Mood:
"Spectacle and fear coexist in a nuclear age."
Events: "Cold War tensions peak with military escalations."
Events: "Cold War tensions peak with military escalations."
- Jan 1: ARPANET Adopts TCP/IP – The ARPANET officially adopts the TCP/IP network protocol, establishing the universal foundation for packet routing and creating the technical architecture of the modern Internet.
- Jan 19: Apple Lisa Released – Apple Computer releases the Lisa, one of the earliest commercial personal computers to feature a graphical user interface (GUI) and a computer mouse.
- Sep 1: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Shot Down – Soviet interceptor jets shoot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 after it strays into Soviet airspace, killing all 269 passengers and crew and severely straining Cold War relations.
- Sep 19: Saint Kitts and Nevis Independence – The Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis formally gains full independence from the United Kingdom, joining the Commonwealth of Nations.
- Oct 23: Beirut Barracks Bombing – Suicide truck bombers drive explosives into American and French military barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 US servicemen and 58 French paratroopers, prompting US withdrawal.
- Oct 25: Invasion of Grenada – United States military forces, joined by regional Caribbean allies, launch a swift invasion of Grenada to depose a radical Marxist military junta and protect American medical students.
- Nov 2: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Established – US President Ronald Reagan signs legislation officially establishing the third Monday of January as a federal holiday honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.