1983 - What happened in 1983 ?

January 1983

Saturday 01:

The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.

Tuesday 18:

The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe Olympic medals to his family.

Saturday 22:

Björn Borg retires from tennis after winning five consecutive Wimbledon championships.

Wednesday 26:

Lotus 1-2-3 is released.

Sunday 30:

Super Bowl XVII: The Washington Redskins defeat the Miami Dolphins, 27-17, thus winning their first NFL championship since 1942.

February 1983

Wednesday 16:

The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia claim the lives of 71 people in Australia's worst ever fires.

Friday 18:

Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee Massacre in Seattle, Washington, said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in American history.

Wednesday 23:

The Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.

Thursday 24:

A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.

Monday 28:

The final episode of M*A*S*H is broadcast in the USA, becoming the most watched television episode in history, with 106–125 million viewers in the U.S. (estimate varies by source).

March 1983

Saturday 05:

Bob Hawke becomes Australian prime minister after defeating Malcolm Fraser in Australian elections.

Monday 07:

The Nashville Network (TNN) begins broadcasting.

Friday 11:

Bob Hawke becomes 23rd Prime Minister of Australia.

Wednesday 16:

Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last radio tower in Germany built of wood.

Wednesday 23:

Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.

April 1983

Monday 04:

Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.

Wednesday 13:

Harold Washington is elected as the first African-American mayor in Chicago's history

Friday 15:

Tokyo Disneyland opens.

Monday 18:

A suicide bomber destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people.

Saturday 30:

Michael Jackson's song "Beat It" hits number 1 on the Billboard music charts.

May 1983

Sunday 01:

Edwin El Chapo Rosario wins boxing's vacant WBC world Lightweight title by beating Jose Luis Ramirez in San Juan, by points in 12 rounds, becoming Puerto Rico's 14th world boxing champion. A young Julio Cesar Chavez also wins as part of the undercard.

Tuesday 17:

Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Friday 20:

First publications of the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnierhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=6189183&query_hl=65 and Robert Gallohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=6601823&query_hl=62 individually.

June 1983

Monday 13:

Pioneer 10 becomes the first manmade object to leave the solar system.

Thursday 16:

Yuri Andropov becomes president of the USSR

Saturday 18:

Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space

Friday 24:

Yasir Arafat banned from Damascus.

Saturday 25:

India wins the Cricket World Cup.

July 1983

Friday 01:

A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djall Mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.

Thursday 07:

Cold War: Samantha Smith, a U.S. schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Premier Yuri Andropov

Monday 11:

A Boeing 727 crashes into hilly terrain after a tail strike in Cuenca, Ecuador, claiming 119 lives.

Saturday 16:

Sikorsky S-61 disaster: helicopter crash off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.

Sunday 24:

George Brett, batting for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, has a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident".

August 1983

Wednesday 03:

Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launches the Antiimperialist Action Front-Suxxali Reew Mi.

Thursday 04:

New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield accidentally killed a seagull during a baseball game and was charged by police for his "act of cruelty to animals". His manager Billy Martin quipped, "It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man."

Tuesday 09:

Peter Jennings hosts his first broadcast of ABC's World News Tonight as sole anchor.

Thursday 18:

Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over USD $1 billion in damage (1983 dollars).

September 1983

Monday 05:

Tom Brokaw becomes lead anchor for NBC Nightly News

Tuesday 06:

The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Flight KAL-007, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace.

Monday 12:

A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, was robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros .

Friday 23:

Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa becomes the first African boxing world heavyweight champion.

Monday 26:

Australia II, the first non-American winner, wins the Americas Cup.

October 1983

Tuesday 04:

Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph, driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, United States.

Wednesday 12:

Japan's ex Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from Lockheed and is sentenced to 4 years in jail

Thursday 13:

Ameritech Mobile Communications (now Cingular) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago.

Sunday 23:

Lebanon Civil War: U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut hit by truck bomb, killing 241 US Servicemen. French barracks also hit the same morning, killing 58. The US responds by withdrawing its troops from the region.

Sunday 30:

The first democratic elections in Argentina after seven years of military rule are held.

November 1983

Wednesday 02:

US President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating Martin Luther King Day.

Monday 07:

A bomb explodes inside the US Capitol building.

Tuesday 15:

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is founded.

Sunday 20:

An estimated 100 million people watch the controversial made-for-television movie The Day After, depicting the start of a nuclear war.

Saturday 26:

Brinks Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly UK£26 million are taken from the Brinks Mat vault at Heathrow Airport

December 1983

Saturday 10:

Lech Wałęsa wins the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize is accepted by his wife, Danuta.

Monday 12:

Dallos is the first OAV (Original Animation Video) ever released.

Saturday 31:

The last day that the AT&T Bell System exists before being broken up by the United States Government.