1983

Events from the year **1983 in the United States**.

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: Fob James (Democratic) (until January 17), George Wallace (Democratic) (starting January 17)
* Governor of Alaska: Bill Sheffield (Democratic)
* Governor of Arizona: Bruce Babbitt (Democratic)
* Governor of Arkansas: Frank D. White (Republican) (until January 11), Bill Clinton (Democratic) (starting January 11)
* Governor of California: Jerry Brown (Democratic) (until January 3), George Deukmejian (Republican) (starting January 3)
* Governor of Colorado: Richard Lamm (Democratic)
* Governor of Connecticut: William A. O'Neill (Democratic)
* Governor of Delaware: Pierre S. du Pont IV (Republican)
* Governor of Florida: Bob Graham (Democratic)
* Governor of Georgia: George Busbee (Democratic) (until January 11), Joe Frank Harris (Democratic) (starting January 11)
* Governor of Hawaii: George Ariyoshi (Democratic)
* Governor of Idaho: John V. Evans (Democratic)
* Governor of Illinois: James R. Thompson (Republican)
* Governor of Indiana: Robert D. Orr (Republican)
* Governor of Iowa: Robert D. Ray (Republican) (until January 14), Terry E. Branstad (Republican) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Kansas: John W. Carlin (Democratic)
* Governor of Kentucky: John Y. Brown Jr. (Democratic) (until December 13), Martha Layne Collins (Democratic) (starting December 13)
* Governor of Louisiana: David C. Treen (Republican)
* Governor of Maine: Joseph E. Brennan (Democratic)
* Governor of Maryland: Harry R. Hughes (Democratic)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Edward J. King (Democratic) (until January 6), Michael Dukakis (Democratic) (starting January 6)
* Governor of Michigan: William Milliken (Republican) (until January 1), James Blanchard (Democratic) (starting January 1)
* Governor of Minnesota: Al Quie (Republican) (until January 3), Rudy Perpich (Democratic) (starting January 3)
* Governor of Mississippi: William Winter (Democratic)
* Governor of Missouri: Kit Bond (Republican)
* Governor of Montana: Ted Schwinden (Democratic)
* Governor of Nebraska: Charles Thone (Republican) (until January 6), Bob Kerrey (Democratic) (starting January 6)
* Governor of Nevada: Robert List (Republican) (until January 3), Richard Bryan (Democratic) (starting January 3)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Vesta M. Roy (Republican) (until January 6), John H. Sununu (Republican) (starting January 6)
* Governor of New Jersey: Thomas Kean (Republican)
* Governor of New Mexico: Bruce King (Democratic) (until January 1), Toney Anaya (Democratic) (starting January 1)
* Governor of New York: Mario Cuomo (Democratic)
* Governor of North Carolina: Jim Hunt (Democratic)
* Governor of North Dakota: Allen I. Olson (Republican)
* Governor of Ohio: Jim Rhodes (Republican) (until January 10), Dick Celeste (Democratic) (starting January 10)
* Governor of Oklahoma: George Nigh (Democratic)
* Governor of Oregon: Victor G. Atiyeh (Republican)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: Dick Thornburgh (Republican)
* Governor of Rhode Island: J. Joseph Garrahy (Democratic)
* Governor of South Carolina: Richard Riley (Democratic)
* Governor of South Dakota: William J. Janklow (Republican)
* Governor of Tennessee: Lamar Alexander (Republican)
* Governor of Texas: Bill Clements (Republican) (until January 18), Mark White (Democratic) (starting January 18)
* Governor of Utah: Scott M. Matheson (Democratic)
* Governor of Vermont: Richard A. Snelling (Republican)
* Governor of Virginia: Chuck Robb (Democratic)
* Governor of Washington: John Spellman (Republican)
* Governor of West Virginia: Jay Rockefeller (Democratic)
* Governor of Wisconsin: Lee S. Dreyfus (Republican) (until January 3), Tony Earl (Democratic) (starting January 3)
* Governor of Wyoming: Edgar J. Herschler (Democratic)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: George McMillan (Democratic) (until January 17), Bill Baxley (Democratic) (starting January 17)
* Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Stephen McAlpine (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winston Bryant (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: Mike Curb (Republican) (until January 3), Leo T. McCarthy (Democratic) (starting January 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Nancy E. Dick (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Joseph J. Fauliso (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Michael N. Castle (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Wayne Mixson (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Zell Miller (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: John D. Waihee III (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Phil Batt (Democratic) (until January 3), David H. Leroy (Republican) (starting January 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: vacant (until January 10), George H. Ryan (Republican) (starting January 10)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: John Mutz (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Terry E. Branstad (Republican) (until January 14), Robert T. Anderson (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Paul V. Dugan (Democratic) (until January 10), Thomas R. Docking (Democratic) (starting January 10)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Martha Layne Collins (Democratic) (until December 13), Steve Beshear (Democratic) (starting December 13)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Bobby Freeman (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: vacant (until January 19), J. Joseph Curran (Democratic) (starting January 19)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Thomas P. O'Neill III (Democratic) (until March 6), John Kerry (Democratic) (starting March 6)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: vacant (until January 1), Martha W. Griffiths (Democratic) (starting January 1)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Lou Wangberg (Republican) (until January 3), Marlene Johnson (Democratic) (starting January 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Brad Dye (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Kenneth Rothman (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: George Turman (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Roland A. Luedtke (Republican) (until January 6), Donald F. McGinley (Democratic) (starting January 6)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Myron E. Leavitt (Democratic) (until January 3), Bob Cashell (Democratic) (starting January 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Roberto Mondragón (Democratic) (until January 1), Mike Runnels (Democratic) (starting January 1)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Alfred DelBello (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: James C. Green (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Ernest Sands (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: vacant (until January 10), Myrl H. Shoemaker (Democratic) (starting January 10)
* Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Spencer Bernard (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: William Scranton III (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Thomas R. DiLuglio (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Nancy Stevenson (Democratic) (until January 12), Michael R. Daniel (Democratic) (starting January 12)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Lowell C. Hansen II (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Texas: William P. Hobby Jr. (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Utah: David Smith Monson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Madeleine M. Kunin (Democratic) (until January 10), Peter Plympton Smith (Republican) (starting January 10)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Richard Joseph Davis (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: John Cherberg (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Russell A. Olson (Republican) (until January 3), James Flynn (Democratic) (starting January 3)

## Events

### January

* January 1 – The New Jersey Transit Police Department is created in the state of New Jersey.
* January 2 – The musical *Annie* is performed for the last time after 2,377 shows at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway, New York City.
* January 3 – Kilauea begins slowly erupting on the Big Island of Hawaii. On December 5, 2018, after 90 days of inactivity from the volcano, the eruption that started in 1983 was declared to be over.
* January 18 – The International Olympic Committee restores Native American athlete Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family.
* January 19 – Apple Inc. releases the Apple Lisa personal computer.
* January 26 – Lotus 1-2-3 is released for IBM-PC compatible computers.
* January 30 – Super Bowl XVII: The Washington Redskins defeat the Miami Dolphins 27–17 at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

### February

* February 18 – Wah Mee massacre: 13 people are killed in an attempted robbery in Seattle, Washington.
* February 23
	+ The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intention to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
	+ Failure of automatic shut-down at Salem Nuclear Power Plant, New Jersey, USA.
* February 24 – A special commission of the Congress of the United States releases a report critical of the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.
* February 28 – The final episode of *M\*A\*S\*H* airs, setting a new record for most-watched television broadcast in American history.

### March

* March 3 – Musician/TV host Peter Ivers is fatally bludgeoned by an intruder in his Los Angeles apartment. The perpetrator is never identified.
* March 8 – IBM releases the IBM PC XT.
* March 9 – Anne Burford resigns as head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency amid scandal.
* March 22 – Judith Neelley is convicted of the kidnap and murder of 13-year-old Lisa Millican in Georgia and sentenced to death. Her sentence is later reduced to life imprisonment.
* March 23 – Strategic Defense Initiative: U.S. President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles. The media dub this plan "Star Wars".
* March 25
	+ Motown celebrates its 25th anniversary with the television special *Motown 25: Yesterday*, *Today, Forever*, during which Michael Jackson performs *Billie Jean* and introduces the moonwalk.
	+ Rob Lowe's film *The Outsiders* is released.

### April

* April 11 – The 55th Academy Awards, hosted by Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor and Walter Matthau, are held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Richard Attenborough's *Gandhi* receives 11 nominations and wins eight awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Louis Gossett Jr. also becomes the first African-American actor to win Best Supporting Actor for his role in *An Officer and a Gentleman*.
* April 18
	+ The April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut kills 63 people.
	+ The Disney Channel is initiated on American cable TV.
* April 25 – Manchester, Maine schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov, after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.

### May

* May 2 – The 6.2 Mw Coalinga earthquake shakes central California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (*Severe*), causing 94 injuries and $10 million in losses.
* May 17 – Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
* May 22 – In the 1983 NBA Finals ("Showdown '83") the championship round of the 1982–83 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 4–0. This is the last NBA Championship Series completed before June 1. Finals MVP, Moses Malone (Philadelphia 76ers).
* May 25
	+ National Missing Children's Day is proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan, exactly four years after Etan Patz's disappearance.
	+ *Return of the Jedi* is released in theatres.
* May 27 – Benton fireworks disaster: A powerful explosion at an unlicensed fireworks factory in Benton, Tennessee kills 11 and injures one.
* May 28 – The 9th G7 summit begins in Williamsburg, Virginia.
* May 29
	+ Tom Sneva wins the Indianapolis 500 motor race
	+ Neil Bonnett wins the 24th running of the world 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
* May 31 – The Philadelphia 76ers defeat the LA Lakers to sweep the NBA championship in four games.

### June

* June 1 – Throughout the local summer, many Midwestern American states are affected by a severe drought that causes water shortages.
* June 4 – Fugitive tax protester Gordon Kahl, who has been on the run for four months, is killed in a shootout with police in Smithville, Arkansas, along with a local sheriff.
* June 13 – *Pioneer 10* becomes the first man-made object to leave the Solar System.
* June 16 – Cork Graham is caught off the Vietnamese island of Phú Quốc looking for treasure buried by Captain Kidd. He is convicted and imprisoned until 1984 for illegal entry.
* June 18 – STS-7: Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space, on the Space Shuttle *Challenger*.

### July

* July 7 – Samantha Smith flies to the Soviet Union.
* July 23 – Diana Ross's concert at The Great Lawn of New York City's Central Park, attended by 800,000 fans, is cut short by a massive lightning storm.
* July 25 – The world's first dedicated hospital ward for HIV/AIDS patients opens at San Francisco General Hospital.

### August

* August 1 – America West Airlines begins operations out of Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.
* August 18 – Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 and causing over US$3.8 billion (2005 dollars) in damage.
* August 24 – The Philadelphia Arena is destroyed by arson.
* August 30 – STS-8: Space Shuttle *Challenger* carries Guion S. Bluford, the first African-American astronaut, into space.

### September

* September 1 – Cold War: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed, including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald.
* September 5 – Tom Brokaw becomes lead anchor for *NBC Nightly News*.
* September 15 – Huey Lewis and the News's album Sports is released.
* September 16 – President Ronald Reagan announces that the Global Positioning System (GPS) will be made available for civilian use.
* September 17 – Vanessa Lynn Williams becomes the first African-American to be crowned Miss America, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
* September 18 – U.S. heavy metal band Kiss officially appears in public without makeup for the first time on MTV.

### October

* October 4
	+ Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph, driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
	+ The first Hooters restaurant opens in Clearwater, Florida.
* October 16 – World Series: The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5–0 in Game 5, to win the series 4 games to 1 for their 3rd World Championship.
* October 23 – Simultaneous suicide truck-bombings destroy both the French and the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen, 58 French paratroopers and 6 Lebanese civilians.
* October 25
	+ United States troops invade Grenada at the behest of Eugenia Charles of Dominica, a member of the Organization of American States.
	+ Microsoft Word is first released.
* October 28 – The 6.9 Mw Borah Peak earthquake shook central Idaho with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (*Violent*), causing two deaths, three injuries, and $12.5 million in losses.

### November

* November 2
	+ Martin Luther King Jr. Day: At the White House Rose Garden, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating a federal holiday on the third Monday of every January to honor American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. It is first observed in 1986.
	+ Chrysler introduces the Dodge Caravan, the first "minivan".
* November 3 – The Reverend Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy for the 1984 Democratic Party presidential nomination.
* November 7 – 1983 U.S. Senate bombing A bomb explodes in the United States Senate with the intent to kill Republican senators however nobody was killed. The perpetrators were part of the May 19th Communist Organization.
* November 10
	+ The anticancer drug etoposide is approved by the FDA, leading to a curative treatment regime in the field of combination chemotherapy of testicular carcinoma.
	+ *Star 80* released: A film about the true story of *Playboy* Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider on August 14, 1980.
* November 11 – Ronald Reagan becomes the first U.S. President to address the Diet, Japan's national legislature.
* November 13 – The first United States cruise missiles arrive at Greenham Common Airbase in England amid protests from peace campaigners.
* November 14 – The immunosuppressant cyclosporine is approved by the FDA, leading to a revolution in the field of transplantation.
* November 16 – A jury in Gretna, Louisiana acquits Ginny Foat of the murder of Argentine businessman Moses Chaiyo.
* November 18 – *A Christmas Story* is released.

### December

* December 2 – Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time. It becomes the most often repeated and famous music video of all time, increasing his own popularity and record sales of the album *Thriller*.
* December 4 – Lt. Bobby Goodman of the United States Navy is shot down over Lebanon and captured by the Syrians.
* December 13 – The Denver Nuggets and the visiting Detroit Pistons combine for an NBA record 370 points, with Detroit winning in triple overtime, 186–184.
* December 24 – Miles City, Montana sets the record for the highest mean sea level pressure in the contiguous U.S. with a reading of 31.42 inHg (1064 mb).
* December 27 – A propane explosion in Buffalo, New York kills five firefighters and two civilians.
* December 29 – The Reverend Jesse Jackson travels to Syria to secure the release of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman, who had been in Syrian captivity since being shot down over the country during a reconnaissance mission.
* December 31 – The Apple Macintosh television advertisement is released.

## Sport

* May 14 – Portland Winter Hawks become the First American team to win the Memorial Cup by defeating the Oshawa Generals 8 to 3. The Final game is played at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

## Memoriam

* January 8
	+ Tom McCall, journalist and politician, 30th Governor of Oregon (aged 69; Portland, OR, USA)
	+ Gale Page, radio and screen actress (aged 72; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* January 26 – Bear Bryant, college football player and coach (aged 69; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA)
* February 4 – Karen Carpenter, pop singer and drummer (aged 32; Downey, CA, USA)
* March 18 – Catherine Marshall, author (aged 68; Boynton Beach, FL, USA)
* April 15 – John Engstead, photographer and journalist (aged 73; West Hollywood, CA, USA)
* April 26 – Henrietta Buckmaster, activist, journalist and author (aged 74; Chestnut Hill, MA, USA)
* April 30
	+ George Balanchine, ballet dancer and choreographer (aged 79; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Joel Henry Hildebrand, physical chemist (aged 101; Kensington, CA, USA)
	+ Muddy Waters, blues singer-songwriter (aged 70; Westmont, IL, USA)
* June 23 – Glen Harmeson, American football player and coach (aged 75; Lafayette, IN, USA)
* June 30 – Leonard B. Jordan, U.S. Senator from Idaho from 1962 to 1973 (aged 84; Boise, ID, USA)
* July 1 – Buckminster Fuller, architect (aged 87; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* August 27 – Bobby Griffith, suicide (aged 20; Portland, OR, USA)
* September 1
	+ Henry M. Jackson, U.S. Senator from Washington from 1953 to 1983 (aged 71; Everett, WA, USA)
	+ Larry McDonald, U.S. Representative from Georgia from 1975 to 1983 (aged 48; Sakhalin, Soviet Union (Now Russia))
* October 7 – George O. Abell, American astronomer, professor at UCLA, science popularizer, and skeptic (aged 56; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 10 – Georgia Cozzini, politician (aged 68; Milwaukee, WI, USA)
* October 15 – T. Coleman Andrews, accountant, state and federal government official (aged 84; Richmond, VA, USA)
* October 23 – Jessica Savitch, journalist (aged 36; New Hope, PA, USA)
* October 31 – Farrell Dobbs, Trotskyist, trade unionist, politician, and historian (aged 76; Pinole, CA, USA)
* December 8 – Slim Pickens, actor and rodeo performer (aged 64; Columbia, CA, USA)