Contemporary
Invasion of Grenada (1983): Operation Urgent Fury
US and Caribbean forces overthrew Grenada's Revolutionary Military Council within days; constitutional government was restored and elections held in December 1984.
Region
Americas
Contemporary
Strategic Defense Initiative (1983): Reagan's Star Wars Plan
SDI funded a large research programme but never deployed a working shield; it complicated arms talks and was reorganised in 1993.
Contemporary
Sally Ride (1983): First American Woman in Space on STS-7
Ride became the first American woman and, at 32, the youngest American to fly in space; STS-7 deployed two satellites and first tested the shuttle arm on a free-flying satellite.
Contemporary
Discovery of HIV (1983): Identifying the Virus That Causes AIDS
The Pasteur team's virus, confirmed in 1984 as the cause of AIDS and named HIV in 1986, made blood tests and antiviral treatment possible.
Contemporary
1984 Los Angeles Olympics: Soviet Boycott and Carl Lewis's Gold
A record 140 nations competed despite a Soviet-led boycott, and the privately run Games made a surplus of over $200 million, changing how Olympics were financed.
Contemporary
Iran-Contra Affair (1985-1987): Arms, Hostages and the Contras
The scandal damaged the Reagan presidency; 14 people were charged, 11 convicted, and six were pardoned by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.
Contemporary
Armero Tragedy (1985): Nevado del Ruiz Eruption in Colombia
Volcanic mudflows killed about 23,000 people, more than 20,000 of them in Armero, making it the deadliest volcanic disaster since 1902 and a lesson in the failure of hazard warnings.
Contemporary
1985 Mexico City Earthquake: Collapse, Rescue and Reform
Hundreds of buildings collapsed in Mexico City; estimates of deaths range from about 5,000 to more than 10,000, and the disaster led to new building codes, a civil protection system and a seismic alert network.
Contemporary
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster (1986): What Went Wrong
All seven crew members died; the shuttle fleet was grounded for 32 months while the solid rocket boosters were redesigned and NASA's management was reformed.
Contemporary
INF Treaty (1987): Eliminating Intermediate-Range Missiles
The United States and the Soviet Union destroyed 2,692 missiles by June 1991, eliminating an entire class of nuclear weapons under on-site inspection.
Contemporary
ACT UP (1987): AIDS Activism and the Fight for Treatment
ACT UP's direct action and research advocacy helped speed up drug approval, opened clinical trials to patients and changed how medical research involved the people it affected.
Contemporary
1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake: The World Series Quake in California
The earthquake killed 63 people, injured about 3,800 and caused an estimated $6 billion or more in damage, prompting a major seismic retrofit program for California's bridges and freeways.