At A Glance

12 February 1980 at a glance

Day of the week
12 February 1980 was a Tuesday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Rock with You” by Michael Jackson.
Top Film of 1980
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1980 was The Empire Strikes Back.
Bestselling Novel of 1980
“The Covenant” by James A. Michener was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1980.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Dallas” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1980–81 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 12 February is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 12 February 1980 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for February is Amethyst.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 12 February 1980 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 12 February

  • 1974 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
  • 1983 One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
  • 1988 Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S. missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage.
  • 1990 Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
  • 1992 The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect.

Famous people born on February 12

  • Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and statesman, 16th President of the United States (1809–1865)
  • Josh Brolin, American actor (born 1968)
  • Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (born 1952)
  • Christina Ricci, American actress and producer (born 1980)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1980 in the United States

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

  • January 27 – Canadian Caper: Six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran as they board a flight to Zurich, Switzerland.
  • March 22 – The Georgia Guidestones are erected in Elbert County, Georgia.
  • April 15 – A mass exodus of Cubans to the United States known as the Mariel boatlift begins. It ends on October 31 by agreement between the two countries.

Life in the US in 1980

President

Jimmy Carter

Gas (per gallon)

$1.19

Loaf of Bread

$0.50

Average House

$64,600

Weekly Wage

$267

Or

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →