At A Glance

16 August 1984 at a glance

Day of the week
16 August 1984 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr..
Top Film of 1984
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1984 was Ghostbusters.
Bestselling Novel of 1984
“The Talisman” by Stephen King and Peter Straub was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1984.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Dynasty” (ABC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1984–85 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 16 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 August 1984 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 August 1984 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 16 August

  • 1964 Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Dương Văn Minh with General Nguyễn Khánh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.
  • 1966 Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
  • 1972 In an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, the Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat.
  • 1975 Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically hands over land to the Gurindji people after the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration.
  • 1989 A solar particle event affects computers at the Toronto Stock Exchange, forcing a halt to trading.

Famous people born on August 16

  • Madonna, American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and director (born 1958)
  • Sophie Cunningham, American basketball player (born 1996)
  • Jannik Sinner, Italian tennis player (born 2001)
  • James Cameron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1954)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1984 in the United States

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

  • April 9 – The 56th Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with James L. Brooks' Terms of Endearment winning Best Picture and Best Director, as well as three other awards out of 11 nominations.
  • June 8 – Ghostbusters and Gremlins are released.
  • June 22 – The Karate Kid is released.

Life in the US in 1984

President

Ronald Reagan

Gas (per gallon)

$1.13

Loaf of Bread

$0.61

Average House

$79,900

Weekly Wage

$320

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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