Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar).
Events of 1982
January
- January 1 – ITV companies Central Independent Television, Television South and Television South West start broadcasting, replacing ATV, Southern Television and Westward Television respectively.
- January 6 – William Bonin is convicted of being the Freeway Killer.
- January 8 – AT&T agrees to divest itself into 22 subdivisions.
- January 10 – The lowest ever United Kingdom temperature of -27.2°C is recorded at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. This equals the record set in the same place in 1895, and the record would be equalled again at Altnaharra in 1995.
- January 11 – Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara during the Paris-Dakar rally. He is rescued January 14.
- January 11-January 17 – A brutal cold snap sends temperatures to all-time record lows in dozens of cities throughout the Midwestern United States.
- January 13 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78. On the same day, a Washington Metro train derails to the north, killing 3 (the system's first, worst, and so far only fatal accident).
- January 17 – Cold Sunday sweeps over the northern United States.
- January 26 – Mauno Koivisto is elected President of Finland.
- January 26 – Unemployment in the United Kingdom increases by 129,918 to 3,070,621, a post-war record.
- January 27 – The Garret Fitzgerald government of the Republic of Ireland is defeated 82-81 on its budget; Fitzgerald announced his resignation.
- January 28 – U.S. Brigadier General James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.
February
- February 1 – Senegal and Gambia form a loose confederation.
- February 2 – The Hama Massacre begins in Syria.
- February 3 – Syrian president Hafez al-Assad orders the army to purge the city of Harran of the Muslim Brotherhood.
- February 5 – London-based Laker Airways collapses, leaving 6,000 stranded passengers and debts of $270 million.
- February 9 – Japan Airlines Flight 350 crashes in Tokyo Bay due to thrust reversal on approach to Tokyo International Airport, killing 24 people among the 174 people on board.
- February 15 – The oil platform Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing all 84 rig workers aboard.
- February 18 – The Republic of Ireland general election gives a boost to Fianna Fáil.
- February 19 – The DeLorean Car factory in Belfast is put into receivership.
- February 24 – Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scores his 77th goal of the National Hockey League season, breaking the previous record of 76. He would go on to score 92 goals that season, which remains the record.
- February 24 – In South Africa, 22 National Party MPs led by Andries Treurnicht vote for no confidence in P. W. Botha.
- February 25 – The European Court of Human Rights rules that teachers who cane, belt or tawse children against the wishes of their parents are in breach of the Human Rights Convention.
- February 27 – In Atlanta, Georgia, Wayne Williams is convicted of murdering 2 children, and given 2 consecutive life terms.
March
April
- April 2 – Falklands War begins: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
- April 4 – Falklands War: The British Falkland Islands government surrenders, placing the islands in Argentine control.
- April 5 – Falklands War: The Royal Navy task force sails to recapture the Falklands.
- April 6 – A blizzard unprecedented in size for April dumps 1-2 feet of snow on the northeastern U.S., closing schools and businesses, snarling traffic, and canceling several major league baseball games.
- April 12 – Falklands War: A 200-mile 'total exclusion zone' around the Falklands proclaimed by the United Kingdom comes into effect.
- April 17 – By Proclamation of the Queen of Canada on Parliament Hill, Canada patriates its constitution, granting full political independence from the United Kingdom; included is the country's first entrenched bill of rights.
- April 23 – Dennis Wardlow, Mayor of Key West, Florida, declares the independent Conch Republic for a day.
- April 24 – The German singer Nicole wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 for Germany, with the song Ein Bisschen Frieden.
- April 25 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula per the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
May
- May 1 – Falklands War: A Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber takes off from Ascension Island and bombs Stanley Airport.
- May 1 – A crowd of over 100,000 attends the first day of the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. The fair is kicked off with an address by President Ronald Reagan. Over 11 million people attend the fair during its six month run.
- May 2 – Falklands War: The nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano killing 323 sailors.
- May 2 – The Weather Channel (United States) airs on cable television for the first time.
- May 4 – Falklands War: HMS Sheffield is hit by an Exocet missile, and burns out of control; 20 sailors are killed. The ship sank on May 10.
- May 5 – A Unabomber bomb explodes in the computer science department at
Vanderbilt University; secretary Janet Smith is injured.
- May 8 – French-Canadian racing driver Gilles Villeneuve is killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
- May 12 – Spanish priest Juan María Fernández y Krohn tries to stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the Fatima, Portugal shrine.
- May 12 – Braniff International Airways is declared bankrupt and ceases all flights.
- May 21 – Falklands War: Royal Marines and paratroopers from the British Task Force land at San Carlos Bay on the Falkland Islands and raise the Union Flag.
- May 22 – Falklands War: HMS Ardent is sunk by Argentine aircraft, killing 22 sailors.
- May 23 – Falklands War – HMS Antelope of the Royal Navy explodes, two killed.
- May 24 – Iranian troops retake Khorramshahr.
- May 24 – KGB head Yuri Andropov is appointed to the Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- May 25 – Falklands War: the merchant navy ship Atlantic Conveyor is sunk by an Argentine Exocet missile, killing 12 and depriving British forces of the helicopters intended to be used in the later stages of the conflict.
- May 26 – Aston Villa win the European Cup beating Bayern Munich 1-0 after a 69 minute goal by Peter Withe in Rotterdam
- May 26 – Kielder Water, an artificial lake in Northumberland, is opened.
- May 27 – Tottenham Hotspur win the FA Cup beating QPR 1-0 in a replay.
- May 27 – Conservative candidate Tim Smith (UK politician) held the seat of Beaconsfield in a by-election. The Labour Party candidate is Tony Blair.
- May 28 – British troops reach Darwin, Falkland Islands.
- May 29 – Falklands War: In the Battle of Goose Green, British paratroopers defeat a larger force of Argentine troops in the first land battle of the war.
- May 30 – Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and the first nation to enter the alliance since West Germany's admission in 1955.
- May 30 – Indianapolis 500: In what Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson and Speedway public address announcer Tom Carnegie later call the greatest moment in the track's history, 1973 winner Gordon Johncock wins his second race over 1979 winner Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds, the closest finish to that date, after Mears draws alongside Johncock with a lap remaining, after erasing a seemingly insurmountable advantage of more than 11 seconds in the final 10 laps.
- May 30 – Cal Ripken starts the first game of what will eventually become his record-breaking consecutive games played streak of 2,632.
- May 31 – Falklands War: The Battle of Stanley is fought.
June
- June 5 – The first Rubik's Cube World Championships is held in Budapest, Hungary.
- June 6 – The 1982 Lebanon War begins: Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon in their "Operation Peace for the Galilee," eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
- June 6 – The United Nations Security Council votes to demand that Israel withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
- June 8 – President Ronald Reagan becomes the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament.
- June 8 – Falklands War, British landing ship logistic RFA Sir Galahad is destroyed, killing 48.
- June 8 – VASP Flight 168, a Boeing 727 passenger jet, crashes into forest Fortaleza, killing 137.
- June 12 – A rally against nuclear weapons draws 750,000 to New York City's Central Park. Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Linda Ronstadt attend.
- June 13 – In Alberta, Canada 15 members of the Black Leopards Karate Club demolish a house with bare hands and feet with the owner's consent.
- June 13 – The 1982 FIFA World Cup begins in Spain.
- June 13 – Fahd becomes King of Saudi Arabia upon the death of his brother, Khalid.
- June 14 – The Falklands War ends: A formal surrender is agreed this day.
- June 18 – Argentine military dictator Leopoldo Galtieri resigns, in the wake of his country's defeat in the Falklands War.
- June 19 – The body of "God's Banker", Roberto Calvi, chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, is found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.
- June 21 – Prince William is born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, West London.
- June 24 – British Airways Flight 9 suffers a temporary four-engine flameout and damage to the exterior of the plane, after flying through the otherwise undetected ash plume from Indonesia's Galunggung.
- June 25 – The Institute for Puerto Rican Policy is founded in New York City to research and advocate for Puerto Rican and Latino community issues. In 2006, it changes it name to the National Institute for Latino Policy.
- June 30 – The Equal Rights Amendment falls short of the 38 states needed to pass; Phyllis Schlafly and other leaders of the Religious Right take credit for its defeat.
July
- July 2 – Larry Walters, a.k.a. Lawn Chair Larry, flies 16,000 feet above Long Beach, California in lawn chair with weather balloons attached.
- July 2 – Roy Jenkins is elected Leader of the Social Democratic Party.
- July 3 – ASLEF train drivers in the United Kingdom went on strike over hours of work; they returned to work on July 18.
- July 4 – Four Iranian diplomats are kidnapped upon Israel's invasion of Lebanon.
- July 6 – Lunar Eclipse – Umbral duration 236min and total duration 106min, the longest of the 20th century
- July 9 – Pan Am Flight 759 (Boeing 727) crashes in Kenner, Louisiana, killing all 146 on board and 8 on the ground.
- July 9 – Intruder Michael Fagan visits Queen Elizabeth II in her bedroom for a chat.
- July 11 – Italy beats West Germany 3-1 to win the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.
- July 12 – Checker Motors Corporation ceases production of automobiles.
- July 15 – Geoffrey Prime, a GCHQ civil servant, is remanded in custody on charges under the Official Secrets Act 1911.
- July 16 – In New York City, The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $25,000 for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- July 19 – William Whitelaw, Home Secretary, announces that Michael Trestrail (the Queen's bodyguard) has resigned from the Metropolitan Police Service over a relationship with a male prostitute.
- July 20 – The Provisional IRA detonates 2 bombs in central London, killing 8 soldiers, wounding 47 people, and leading to the deaths of 7 horses.
- July 21 – HMS Hermes, the Royal Navy flagship during the Falklands War, returns home to Portsmouth to a hero's welcome.
- July 23 – The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-1986.
- July 23 – A coroner's jury returns a verdict of suicide on Roberto Calvi, who has been found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge.
- July 24 – Torrential rain and mudslides in Nagasaki, Japan destroy bridges and kill 299.
- July 31 – In Beaune, France, 53 persons, 46 of them children, die in a highway accident in France's worst road accident.
August
September
October
November
- November 1 – The Welsh language station, S4C, launches in Wales.
- November 2 – Channel 4, the fourth terrestrial television channel, is launched in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland with the first program broadcast being the game show Countdown, which is still in production. United States general elections, 1982.
- November 3 – A gasoline tanker explodes in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, killing at least 2,000 people.
- November 3 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average surges 43.41 points, or 4.25%, to close at 1,065.49, its first all-time high in more than nine years. It last hit a record on January 11, 1973 when the average closed at 1,051.70. The points gain is the biggest ever up to this point.
- November 6 – Camerun president Ahmadou Ahidjo resigns, replaced by Paul Biya.
- November 7 – The Thames Barrier is first publicly demonstrated.
- November 12 – In the Soviet Union, former KGB head Yuri Andropov is selected to become the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Leonid I. Brezhnev.
- November 13 – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans.
- November 14 – The leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa, is released from 11 months of internment near the Soviet border.
- November 20 – University of California, Berkeley executes "The Play" in a college football game against Stanford. Completing a wacky 57-yard kickoff return that includes five laterals, Kevin Moen runs through Stanford band members who had prematurely come onto the field. His touchdown stands and California wins 25-20.
- November 27 – Yasuhiro Nakasone becomes Prime minister of Japan.
- November 28 – Representatives from 88 countries gather in Geneva to discuss world trade and ways to work toward aspects of free trade.
- November 30- Michael Jackson releases Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time.
December
Undated
Ongoing
Fictional
The references to 1982 in popular fiction are:
Computer games
Literature
Births
January-March
- January 1 – Kevin Dudley, National Football League runningback
- January 1 – David Nalbandian, Argentine tennis player
- January 4 – Kang Hye-jeong, South Korean actress
- January 4 – Richard Logan, English footballer
- January 5 – Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier
- January 6 - Morgan Lander, Canadian musician (Kittie)
- January 6 – Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player
- January 6 - Tiffany Pollard, Reality Star
- January 7 – Francisco Rodriguez, Venezuelan baseball player
- January 11 – Ashley Taylor Dawson, British actor
- January 12 – Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
- January 13 – Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
- January 13 – Ruth Wilson, English actress
- January 14 – Víctor Valdés, Spanish football player
- January 15 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
- January 17 – Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
- January 17 – Alex Varkatzas, Greek-American lead vocalist (Atreyu)
- January 18 - Quinn Allman, guitarist of American rock band The Used
- January 19 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress
- January 19 – Angela Chang, Taiwanese singer and actress
- January 22 – Liane Bahler, German professional cyclist (d. 2007)
- January 22 – Jason Peters, American football player
- January 24 – Jeanette Sliwinski, American model and murderer
- January 25 – The-Dream , Singer
- January 31 – Elena Paparizou, Greek-Swedish singer
- February 2 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
- February 3 – Jessica Harp, American Singer (The Wreckers)
- February 4 – Mandisa Stevenson, American basketball player
- February 4 – Kimberly Wyatt, singer (The Pussycat Dolls)
- February 4 – Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian professional road racing cyclist
- February 5 – Kevin Everett, American football player
- February 8 – Zersenay Tadese, Eritrean long distance track/road running athlete
- February 9 – Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer
- February 10 – Mon Redee Sut Txi, Malaysian athlete
- February 10 – Justin Gatlin, American athlete
- February 11 – Neil Robertson, Australian snooker player
- February 11 – Natalie Dormer,English actress
- February 12 – Onil Joseph, American baseball player
- February 14 – Marián Gáborík, Czechosovakian (now Slovakia) hockey player (Minnesota Wild)
- February 17 – Lupe Fiasco, American rapper
- February 17 – Adriano Leite Ribeiro, Brazilian footballer (soccer player)
- February 22 – Jenna Haze, American pornographic actress
- February 25 – Chris Baird, Northern Irish footballer
- February 25 – Maria, WWE superstar
- February 25 - Bert McCracken, lead singer of American rock band The Used
- February 28 – Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian soldier (d. 2004)
- March 2 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish hockey goaltender
- March 2 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player <
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