At A Glance

16 November 1980 at a glance

Day of the week
16 November 1980 was a Sunday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Lady” by Kenny Rogers.
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 16 November is Scorpio.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 November 1980 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for November is Topaz.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 November 1980 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 16 November

  • 1973 Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission.
  • 1973 U.S. president Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
  • 1974 The Arecibo message is broadcast from Puerto Rico.
  • 1979 The first line of Bucharest Metro (Line M1) is opened from Timpuri Noi to Semănătoarea in Bucharest, Romania.
  • 1988 The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic declares that Estonia is "sovereign" but stops short of declaring independence.

Famous people born on November 16

  • Bruno Guimarães, Brazilian footballer (born 1997)
  • Tiberius, Roman emperor (born -42)
  • Bonnie Greer, American-English playwright and critic (1948–2026)
  • Burgess Meredith, American actor, singer, director, producer, and screenwriter (1907–1997)

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 →