At A Glance

20 May 1982 at a glance

Day of the week
20 May 1982 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Ebony and Ivory” by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
Top Film of 1982
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1982 was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Bestselling Novel of 1982
“E.T., The Extraterrestrial” by William Kotzwinkle was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1982.
Top-Rated TV Show
“60 Minutes” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1982–83 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 May 1982 fell in the Year of the Dog.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 May 1982 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 20 May

  • 1969 The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
  • 1980 In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, with 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.
  • 1983 First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by a team of French scientists including Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Jean-Claude Chermann, and Luc Montagnier.
  • 1985 Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
  • 1990 The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.

Famous people born on May 20

  • Enes Kanter Freedom, Turkish basketball player (born 1992)
  • Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author (born 1964)
  • Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (born 1946)
  • Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer (born 1968)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1982 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1982 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • January 7 – The Commodore 64 8-bit home computer is launched by Commodore International in Las Vegas
  • February 28 – Adobe Systems is founded in the United States.
  • March 29 – The 54th Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson, are held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire wins Best Picture and three other Academy Awards.

Life in the US in 1982

President

Ronald Reagan

Gas (per gallon)

$1.22

Loaf of Bread

$0.57

Average House

$70,800

Weekly Wage

$298

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 →