At A Glance

17 May 1980 at a glance

Day of the week
17 May 1980 was a Saturday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “What's Another Year” by Johnny Logan.
Top Film of 1980
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1980 was The Empire Strikes Back.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 May 1980 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 May 1980 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 17 May

  • 1977 Nolan Bushnell opens the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (later renamed Chuck E. Cheese) in San Jose, California.
  • 1980 General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
  • 1980 On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.
  • 1983 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.
  • 1983 Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Famous people born on 17 May

  • Josh Homme, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1973)
  • Bill Paxton, American actor and director (1955–2017)
  • Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (1936–2010)
  • Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host (1956–2022)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1980 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1980 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 2 January – Workers at British Steel Corporation go on a nationwide strike over pay called by the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, which has some 90,000 members among British Steel's 150,000 workforce, in a bid to get a 20% rise.
  • 25 February – The first episode of the popular political sitcom Yes Minister is broadcast on BBC2 television.
  • 31 March – National Heritage Act sets up the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
More events of 1980 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1980

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

45p

Loaf of Bread

33p

Average House

£23,596

Weekly Wage

£120.00

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Theo James16 December 1984Actor & musicianView their day →Pac22 August 1986WrestlerView their day →Robert Pattinson13 May 1986Actor & film producerView their day →Andrew Garfield20 August 1983ActorView their day →Charlie Hunnam10 April 1980ActorView their day →Juno Temple21 July 1989ActressView their day →Rebecca Hall3 May 1982Actress & filmmakerView their day →Lewis Hamilton7 January 1985Racing driverView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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