Timeline March 1983

Events in March 1983 9

• 1905 – 1983 Arthur Koestler (1905-1983) Died 3 March 1983, aged 77 Arthur Koestler was a Hungarian-British writer best known for his novel Darkness at Noon, an indictment of Stalinist totalitarianism. He died by joint suicide with his wife Cynthia after years of declining health. His work spanned journalism, science writing, and political fiction.
• 1921 – 1983 Barney Clark (1921-1983) Died 23 March 1983, aged 61 Barney Clark was an American dentist who became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart, the Jarvik-7, in a landmark 1982 operation. He survived 112 days after the implant, a milestone in the development of mechanical heart devices. His case drew worldwide medical and public attention.
• 1983 "The Hurting" — UK #1 debut album March 1983 Released their debut album "The Hurting" in March 1983, which topped the UK Albums Chart. Its first three singles — "Mad World", "Change" and "Pale Shelter" — all reached the UK top five, an extraordinary run for a debut.
• 1983 Compact Disc Goes on Sale Internationally CD format launches beyond Japan Following its 1982 debut in Japan, the compact disc format went on sale in the United States and Europe in 1983, alongside the first wave of CD players. Developed jointly by Sony and Philips, it offered digital audio with greater durability and fidelity than vinyl records. The format eventually displaced cassette tapes as the dominant music medium.
• 1983 Iditarod 1983 Winner: Rick Mackey — 12 days 14h Rick Mackey won the 1983 Iditarod, making the Mackey family the only father-son duo to win the race (his father Dick won in 1978).
• 1983 The Final Cut -- Waterss solo album in all but name The Final Cut (March 1983) is described as 'a requiem for the post-war dream' and is dedicated to Waters's father, killed at Anzio. It is almost entirely Waters's composition and concept -- Gilmour contributes one co-write and his guitar playing, but describes it as Waters's solo album. Mason plays minimal drums; Wright has been fired. The album is angry, elegiac and relentlessly personal -- a meditation on Falklands-era Britain, the waste of war and broken promises. It reaches Number 1 in the UK. Gilmour calls it 'a collection of demos' and refuses to tour it. The band is effectively over.
• 1983 – present Swatch Group Nicholas Hayek The launch of the Swatch watch, which saved the Swiss watch industry from the "quartz crisis."
• 1983 Bob Hawke Elected Prime Minister of Australia Labor Party wins Australian federal election Bob Hawke led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the federal election, becoming prime minister. He went on to serve until 1991, Australia's longest-serving Labor prime minister. His government pursued major economic deregulation.
• 1983 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X Launched First commercially available handheld mobile phone Motorola released the DynaTAC 8000X, the first handheld cellular phone approved for commercial sale, after a decade of development. It weighed nearly a kilogram, cost about four thousand dollars, and offered roughly thirty minutes of talk time. It marked the beginning of the consumer mobile phone industry.