Mood:
"Paranoia about surveillance and control grows."
Events: "Indira Gandhi is assassinated in India."
Events: "Indira Gandhi is assassinated in India."
- Jan 24: Apple Macintosh Released – Apple Computer airs its iconic, Ridley Scott-directed "1984" television commercial and officially introduces the Macintosh personal computer during its annual shareholder meeting.
- Feb 9: Death of Yuri Andropov – Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov passes away after a prolonged illness, leading to the rapid succession of Konstantin Chernenko as the leader of the Soviet Union.
- Jul 28: Los Angeles Olympics Open – The XXIII Summer Olympic Games officially open in Los Angeles. In retaliation for the 1980 US boycott, the Soviet Union and most Eastern Bloc nations boycott the games.
- Oct 12: Brighton Hotel Bombing – The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonates a massive bomb at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during a Conservative conference.
- Nov 3: Bhopal Disaster – A catastrophic methyl isocyanate gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, results in one of the worst industrial disasters in history, killing thousands instantly.
- Dec 4: Hijacking of Kuwait Airways Flight 221 – Armed hijackers seize Kuwait Airways Flight 221, escalating regional security concerns in the Middle East.
- Dec 19: Sino-British Joint Declaration – The United Kingdom and China formally sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to transfer the sovereignty of Hong Kong back to China in 1997 under a "One Country, Two Systems" framework.