lubna Jaffery, politicianNorway source
April 12 – Terry Fox begins his Marathon of Hope, a plan to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research, setting off from St. John's, Newfoundland and running westward.source
21: The first angioplasty treatment takes place at the Saint Antonius Hospital in Utrecht.Netherlands source
May 6 – Thozamile Botha, a Port Elizabeth activist, breaks his banning order and escapes to Maseru, Lesotho.South Africa source
May 8 – Global eradication of smallpox certified by the World Health Organization.source
September 1 – Terry Fox is forced to end his Marathon of Hope run outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, after finding out that the cancer has spread to his lungs.source
October 10 – Wayne Gretzky plays in his first NHL game when his Edmonton Oilers are defeated by the Chicago Black HawksCanada source
11 October – Census (Population: 44,736,947)Turkey source
Pakistani cricket team visited Bangladesh but matches were abandoned due to unwarranted crowd interference during the first match.Bangladesh source
Estimated population as of 31 December: 3,176,400.New Zealand source

Crime & Justice

January 22 – Andrei Sakharov, Soviet scientist and human rights activist, is arrested in Moscow.source
February 2 – Abscam: FBI personnel target members of the Congress of the United States in a sting operation.source
March 10 – George Boley is arrested on charges of treason and sedition.Liberia source
April 26 – Louise and Charmian Faulkner disappear from outside their flat in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia.source
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).source
1 July – Footballer Robby Langers transfers from Union Luxembourg to German club Borussia Mönchengladbach.Luxembourg source
August 17 – In Australia, baby Azaria Chamberlain disappears from a campsite at Ayers Rock (Uluru), reportedly taken by a dingo.source
15 October – NSP chairman Erbakan and 21 party members arrested for acting against secular principles of the republic.Turkey source
October 25 – Proceedings on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction conclude at The Hague.source
October 27 – The Chun Doo-hwan government forcibly arrests and investigates monks and personnel of the Jogye Order.source
November 20 – The Gang of Four trial begins in China.source
28 November – Nachum Gutman (born 1898), Russian (Bessarabia)-born Israeli painter, sculptor and author.Israel source
December 8 – Murder of John Lennon: Mark David Chapman is arrested following the murder of English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, outside his New York City apartment building, The Dakota.source
December 8 – John Lennon is shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.United States source
15 December – Thirty more IRA prisoners join the hunger strike.Northern Ireland source
28: Scapegoat Marinus van der Lubbe, is posthumously acquitted for setting fire to the German Reichstag building.Netherlands source
Sultan of Selangor: Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz ShahMalaysia source
1979–80 Mexican Primera División season.Mexico source

Disasters & Accidents

12 January – The annual Hahnenkamm downhill ski race is won by Canada's Ken Read, the event's first non-European winner.Austria source
March 7 – An attack on a logging convoy north of Zamboanga City kills at least 13 lumberjacks and security men, and injures 14 others.Philippines source
March 14 – LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashes during an emergency landing near Warsaw, Poland, killing a 14-man American boxing team and 73 others.source
March 19–20 – The MV Mi Amigo, the ship housing pirate radio station Radio Caroline, sinks off the English coast (the station returns aboard a new ship in 1983).source
March 26 – A mine lift cage at the Vaal Reefs gold mine in South Africa falls 1.9 km, killing 23 workers.source
March 27 – The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.source
April 12: A Transbrasil Boeing 727 crashes in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, killing 54 people.Brazil source
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 are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.source
April 25 – Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashes in Tenerife, killing all 146 occupants; at the time it was the worst air disaster involving a British-registered aircraft in terms of loss of life.source
May 9 – In Florida, United States, the Liberian freighter Summit Venture hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay. A 1,400 foot section of the bridge collapses and 35 people (most of them on a bus) are killed.source
May 28 – A fiery bus crash near the small village of Webb, Saskatchewan, Canada, claims 22 lives.source
June 4 – Patrick Makau, Umkhonto weSizwe member, and his child die in a bomb attack in Manzini, Swaziland.South Africa source
June 23–September 6 – The 1980 United States heat wave claims 1,700 lives.source
June 27 – Itavia Flight 870 crashes into the sea near Ustica island, Italy, killing all 81 people on board. The cause of the accident remains unclear.source
27 June – Ustica Massacre: Itavia Flight 870 crashes into the Tyrrhenian Sea mid-flight from Bologna to Palermo, killing all 81 people on board.Italy source
25: Winsum train disaster: Two trains collide between the villages Winsum and Sauwerd, resulting in 9 casualties.Netherlands source
August 14 - A rock fall hit mountaineers in Mount Fuji, Yamanashi Prefecture, according to official results report, 12 fatalities, with 29 injured.Japan source
September 26 – The Mariel boatlift in Cuba officially ends.source
October 5 – The Elisabeth blast furnace is demolished at Bilston Steelworks, marking the end of iron and steel production in the Black Country region of the U.K.source
November 21 – A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip kills 85 people.source
List of Mexican films of 1980.Mexico source

Climate & Environment

1 January – 1980 Azores Islands earthquakePortugal source
January 2–18 – High temperatures hit the entire country, from Arica to Punta Arenas. Temperatures were highest between Greater Valparaíso and Greater Concepción.Chile source
May 18 – The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington (state) kills 57 and causes US$3 billion in damage.source
May 18 – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage.United States source
June 3 – 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak: A series of deadly tornadoes strikes Grand Island, Nebraska, causing over $300m in damage, killing five people and injuring over 250.source
July 31–August 11: Hurricane Allen.Mexico source
August 4 – Hurricane Allen (category 5) pounds Haiti, where it kills more than 200 people.source
October 10 – The 7.1 Mw El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 2,633–5,000 and injuring 8,369–9,000.source
October 27 – Six Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners in Maze prison in Northern Ireland refuse food and demand status as political prisoners; the hunger strike lasts until December.source
November 8–9 – President Marcos issues proclamations declaring a state of public calamity in the provinces of Aurora, Cagayan, Ifugao, Isabela, Kalinga-Apayao, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Quirino, Tarlac, and parts of Bulacan and Pampanga, due to the effects of Typhoon Betty (Aring). The cyclone has hit Luzon on November 4, and has killed more than 50 people in a landslide in Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya.Philippines source
November 23 – The 6.9 Mw Irpinia earthquake shakes southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Officially, there were 2,483 people killed and 8,934 injured, though the deaths may have been as high as 4,900.source
23 November – A magnitude-6.9 earthquake kills 2,483, injures 7,700, and displaces hundreds of thousands.Italy source
18 December – Hunger striker Sean McKenna critically ill. Belief that settlement is imminent brings an end to the hunger strike.Northern Ireland source
31 December – B. P. Mandal, chairman of the Backward Classes Commission, submitted his report to the government.India source
Sultan of Kelantan: Sultan Ismail PetraMalaysia source

Culture & Society

January 1 – Changes to the succession to the Swedish throne come into effect, introducing absolute primogeniture, thus placing Crown Princess Victoria first in line to the throne (heir apparent), ahead of her baby brother. Sweden is the first monarchy to adopt this rule of succession. Members of the royal family may also now marry commoners without losing their place in the succession.source
6 January – The 1979–80 Four Hills Tournament concludes at the Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze in Bischofshofen. The event has a record field of competitors from 19 countries.Austria source
February 13 – The 1980 Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York.source
March 8 – The Soviet Union's first rock music festival starts.source
19: King Juan Carlos of Spain arrives in the Netherlands for a state visit lasting 3 days. This was the first visit of a Spanish monarch on Dutch soil since Philip II of Spain in 1559.Netherlands source
April 14 – Iron Maiden's debut self-titled album Iron Maiden is released in the U.K.source
May 1 – "About that Urban Renaissance...", an article by journalist Dan Rottenberg in Chicago, contains the first recorded use of the word "yuppie".source
July 19–August 3 – The 1980 Summer Olympics are held in Moscow, Soviet Union. As 82 countries boycott the Games, athletes from 16 of them participate under a neutral flag.source
August 3 – The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow officially ends.source
September 2 – Ford Europe launches the Escort MK3, a new front-wheel-drive hatchback. Punk band Dead Kennedys release their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.source
October 4–5. Meeting of the Polish Politburo, during which a report on the scale of protests is presented. In the period July - September 1980, strikes took place in 2,000 enterprises, with 1,2 million workers participating. Several officials are removed from the Politburo,Poland source
October 21 – In Major League Baseball, The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League defeat the Kansas City Royals of the American League, 4–1, in Game Six of the World Series to win the championship.source
December 15 – The Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (Academy of the Asturian language) is created.source
Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder of BRAC, was awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award.Bangladesh source
Botafogo of Fogo won the Cape Verdean Football ChampionshipCape Verde source
20-30 July – 1980 Summer Olympics sailing events take place at the new Olympic Yachting Centre in Tallinn.Estonia source
Matilda Newport Day is abolished.Liberia source
Sri Lanka competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR. From 1948 to 1972, the nation was known as Ceylon at the Olympic Games.Sri Lanka source

Births

28 February – Kyriaki Papanikolaou, artistic gymnastGreece source
May 22 – Eddie Watson, Liberian-born Ghanaian actorLiberia source
8 October: Günther von HundelshausenNamibia source
24 October – Umayangana Wickramasinghe, actress.Sri Lanka source

Deaths

January 9 – In Saudi Arabia, 63 Islamist insurgents are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November 1979.source
March 31 – Jesse Owens, 66, American Olympic track and field athlete (1936), four-time gold medalist, lung cancer.source
April 12 – William Tolbert, President of Liberia, in Monrovia (born 1913)Liberia source
April 29 – Sir Alfred Hitchcock, 80, English filmmaker (Psycho, The Birds, North by Northwest), kidney failure.source
May 4 – Josip Broz Tito, 87, Yugoslav politician, prime minister (1943–1963) and president (since 1953).source
May 18–27 - Gwangju massacre: Up to 165 people are killed when a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju is crushed by the South Korean army.South Korea source
30 June – Bhupati Bhushan Chowdhury, politician (born 1930)Bangladesh source
July 19 – Former Turkish Prime Minister Nihat Erim is killed by two gunmen in Istanbul, Turkey.source
July 24 – Peter Sellers, 54, British actor (Dr. Strangelove, The Pink Panther) and comedian (The Goon Show), heart attack.source
July 24 – Uttam Kumar, 53, Indian actor, filmmaker and composer, heart attack.source
July 27 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, 60, Iranian royal, shah (1941–1979), complications from surgery.source
August 19 – In one of aviation's worst disasters, 301 people are killed when Saudia Flight 163 catches fire in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.source
September 25 – Lewis Milestone, 84, Russian-born American film director (All Quiet on the Western Front, Ocean's 11, Two Arabian Knights).source
2 October – John Kotelawala, politician (born 1895).Sri Lanka source
December 2 – A missionary (Jean Donovan) and three Roman Catholic nuns (Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel), all Americans, are murdered by a military death squad in El Salvador while doing charity work during that country's civil war.source
December 8 – John Lennon, 40, English musician (The Beatles, Plastic Ono Band), songwriter ("Imagine", "Give Peace a Chance") and activist, shot.source
December 14 – Four people are murdered and four others are injured by two armed robbers at Bob's Big Boy on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, United States, in what is one of the city's most brutal crimes ever.source
December 24 – Karl Dönitz, 89, German politician and naval admiral, president (1945), heart attack.source