At A Glance

17 December 1983 at a glance

Day of the week
17 December 1983 was a Saturday.
Irish Chart Song in 1983
The Irish chart song for 1983 was “Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club.
Top Film of 1983
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1983 was Return of the Jedi.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 December 1983 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 December 1983 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 17 December

  • 1969 Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
  • 1989 Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
  • 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
  • 2003 SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.
  • 2005 Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.

Famous people born on 17 December

  • Sarah Paulson, American actress (born 1974)
  • Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress (born 1975)
  • Bill Pullman, American actor (born 1953)
  • Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (1936–2025)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1983 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1983 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 19 January – The government confirmed that the Garda Síochána bugged politicians' and journalists' telephones.
  • 8 February – A motion calling for the resignation of Charles Haughey as leader failed after a 12-hour Fianna Fáil meeting.
  • 23 April – While more than 50 illegal pirate radio stations were broadcasting in Ireland, a Government memorandum described how their signals were interfering seriously with ambulance, fire brigade and police radio systems, airport traffic systems, and legitimate radio and television reception throughout the country.
More events of 1983 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in Ireland in 1983

Taoiseach

Garret FitzGerald

Petrol (per litre)

£1.45/gal

Loaf of Bread

£0.42

Average House

£26,500

Weekly Wage

£63

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

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

Ruth Kearney11 November 1984ActressView their day →Katie Taylor2 July 1986Footballer & boxerView their day →Domhnall Gleeson12 May 1983ActorView their day →Jessie Buckley28 December 1989Actress & singerView their day →Kerry Condon9 January 1983ActressView their day →Nicola Coughlan9 January 1987ActressView their day →Vogue Williams2 October 1985Model & media personalityView their day →Aidan Turner19 June 1983ActorView their day →

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

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