1982
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years: 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 - 1982 - 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
Events
- January 6 - William Bonin convicted of being the "freeway killer".
- January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions
- January 13 - Shortly after takeoff, an Air Florida Boeing 737 crashes into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78.
- January 28 - James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.
- February 1 - Senegal and Gambia form a loose confederation
- February 15 - The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers.
- March 10 - The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports because of their support of terrorist groups.
- March 10 - Syzygy: all 9 planets align on the same side of the Sun.
- March 19 - Falklands War: Argentines lands on South Georgia Island, precipitating war.
- March 26 - A ground breaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, DC.
- December 26 - Time Magazine's Man of the Year was for the first time given to a non-human, a computer.
- The Vietnam Memorial is built in Washington D.C.
- First computer virus, written by Rich Skrenta, escapes into the wild.
- J. C. Hafele and Richard E. Keating prove atomic clock changes depend on Earth's rotation (See Einstein's Special Relativity and General Relativity).
- The Reverend Sun Myung Moon marries 4,150 of his followers at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
- Falklands War takes place from April 2 to June 20.
- A brief but severe recession begins in the United States.
Art, Culture & Fashion
- 1982 in film
- January - Production begins on the Star Wars sequel, Return of the Jedi.
- Gandhi
- Tootsie
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Steven Spielberg
- The THX Sound System is developed for use in movie theaters.
- 1982 in literature
- 1982 in music
- 1982 in sports
- January 24 - Super Bowl XVI San Francisco 49ers (26) def. Cincinnati Bengals (21)
- Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Italy wins Football World Cup in Spain
- June 11 - After a racially filled build up, the WBC world Heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, a Black, defeats challenger Gerry Cooney, a White, by a knockout in round 13 at Las Vegas to retain the world championship.
- November 12 - The Battle of The Champions, Aaron Pryor defeats Alexis Arguello in boxing contest at the Orange Bowl.
- November 13 - Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim in a Lightweight championship bout that forever changes the landscape of boxing.
- December 3 - Carnival of Champions, Wilfredo Gomez defeats Lupe Pintor in grueling 14 round bout to retain his world Jr Featherweight title and Thomas Hearns beats Wilfredo Benitez in 15 rounds in historic New Orleans boxing card.
- 1982 in television
- Cheers and Family Ties debut on NBC
- February - Late Night with David Letterman debuts on NBC after The Tonight Show.
- July 28 - Comedian Andy Kaufman and professional wrestler Jerry Lawler get into a fight on-air during an interview on the Late Night with David Letterman show. (The event was later revealed to be a hoax).
- Surround Sound is introduced for home use by Dolby
Births
- January 19 - Jodie Sweetin
- March 4 - Matthias Dix, German story writer.
- April 30 - Kirsten Dunst
- June 21 - Prince William of Wales
Deaths
- January 30 - Lightning Hopkins, blues musician
- February 11 - Eleanor Powell, tap dancer/wife of Glenn Ford
- February 11 - Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor
- February 12 - Victor Jory, actor
- February 17 - Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist
- February 17 - Lee Strasberg, acting teacher, actor
- March 2 - Philip K. Dick, science fiction author
- March 5 - John Belushi, actor
- March 6 - Ayn Rand, author
- March 19 - Randy Rhoads, guitar player from Quiet Riot
- June 8 - Satchel Paige, baseball player
- August 12 - Salvador Sanchez, world champion boxer
- October 4 - Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist
- November 10 - Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union
- November 15 - Vinoba Bhave