At A Glance

24 January 1980 at a glance

Day of the week
24 January 1980 was a Thursday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Brass in Pocket” by Pretenders.
Top Film of 1980
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1980 was The Empire Strikes Back.
Star sign
The star sign for 24 January is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 24 January 1980 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 24 January 1980 was First Quarter.

On this day: 24 January

  • 1972 Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
  • 1978 Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
  • 1986 The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.
  • 1987 About 20,000 protestors march in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.
  • 1990 Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.

Famous people born on 24 January

  • Sharon Tate, American model and actress (1943–1969)
  • Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer (born 1979)
  • Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)
  • John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (1949–1982)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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.

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

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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