At A Glance

17 May 1984 at a glance

Day of the week
17 May 1984 was a Thursday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “The Reflex” by Duran Duran.
Top Film of 1984
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1984 was Ghostbusters.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 May 1984 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 May 1984 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 17 May

  • 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.
  • 1984 Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.

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)

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Events of 1984 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1984 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 1 January – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
  • 3 January – The FTSE 100 Index starts.
  • 12 March – Miners' strike begins and pits the National Union of Mineworkers against Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government intent on free market reform of the nationalised industries, which includes plans for the closure of most of Britain's remaining coal pits.

Life in 1984

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

63p

Loaf of Bread

44p

Average House

£28,153

Weekly Wage

£165.00

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

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

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

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