December 1984

Monday 03:

Bhopal Disaster: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, kills more than 3,800 people outright and injures anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others (some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries) in one of the worst industrial disasters in history.

Monday 10:

Desmond Tutu wins the Nobel Peace Prize

Wednesday 19:

The United Kingdom and People's Republic of China sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which handed Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Thursday 20:

The Summit tunnel fire is the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million litres of petrol derails near the town of Todmorden in the Pennines

Saturday 22:

Subway vigilante Bernhard Hugo Goetz shoots four African-American youths on an express train in The Bronx borough of New York City.

Wednesday 26:

Princess Astrid of Belgium marries Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este

Friday 28:

The final telecast of soap opera The Edge of Night (which started from 1956 to 1975 on CBS) on ABC due to TV stations dropping the show in favor of syndicated programming, losing sponsorship, and low ratings.