Retrospective 1984

Politics and international affairs

• Ronald Reagan is re-elected President of the United States, while François Mitterrand, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, and Deng Xiaoping lead their respective nations.  
• Konstantin Chernenko succeeds Yuri Andropov as leader of the USSR.  
• In India, Indira Gandhi is assassinated following Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.  
• Desmond Tutu receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against apartheid.  
• Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea, dies in March.  
• Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin gain greater visibility despite the ongoing violence of the IRA.  
• Upper Volta becomes Burkina Faso, meaning “the land of upright people.”

Conflicts, crises, and disasters

• The Bhopal disaster, caused by the Union Carbide plant in India, kills thousands.  
• In Ethiopia, famine sparks the first major wave of international media coverage.  
• The Los Angeles Olympics are boycotted by the USSR and other Eastern Bloc countries, who organize the Friendship Games in response.  
• The United Kingdom signs an agreement with China for the future handover of Hong Kong in 1997.

Science, technology, and space

• Apple launches the Macintosh, introduced by a memorable ad directed by Ridley Scott.  
• An American astronaut becomes the first to perform an untethered spacewalk using a jetpack.  
• Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to walk in space.  
• The video game Tetris is created in the USSR.  
• Major corporations like IBM and Exxon Mobil continue to dominate the global economy.

Culture, music, and film

• George Orwell’s novel 1984 regains prominence and influences public discourse.  
• Films such as Amadeus, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Paris, Texas, and Purple Rain leave their mark.  
• Terms of Endearment, starring Shirley MacLaine and Robert Duvall, wins multiple Academy Awards.  
• Music charts are ruled by hits like “Thriller” and “Beat It” (Michael Jackson), “When Doves Cry” (Prince), “Born in the U.S.A.” (Bruce Springsteen), and “Relax” (Frankie Goes to Hollywood).  
• The charity project Band Aid gathers major British artists for Do They Know It’s Christmas?
• Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert receives the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Sports

• The Los Angeles Olympics are dominated by the U.S. in the absence of many Eastern Bloc countries.  
• The Challenger shuttle carries seven American astronauts into orbit.  
• Michel Platini leads France to victory in Euro 1984.  
• In tennis, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova dominate the courts.  
• In hockey, Wayne Gretzky leads the Edmonton Oilers to victory.  
• The Los Angeles Raiders win the Super Bowl.  
• The Detroit Tigers win the World Series, and the Boston Celtics take the NBA title.  
• In boxing, Willie Hernández is named MVP of Major League Baseball.  
• Niki Lauda and Laurent Fignon shine in Formula 1 and cycling.  
• The Nordic World Ski Championships are held for the first time in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Births and deaths

• Born this year: Kim Jong-un, Mark Zuckerberg, Prince Harry, Katy Perry, Scarlett Johansson, LeBron James, Avril Lavigne.  
• Died this year: Michel Foucault, George Gallup, Truman Capote, François Truffaut, Paul Dirac, Johnny Weissmuller, Count Basie, Marvin Gaye, Richard Burton.