Template:C20YearInTopicX Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). Template:C20YearTOCawards
Events of 1980
January
- January 1-April 1 - A national steel strike is called in the United Kingdom.
- January 1 - Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession make Victoria of Sweden Crown Princess over her younger brother.
- January 4 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
- January 6 - The president of Sicily, Piersanti Mattarella, is assassinated by the Mafia.
- January 7 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
- January 9 - In Saudi Arabia, 63 Muslim fanatics are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November, 1979.
- January 11 - Nigel Short, 14, is the youngest chess player to be awarded the degree of International Master.
- January 20 - The Pittsburgh Steelers become the first NFL franchise to win 4 Super Bowls, defeating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV 31-19 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
- January 21 - The London Gold Fixing hits its highest price ever (adjusted for inflation), at US$850 a troy ounce
- January 22 - Andrei Sakharov, a Soviet scientist and human rights activist, is arrested in Moscow.
- January 26 - Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
- January 27 - Six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran as they board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland, thus ending the Canadian caper operation.
- January 31 - The Spanish Embassy in Guatemala is taken down and set on fire, killing 36 people.
February
- February 2 - Abscam: Reports surface that FBI personnel are targeting members of the Congress of the United States in a sting operation.
- February 2-February 3 - The infamous New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot takes place: 33 inmates are killed and more than 100 inmates injured.
- February 4 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.
- February 13 - The XIII Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York.
- February 15 - In Vanuatu, followers of John Frum's cargo cult on the island of Tanna declare secession as the nation of Tafea.
- February 22 - The United States Olympic Hockey Team defeats the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Winter Olympics, in the Miracle on Ice.
- February 23 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
- February 25 - A coup in Suriname ousts the government of Henck Arron. Leaders Desi Bouterse and Rou Horb replace it with a National Military Council.
- February 27 - M-19 guerrillas begin the Dominican embassy siege in Colombia, holding 60 people hostage, including 14 ambassadors.
March
- March 1 - The Voyager 1 probe confirms the existence of Janus, a moon of Saturn.
- March 3 - Pierre Trudeau returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.
- March 4 - Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.
- March 14 - In Poland, a plane crashes during an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing a 14-man American boxing team and 73 others.
- March 18 - Fifty people are killed at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, when a Vostok-2M rocket explodes on its launch pad during a fueling operation.
- March 20 - The pirate radio station Radio Caroline sinks.
- March 21 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
- March 21 - Mafioso Angelo Bruno is assassinated in Atlantic City.
- March 24 - The Australia Olympic Committee announces it will send an Olympic delegation to Moscow, despite objections by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
- March 24 - Archbishop Óscar Romero is killed by gunmen while celebrating Mass in San Salvador. At his funeral 6 days later, 42 people are killed amid gunfire and bombs.
- March 26 - A mine lift cage at the Vaal Reef gold mine in South Africa falls 1.2 miles, killing 23.
- March 27 - The Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
- March 27 - The Silver Thursday market crash occurs.
April
- April 1 - The Mariel boatlift from Cuba begins.
- April 1 - New York City's Transport Works Union Local 100 goes on strike, which continues for 11 days.
- April 2 - The St. Pauls riot breaks out in Bristol.
- April 7 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions, following the taking of American hostages on November 4, 1979.
- April 10 - Spain and the United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain, closed since 1969.
- April 12 - Samuel Doe takes over Liberia in a coup d'etat, ending over 130 years of democratic presidential succession in that country.
- April 18 - Zimbabwe gains independence from the United Kingdom; Robert Mugabe becomes Prime Minister.
- April 19 - Johnny Logan wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song, What's Another Year.
- April 21 - Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston Marathon, but is later exposed as a fraud and stripped of her award.
- April 24 - Pennsylvania Lottery Scheme: the state lottery is rigged by 6 men including the host of the live TV drawing, Nick Perry.
- April 24-April 25 - Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.
- April 27 - The Dominican embassy siege ends with all hostages released and the guerrillas flying to Cuba.
- April 30 - Iranian Embassy Siege: Six Iranian-born terrorists take over the Iranian embassy in London, UK. SAS retakes the Embassy on May 5; 1 terrorist survives.
- April 30 - Luis Muñoz Marín, the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, dies at the age of 82.
- April 30 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicates, and her daughter Beatrix ascends to the throne.
May
- May 4 - Yugoslav President Tito dies. The funeral ceremony later becomes the world's biggest diplomatic meeting and media event ever, with more than 140 state delegations in Belgrade from all over the world (only the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April 2005 will have more news coverage and a higher number of delegations).
- May 7 - Paul Geidel, convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, is released from prison in Beacon, New York, after 68 years and 245 days (the longest-ever time served by an inmate).
- May 9 - In Florida, a Liberian freighter named the Summit Venture hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, sending 35 people (most of whom were in a bus) to a watery death as a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapses.
- May 11 - Mobster Henry Hill busted on drug possession.
- May 17 - A Miami, Florida court acquits 4 White police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance executive, provoking 3 days of race riots.
- May 18 - Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage.
- May 18-May 27 - Gwangju Massacre: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.
- May 20 - 1980 Quebec referendum: Voters in Quebec reject by a vote of 60% a proposal to seek independence from Canada.
- May 24 - The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran.
- May 25 - Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford wins for a third time in car owner Jim Hall's revolutionary ground effect Chaparral car; the victory is Hall's second as an owner.
- May 26 - John Frum supporters in Vanuatu storm government offices on the island of Tanna. Vanuatu government troops land the next day and drive them away.
- May 26 - In South Korea, military government forces and pro-democracy protesters clash; 2,000 protesters die.
June
- June 1 - In Los Angeles, comedian Richard Pryor is badly burned trying to freebase cocaine.
- June 3 - A series of deadly tornadoes strikes Grand Island, Nebraska, causing over $300m in damage, killing 5 people and injuring over 250.
- June 3 - U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy wins several primaries, including California, on 'Super Tuesday', but not enough to overtake President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Party nomination.
- June 10 - Apartheid: The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela, which says in part: 'UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!'[1]
- June 10 - A Unabomber bomb injures United Airlines president Percy Wood in Lake Forest, Illinois.
- June 19 - Iraqi security forces shoot dead 3 gunmen who attacked the British Embassy in Baghdad. The unknown attackers are killed in the embassy gardens by Iraqi security men, sent at the urgent request of the British ambassador, Alex Stirling.
- June 20 - Augusta AVA became the first federally recognized American Viticultural Area.
- June 22 - West Germany beats Belgium 2-1 to win the Euro 80.
- June 23 - Sanjay Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, dies in an air crash.
- June 23-September 6 - 1980 United States heat wave
- June 25 - A Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt against Syrian president Hafez al-Assad fails. Assad retaliates by sending the army against them.
- June 26 - A McDonnell Douglas DC-9 belonging to the Italian Airline Itavia crashes into the sea near Palermo after an explosion occurs in the air; 81 people die. A bomb or a missile is suspected to be the cause of the accident but no culprits are ever found.
- June 27 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs a bill requiring 19- and 20-year-old males to register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
- June 29 - Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the president of Iceland.
July
- Alexandra Palace in London destroyed by fire.
- July 9 - Pope John Paul II visits Brazil; 7 people are crushed to death in a crowd meeting him.
- July 15 - A severe and destructive thunderstorm strikes 4 counties in western Wisconsin, including the city of Eau Claire. It causes over $250m in damage, and one person is killed.
- July 16 - Former California Governor and actor Ronald Reagan is nominated for U.S. President, at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan. Influenced by the Religious Right, the convention also drops its long standing support for the Equal Rights Amendment, dismaying moderate Republicans.
- July 19 - Former Turkish Prime Minister Nihat Erim is killed by 2 gunmen in Istanbul, Turkey.
- July 19-August 3 - The Summer Olympic Games are held in Moscow, Soviet Union.
- July 25 - Popular Australian hard rock band AC/DC releases ultra popular album Back In Black, featuring hits such as Hell's Bells and You Shook Me All Night Long.
- July 27 - Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, deposed shah of Iran, dies in Cairo.
- July 30 - Vanuatu gains independence.
August
- August 2 - A terrorist bombing at the railway station in Bologna, Italy kills 85 people and wounds more than 200.
- August 7-August 14 - Lech Wałęsa leads the first of many strikes at the Gdańsk shipyard.
- August 14 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter defeats Senator Edward Kennedy to win renomination, at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City.
- August 17 - In Australia, baby Azaria Chamberlain disappears from a campsite at Ayers Rock (Uluru), reportedly taken by a dingo.
September
- September 5 - The St. Gothard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.
- September 12 - Kenan Evren stages a military coup in Turkey. It stops political gang violence, but begins stronger state violence leading to the execution of many young activists.
- September 17 - After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.
- September 17 - Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.
- September 22 - The command council of Iraq orders its army to "deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets," initiating the Iran-Iraq War.
- September 26 - The Mariel Boatlift officially ends.
- September 29 - The Washington Post publishes Janet Cooke's story of Jimmy, an 8-year-old heroin addict (later proven to be fabricated).
- September 30 - Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel and Xerox introduce the DIX standard for Ethernet, which is the first implementation outside of Xerox, and the first to support 10 Mbit/s speeds.
October
- October sees the launch of 2 important new cars for the British and European markets. The first is the Austin Metro, (British Leyland's modern entrant into the mini-car sector, designed as an eventual replacement for the 21-year-old Mini. The Ford Escort MK3 brings Ford's medium-sized car up to modern stands thanks to its front-wheel drive chassis and hatchback bodystyle, following the recent worldwide move from traditional rear-wheel drive saloon-only models.
- October 1 - Associated Newspapers announced that The Evening News would close and merge with the Evening Standard.
- October 10 - Margaret Thatcher tells the Conservative Party conference "U-turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning."
- October 10 - El Asnam in Algeria is destroyed by an earthquake which claimed more than 2,600 lives. After the quake, El Asnam is rebuilt and changes its name to the city of Chlef.
- October 14 - The Staggers Rail Act is enacted, deregulating American railroads.
- October 15 - James Callaghan announces his resignation as Leader of the British Labour Party.
- October 18 - The Fraser Government is re-elected for a third consecutive term in Australia with a reduced majority.
- October 21 - The Philadelphia Phillies win their first World Series beating the Kansas City Royals 4-1 in game six. This remains the Phillies only World Series championship in their 124 year existence.
- October 22 - The Thomson organisation said that The Times and all associated supplements would close in March 1981 if no buyer could be found.
- October 25 - Proceedings on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction conclude at The Hague.
- October 27 - Six Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners in Maze prison refuse food and demand status as political prisoners; the hunger strike lasts until December.
- October 28 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Reagan's genial, witty performance causes him to overtake Carter in the polls.
- October 30 - El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.
- October 31 - The Polish government recognizes Solidarity.
- October 31 - Reza Pahlavi, eldest son of the shah of Iran, proclaims himself the rightful successor to the Peacock Throne.
November
- November 4 - U.S. presidential election, 1980: Republican challenger and former Governor Ronald Reagan of California defeats incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in a landslide victory, exactly 1 year after the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis.
- November 12 - Voyager program: The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn, when it flies within 77,000 miles of the planet's cloud-tops and sends the first high resolution images of the world back to scientists on Earth.
- November 20 - The Gang of Four trial begins in China.
- November 21 - A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada kills 85 people.
- November 21 - Millions of viewers tune into the U.S. TV soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J.R. Ewing. The "Who shot J.R.?" event is a national obsession.
- November 23 - A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people.
December
- December 8 - Former Beatle John Lennon dies in the hospital after being shot outside his New York City apartment by Mark David Chapman, a deranged fan who had received his signature earlier in the day.
- December 11 - CERCLA is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
- December 15 - The Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (Academy of the Asturian Language) is created.
- December 16 - During a summit on the island of Bali, OPEC decides to raise the price of petroleum by 10%.
- December 26 - Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento," kills himself by overdose on San Quentin prison death row.
Undated
- Lawrence Klein is awarded the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
- Hassan Fathy and Plenty International / Stephen Gaskin are awarded the Right Livelihood Award.
- Victoria, Australia, decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults.
- Urdu typewriter keyboard layout based on Naskh script, standardised in Pakistan
Ongoing
Fictional
The events about 1980 in popular fiction are: (unknown).
World population
| World population | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1975 | 1985 | ||||
 World
|
4,434,682,000 | 4,068,109,000 |  366,573,000
|
4,830,979,000 | 396,297,000
| |
 Africa
|
469,618,000 | 408,160,000 | 61,458,000
|
541,814,000 | 72,196,000
| |
 Asia
|
2,632,335,000 | 2,397,512,000 | 234,823,000
|
2,887,552,000 | 255,217,000
| |
 Europe
|
692,431,000 | 675,542,000 | 16,889,000
|
706,009,000 | 13,578,000
| |
 Latin America
|
361,401,000 | 321,906,000 | 39,495,000
|
401,469,000 | 40,068,000
| |
 Northern America
|
256,068,000 | 243,425,000 | 12,643,000
|
269,456,000 | 13,388,000
| |
 Oceania
|
22,828,000 | 21,564,000 | 1,264,000
|
24,678,000 | 1,850,000
| |
Births
January-February
- January 1 - Elin Nordegren, Swedish model
- January 1 - Mark Nichols, Canadian curler
- January 2 - Rebekah Teasdale, British model and journalist
- January 4 - Erin Cahill, American actress
- January 7 - Gabriela Bazan, Peruvian activist
- January 8 - Rachel Nichols, American actress
- January 9 - Sergio García, Spanish golfer
- January 10 - Janelle Pierzina, American reality star
- January 11 - Mike Williams, American football player
- January 14 - Cory Gibbs, American soccer player
- January 14 - Sosuke Sumitani, Japanese announcer
- January 16 - Albert Pujols, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- January 16 - Michelle Wild, Hungarian actress
- January 17 - Kimberly Spicer, American model
- January 17 - Zooey Deschanel, American actress
- January 18 - Julius Peppers, American football player
- January 18 - Jason Segel, American actor
- January 20 - Jenson Button, British racecar driver
- January 21 - Kevin McKenna, Canadian footballer
- January 21 - Nana Mizuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
- January 22 - Christopher Masterson, American actor
- January 24 - Nyncke Beekhuyzen, Dutch actress
- January 24 - Nicole Marie Lenz, March 2000 Playboy Playmate, actress, and model
- January 25 - Christian Olsson, Swedish athlete
- January 25 - Alicia Keys, American musician
- January 25 - Xavi, Spanish soccer player
- January 25 - Michelle McCool-Alexander, American professional wrestler
- January 27 - Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
- January 28 - Nick Carter, American singer, member of Backstreet Boys
- January 30 - Wilmer Valderrama, Venezuelan/Colombian-American comedian
- February 5 - Jo Swinson, British MP
- February 5 - Robin Vik, Czech tennis player
- February 6 - Mamiko Noto, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
- February 10 - César Izturis, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- February 10 - Steve Tully, English footballer
- February 11 - Natasha Bobo, American actress
- February 11 - Matthew Lawrence, American actor
- February 12 - Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
- February 12 - Christina Ricci, American actress
- February 14 - Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress
- February 15 - Conor Oberst, American singer/songwriter
- February 16 - Ashley Lelie, American football player
- February 18 - Regina Spektor, Russian-born American singer-songwriter
- February 20 - Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
- February 20 - Artur Boruc, Polish football (soccer) goalkeeper
- February 21 - Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player
- February 27 - Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former U.S. president Bill Clinton and U.S. senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
- February 28 - Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
- February 28 - Piotr Giza, Polish footballer
- February 29 - Simon Gagne, Canadian hockey player
March-April
- March 2 - Lance Cade, American professional wrestler
- March 2 - Vince Walker, singer (Suburban Legends)
- March 4 - Omar Bravo, Mexican football player
- March 4 - Jack Hannahan, American baseball infielder
- March 7 - Laura Prepon, American actress
- March 7 - Anthony Ocana, Dominican composer & guitarist
- March 9 - Chingy, American rapper
- March 13 - Molly Stanton, American actress
- March 14 - Aaron Brown, English footballer
- March 16 - Todd Heap, American football player
- March 18 - Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
- March 21 - Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician
- March 21 - Ronaldinho, Brazilian football player
- March 21 - Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- March 24 - Alison MacInnis, American actress
- March 30 - Yalin, Turkish pop music singer and songwriter
- March 30 - Paul Wall, American rapper, promoter, DJ and jeweller
- March 31 - Chien-Ming Wang, Taiwanese Major League Baseball player
- April 1 - Randy Orton, American professional wrestler
- April 1 - Yūko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
- April 8 - Ben Freeman, British actor
- April 10 - Sean Avery, Canadian ice hockey player
- April 10 - Kasey Kahne, American race car driver
- April 10 - Bryce Soderberg, Canadian musician lifehouse
- April 12 - Brian McFadden, Irish singer
- April 13 - Jana Cova, Czech pornographic actress
- April 14 - Ben Wells, American actor
- April 17 - Brenda Villa, American water polo player
- April 20 - Jasmin Wagner, German singer
- April 21 - Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
- April 22 - Nicolas Douchez, French footballer
- April 25 - Daniel McPherson, Australian actor and TV personality
- April 26 - Channing Tatum, American actor and model
- April 26 - Paul London, American professional wrestler
- April 26 - Jordana Brewster, American actress
- April 26 - Stana Katic, American film actress
- April 29 - Kian Egan, Westlife
May-June
- May 3 - Marcel Vigneron, American chef (Top Chef)
- May 6 - Taebin, Korean hip-hop artist (1TYM)
- May 6 - Kate Lawler, English reality TV show star
- May 6 - Kelly van der Veer, Dutch reality TV star
- May 7 - Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
- May 9 - Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
- May 15 - Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox pitcher
- May 15 - Rocky Marquette, American actor
- May 22 - Rhett Fisher, American actor
- May 24 - Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong actress
- May 27 - Niels 't Hooft, Dutch writer and game-journalist
- May 28 - Mark Feehily, Westlife
- May 30 - Steven Gerrard, English footballer
- May 31 - Andy Hurley, American drummer
- June 1 - Oliver James, British actor
- June 2 - Lindsey Yamasaki, Japanese American professional basketball player
- June 10 - Francelino Matuzalem, Brazilian football player
- June 13 - Sarah Connor, German singer
- June 16 - Brad Gushue, Canadian curler
- June 16 - Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- June 17 - Kimeru, Japanese singer
- June 17 - Venus Williams, American tennis player
- June 19 - Jason White, American football player
- June 20 - Damián A. Fernández Beanato, Newsweek and ANSA journalist.
- June 22 - Ilya Bryzgalov, Russian ice hockey player
- June 22 - Jade Marcela, American actress
- June 23 - Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indian cricketer
- June 25 - Nozomi Takeuchi, Japanese actress
- June 26 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor
- June 26 - Michael Vick, American football player
- June 29 - Katherine Jenkins, Welsh soprano
- June 29 - Martin Truex Jr, American race car driver
July-August
- July 3 - Roland Mark Schoeman, South African swimmer
- July 4 - Max Elliott Slade, American actor
- July 5 - Eva Green, French actress and composer
- July 6 - Pau Gasol, Catalan basketball player
- July 7 - Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
- July 8 - Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
- July 9 - Kathia Rodriguez, Puertorrican actress
- July 10 - Adam Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)
- July 10 - Jesse Jane, American porn actress
- July 10 - Jessica Simpson, American singer
- July 15 - Jasper Pääkkönen, Finnish actor and film producer
- July 18 - Kristen Bell, American actress
- July 20 - Mike Kennerty, American guitarist (The All-American Rejects)
- July 20 - Gisele Bundchen, Brazilian supermodel
- July 22 - Kate Ryan, Belgian singer
- July 24 - Gauge, American pornographic actress and actor
- July 27 - Julia Haworth, British actress
- July 29 - Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
- July 30 - Diam's, French rapper
- August 3 - Jonathan D. Gordon, American illustrator
- August 3 - Dominic Moore, Canadian ice hockey player
- August 5 - Wayne Bridge, English footballer
- August 10 - Pua Magasiva, Samao actor
- August 11 - Lee Suggs, American football player
- August 14 - Roy Williams, American football player
- August 12 - Maggie Lawson, American actress
- August 12 - Matt Thiessen, Canadian singer/guitarist
- August 16 - Vanessa Carlton, American singer
- August 19 - Darius Danesh, Scottish singer-songwriter & actor
- August 26 - Macaulay Culkin, American actor
- August 26 - Chris Pine, American actor
- August 27 - Derrick Strait, American football player
- August 28 - Debra Lafave, American teacher
- August 29 - Nicholas Tse, Hong Kong singer
September-October
- September 3 - Jennie Finch, American softball player
- September 6 - Joseph Yobo, Nigerian footballer
- September 6 - Samuel Peter, boxer, heavyweight champion
- September 6 - Kerry Katona, English TV presenter and former pop star with Atomic Kitten
- September 7 - Mark Prior, baseball player
- September 10 - Mikey Way, American bassist (My Chemical Romance)
- September 11 - Mike Comrie, Canadian ice hockey player
- September 12 - Sean Burroughs, baseball player
- September 12 - Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player
- September 13 - Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japanese baseball player
- September 19 - Tegan Quin, Canadian singer/songwriter
- September 19 - Sara Quin, Canadian singer/songwriter
- September 21 - Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
- September 25 - T.I., American rapper
- September 27 - Lil Wayne, American rapper
- September 30 - Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
- October 4 - Tomas Rosicky, Czech footballer
- October 4 - Me'Lisa Barber, American athlete
- October 13 - Ashanti, American musician
- October 14 - Terrence McGee, American football player
- October 16 - Sue Bird, American basketball player
- October 16 - Timana Tahu, Australian Rugby League player
- October 17 - Ekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
- October 17 - Anil Kumble, Indian cricket player
- October 18 - Reetinder Sodhi, Indian cricket player
- October 23 - Kanzi the Bonobo
- October 24 - Monica Arnold, American musician
- October 28 - Alan Smith, English footballer
- October 28 - Christy Hemme, American professional wrestler
- October 31 - Samaire Armstrong, American actress
November-December
- November 3 - Dan Marsala, American lead vocalist (Story of the Year)
- November 7 - Melyssa Ford, Canadian model
- November 11 - Willie Parker, American football player
- November 12 - Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
- November 13 - Monique Coleman, American actress
- November 15 - Ace Young, American singer and reality show finalist
- November 16 - Kayte Christensen, American basketball player
- November 17 - Isaac Hanson, American musician
- November 19 - Adele Silva, British actress
- November 21 - Hank Blalock, American baseball player
- November 25 - Nick Swisher, American baseball player
- November 25 - Josh Mathews, American professional wrestling announcer
- December 3 - Anna Chlumsky, American actress
- December 3 - Nadine Jansen, German pornographic model
- December 6 - Steve Lovell, English football player
- December 6 - Kei Yasuda, Japanese singer
- December 7 - John Terry, English football player
- December 9 - Ryder Hesjedal, Canadian professional cyclist
- December 10 - Sarah Chang, American violinist
- December 13 - Bosco Wong, Hong Kong actor
- December 18 - Christina Aguilera, American singer
- December 19 - Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor
- December 19 - Marla Sokoloff, American actress
- December 20 - Ashley Cole, English football player
- December 20 - Vickie Natale, American singer and reality show finalist
- December 25 - Laura Sadler, British TV actress (d. 2003)
- December 30 - Eliza Dushku, American actress
- December 31 - Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player
Deaths
January - March
- January 3 - Joy Adamson, Austrian-born conservationist and author (murdered) (b. 1910)
- January 8 - John Mauchly, American physicist and inventor (b. 1907)
- January 10 - George Meany, American labor leader (b. 1894)
- January 18 - Sir Cecil Beaton, English photographer (b. 1904)
- January 21 - Georges Painvin, French cryptographer (b. 1886)
- January 25 - Roland Barthes, French literary critic, and philosopher (b. 1915)
- January 28 - Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer (b. 1926)
- January 29 - Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and comedian (b. 1893)
- January 30 - Professor Longhair, American musician (b. 1918)
- February 2 - William Howard Stein, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- February 6 - Albert Kotin American abstract expressionist painter (b. 1907)
- February 12 - Muriel Rukeyser, American poet (b. 1913)
- February 13 - David Janssen, American actor (b. 1931)
- February 14 - Luitkonwar Rudra Baruah, Assamese composer and actor
- February 19 - Bon Scott, Scottish-born singer (AC/DC) (b. 1946)
- February 20 - J.B. Rhine, parapsychologist (b. 1895)
- February 20 - Alice Longworth, Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, wife of Nicholas Longworth (b. 1884)
- February 27 - George Tobias, American actor (b. 1901)
- March 1 - Dixie Dean, English football player (b. 1907)
- March 1 - Wilhelmina, high-fashion model and owner of model agency (b. 1940)
- March 5 - Jay Silverheels, American actor (b. 1912)
- March 5 - Winifred Wagner, Richard Wagner's daughter-in-law, close friend of Adolf Hilter
- March 16 - Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (b. 1898)
- March 21 - Peter Stoner, American mathematician, astronomer and Christian apologist (b. 1888)
- March 24 - Pierre Etchebaster, French real tennis player (b. 1893)
- March 25 - Roland Barthes, French literary critic and writer (b. 1915)
- March 25 - Walter Susskind, Czech conductor (b. 1913)
- March 25 - James Wright, American poet (b. 1927)
- March 29 - Mantovani, Italian-born conductor and arranger (b. 1905)
- March 31 - Vladimír Holan, Czech poet (b. 1905)
- March 31 - Jesse Owens, American athlete (b. 1913)
April - June
- April 4 - Red Sovine, American country & folk singer & songwriter (b. 1917)
- April 12 - Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker and billiards player (b. 1895)
- April 15 - Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- April 24 - Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
- April 29 - Alfred Hitchcock, British film director (b. 1899)
- April 30 - Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician (b. 1898)
- May 4 - Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
- May 16 - Marin Preda, Romanian writer (b. 1922)
- May 18 - Ian Curtis, British musician and singer (Joy Division) (b. 1956)
- May 28 - Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician (b. 1895)
- June 7 - Henry Miller, American writer (b. 1891)
- June 12 - Milburn Stone, American actor (b. 1904)
- June 13 - Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and political figure (b. 1942)
- June 21 - Bert Kaempfert, German orchestra leader and songwriter (b. 1923)
- June 23 - Clyfford Still, American painter (b. 1904)
- June 23 - John Laurie, British actor (b. 1897)
July - September
- July - Robert Brackman, American painter (b. 1898)
- July 7 - Dore Schary, American film writer, director, and producer (b. 1905)
- July 17 - Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician (b. 1890)
- July 24 - Peter Sellers, English actor (b. 1925)
- July 25 - Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, poet, actor (b. 1938)
- July 26 - Kenneth Tynan, English theatre critic (b. 1927)
- July 27 - Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran (b. 1919)
- July 31 - Pascual Jordan, German physicist (b. 1902)
- August 7 - Jackie Cochran, American pilot (b. 1906)
- August 10 - Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan (b. 1917)
- August 14 - Dorothy Stratten, Canadian model (murdered) (b. 1960)
- August 19 - Otto Frank, father of Jewish diarist Anne Frank (b. 1889)
- August 20 - Joe Dassin, French singer (b. 1938)
- August 24 - Yootha Joyce, British actress (b. 1927)
- August 26 - Tex Avery, American cartoonist and creator of Looney Toons (b. 1908)
- September 8 - Willard Libby, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- September 16 - Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (b. 1896)
- September 17 - Anastasio Somoza García, former President of Nicaragua (assassinated) (b. 1925)
- September 25 - John Bonham, British drummer (Led Zeppelin) (b. 1948)
October - December
- October 6 - Hattie Jacques, Starr of Carry On Films (Heart Attack) (b. 1922)
- October 20 - Lady Isobel Barnett, British television personality (suicide following her conviction for shoplifting) (b. 1918)
- October 25 - Sahir Ludhianvi, Urdu/Hindustani poet and Hindi film lyricist (b. March 8, 1921)
- October 25 - Virgil Fox, American organist (b. 1912)
- October 25 - Victor Galindez, Argentine boxer (race car accident) (b. 1948)
- October 27 - John Hasbrouck van Vleck, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- November 4 - Elsie MacGill, Canadian aeronautical engineer (b. 1904)
- November 7 - Steve McQueen, American actor (b. 1930)
- November 9 - Gloria Guinness, Fashionicon (b. 1912)
- November 17 - Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha, 41st master of the Oveyssi Sufi order (b. 1916)
- November 18 - Conn Smythe, NHL coach 1927-1931 (b. 1895)
- November 20 - John McEwen, eighteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1900)
- November 22 - Norah McGuinness, Northern Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1901)
- November 22 - Mae West, American actress (b. 1893)
- November 27 - F. Burrall Hoffman, American architect (b. 1882)
- December 2 - Romain Gary, Lithuanian-born writer (b. 1914)
- December 4 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
- December 4 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-born runner (b. 1911)
- December 7 - Darby Crash, American songwriter, singer for The Germs (heroin overdose) (b. 1958)
- December 8 - John Lennon, British singer, songwriter, and guitarist (The Beatles) (b. 1940)
- December 16 - Harland Sanders, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1890)
- December 16 - Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (b. 1900)
- December 24 - Karl Dönitz, President of Germany (b. 1891)
- December 24 - Siggie Nordstrom, model, actress, entertainer, socialite and lead singer of The Nordstrom Sisters (b. 1893)
- December 26 - Richard Chase, serial killer (b. 1950)
- December 29 - Tim Hardin, American musician (b. 1941)
- December 31 - Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and professor (b. 1911)
Unknown dates
- Clement Martyn Doke, South African linguist
Ship events
Nobel prizes
Templeton Prize
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award was founded in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull.
See also
Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1980.