30th Anniversaries in 2013

HAPPY 2013 EVERYONE!!

Well, it seems the Mayans didn't get us at the end of 2012, so I'll keep pressing on with more 80s fun in 2013! Last year's posts on upcoming anniversaries was a hit so thought another round would be an appropriate way to kick off this year.

It's hard to believe that 1983 was 30 years ago! (Sorry in advance for any old feelings you might have as you read the info below.) Here is a look some 30 year anniversaries coming up in 2013. Also included are some celebrity births and deaths, plus historical events in music, movies and television of the year.

30 Year Anniversaries in 2013

EVENTS

• January 3, 1983: Volcano Kilauea begins slowly erupting on the Big Island of Hawaii and is still flowing as of 2009.
• March 23, 1983: U.S. President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop the Strategic Defense Initiative which includes the technology to intercept enemy missiles. The media dub this plan "Star Wars".
• April 4, 1983: First flight of the U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger.
• April 18, 1983: The bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut kills 63 people.
• May 17, 1983: Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
• May 25, 1983: National Missing Children's Day is proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan, exactly four years after Etan Patz's disappearance.
• June 18, 1983: STS-7: Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space, on the Space Shuttle Challenger.
• August 18, 1983: Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 and causing over US$3.8 billion (current dollars) in damage.

• August 30, 1983: STS-8: Guion S. Bluford becomes the first African-American astronaut in space aboard Space Shuttle Challenger.
• September 1, 1983: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald.
• September 17, 1983: Vanessa Lynn Williams becomes the first African-American to be crowned Miss America, in Atlantic City, NJ.
• October 4, 1983: Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph, driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert, NV.
• October 16, 1983: The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5–0 in Game 5 of the World Series and take the series 4 games to 1 for their 3rd World Championship.
• October 23, 1983: Simultaneous suicide truck-bombings destroy both the French and the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen, 58 French paratroopers and 6 Lebanese civilians.
• October 25, 1983: United States troops invade Grenada at the behest of Eugenia Charles of Dominica, a member of the Organization of American States.
• October 25, 1983: Microsoft Word is first released.
• November 2, 1983: At the White House Rose Garden, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating a federal holiday on the third Monday of every January to honor American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

• December 31, 1983: Apple's famous 1984 Macintosh advertisement is released.

MUSIC

• February 13, 1983 – Marvin Gaye performs "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the NBA All-Star Game at the Forum in Los Angeles, CA

• February 26, 1983: Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven (non-consecutive) weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.
• February 28, 1983 – U2 releases their 3rd album War which debuts at #1 in the UK and produces the band's first international hit single.
• March 2, 1983 – Compact discs go on sale in the United States, initially being released in Japan the previous October.
• April 5, 1983: US Interior Secretary James G. Watt causes controversy when he effectively bans the Beach Boys from a return performance at the Fourth of July festivities in Washington, announcing that Wayne Newton would perform instead. Watt claims that rock bands attract "the wrong element". That same week President Reagan, himself an avowed Beach Boys fan, presents Watt with a plaster foot with a hole in it, symbolizing that Watt had shot himself in the foot.
• April 11, 1983: Dave Mustaine is fired from Metallica just as the band is set to begin recording its début album. He is replaced by Kirk Hammett.
• May 16, 1983: The "Motown 25" special airs on NBC (recorded March 25,) celebrating a quarter century of Motown Records. The most talked-about performance is by Michael Jackson, who unveils his famous moonwalk dance move during an electrifying performance of "Billie Jean".
• June 18-19, 1983: Menudo's second visit to New York is an even bigger event. This time, the band plays four shows at Madison Square Garden; all 80,000 available tickets had sold out within three days of going on sale.
• August 5, 1983: David Crosby is sentenced to five years in prison on charges of drug and weapon possession by a judge in Dallas, Texas.

• August 20, 1983: The Rolling Stones sign a new $28 million contract with CBS Records, the largest recording contract in history up to this time.
• September 18, 1983: The members of Kiss show their faces without their makeup for the first time on MTV, simultaneous with the release of their album Lick It Up.
• September 24, 1983: The Red Hot Chili Peppers launch their first, self-titled album.

US Top 10 Hits of 1983 (Billboard Hot 100)

1. "Every Breathe You Take" - The Police
2. "Billie Jean" - Michael Jackson
3. "Flashdance...What A Feeling" - Irene Cara
4. "Down Under" - Men At Work
5. "Beat It" - Michael Jackson
6. "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" - Bonnie Tyler
7. "Maneater" - Hall and Oates
8. "Baby, Come To Me" - Patty Austin & James Ingram
9. "Maniac" - Michael Sembello
10. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" - The Eurythmics

MOVIES

More films received an R rating in 1983 than any other year thus far.

• February 11, 1983 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York
• March 25, 1983: Comedy-drama film Max Dugan Returns opens at the box office. It marks the acting debut of Matthew Broderick and Keifer Sutherland. 
• July 6, 1983: Several actors make their debut in the film Class including John Cusack, Virginia Madsen, and Andrew McCarthy.
• July 22, 1983: Jaws 3-D is released as the 2nd sequel to Steven Speilberg's 1975 film Jaws. Its the first of several horror films released in 1983 to use 3-D technology. Lea Thompson also makes her film debut in the movie.

Top Grossing Films of 1982

1. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
2. Terms of Endearment
3. Flashdance
4. Trading Places
5. Wargames
6. Octopussy
7. Sudden Impact
8. Staying Alive
9. Mr. Mom
10. Risky Business

TELEVISION

Television shows debuting in 1983 include Fraggle Rock, The A-Team, Mama's Family, Webster, Press Your Luck, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Love Connection, Saturday Supercade, and the mini-series V.

Shows ending include The Greatest American Hero, Laverne & Shirley, Little House on the Prairie, CHiPs, and Taxi.

• Jan 1, 1983: After episode 410 of Soul Train aired on that day, the show goes on hiatus after host Don Cornelius undergoes brain surgery.
• Feb 23, 1983: PBS airs The Operation, a live telecast of an actual open-heart surgery.
• Feb 28, 1983: The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, setting a new record for most-watched television broadcast in American history.
• March 6, 1983: Country Music Television (CMT) launches in the United States.
• March 7, 1983: The Nashville Network (TNN) now known as Spike TV begins broadcasting.
• March 19, 1983: US First Lady Nancy Reagan makes a special appearance on an episode of Diff'rent Strokes, launching her Just Say No anti-drug campaign.
• April 4, 1983: Archie Bunker's Place airs its last original episode; CBS would cancel the series after 4 seasons (and without a proper series finale), ending Carroll O'Connor's run as Archie Bunker.
• April 18. 1983: The Disney Channel is launched on cable TV.
• September 5, 1983: Tom Brokaw and Peter Jenning make their debuts as lead anchors for NBC Nightly News and ABC's World News Tonight respectively.
• September 12, 1983: The animated mini-series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero based on the popular toy line debuts in syndication. Another mini-series would follow in 1984 before launching the full series in 1985.
• December 2, 1983: The music video for Michael Jackson's for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time on MTV. It will become the most often repeated and famous music video of all time.

BIRTHS

These people turn 30 this year!!!

• Emily Blunt, actress (Feb 23)
• Carrie Underwood, singer (Mar 10)
• Chris Hemsworth, actor (Aug 11)
• Mila Kunis, actress (Aug 14)
• Maggie Grace, actress (Sept 2)
• Aaron Rogers, football player (Dec 2)
• Jonah Hill, actor (Dec 20)

DEATHS

• Paul "Bear" Bryant, football coach (Jan 26)
• Karen Carpenter, singer (Feb 4)
• Carolyn Jones, actress The Addams Family (Aug 3)
• George Halas, football coach (Oct 31)
• Michael Conrad, actor Hill Street Blues (Nov 22)
• Natalie Wood, film actress (Nov 29)

All facts courtesy Wikipedia