1984

Events in 1984 66

• 1892 – 1984 William Powell (1892-1984) Died 5 March 1984, aged 91 American actor William Powell, best known for playing detective Nick Charles opposite Myrna Loy in the Thin Man film series, died in Palm Springs, California.
• 1894 – 1984 J.B. Priestley (1894-1984) Died 14 August 1984, aged 89 English novelist, playwright, and broadcaster J.B. Priestley, author of works including An Inspector Calls and The Good Companions, died in Warwickshire, England.
• 1897 – 1984 Walter Pidgeon (1897-1984) Canadian-American actor, Greer Garson's partner in Mrs. Miniver and Madame Curie.
• 1902 – 1984 Ansel Adams (1902-1984) Died 22 April 1984, aged 82 American photographer Ansel Adams, renowned for his black-and-white images of the American West and his advocacy for wilderness conservation, died in Carmel, California.
• 1902 – 1984 Flora Robson (1902-1984) English actress, twice Queen Elizabeth I on film and a Dame of the British stage.
• 1902 – 1984 Paul Dirac (1902-1984) Died 20 October 1984, aged 82 British theoretical physicist Paul Dirac, who shared the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics for his foundational work in quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter, died in Tallahassee, Florida.
• 1902 – 1984 Ray Kroc (1902-1984) Died 14 January 1984, aged 81 Ray Kroc, the businessman who built McDonald's into a global fast-food chain after acquiring the franchise rights in the 1950s, died in San Diego, California.
• 1904 – 1984 Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984) Died 20 January 1984, aged 79 Johnny Weissmuller, an Olympic swimming champion who went on to play Tarzan in a series of Hollywood films, died in Acapulco, Mexico.
• 1904 – 1984 Count Basie (1904-1984) Died 26 April 1984, aged 79 American jazz pianist and bandleader Count Basie, whose orchestra was one of the most influential big bands of the swing era, died in Hollywood, Florida.
• 1906 – 1984 Janet Gaynor (1906-1984) American actress, winner of the first Academy Award for Best Actress.
• 1908 – 1984 Ethel Merman (1908-1984) Died 15 February 1984, aged 76 American singer and actress Ethel Merman, a leading star of Broadway musical theater known for shows including Gypsy and Annie Get Your Gun, died in New York City.
• 1909 – 1984 James Mason (1909-1984) English actor with a famous voice, who moved from British melodramas to Hollywood roles in A Star Is Born, North by Northwest and Lolita.
• 1914 – 1984 Yuri Andropov (1914-1984) Died 9 February 1984, aged 69 Yuri Andropov, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and former KGB chairman, died in Moscow after a long illness having led the country for only fifteen months. He was succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko.
• 1914 – 1984 Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) American actor, the first major child star, whose lost earnings led to the Coogan Act, and later Uncle Fester.
• 1917 – 1984 Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) Died 31 October 1984, aged 66 Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, was shot and killed by two of her Sikh bodyguards at her residence in New Delhi, in apparent revenge for Operation Blue Star. Her assassination triggered widespread anti-Sikh violence across India. She was succeeded as prime minister by her son Rajiv Gandhi.
• 1923 – 1984 Peter Lawford (1923-1984) English-born American actor, member of the Rat Pack and brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy.
• 1924 – 1984 Truman Capote (1924-1984) Died 25 August 1984, aged 59 American writer Truman Capote, author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood, died in Los Angeles. His nonfiction novel In Cold Blood is credited with helping to establish the true crime genre.
• 1925 – 1984 Richard Burton (1925-1984) Died 5 August 1984, aged 58 Welsh actor Richard Burton, a seven-time Academy Award nominee known for films including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and his turbulent marriage to Elizabeth Taylor, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Switzerland.
• 1926 – 1984 Michel Foucault French philosopher, historian of ideas, and social theorist Michel Foucault was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, producing genealogical histories of madness, medicine, punishment, and sexuality that exposed how knowledge and power jointly construct the categories through which societies understand themselves. Trained in philosophy and psychology in postwar Paris, he moved between clinical psychiatry, diplomatic teaching posts abroad, and the highest academic chair in France, the Collège de France. His major works — History of Madness, The Birth of the Clinic, The Order of Things, Discipline and Punish, and the multi-volume History of Sexuality — reshaped fields from history and sociology to literary theory and law. He was also a committed activist, co-founding a prison-information group and speaking out on behalf of refugees and dissidents. He died in Paris in 1984 of an AIDS-related illness, the first prominent French public figure known to have died of the disease.
• 1932 – 1984 François Truffaut (1932-1984) Died 21 October 1984, aged 52 French film director François Truffaut, a leading figure of the Nouvelle Vague, died of a brain tumor near Paris. His films included The 400 Blows and Jules et Jim.
• 1939 – 1984 Marvin Gaye (1939-1984) Died 1 April 1984, aged 44 Soul singer Marvin Gaye, known for hits including "What's Going On" and "Sexual Healing," was shot and killed by his father during a domestic argument at the family home in Los Angeles, one day before his 45th birthday.
• 1983 – 1984 Smyslov reaches Candidates Final at 62 Oldest Candidates finalist ever At the age of 62, Smyslov reached the World Championship Candidates Final in 1984, losing to Kasparov. He remains the oldest player ever to reach that stage.
• 1984 3D Printing Stereolithography The first commercial method for creating physical objects from digital data.
• 1984 Apple Macintosh released Apple Macintosh released Apple released the Macintosh on 24 January 1984, the first mass-market computer built around a graphical interface and a mouse, launched with a Ridley Scott commercial shown once during the Super Bowl. It was underpowered and sold poorly at first. Desktop publishing with the LaserWriter and PageMaker saved it.
• 1984 – 1985 Bernard King's injury-shortened MVP-caliber season King is in the midst of a historic scoring season when a severe knee injury derails his career and the Knicks' playoff hopes.
• 1984 – present Dell Technologies Dell Technologies — founded in 1984 by Michael Dell in his University of Texas dorm room with $1,000 — pioneered the direct-to-consumer model for personal computers. This model made Dell the world's largest PC manufacturer by 2001. After going private in 2013 and acquiring EMC in 2016 in the largest technology acquisition in history, Dell Technologies emerged as one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies with over $100 billion in annual revenues.
• 1984 – 1985 Karpov vs Kasparov 1984 match abandoned 48 games — no result The 1984 World Championship match between Karpov and Kasparov lasted 48 games over five months before FIDE president Campomanes controversially abandoned it with Karpov leading. It remains the longest World Championship match in history.
• 1984 – present Lexus Toyota launches luxury division Toyota created Lexus to compete with premium European luxury brands. Lexus quickly earned a reputation for reliability, comfort, refinement and hybrid innovation.
• 1984 Los Angeles 1984 -- absent due to Soviet boycott The Soviet Union boycotts the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in retaliation for the US-led boycott of Moscow 1980. Bubka -- the reigning world champion and clear favourite -- does not compete. The gold medal goes to Pierre Quinon of France with 5.75m, a height Bubka has already exceeded in training. It is the first of two Olympic disappointments in a career otherwise defined by dominance; the absence at Los Angeles is entirely beyond his control.
• 1984 Michael Jackson becomes Pepsi spokesperson "The Choice of a New Generation" — 1984 In 1984 Pepsi signed Michael Jackson — at the height of the Thriller era — for the "Choice of a New Generation" advertising campaign. It was the biggest celebrity endorsement deal in history at the time. During filming of a commercial in January 1984, pyrotechnics misfired and Jackson's hair caught fire.
• 1984 Tanker War escalates in the Persian Gulf Iran and Iraq attack neutral oil shipping Iraq and Iran intensified attacks on oil tankers and shipping in the Persian Gulf as part of their ongoing war, threatening international oil traffic. The escalation drew growing foreign naval involvement in the Gulf over the following years.
• 1984 AT&T Bell System breakup takes effect Antitrust settlement splits the telephone monopoly A 1982 antitrust settlement took effect, breaking up the Bell System and separating AT&T from seven regional "Baby Bell" companies. The breakup ended AT&T's decades-long monopoly over US telephone service and reshaped the American telecommunications industry.
• 1984 Brunei gains full independence End of British protectorate status Brunei became fully independent from the United Kingdom, ending nearly a century of British protection over the small, oil-rich sultanate on the island of Borneo. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah remained head of state.
• 1984 First untethered spacewalk Bruce McCandless tests the Manned Maneuvering Unit Astronaut Bruce McCandless became the first person to walk in space without a tether, using a jet-propelled backpack called the Manned Maneuvering Unit during the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-B. Photographs of him floating free against Earth became one of the era's iconic images.
• 1984 1984 Winter Olympics XIV Winter Games - Sarajevo Torvill and Dean won gold with a perfect score in ice dance. Winner: East Germany.
• 1984 Konstantin Chernenko becomes Soviet leader Succeeds Yuri Andropov as General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko was named General Secretary of the Communist Party following the death of Yuri Andropov. Already in poor health, Chernenko led the Soviet Union for just over a year before his own death in March 1985.
• 1984 Torvill and Dean win Olympic ice dance gold Perfect scores for their Bolero routine British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won Olympic gold at the Sarajevo Winter Games with a free dance set to Ravel's Bolero, receiving a then-unprecedented set of perfect 6.0 scores. The performance remains one of the most celebrated in figure skating history.
• 1984 UK miners' strike begins Year-long dispute over pit closures The National Union of Mineworkers began a strike against the Thatcher government's plan to close unprofitable coal pits. The dispute became one of the most bitter industrial conflicts in modern British history before ending in defeat for the union in March 1985.
• 1984 China opens 14 coastal cities to foreign investment Expansion of Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms China designated fourteen coastal cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou, as open cities for foreign trade and investment, extending the special economic zone model introduced a few years earlier. The move accelerated China's integration into the global economy.
• 1984 Marvin Gaye killed by his father Los Angeles Shot by his father the day before his 45th birthday.
• 1984 1984 World Snooker Championship Steve Davis Title 3 Winner: Steve Davis; Runner-up: Jimmy White. Score: 18–16.
• 1984 HIV identified as cause of AIDS US and French researchers confirm the virus US health officials, building on work by French researchers at the Pasteur Institute, announced that a retrovirus later named HIV was the cause of AIDS. The announcement opened the way for a diagnostic blood test and accelerated the search for treatments.
• 1984 First world record -- 5.85m, Bratislava, 26 May 1984 On 26 May 1984 in Bratislava, Bubka sets his first outdoor world record: 5.85m. It is the beginning of a decade-long habit of progressive record-setting that no other field athlete in history has matched. He will eventually set 17 outdoor and 18 indoor world records -- 35 in total -- between this day in Bratislava and his final record at Sestriere in July 1994. The incremental approach (usually raising the record by 1cm at a time, then stopping) is partly tactical: it maximises the bonus payments attached to each new record.
• 1984 Operation Blue Star Indian army storms the Golden Temple The Indian Army launched an assault on the Golden Temple in Amritsar to remove armed Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. The operation caused heavy casualties and severe damage to the temple complex, provoking outrage among Sikhs worldwide. It set in motion the chain of events leading to Indira Gandhi's assassination five months later.
• 1984 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Kirk and crew steal the Enterprise to recover Spock's body from the Genesis Planet, where his mind — transferred to Dr. McCoy — can be reunited with a regenerated body. Christopher Lloyd plays Klingon commander Kruge. The Enterprise is destroyed — a landmark moment for the franchise. Directed by Leonard Nimoy. Budget: $16 million. Gross: $87 million.
• 1984 Bruce Springsteen releases Born in the U.S.A. Seven top-ten singles One of the best-selling albums ever — the title track is widely misread as patriotic.
• 1984 Prince releases Purple Rain Album and film With When Doves Cry — number one for 24 weeks.
• 1984 Neuromancer published William Gibson's novel launches the cyberpunk genre William Gibson's debut novel Neuromancer was published, popularizing the term "cyberspace" and establishing many conventions of the cyberpunk genre. It won the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick awards.
• 1984 Geraldine Ferraro nominated as Democratic VP candidate First woman on a major US party ticket The Democratic Party nominated New York congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as Walter Mondale's running mate, making her the first woman to run for vice president on a major US party ticket. The Mondale-Ferraro ticket went on to lose to Reagan in November.
• 1984 1984 Summer Olympics XXIII Olympiad - Los Angeles Marked by a Soviet-led boycott. Winner: USA.
• 1984 Space Shuttle Discovery's maiden flight Third orbiter joins NASA's shuttle fleet Space Shuttle Discovery launched on its first mission, STS-41-D, becoming the third orbiter to fly in NASA's shuttle program. Discovery went on to fly more missions than any other shuttle before its retirement in 2011.
• 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack Salmonella poisoning in The Dalles, Oregon Followers of the Rajneeshee religious community deliberately contaminated salad bars in The Dalles, Oregon, with salmonella bacteria, sickening hundreds of people. It was the largest bioterrorism attack in US history and was intended to influence a local election.
• 1984 The Cosby Show premieres NBC sitcom becomes a ratings phenomenon The Cosby Show, starring Bill Cosby as patriarch of an upper-middle-class Black family, premiered on NBC. It became the highest-rated American television series for much of the following five years.
• 1984 Los Lobos release How Will the Wolf Survive? Breakthrough album A critical breakthrough mixing rock and Mexican roots.
• 1984 Brighton hotel bombing IRA attempt to assassinate Margaret Thatcher The Provisional IRA detonated a bomb at the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference, killing five people. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the intended target, escaped unharmed.
• 1984 Ethiopian famine gains global attention BBC broadcast exposes mass starvation A BBC television report by journalist Michael Buerk brought international attention to a devastating famine in Ethiopia that would kill hundreds of thousands of people. The coverage spurred a wave of Western charitable response, including Band Aid and Live Aid.
• 1984 Baby Fae receives baboon heart transplant First infant xenotransplant Surgeons at Loma Linda University Medical Center transplanted a baboon heart into a newborn known as Baby Fae, born with a fatal heart defect. She survived 21 days, and the case sparked wide debate over the ethics of animal-to-human organ transplantation.
• 1984 Anti-Sikh riots in Delhi Communal violence follows Indira Gandhi's assassination Mobs killed thousands of Sikhs across India, concentrated in Delhi, in the days following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. Estimates of the death toll range from about 3,000 to over 8,000. Indian courts later convicted several Congress party figures of orchestrating the violence.
• 1984 Ronald Reagan re-elected US President Landslide victory over Walter Mondale Ronald Reagan won a second term in a landslide, carrying 49 of 50 states against Democratic challenger Walter Mondale. It remains one of the most lopsided results in US presidential election history.
• 1984 – present Vincenzo Nibali The Shark of Messina A complete rider who won all three Grand Tours and the Tour of Lombardy.
• 1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" recorded Band Aid single raises funds for Ethiopian famine relief Bob Geldof and Midge Ure assembled British and Irish pop stars under the name Band Aid to record a charity single for Ethiopian famine relief. Released weeks later, it became the fastest-selling UK single up to that time.
• 1984 Bhopal gas disaster Toxic gas leak at Union Carbide pesticide plant A leak of methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killed thousands of people within days and injured hundreds of thousands more. It remains the worst industrial disaster in history, with long-term health and environmental effects still measured decades later.
• 1984 Kuwait Airways Flight 221 hijacked Six-day hostage crisis in Tehran Hijackers seized a Kuwait Airways flight and forced it to Tehran, killing two American passengers during a six-day standoff. The hijacking was linked to demands for the release of prisoners held in Kuwait over the 1983 Kuwait bombings.
• 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration signed Agreement sets terms for Hong Kong's 1997 handover China and the United Kingdom signed a declaration in Beijing under which the UK would return Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The agreement guaranteed Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and its existing capitalist system for 50 years under the "one country, two systems" framework.
• 1984 – present LeBron James The King NBA's all-time leading scorer and 4-time champion known for his longevity and versatility.
• 1984 – present LeBron James Basketball player, businessman, b. 1984 LeBron Raymone James (b. 1984) — one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Four NBA championships with three different franchises, four MVP awards, four Finals MVPs, two Olympic gold medals, the NBA all-time leading scorer with 40,000+ points, and a cultural force off the court through the I Promise School, SpringHill Entertainment, and a lifetime Nike deal.