1980s

The 1980s was the decade that started on January 1, 1980 and ended on December 31, 1989.
This decade (group of ten years) is sometimes called the "Greed decade" in English speaking countries. Unlike the 1960s and 1970s, this is when the word yuppie was used to describe "young urban professionals" - young adults who lived in cities and started to get good jobs. This was also the rise of a more conservative period in these countries - Ronald Reagan was president for most of this time in the United States, Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Brian Mulroney was Prime Minister of Canada.
This decade also saw the Soviet Union fight a war that seemed endless in Afghanistan, civil war in Ethiopia, and the fall of the Berlin Wall which started the end of the Cold War and of Communism in Eastern Europe.
The "eighties" are also well known for their extreme fashions, such as "big hair", New Wave, punk rock, funk, or preppies. Rap music first started to get big in the 80s, and often went with breakdancing in what is now called the "old school" days. Many developments were also made in computer technology during these years, and video games became popular.
In sports, Italy and Argentina won the FIFA World Cup. The Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics won the World Series. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Raiders, Chicago Bears and New York Giants won the Super Bowl. Finally, the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the NBA, with only the Houston Rockets winning a title.
Important events
1980 - 1988 - Iran-Iraq War
Solidarity movement in Poland.
Glasnost and Perestroika reforms in the Soviet Union.
1981 - AIDS is discovered for the first time.
1981 - Assassination attempts are made on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.
1982 - Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom.
1979 - 1989 - Soviet-Afghan War
1984 - Sikh Genocide
1986 - Prime Minister Olof Palme is assassinated
1986 - The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes.
1986 - End of Marcos regime in the Philippines
1986 - The Chernobyl accident happens in Ukraine because of a test that went wrong. It is the second-largest known nuclear accident, after the Mayak accident in 1957. It is also one of the biggest disasters for the environment. Many people died.
1987 - President Ronald Reagan travels to Berlin to deliver his "Tear down this wall!" speech.
1989 - Japanese Emperor Hirohito dies.
1989 - Tiananmen Square massacre
1989 - The Berlin Wall is torn down.
Important people
Pope John Paul II, Pope in the 1980s
Elizabeth II, British queen since 1952
Hirohito, Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989
Akihito, Emperor of Japan since 1989
Kim Il-Sung, dictator of North Korea
Bhumibol Adulyadej, king of Thailand
Deng Xiaoping, leader in China from 1978 to 1990
Jimmy Carter, President of the United States from 1977 to 1981
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 to 1989
George H.W. Bush, President of the United States from 1989 to 1993, vice-president of the United States from 1981 to 1989
Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990
Helmut Schmidt, German chancellor until 1982
Helmut Kohl, German chancellor from 1982 to 1998
Francois Mitterrand, French President from 1981 to 1995
Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq
Muammar al-Gaddafi, Libyan dictator
Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
Yitzhak Shamir, Prime minister of Israel
Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian actor
Sylvester Stallone, American actor
Michael Jordan, American basketball-player
Tom Cruise, American actor
Eddie Murphy, American actor
Duran Duran, English band
Eurythmics, music band
Prince, American singer
Madonna, American singer
Michael Jackson, American singer
Bob Geldof, musician and fundraiser
Iron Maiden, British heavy metal band
N.W.A, hip hop group
Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines
Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines
Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India until 1984
Rajiv Gandhi, prime minister of India from 1984 until 1989
Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba
Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator
Jorge Rafael Videla, dictator of Argentina until 1981
Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina from 1981 to 1982
Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanian dictator until 1989
Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish communist leader
Lech Walesa, leader of Polish Solidarity movement
Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of Iran
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last chairman of the communist party of the Soviet Union.
Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, from Arizona.
Terry Fox, running across most of Canada in his Marathon of Hope.
Hulk Hogan, American pro-wrestler and actor
Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple Inc.