- 1898
| Apr 12 | Army transfers Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay to Navy. | Ref: 5 |
- 1980
| Jan 02 | President Jimmy Carter asks the U.S. Senate to delay the arms treaty ratification in response to Soviet action in Afghanistan. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 13 | The United States offers Pakistan a two-year aid plan to counter the Soviet threat in Afghanistan. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 24 | In a rebuff to the Soviets, the U.S. announces intentions to sell arms to China. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 03 | Muhammed Ali tours Africa as President Carter's envoy. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 08 | President Jimmy Carter unveiled a plan to re-introduce draft registration. | Ref: 70 |
| Mar 31 | President Jimmy Carter deregulates the banking industry. | Ref: 2 |
| Apr 07 | Jimmy Carter breaks relations with Iran during hostage crisis. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 11 | The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued regulations prohibiting sexual harassment of workers by supervisors. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 14 | First Cubans of the Mariel boatlift sail to Florida. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 28 | President Jimmy Carter accepted the resignation of Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who had opposed the failed rescue mission aimed at freeing American hostages in Iran. | Ref: 70 |
| May 04 | The Department of Health, Education and Welfare becomes officially becomes the Department of Health and Human Services by the Department of Education Organization Act which was signed into law in 1979. Ref | |
| May 14 | President Carter inaugurates the Department of Health and Human Services. (XDG, p 4A, 5/14/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| May 20 | 710 families in Love Canal area (Niagara Falls NY) are evacuated. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 12 | The Senate passes bill that renews draft registration | Ref: 62 |
| Jun 27 | First female state police graduates (NJ). | Ref: 51 |
| Jun 27 | President Jimmy Carter signed legislation reviving draft registration. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 02 | President Jimmy Carter reinstates draft registration for males 18 years of age. | Ref: 2 |
| Jul 21 | Draft registration began in the United States for 19- and 20-year-old men. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 23 | River of No Return Wilderness Area designated by Jimmy Carter. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 02 | Four American Maryknoll nuns were raped, murdered and buried outside San Salvador. (Five national guardsmen were convicted in the killings, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.) | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 11 | President Carter signed into a law legislation creating a $1.6 billion environmental "superfund" to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps. | Ref: 6 |
| Dec 16 | President-elect Reagan announces Alexander Haig as Secretary of State | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 22 | President-elect Reagan appoints Jean Kirkpatrick (UN delegate) & James Watt (Interior). | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 28 | Mexico terminated fishing agreements with US. | Ref: 5 |
- 1981
| Jan 05 | Attorney General Guidelines were issued concerning FBI undercover Agents involving the investigation of bribery of public officials. The FBI's successful ABSCAM investigation had raised concerns that undercover efforts might lead to entrapment. This was not the case in the ABSCAM investigation. The courts upheld the convictions. | Ref: 14 |
| Jan 18 | Iran accepts US offer of $7.9 billion in frozen assets. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 02 | The United States plans to send 20 more advisors and $25 million in military aid to El Salvador. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 06 | President Reagan announces plans to cut 37,000 federal jobs. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 18 | The United States discloses biological weapons tests in Texas in 1966. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 24 | RCA put its Selectravision laser disc players on the market. Soon, the product was called “the Edsel of the entertainment field.” The units cost $500 and the videodisks about $15 each. The combination failed to catch the consumer’s fancy. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 04 | Henry Cisneros became the first Mexican-American elected mayor of a major U.S. city San Antonio, Texas. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 09 | US sub George Washington rams Japanese freighter Nisso Maru. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 21 | US furnish $1 billion in arms to Saudi-Arabia. | Ref: 5 |
| May 06 | US expels Libyan diplomats. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 17 | The US Navy's first Trident submarine, the USS Ohio, is launched at Groton CT. | Ref: 17 |
| Aug 06 | Firefighters in Indpls returned from the scene of a false alarm to find their own firehouse ablaze! Station 14 was extensively damaged from a grease fire. | Ref: 4 |
| Aug 19 | Two US Navy F-14 jet fighters shot down 2 Soviet-built Libyan SU-22. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 23 | The Reagan administration announced plans for what became known as Radio Marti. | Ref: 70 |
| Oct 05 | Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg becomes an honarary American. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 22 | US national debt tops $1 trillion. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 28 | Edward M McIntrye elected first black mayor of Augusta Georgia. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 07 | The Reagan Administration predicts a record deficit in 1982 of $109 billion. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 29 | President Ronald Reagan curtails Soviet trade in reprisal for its harsh policies on Poland. | Ref: 2 |
- 1982
| Jan 08 | AT&T settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies. | Ref: 70 |
| Jan 12 | Peking protests the sale of U.S. planes to Taiwan. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 22 | President Ronald Reagan formally links progress in arms control to Soviet repression in Poland. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 28 | At the direction of Attorney General William French Smith, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began reporting to the Director of the FBI. The FBI and DEA were given concurrent jurisdiction over narcotics violations and have worked together on these matters since this time. | Ref: 14 |
| Mar 03 | Senate begins debate on expulsion of Senator Harrison Williams (D-NJ). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 08 | The United States accuses the Soviets of killing 3,000 Afghans with poison gas. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 10 | The United States bans Libyan oil imports, because of the continued support of terrorism. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 10 | President Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 24 | US sub Jacksonville collides with a Turkish freighter near Virginia. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 01 | The United States formally transfers control of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama. | Ref: 2 |
| Apr 21 | Dutch Queen Beatrice addresses US Congress. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 07 | Pres Reagan meets Pope John Paul II & Queen Elizabeth | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 18 | Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended by Senate by 85-8 vote. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 25 | Sec of State Alexander Haig Jr resigns, replaced by Schultz. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 29 | Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 30 | Equal Rights Amendment crashes and burns; ratification fails despite Congressional extension. | Ref: 10 |
| Jul 06 | President Ronald Reagan agrees to contribute U.S. troops to the peacekeeping unit in Beruit. | Ref: 2 |
| Jul 15 | Senate confirms George Shultz as 60th sec of state by vote of 97-0. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 15 | "USA Today" published by Gannett Co Inc., began appearing on newsstands and vending machines today across America. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 22 | President Ronald Reagan calls for defense-pact deployment of the MX missile. | Ref: 2 |
| Nov 30 | US sub Thomas Edison collides with US Navy destroyer in So China Sea. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 14 | US suspends government food shipments to Poland in reaction to declaration of martial law | Ref: 62 |
| Dec 16 | Environmental Protection Agency head Anne M Gorsuch became the first Cabinet-level officer to be cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to submit documents requested by a congressional committee. (XDG, p 4A, 12/16/2003) | Ref: 83 |
- 1983
| Jan 03 | Times Beach MO is declared a federal disaster area after fall floods spread dangerous amounts of the toxic chemcal dioxin. | Ref: 17 |
| Jan 04 | The US Department of Justice seeks a court order to force Westinghouse Electric Corporation to clean up two chemically contaminated Indiana sites in the first use of the "superfund" law. | Ref: 17 |
| Jan 05 | Elizabeth Dole is nominated by President Reagan to be the Secretary of Transportation. (XDG, p 4A, 1/5/2001) | Ref: 83 |
| Jan 06 | American Bell, Inc, one of the new companies created by the break up of American Telephone and Telegraph, Inc, introduces its first product line. | Ref: 17 |
| Jan 07 | Reagan ends US arms embargo against Guatemala. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 21 | Reagan certifies El Salvador human-rights abuses have decreased making country eligible for US military aid. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 22 | Harold Washington wins Chicago's Democratic mayoral primary. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 08 | President Reagan calls the USSR an "Evil Empire". | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 23 | On national television, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, citing the recent Soviet military buildup, calls for the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Specifically, President Reagan calls for the creation of a space-based protective shield that would employ high-tech lasers or other weapons to destroy nuclear missiles launched against the United States. | Ref: 3 |
| May 15 | Madison Hotel (Boston) destroyed by implosion. | Ref: 5 |
| May 18 | Senate revises immigration laws, gives millions of illegal aliens legal status under an amnesty program. | Ref: 5 |
| May 27 | Former EPA official Rita Lavelle indicted for contempt of Congress. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 02 | US District Court begins trying Yonkers; accused of race discrimination. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 15 | Six-month-old Lisa Harap of Queens Village, NY became the youngest identifiable living person to appear on a cover of TIME magazine. | |
| Sep 13 | US mint strikes first gold coin in 50 years (Olympic Eagle). | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 14 | US House of Representatives votes, 416 to 0, in favor of a resolution condemning Russia for shooting down a Korean jetliner. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 21 | James G. Watt jokingly described a special advisory panel as consisting of "a black ... a woman, two Jews and a cripple." Although Watt later apologized, he ended up resigning. | Ref: 70 |
| Sep 29 | First time Congress invokes War Powers Act. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 09 | James Watt forced to resign as Secretary of the Interior | Ref: 62 |
| Oct 11 | Last hand-cranked telephones in the US went out of service as 440 telephone customers in Bryant Pond, Maine, were switched over to direct-dial. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 14 | US Marine peacekeeper Sgt Allen Soifert killed by sniper in Beirut. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 21 | The United States sends a ten-ship task force to Grenada.
The United States sends a ten-ship task force to Grenada. | Ref: 2 |
| Oct 25 | 2,000 U.S. Marines invaded Grenada to take control away from the Soviet-Cubans. A political coup just one week earlier had made the tiny Caribbean Island a Soviet-Cuban colony. | Ref: 4 |
| Dec 04 | US jet fighters strike Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 09 | Attorney General Edwin Meese says people go to soup kitchens "...because the food is free and that's easier than paying for it". | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 15 | Last 80 US combat soldiers in Grenada withdrew. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 28 | President Reagan takes all responsibility for the lack of security in Beirut that allowed a terrorist on a suicide mission to kill 241 Marines. | Ref: 2 |
- 1984
| Jan 01 | AT&T was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement. | Ref: 70 |
| Jan 10 | The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations for the first time in 117 years. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 26 | US navy exhibits Piasecki helistat-4 helicopters & a blimp able to lift 26 tons-Lakehurst New Jersey. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 30 | Robert and Anna Rucker of Florissant, MO kept their lucky numbers a secret from each other on this day. They both ended up winning over one-million dollars with identical numbers in the Illinois State Lottery! | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 03 | The Environmental Protection Agency orders a ban on the pesticide EDB for grain products. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 22 | Census Bureau statistics showed that the State of Alaska was the fastest growing state of the decade with a population increase of 19.2 percent. | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 26 | Last US marines in multinational peace-keeping force in Lebanon left Beirut. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 05 | Standard Oil buys Gulf Corporate for $13 billion largest US business merger in history. | Ref: 17 |
| Mar 15 | The FBI's GREYLORD investigation into judicial misconduct in Cook County Illinois yielded its first conviction, a former Deputy Traffic Court Clerk. Other convictions followed. Eighty-two judges, lawyers, clerks, and police officers pled guilty or were convicted in court. | Ref: 14 |
| Mar 20 | Senate rejects amendment to permit spoken prayer in public schools. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 21 | A Soviet submarine crashes into the USS Kitty Hawk off the coast of Japan. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 30 | US ends participation in multinational Lebanon peace force. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 10 | US Senate condemns CIA mining of Nicaraguan harbors. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | President Ronald Reagan visits China. | Ref: 5 |
| May 10 | International Court of Justice rules on US blockade of Nicaragua. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 10 | The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) was established at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. Initially focusing on unsolved murders, the NCAVC used sophisticated behavioral science techniques and a complex computer system to assist state and local authorities to identify suspects and predict criminal behavior. | Ref: 14 |
| Aug 04 | The largest lottery jackpot in North America (to that time) was split among the eight winners of Ohio’s Lotto. The lucky lottery players shared a jackpot of $24.6 million. | Ref: 4 |
| Sep 03 | 28 year old Chicagoan wins $40 million in Illinois state lottery. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 05 | Mortimer Zuckerman, a real estate magnate, spent $163 million on a deal. Zuckerman purchased the newsmagazine US News & World Report. | Ref: 4 |
| Sep 26 | Pres Reagan vetoes sanctions against South Africa. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 04 | US govt closes down due to budget problems. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 28 | Republican Robert Dole is elected Senate majority leader. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 26 | House Speaker Tip O’Neill was selected to receive the J. Fred Muggs Award, given by TV Guide for TV goofs and blunders. The Speaker of the House earned the uncoveted prize when he ordered cameras from CSPAN to pan the almost empty House of Representatives while Republicans were making rip-roaring speeches. For those who don’t remember, J. Fred Muggs was the rascally, but cute, chimpanzee that wreaked havoc on the Today show back in the 1950s. The network thought it would be nice to have a cuddly chimp liven things up for a pretty boring Dave Garroway. Unfortunately, Garroway hated J. Fred Muggs; the chimp knew it and proceeded to terrorize the entire show for quite some time, until Garroway threatened to quit the show. J. Fred was soon history. | Ref: 4 |
- 1985
| Jan 03 | President Ronald Reagan condemns a rash of arson attacks on abortion clinics. | Ref: 2 |
| Jan 14 | 16 indicted by US for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 18 | US renounces jurisdiction of World Court despite previous promise. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 24 | Penny Harrington became the first woman police chief of a major city. She assumed the duties as head of the Portland, Oregon force of 940 officers and staff. | Ref: 4 |
| Feb 05 | U.S. halts a loan to Chile in protest over human rights abuses. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 27 | Farmers converge in Washington to demand economic relief. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 03 | The group, Women Against Pornography awarded one of its dubious ‘Pig Awards’ to ... Huggies Diapers! The activists said that the diaper TV ads had “crossed the line between eye-catching and porn.” | Ref: 4 |
| Mar 08 | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) taxed themselves to discover that 407,700 Americans were millionaires -- more than double the total of just five years before. | Ref: 4 |
| Mar 12 | The United States and the Soviet Union begin arms control talks in Geneva. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 17 | President Ronald Reagan agrees to a joint study with Canada on acid rain. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 19 | Senate votes 55-45, to authorize production of the MX missile. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 19 | The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) announced plans to merge with Capital Cities Communications to form Cap Cities/ABC. The $3.5 billion merger was the 11th largest corporate merger in U.S. history. | Ref: 4 |
| Mar 25 | Edwin Meese III becomes US Attorney General. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 24 | There were a reported 832,602 millionaires in the United States on this day, according to researchers. The average millionaire was 57 years old. A majority (85 percent) held college degrees. 20 percent were retired and 70 percent were self-employed. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 25 | For the first time in 40 years, Smokey Bear went into hibernation. The symbol of the U.S. Forest Service was put aside for a public service announcement about an arson suspect being booked at the police station. Representatives of the Ad Council (the public service agency that produced these messages for radio and TV) wanted to keep his image “warm and fuzzy.” | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 26 | According to a poll in Money magazine, Baby Boomers, those in the 25-39 year-old age group, had more loans, fewer investments and, yet, were more optimistic than the general population. We have figured out the reason for the optimism: Parents. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 28 | The little town of Parker, TX, not far from Dallas, reported a 2-to-1 edge in the ratio of tourists to residents. Some of the good citizens of the town of just over 1,000 residents were not pleased, either. Some 2,100 tourists each day converged on the town to visit Southfork Ranch, the home of the Ewing family of the CBS-TV hit, Dallas. | Ref: 4 |
| May 01 | US President Reagan ends embargo against Nicaragua. | Ref: 5 |
| May 20 | US began broadcasts to Cuba on Radio Marti. | Ref: 5 |
| May 22 | GTE Corporation (General Telephone and Electronics) was named by Fortune magazine as the largest utility in the US In the same issue of Fortune, Sears was named as the nation’s largest retailer for the 21st year in a row. | Ref: 4 |
| Jun 24 | The wife of exiled Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn became a US citizen. Natalia Solzhenitsyn celebrated in her new home in Rutland, VT. | Ref: 4 |
| Jun 27 | The U.S. House of Representatives votes to limit the use of combat troops in Nicaragua. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 28 | A survey by the US Transportation Department indicated that 42 percent of drivers polled said that they drove faster than the legal 55 MPH speed limit. Three motorists out of four confessed to driving faster on the nation’s interstate highways. | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 04 | A crowd, estimated at one million, gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate the 209th anniversary of America’s independence. The Beach Boys were joined by Mr. T. on drums to really add some fireworks to the festivities. The Oak Ridge Boys, Joan Jett and Jimmy Page joined in the celebration (but wouldn’t let Mr. T. play ...) | Ref: 4 |
| Sep 08 | "USA Weekend's" first issue, appears in 255 newspapers. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 06 | Exploratory well at Ranger TX, explodes spilling 6.3 m gallons of oil. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 12 | Xavier Suarez was elected Miami's first Cuban-American mayor. | Ref: 70 |
| Nov 19 | President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met for the first time as they began their summit in Geneva. | Ref: 70 |
| Nov 22 | The largest swearing-in ceremony took place as 38,648 immigrants became citizens of the United States after six days of rallies around the country. Chrysler Corporation’s Lee Iacocca helped preside over the event. | Ref: 4 |
| Dec 04 | President Reagan appoints Vice Admiral John Poindexter as security adviser. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 10 | Bill to balance the federal budget passed by Congress. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 11 | The Gramm-Rudman bill to eliminate the federal deficit by 1991 was passed by Congress. President Reagan signed it the following day. The bill called on the president to impose automatic spending reductions if Congress did not meet each year's deficit ceiling. | |
| Dec 14 | US Foreign Minister George Shultz arrives in West Berlin. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 20 | Robert Penn Warren was designated Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry of the U.S. Library of Congress for 1986-1987. The library has used consultants since 1937, when Joseph Auslander was appointed the first Consultant in Poetry, but Robert Penn Warren was the first to be called Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. | Ref: 4 |
- 1986
| Jan 07 | US President Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 08 | President Reagan freezes Libyan assets in the US. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 11 | First black Lieutenant-Governor since reconstruction sworn in (Douglas Wilder of Virginia). | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 20 | The United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. | Ref: 70 |
| Jan 23 | U.S. begins maneuvers off the Libyan coast. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 19 | The US Senate approves a treaty outlawing genocide, 37 years after the pact had first been submitted for ratification. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 27 | The U.S. Senate approved telecasts of its debates on a trial basis. | Ref: 70 |
| Mar 18 | The U.S. Treasury Department announced that a clear, polyester thread was to be woven into bills in an effort to thwart counterfeiters. | Ref: 4 |
| Mar 24 | US & Libya clash in Gulf of Sidra. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 25 | President Ronald Reagan orders emergency aid for the Honduran army. U.S. helicopters take Honduran troops to the Nicaraguan border. | Ref: 2 |
| Mar 28 | The U.S. Senate passes $100 million aid package for the Nicaraguan contras. | Ref: 2 |
| Apr 01 | US sub Nathaniel Green runs aground in the Irish Sea. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 14 | Americans got first word of a US air raid on Libya (because of the time difference, it was the early morning of April 15th where the attack occurred.). | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 15 | The United States launches an air raid against Libya in response to the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in Berlin on April fifth; Libya says 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | Grand Floridian Beach Resort groundbreaking. | Ref: 5 |
| May 25 | An estimated seven million people participated in "Hands Across America," forming a line across the country to raise money for the nation's hungry and homeless. | Ref: 70 |
| May 27 | President Reagan orderes 2 Poseidon-class submarines be dismantled. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 02 | For the first time the public could watch proceedings of the US Senate on television as a six-week experiment of televised sessions began. (XDG, p 4A, 6/02/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| Jun 13 | Pres Reagan criticizes South African state of emergency. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 21 | Pres Reagan gives speech defending his judicial appointments. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 23 | Tip O'Neill refuses to let Reagan address House | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | Guy Hunt elected first Republican governor of Alabama in 112 years. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 24 | US Senate approves "tax reform". | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 25 | Congress approves $100 million in aid to the Contras fighting in Nicaragua. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 27 | The US House of Representatives votes to limit the use of combat troops in Nicaragua. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 27 | World Court rules US aid to Nicaraguan contras illegal. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 27 | US informs New Zealand it will not defend it against attack. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 28 | Kenneth & Nellie Pike challenge Ala Dem runoff win by AG C Graddick. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 03 | President Reagan presided over a gala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 05 | Nancy Reagan cuts red, white & blue ribbon; reopens Statue of Liberty | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 09 | The attorney general's Commission on Pornography released the final draft of its 2,000-page report, which linked hard-core porn to sex crimes. | Ref: 70 |
| Jul 22 | House of Reps impeaches Judge Harry E Claiborne on tax evasion. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 17 | Bronze pig statue unveiled at Seattle's Pike Place Market. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 20 | U.S. Census Bureau officials reports that the U.S. population stood at 240,468,000 and the median age reached an all-time high of 31-1/2 years. | Ref: 4 |
| Sep 22 | Congress approves the rose as America's national flower. | Ref: 10 |
| Sep 27 | Senate joins House of Reps voting for sweeping tax reforms. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 09 | Senate convicted US District Judge Harry E Claiborne making him the 5th federal official to be removed from office through impeachment. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened two days of talks concerning arms control and human rights in Reykjavik, Iceland. | Ref: 70 |
| Oct 16 | US govt closes down due to budget problems. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 17 | US Senate approved immigration bill prohibiting hiring of illegal aliens & offered amnesty to illegals who entered prior to 1982. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 22 | U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 on this day, but wrote his last name first. The signing, however, remains legal. | Ref: 4 |
| Nov 03 | A Lebanese magazine reports that the United States has been secretly selling arms to Iran in the hope of securing the release of American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon. President Reagan later admits he knew of the affair. | Ref: 3 |
| Nov 04 | Democrats gain control over the US Senate. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 06 | Reagan signs landmark immigration reform bill. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 13 | US violates Iran arms boycott. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 28 | Reagan administration exceeds SALT II arms limitations for first time. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 08 | House Democrats selected Jim Wright to be the chamber's 48th speaker, succeeding Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 29 | After eighteen years and $47 million expended, the restored Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, FL, reopened for business. | Ref: 4 |
| Dec 30 | US begins Military exercises in Honduras. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 31 | The State of Florida passed Illinois to become the fifth most populous state in the U.S. In the lead: California, New York, Texas, and Pennsylvania. | Ref: 4 |
- 1987
| Jan 05 | Ronald Reagan proposes first trillion dollar US budget | Ref: 17 |
| Jan 06 | 100th US Congress convenes. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 19 | Guy Hunt becomes Alabama's first Republican governor since 1874. | Ref: 5 |
| Jan 28 | US Foreign minister George Shultz meets ANC-leader Oliver Tambo. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 04 | President Reagan's veto of Clean Water Act is overridden by Congress. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 06 | No-smoking rules take effect in federal buildings. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 12 | A Court in Texas upholds $8.5 billion of a fine imposed on Texaco for the illegal takeover of Getty Oil. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 19 | New York Governor Mario Cuomo declares that he will not run for president in the next election. | Ref: 2 |
| Feb 19 | Reagan lifts trade boycott against Poland. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 20 | Poll released shows that of 1110 American adults asked 72% would prefer all out nuclear war to life under communist rule. Estimated error margin was 3% | Ref: 62 |
| Feb 27 | Donald Regan resigned as White House chief of staff. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 02 | Government officials reported that the median price for a new home had topped $100,000 for the first time. The new six-figure price: $110,700, actually, was up from $94,600. | Ref: 4 |
| Mar 18 | Gerber survey find most popular names for newborns (Jessica & Matthew). | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 22 | A barge carrying 32,00 tons of garbage, left Islip, N.Y., on a six-month journey in search of a place to unload. The barge was turned away by several states and three countries until space was found back in Islip. | Ref: 70 |
| Apr 02 | Speed limits in certain areas are raised to 65 MPH. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 12 | Texaco files for bankruptcy. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 16 | From the Here’s How Not to Be like Howard Stern file: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sternly warned U.S. radio stations to watch the use of indecent language on the airwaves. This was directed at shock jocks, like Stern, and those on your neighborhood radio station. Some stations, the FCC noted, had gone way beyond the seven dirty words made famous by comedian George Carlin in a routine from the early 1970s. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 17 | Richard Wilbur appointed as US poet laureate. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 23 | Business Week magazine announced its list of the highest paid executives in the U.S. Lee Iacocca of Chrysler Corporation topped the list, followed by Paul Fireman of Reebok International. | Ref: 4 |
| Aug 04 | The Federal Communications Commission votes 4-0 to rescind the Fairness Doctrine which requires radio and television stations to provide balanced coverage of controversial issues. (XDG, p 4A, 8/4/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Aug 23 | A Congressional panel says the MX missile has serious accuracy problems. | |
| Aug 26 | The Fuller Brush Company announced plans to open two retail stores in Dallas, TX. This was a first for the company that had sold its products door to door for 81 years. | Ref: 4 |
| Sep 17 | Philadelphia celebrates 200th anniversary of the Constitution. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 11 | 200,000 gays march for civil rights in Washington. | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 13 | First military use of trained dolphins (US Navy in Persian Gulf). | Ref: 5 |
| Oct 16 | A 58-and-a-half-hour drama in Midland, TX, ended happily as rescuers freed Jessica McClure, an 18-month-old girl trapped in an abandoned well. | Ref: 6 |
| Oct 19 | In retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf, the U. S. navy disables three of Iran's offshore oil platforms. | Ref: 2 |
| Nov 02 | William Steele Sessions took the oath of office as Director of the FBI. | Ref: 14 |
| Nov 04 | Death to America day in Iran | Ref: 62 |
| Nov 24 | The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to scrap shorter- and medium-range missiles in the first superpower treaty to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 02 | Chicago City Council elects Eugene Sawyer acting mayor. | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 07 | Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev sets foot on American soil for the first time, arriving for a Washington summit with President Reagan. | Ref: 5 |
- 1988
| Jan 02 | President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sign the final version of the US-Canadian trade accord. The pact provides for the elimination of tariffs on most goods within 10 years and creates a series of binational groups to regulate the accord. | Ref: 17 |
| Jan 20 | Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 03 | The U.S. House of Representatives rejected President Reagan's request for at least $36.25 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras. | Ref: 70 |
| Feb 04 | Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega indicted on drug charges. | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 05 | The Arizona House of Representatives impeaches Gov. Evan Mecham, setting the stage for his conviction in the state Senate. (TWA, 1989) | Ref: 95 |
| Feb 05 | A pair of indictments were unsealed in Florida accusing Panama's military leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega, of bribery and drug trafficking. | Ref: 70 |
| Feb 10 | 3-judge panel of 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco strikes down Army's ban on homosexuals (later overturned by appeal). | Ref: 5 |
| Feb 16 | First documented combat action by US military advisors in El Salvador. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 14 | A treaty to protect the earth's ozone shield was ratified by the Senate, 83-0. | Ref: 17 |
| Mar 16 | US sends 3000 soldiers to Nicaragua's neighbor Honduras. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 22 | Congress overrides Reagan's veto of sweeping civil rights bill. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 04 | Arizona governor Evan Meacham is convicted and removed from office. (TWA, 1989) | Ref: 95 |
| Apr 09 | US imposes economic sanctions on Panama. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 14 | USSR, US, Pakistan & Afghánistán sign Afghánistán treaty. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 20 | US accuses Renamo of killing 100,000 Mozambiquians. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 30 | General Manuel Noriega, waving a machete, vows at a rally to keep fighting the US efforts to oust him as Panama's military ruler. (XDG, p 4A, 4/30/2003) | Ref: 83 |
| May 29 | President Reagan began his first visit to the Soviet Union as he arrived in Moscow for a superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. | Ref: 70 |
| May 31 | President Ronald Reagan arrives in Moscow, the first American president to do so in 14 years. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 14 | ILLWIND, an FBI investigation into widespread corruption in Department of Defense procurement, led to indictments of government officials and private contractors for fraud and bribery in twelve states and the District of Columbia. | Ref: 14 |
| Jul 03 | The USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 passengers and crew. US President Ronald Reagan issues a statement to the world, and an apology to the Iranian people, “I am saddened to report that it appears that in a proper defensive action by the US Vincennes this morning in the Persian Gulf, an Iranian airliner was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz ... We greatly regret any loss of life ...” (290 died when the Vincennes fired upon Iran Air Flight 655, mistaking the plane for a hostile F-14 fighter plane.) | Ref: 4 |
| Jul 04 | US navy shoots down Iranian civilian jetliner over Gulf, kills 290. | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 22 | 500 US scientists pledge to boycott Pentagon germ-warfare research. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 04 | Hertz car rental will pay out $23 million in consumer fraud case. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 12 | Richard Thornburgh becomes US Attorney General. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 15 | The Great Basin National Park in Nevada is dedicated. | |
| Aug 15 | At 4PM LILCO (Long Island Lighting Company) consumers used a record 3,813 megawatts. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 18 | Largest house (130 rooms) on Long Island sold for $22 million. | Ref: 5 |
| Aug 31 | A 5-day power blackout of downtown Seattle begins. | Ref: 5 |
| Sep 27 | Senate votes for major federal tax code changes. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 03 | Reagan signs credit-card disclosure-bill. | Ref: 5 |
| Nov 18 | President Reagan signed legislation creating a Cabinet-level drug czar and providing the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 14 | U.S. agrees to talk with the PLO after Yassir Arafat meets U.S. requirements for talks | Ref: 5 |
| Dec 17 | USS Tennessee, the first sub to carry Trident 2 missiles, is commissioned. | Ref: 5 |
- 1989
| Jan 04 | US F-14s shoot down 2 Libyan jet fighters over Mediterranean. | Ref: 5 |
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| Feb 10 | Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first black to head a major U.S. political party. | Ref: 70 |
| Mar 15 | Department of Veterans Affairs officially established as a Cabinet position. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 21 | First sea test of Trident 2 missile self-destructs, Cape Canaveral. | Ref: 5 |
| Mar 24 | At four minutes past midnight, the Exxon Valdez, a 987-foot supertanker loaded with 1,264,155 barrels of North Slope crude oil, ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. 11.2 million gallons of oil spilled into the sea, mucking up nearly five hundred miles of shoreline. | Ref: 4 |
| Apr 15 | Then largest lottery in North America ($69 million) drawn in Illinois. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 19 | Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors. | Ref: 5 |
| Apr 26 | AT&T announces New Jersey's 201 area code will split into 908 & 201. | Ref: 5 |
| May 11 | President Bush orders nearly 2,000 troops to Panama. | Ref: 5 |
| May 15 | Maxwell House coffee runs ads during "Roe vs Wade" movie despite threat of boycott by right to lifers. | Ref: 5 |
| May 31 | House Speaker Jim Wright (Rep-D-TX), dogged by questions about his ethics, announced he would resign. (Thomas Foley later succeeded him.) | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 14 | Congressman William Gray, an African American, is elected Democratic Whip of the House of Representatives. | Ref: 2 |
| Jun 14 | Ground breaking begins in Minn on the world's largest mall. | Ref: 5 |
| Jun 30 | NY State Legislature passes Staten Island seccession bill | Ref: 5 |
| Jul 06 | The US Army destroys the last of its Pershing 1-A missles at an ammunition plant in Karnack TX under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty. (XDG, p 4A, 7/6/2000) | Ref: 83 |
| Jul 24 | Time Inc. merges with Warner Communications;Time Warner Inc. born 5:01 p.m. | Ref: 10 |
| Aug 30 | A federal jury in New York found "hotel queen" Leona Helmsley guilty of income tax evasion but acquitted her of extortion. (Helmsley served 18 months behind bars, a month at a halfway house and two months under house arrest.) | Ref: 70 |
| Sep 07 | The Senate approved, 76-to-8, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which forbade discrimination against the handicapped in employment, public accommodations, transportation and communications. | |
| Oct 19 | The Senate rejected a proposed constitutional amendment barring desecration of the American flag. | Ref: 6 |
| Oct 20 | The Senate votes to convict U.S. District Judge Alcee Hastings of eight articles of impeachment and remove him from office. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 03 | Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, in Malta, announce the offical end to the Cold War. | Ref: 2 |
| Dec 20 | The United States launched Operation "Just Cause," sending troops into Panama to topple the government of General Manuel Noriegaa and replace him with Guillermo Endara. | Ref: 70 |
| Dec 21 | US invades Panama and ousts General Noriega. | Ref: 5 |
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US History 1980 to 1989 Chronology