Flashback to 1981 - A Timeline of Life in America

[Music] [Music] the year 1981 was one that would be remembered as very entertaining the year brought us two blockbuster nuptials an iconic video game the start of an adventurous movie franchise and one of the biggest concerts of all time with all there was to celebrate there was also a fair share of tragedy that would take place over the course of the next 12 months [Music] on january 20th minutes after ronald reagan's inauguration as the 40th president of the united states the 52 u.s captives held at the u.s embassy in iran were released ending the 444-day iran hostage crisis on the night of february 10th just 90 days after a devastating fire at the mgm grand hotel a busboy set fire to the las vegas hilton on the eighth floor the fire burned through the east wing of the hotel and spread to the higher floors eight people died in the fire and later philip klein would be given eight life sentences for his role in starting the fire on march 5th the u.s government granted the city of atlanta 1 million dollars to help find a serial killer that was on the loose targeting young african-american boys by mid-summer a grand jury would indict wayne williams a 23-year-old photographer for the murders on march 6th after 19 years hosting the cbs evening news walter cronkite signed off for the last time cronkite had established himself not only as the nation's leading news man but as the most trusted man in america and he would end his career with his trademark and that's the way it is [Music] on march 30th two months after taking office president ronald reagan was shot in the chest outside a washington dc hotel by john hinckley jr two police officers and press secretary james brady were also wounded [Music] april 12th saw the launch of the first space shuttle mission space shuttle columbia with astronauts john young and bob crippen aboard was humankind's first reusable spacecraft and it would return to earth on april 14th on may 11th 36 year old reggae star bob marley died from cancer in a miami hospital eight months earlier marley had collapsed while jogging in central park and later received a grim diagnosis a cancerous growth on his big toe had metastasized and spread to marley's brain liver and lungs on june 12th the first installment of indiana jones was released raiders of the lost ark was directed by steven spielberg produced by george lucas and starred harrison ford as the treasure hunting archaeologist facing off with nazis to recover the ark of the covenant on july 17th hundreds gathered in the lobby of the hyatt regency hotel in kansas city missouri for what was called a tea dance during the dance two elevated walkways collapsed into the lobby killing 114 people and injuring over 200. [Music] on july 29th the royal wedding of prince charles and lady diana spencer took place in london the ceremony was broadcast in 74 countries and watched by 750 million people around the globe nearly 17 million americans were up early to tune into the event live which was carried on the three big networks on july 31st nintendo released the arcade game donkey kong in the united states after one year over 60 000 arcade units had been sold across the country making it one of the most popular and profitable games of the time [Music] august 1st was the date that a new tv channel called mtv or music television first debuted the buggles video killed the radio star was the first music video to air on the new network which initially was only available to households in parts of new jersey [Music] on august 3rd 13 000 air traffic controllers went on strike across the country and president ronald reagan offered them an ultimatum if they do not report for work within 48 hours they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated reagan held firm to the law that public safety workers could not strike and he was not bluffing commercial air travel was slow to about 80 percent because of the mass firing and took years to completely recover from on september 12th the smurfs an animated cartoon series created by hannah barbera first aired in the united states the tiny blue characters were based on a belgian comic and became a staple of saturday morning cartoons [Music] september 19th brought back together folk duo simon and garfunkel for an epic central park concert in new york city the free event was attended by half a million people and was also aired on hbo the concert marked a reunion that would last for three years for paul simon and art garfunkel on september 25th sandra day o'connor was sworn in as the first female u.s supreme court justice o'connor was nominated by president reagan following up on a campaign promise and she was confirmed by the senate with a vote of 99-0 [Music] on october 9th and 11th a virtually unknown rocker named prince opened for the rolling stones at los angeles coliseum during each performance he had trash and food flying at him until he was eventually booed off stage on november 16th soap opera general hospital aired the wedding of luke and laura which was watched by 30 million people the episode guest starred elizabeth taylor who was an enthusiastic fan of the show and was even featured on the cover of newsweek the event was the highest rated hour in daytime television history on december 11th boxing legend muhammad ali lost by decision to fighter trevor burbick this proved to be ali's final boxing match in a long career that made him an icon of the sport [Music] to close out the year on december 28th elizabeth jordan carr the first american test tube baby was born in virginia howard and georgiana jones pioneered the in vitro fertilization process and their clinic garnered international attention following the birth of the baby you

Channel: Recollection Road

Views: 81,867

Keywords: Recollection Road, nostalgia, memories, photos, history, closed, forgotten, business, past, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, memory, yesteryear, golden age, photo album, oldies, fifties, sixties, abandoned, 20th century, 1981, donkey kong, luke and laura wedding, general hospital, royal wedding, princess diana, simon and garfunkel, mtv, reagan shot, smurfs, raiders of the lost ark, bob marley, walter cronkite, las vegas hilton, test tube baby

Id: gJ82sFnouXg

Length: 8min 4sec (484 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 30 2021