1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday.
Events
January 1980
- Tuesday, January 1, 1980 - Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother
- Saturday, January 5, 1980 - Hewlett-Packard announces release of its first personal computer
- Monday, January 7, 1980 - President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out Chrysler Corporation.
- Friday, January 11, 1980 - Nigel Short, 14 years old, is the youngest chess player to be awarded the degree of International Master.
- Tuesday, January 22, 1980 - Andrei Sakharov is arrested in Moscow
- Saturday, January 26, 1980 - Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations
February 1980
March 1980
- Saturday, March 1, 1980 - Voyager 1 probe confirms that Janus (moon of Saturn) exists
- Saturday, March 1, 1980 - Patti Smith marries former MC5 member Fred Sonic Smith
- Monday, March 3, 1980 - Pierre Trudeau returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.
- Friday, March 14, 1980 - In Poland, a plane crashes during an emergency landing near Warsaw killing a 14-man American boxing team and 73 others.
- Tuesday, March 18, 1980 - In Russia, a Vostok rocket explodes on its launch pad during a fueling operation killing 50.
- Friday, March 21, 1980 - President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
- Monday, March 24, 1980 - Archbishop Óscar Romero is killed by gunmen while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
- Thursday, March 27, 1980 - The Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
April 1980
- Wednesday, April 2, 1980 - Kenneth Tynan, theatre critic, born in Birmingham, England in 1927.
- Monday, April 7, 1980 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions following the taking of American hostages on Sunday, November 4, 1979.
- Friday, April 25, 1980 - A commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops were killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.
- Wednesday, April 30, 1980 - Luis Muñoz Marín, first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, dies at the age of 82.
May 1980
June 1980
July 1980
August 1980
September 1980
- Friday, September 5, 1980 - The St. Gothard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.
- Friday, September 12, 1980 - Military coup in Turkey lead by Kenan Evren. It stopped political violence among gangs, but was the beginning of stronger state violence which lead to the execution of many young activists.
- Wednesday, September 17, 1980 - After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.
- Monday, September 22, 1980 - The command council of Iraq ordered its army to "deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets," initiating the Iran-Iraq War.
October 1980
November 1980
- Tuesday, November 4, 1980 - U.S. presidential election, 1980: Republican challenger Ronald Reagan defeats incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter by a wide margin.
- Wednesday, November 12, 1980 - Voyager program: The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn when it flies within 77,000 miles of the planet's cloud-tops and sends the first high resolution images of the world back to scientists on Earth.
- Friday, November 21, 1980 - A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada kills 87 people.
- Sunday, November 23, 1980 - A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people.
unknown dates
January 1980
- Tuesday, January 1, 1980 - Rebekah Teasdale,British model and journalist
- Wednesday, January 2, 1980 - Michelle Clack, British model
- Wednesday, January 9, 1980 - Sergio García, Spanish golfer
- Wednesday, January 16, 1980 - Albert Pujols, baseball player
February 1980
- Monday, February 11, 1980 - Natasha Bobo, actress
- Monday, February 11, 1980 - Matthew Lawrence, actor
- Tuesday, February 12, 1980 - Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
- Tuesday, February 12, 1980 - Christina Ricci, actress
- Wednesday, February 27, 1980 - Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President Bill Clinton
March 1980
April 1980
June 1980
- Monday, June 16, 1980 - Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- Tuesday, June 17, 1980 - Venus Williams, tennis player
- Thursday, June 26, 1980 - Jason Schwartzman, actor
- Thursday, June 26, 1980 - Michael Vick, football quarterback
July 1980
- Sunday, July 6, 1980 - Pau Gasol, Catalan NBA star
- Monday, July 7, 1980 - Michelle Kwan, figure skater
- Thursday, July 10, 1980 - Adam Petty, NASCAR driver (d. 2000)
- Thursday, July 10, 1980 - Jessica Simpson, singers
August 1980
September 1980
- Sunday, September 7, 1980 - Mark Prior, baseball pitcher
- Friday, September 12, 1980 - Yao Ming, Chinese NBA star
- Sunday, September 21, 1980 - Kareena Kapoor, Bollywood actress
- Tuesday, September 30, 1980 - Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
October 1980
November 1980
December 1980
- Friday, December 19, 1980 - Jake Gyllenhaal, actor (The Day After Tomorrow)
- Friday, December 19, 1980 - Marla Sokoloff, actress (Full House, The Practice)
- Tuesday, December 30, 1980 - Eliza Dushku, actress
January 1980
- Thursday, January 3, 1980 - Joy Adamson, conservationist and author of Born Free (killed by a servant in northern Kenya).
- Tuesday, January 8, 1980 - John Mauchly, co-inventor of the ENIAC computer
- Thursday, January 10, 1980 - George Meany, labor leader
- Friday, January 18, 1980 - Sir Cecil Beaton, fashion designer
- Tuesday, January 29, 1980 - Jimmy Durante, actor, singer, comedian, vaudevillian
- Wednesday, January 30, 1980 - Professor Longhair, King of New Orleans music
February 1980
March 1980
- Wednesday, March 5, 1980 - Jay Silverheels, actor
- Sunday, March 16, 1980 - Tamara de Lempicka, Art Deco painter
- Saturday, March 29, 1980 - Mantovani, musician
- Monday, March 31, 1980 - Jesse Owens, American athlete
April 1980
May 1980
June 1980
- Saturday, June 7, 1980 - Henry Miller, writer
- Friday, June 13, 1980 - Walter Rodney, historian, political figure
- Monday, June 23, 1980 - Clyfford Still, painter
July 1980
August 1980
- Thursday, August 7, 1980 - Jacqueline Cochran, American aviatrix
- Sunday, August 10, 1980 - Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan
- Thursday, August 14, 1980 - Dorothy Stratten, Playboy playmate (murdered)
- Sunday, August 24, 1980 - Yootha Joyce, British actress
September 1980
October 1980
November 1980
December 1980
- Tuesday, December 2, 1980 - Romain Gary, writer
- Thursday, December 4, 1980 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (died in office).
- Thursday, December 4, 1980 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-American sprinter
- Monday, December 8, 1980 - John Lennon, musician, founding member of The Beatles
- Tuesday, December 16, 1980 - Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (born 1890)
- Tuesday, December 16, 1980 - Hellmuth Walter, engineer and inventor
- Monday, December 29, 1980 - Tim Hardin, musician
- Wednesday, December 31, 1980 - Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and professor
unknown dates