At A Glance

17 December 1983 at a glance

Day of the week
17 December 1983 was a Saturday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Say Say Say” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.
Top Film of 1983
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1983 was Return of the Jedi.
Bestselling Novel of 1983
“Return of the Jedi” by James Kahn was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1983.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Dallas” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1983–84 season.
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 December 17

  • 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)

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Events of 1983 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1983 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • March 25 – Rob Lowe's feature film debut The Outsiders is released.
  • April 11 – The 55th Academy Awards, hosted by Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor and Walter Matthau, are held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Richard Attenborough's Gandhi receives 11 nominations and wins eight awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
  • April 18 – The Disney Channel is initiated on American cable TV.
More events of 1983 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1983

President

Ronald Reagan

Gas (per gallon)

$1.16

Loaf of Bread

$0.59

Average House

$75,300

Weekly Wage

$308

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

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

Hayden Panettiere21 August 1989Actress & singerView their day →Alan Ritchson28 November 1982ActorView their day →Anne Hathaway12 November 1982ActressView their day →Dakota Johnson4 October 1989Actress & modelView their day →Macklemore19 June 1983RapperView their day →Andrew Garfield20 August 1983ActorView their day →Julia Stiles28 March 1981ActressView their day →Taylor Swift13 December 1989Singer-songwriterView their day →

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

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