Super Mario Bros was released for the Nintendo Family Computer in Japan.
The Handsworth riots began in Birmingham, England, after a man was arrested near Acapulco Café, Lozells.
Military coup in Nigeria.
A three-year-old boy from Dublin became the world's youngest heart and lung transplant patient.
The National Space Development Agency of Japan selected Mamoru Mohri, Chiaki Mukai, and Takao Doi as Japan’s first astronauts.
Coup in Uganda.
Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, sinks.
Boris Becker becomes the youngest person to win Wimbledon at age 17.
NASA launched Intelsat VA F-11 into orbit.
The body of Josef Mengele is identified.
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud became the first Arab and the first Muslim to fly into space.
Russian spacecraft Vega 2 landed on Venus.
Soviet Space Program's Vega 1, which was launched on December 15, 1984, released a space probe to enter Venus.
56 football fans die in a stadium fire.
Germany banned the denial of Nazi genocide against Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Coca-Cola launched their ill-fated new formula known unofficially as 'New Coke.'
The first edition of WrestleMania is held in New York.
Pope John Paul II proclaimed the day as the first-ever World Youth Day.
The 'Night Stalker' serial killer, Richard Ramirez, committed his second and third murders in LA, USA.
The very first .com domain was registered.
The U.K. miners' strike ends.
Iberia Airlines Flight 610 crashes.
Hezbollah is founded.
New York, New York became the official anthem of New York City.
Margaret Thatcher became the first post-war prime minister who was refused a degree.
USA for Africa record 'We Are the World'.
The first Rock in Rio music festival is held.
Hong Kong Treaty Signed.
Explosion kills thousands at pesticide plant in Bhopal, India.
NASA intentionally crashed a Boeing 720 aircraft to test new safety technology.
The Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated.
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 Republic of Upper Volta is Renamed Burkina Faso.
Svetlana Savitskaya Becomes the First Woman to Walk in Space.
The US National Minimum Drinking Age Act was signed into law, raising the age to 21.
Walter F. Mondale Names Geraldine A. Ferraro as Running Mate in Presidential Elections.
New South Wales, Australia, celebrated the first day of homosexuality being legal.
Moscow announces that the USSR will not take part in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The discovery of the virus causing AIDS is announced.
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.
NASA astronauts take the first untethered spacewalk.
