Contemporary
First European Parliament Elections (1979): Voting Across Europe
410 members were elected by direct universal suffrage; the Socialists formed the largest group and Simone Veil became the first president of the elected Parliament.
Region
Europe
Contemporary
1980 Moscow Olympics Boycott: The US-Led Protest Over Afghanistan
About 65 invited nations stayed away, only 80 took part, and the Soviet bloc retaliated by boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Contemporary
Solidarity Movement (1980–1989): Poland's Free Trade Union
Solidarity forced the communist government into the first free union in the Soviet bloc and, after years underground, won the semi-free elections of June 1989.
Contemporary
Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp: Protest Against Cruise
The camp became a symbol of the 1980s peace movement; the cruise missiles left under the INF Treaty in 1991 and the base closed soon after.
Contemporary
Spanish Coup Attempt of 1981 (23-F): Tejero Storms Parliament
The coup collapsed within about 18 hours; its leaders were tried and imprisoned, and Spain's young democracy was strengthened.
Contemporary
Martial Law in Poland (1981–1983): Jaruzelski's Crackdown
Solidarity was suppressed and driven underground, but the regime failed to solve Poland's crisis and negotiated with the union in 1989.
Contemporary
Stanislav Petrov (1983): The False Alarm That Averted Nuclear War
Petrov reported the alarm as a system malfunction, no retaliation was considered, and the warning was later traced to sunlight reflecting off clouds.
Contemporary
Able Archer 83: The NATO Exercise That Alarmed Moscow
The exercise ended without incident, but later evidence showed some Soviet forces went on heightened alert, prompting Reagan to seek to ease tensions.
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
UK Miners' Strike (1984–1985): Thatcher Versus the NUM
The strike ended without agreement after a year; the NUM was defeated, pit closures accelerated and British deep coal mining had almost vanished by 2015.
Contemporary
Live Aid (1985): The Global Concert for Ethiopian Famine Relief
The concerts and the wider Band Aid campaign raised well over 100 million pounds for famine relief and changed how celebrities and the public engaged with humanitarian causes.
Contemporary
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior (1985): France Bombs Greenpeace
The ship was sunk and one crew member killed; France eventually admitted responsibility, its defence minister resigned and it paid compensation to New Zealand and Greenpeace.