January 31, 1983:
* The Independent Truckers Association begins a nationwide strike in the United States to protest higher truck and fuel taxes.
* President Ronald Reagan formally presents Congress his budget for fiscal 1984; a deficit of $188.8 billion is projected.

 February 1983

February 1, 1983:
* A month of violent clashes begin in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, resulting in over 1,500 deaths. The clashes take place between native Hindus and immigrant Muslims.

February 2, 1983:
* The 1984 U.S. presidential campaign gets under way, as California Senator Alan Cranston (D) becomes the first candidate to formally announce his bid.
* On a 12-day, four-nation tour of Asia, U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz holds talks with Chinese leaders in Peking on a broad range of topics including Taiwan, the world economy, and Sino-US trade relations.

February 3, 1983:
* Rosalynn Sumners defeats Elaine Zayak for the woman's title in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. At the same competition, Scott Hamilton won the men's title for the third consecutive year.

February 4, 1983:
* Singer Karen Carpenter dies at age 32 of heart failure caused by chronic anorexia.
* The U.S. Department of Labor announces that in January, for the first time in 17 months, the unemployment rate fell - from 10.8 percent in December to the new figure of 10.4 percent.
* Portuguese President Antonio Ramalho Eanes dissolves Parliament and calls for new elections on April 25, the ninth anniversary of the revolution that restored democracy after half a century of dictatorship.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Without A Trace.

February 5, 1983:
* After being arrested in Bolivia on January 25, Klaus Barbie, the head of the Gestapo in Lyons from 1942 to 1944, is returned to France and charged with "crimes against humanity, murder, torture, arbitrary arrests and jailings."
* Africa by Toto becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

February 6, 1983:
* In Italy, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini wins his first fight since the death of Duk Koo Kim following an earlier fight.
* General Alfredo Stroessner is elected to his seventh term as president of Paraguay.

February 7, 1983:
* The nuclear power unit of the crippled Soviet satellite Cosmos 1402 enters the atmosphere and disintegrates, 15 days after the separated body had burned upon reentry. Officials state that the radiation threat is negligible.
* Elizabeth H. Dole is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

February 8, 1983:
* The $13.5 million thoroughbred race horse Shergar is kidnapped by gunmen from a stud farm at Newbridge, Ireland. The five-year-old bay was a former winner of the Irish Sweeps Derby and English Derby. The horse's whereabouts remain unknown, although it is speculated that the IRA kidnapped the horse to raise money, but shot the animal when he panicked.
* Hitachi Ltd., one of Japan's leading electronics firms, pleads guilty in a U.S. federal court to charges of conspiracy to obtain classified information about IBM computers. The company's lawyer contended that Hitachi's top officers were unware of the plan. Two of Hitachi's employees also pleaded guilty and, like the company itself, were fined.

February 9, 1983:
* In a media conference, President Ronald Reagan comments on the economic turnaround that appears to have begun. He cites a number of factors, including an inflation rate of 3.9 percent for 1982 (vs. double digit for the prior two years), an increase in production of 22 percent over the prior quarter, increasing wages and employment, and an index of leading economic indicators 6.2 percent higher than the figure nine months earlier.

February 10, 1983:
* Leaders of the Independent Truckers Association (ITA) call off an 11-day strike. The truckers had been protesting new federal legislation increasing the registration fee for large trucks.
* Canada and the United States sign an agreement permitting the U.S. to test unarmed cruise missiles in northern Alberta.
* U.S. Vice President George Bush completes a 12-day visit to Europe that included stops in West Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France, Great Britain, and the Vatican. Bush tells reporters that the Western allies spoke with one voice when they urged the U.S. to be flexible during negotiations with the Soviet Union on arms reduction.

February 11, 1983:
* Ariel Sharon resigns as Israel's defense minister in the wake of a state investigating commission report that the nation's top civilian and military leaders bore "indirect responsibility" for the massacre of Palestinians by Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia in September 1982. Sharon is asked to stay in the cabinet as minister without portfolio, and Moshe Arens is chosen as his successor in the defense ministry.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: The Sting II.

February 12, 1983:
* The coal carrier "Marine Electric" capsizes in a blizzard east of Chincoteague, Virginia; 33 crew members perish.
* Representative Phil Gramm of Texas wins election to Congress as a Republican after resigning January 5 to switch parties.
* Esmat Sadat, the half brother of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat as-Sadat, is convicted of corruption by a court of ethics and sentenced to one year in prison.
* NASA officials state that the launching of a space telescope that will let astronomers see to the edges of the universe may be delayed by up to a year beyond is scheduled launch date in February 1985 because of manufacturing and testing problems.
* Eubie Blake, the American ragtime composer and pianist, dies one week after his 100th birthday. Blake's 315 compositions included such hits as "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and "Memories of You." An RCA press release concerning Eubie Blake and the Broadway title "Eubie!" appeared in the Vol. 7 No. 11 issue of Digest.
Down Under  by Men at Work regains the No. 1 U.S. single position.

February 13, 1983:
* Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain arrives in Jamaica for a four-day visit.
* Spyros Kyprianou, a member of the Democratic party, is reelected to a five-year term as president of Cyprus with 57 percent of the vote.

February 14, 1983:
* Nigeria states that 1.2 million West Africans have left the country since it ordered the expulsion of foreign workers four weeks earlier, with the largest number going to Ghana. other sources put the number expelled as high as 2 million.

February 15, 1983:
* United American Bank of Knoxville reopens as a unit of First Tennessee National Corporation after it closed February 14 in one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history.
* After months of negotiations with the Lebanese government, the Christian Phalangist militia and their supporters withdraw from East Beirut and take up positions outside the city. Their departure gives the government control of the entire capital for the first time since the mid-1970's.

February 16, 1983:
* President Reagan reveals that the United States has sent Air Force AWACS reconnaissance planes and the Navy aircraft carrier "Nimitz" to Egypt for training exercises in light of reported tensions along the Libyan-Sudanese border.

February 17, 1983:
* Senator Gary Hart of Colorado declares himself a candidate for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.
* GM and Toyota sign an agreement to jointly produce a car in the United States.

February 18, 1983:
* Edwin P. Wilson, an agent of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from 1954 to 1970, is sentenced to 17 years in prison for illegally exporting explosives to Libya.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: The King of Comedy.

February 19, 1983:
* A freight train crashes into a stalled passenger train near Empalme, Mexico resulting in more than 70 deaths.
* In a break with OPEC, Nigeria cuts crude oil prices $5.50 per barrel.
* Baby, Come to Me By Patti Austin and James Ingram becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

February 20, 1983:
* Cale Yarborough of Timmonsville, South Carolina wins the Daytona 500 stock car race by four car lengths in his backup Pontiac after crashing a Chevrolet during practice the previous week.

February 21, 1983:
* Walter Mondale, former Vice President of the United States, announces his candidacy for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.
* Soviet Premier Nikolai A. Tikhonov arrives in Athens to discuss a wide range of topics with Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. The meeting occurs at a time when Greece and the U.S. are negotiating the future of U.S. military bases in Greece.

February 22, 1983:
* At a joint news conference with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Sudan's President Mohammed al-Nemery confirms U.S. reports of a plot by Libya to overthrow his government.
* EPA Administrator Anne Gorsuch announces a U.S. government offer to purchase all homes and businesses in Times Beach, a Missouri town recently afflicted by flooding and dioxin contamination. The cost of the purchase and subsequent demolition is estimated at $33 million.
* Harold Washington scores an upset victory in the Democratic mayoral primary in Chicago, Illinois.

February 23, 1983:
* Reubin O'D. Askew, former governor of Florida, declares himself a candidate for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

 

February 24, 1983:
* The Dow Jones industrial average closes above 1,100 for the first time at 1121.81, on expectations of U.S. economic recovery and lower oil prices.
* The U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians releases a 467-page report concluding that the relocation and internment of 120,000 Japanese-American citizens and resident aliens during World War II was a "gave injustice."

February 25, 1983:
* Tennessee Williams, the American playwright, dies at the age of 71. Several of his plays were made into movies, including the titles A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: 10 To Midnight.

February 26, 1983:
* Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip begin a ten-day visit to the West Coast of the United States.
* Thriller  by Michael Jackson becomes the No. 1 U.S. Album.

February 27, 1983:
* Leaders of the National Governors Association urge President Reagan to raise taxes and cut military spending growth, to hold down federal budget deficits without slashing social spending.
* Governor George Deukmejian declares four California counties disaster areas as heavy Pacific rainstorms continue to lash the state.
* Eaminn Coghlan of Ireland sets a world indoor record for the mile, running it in 3 minutes 49.78 seconds.

February 28, 1983:
* The International Monetary Fund grants Brazil a $5.4 billion loan to offset the country's huge foreign debt and provide financial stability. Earlier in the month a similar loan had been given to Mexico.
* Suriname installs a new civilian cabinet headed by Prime Minister Errol Alibux.
* The long-running television series M*A*S*H broadcasts its final episode to an audience of 125 million, more U.S. viewers than any single program in history. The prior record was held by the "Who Shot JR?" episode of Dallas, which drew 88.6 millions viewers.

March 1983
March 1, 1983:
* An overnight ferry, traveling from Canton to Zhaoqing, China, turns over in a thunderstorm resulting in 166 deaths.
* China and the Soviet Union, after a three-year interval, resume talks in Moscow on ways to improve relations between the two countries. China indicated it was looking for concrete proof that the U.S.S.R. was sincere in wanting a better relationship, wanting the Soviet Union to end its military support of Vietnamese troops occupying Cambodia so that free elections could be held there under UN supervision.
* United Steelworkers of America local union presidents approve the first contract in the union's history that cuts wages and benefits.
* A transit strike ends rail service for about 70,000 commuters in New Jersey.

March 2, 1983:
* Dr. Barney Clark, the artificial heart recipient on December 2, 1982, comments publicly for the first time. In a videotaped interview with his surgeon, Dr. William C. DeVries, Dr. Clark says his ordeal has been worthwhile and would be for others in his situation because, he says, "either they die or they have it done."
* Pope John Paul II arrives in Costa Rica, beginning an eight-day, eight-nation tour of Central America and the Caribbean.

March 3, 1983:
* An estimated 80,000 Greeks attend a protest rally in Athens to demand the closing down of all U.S. military bases in the country. The demonstration was jointly organized by an independent leftist organization, by the Greek Communist Party, and most notably by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), the party of Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou.

March 4, 1983:
* Artificial heart recipient Barney B. Clark is reported by his doctors to have developed pneumonia and to be suffering from nausea and vomiting.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Tender Mercies.

March 5, 1983:
* Australia's Labor Party, led by Robert Hawke, wins a solid majority in the lower house of Parliament, ending eight years of Liberal-National Party rule.
* Billie Jean by Michael Jackson becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

March 6, 1983:
* The ruling center-right coalition of West Germany's Helmut Kohl wins a strong majority in national elections for the Bundestag. The Greens, a leftist antinuclear and environmental movement, earns its first 27 seats in the 498-seat body.
* The new United States Football League begins its first season.

March 7, 1983:
* Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi welcomes leaders of third world nations to a conference in New Delhi. In her opening address Gandhi pleads for more financial aid for less developed countries and urged conciliation on political issues.
* A transit strike shuts down all service for 90,000 commuters from New York City's northern suburbs.

March 8, 1983:
* Opposition leader Joshua Nkomo flees Zimbabwe after attacks on his supporters by government troops.
* In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, President Reagan refers to the Soviet Union as "an evil empire" and "the focus of evil in the modern world."

March 9, 1983:
* Anne Burford resigns as head of the EPA, amid continuing charges that the agency mishandled the toxic waste cleanup program.
* Margaret Heckler is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

March 10, 1983:
* President Reagan calls for an additional $110 million in military aid to El Salvador during fiscal 1983, up from $60 million he had requested ten days earlier; Congress has authorized $26 million for the year.
* India and Pakistan sign an agreement to form a joint commission to improve economic and cultural relations; talks continue on a nonaggression treaty.
* The People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia unanimously re-elects President Suharto to a fourth five-year term.
* A second Soviet satellite is linked in space to the unoccupied orbiting Salyut 7 space lab, doubling the size of the Soviet space station to provide working and living space for up to six cosmonauts.

March 11, 1983:
* Robert Hawke, leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and a new 27-member cabinet are sworn into office. The ALP won a solid victory in parliamentary elections on March 5, ousting the Liberal-National Party coalition of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: My Tutor.

March 12, 1983:
* The seventh summit of the Nonaligned Nations movement concludes in New Delhi, India. The six-day conference focused on the world economy and disarmament. Four new members - Bahamas, Barbados, Columbia, and Vanuatu - were admitted, bringing the total membership to 101.
* The World Ice Skating Championships conclude in Helsinki, Finland. Rosalynn Sumners easily wins the women's title after Elaine Zayak is forced to withdraw due to a stress fracture. Scott Hamilton wins the men's title for the third straight year, the first American man to do so since David Jenkins (1957-1959).

March 13, 1983:
* Zimbabwean opposition leader Joshua Nkomo arrives in London after fleeing from the government of his rival, Robert Mugabe.
* France's ruling Socialist-led coalition makes a partial recovery in the second round of municipal elections after suffering heavy losses in the first round on March 6.

March 14, 1983:
* For the first time in its 23-year history, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agrees to cut its price for crude oil from $34 to $29, and also to set national output quotas.

March 15, 1983:
* A signalmen's strike shuts down Philadelphia area commuter trains, the third strike in the Northeast to affect commuters.

March 16, 1983:
* Arthur Godfrey, the American radio and television personality, dies at the age of 79. Godfrey was known for his wit and his warm folksy manner.

March 17, 1983:
* Chad asks the UN Security Council for help in settling a long-standing border dispute with Libya. The desert area in question is presently occupied by Libya, which claimed it under terms of a World War II treaty. The problem was complicated by the fact that Libya did not recognize the government of Hissen Habre, who in June 1982 overthrew Goukouni Oueddei. The former president had gained power in 1980 with the help of Libya's armed forces.

March 18, 1983:
* Cathy Smith, the girlfriend of actor and comedian John Belushi, is indicted for murder in his death.
* The 8th West Coast Computer Faire begins in San Francisco, the last of the "classic" Computer Faires before the event was reorganized under new management. The most notable advance is the introduction of 16K ROM cartridges which double the amount of memory available to video games and cartridge-based computer programs.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Spring Break.

March 19, 1983:
* Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke announces that he is renewing trade and cultural ties with the Soviet Union that had been interrupted after Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

March 20, 1983:
* Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, arrive in Australia for a month-long visit.

March 21, 1983:
* The eight member nations of the European Monetary System agree to realign their currencies, raising the value of the West German mark by 5.5 percent and devaluing the French franc by 2.5 percent.
* President Reagan names William Ruckelshaus as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), replacing Anne McGill Burford, who resigned March 9 in the face of mounting public pressure and congressional investigations into possible mismanagement and conflict of interest in the agency.

March 22, 1983:
* Israel's Parliament chooses Chiam Herzog of the Labor Party as the nation's president.
* The 44-member French cabinet resigns, and Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy names a new cabinet of only 15 members.

March 23, 1983:
* A plan to use the latest in modern technology to build an invulnerable missile shield for the United States is proposed by President Ronald Reagan. In a televised address from the White House, Reagan presented "a vision of the future which offers hope" that the U.S. could stop relying on massive retaliation to counter the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack, but warned that the technological breakthroughs necessary to create a missile shield "may not be accomplished before the end of this century." White House officials said the shield might involve lasers, microwave devices, particle beams, and projectile beams directed from satellites to shoot down Soviet missiles before they could strike American territory. The program becomes known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or "Star Wars."
* Dr Barney B. Clark, the first artificial heart recipient, dies at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, 112 days after the plastic and aluminum device was implanted in his chest. His death was attributed to circulatory collapse, shock, and generalized failure of all his organs except the artificial heart. He was 62 years old.

March 24, 1983:
* Congress completes action on a $9.6 billion jobs bill, including funding for putting up to 400,000 people to work and for underwriting unemployment benefits in depressed states.
* The final episode of the TV series "Diff'rent Strokes" with actress Dana Plato as a regular member of the cast premiers on NBC.

March 25, 1983:
* Congress passes legislation to rescue the U.S. social security system from bankruptcy. The legislation must be signed by President Reagan before becoming law.
* The Motown 25 Television Special  is videotaped. Michael Jackson performs the "moonwalk" for the first time before a live audience.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Max Dugan Returns.

March 26, 1983:
* British art critic and historian Anthony Blunt dies at age 75. In 1979 he had been publicly identified as a long-term spy for the Soviet NKVD and KGB, a discovery kept secret by the British MI5 since 1964.

March 27, 1983:
* Larry Holmes retains his World Boxing Council (WBC) title by outpointing Lucien Rodriguez in every round of a 12-round bout in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

March 28, 1983:
* Martinus Jansen, the Bishop of Rotterdam from 1956-70, dies at the age of 77. In the 1960's he made the controversial decision to auction off his cathedral (which was demolished for an office building) to build three smaller churches.

March 29, 1983:
* In follow up comments to his March 23 address, President Reagan suggests he would share "Star Wars" technology with the Soviet Union.

March 30, 1983:
* Roy L. Williams, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is sentenced to 55 years in prison for his December 1982 conviction of having attempted to bribe a U.S. Senator.
* The first California condor hatched in captivity emerges from its shell at the San Diego Zoo.

March 31, 1983:
* An earthquake strikes Popayan, Columbia, killing more than 300 people.
* The Michael Jackson music video "Beat It" premiers on MTV.
* President Reagan states he will not approve the shipment of F-16 fighter planes to Israel until the country has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon.

April 12, 1983:
* Vietnam claims its two-week offensive against various rebel factions in Kampuchea has ended in victory. The fighting occurred along the Thai border and, according to the Thai government and Kampuchean witnesses, involved hundreds of civilian fatalities at the hands of the Vietnamese.
* U.S. Representative Harold Washington (D) defeats Bernard Epton to become the first black mayor of the city of Chicago.
* Following a week of heavy rains and flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama, at least 15 persons are reported dead and 50,000 left homeless, with damage estimated at $600 million.

April 13, 1983:
* High ranking Japanese and Soviet government officials conclude two days of talks in Tokyo without reconciling their major differences. Japan wanted missiles in Siberia removed that the U.S.S.R. claims are defense against U.S. submarines.
* In what becomes the best-remembered scene from the TV series "Dynasty," Krystal (Linda Evans) and arch-nemesis Alexis (Joan Collins) tumble headlong into a water lily pond after getting into a fight.

April 14, 1983:
* Kenneth L. Adelman is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, despite a negative recommendation by the Foreign Relations Committee.
* In response to a flurry of congressional criticism, President Reagan denies that providing covert aid to Nicaraguan rebel forces is a violation of U.S. law.
* A giant inflatable King Kong is finally installed and inflated atop the Empire State Building in New York City, although the balloon would only inflate to about 85 percent capacity, and it deflated a short while later. Originally scheduled for installation on April 7, wind gusts, tangled cables, and punched holes plagued the effort for days. The event commemorates the 50th anniversary of the original King Kong movie, and RCA issued a press release on April 6 promoting the RCA VideoDisc release of the movie being shown on a player in the Fifth Avenue lobby of the Empire State Building.

April 15, 1983:
* A Disneyland theme park opens near Tokyo, Japan, drawing 25,000 visitors on its first day.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Flashdance.

April 16, 1983:
* Brazil detains four Libyan planes en route to Nicaragua after finding weapons, explosives, and ammunition on the planes.
* China shells the Vietnam border in retaliation for raids.

April 17, 1983:
* A New York transit strike that began on March 7 comes to an end.
* Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrive in New Zealand for a two-week visit.

April 18, 1983:
* The U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon is leveled by a car bomb explosion, leaving 63 persons dead and more than 100 injured. A pro-Iranian group claims responsibility.
* Fire sweeps through a crowded disco in Taegu, South Korea, killing over two dozen people.
* Greg Meyer wins the 87th Boston Marathon with a time of 2:09:00. Joan Benoit sets a new woman's record with a time of 2:22:42.

April 19, 1983:
* U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and other U.S. officials conclude talks with members of the Cabinet of Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado. Shultz promises that the U.S. will pay more attention to Mexico's views on Central America.

April 20, 1983:
* President Reagan signs a bill intended to restore the solvency of the Social Security system. The bill mandates raising the retirement age with full benefits from 65 to 66 by the year 2009 and to 67 by the year 2027.
* The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's stated goal of reaching 30 space shuttle flights a year by the 1990's is "impossible or highly improbable" to meet with just the currently financed four shuttle craft, a panel of aerospace experts assembled by the National Academy of Sciences reports.

April 21, 1983:
* Jackie Presser, 56, is sworn in as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He replaces Roy L. Williams, who resigned after being sentenced to 55 years in prison for his December 1982 conviction of having attempted to bribe a U.S. Senator.
* Senator John H. Glenn, Jr. (D, Ohio) becomes the fifth announced candidate for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

April 22, 1983:
* The West German magazine _Stern_ announces the discovery of what it claims are the secret diaries of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. The sixty volumes of handwritten documents cover the years 1932-45.
* President Reagan announces that the U.S. is ready to negotiate long-term grain sales to the Soviet Union.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Bad Boys.

April 23, 1983:
* Local unions of the United Auto Workers (UAW) ratify a new contract with Caterpillar Tractor Company, ending a strike that began on October 1, 1982.
* Olympic champion swimmer and actor Buster Crabbe (clarence Linden Crabbe) dies at age 75. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
* Come on Eileen  by Dexys Midnight Runners becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

April 24, 1983:
* Turkey's military government moves the country a step closer to democracy by announcing its intention to permit the formation of political parties. A ban remained in force, however, for 150 politicians who had gained prominence before the 1980 military coup.

April 25, 1983:
* Austria's Socialist Party selects Fred Sinowatz to succeed Bruno Kreisky as the nation's chancellor. Parliamentary elections the day before left the Socialists as the country's largest party but without an absolute majority, prompting Kreisky to resign.
* In national elections in Portugal, the Socialist Party wins the most seats in Parliament. Mario Soares, the party's head, thus becomes premier. He succeeds Francisco Pinto Balsemao, who had held the position since 1980.

April 26, 1983:
* San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein wins an overwhelming victory in a recallelection.
* The National Commission on Excellence in Education, created in 1981, issues a 36-page report which warns that "a rising tide of mediocrity" in U.S. schools "threatens our very future as a nation and a people."
* In a continuing "bull market" atmosphere, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of trading on the New York Stock Exchange breaks the 1200 barrier, closing at 1209.46 on 97.25 million shares.

April 27, 1983:
* Addressing a special joint session of Congress, President Reagan warns that events in Central America pose a real threat to U.S. security and urges approval for increased military and economic aid. Sen. Christopher Dodd (CT) responds on behalf of Democrats by opposing any increases and calling for negotiated settlements.

April 28, 1983:
* The Argentine government, in a nationally televised address, states that the thousands of people who had disappeared during the "dirty war" against terrorism in the 1970's were now officially considered dead. President Reynaldo Bignone calls the actions by the police and military during that time "acts of service."

April 29, 1983:
* Mexico and Brazil end three days of talks during which a series of agreements on trade, industry, and reciprocal credit are made.
* Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani resigns following the April 22 decision of the Socialist Party to withdraw from the ruling coalition.
* The Swiss government orders Novosti, the Soviet news agency, to close its office in Bern, Switzerland because of "repeated and increasingly grave interventions in Swiss internal affair."
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Valley Girl.

April 30, 1983:
* Blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) dies at the age of 68. He appears on the title "The Last Waltz," and has songs on the titles "Mandingo" and "Risky Business."
* Famed choreographer George Balanchine dies at the age of 79. A Russian who emigrated to the U.S. in 1933, Balanchine created more than 200 major ballets. He also co-founded the School of American Ballet, which later became the New York City Ballet. He did the choreography for Mikhail Baryshnikov and company in the title "The Turning Point."
* Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda is re-appointed prime minister of Thailand.
* Beat It  by Michael Jackson becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

May 1983

May 1, 1983:
* Violent anti-government protests mark the May Day holiday in cities throughout Poland.

May 2, 1983:
* An earthquake of 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale shakes the San Joaquin Valley of central California. It is the most destructive earthquake to hit the United States in twelve years. Coalinga, a town near the epicenter of the earthquake, is heavily damaged, with one-third of the town's homes uninhabitable.

May 3, 1983:
* At a welcoming dinner in Moscow for East German head of state Erich Honecker, Soviet leader Yuri Andropov offers the West a proposal for limiting nuclear weapons in Europe. The plan calls for a cut in the number of warheads rather than missiles.
* The National Conference of Bishops, meeting in Chicago, approves an amended third draft of a pastoral letter that denounces the nuclear arms race and calls for a "halt" to the development and deployment of new weapon systems.
* The U.S. reports on increased aid for the Mujahedeen rebels fighting the Soviet Union backed government of President Babrak Karmal in Afghanistan.

May 4, 1983:
* President Reagan states that the insurgent groups in Nicaragua receiving covert aid from the Central Intelligence Agency are "freedom fighters" who oppose a government that has betrayed its revolutionary principles.
* Chairman Lee Iacocca of the Chrysler Corporation announces that the company will pay off $400 million in federally guaranteed loans by the end of June. The total $1.2 billion in federal money, which saved Chrysler from bankruptcy in 1980, was not scheduled for repayment until 1990.
* El Salvador's Constituent Assembly unanimously passes a law offering amnesty to an estimated 250 political prisoners and to leftist guerrillas who surrender to authorities within 60 days.
* The Iranian government outlaws Tudeh, the Iranian Communist Party organization, and orders 18 Soviet diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. Nureddin Kianuri, the head of the Tudeh, had confessed on television that the party had engaged in espionage and treason by sending political and military reports to the Soviet Union.

May 5, 1983:
* Six Chinese hijackers asking for political asylum force a Chinese jet to land in Seoul, South Korea, and are quickly arrested.
* Representatives of the 88 nations that had signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) issue a report on six of the world's most debt-ridden countries. The study shows that the six ran combined deficits of $22 billion in 1982, a substantial improvement compared with the $36 billion deficit they had posted the previous year. The six nations mentioned in the report are Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Argentina, Poland, and Yugoslavia.

May 6, 1983:
* The West German government announces that the Adolf Hitler diaries announced by the magazine _Stern_ on April 22 are false on the basis of chemical tests, proving that some of the documents were written on paper that didn't become available until 1955.
* The Israeli government approves a U.S. sponsored plan for the simultaneous withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian troops from Lebanon. With this approval, the U.S. government lifts a yearlong embargo on the shipment of F-16 warplanes to Israel.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Losin' It.

May 7, 1983:
* In the first official contact between the two countries since 1949, a delegation from China arrives in Seoul, South Korea, to negotiate the return of a plane hijacked there two days before.
* An explosion in a first-floor coffee shop of an Istanbul, Turkey hotel starts a fire, leaving at least 40 people dead.
* U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz visits Syria to seek Syrian assent in the Israeli-Lebanese troop withdrawal agreement.
* Sunny's Halo, ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye, wins the 109th Kentucky Derby by a two length margin.

May 8, 1983:
* Spain's ruling Socialist Party sweeps municipal elections.

May 9, 1983:
* Representatives of the 24-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) open two days of talks in Paris on common trade and political problems.
* The Reagan administration informs the Nicaraguan government that its sugar exports to the U.S. during the next fiscal year will be limited to about 10 percent of its present quota. Central American nations friendly to the U.S. will have their quota correspondingly increased.

May 10, 1983:
* South Africa's ruling National Party suffers setbacks in special parliamentary elections.
* Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone ends a trip that included visits to the five nations that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

May 11, 1983:
* Chilean police shoot and kill two persons while trying to quell anti-government demonstrations organized by six labor unions. The protest was the first such action since Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte seized power in 1973.
* A newly discovered comet passes within 2.8 million miles of Earth. This was the closest a comet is known to have come in two centuries. The comet is named IRAS-Araki-Alcock in honor of its discoverers.

May 12, 1983:
* a New Jersey judge clears the way for the trial of companies that produced Agent Orange, a defoliant used during the Vietnam War.

May 13, 1983:
* The US Federal Reserve Board announces that industrial production has increased 2.1 percent in April, the largest one-month gain in nearly eight years.
* Syria rejects a US-sponsored plan for the simultaneous withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian troops from Lebanon.
* Mika Spiljak becomes president of Yugoslavia succeeding Peter Stambolic, who had held the position since May 1982.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: The Hunger.

May 14, 1983:
* President Reagan pardons Watergate burglar Eugenio Martinez, but denies pardons to Jeb Magruder and E. Howard Hunt.

May 15, 1983:
* Hu Yaobang, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, completes visits to Romania and Yugoslavia intended to "convey friendship, study experience, exchange views, and enhance unity,"
May 16, 1983:
* A Boston judge rules that President Reagan's curbs on travel to Cuba are invalid.
* A gunman at a Long Island high school holding a number of hostages shoots a student, the school principal, and himself.
* The Motown 25 television special is broadcast. A portion of the special is included on the title "Making Michael Jackson's Thriller."
* NBC performs the network's first Teletext broadcast.

May 17, 1983:
* The New York Islanders win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup, symbolic of the National Hockey League championship, with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
* Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo, president of the African republic of Upper Volta, announces a purge of government officials including the arrests of Premier Thomas Sankara and other members of the People's Salvation Council.

May 18, 1983:
* Owen F. Bieber, 53, is elected president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), replacing Douglas Fraser, who is retiring.

May 19, 1983:
* The 1983 Cannes Film Festival ends in France. The title "Monty Python's the Meaning of Life" receives the Grand Prix Special du Jury.

May 20, 1983:
* The Pasteur Institute in Paris, France announces that Luc Montagnier has discovered a T-Cell Lymphotrophic Retrovirus. This virus is later called LAV or HIV.
* In one of the most severe terrorist attacks ever in South Africa, a car bomb explodes outside the Pretoria headquarters of the national air force, killing 18 persons and injuring 200 others. The African National Congress (ANC), an outlawed black nationalist group, claims responsibility.
* President Reagan announces that a 1982 ban on the sale of 75 F-16 fighter planes to Israel is being lifted.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Blue Thunder.

May 21, 1983:
* The discovery of a high-speed pulsar is reported, flashing at 642 times per second, between the constellations Vulpecula and Cygnus.
* The 109th Preakness Stakes is won by Donald Miller, Jr. riding Deputed Testimony in a time of 1:55.4.
* Let's Dance by David Bowie becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

May 22, 1983:
* President Reagan urges the Iranian government not to carry out the planned executions of 22 members of the Baha'i faith. The president pleaded for clemency because the Baha'is appeared to be completely innocent of the political charges against them.

May 23, 1983:
* South African jets attack ANC bases in Maputo, Mozambique, in retaliation for the May 20 bombing.
* Byron Taylor, a member of the engineering staff at SelectaVision VideoDisc Operations in Indianapolis, Indiana receives a Technical Excellence Award for his design work on the VDC-5 player stylus cartridge.

May 24, 1983:
* The U.S. supreme Court rules 8-1 that the Internal Revenue Service can legally deny tax exemptions to racially biased public schools.
* New York City residents celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge with a parade, fireworks, and other festivities.
* The U.S. government names acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) the government's top medical priority. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that a nonstop effort is underway to identify the disease so that effective treatment can be developed.

May 25, 1983:
* Navy Lt. Cmdr. Albert Schaufelberger, deputy commander of the U.S. Military Group in El Salvador, is assassinated by leftist rebels. He is the first American military adviser to be killed in that country.
* In a controversial move, President Reagan dismisses three of the six members of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, all three Democrats who oppose his civil-rights policies; Reagan's nominations subject to Senate confirmation, are all Republicans.
* During the first meeting of the China-United States Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Beijing (Peking), U.S. Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige remarks that the U.S. would soon facilitate the sale of high-technology items to China.
* The movie "Return of the Jedi" grosses a record $6,219,629 on its opening day.

May 26, 1983:
* Steingrimur Hermannsson becomes prime minister of Iceland, heading a center-right coalition. He succeeds Gunnar Thoroddsen, who had held the position since 1980.
* An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale strikes Honshu, Japan's largest island, killing 106 people.

May 27, 1983:
* In India, sixty people are believed dead after a bus careens into a gorge in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
* In Bonn, Germany, Konrad Kujan admits writing the Hitler diaries, proved to be false earlier in the month.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Return of the Jedi.

May 28, 1983:
* The leaders of seven Western powers and the European Communities meet at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia for their annual review of the world's economies. At the conclusion of the economic summit two days later they issue the "Williamsburg Declaration on Economic Recovery" calling for an end to protectionism, a greater emphasis on new technologies, more stringent efforts to control budget deficits, and a review of the world's monetary system. The leaders include Pierre Trudeau (Canada), Gaston Thorn (the European Communities), Helmut Kohl (West Germany), Francois Mitterrand (France), Ronald Reagan (the U.S.), Yasuhiro Nakasone (Japan), Margaret Thatcher (Great Britain), and Amintore Fanfani (Italy).
* Flashdance... What A Feeling by Irene Cara becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

May 29, 1983:
* Tom Sneva wins the 67th Indianapolis 500 automobile race.

May 30, 1983:
* Peru's President Fernando Belaunde Terry declares a state of emergency and suspends civil rights after bombings by leftist rebels.

May 31, 1983:
* The Philadelphia 76ers win the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 115-108, in the fourth game of their best-of-seven play-off series.
* Jack Dempsey, the American boxer, dies at the age of 87. Dempsey was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1919 to 1926. Four of his bouts are featured on the title "The Big Fights, Volume 2."

June 1983

June 1, 1983:
* Musa Awad (Abu Akram), a leading civilian member of Al Fatah, announces that he and other prominent members of Yasir Arafat's group are joining those opposed to Arafat's continued leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

June 2, 1983:
* Richard B. Stone, the new U.S. special envoy to Central America, begins a 12-day fact-finding tour.
* At the close of a two-day meeting in Brussels, defense ministers from the NATO countries reaffirm their commitment to deploy U.S. medium-range missiles in Europe by December unless an agreement is reached in the US - Soviet arms control talks in Geneva.

June 3, 1983:
* President Reagan announces the designation of eight members of the National Security Council staff as Special Assistants to the President, reporting to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, William P. Clark.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: War Games.

June 4, 1983:
* China's sixth National People's Congress begins in Beijing.

June 5, 1983:
* A soviet cruise ship hits a bridge over the Volga River, killing more than 100 people. The accident occurs near Ulyanovsk, a city about 430 miles east of Moscow.

June 6, 1983:
* The Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens in Chicago, Illinois. Personal computers and video game systems remain popular, but the major new consumer product is the compact audio disc player with a number of manufacturers offering units in the $1000 range. Toshiba introduces the stereo VP550 player to replace the short-lived VP500 unit, and the company promises to have an interactive player available within a year.

June 7, 1983:
* The U.S. orders Nicaragua to close all six of its consulates and informs 21 Nicaraguan consular officials they could no longer remain in the country. The orders followed by one day Nicaragua's expulsion of three U.S. diplomats on charges of plotting to poison Nicaragua's defense minister.

June 8, 1983:
* A new three-party, center-right coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Kaare Willoch, takes office in Norway.
* The 19th summit conference of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) convenes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

June 9, 1983:
* The Conservative Party of Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher increases its parliamentary majority in national elections, winning 397 of 650 seats in the House of Commons.
* Ending a political stalemate that began with parliamentary elections April 25, Portugal's Mario Soares is sworn in as prime minister of a coalition government made up of the Social Democratic Party and his own Socialist Party.

June 10, 1983:
* Delegates from the northern and southern branches of American Presbyterians vote to reunite as the Presbyterian Church USA, the nation's fourth largest Protestant denomination.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Trading Places.

June 11, 1983:
* In the wake of her election victory, Britain's Prime Minister Thatcher revamps her cabinet; among the changes is the removal of Francis Pym as foreign secretary and the naming of Sir Geoffrey Howe as his replacement.
* Brian Mulroney, a 44-year-old lawyer and businessman, is elected leader of Canada's Progressive Conservative Party.
* The 115th Belmont Stakes is won by Caveat ridden by Laffit Pineay, Jr. in a time of 2:27.8.

June 12, 1983:
* Comet Sugano-Saigusa-Fujikawa passes within 6 million miles of Earth.
* Michael Foot resigns as Labor Party chief in the United Kingdom following the conservative election victory.

June 13, 1983:
* The US spacecraft Pioneer 10 crosses the orbit of Neptune and thus becomes the first man-made vehicle ever to travel beyond the solar system. The space probe was launched in 1972 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the following year Pioneer 10 completed a fly-by of the planet Jupiter, one of its principal missions.

June 14, 1983:
* The U.S. Civil Rights Commission faults the Reagan administration for lax enforcement of civil rights legislation in schools.
* In Chile, police arrest more than 1,000 demonstrators as people of all ages and classes join in a day of protest against the government of General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.

June 15, 1983:
* In a series of three cases, the U.S. Supreme Court limits the power of state and local governments to restrict access to legal abortion. The rulings bolster the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which gave women the unrestricted right to have an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.

June 16, 1983:
* Yuri Andropov, secretary-general of the Soviet Communist Party, is elected chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, or president.
* The federal Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians recommends after a two-year study that the U.S. government pay $20,000 to each of the 60,000 surviving Japanese-Americans who had been placed in detention camps during World War II.
* Pope John Paul II returns to his native Poland for a second visit that had profound political as well as religious implications. The pontiff met twice with Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland's premier, and once with Lech Walesa, who had headed Solidarity, the independent federation of labor unions that had been outlawed by the government. During his visit, the pope openly calls for a return to the agreements of August 1980 that had led to the establishment of Solidarity.
* U.S. senators raise their annual salaries to $69,800 and delay until 1984 any limit on income from speeches and writing.

June 17, 1983:
* Leaders of the ten European Community (EC) nations open three days of talks in Stuttgart; budget matters head the agenda.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Octopussy.

June 18, 1983:
* Space shuttle mission STS-7, the second flight of the orbiter Challenger, is launched from Cape Canaveral with a crew of five, including Dr. Sally K. Ride, a physicist and the first American woman in space.
* Paul A. Volcker is appointed by President Reagan to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
* During a 17-day session that began June 6, the National People's Congress of China appoints Li Xiannian president, a largely ceremonial position not occupied since 1968.

June 19, 1983:
* Larry Nelson wins the U.S. Open Golf Tournament at the Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tom Watson, who won the Open the previous year, was the leader until falling behind on the 16th hole.

June 20, 1983:
* The U.S. Supreme Court rules that employers must treat male and female workers equally in providing health benefits for their spouses.

June 21, 1983:
* In Honduras, two U.S. journalists are killed by a land mine while investigating reports of heavy fighting between Nicaraguan troops and Honduras-based Nicaraguan insurgents.
* In Beirut, Lebanon, PLO rebels seize eight positions held by Yasir Arafat.
* Federico Pena is elected as the first Hispanic mayor of Denver, Colorado.

June 22, 1983:
* The space shuttle Challenger releases the West German satellite SPAS, then recaptures it with its robot arm in a test of the shuttle's ability to retrieve satellites for maintenance or repair in the future.

June 23, 1983:
* Yasir Arafat accuses Syria of actively aiding PLO guerrillas who have mutinied against Arafat in Lebanon.
* Congress approves a compromise budget of $849.6 billion for fiscal 1984, providing more domestic spending and less military spending than President Reagan wanted.
* The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the so-called legislative veto used by Congress to stem the powers of the president and regulatory agencies is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Warren Burger, speaking for the majority, states the veto was in clear conflict with the Constitution because it gave the legislative branch of the government powers that belonged to the executive branch.

June 24, 1983:
* The space shuttle Challenger lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California after completing a near perfect mission that began on June 18. The plan to land on a runway at Cape Canaveral in Florida had to be scrubbed because of bad weather. The return is watched by 250,000 spectators, many wearing T-shirts that read, "Ride Sally, Ride."
* PLO leader Yasir Arafat is expelled from Damascus in the wake of increasing tension between the Syrian government and the PLO.
* Laurent Fignon wins the Tour de France bicycle race.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Twilight Zone - The Movie.

June 25, 1983:
* U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz leaves the U.S. for a visit to Asia and the Middle East including stops in the Philippines, Thailand, India, and Pakistan. In India he announces that the U.S. is prepared to lift a ban on the export of nuclear reactor components, even though India refuses to allow inspection of its nuclear facilities.
* The soundtrack of Flashdance becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.

June 26, 1983:
* Japan's ruling Liberal-Democratic Party strengthens its majority in the upper house of Parliament in national elections.

June 27, 1983:
* National parliamentary elections in Italy leave the Christian Democrats with a reduced majority; the Communist Party also suffers a loss, while a number of smaller parties make advances.
* Maxie Anderson dies at the age of 48 in a ballooning accident. In 1978, Anderson was one of three U.S. balloonists to make the first successful balloon flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1980, he and his son Kris set an overland distance record across America, floating from California to Quebec.

June 28, 1983:
* In a growing political controversy, President Reagan is barraged with questions at a news conference about a 1980 Carter campaign briefing book that had come into the possession of the Reagan camp and had been used in preparation for the televised debate between the two candidates.

June 29, 1983:
* Nearly 1,000 people are reported dead or missing following several days of monsoon rains in the state of Gujarat, India.

June 30, 1983:
* The signalmen's strike that shut down Philadelphia area commuter trains on March 15, 1983 comes to a conclusion.

July 1983

July 1, 1983:
* A 10 percent cut in U.S. federal income tax, the third phase of the Reagan administration's tax reduction plan, goes into effect.
* R. Buckminster Fuller, the American architect, engineer, and author dies at the age of 87. Fuller is best known for his invention of the geodesic dome.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Superman III.

July 2, 1983:
* French and Egyptian divers take the first underwater photographs of the remains of the fleet of ships that had carried Napoleon Bonaparte and his army to Egypt in 1798. The ill-fated fleet had been sunk by the British off the coast of Egypt in the Battle of the Nile.

July 3, 1983:
* The Wimbledon tennis championships conclude in the London suburb of Wimbledon. The singles matches are won by Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe.
* The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) concludes a month-long session in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, having resolved none of the major differences between industrialized and Third World nations.

July 4, 1983:
* West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl arrives in Moscow to discuss with Soviet officials the proposed NATO deployment in Europe of new medium-range nuclear missiles.
* The 12 member-nations of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) open a five-day summit conference at Port of Spain, Trinidad, with the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative high on the agenda.
* Uruguay's three opposition political parties withdraw from discussions with the military government of Gen. Gregorio Conrado Alvarez Armelino over a new constitution when the government insists that it should reserve significant powers for the military.
* For the first time since 1941, water pours over the spillways of the Hoover Dam in Nevada. In June and July heavy spring snows began melting in the Rocky Mountains, and the Colorado River rose to its highest levels on record.

July 5, 1983:
* Documents are made public revealing the Dow Chemical Company continued to sell herbicides, including Agent Orange, contaminated with dioxin for years after it knew that the chemical could cause serious health problems and even death.

July 6, 1983:
* Ending an 11-year losing streak, the American League defeats the National League, 13-3, in baseball's All-Star Game.

July 7, 1983:
* Samantha Smith and her parents leave the U.S. to be guests of Soviet leader Yuri Andropov. In 1982, the 11-year-old had written Andropov asking him why he wanted to "conquer the whole world."
* West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl concludes a four-day visit to the Soviet Union; talks focused on arms control.
* U.S. Vice President George Bush winds up an eight nation tour of Europe, while Secretary of State George Shultz concludes a trip to four Asian capitals, with stopovers in the Middle East.

July 8, 1983:
* Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca, convicted of shooting Pope John Paul II in May 1981, tells reporters that he was aided by the Soviet secret police (KGB) and "Bulgarian services."
* According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the nation's Gross National Product grew at a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.7 percent in the second quarter, far outstripping government forecasts.
* The June unemployment figure announced by the U.S. Department of Labor stands at 10 percent, continuing a downward trend. In Canada, the unemployment rate also declines, to 12.2 percent in June.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Class.

July 9, 1983:
* The National Women's Political Caucus opens in San Antonio, TX, with strong criticism of the Reagan administration.
* Every Breath You Take by The Police becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

July 10, 1983:
* The Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers play the longest nine-inning game in major league baseball history. The Brewers win the four-hour and 11-minute marathon, 12-9, on Ted Simmons' bases loaded single.

July 11, 1983:
* The Reagan administration files its first school desegregation suit, asking a federal judge in Birmingham to end Alabama's "dual system" of public colleges.
* A Boeing 737 slams into a mountain while trying to land in Cuenca, Ecuador. All 119 aboard lose their lives.

July 12, 1983:
* Chad government troops recapture the city of Abeche, which had fallen during the night of July 8-9 to rebels led by former President Goukouni Weddeye.
* Representatives of China and the U.K. meet in Beijing to continue discussions on Hong Kong's future after Britain's lease expires in 1997. China is reportedly considering a proposal to designate the territory a special administrative zone, so that it could continue to operate for a considerable period of time under its present economic, legal, and social systems.
* Lokendra Bahadur Chand becomes prime minister of Nepal.

July 13, 1983:
* Chrysler Corporation announces that it will repay the remaining $800 million of its federally guaranteed loans by September, seven years before they are due.
* The British House of Commons rejects a motion to restore the death penalty, abolished in 1965. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and other prominent Conservatives had urged its reinstatement for such crimes as acts of terrorism and the murder of policemen and prison guards.

July 14, 1983:
* A Turkish diplomat is shot to death in Brussels, Belgium, and Armenian terrorists claim responsibility.

July 15, 1983:
* Five persons are killed and more than 50 injured when a bomb, enclosed in a suitcase, explodes at the Turkish Airlines counter at Orly Airport outside Paris. The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia claims responsibility.
* Representatives of Greece approve an agreement that will permit the United States to retain its Greek military facilities for an additional five years.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Staying Alive.

July 16, 1983:
* A nine-nation committee of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) recommends that all foreign nations cease their involvement in Chad so that its local warring factions can resolve their conflicts through negotiations.

July 17, 1983:
* During a meeting in Cancun, Mexico, the presidents of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama, the so-called Contadoro Group, call for a freeze on the shipment of arms to Central America, the withdrawal of all foreign troops and advisers, and the establishment of international border patrols.
* The Michigan Panthers defeat the Philadelphia Stars in the United States Football League's first championship game.
* Tom Watson wins his fifth British Open golf championship.

July 18, 1983:
* President Reagan announces the formation of a 12-member, bipartisan commission to make recommendations on a U.S. policy in Central America; the body to be headed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

July 19, 1983:
* Israeli Prime minister Menahem Begin postpones a visit to Washington scheduled for the following week, citing "personal reasons."
* An extensive study on U.S. education, headed by John I. Goodlad, indicates the need for far-reaching restructuring to address "deeply entrenched and virtually chronic" problems.

July 20, 1983:
* The Israeli Cabinet approves a proposal to withdraw its troops from the suburbs of Beirut and from the Shuf Mountains of Lebanon and redeploy them to the south along the Awali River.
* The U.S. House of Representatives votes to censure two of its members, Rep. Daniel Crane (R-IL) and Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA), for sexual misconduct involving congressional pages.

July 21, 1983:
* Polish leaders declare an end to martial law, imposed in December 1981, and partial amnesty for political prisoners. At the same time, however, they enact a series of special restrictions that ensure tight control over social, political, and economic life in the country.
* David Dodge, the former acting president of the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, is released more than one year after he was abducted on a street in Beirut.

July 22, 1983:
* President Reagan announces that Philip Habib is stepping down as chief U.S. negotiator in the Middle East and will be replaced by Robert C. McFarlane, deputy national security adviser.
* The Soviet Union frees six members of the Greenpeace U.S.A. environmental group who were seized July 18 after they landed at a Soviet whaling station in Siberia.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Zelig.

July 23, 1983:
* Rebels from Sri Lanka's Tamil minority kill 13 government soldiers, setting off ethnic riots.
* "Synchronicity" by The Police becomes the No. 1 U.S. album, entering the chart at the No. 1 spot.

July 24, 1983:
* The N.Y. Yankees defeat the K.C. Royals as a George Brett homer is nullified for pine tar on the bat.
* The World Council of Churches meets in Vancouver, Canada, through August 10.

July 25, 1983:
* The Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) files documents stating that it cannot repay $2.25 billion in bonds. It is the largest default in municipal bond history.
* NASA scientists propose that the dark skies reported by historical sources for the year A.D. 536, followed by an extraordinarily harsh winter, could have resulted from a far distant volcanic eruption, possibly at Rabaul on the Pacific Island of New Britain.

July 26, 1983:
* As part of its action on the defense authorization bill for 1984, the U.S. Senate approves $2.6 billion for the production and deployment of the controversial MX missile; the House approved the same amount on July 21, only to reduce it to $2.2 billion the next day.
* The Soviet Union announces its intention to experiment with limited economic reforms to give certain factory managers greater control over such things as wages, bonuses, and technical innovations. It is hoped that the new program will stimulate Soviet productivity, encourage personal initiative, and hasten technical progress while heightening each factory's responsibility for the quality and quantity of the goods it produces.

July 27, 1983:
* Five Armenian terrorists blow up the residence of the Turkish ambassador in Lisbon, Portugal, killing seven people including themselves.
* A Pershing II missile malfunctions shortly after being test fired for Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is the 3rd failure in the last four tests and the 5th failure during a series of 16 tests.

July 28, 1983:
* After three days of heated debate, the U.S. House of Representatives votes 228-195 to bar covert aid to Nicaraguan rebel forces. In a televised news conference July 26, President Reagan denied that his administration was seeking a larger role in Central America and said that upcoming joint maneuvers with Honduras would provide a "shield for democracy and development."
* Both houses of the U.S. Congress repeal a 1982 law requiring financial institutions to withhold for taxes 10 percent of interest and dividend income.

July 29, 1983:
* David Niven, the British actor dies at the age of 73. He won an Academy Award in 1958 for the title Separate Tables, and also appeared in the titles The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Moon Is Blue, The Guns of Navarone, The Pink Panther, Murder By Death, Candleshoe, Death on the Nile, Escape to Athena, The Sea Wolves, and Trail of the Pink Panther.
* Raymond Massey, the Canadian-born stage and film actor, dies at the age of 86. Famous for his Broadway portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Abe Lincoln in Illinois, a later generation knew him as kindly Dr. Gillespie in the 1960's television series Dr. Kildare. He appeared in the titles Arsenic and Old Lace and East of Eden.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Jaws 3D.

July 30, 1983:
* Lynn Fontanne, the British-born stage actress, dies at the age of 95. Fontanne and her husband, Alfred Lunt, were one of the greatest acting teams in the history of the American stage.

July 31, 1983:
* Richard B. Stone, the U.S. special envoy to Central America, has his first meeting with Ruben Zamora, the leader of one of the five leftist guerrilla organizations fighting the central government in El Salvador. The meeting increases hopes that in time the government of Salvadoran President Alvaro Magana Borjo might enter into direct peace negotiations with the rebels.
* President Reagan's special trade representative, Bill Brock, confirms that China and the U.S. have reached agreement in Geneva on Chinese textile exports to the U.S., estimating an increase of 2 to 3 percent a year over the next five years.
* The U.S. Women's Open golf championship at the Cedar Ridge CC in Tulsa, Oklahoma is won by Jan Stephenson of Australia for a $32,780 purse.

August 1983

August 1, 1983:
* After a week of violence, the worst in Sri Lanka since it became independent in 1948, more than 200 persons are reported killed and 50,000 homeless in clashes between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority and Hindu Tamil minority.

August 2, 1983:
* The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the proportion of Americans living below the poverty level rose to 15 percent in 1982, the highest level since the War on Poverty began in 1964.

August 3, 1983:
* The U.S. Department of Justice sues GM, seeking to have it recall all 1.1 million of its 1980 X-cars for repair of brake defects.
* The House of Representatives narrowly approves a Senate-authorized, administration-supported increase of $8.4 billion in the U.S. contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

August 4, 1983:
* Bettino Craxi, 49, is sworn in as the first Socialist prime minister of Italy. He heads a five-party coalition government.

August 5, 1983:
* In a coup led by former Premier Thomas Sankara, the government of Upper Volta's President Jean-Baptist Ouedraogo is overthrown; a national revolutionary council takes over. The plan by which American Telephone and Telegraph Co. (AT&T) would divest 22 of its local telephone companies is given final approval by U.S. Judge Harold Greene. The company is ordered to stop using the name and logo of Bell Telephone.
* The U.S. Labor Department reports that the nation's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 9.8 percent in June to 9.3 percent in July, the largest one-month decline since 1959.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Mr. Mom.

August 6, 1983:
* Nigeria's President Shehu Shagari wins reelection to a second four-year term.
* The United States sends AWACS radar planes, F-15 fighters, and other aircraft to support Chad against Libyan-backed rebels.
* A Spanish supertanker catches fire and explodes offf the coast of South Africa, creating a huge oil spill.

August 7, 1983:
* Telephone operators, repair workers, and other American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) employees go on strike.
* In only his second year on the Professional Golfers' Association of America tour, Hal Sutton wins the PGA championship at the Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades, CA for a $100,000 purse.

August 8, 1983:
* President Efrain Rios Montt of Guatemala is ousted by the military. His defense minister, Brig. Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores, is installed as head of state.
* Television news anchorwoman Christine Craft is awarded $500,000 in a sex discrimination suit against KMBC-TV of Kansas City, MO. Craft contended that she had been demoted because she was "too old, unattractive and deferential enough to men."

August 9, 1983:
* France sends military advisers to Chad to assist against Libyan-backed rebels.

August 10, 1983:
* Chadian rebels loyal to former President Goukoun Oueddei capture the key northern town of Faya-Largeau with the substantial help of Libyan soldiers, planes, armored vehicles, and artillery.

August 11, 1983:
* Over protests by the opposition, President Shehu Shagari is declared the winner of Nigeria's first civilian supervised elections since the end of military rule in 1979.
* Poland announces that it will release 476 more political prisoners but that 60 Solidarity activists will remain in custody.

August 12, 1983:
* Pakistan's President Zia ul-Haq promises national elections and a return to constitutional democracy by 1985.
* In his third cabinet shuffle in one year, Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau names 5 new ministers and reassigns 8 others.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Risky Business.

August 13, 1983:
* The Chilean government announces that 24 people have been killed in protests in Santiago, Chile against the regime of Maj. Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.

August 14, 1983:
* President Reagan arrives in La Paz, Mexico for a brief visit with President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado. Reagan defends certain of his foreign policy decisions, saying "We believe that people should be able to determine their own solutions, and that is why we've responded to calls for help from certain of our Latin America neighbors."

August 15, 1983:
* With the support of French troops, Chadian government forces under President Hissene Habre establish an east-west defense line that virtually halts the advance of Libyan-backed rebels led by former Chad President Goukouni Oueddei.

August 16, 1983:
* A report issued by the U.S. Justice Department confirms that Klaus Barbie, head of the German Gestapo in Lyons, France from 1942 to 1944 and presently awaiting trial there for "crimes against humanity," had been employed as a spy by the U.S. Army in the years following World War II.
* Joshua Nkomo, the leader of the Zimbabwe African People's Union and the chief political opponent of Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, returns to Zimbabwe from self-imposed exile in London.
* Actress Carrie Fisher and singer-songwriter Paul Simon are wed, but divorce shortly thereafter.

August 17, 1983:
* Ira Gershwin, the American lyricist, dies at the age of 86. He and his brother George, the composer, created the scores for such Broadway musicals as Porgy and Bess and Of Thee I Sing. Their many famous songs include "S Wonderful," "I Got Rhythm," and "Somebody Loves Me." Ira Gershwin's lyrics can be heard on the titles Ziegfeld Follies, An American in Paris, A Star Is Born (1954), The Country Girl, and New York, New York.

August 18, 1983:
* Hurricane Alicia whips through southern Texas, leaving 17 persons dead and property damage valued at up to $1.3 billion. Houston and Galveston are the hardest hit cities.

August 19, 1983:
* Some 40,000 Argentines march in Buenos Aires to protest a proposed amnesty that would protect military personnel from prosecution for human rights violations committed during the 1970's.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Vacation.

August 20, 1983:
* President Reagan lifts controls that had been placed on the export of certain pipelaying equipment to the Soviet Union. The change in U.S. policy is backed by Secretary of State George Shultz and Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige, but opposed by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and William P. Clark, the president's national security adviser, even though the equipment has no military significance.

August 21, 1983:
* Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., a severe critic of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and a former senator, is shot and killed just minutes after returning to the Manila airport. Aquino's alleged assassin is instantly shot and killed on the tarmac by soldiers, but circumstances surrounding the shooting are so unusual that anti-Marcos factions are convinced the government was involved. Following numerous demonstrations, Marcos threatens to reimpose martial law.

August 22, 1983:
* A series of disqualifications begin at the Pan American Games underway in Caracas, Venezuela. The suspensions result from positive tests for anabolic steroids and other drugs.

August 23, 1983:
* Canada and the United States sign an agreement to make a joint study of the movements of the air pollutants believed to cause acid rain.
* The U.S. is reported to be nearly ready for the first test flight of an anti-satellite missile.

August 24, 1983:
* Switzerland announces that it will buy 420 West German Leopard II tanks rather than M-1 Abrams tanks manufactured in the United States. The Swiss reportedly view the Leopard II as a superior weapon and will be allowed to produce about 70 percent of the parts in their own factories.
* The roof of a high school in Fengyuan, Taiwan collapses during an assembly; at least 26 students die.

August 25, 1983:
* The United States and the Soviet Union sign a new five-year grain sales pact.

August 26, 1983:
* Chile's President Augusto Pinochet Ugarte declares that the state of emergency in effect since 1978 will be lifted the next day. The move comes after a newly formed opposition alliance called for his resignation on August 6 and a fourth national day of antigovernment protest August 11.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Krull.

August 27, 1983:
* A crowd of at least 250,000 gathers in Washington D.C. to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the march on the nation's capital that was highlighted by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s memorable "I have a dream" speech. The theme of the 1983 event is "Jobs, Peace, and Freedom."
* Historians note the centenary of the explosion of the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa, believed to be the most violent explosion in recorded history - a blast heard 3,000 miles away in Australia.

August 28, 1983:
* Menachem Begin, who had become increasingly withdrawn from public life in recent weeks, informs the Israeli Cabinet that he will formally resign within a few days as prime minister and as leader of the Herut Party.

August 29, 1983:
* Two U.S. Marines are killed in heavy fighting in Beirut, the first American combat fatalities in Lebanon.
* The anchor of the Monitor, one of the earliest ironclad warships, is recovered from the ocean floor off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The ship had been built in 1862 for the Union Army, and on March 9, 1862, it battled the Virginia, the Confederate ironclad also known as the Merrimack. Neither side was victorious, but the battle marked the end of the era of wooden warships. The Monitor sank during a storm in December, 1862, and its remains were not discovered until 1974. The 1,300 pound anchor is the first major part of the ship to be salvaged.

August 30, 1983:
* Lieutenant Colonel Guion S. Bluford, Jr., aboard flight STS-8 of the space shuttle Challenger becomes the first African American in space.

August 31, 1983:
* The funeral procession for slain Philippine leader Benigno Aquino draws more than one million mourners.
* In Poland, tens of thousands demonstrate on the third anniversary of the accords that created Solidarity, the now-banned independent trade union.
* The orbiting space shuttle Challenger launches an Insat-1B satellite for India; it will be used to gather weather data and for telecommunications.

September 1983

September 1, 1983:
* A Korean Air Lines Boeing 747, flight 007 from New York to Seoul, is downed by a Soviet heat-seeking missile after crossing into Soviet airspace. All 240 passengers, including U.S. Rep. Larry McDonald (D-GA), and 29 crew members are killed.
* President Reagan orders 2,000 Marines into position off the coast of Lebanon to "assure the safety" of the 1,370 already in Beirut.
* Senator Henry M. Jackson (D-WA) dies of a heart attack at the age of 71. He was one of the nation's leading supporters of a strong national defense, and he fought for protection of the environment.

September 2, 1983:
* Israel's Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir is elected successor to Prime Minister Menahem Begin as leader of the governing Herut Party, likely making him the country's next premier.
* After two months of inordinately dry, hot weather, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John Block begins declaring drought disaster areas throughout the nation.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Private School.

September 3, 1983:
* Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by The Eurythmics becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
* In the culmination of one of the most unsavory events in the history of the corporation, ousted RCA President Maurice Valente commits suicide at the age of 54.

September 4, 1983:
* Israel withdraws its troops from central Lebanon, setting off fierce fighting between Christian and Druse militias struggling to control the area.

September 5, 1983:
* The space Shuttle Challenger, after a successful mission, lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in the first night landing for the shuttle program. The launch on August 30 was also the first ever done at night. Besides including Guion Bluford, the first African American in space, the flight also included 54-year-old physician William Thornton, the oldest person to date to fly in space.

September 6, 1983:
* Meadow mice living near the Love Canal toxic dump site in Niagara Falls, New York, are reported to suffer shortened life spans and organ damage similar to what would be expected reactions to the kinds of toxic chemicals that were dumped there.

September 7, 1983:
* Voters in Ireland approve a constitutional amendment banning abortion.

September 8, 1983:
* As renewed heavy fighting between Lebanese groups continues, U.S. warships off the coast of Lebanon fire for the first time on artillery emplacements in the hills above Beirut that had shelled U.S. Marine peacekeeping troops near the city.
* The United States and Greece sign an agreement allowing U.S. Military bases in Greece for at least five more years.
* A Czech family of four escapes to freedom in Austria in a hot air balloon made of raincoats.

September 9, 1983:
* A dozen Western governments agree on a temporary ban on commercial flights to the Soviet Union to protest the downing of the South Korean passenger jetliner on September 1.
* Argentine President Reynaldo Bignone pardons Isabel Peron, who is living in exile in Spain.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: The Star Chamber.

September 10, 1983:
* Pope John Paul II begins a several day visit to Austria.
* The government of Peru lifts its state of emergency in most parts of the country.
* Maniac by Michael Sembello becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

September 11, 1983:
* U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush begins a seven-nation tour of North Africa and Europe.
* Jimmy Connors defeats Ivan Lendi to capture his fifth men's singles title at the U.S. Open tennis championships in Queens, NY. In the women's final the day before, Martina Navratilova took her first singles championship by defeating Chris Evert Lloyd.

September 12, 1983:
* Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who succeeded Menachem Begin as leader of the Herut Party on September 2, is asked by all six parties in the ruling coalition to form a new government.
* Former Gov. Daniel J. Evans, a Republican, is sworn in as U.S. senator from Washington. He takes the seat left vacant by Democrat Sen. Henry Jackson, who died September 1.
* Sixty-four miners lose their lives in an explosion at the Hlobane coal mine southeast of Johannesburg, South Africa.
* The Soviet Union vetoes a U.N. Security Council resolution deploring the downing of Korean Air Lines flight 007.

September 13, 1983:
* Osbourne Computer Corporation, maker of the first portable computer with a bundled software suite, declares bankruptcy.
* Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Robert Mugabe ends a four-day U.S. visit with his first personal meeting with President Reagan.
* Former Senator George S. McGovern (D- S. Dak.) announces that he will seek the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

September 14, 1983:
* The U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution condemning the Soviet Union's shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 007 on September 1. The U.S. Senate unanimously passes the resolution the next day.

September 15, 1983:
* The U.S. Congress approves a military authorization bill for the 1984 fiscal year including funds to produce the first 21 MX missiles.

September 16, 1983:
* Yasir Arafat, leader of the PLO, is reported to be in Tripoli, Lebanon, where he is exhorting his supporters by reaffirming that Palestinian guerrillas would fight alongside others attempting to overthrow the government of Lebanese President Amin Gemayel. Arafat had been forced to leave Lebanon in August 1982, some three months after Israel launched an offensive to destroy PLO strongholds in the country.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Easy Money.

September 17, 1983:
* Vanessa Williams of Millwood, NY, becomes the first black Miss America.
* Two U.S. naval vessels off the coast of Lebanon begin a bombardment of antigovernment military units deep inside Syrian-controlled territory.

September 18, 1983:
* In response to a reporter's question, President Ronald Reagan states that his administration is actively reviewing the Kennedy-Khrushchev understanding and the question of whether the ongoing transfer of MiG-23 aircraft to Cuba constitutes a violation of the 1962 agreement.

September 19, 1983:
* The Caribbean twin-island state of St. Kitts-Nevis becomes an independent nation called St. Christopher and Nevis. Kennedy Simmonds becomes the first prime minister. The islands had been Britain's first Caribbean colony, established in 1623.
* Marc Rich, a commodity trader in New York City, is indicted for $48 million in tax evasion, the largest amount to date in U.S. history.

September 20, 1983:
* The 38th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly opens at U.N. headquarters in New York City. Jorge Enrique Illueca of Panama is elected to serve as assembly president for one year.

September 21, 1983:
* The U.S. Commerce Department reports that the gross national product for the second quarter of 1983 grew at an impressive rate of 9.7 percent.
* A peaceful anti-Marcos demonstration that attracted an estimated 500,000 people in Manila turns violent after nightfall when rioters storm the palace of Ferdinand Marcos. eleven people are killed and about 200 injured in the worst violence since Marcos came to power in 1965.

September 22, 1983:
* France joins the U.S. bombardment of antigovernment forces in Lebanon after French soldiers in the peacekeeping force are heavily shelled.
* U.S. Secretary of the Interior James Watt apologizes for his remark about "a black, a woman, two Jews, and a cripple."

September 23, 1983:
* The newly established Caribbean twin-island country of St. Christopher and Nevis is formally admitted to the United Nations as its 158th member.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: The Big Chill.

September 24, 1983:
* Continental Airlines, the nation's eighth largest carrier, files for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law and lays off all employees.
* Tell Her About It by Billy Joel becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

September 25, 1983:
* Thirty-eight members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army escape from the Maze maximum security prison in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after killing one guard and injuring others.
* U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger arrives in China to discuss increased military cooperation between China and the United States.
* At the 35th annual Emmy awards the winning TV series include "Cheers," "Taxi," Hill Street Blues," "St. Elsewhere," and "Cagney and Lacy."

September 26, 1983:
* The result of negotiations sponsored by Saudi Arabia, a cease-fire among the various political and religious groups at war in Lebanon takes effect at 6:00 AM. The agreement also includes a commitment to convene national reconciliation talks.
* On the first trip to Canada by a British prime minister in more than a quarter of a century, Margaret Thatcher addresses a joint session of Parliament in Ottawa.
* President Reagan, addressing the UN General Assembly, announces a new U.S. proposal for limiting nuclear weapons.
* Chairman Frank Borman of Eastern Airlines, the fourth largest U.S. carrier, asks employees to take a 15 percent pay cut to help the company avert bankruptcy.
* In the seventh and deciding race of the America's Cup yachting competition, Australia II defeats the U.S. defender, Liberty.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average of trading on the New York Stock Exchange closes at 1260.77, a new record high.

September 27, 1983:
* Argentina's military government passes a law that it says will protect democracy against terrorist activities. Under the new law the military can, among other things, search homes and make arrests without warrants and detain suspected terrorists without filing charges for ten days or informing a judge of the arrest for two days. In addition, accused terrorists would be tried before the Federal Court of Appeals and have no further recourse if found guilty.
* A Soviet rocket, bearing two cosmonauts thought to be scheduled to replace the crew in the orbiting Salyut 7, explodes on the launching pad, raising questions about the Soviet Union's ability to reach its announced goal of deploying a large space station by 1990.

September 28, 1983:
* During a five-day trip to China for talks on strategic cooperation, U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger announces that Premier Zhao Ziyang and President Reagan will exchange state visits in 1984.

September 29, 1983:
* Congress approves a compromise resolution under the War Powers Act, allowing President Reagan to keep U.S. Marines in Lebanon for up to 18 more months.
* Amid concern for his personal safety, President Reagan announces the cancellation of his planned visit to the Philippines during a trip to Asia in early November. In addition to the Philippines, site of domestic unrest since the August 21 assassination of political opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Thailand and Indonesia are dropped from the itinerary.

September 30, 1983:
* The worst heat wave to hit the U.S. Midwest in 50 years comes to an end. The heat lasted for nine weeks, setting new records in many states. At least 220 people died, and billions of dollars of crops were ruined.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: The Right Stuff.

October 1983

October 1, 1983:
* The CIA admits using a Salvadoran air base to supply Nicaraguan rebels.
* Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

October 2, 1983:
* Neil Kinnock, a 41-year-old Welshman, is elected leader of Great Britain's Labour Party, succeeding Michael Foot.

October 3, 1983:
* Nearly a week of heavy rains causes extensive flooding in southeastern Arizona. At least 13 people die and thousands are driven from their homes.
* Chicago teachers close the city's schools in a strike over pay that lasts for three weeks.
* The U.S. Supreme Court holds a second hearing in the case of Universal vs. Sony concerning the videotaping of broadcast programming.

October 4, 1983:
* A 24-hour national strike to protest low wages and high inflation shuts down business, industry, and public transportation in Argentina.
* The Defense Department, concerned about reports of illegal penetration of computers, Splits its global computer network into two parts, one for military users and one for civilians.

October 5, 1983:
* Lech Walesa, the founder of Poland's outlawed trade union Solidarity, is named the winner of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize.

October 6, 1983:
* Brazil announces an agreement with 66 major world banks for a five-year grace period for repayment of $12 billion in loans.
* The government of India assumes emergency rule over the state of Punjab in an effort to stem separatist violence.
* A U.S.federal judge in San Francisco announces that IBM and Hitachi have reached agreement on settling a civil suit involving the theft of industrial secrets from IBM. Hitachi, which assured IBM it had not used any of the information it had illegally obtained, promises to return the stolen industrial secrets.

October 7, 1983:
* An earthquake in the Adirondacks shakes the Northeastern United States and nearby areas of Canada, but there are no known casualties.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: All the Right Moves.

October 8, 1983:
* In his weekly radio address to the nation, President Reagan defends the deployment of U.S. Marines in Lebanon and voices support for the congressional resolution to deploy them for up to 18 months.

October 9, 1983:
* Five South Korean cabinet ministers, two advisers to President Chun Doo Hwan, ten other South Koreans, and three Burmese journalists are killed in a bomb explosion at a wreath-laying ceremony in Rangoon, Burma. President Chun, delayed in traffic, was the apparent target of the blast, for which North Korea was blamed.
* James Watt resigns as secretary of the interior in the wake of a racial comment he had made.

October 10, 1983:
* Yitzhak Shamir becomes prime minister of Israel.
* British actor Sir Ralph Richardson dies at the age of 80. He appears in the titles Exodus, Doctor Zhivago, Battle of Britain, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Caterpillar voice), A Doll's House, Rollerball, Jesus of Nazareth, Watership Down (Chief Rabbit voice), Dragonslayer, Time Bandits, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, and Give My Regards to Broad Street.

October 11, 1983:
* One day after being sworn in, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and his cabinet announce an emergency economic austerity plan that includes a 23 percent devaluation of the shekel and an average 50 percent cut in government subsides for basic goods and services.

October 12, 1983:
* In Chicago, Illinois, Ameritech launches Advanced Mobile Phone Service, the first commercial cellular phone service.
* Former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka is found guilty of taking bribes from Lockheed Corp. in exchange for arranging the sale of the U.S. company's TriStar jets to All Nippon Airways.

October 13, 1983:
* Grenada's army seizes control of the island nation and deposes Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.
* U.S. National Security Adviser William Clark is the surprise choice of President Reagan to succeed James Watt as secretary of the interior. Watt resigned October 9 in the face of growing pressure.

October 14, 1983:
* The Soviet space probe Verena 16 achieves orbit around the planet Venus gathering data on the planet's surface and atmosphere.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Never Say Never Again.

October 15, 1983:
* The FBI arrests James D. Harper, Jr., a technician working in California's Silicon Valley, on charges of selling sensitive military research data to a Polish spy for $250,000.
* The South African Grand Prix is won by Riccardo Patrese marking the end of the season. The overall season winner is Nelson Piquet.

October 16, 1983:
* In what is regarded as a last-ditch effort to promote a settlement in the U.S.-Soviet arms reduction talks in Geneva, the foreign ministers of West Germany and the USSR, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Andrei Gromyko, end two days of negotiations, with no progress reported.
* Pope John Paul II proclaims Leopold Bogdan Mandic, a Croatian monk, a new saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
* The Baltimore Orioles shut out the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0, in Game 5 to win baseball's 80th World Series.

October 17, 1983:
* President Reagan formally notifies the U.S. Federal Election Commission that he is forming a reelection campaign committee, but he puts off a final decision on his candidacy.
* Special Middle East envoy Robert McFarlane is named President Reagan's national security adviser, replacing William Clark.

October 18, 1983:
* General Motors agrees to pay $42.5 million, the largest job-bias settlement in history, to resolve a complaint of racial and sexual discrimination.

October 19, 1983:
* Prime Minister Maurice Bishop of Grenada, who was deposed and detained by the army on October 13, is executed.
* Congress passes a bill creating a federal holiday to honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Beginning in 1986, the third Monday in January will commemorate his birth on January 15, 1929. King is only the second American to be honored by a federal holiday (the other being George Washington).

October 20, 1983:
* The gene for the bacterial toxin that causes toxic shock syndrome is reported to have been isolated from the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, suggesting that a vaccine for the disease may be possible.

October 21, 1983:
* Philippines President Marcos agrees to name a new commission, made up solely of private citizens, to investigate the assassination of Benigno Aquino. An earlier panel had resigned amid charges that it lacked impartiality.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Rumblefish.

October 22, 1983:
* Vast crowds, including more than 600,000 demonstrators in West Germany, protest the planned installation of U.S. medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe.
* A gunman takes six persons hostage at the National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia and demands to speak with President Reagan, who is on another part of the course. Reagan talks on the telephone with the intruder, who surrenders several hours later.
* New York's Metropolitan Opera celebrates its 100th anniversary with a day-long concert.

October 23, 1983:
* A terrorist drives a truckload of high explosives through a series of barricades and into the Beirut airport in Lebanon. The subsequent explosion demolishes the four-story building and kills 239 U.S. servicemen. Numerous others were injured, and two days later, in an almost identical early morning attack two miles to the north, another bomb-laden truck smashes into an eight story building used as a barracks by French paratroopers, 58 of whom are killed when the structure collapses.

October 24, 1983:
* White House spokesman Larry Speakes, when asked by CBS News if U.S. Marines are preparing to invade Grenada, responds that the notion is "preposterous." He later complains to top-echelon White House aides of being misled by Deputy National Security Adviser John Poindexter.

October 25, 1983:
* An assault force, spearheaded by U.S. Marines and Army Rangers, begins a predawn invasion of the Caribbean nation of Grenada. The troops quickly seize the country's two airfields and occupy the island's power and broadcast stations. The heaviest initial resistance comes from Cuban soldiers and construction workers at the Point Salines airstrip. The expeditionary force includes nearly 2000 U.S. troops and 300 soldiers from Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent.

October 26, 1983:
* The U.S. government reports a record federal budget deficit of $195.4 billion for the 1983 fiscal year, which ended September 30.

October 27, 1983:
* President Kenneth David Kaunda of Zambia, unopposed, wins reelection to a fifth term.
* President Reagan states that the Grenada invasion took place just in time to prevent the island nation from becoming a "Soviet-Cuban colony."

October 28, 1983:
* The U.S. vetoes a UN Security Council resolution condemning the invasion of Grenada as a "flagrant violation of international law."
* An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, the strongest in the contiguous 48 states since 1959, hits Idaho and seven other northwestern states.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Under Fire.

October 29, 1983:
* Soviet officials leave Beijing after the third round in a series of ongoing talks with Chinese officials aimed at eventual restoration of normal relations between the two countries. No progress is reported on China's demands that the U.S.S.R. withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, stop supporting the Vietnamese occupation of Kampuchea, and reduce its military force along the Sino-Soviet border.
* Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

October 30, 1983:
* Paul Alfonsin, candidate of the Radical Civic Union, is elected Argentina's first civilian president in nearly eight years. His victory over Itako Luder ended the Peronists' decades-long domination of argentine politics. Alfonsin, a co-founder of the Argentine Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, promised that he would annul the amnesty that the military had granted itself to avoid prosecution for often flagrant violations of human rights.
* A major earthquake strikes eastern Turkey devastating dozens of villages; the death toll is estimated to be at least 2,000.
* Jesse L. Jackson states during a television interview that he will seek the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

October 31, 1983:
* Representatives of Lebanon's principal religious and political factions convene in Geneva for talks that, it is hoped, will lead to an end to the civil war that has been ravaging the country for almost a decade.
* A federal jury in Kansas City, MO, overrules an August jury decision that TV newscaster Christine Craft had been the victim of sex discrimination; he throws out the $500,000 award and orders a new trial.

November 1983

November 1, 1983:
* All-India Radio reports that more than 1,400 people have been taken into custody in violence-racked Punjab state during the previous two weeks.

November 2, 1983:
* President Reagan signs into law a bill earlier approved by Congress making the third Monday in January a national holiday, beginning in 1986, to commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
* South African voters approve constitutional changes to create a tripartite parliament consisting of separate chambers for white, Indian, and mixed-race citizens.
* The U.S. Defense Department declares that "hostilities have ceased" on Grenada and that troop withdrawal will begin shortly.
* Chrysler Corp. puts the first minivan, the T-115, on the market.

November 3, 1983:
* The Rev. Jesse Jackson, 42-year-old civil-rights leader, announces his candidacy for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

November 4, 1983:
* A suicide truck bombing of Israeli headquarters in Tyre, southern Lebanon, leaves 60 dead and 30 wounded; a pro-Iranian group claims responsibility. Israeli planes attack Palestinian positions.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Eddie Macon's Run.

November 5, 1983:
* Soviet party leader Yuri Andropov fails to attend the annual parade in Moscow commemorating the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. It is the first time a Soviet head of state misses the event.

November 6, 1983:
* Turkey's conservative Motherland Party, led by Turgut Ozai, wins 211 of 400 seats in national parliamentary elections.
* U.S. troops on Grenada uncover about 100 bodies at a training camp with one believed to be that of former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.

November 7, 1983:
* A bomb explodes outside the U.S. Senate chamber late in the evening; no one is injured.

November 8, 1983:
* The Roman Catholic bishops of France, in a nearly unanimous vote, approve nuclear weapons as a necessary and legitimate defense against aggression.
* Martha Layne Collins is elected governor of Kentucky and W. Wilson Goode is elected mayor of Philadelphia as women and black candidates show strength in U.S. off-year elections.
* James Hayden, the actor playing a heroin addict on Broadway, dies of a heroin overdose. He appears in the titles Cruising and Once Upon a Time in America.

November 9, 1983:
* Alfred H. Heineken, chairman of Heineken Breweries, is kidnapped in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and held for ransom.
* The governor-general of Grenada, Sir Paul Scoon, names a nonpartisan Advisory Council to serve until elections take place in 1984. Meredith McIntyre, a UN employee, is chosen to head the council.

November 10, 1983:
* Around the world, ceremonies are held to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther. Luther, who lived from 1483 to 1546, was born in Germany. He became the leader of the Reformation, which led to the establishment of the first Protestant churches.
* Microsoft Corp. announces version 1.0 of its Windows operating system.

November 11, 1983:
* Representatives of the warring factions in Lebanon end their first round of national reconciliation talks in Geneva; some progress is reported.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Deal of the Century.

November 12, 1983:
* In Washington, D.C., a large rally is held protesting U.S. policies in Central America.
* All Night Long by Lionel Richie becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

November 13, 1983:
* During a trip to Japan and South Korea, President Reagan visits U.S. soldiers in the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea. He calls the border "Freedom's front."

November 14, 1983:
* The first cruise missiles due for deployment in Europe arrive in Great Britain from the United States.

November 15, 1983:
* Turkish Cypriots declare their part of the island an independent state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
* The foreign minister of Venezuela reveals that Columbia, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela, known collectively as the Contadora Group, have drafted a treaty of peace and reconciliation to help end the conflicts in Central America.
* U.S. Navy Captain George Tsantes, a military aid officer, is assassinated in Athens, Greece; a leftist group claims responsibility.

November 16, 1983:
* Israeli and French jets strike at camps in eastern Lebanon of the pro-Iranian Islamic Amal militia, believed to be implicated in the terrorist bombings of U.S., French, and Israeli installations.

November 17, 1983:
* President Luis Alberto Monge of Costa Rica issues a Proclamation of Neutrality in the conflict between the Sandinistas and U.S.-supported contra forces along the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border.

November 18, 1983:
* The first session of the 98th U.S. Congress adjourns after approving a record $250 billion defense spending bill but dropping plans to resume production of nerve gas weapons.
* Argentina announces its ability to produce enriched uranium for use in nuclear weapons.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Nate and Hayes.

November 19, 1983:
* At the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, Harvard beats Yale 16-7 in the 100th football game between the two long-term rival teams.

November 20, 1983:
* "The Day After", an ABC television program about nuclear war, draws about 100 million viewers in the United States. This made the movie the second most watched dramatic program in television history. It was surpassed only by the final episode of MASH, which had drawn an audience of 125 million on February 28, 1983.

November 21, 1983:
* Syrian backed Palestinian rebels corner PLO leader Yasir Arafat in Tripoli, Labanon, also known as Tarabulus, cutting his last links with supporters in the nearby Baddawi refugee camp.
* The Dona Cassandra, a 167-foot ferry, sinks in a typhoon off Mindanao Island, Philippines; more than 200 people are reported missing.

November 22, 1983:
* The West German parliament approves installation of U.S. nuclear missiles in West Germany.
* President John F. Kennedy is remembered on the 20th anniversary of his assassination.

November 23, 1983:
* The Soviet Union pulls out of talks in Geneva on intermediate-range nuclear forces to protest the planned deployment of new U.S. missiles in Western Europe.

November 24, 1983:
* Israel releases some 4,500 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners in exchange for the return of six of its captured soldiers.

November 25, 1983:
* Union printers in Great Britain walk off the job in a labor dispute between the National Graphical Association and newspaper management.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Terms of Endearment.

November 26, 1983:
* Six hooded gunmen steal almost $40 million in gold and diamonds from a warehouse near London's Heathrow Airport in the largest theft in British history.
* UNESCO concludes its five-week conference in Paris after approving a two-year study on the influence of news organizations on less developed countries and international relations. The U.S. had successfully argued against an international code for journalists, saying it would limit freedom of the press.
* "Metal Health" by Quiet Riot becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.

November 27, 1983:
* A Boeing 747 operated by Columbia's Avianca airlines crashes on its approach to Madrid's Barajas airport; at least 183 people are killed, in one of the ten worst aviation crashes in history.

November 28, 1983:
* A Nigeria Airways airliner crashes 300 miles east of Lagos; at least 53 people are killed.
* The space shuttle Columbia lifts off on mission STS-9 carrying Spacelab, a European-built research laboratory, in its cargo bay. The crew of six includes Ulf Merbold, a West German physicist who is the first non-American to fly in the shuttle.
* Actor Christopher George dies of a heart attack at the age of 54. Best known for his role in "The Rat Patrol" television series, he appears in the titles El Dorado, The Shootist, The Exterminator, Graduation Day, and Enter the Ninja.

November 29, 1983:
* Winding up two days of talks in Washington with Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, President Reagan announces that they "have agreed to establish a joint political-military group to examine ways in which we can enhance Israeli-US cooperation."
* The Dow Jones industrial average closes at a record high of 1,287.20.
* A summary of an international meeting in Geneva on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) indicates that so far about 3,000 cases have been positively diagnosed worldwide. Of these, 2,753 have been in he United States, 50 in Canada, and 267 in Europe.

November 30, 1983:
* Dutch brewery chairman Alfred H. Heineken and his chauffeur are freed by police from an unguarded warehouse in Amsterdam, where they had been held by kidnappers for three weeks.
* President Reagan in effect vetoes legislation dealing with social reforms in El Salvador by not signing the bill within 10 legislative days after receiving it from Congress.

December 1983

December 1, 1983:
* As the holiday season approaches, the most sought-after - and fought-over - toys are dolls called Cabbage Patch Kids. These male and female dolls have soft-sculptured bodies, chubby faces, detailed fingers and toes, and belly buttons. No two are exactly alike. Each comes with its own name, a birth certificate, and adoption papers. Handmade, cloth-faced Cabbage Patch Kids were created by Xavier Roberts in the late 1970's. Beginning in mid-1983, a less expensive, vinyl-faced version became available.
* Rita Lavelle, dismissed February 7, 1983 as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's toxic-waste cleanup program, is found guilty of perjury and obstructing a Congressional inquiry.
* A federal district judge orders the state of Washington to pay between $800 million and $1 billion in raises and back pay to female state employees.

December 2, 1983:
* The U.S. Labor Department reports a November unemployment rate of 8.4 percent, a two-year low.
* Future title in widespread release: Thriller (MTV debut).

December 3, 1983:
* "Can't Slow Down" by Lionel Richie becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.

December 4, 1983:
* During a series of air strikes against Syrian antiaircraft batteries east of Beirut, Lebanon, two U.S. warplanes are shot down. One pilot is killed, and another, Navy Lt. Robert O. Goodman, is captured by the Syrians.
* Jaime Lusinchi of the Democratic Action Party wins a landslide victory in Venezuelan presidential elections. He will succeed Luis Herrera Campins, who had held the position since 1979.
* The 6th Annual Kennedy Center Honors are held featuring the honorees Katherine Dunham, Elia Kazan, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, and Virgil Thomson.

December 5, 1983:
* A car bomb explodes in a Muslim section of Beirut, killing 14 people and injuring more than 80 others.

December 6, 1983:
* Leaders of the ten European Community (EC) nations end a three-day summit in Athens, Greece, without an agreement on key financial issues. The body is said to be on the brink of bankruptcy.

December 7, 1983:
* Two jetliners collide on the ground at Madrid's airport, killing at least 93 people in the city's second jet disaster in 10 days.

December 8, 1983:
* Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) between the United States and the USSR adjourn in Geneva with the Soviets refusing to set a date for the next round of talks.
* The space shuttle Columbia lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after ten days in space, the longest shuttle mission so far. The landing was delayed eight hours by a series of troubling computer failures, but experiments conducted on the European-built Spacelab appeared largely successful.
* Rodeo rider and actor Slim Pickens dies at the age of 64. He appears in the titles The Great Locomotive Chase, Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, The Apple Dumpling Gang, White Line Fever, The Black Hole (voice), and The Howling. He also appeared in 1970, which featured an episode from the TV series Bonanza.

December 9, 1983:
* The annual winter meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) concludes in Geneva with no changes made in its benchmark price of $29 per barrel.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Christine.

December 10, 1983:
* Danuta Walesa, wife of Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, accepts the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, on behalf of her husband, in Oslo, Norway.
* Former Vice President Walter Mondale, seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, is endorsed by the National Organization of Women, the first endorsment of a presidential candidate in the group's history.
* Say, Say, Say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.

December 11, 1983:
* General Hussain Mohammed Ershad proclaims himself president of Bangladesh. He had been head of the nation's military government since he seized power in 1982.

December 12, 1983:
* Six persons are killed and 63 injured when the U.S. and French embassies and four other sites in Kuwait are bombed by Muslim extremists having close ties to Iran. The U.S. embassy was hit by a truck bomb loaded with explosives; the other places were damaged by car bombs detonated by remote control devices.

December 13, 1983:
* Raul Alfonsin, who was sworn in as civilian president of Argentina on December 10, announces that nine generals and admirals would be tried in a military court for the "terror, pain, and death" they had caused while serving in turn as members of the three-person junta that had ruled the country since 1976.
* Turkish Prime Minister Turkat Ozal assumes office after Gen. Kenan Evren, the president, gives his approval as required by the Turkish constitution.

December 14, 1983:
* An image derived from the 27 antennas of the Very Large Array radio telescope in New Mexico and released by the California Institute of Technology, the most detailed such image so far, seems to show at the core of the Milky Way galaxy a particularly hot area, possibly created by a black hole that is responsible for much of the turbulence observed near the center of the galaxy.

December 15, 1983:
* NASA announces that it will soon propose regulations for selecting the first private citizens to be passengers on the space shuttle. Writers, journalists, and artists who can communicate their experiences to the public, will receive preference, the agency says.
* The last U.S. troops leave Grenada; 300 noncombat personnel remain.
* In order to advance a peace settlement in Namibia, South Africa announces at the United Nations that it will begin withdrawing its troops from southern Angola on January 31, 1984.
* Danish Prime Minister Poul Schluter resigns after Parliament rejects his 1984 budget.

December 16, 1983:
* A disgruntled former employee of a club in Amsterdam's red-light district sets the establishment ablaze after pouring gasoline over the floor. At least 13 persons are reported killed.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Scarface.

December 17, 1983:
* A car-bomb explosion outside Harrods, the famous London department store, kills five persons and injures 77. The IRA admits responsibility for the blast the following day.
* In the city's third major disaster in as many weeks, a fire sweeps through the Madrid's Alcala 20 discotheque, killing at least 81 persons.
* On the anniversary of two major technological milestones, the 80th anniversary of the first Wright brothers flight at Kitty Hawk is celebrated, as well as the 30th anniversary of the FCC approval of RCA's RGB color television standard.

December 18, 1983:
* Japan's ruling party sustains heavy losses in parliamentary elections.

December 19, 1983:
* Eight independents in the Lower House of Japan's Diet agree to join the Liberal Democratic Party, giving it a small majority.

December 20, 1983:
* PLO leader Yasir Arafat and 4,000 of his loyalists are evacuated by a Greek ferry from Tripoli, Lebanon, where they had been under siege by Syrian-backed PLO dissidents.

December 21, 1983:
* The Indiana Pacers basketball team ends a 28 game losing streak.

December 22, 1983:
* A special Pentagon commission on the October 23 truck bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut concludes that there were serious failures in the military chain of command.
* Kirstie Alley (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) and Parker Stevenson (Stroker Ace) are wed.

December 23, 1983:
* Two articles in the journal _Science_ argue that a catastrophic "nuclear winter" might result from darkening of the sun by smoke thrown up in a nuclear war in the Northern Hemisphere - an effect so widespread that even life in the Southern Hemisphere might not survive it.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Sudden Impact.

December 24, 1983:
* Jesse Jackson proposes a five-year freeze on military spending by the U.S. government.

December 25, 1983:
* Egypt and Jordan sign a new protocol that, according to Egypt's economy and trade minister, signifies the resumption of trade and of economic and financial relations between the two countries. Jordan and most other Arab countries had imposed an economic and political boycott on Egypt after President Anwar el-Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
* Joan Miro, the Spanish surrealist painter, dies at the age of 90.

December 26, 1983:
* Soviet President Yuri V. Andropov's failure to appear at a meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee increases suspicions that he is seriously ill. His last public appearance had been on August 18. Andropov's absence, without a credible explanation, is unprecedented, as was his absence in Red Square on November 7 for the traditional parade celebrating the 1917 Russian Revolution.
* Japan's Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone is formally elected to a second term. His Liberal Democratic Party lost its parliamentary majority in elections December 18, but it clung to power with the support of independents.

December 27, 1983:
* President Reagan takes full responsibility for the lack of security in Beirut that allowed a terrorist on a suicide mission to kill 241 Marines. "If there is to be blame, it properly rests here in this office," the president said. Reagan also remarks he will not discipline any officers, stating "They have already suffered enough."
December 28, 1983:
* Vaudeville performer and actor William Demarest dies at age 91. Best remembered for his role as Uncle Charlie on the TV series "My Three Sons," he appears in the titles The Jazz Singer (1927), The Farmer's Daughter, It's a Mad Mad Mad World, and Viva Las Vegas.
* Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys drowns in Marina del Rey, California at the age of 39.
* Ramon Balang, a ground engineer for the Philippines Airlines, tells a five-member committee investigating the August 21 assassination of Benigno Aquino that Roland Galman, the alleged assassin, did not have the opportunity to commit the crime.

December 29, 1983:
* The United States gives formal notice to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that it will withdraw from the agency January 1, 1985, unless substantial policy changes are made.

December 30, 1983:
* Leftist guerrillas capture a Salvadoran army base 40 miles north of San Salvador, then withdraw after six hours. It is the first time in the four-year-old civil war that insurgents have taken a military installation of such importance.
* Future title in widespread theatrical release: Silkwood.

December 31, 1983:
* Nigerian army officer Brig. Saleh Abacha announces that President Shehu Shagari Has been overthrown in a military coup. Maj. Gen. Mohammed Buhari assumes power.