1982
Events
January
- January 6 - William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer".
- January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions
- January 11 - Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara during Paris-Dakar rally. He is rescued January 14
- January 13 - Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 crashes into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78.
- January 26 - Mauno Koivisto elected the President of Finland
- January 28 - James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.
February
- February 1 - Senegal and Gambia form a loose confederation.
- February 2 - Hama Massacre begins in Syria
- February 5 - Laker Airways collapses leaving 6000 passengers stranded and with debts of £270 million
- February 15 - The oil platform Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers
- February 17 - Adriano Leite Ribeiro is born in Rio de Janeiro
- February 19 - The DeLorean Car factory in Belfast is put into receivership
- February 23 - The Spanish Socialist government of Felipe González and Miguel Boyer nationalizes Rumasa, a holding of José María Ruiz Mateos.
March
- March 1 - Jimmy Page's soundtrack album Death Wish II is released by Swan Song Records
- March 10 - The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports, alleging Libyan support of terrorist groups.
- March 10 - Syzygy: all 9 planets align on the same side of the Sun.
- March 18 - An Argentinean scrap metal dealer raises the Argentinean flag in South Georgia
- March 19 - Falklands War: Argentines land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war.
- March 26 - A ground breaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, DC
- March 29 - Royal Assent in London to the Canada Act 1982 sets the stage for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution (see April 17 below).
April
- April 2 - Falklands War: Argentina invades the British-owned Falkland Islands.
- April 17 - By Proclamation of the Queen of Canada on Parliament Hill, Canada repatriates its constitution granting full political independence from the United Kingdom; included is the country's first entrenched bill of rights called the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- April 23 - Mayor of Key West, Florida, Dennis Wardlow, declares independent Conch republic for a day
- April 25 - Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula per the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
May
- May 1 - Falklands War: A Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber takes off from Ascension Island and bombs Port Stanley Airport.
- May 2 - Falklands War: Nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano.
- May 2 - The Weather Channel goes on the air.
- May 12 - Spanish priest Juan Hernandes tries to stab the Pope with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the Fatima shrine
- May 14 - Conan The Barbarian is released, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
- May 21 - Falklands War: Royal Marines and paratroopers from the British Task Force land at San Carlos Bay on the Falkland Islands and raise the Union Jack.
- May 24 - Iranian troops retake Khorramshar
- May 26 - Kielder Water, artificial lake in Northumbria, opened
- May 28 - Release of Rocky III starring, written, and directed by Sylvester Stallone
- May 28 – British troops reach Darwin in the Falkland Islands
- May 29 - Falklands War: In the Battle of Goose Green, British Paratroopers defeat a larger force of Argentine troops in the first land battle of the war.
- May 30 - Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and the first nation to enter the alliance since West Germany's admission in 1955
- May 31 – Battle of Port Stanley in the Falklands
June
- June 2- First bomb later attributed to Unabomber injures professor Diogenes Angelokos in the University of Berkeley in California
- June 6 - 1982 Lebanon War begins: Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon in their "Operation Peace for the Galilee," eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
- June 6 – United Nations Security Council votes to demand that Israel withdraw its troops from Lebanon
- June 11 - Release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial directed by Steven Spielberg
- June 12 - 750,000 people rally against nuclear weapons in New York City's Central Park. Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Linda Ronstadt are in attendance
- June 13 - In Alberta, Canada 15 members of the Black Leopards Karate Club demolish a house with bare hands and feet with owener's consent
- June 13 - Fahd becomes King of Saudi Arabia upon the death of his brother, Khalid.
- June 14 - Falklands War ends: British forces reach the outskirts of Port Stanley after "yomping" across East Falkland from San Carlos Bay. They arrive to find the Argentine forces flying white flags of surrender. A formal surrender is agreed that day.
- June 17 - The body of "God's Banker", Roberto Calvi is found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London.
- June 18 - Release of Firefox starring and directed by Clint Eastwood
- June 25 - Release of Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford
July
- July 1 - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon marries 4,150 of his followers at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
- July 2 - Larry Walters uses 45 helium balloons and a lawnchair to propel himself to 16,000 feet.
- July 9 - A Boeing 727 carrying Pan Am flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana killing all 146 on board and eight on the ground
- July 9 - An intruder Michael Fagan visits the Queen in her bedroom for a chat
- July 11 - The Italy soccer team wins its third FIFA Football World Cup against West Germany.
- July 16 - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $25,000 for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- July 20 - The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding 47 people, and leading to the deaths of 7 horses.
- July 21- HMS Hermes, the Royal Navy flagship during the Falklands War, returns home to Portsmouth to a hero's welcome.
- July 23 - The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
August
- August 4 - United Nations Security Council votes to censure Israel because its troops are still in Lebanon
- August 12 - A Japan Airlines passenger plane crashes near Tokyo - 520 dead
- August 18 - Wang Laboratories files for bankruptcy
- August 20 - Lebanese Civil War: A multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the PLO withdrawal from Lebanon. French troops arrive August 21, US marines August 25
September
- September 14 - Bomb kills President-elect of Lebanon, Bashir Gemayel. His brother is elected president on September 23
- September 15 - Princess Grace of Monaco dies from injuries sustained in a car crash the previous day
- September 18 - Lebanese Christian Militia kill hundreds in the Palestinians in Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in West Beirut
- September 25 - 400,000 march in Israel demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Menachem Begin
- September 29–October 1 - The Tylenol scare is sparked after seven people in the Chicago area die after ingesting capsules laced with potassium cyanide
October
- October 1 - Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany through a Constructive Vote of No Confidence.
- October 8 - Poland bans Solidarity
- October 11 - The Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII of England that sank in 1545 is raised
- October 11 - Building of Itaipu Dam begins
- October 19 - John De Lorean is arrested for selling cocaine for undercover FBI agents. He was later found "not guilty", due to entrapment.
- October 22 - First Blood is the first Rambo film to be released, starring Sylvester Stallone
- October 23 – Bomb explodes in the barracks at Beirut International Airport – 241 US Marines dead
- October 28 - The Socialist Party win the election in Spain - Felipe Gonzales is elected Prime Minister
November
- November 2 - Channel 4 launches - the first show aired was Countdown with Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman
- November 3 - A Gasoline tanker explodes in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, killing 2,000+ people.
- November 7 - The first public demonstration of the Thames Barrier
- November 12 - In the Soviet Union, former KGB head Yuri Andropov is selected to become the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Leonid I. Brezhnev.
- November 13 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington D.C. after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans.
- November 14 - The leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa, is released from 11 months of internment near the Soviet border
- November 28 - Representatives from 88 countries gather in Geneva to discuss world trade and ways to work toward aspects of free trade
- November 29 - Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: The United Nations General Assembly passes United Nations Resolution 37/37, stating that the Soviet Union forces should withdraw from Afghanistan.
December
- December 2 - At the University of Utah, 61-year-old retired dentist Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart (he lived for 112 days with the device)
- December 3 - A final soil sample is taken from the site of Times Beach, Missouri. It was found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
- December 4 - The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution.
- December 12 - Women's peace protest at Greenham Common - 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 km perimeter fence
- December 17 - Release of Tootsie starring Dustin Hoffman
- December 17 - IRA's Harrods bomb kills 5 and injures 80
- December 23 - The Environmental Protection Agency recommends the evacuation of Times Beach, Missouri due to dangerous levels of dioxin contamination.
- December 26 - Time Magazine's Man of the Year was for the first time given to a non-human, a computer.
unknown dates
- The Vietnam Memorial is built in Washington D.C.
- First computer virus, written by Rich Skrenta, escapes into the wild.
- Falklands War takes place from Friday, April 2 to Sunday, June 20.
- A brief but severe recession begins in the United States.
- Seattle officially dubbed the Emerald City after a contest held to choose a new city slogan.
- George Stigler wins The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
- Eric Dammann / Future in Our Hands, Anwar Fazal / Consumer Interpol, Petra Kelly, Participatory Institute for Development Alternatives (PIDA) and Sir George Trevelyan / Wrekin Trust win the Right Livelihood Award.
Year in topic
- 1982 in film
- Monday, January 11, 1982 - Production begins on the Star Wars sequel, Return of the Jedi.
- Friday, May 14, 1982 - Conan The Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Friday, May 28, 1982 - Rocky III Directed and written by Sylvester Stallone
- Friday, June 11, 1982 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Steven Spielberg
- Friday, June 18, 1982 - Firefox starring and directed by Clint Eastwood
- Friday, June 25, 1982 - Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford
- Friday, October 22, 1982 - Rambo: First Blood starring Sylvester Stallone
- Friday, December 17, 1982 - Tootsie starring Dustin Hoffman
- Gandhi
- The THX Sound System is developed for use in movie theaters.
- 1982 in literature
- 1982 in music
- 1982 in sports
- Sunday, January 24, 1982 - Super Bowl XVI San Francisco 49ers (26) def. Cincinnati Bengals (21)
- Tuesday, July 13, 1982 - Montreal hosts the first baseball All-Star Game outside the United States.
- Commonwealth Games is held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
- Italy wins Football World Cup in Spain.
- Sunday, May 30, 1982 - Baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr plays the first of 2,632 consecutive games. His streak would finish Wednesday, September 20, 2000.
- Friday, June 11, 1982 - After a racially filled build up, the WBC world Heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, a Black, defeats challenger Gerry Cooney, a White, by a knockout in round 13 at Las Vegas to retain the world championship.
- Friday, November 12, 1982 - The Battle of The Champions, Aaron Pryor defeats Alexis Arguello in boxing contest at the Orange Bowl.
- Saturday, November 13, 1982 - Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim in a Lightweight championship bout that forever changes the landscape of boxing.
- Friday, December 3, 1982 - Carnival of Champions, Wilfredo Gomez defeats Lupe Pintor in grueling 14 round bout to retain his world Jr Featherweight title and Thomas Hearns beats Wilfredo Benitez in 15 rounds in historic New Orleans boxing card.
- 1982 in television
- Cheers and Family Ties debut on NBC.
- Tuesday, February 2, 1982 - Late Night with David Letterman debuts on NBC at 12:30 A.M. after The Tonight Show.
- Wednesday, July 28, 1982 - Comedian Andy Kaufman and professional wrestler Jerry Lawler get into a fight on-air during an interview on the Late Night with David Letterman show. (The event was later revealed to be a hoax.)
- Surround Sound is introduced for home use by Dolby.
Births
- January 1 - David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
- January 3 - Eli Manning, American football quarterback
- January 3 - Lauren Pope, English model
- January 5 - Janica Kostelic, Croatian alpine skier
- January 12 - Dontrelle Willis, baseball pitcher
- January 13 - Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
- January 17 - Dwyane Wade, NBA basketball player
- January 19 - Jodie Sweetin, actress
- February 22 - Jenna Haze, erotic actress.
- March 2 - Ben Roethlisberger, American football quarterback
- April 8 - Judy Star, pornographic film actress
- April 30 - Kirsten Dunst, actress
- May 9 - Rachel Boston, actress, former Miss Teen Tennessee (Miss Teen USA pageant)
- May 17 - Tony Parker, French NBA player
- June 1 - Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgian tennis player
- June 8 - Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
- June 10 - Tara Lipinski, figure skater
- June 11 - Diana Taurasi, WNBA player
- June 21 - Prince William of Wales
- July 18 - Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress, Miss World 2000
- August 2 - Hélder Postiga, football player
- August 28 - LeAnn Rimes, singer
- August 30 - Andy Roddick, US tennis player
- September 13 - Nenê, Brazilian NBA player
- September 22 - Billie Piper, singer turned actress
- October 13 - Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
- November 3 - Evgeni Plushenko, figure skater
- November 5 - Jeremy Lelliott, actor
- November 29 - Ashley Force, NHRA drag racer
- November 30 - Elisha Cuthbert, actress
Deaths
- January 30 - Lightning Hopkins, blues musician
- February 5 - Neil Aggett, South African worker's union leader, (suicide)
- February 11 - Eleanor Powell, tap dancer ex-wife of Glenn Ford
- February 11 - Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor
- February 12 - Victor Jory, actor
- February 17 - Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist
- February 17 - Lee Strasberg, acting teacher, actor
- March 2 - Philip K. Dick, science fiction author
- March 5 - John Belushi, actor
- March 6 - Ayn Rand, author
- March 19 - Randy Rhoads, guitarist
- April 5 - Abe Fortas, jurist
- April 15 - Arthur Lowe, British actor
- May 1 - William Primrose, Scottish violist (b. 1903)
- May 8 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian Formula One race car driver (killed in racing accident)
- May 29 - Romy Schneider, actress (of cardiac arrest)
- June 2 - Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician
- June 8 - Satchel Paige, baseball player
- June 18 - Curt Jurgens, Austrian actor
- July 6 - Bob Johnson ("Indian Bob"), Major League Baseball player (b. 1905)
- July 29 - Vladimir Zworykin, Russian born inventor of television
- August 12 - Salvador Sanchez, world champion boxer
- August 21 - Sobhuza II of Swaziland
- August 23 - Alfred S. Bloomingdale, department store heir
- September 11 - Wilfredo Lam, Cuban artist
- September 14 - Grace Patricia Kelly, former United States actress and Princess of Monaco.
- September 29 - Monty Stratton, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1912)
- October 4 - Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist (b. 1932)
- November 4 - Dominique Dunne, actress (Poltergeist) (b. 1959)
- November 10 - Leonid Brezhnev, premier of the Soviet Union
- November 15 - Vinoba Bhave
- November 29 - Percy Williams, Canadian athlete
- December 9 - Leon Jaworski, Watergate special prosecutor
- December 16 - Colin Chapman, engineer, founder of Lotus Cars (b. 1928)
- December 20 - Artur Rubinstein, Polish pianist (b. 1887)
- December 24 - Louis Aragon, French writer (b. 1897)