The
1980s
was a decade that began on January 1, 1980 and ended on December 31, 1989. It is distinct from the decade known as the '''199st decade''' which began on January 1, 1981 and ended on December 31, 1990.
This
decade
(group of ten years) is sometimes called the "Greed decade" in English speaking countries. Unlike the
1960s
and
1970s
, this is when the word
yuppie
was used to describe "young urban professionals" ? young
adults
who lived in
cities
and started to get good
jobs
. This was also the rise of a more
conservative
period in these countries ?
Ronald Reagan
was
president
for most of this time in the
United States
,
Margaret Thatcher
was the
Prime Minister
of the
United Kingdom
, and
Brian Mulroney
was Prime Minister of
Canada
.
This decade also saw the
Soviet Union
fight a
war
that seemed endless in
Afghanistan
,
civil war
in
Ethiopia
, and the fall of the
Berlin Wall
which started the end of the
Cold War
and of
Communism
in
Eastern Europe
.
The "eighties" are also well known for their extreme
fashions
, such as "
big hair
",
New Wave
,
punk rock
,
funk
, or
preppies
.
Rap
music first started to get big in the 80s, and often went with
breakdancing
in what is now called the "old school" days. Many developments were also made in
computer
technology during these years, and
video games
became popular.
In sports,
Italy
and
Argentina
won the
FIFA World Cup
. The
Philadelphia Phillies
,
Los Angeles Dodgers
,
St. Louis Cardinals
,
Baltimore Orioles
,
Detroit Tigers
,
Kansas City Royals
,
New York Mets
,
Minnesota Twins
and
Oakland Athletics
won the
World Series
. The
Pittsburgh Steelers
,
Oakland Raiders
,
San Francisco 49ers
,
Washington Redskins
,
Los Angeles Raiders
,
Chicago Bears
and
New York Giants
won the
Super Bowl
. Finally, the
Los Angeles Lakers
dominated the
NBA
, with only the
Houston Rockets
winning a title.
- Pope John Paul II
,
Pope
in the 1980s
- Elizabeth II
,
British
queen
from
1952
to
2022
- Hirohito
,
Emperor of Japan
from
1926
to
1989
- Akihito
,
Emperor of Japan
since
1989
- Kim Il-Sung
, dictator of
North Korea
- Bhumibol Adulyadej
, king of
Thailand
- Mahathir Mohamad
,
Malaysian Prime Minister
from
1981
to
2003
- Deng Xiaoping
, leader in
China
from 1978 to 1990
- Jimmy Carter
,
President of the United States
from
1977
to
1981
- Ronald Reagan
,
President
of the
United States
from
1981
to
1989
- George H.W. Bush
,
President of the United States
from
1989
to
1993
,
vice-president of the United States
from
1981
to
1989
- Margaret Thatcher
, British Prime Minister from
1979
to
1990
- Helmut Schmidt
,
German
chancellor
until
1982
- Helmut Kohl
, German chancellor from
1982
to
1998
- Francois Mitterrand
, French President from
1981
to
1995
- Saddam Hussein
, President of
Iraq
- Muammar al-Gaddafi
, Libyan dictator
- Hosni Mubarak
, President of
Egypt
- Yitzhak Shamir
, Prime minister of
Israel
- Yasser Arafat
, Palestinian leader
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
,
Austrian
actor
- Sylvester Stallone
,
American
actor
- Michael Jordan
, American
basketball
-player
- Tom Cruise
, American actor
- Eddie Murphy
, American actor
- Duran Duran
, English band
- Eurythmics
, music band
- Prince
, American singer
- Madonna
, American singer
- Michael Jackson
, American singer
- Bob Geldof
, musician and fundraiser
- Iron Maiden
, British
heavy metal
band
- N.W.A
, hip hop group
- Ferdinand Marcos
, President of the
Philippines
- Corazon Aquino
, President of the
Philippines
- Indira Gandhi
,
prime minister
of
India
until
1984
- Rajiv Gandhi
, prime minister of
India
from
1984
until
1989
- Fidel Castro
, leader of
Cuba
- Augusto Pinochet
,
Chilean
dictator
- Jorge Rafael Videla
, dictator of
Argentina
until 1981
- Leopoldo Galtieri
, dictator of Argentina from 1981 to 1982
- Nicolae Ceau?escu
, Romanian dictator until 1989
- Wojciech Jaruzelski
, Polish communist leader
- Lech Walesa
, leader of
Polish
Solidarity
movement
- Ayatollah Khomeini
, leader of
Iran
- Mikhail Gorbachev
, the last chairman of the
communist
party of the
Soviet Union
.
- Sandra Day O'Connor
, the first woman on the
Supreme Court
, from Arizona.
- Terry Fox
, running across most of Canada in his
Marathon of Hope
.
- Hulk Hogan
, American pro-wrestler and actor
- Steve Jobs
, Founder of Apple Inc.