WORLD HISTORY · 1983 日本語
Events of 1983Showa 58 (Japan) · Year of the Pig
What happened in 1983?
In 1983, Tokyo Disneyland opened, and Nintendo released the Family Computer (known in America as the NES). Former Prime Minister Tanaka was convicted in the Lockheed scandal, and a Korean Air Lines jet was shot down.
- ARPANET switches to Internet ProtocolNorth America
- Tokyo Disneyland opensAsia
- Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake strikesAsia
- Nintendo releases the Family ComputerAsia
- Former Senator Aquino assassinated in PhilippinesAsia
- Soviet military shoots down Korean Air jetAsia
- Ex-Prime Minister Tanaka convicted in Lockheed trialAsia
- U.S.-led forces invade GrenadaNorth America
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1983 at a glance
| Japanese era | Showa 58 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Pig |
| Age of people born in 1983 | Turn 43 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1982 (Showa 57) ／ 1984 (Showa 59) |
| Events | 107 |
| AP World History | Unit 8 (Cold War and Decolonization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 9 |
Famous people born in 1983
Our birthday pages list 914 people born in 1983. Here are some of them.
- Miguel CabreraBorn April 18 · turns 43 this year · Venezuelan baseball star who won the 2012 Triple Crown and reached both 500 hom…
- Carrie UnderwoodBorn March 10 · turns 43 this year · American country music star who won American Idol in 2005 and went on to win mu…
- Aaron RodgersBorn December 2 · turns 43 this year · American NFL quarterback who led the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl title an…
- Jonah HillBorn December 20 · turns 43 this year · American actor, comedian, and director known for Superbad, Moneyball, 21 Jump S…
- Hikaru UtadaBorn January 19 · turns 43 this year
- Kayo NoroBorn October 28 · turns 43 this year
- Jun MatsumotoBorn August 30 · turns 43 this year
- Princess Yōko of MikasaBorn October 25 · turns 43 this year
- Álvaro ArbeloaBorn January 17 · turns 43 this year
- Yuichi NakamaruBorn September 4 · turns 43 this year
- Robin van PersieBorn August 6 · turns 43 this year
- Andrew GarfieldBorn August 20 · turns 43 this year
Show 28 more
- Rebecca FergusonBorn October 19 · turns 43 this year
- Henry CavillBorn May 5 · turns 43 this year
- Chris HemsworthBorn August 11 · turns 43 this year
- Lupita Nyong'oBorn March 1 · turns 43 this year
- Amy WinehouseBorn September 14 · turns 43 this year
- Calum DavenportBorn January 1 · turns 43 this year
- Park Sung-hyunBorn January 1 · turns 43 this year
- Anthony CarriganBorn January 2 · turns 43 this year
- Kate BosworthBorn January 2 · turns 43 this year
- Katie McGrathBorn January 3 · turns 43 this year
- Richard RankinBorn January 4 · turns 43 this year
- Will BynumBorn January 4 · turns 43 this year
- Adam BurishBorn January 6 · turns 43 this year
- Chen NanBorn January 6 · turns 43 this year
- Brett DaltonBorn January 7 · turns 43 this year
- Cappie PondexterBorn January 7 · turns 43 this year
- Edwin EncarnaciónBorn January 7 · turns 43 this year
- Chris MastersBorn January 8 · turns 43 this year
- Adrian SutilBorn January 11 · turns 43 this year
- André MyhrerBorn January 11 · turns 43 this year
- Ted RichardsBorn January 11 · turns 43 this year
- Ender ArslanBorn January 13 · turns 43 this year
- Julian MorrisBorn January 13 · turns 43 this year
- Mauricio RomeroBorn January 13 · turns 43 this year
- Ronny TuriafBorn January 13 · turns 43 this year
- Sebastian KneißlBorn January 13 · turns 43 this year
- Cesare BovoBorn January 14 · turns 43 this year
- Jason KrejzaBorn January 14 · turns 43 this year
Events of 1983 (timeline · 107)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
United Airlines Flight 2885 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing three.
Turkish Airlines Flight 158 crashes at Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Ankara, Turkey, killing 47 and injuring 20.
The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family.
The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
Singapore cable car crash: Panamanian-registered oil rig, Eniwetok, strikes the cables of the Singapore Cable Car system linking the mainland and Sentosa Island, causing two cabins to fall into the water and killing seven people and leaving thirteen others trapped for hours.
A dust storm hits Melbourne, resulting in the worst drought on record and severe weather conditions in the city.
One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud.
Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders opens and closes on the same night at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II.
Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
Cold War: While addressing a convention of Evangelicals, U.S. President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an "evil empire".
The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic.
Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space on STS-6.
During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.
Cold War: American 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.
The West German news magazine Stern begins publishing excerpts from the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, later revealed to be forgeries.
The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds [1.9 kt]), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request.
Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
Church Street bombing: A car bomb planted by UMkhonto we Sizwe explodes on Church Street in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring 217 others.
First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by a team of French scientists including Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Jean-Claude Chermann, and Luc Montagnier.
The 7.8 Mw Sea of Japan earthquake shakes northern Honshu with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.
After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane's doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place.
Gordon Kahl, who killed two US Marshals in Medina, North Dakota on February 13, is killed in a shootout in Smithville, Arkansas, along with a local sheriff, after a four-month manhunt.
More than 100 people are killed when the Russian river cruise ship Aleksandr Suvorov collides with a girder of the Ulyanovsk Railway Bridge. The collision caused a freight train to derail, further damaging the vessel, yet the ship remained afloat and was eventually restored and returned to service.
Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 loses one of its propellers in flight resulting in damage to the flight controls. The Lockheed L-188 Electra makes an emergency landing at Anchorage International Airport and there are no injuries.
Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System when it passes beyond the orbit of Neptune.
Mona Mahmudnizhad, together with nine other women of the Baháʼí Faith, is sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran, over her religious beliefs.
Space Shuttle program: STS-7, astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
The Ministry of State Security is established as China's principal intelligence agency
A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.
Cold War: Samantha Smith, a United States schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov.
A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board.
Mario Bros. is released in Japan, beginning the popular Super Mario Bros franchise.
Nintendo and Sega enter the console market with the respective releases of the Famicom and SG-1000 in Japan.
An attack at Orly Airport in Paris is launched by Armenian militant organisation ASALA, leaving eight people dead and 55 injured.
Sikorsky S-61 disaster: A helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.
The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
The world's lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
Thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
George Brett, playing for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, has a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident".
The Black July anti-Tamil riots begin in Sri Lanka, killing between 400 and 3,000. Black July is generally regarded as the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Black July: Thirty-seven Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by the fellow Sinhalese prisoners.
Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days.
Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, president of the military government of Upper Volta, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Captain Thomas Sankara.
Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 21 people and causing over US$1 billion in damage (1983 dollars).
Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. is assassinated at Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor).
Aeroflot Flight 5463 crashes into Dolan Mountain while approaching Almaty International Airport in present-day Kazakhstan, killing all 90 people on board.
STS-8: The Space Shuttle Challenger takes off on the first night launch of the shuttle program. Guion Bluford becomes the first African-American in space on this mission.
Cold War: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the commercial aircraft strayed into Soviet airspace, killing all 269 on board, including Congressman Lawrence McDonald.
The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, stating that its operatives did not know that it was a civilian aircraft when it reportedly violated Soviet airspace.
The USSR vetoes a United Nations Security Council Resolution deploring the Soviet destruction of Korean Air Lines Flight 007.
A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros.
Thirty-eight IRA prisoners, armed with six handguns, hijack a prison meals lorry and smash their way out of the Maze Prison.
Soyuz 7K-ST No. 16L, intended to launch a crew to the Salyut 7 space station, explodes on the launch pad. The launch escape system is activated before the Soyuz-U rocket explodes, saving the crew.
Soviet Air Force officer Stanislav Petrov identifies a report of an incoming nuclear missile as a computer error and not an American first strike, thus preventing nuclear war.
John Pat, a 16-year old Aboriginal Australian boy, dies of injuries sustained by four off-duty police officers in Roebourne, a catalyst to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h) at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan survives an assassination attempt in Rangoon, Burma, but the blast kills 21 and injures 17 others.
Japan's former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from the Lockheed Corporation, and is sentenced to four years in jail.
Ameritech Mobile Communications launches the first US cellular network in Chicago.
The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
Two correctional officers are killed by inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The incident inspires the Supermax model of prisons.
Lebanese Civil War: The U.S. Marines Corps barracks in Beirut is hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. A French Army barracks in Lebanon is also hit that same morning, killing 58 troops.
The United States and its Caribbean allies invade Grenada, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters are executed in a coup d'état.
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake in the Turkish provinces of Erzurum and Kars leaves approximately 1,340 people dead.
The first democratic elections in Argentina, after seven years of military rule, are held.
The Byford Dolphin diving bell accident kills five and leaves one severely injured.
Cold War: The command post exercise Able Archer 83 begins, eventually leading to the Soviet Union to place air units in East Germany and Poland on alert, for fear that NATO was preparing for war
United States Senate bombing: A bomb explodes inside the United States Capitol. No one is injured, but an estimated $250,000 in damage is caused.
TAAG Angola Airlines Flight 462 crashes after takeoff from Lubango Airport killing all 130 people on board. UNITA claims to have shot down the aircraft, though this is disputed.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declares independence; it is only recognized by Turkey.
Aeroflot Flight 6833 is hijacked en route from Tbilisi to Leningrad. After returning to Tbilisi, the aircraft is subsequently raided on the ground, resulting in seven deaths.
Brink's-Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from the Brink's-Mat vault at Heathrow Airport.
Avianca Flight 011: A Boeing 747 crashes near Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 181.
Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-9, the first mission to carry the European Space Agency's Spacelab module.
US Navy aircraft from USS John F. Kennedy and USS Independence attack Syrian missile sites in Lebanon in response to an F-14 being fired on by an SA-7. One A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair are shot down. One American pilot is killed, one is rescued, and one is captured.
An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 collides with an Aviaco DC-9 in dense fog while the two airliners are taxiing down the runway at Madrid–Barajas Airport, killing 93 people.
Democracy is restored in Argentina with the inauguration of President Raúl Alfonsín.
Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.
The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Aeroflot Flight 601 crashes during takeoff from Leshukonskoye Airport, Russia, killing 44 of the 49 people on board.
Pope John Paul II visits Mehmet Ali Ağca in Rebibbia's prison and personally forgives him for the 1981 attack on him in St. Peter's Square.
Benjamin Ward is appointed New York City Police Department's first ever African American police commissioner.
In Nigeria, a coup d'état led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari ends the Second Nigerian Republic.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1983 in the Japanese calendar?
1983 was Showa 58 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1983?
1983 is the Year of the Pig.
How old is someone born in 1983?
They turn 43 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1983?
In 1983, Tokyo Disneyland opened, and Nintendo released the Family Computer (known in America as the NES). Former Prime Minister Tanaka was convicted in the Lockheed scandal, and a Korean Air Lines jet was shot down.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.