1982
1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January
- January 6 - William Bonin is convicted of being the Freeway Killer.
- January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself into 22 subdivisions.
- January 10 - The lowest ever United Kingdom temperature of -27.2°C is recorded at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. This equals the record set in the same place in 1895, and the record will be equalled again at Altnaharra in 1995.
- January 11 - Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara during the Paris-Dakar rally. He is rescued January 14.
- January 11-January 17 - A brutal cold snap sends temperatures to all-time record lows in dozens of cities throughout the Midwestern United States.
- January 13 - Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78. On the same day, a Washington Metro train derails to the north, killing 3 (the system's first, and worst, fatal accident).
- January 17 - Cold Sunday sweeps over the northern United States.
- January 26 - Mauno Koivisto is elected President of Finland.
- January 28 - U.S. Brigadier General James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.
February
March
April
- April 2 - Falklands War begins: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
- April 4 - Falklands War: The British Falkland Islands government surrenders, placing the islands in Argentinean control.
- April 6 - A blizzard unprecedented in size for April dumps 1-2 feet of snow on the northeastern U.S., closing schools and businesses, snarling traffic, and canceling several major league baseball games.
- April 17 - By Proclamation of the Queen of Canada on Parliament Hill, Canada repatriates its constitution, granting full political independence from the United Kingdom; included is the country's first entrenched bill of rights.
- April 23 - Dennis Wardlow, Mayor of Key West, Florida, declares the independent Conch Republic for a day.
- April 24 - The German singer Nicole wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 for Germany, with the song Ein Bisschen Frieden.
- April 25 - Israel completes withdrawing from the Sinai peninsula per the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
May
- May 1 - Falklands War: A Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber takes off from Ascension Island and bombs Stanley Airport.
- May 2 - Falklands War: The nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano.
- May 2 - The Weather Channel airs on cable television for the first time.
- May 5 - A Unabomber bomb explodes in the computer science department at Vanderbilt University; secretary Janet Smith is injured.
- May 12 - Spanish priest Juan Hernandes tries to stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the Fatima, Portugal shrine.
- May 21 - Falklands War: Royal Marines and paratroopers from the British Task Force land at San Carlos Bay on the Falkland Islands and raise the Union Jack.
- May 23 - Falklands War - HMS Antelope of the Royal Navy explodes.
- May 24 - Iranian troops retake Khorramshahr.
- May 26 - Kielder Water, an artificial lake in Northumberland, is opened.
- May 27 - Tottenham Hotspur win the FA Cup beating QPR 1-0 in a replay.
- May 28 - British troops reach Darwin, Falkland Islands.
- May 29 - Falklands War: In the Battle of Goose Green, British paratroopers defeat a larger force of Argentine troops in the first land battle of the war.
- May 30 - Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and the first nation to enter the alliance since West Germany's admission in 1955.
- May 30 - Indianapolis 500: In what Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson and Speedway public address announcer Tom Carnegie later call the greatest moment in the track's history, 1973 winner Gordon Johncock wins his second race over 1979 winner Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds, the closest finish to that date, after Mears draws alongside Johncock with a lap remaining, after erasing a seemingly insurmountable advantage of more than 11 seconds in the final 10 laps.
- May 30 - Cal Ripken starts the first game of what will eventually become his record-breaking consecutive games played streak of 2,632.
- May 31 - Falklands War: The Battle of Stanley is fought.
June
- June 5 - The first Rubik's Cube World Championships is held in Budapest, Hungary.
- June 6 - The 1982 Lebanon War begins: Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon in their "Operation Peace for the Galilee," eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
- June 6 - The United Nations Security Council votes to demand that Israel withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
- June 8 - President Reagan becomes the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament.
- June 12 - A rally against nuclear weapons draws 75,000 to New York City's Central Park. Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Linda Ronstadt attend.
- June 13 - In Alberta, Canada 15 members of the Black Leopards Karate Club demolish a house with bare hands and feet with the owner's consent.
- June 13 - The 1982 FIFA World Cup is opened.
- June 13 - Fahd becomes King of Saudi Arabia upon the death of his brother, Khalid.
- June 14 - The Falklands War ends: British forces reach the outskirts of Stanley after "yomping" across East Falkland from San Carlos Bay. They arrive to find the Argentine forces flying white flags of surrender. A formal surrender is agreed that day.
- June 18 - Argentine military dictator Leopoldo Galtieri resigns, in the wake of his country's defeat in the Falklands War.
- June 19 - The body of "God's Banker", Roberto Calvi, chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, is found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.
- June 21 - Prince William is born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, West London.
- June 22 - A British Airways Boeing 747 suffers a temporary four-engine flameout and damage to the exterior of the plane, after flying through the otherwise undetected ash plume from Indonesia's Galunggung.
- June 25 - The Institute for Puerto Rican Policy is founded in New York City to research and advocate for Puerto Rican and Latino community issues. In 2006, it changes it name to the National Institute for Latino Policy.
- June 30 - The Equal Rights Amendment falls short of the 38 states needed to pass; Phyllis Schlafly and other leaders of the Religious Right take credit for its defeat.
July
- July 2 - Larry Walters, a.k.a. Lawn Chair Larry, flies 16,000 feet above Long Beach, California in lawn chair with weather balloons attached.
- July 4 - Four Iranian diplomats are kidnapped upon Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
- July 9 - A Boeing 727 carrying Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all 146 on board and 8 on the ground.
- July 9 - Intruder Michael Fagan visits Queen Elizabeth II in her bedroom for a chat.
- July 11 - Italy beats West Germany 3-1 to win the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.
- July 16 - In New York City, The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $25,000 for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- July 20 - The Provisional IRA detonates 2 bombs in central London, killing 8 soldiers, wounding 47 people, and leading to the deaths of 7 horses.
- July 21 - HMS Hermes, the Royal Navy flagship during the Falklands War, returns home to Portsmouth to a hero's welcome.
- July 23 - The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-1986.
August
September
October
November
- November 1 - The Welsh language station, S4C, launches in Wales.
- November 2 - The fourth terrestrial television channel is launched in the England, Scotland and Northern Ireland (known as Channel 4) with the first programme broadcast being the game show Countdown, which is still in production.
- November 3 - A gasoline tanker explodes in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, killing at least 2,000 people.
- November 7 - The Thames Barrier is first publicly demonstrated.
- November 12 - In the Soviet Union, former KGB head Yuri Andropov is selected to become the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Leonid I. Brezhnev.
- November 13 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans.
- November 14 - The leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa, is released from 11 months of internment near the Soviet border.
- November 20 - University of California, Berkeley executes "The Play" in a college football game against Stanford. Completing a wacky 57-yard kickoff return that includes five laterals, Kevin Moen runs through Stanford band members who had prematurely come onto the field. His touchdown stands and California wins 25-20.
- November 28 - Representatives from 88 countries gather in Geneva to discuss world trade and ways to work toward aspects of free trade.
- November 29 - Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: The United Nations General Assembly passes United Nations Resolution 37, stating that the Soviet Union should withdraw from Afghanistan.
December
Unknown dates
Births
January-February
- January 1 - David Nalbandian, Argentine tennis player
- January 2 - Cyrus Farivar, American journalist
- January 4 - Richard Logan, English footballer
- January 5 - Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier
- January 6 - Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player
- January 12 - Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
- January 13 - Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
- January 14 - Victor Valdes, Spanish football player
- January 15 - Benjamin Agosto, American skater
- January 17 - Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
- January 17 - Alex Varkatzas, Greek-American lead vocalist (Atreyu)
- January 19 - Jodie Sweetin, American actress
- January 31 - Elena Paparizou, Greek-Swedish singer
- January 31 - Bruno Nogueira, Portuguese actor, comedian, and tv host
- February 2 - Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
- February 4 - Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian professional road racing cyclist
- February 9 - Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer
- February 10 - Mon Redee Sut Txi, Malaysian athlete
- February 10 - Justin Gatlin, American athlete
- February 12 - Onil Joseph, American baseball player
- February 14 - Marian Gaborik, Czechosovakian (now Slovakia) hockey player
- February 17 - Adriano Leite Ribeiro, Brazilian footballer (soccer player)
- February 22 - Jenna Haze, American actress
- February 25 - Chris Baird, Northern Irish footballer
- February 27 - Benjamin Bradley, American porn actor
- February 28 - Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian soldier (d. 2004)
March-April
- March 2 - Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish hockey goaltender
- March 2 - Ben Roethlisberger, American football player (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- March 3 - Jessica Biel, American actress
- March 4 - Landon Donovan, American soccer player
- March 5 - Daniel Carter, New Zealand rugby player
- March 8 - Nicoleta Onel, Romanian gymnast
- March 9 - Paul Ballard, English television presenter
- March 10 - Kwame Brown, American basketball player
- March 10 - Katharine Isabelle, Canadian actress
- March 11 - Thora Birch, American actress
- March 20 - Nick Wheeler, American musician (The All-American Rejects)
- March 23 - Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish football (soccer) goalkeeper
- March 25 - Danica Patrick, American race car driver
- March 25 - Sean Faris, American actor
- March 30 - Jason Dohring, American actor
- March 30 - Javier Garcia Portillo, Spanish footballer (soccer player)
- April 1 - Sam Huntington, American actor
- April 8 - Judy Star, American actress
- April 13 - Nellie McKay, American singer
- April 22 - Kaká, Brazilian footballer (soccer player)
- April 24 - Kelly Clarkson, American singer
- April 24 - Shayna Nackoney, Canadian synchronized swimmer
- April 30 - Kirsten Dunst, American actress
- April 30 - Lloyd Banks, African American/ Puertorican Rapper
May-June
- May 9 - Rachel Boston, American beauty queen and actress
- May 10 - Adebayo Akinfenwa, English footballer
- May 10 - Jeremy Gable, American playwright
- May 13 - Yoko Kumada, Japanese gravure idol
- May 15 - Veronica Campbell, Jamaican athlete
- May 17 - Tony Parker, French basketball player
- May 18 - Eric West, American actor and singer
- May 19 - Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
- May 20 - Petr Čech, Czech footballer (soccer player)
- May 22 - Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skater
- May 26 - Yoko Matsugane, Japanese model
- June 1 - Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgian tennis player
- June 3 - Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian athlete
- June 7 - Amy Nuttall, British actress and opera singer
- June 8 - Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
- June 9 - Aaron Mannino, American singer
- June 10 - Tara Lipinski, American figure skater
- June 10 - Princess Madeleine of Sweden
- June 11 - Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
- June 11 - Eldar Rønning, Norwegian cross-country Skier
- June 16 - Missy Peregrym. American Actress
- June 21 - Prince William of Wales
- June 22 - Soraia Chaves, Portuguese actress and model
- June 25 - Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
- June 30 - Lizzy Caplan, American actress
July-August
- July 1 - Hilarie Burton, American actress and VJ
- July 5 - Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
- July 8 - Sophia Bush, American actress
- July 8 - Tarah Paige, American actress
- July 8 - Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
- July 9 - Sakon Yamamoto, Japanese racecar driver
- July 10 - Alex Arrowsmith, American musician
- July 10 - Sebastian Mila, Polish footballer
- July 12 - Antonio Cassano, Italian footballer (soccer player)
- July 13 - Simon Clist, English footballer
- July 18 - Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress and beauty queen
- July 18 - Ryan Cabrera, American musician
- July 19 - Jared Padalecki, American actor
- July 23 - Claudette Ortiz, American soul singer
- July 24 - Anna Paquin, Canadian-born actress
- July 25 - Brad Renfro, American actor
- July 29 - Allison Mack, American actress
- August 2 - Hélder Postiga, Portuguese footballer (soccer player)
- August 7 - Yana Klochkova, Ukrainian swimmer
- August 9 - Tyson Gay, American athlete
- August 10 - Shaun Murphy, English snooker player
- August 13 - Shani Davis, American speed skater
- August 19 - Erika Christensen, American actress
- August 28 - LeAnn Rimes, American singer
- August 28 - Karo Parisyan, Armenian MMA Fighter
- August 30 - Andy Roddick, American tennis player
- August 31 - José Manuel Reina Páez, Spanish footballer (soccer player)
September-October
- September 1 - Jeffrey Buttle, Canadian figure skater
- September 3 - Andrew McMahon, American musician
- September 3 - Kaori Natori, Japanese singer and model
- September 4 - Alessandra Rubi Streignard Villarreal, Spanish actress, model, and singer
- September 7 - Lorne Berfield, American actor
- September 9 - Ai Otsuka, Japanese singer and songwriter
- September 12 - Nana Ozaki, Japanese gravure idol
- September 13 - Nenê, Brazilian basketball player
- September 22 - Billie Piper, English singer and actress
- September 27 - Lil Wayne, American rapper
- September 29 - Ariana Jollee, American porn actress and director
- September 30 - Lacey Chabert, American actress
- September 30 - Michelle Marsh, British model
- October 3 - Erik von Detten, American actor
- October 7 - Robby Ginepri, American tennis player
- October 11 - Salim Stoudamire, American basketball player
- October 13 - Ian James Thorpe, Australian swimmer
- October 15 - Saif Saaeed Shaheen, Qatari athlete
- October 22 - Robinson Canó, Dominican baseball Player
- October 25 - Eman Lam, Hong Kong Chinese Singer
- October 27 - Patrick Fugit, American actor
- October 27 - Dennis Moran, American computer hacker
- October 28 - Anthony Lerew, American baseball player
November-December
- November 2 - Kyoko Fukada, Japanese actress, model and singer
- November 10 - Heather Matarazzo, American actress
- November 11 - Brittny Gastineau, American model and socialite
- November 12 - Anne Hathaway, American actress
- November 13 - Kumi Koda, Japanese singer
- November 14 - Sailosi Tagicakibau, Samoan rugby player
- November 22 - Charlene Choi, Hong Kong singer and actress
- November 29 - Ashley Force, American race car driver
- November 30 - Elisha Cuthbert, Canadian actress
- December 3 - Michael Essien, Ghanaian soccer player
- December 13 - Anthony Callea, Australian singer
- December 20 - David Wright, New York Mets third baseman
- December 30 - Kristin Kreuk, Canadian actress
Deaths
January-June
- January 10 - Paul Lynde, American actor (b. 1926)
- January 19 - Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
- January 30 - Lightning Hopkins, American musician (b. 1912)
- February 5 - Neil Aggett, South African labor leader (suicide)
- February 11 - Eleanor Powell, American dancer (b. 1912)
- February 11 - Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor (b. 1905)
- February 12 - Victor Jory, Canadian actor (b. 1902)
- February 17 - Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (b. 1917)
- February 17 - Lee Strasberg, American actor (b. 1901)
- March 2 - Philip K. Dick, American author (b. 1928)
- March 5 - John Belushi, American actor (b. 1949)
- March 6 - Ayn Rand, Russian-born author (b. 1905)
- March 19 - Randy Rhoads, American guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne (plane crash) (b. 1956)
- March 28 - William Giauque, Canadian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- March 31 - Dave Clement, Queens Park Rangers footballer - suicide
- April 5 - Abe Fortas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1910)
- April 15 - Arthur Lowe, British actor (b. 1915)
- May 1 - William Primrose, Scottish violist (b. 1903)
- May 8 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (racing accident) (b. 1950)
- May 10 - Peter Weiss, German writer and artist (b. 1916)
- May 15 - Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (racing accident) (b. 1946)
- May 29 - Romy Schneider, Austrian actress (cardiac arrest) (b. 1938)
- June 2 - Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, President of Pakistan (b. 1904)
- June 8 - Satchel Paige, baseball player (b. 1906)
- June 12 - Karl von Frisch, Austrian zoologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1886)
- June 13 - Riccardo Paletti, Italian Formula 1 Driver (b. 1958)
- June 14 - Arthur Coles, Australian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1892)
- June 18 - Curt Jurgens, German actor (b. 1915)
July-December
- July 4 - Terry Higgins, early British casulty of AIDS
- July 23 - Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
- July 29 - Vladimir Zworykin, Russian-born inventor (b. 1889)
- August 15 - Hugo Theorell, Swedish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1903)
- August 21 - King Sobhuza II of Swaziland, at the time the longest reigning living monarch, (b. 1899)
- August 23 - Stanford Moore, American biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
- August 29 - Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (b. 1915)
- September 2 - Tom Baker, American actor (b. 1940)
- September 11 - Wilfredo Lam, Cuban artist (b. 1902)
- September 14 - Bashir Gemayel, President-elect of Lebanon
- September 14 - Grace Patricia Kelly, American actress and Princess of Monaco (b. 1929)
- September 28 - Mabel Albertson, American actress (b. 1901)
- October 4 - Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist (b. 1932)
- October 8 - Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, Canadian-born peace activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1889)
- October 18 - Bess Truman, First Lady of the United States (b. 1885)
- October 18 - Dwain Esper, Director (b. 1892)
- October 22 - Savitri Devi, French-born writer and philosopher (b. 1905)
- November 10 - Leonid Brezhnev, Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1906)
- November 15 - Vinoba Bhave, Indian educator (b. 1895)
- November 29 - Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (b. 1908)
- December 8 - Marty Robbins, American singer (b. 1925)
- December 24 - Louis Aragon, French writer (b. 1897)
- December 27 - John Swigert, American astronaut (b. 1931)
Nobel prizes
Categories
1982
