Top News Stories from 1983
World Events
World Statistics
Population: 4.378 billion
population by decade Nobel Peace Prize: Lech Walesa (Poland)
More World Statistics... - Pope John Paul II signs new Roman Catholic code incorporating changes brought about by Second Vatican Council (Jan. 25).
- Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., 50, political rival of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in Manila (Aug. 21).
- South Korean Boeing 747 jetliner bound for Seoul apparently strays into Soviet airspace and is shot down by a Soviet SU-15 fighter after it had tracked the airliner for two hours; all 269 aboard are killed. (Aug. 30).
- Terrorist explosion kills 237 US Marines in Beirut (Oct. 23).
- US invades Grenada (Oct. 25).
U.S. Events
U.S. Statistics
President: Ronald W. Reagan
Vice President: George Bush
Population: 233,791,994
Life expectancy: 74.6 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 51.8
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000) 46.4
More U.S. Statistics... - Second space shuttle, Challenger, makes successful maiden voyage, which includes the first US space walk in nine years (April 4).
- US Supreme Court declares many local abortion restrictions unconstitutional (June 15).
- Sally K. Ride, 32, first US woman astronaut in space as a crew member aboard space shuttle Challenger (June 18).
- US admits shielding former Nazi Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie, 69, the "butcher of Lyon," wanted in France for war crimes (Aug. 15).
Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $3,514.50 billion
Federal spending: $808.38 billion
Federal debt $1371.7 billion
Consumer Price Index: $99.6
Unemployment: 9.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.20
Sports
Super Bowl
Washington d. MiamiWorld Series
Baltimore d. Philadelphia Phillies (4-1)NBA Championship
Philadelphia 76ers d. LA LakersStanley Cup
NY Islanders d. EdmontonWimbledon
Women: Martina Navratilova d. A. Jaeger (6-0 6-3)Men: John McEnroe d. C. Lewis (6-2 6-2 6-2)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Sunny's HaloNCAA Basketball Championship
N.C. State d. HoustonNCAA Football Champions
Miami-FL (11-1-0)Entertainment
Entertainment Awards
Pulitzer Prizes Fiction:
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Music: Three Movements for Orchestra, Ellen T. Zwilich
Drama: 'Night, Mother, Marsha Norman
Academy Award, Best Picture: Gandhi, Richard Attenborough, producer (Columbia)
Nobel Prize for Literature: William Golding (UK)
Record of the Year: "Rosanna," Toto
Album of the Year: Toto IV, Toto (Columbia)
Song of the Year: "Always on My Mind," Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, songwriters
Miss America: Debra Maffett (CA)
More Entertainment Awards... Events
- With the introduction of noise-free compact discs, the vinyl record begins a steep decline.
- Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy wins the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and Tony Award for best play, marking the acceptance of gay theater.
- Singer Karen Carpenter dies of complications from anorexia nervosa at age 32.
- More than 125 million viewers tune in to the last episode of M*A*S*H.
Movies
- The Big Chill, Terms of Endearment, Fanny & Alexander, The Right Stuff
Books
- J.M. Coetzee, Life & Times of Michael K
- William Kennedy, Ironweed
Science
Nobel Prizes in Science
Chemistry: Henry Taube (US), for research on how electrons transfer between molecules in chemical reactions
Physics: Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar and William A. Fowler (both US), for complementary research on processes involved in the evolution of stars
Physiology or Medicine: Barbara McClintock (US), for her discovery of mobile genes in the chromosomes of a plant that change the future generations of plants they produce
More Nobel Prizes in 1998... - "Crack" cocaine is developed in the Bahamas, and soon appears in the United States. Background: Nationwide Trends in Drug Abuse
- The FCC authorizes Motorola to begin testing cellular phone service in Chicago.
- The El Niño phenomenon disrupts global weather patterns. Background: What's Wrong With Our Weather?
