What happened in 1982
144 entries recorded for 1982, listed by date. That was 44 years ago.
1982 at a glance
- Years ago
- 44 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 20th century
- Decade
- 1980s
- Generation born
- Millennials (Generation Y)
- Entries here
- 144
- Breakdown
- 115 historical events · 27 births · 2 deaths
January
- January 8
Breakup of the Bell System
Breakup of the Bell System: In the United States, AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
- January 13
Air Florida Flight 90
Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
- January 23
World Airways Flight 30
World Airways Flight 30 overshoots the runway at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, and crashes into Boston Harbor. Two people are missing and presumed dead.
- January 28
United States Army
US Army General James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
- January 30
Rich Skrenta
Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called "Elk Cloner".
February
- February 1
Intel 80286
The Intel 80286 is released, which introduced protected mode memory. The IBM PC/AT and its clones used this CPU.
- February 2
1982 Hama massacre
Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.
- February 4
Ivars Timermanis
Ivars Timermanis, Latvian basketball player
- February 9
Japan Air Lines Flight 350
Japan Air Lines Flight 350 crashes near Haneda Airport in an attempted pilot mass murder-suicide, killing 24 of the 174 people on board.
- February 15
Drilling rig
The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.
- February 15
Cosas Four
Murder of four anti-apartheid student activists by South African government forces, who decades later were the first to be indicted for the crime of apartheid.
- February 18
Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (born 1895)
- February 27
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, known for its performances of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas, gave its final performance.
March
- March 5
Venera 14
Soviet probe Venera 14 lands on Venus.
- March 10
Syzygy (astronomy)
Syzygy: All nine planets recognized at this time — Mercury to Pluto — align on the same side of the Sun.
- March 11
Widerøe Flight 933
Fifteen people are killed when Widerøe Flight 933 crashes into the Barents Sea near Gamvik, Norway.
- March 14
1982 bombing of the African National Congress headquarters in London
The South African government bombs the headquarters of the African National Congress in London.
- March 19
Falklands War
Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom.
- March 23
Fernando Romeo Lucas García
Guatemala's government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García was overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
- March 24
Abdus Sattar (president)
Bangladeshi President Abdus Sattar is deposed in a bloodless coup led by Army Chief Lieutenant general Hussain Muhammad Ershad, who suspends the Constitution and imposes martial law.
- March 26
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
- March 29
Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II granted royal assent to the Canada Act 1982, which ended any remaining constitutional dependence of Canada on the United Kingdom by a process known as patriation.
- March 29
Canada Act 1982
The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.
- March 30
Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program: STS-3 mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
April
- April 2
1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands
Argentine special forces invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking the Falklands War against the United Kingdom.
- April 2
Falklands War
Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
- April 11
1982 Dome of the Rock shooting
American-Israeli reservist Alan Harry Goodman carries out a mass shooting at the Dome of the Rock, killing two Palestinians and injuring at least seven others.
- April 17
Constitution Act, 1982
Constitution Act, 1982 Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
- April 19
Samuel C. Morrison Jr.
Samuel C. Morrison, Jr., Liberian-American journalist, producer, and screenwriter
- April 19
Ali Wong
Ali Wong, American comedian and actress
- April 21
Baseball
Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
- April 22
Kaká
Kaká, Brazilian footballer
- April 23
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum (pictured), Britain's best-selling microcomputer, was released.
- April 25
Margaret Thatcher
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher told journalists in Downing Street to "rejoice" upon hearing news of the successful recapture of South Georgia from Argentine forces in the Falklands War.
- April 25
Israel
Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.
- April 30
Ananda Marga
Sixteen monks and a nun of the Hindu organisation Ananda Marga were beaten to death and set on fire in Calcutta, India.
- April 30
Bijon Setu massacre
The Bijon Setu massacre occurs in Calcutta, India.
May
- May 1
Operation Black Buck
Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during the Falklands War.
- May 2
Falklands War
Falklands War: HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano (pictured), the only ship ever to have been deliberately sunk by a nuclear submarine in battle.
- May 4
Type 42 destroyer
Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
- May 4
Falklands War
Falklands War: HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet missile, killing 20 sailors and leading to its sinking six days later—the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since World War II.
- May 8
Adrián González
Adrián González, American baseball player
- May 8
Buakaw Banchamek
Buakaw Banchamek, Thai kick-boxer
- May 10
Adebayo Akinfenwa
Adebayo Akinfenwa, English footballer
- May 12
Mary, mother of Jesus
During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan María Fernández y Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.
- May 12
Coppergate Helmet
The Coppergate Helmet (pictured), the best preserved of the six known Anglo-Saxon helmets, was discovered.
- May 12
Juan María Fernández y Krohn
Juan María Fernández y Krohn attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II with a bayonet in Fátima, Portugal.
- May 24
Battle of Khorramshahr (1982)
Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranians recapture the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.
- May 25
Falklands War
Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks.
- May 26
Hasan Kabze
Hasan Kabze, Turkish footballer
- May 28
Falklands War
Falklands War: The British War Cabinet, which never considered using nuclear weapons in the conflict, ordered that the nuclear depth bombs on British ships return home.
- May 29
Falklands War
Falklands War: The British Army defeats the Argentine Army at the Battle of Goose Green.
- May 29
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
- May 30
Cold War
Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
June
- June 3
Shlomo Argov
A failed assassination attempt was made on Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, triggering an Israeli decision to invade Lebanon three days later.
- June 6
Falklands War
Falklands War: The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Cardiff engaged and destroyed a British Army helicopter in a friendly-fire incident.
- June 6
1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War: The war begins as forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon during Operation Peace for the Galilee, eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
- June 6
Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth, American poet and academic (born 1905)
- June 7
Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public; the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier is kept off-limits.
- June 8
Falklands War
Falklands War: The Argentine Air Force attacked the neutral oil tanker Hercules while she was traversing the South Atlantic.
- June 8
Bluff Cove air attacks
Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram.
- June 8
VASP Flight 168
VASP Flight 168 crashes in Pacatuba, Ceará, Brazil, killing 128 people.
- June 8
Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
- June 9
1982 Lebanon War
Lebanon War: The Israeli Air Force carried out Operation Mole Cricket 19, successfully suppressing Syrian air defenses in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon.
- June 10
1982 Lebanon War
Lebanon War: The Syrian Arab Army defeats the Israeli Defense Forces in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub.
- June 12
New York City
A nuclear disarmament rally and concert is held in New York City.
- June 14
Falklands War
Falklands War: British prime minister Margaret Thatcher announced that white flags were flying over Port Stanley, in advance of the formal surrender of Argentine forces.
- June 18
Roberto Calvi
Italian banker Roberto Calvi's body is discovered hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London, England.
- June 19
People's Armed Police
The People's Armed Police is de facto founded; it is officially established 10 months later on April 5, 1983.
- June 20
International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide
The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide, the first major conference in genocide studies, opened despite Turkish attempts to cancel it due to the inclusion of presentations on the Armenian genocide.
- June 20
Corbeta Uruguay base
The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.
- June 21
John Hinckley Jr.
John Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
- June 23
Killing of Vincent Chin
Chinese American Vincent Chin died after being beaten into a coma in Highland Park, Michigan, U.S., by two automotive workers who were angry about the success of Japanese auto companies.
- June 24
British Airways Flight 009
"The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 009 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
- June 25
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
- June 25
Rain (entertainer)
Rain, South Korean singer and actor
- June 27
Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.
- June 28
Aeroflot Flight 8641
Aeroflot Flight 8641 crashes in Mazyr, Belarus, killing 132 people.
July
- July 4
1982 kidnapping of Iranian diplomats
Four Iranian diplomats were kidnapped after they were stopped at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon by Lebanese Phalange forces; their fates remain unknown.
- July 4
Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program: Columbia lands at Edwards Air Force Base at the end of the program's final test flight, STS-4. President Ronald Reagan declares the Space Shuttle to be operational.
- July 6
Sheremetyevo International Airport
While attempting to return to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 411, an Ilyushin Il-62, crashes near Mendeleyevo, Moscow Oblast, killing all 90 people on board.
- July 8
Saddam Hussein
A failed assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein results in the Dujail Massacre over the next several months.
- July 8
Shonette Azore-Bruce
Shonette Azore-Bruce, Barbadian netball player
- July 8
Sophia Bush
Sophia Bush, American actress and director
- July 8
Hakim Warrick
Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
- July 8
Alicia Vela-Bailey
Alicia Vela-Bailey, American stunt performer, stunt double, actress, dancer, and choreographer
- July 9
Michael Fagan
A British man named Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace and entered Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom when she was asleep.
- July 9
Pan Am Flight 759
Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground.
- July 11
Italy national football team
Italy defeated West Germany 3–1 to win their third FIFA World Cup title.
- July 17
Stefania Spampinato
Stefania Spampinato, Italian actress
- July 17
Omari Banks
Omari Banks, Anguillan cricketer
- July 18
Guatemala
Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos ("peasants" or "country people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
- July 19
Hezbollah
In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.
- July 20
Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings
Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses.
- July 20
Provisional Irish Republican Army
Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in London, killing eleven British Army personnel and seven horses.
- July 23
Twilight Zone accident
A helicopter crashed during the filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie in Valencia, California, killing actor Vic Morrow and two child actors.
- July 23
Santa Clarita, California
Outside Santa Clarita, California, actor Vic Morrow and two children are killed when a helicopter crashes onto them while shooting a scene from Twilight Zone: The Movie.
- July 24
Nagasaki
Heavy rain causes a mudslide that destroys a bridge at Nagasaki, Japan, killing 299.
August
- August 2
Helsinki Metro
The Helsinki Metro, the first rapid transit system of Finland, is opened to the general public.
- August 11
Pan Am Flight 830
A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 830, en route from Tokyo, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, killing one passenger and injuring 15 others.
- August 21
Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon.
- August 27
Military attaché
Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim to be avenging the massacre of 1+1⁄2 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian genocide.
- August 29
Meitnerium
Meitnerium, a synthetic chemical element with the atomic number 109, is first synthesized at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany.
- August 29
Carlos Delfino
Carlos Delfino, Argentine–Italian basketball player
- August 29
Ruhila Adatia-Sood
Ruhila Adatia-Sood, Kenyan journalist and radio host (died 2013)
September
- September 1
United States Space Force Combat Forces Command
The United States Air Force Space Command is founded.
- September 13
Spantax Flight 995
Spantax Flight 995 crashes at Málaga Airport during a rejected takeoff, killing 50 of the 394 people on board.
- September 14
Bachir Gemayel
President-elect of Lebanon Bachir Gemayel is assassinated.
- September 16
1982 Lebanon War
Lebanon War: The Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon takes place.
- September 16
Elie Hobeika
A Lebanese militia under the direct command of Elie Hobeika carried out a massacre in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra and Shatila, killing at least 460 civilians.
- September 18
Alessandro Cibocchi
Alessandro Cibocchi, Italian footballer
- September 18
Peter Budaj
Peter Budaj, Slovak ice hockey player
- September 19
Scott Fahlman
Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University bulletin board system.
- September 20
1982 NFL season
NFL season: American football players in the National Football League begin a 57-day strike.
- September 30
Cheers
Cheers, an American television sitcom, debuted with its pilot episode on NBC.
October
- October 5
Tylenol
Tylenol products are recalled after bottles in Chicago laced with cyanide cause seven deaths.
- October 8
Solidarity (Polish trade union)
Poland bans Solidarity and all other trade unions.
- October 14
Ronald Reagan
U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims a war on drugs.
- October 20
FC Spartak Moscow
During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster.
- October 20
1982–83 UEFA Cup
During a UEFA Cup match between Spartak Moscow and Haarlem, a large number of attendees trying to leave the Central Lenin Stadium resulted in a stampede that caused 66 deaths.
- October 28
1982 Spanish general election
The Spanish general election begins fourteen years of rule by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.
November
- November 1
Honda
Honda becomes the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the United States with the opening of its factory in Marysville, Ohio; a Honda Accord is the first car produced there.
- November 2
Channel 4
Channel 4, the British free-to-air public broadcast television channel funded by its commercial activities, starts broadcasting.
- November 3
1982 Salang Tunnel fire
The Salang Tunnel fire in Afghanistan kills 150–2000 people.
- November 9
Jana Pittman
Jana Pittman, Australian hurdler
- November 9
Boaz Myhill
Boaz Myhill, American-Welsh footballer
- November 11
Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia launches from the Kennedy Space Center on STS-5, the first operational mission of the Space Shuttle program.
- November 13
Ray Mancini
Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim in a boxing match held in Las Vegas. Kim's subsequent death (on November 18) leads to significant changes in the sport.
- November 13
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans.
- November 13
Kim Duk-koo
South Korean boxer Kim Duk-koo suffered fatal brain injuries during a match with American Ray Mancini in Las Vegas, leading to significant rule changes in the sport.
- November 14
Bread of Life Ministries International
Reverend Caesar "Butch" Conde leads first worship service of the Bread of Life Ministries International in the Philippines.
- November 14
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa, the leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, is released after eleven months of internment near the Soviet border.
- November 25
Michael Garnett
Michael Garnett, Canadian ice hockey player
- November 29
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, was released.
December
- December 2
University of Utah
At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
- December 3
Times Beach, Missouri
A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
- December 4
China
The China adopts its current constitution.
- December 6
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army exploded a time bomb in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven British Army soldiers and six civilians.
- December 7
Texas
In Texas, Charles Brooks Jr., becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.
- December 7
Senior Road Tower
The Senior Road Tower collapses in less than 17 seconds. Five workers on the tower are killed and three workers on a building nearby are injured.
- December 13
1982 North Yemen earthquake
The 6.0 Ms North Yemen earthquake shakes southwestern Yemen with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing 2,800, and injuring 1,500.
- December 25
Rob Edwards (footballer, born 1982)
Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer
- December 25
Ethan Kath
Ethan Kath, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter and producer
- December 25
Shawn Andrews (American football)
Shawn Andrews, American football player
Questions about 1982
What happened in 1982?
This site records 144 entries for 1982, including Breakup of the Bell System on January 8. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1982?
44 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1982 turns 44 this year.
Which century is 1982 in?
1982 falls in the 20th century, in the 1980s.
Which generation was born in 1982?
Millennials (Generation Y) (1981–1996). Came of age around the year 2000 and the rise of the internet.
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