Timeline February 1982

Events in February 1982 7

• 1912 – 1982 Eleanor Powell (1912-1982) American dancer and actress, considered the greatest female tap dancer of film.
• 1917 – 1982 Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) Died 17 February 1982, aged 64 American jazz pianist and composer, a pioneer of bebop and modern jazz harmony. He died following a stroke after years of declining health and public silence.
• 1982 He-Man debuted at New York Toy Fair The He-Man and Masters of the Universe figures debut at the February 1982 New York Toy Fair, attracting immediate attention for their aggressive design and low price point. Mattel projects modest sales of around $12 million for the first year.
• 1982 Intel 286 — protected mode computing Intel introduces the 80286 (commonly called the 286) in February 1982. The 286 introduces protected mode — a hardware mechanism that prevents programs from interfering with each other's memory, the foundation of modern multitasking operating systems. The 286 is used in the IBM PC/AT (1984) and runs at up to 12MHz with 134,000 transistors. It is the first Intel processor that Microsoft's DOS cannot fully exploit — the tension between Intel's advancing hardware and Microsoft's ageing software architecture will define PC computing for a decade.
• 1982 Hama massacre Syrian army crushes Muslim Brotherhood uprising The Syrian government under Hafez al-Assad besieged the city of Hama to crush an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood, killing an estimated tens of thousands of people and largely destroying the old city. It remains one of the deadliest acts by an Arab government against its own citizens in modern history.
• 1982 Eleanor Powell dies in Beverly Hills Eleanor Powell dies aged 69.
• 1982 – present Li Na The Pioneer of Asia First Asian player to win a Grand Slam singles title.