- January 24
- The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad is ordered to be liquidated due to bankruptcy. [120]
- North of Livermore Valley, California, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurs. [53]
- January 25
- Highest speed attained by a warship, 167 kph, US Navy hovercraft. [1]
- January 27
- Six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran as they board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland. [120] (January 29 [1])
- Near Livermore, California, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurs. [53]
- January 28
- 37th Golden Globes: Dustin Hoffman and Sally Field win. [1]
- February 2
- FBI releases details of Abscam, a sting operation that targeted 31 elected and public officials for bribes for political favors. [1] [120]
- (to February 3) New Mexico State Penitentiary inmates riot; 33 are killed and more than 100 injured. [120]
- February 3
- Muhammed Ali tours Africa as US President Jimmy Carter's envoy. [1]
- February 13
- Apollo Computer is incorporated. [1]
- February 14
- US launches Solar Maximum Mission Observatory to study solar flares. [1]
- February 23
- Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages. [120]
- February 27
- 22nd Grammy Awards: "What a Fool Believes", Barbara Streisand-Neil Diamond duet ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers"). [1]
- February 28
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- March 8
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- March 12
- Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago, Illinois. [1]
- March 13
- Ford Motor Company found innocent in death of three women in a fiery Pinto. [1]
- March 14
- In Poland, a plane crashes during an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing a 14-man American boxing team and 73 others. [1] [120]
- US President Jimmy Carter signs law abolishing the coin Assay Commission. [434.94]
- March 20
- US appeals to International Court on hostages in Iran. [1]
- March 21
- Mafioso Angelo Bruno is assassinated in Atlantic City. [120]
- U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. [120]
- March 27
- Mount Saint Helens in Washington state becomes active after 123 years. [1]
- March 31
- US President Jimmy Carter deregulates banking industry. [1]
- Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operate final train. [120]
- April 1
- The Mariel boatlift from Cuba to Florida begins. [120]
- New York City's Transport Works Union Local 100 goes on strike, which continues for 11 days. [120]
- April 3
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- April 6
- Post It Notes are introduced. [1]
- April 7
- The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions. [1] [120]
- April 11
- American Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulates sexual harrassment. [1]
- April 13
- Grease closes at Broadhurst Theater in New York City after 3,388 performances. [1]
- April 14
- 52nd Academy Awards: Best Picture: Kramer versus Kramer, Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman, Best Actress: Sally Field, Best Foreign Film: Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum) (first Oscar award for a German film). [1] [37]
- April 16
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- April 20
- The Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana. 125,000 Cubans flee by the end of the exodus in October, with 27 deaths. [1] [129]
- April 24
- (to April 25) Operation Eagle Claw, a US commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation. [1] [120] [129]
- The Pennsylvania Lottery is rigged by six men including the host of the live TV drawing, Nick Perry. [120]
- April 25
- Announcement of US President Jimmy Carter of the hostage rescue bungle in Iran. [1]
- April 26
- Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- Iran begins scattering US hostages from the US Embassy. [1]
- April 28
- Cyrus Vance, US President Jimmy Carter's Secretary of State, resigns. [1]
- May 1
- 15th Academy of Country Music Awards: Barbara Mandrell wins. [1]
- American Book Award: William Styron (Sophie's Choice)/T Wolfe (The Right Stuff). [1]
- May 2
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- May 7
- Paul Geidel, convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, is released from prison in Beacon, New York, after 68 years and 245 days (the longest-ever time served by an inmate). [120]
- May 9
- In Florida, Liberian freighter Summit Venture hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, sending 35 people to death as a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapses. [1] [120]
- May 15
- Shawn Weatherly, of Sumter, South Carolina, crowned 29th Miss USA/Miss Universe-1980. [1]
- First trans-US balloon crossing (Maxie Anderson and son Chris). [1]
- May 17
- A Miami, Florida court acquits four white police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, provoking three days of race riots - 16 killed, 300 injured. [1] [120]
- May 18
- At Mount Saint Helens, Washington, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurs, preceeding an eruption by seconds. [53]
- Mount Saint Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage. 396 metres of the top of the mountain explodes in a gigantic dust cloud. [1] [53] [120]
- Death of David A. Johnston, American volcanoligist, victim of Mount Saint Helens' eruption (born 1949). [120]
- May 19
- Apple Computer introduces the Apple III computer. It features twice the processor speed (2 MHz 6502 processor) as the Apple II, twice the memory (128 kB), built-in 5.25-inch floppy drive, Apple SOS operating system. With a small case and no cooling fan, reliability problems limit lifetime sales over four years to 65,000 units. [4]
- May 20
- 710 families in Love Canal area (Niagara Falls, New York) are evacuated. [1]
- May 21
- Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back premieres in movie theaters. [1] [120]
- May 24
- The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran. [1] [120]
- May 29
- Attempted assassination of Vernon Jordan Jr, National Urban League president. [1]
- 53rd US National Spelling Bee: Jacques Bailly wins spelling "elucubrate". [1]
- June 1
- CNN (Cable News Network) debuts, as the world's first 24-hour television news network, from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. [1] [129]
- June 3
- U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy wins several primaries, including California, on 'Super Tuesday', but not enough to overtake President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic Party nomination. Jimmy Carter wins enough delegates for renomination as US President. [1] [120]
- A series of deadly tornadoes strikes Grand Island, Nebraska, causing over $300m in damage, killing 5 people and injuring over 250. [120]
- June 9
- In the California - Mexico border region, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurs. [53]
- June 10
- A Unabomber bomb injures United Airlines president Percy Wood in Lake Forest, Illinois. [120]
- June 13
- Republican John Jenrette Jr (Democrat-South Carolina) indicted in "Abscam" investigation. [1]
- June 27
- U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs Proclamation 4771 requiring 19- and 20-year-old males to register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. [120]
- July 15
- A severe and destructive thunderstorm strikes four counties in western Wisconsin, including the city of Eau Claire. It causes over US$250 million in damage, and one person is killed. [120]
- July 16
- Former California Governor and actor Ronald Reagan is nominated for U.S. President, at the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan. [1] [120]
- July 17
- Ronald Reagan formally accepts Republican nomination for president of US. [1]
- July 23
- River of No Return Wilderness Area designated by Jimmy Carter. [1]
- July 27
- In Northeast Kentucky, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurs. Felt in 15 states and in parts of southern Ontario, Canada. [53]
- July 30
- Representative Ron Paul of Texas introduces "Monetary Freedom Act" in House of Representatives to "repeal the privilege of banks to create money". [459.64] [516.32]
- August 10
- Allen, the most powerful hurricane in Caribbean hits Brownsville, Texas. [1] [120]
- August 14
- U.S. President Jimmy Carter defeats Senator Edward Kennedy to win renomination, at the Democratic National Convention in New York City. [120]
- September
- Jonathon Coins of Los Angeles, California sells a Series 1890 $1000 US Treasury "Grand Watermelon" note for US$125,000, a world record for any bank note. [667.1]
- September 19
- Titan II missile explosion (Damascus, Arkansas). [1]
- September 30
- Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel and Xerox introduce the DIX standard for Ethernet, which is the first implementation outside of Xerox, and the first to support 10 Mbit/s speeds. [120]
- October 2
- Michael Myers (Democrat-Pennsylvania), is first representative expelled in over 100 years (ABSCAM). [1]
- October 7
- President Jimmy Carter signs Public Law 96-389, directing the Treasury Secretary to study various aspects of the role of gold in the domestic and international monetary systems, and report to Congress by October 7, 1981 (later extended to March 31, 1982). [474.202] [684.22]
- October 9
- First consumer use of home banking by computer, in Knoxville, Tennessee. [1] [442.91]
- October 14
- The Staggers Rail Act is enacted, deregulating American railroads. [120]
- US President nominee Ronald Reagan promises to name a woman to Supreme Court. [1]
- October 28
- U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Reagan's genial, witty performance causes him to overtake Carter in the polls. [120]
- November 4
- U.S. presidential election: Republican challenger and former California Governor Ronald Reagan defeats incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in a landslide victory. [1] [120]
- November 8
- In Gorda Plate, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. Most of the damage occurred east of Fields Landing, where two sections of an overpass on U.S. Highway 101 collapsed onto the railroad tracks below. [53]
- November 17
- The former New Orleans Mint building re-opens as the Louisiana State Museum. [543.24]
- November 21
- A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada kills 85 people. The cause is determined to be faulty electrical system on the first floor. [1] [120] [187.421] [386.311]
- November 22
- Georgia tanker at Pilottown, Louisiana, spills 1.3 million gallons of oil after an anchor chain caused the ship to leak. [1]
- December 2
- Four American Maryknoll nuns killed by death squads in El Salvador. [1]
- December 8
- Former Beatle John Lennon dies en route to hospital after being shot outside his New York City apartment by Mark David Chapman, who had received his signature earlier in the day. [1] [120] [129]
- December 11
- CERCLA is enacted by the U.S. Congress. [120]
- December 12
- Apple Computer becomes a publicly held company, selling 4.6 million shares at US$22 per share. More than 40 Apple employees and investors become instant millionaires. This is the largest initial public offering in the US since Ford's in 1956. [4]
- American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays US$5.12 million at auction for a notebook containing writings by artist Leonardo da Vinci, written around 1508. The price is the highest paid for a manuscript to date. [129]
- USA's copyright law amended to include computer programs. [1]
- December 14
- At 2 PM EST there is ten minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon in the USA. [1]
- December 16
- US President-elect Ronald Reagan announces Alexander Haig as Secretary of State. [1]
- December 19
- Iran requests US$24 billion in US guarantees to free hostages. [1]
- Mutual Broadcasting cancels Sears Radio Theater. [1]
- December 22
- US President-elect Ronald Reagan appoints Jean Kirkpatrick (UN delegate) and James Watt (Interior). [1]
- December 24
- Americans remember Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds. [1]
- December 28
- México terminates fishing agreements with US. [1]
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