At A Glance

15 August 1980 at a glance

Day of the week
15 August 1980 was a Friday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John.
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 15 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 15 August 1980 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 15 August 1980 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 15 August

  • 1971 President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
  • 1975 Takeo Miki makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
  • 1977 The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.
  • 1984 The Kurdistan Workers' Party in Turkey starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the Turkish Armed Forces with an attack on police and gendarmerie bases in Şemdinli and Eruh.
  • 1985 Signing of the Assam Accord, an agreement between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement to end the movement.

Famous people born on August 15

  • Napoleon, French general and emperor (1769–1821)
  • Ben Affleck, American actor and filmmaker (born 1972)
  • Jennifer Lawrence, American actress and producer (born 1990)
  • Joe Jonas, American singer, songwriter, and actor (born 1989)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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

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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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