The Provisional Irish Republican Army attempted to assassinate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan became the first woman to walk in space.
Marc Garneau became the first Canadian to reach outer space.
Three Russian cosmonauts returned from space after spending a record time of 237 days in orbit.
Western Australia became the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment.
NASA's Discovery Space Shuttle landed in California after completing its maiden voyage.
NASA launched its Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers mission (AMPTE) from the Cape Canaveral launch pad.
The US National Minimum Drinking Age Act was signed into law, raising the age to 21.
New South Wales, Australia, celebrated the first day of homosexuality being legal.
Marvin Gaye died after his father shot him twice in Los Angeles.
A police detective offered to split a lottery ticket with his regular waitress at a pizzeria in Yonkers, NY. She ended up with a $3 million tip!
Central Park designated a section of its grounds as 'Strawberry Fields' to commemorate John Lennon, who was shot dead in his nearby residence.
MAC Cosmetics makeup brand was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Michael Jackson's hair caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in front of 3,000 fans.
The Apple Macintosh computer was unveiled during a Super Bowl advertisement.
Coup in Nigeria.
The US Federal Government shut down for three days.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially made a federal US holiday.
A bill to recognize Martin Luther King Jr's birthday as a national holiday passed the US Senate.
Cosmonauts Titov and Strekalov narrowly escaped the Soyuz T-10 spacecraft explosion.
Miss America crowned Vanessa Williams, the first black winner, in New York City.
Arnold Schwarzenegger gained US citizenship.
Michael Stewart, a victim of police brutality, was beaten and arrested in New York.
NASA's spacecraft, The Pioneer 10, became the first craft to exit the solar system.
The USSR's Venera 16 probe was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a trip to Venus.
Betty White received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host.
NASA's Challenger Space Shuttle was launched from Florida on its maiden voyage.
Shergar, the legendary Thoroughbred racehorse, was stolen by gunmen.
China adopts its constitution.
The International Money Fund loaned Mexico $3.8 billion to prevent its insolvency.
Sony released the world's first CD player in Japan.
The United States of America founded Space Command (SPACECOM), the first of its kind in the US Armed Forces.
The musical 'Little Shop of Horrors' by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman premiered on Broadway at Orpheum Theater, New York, US.
NASA launched the Columbia Space Shuttle for its final test flight, STS-4.
The US Supreme Court declared that no president could be sued for their choices while in office.
John Hinckley, who tried to kill President Reagan, was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity.
The US Supreme Court ruled that school is for everyone and banned discrimination based on citizenship.
Nearly one million people protested for the disarmament of nuclear weapons in Central Park, New York City.
Dictator EfraÃn Rios Montt declared himself the president of Guatemala.
Spain officially became the 16th member of NATO.
Juan MarÃa Fernández y Krohn tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.
The Royal Air Force began a series of attacks on Argentina's Air Force in the Falkland Islands.
John Hinckley Jr., President Reagan's failed assassin, pleaded 'not guilty' due to not being mentally sound at trial.
Great Britain claimed South Georgia Island after Argentina surrendered following the Falklands War.
The Falklands War broke out between Argentina and Britain over the Falkland Islands and lasted ten weeks.
NASA's Columbia Space Shuttle was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center.
After a four-month journey, the Venera 14 spacecraft landed on Venus.
An incredibly cold air swept into the US from Canada and plunged temperatures across most States far below their existing all-time lows.
The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, was born in Norfolk, Virginia.
The crew of the Union Star lost their lives along with all eight lifeboat volunteers who tried to save them.
