What Happened in 1982

Major Events

  • Apr 2 Several thousand Argentine troops seize the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands from Great Britain
  • Apr 17 Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Queen Elizabeth II sign 'Proclamation of the Constitution Act', establishes Charter of Rights and Freedoms as part of the country’s new Constitution
  • May 2 Falklands War: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by British submarine Conqueror, killing more than 350 men

1982 in Film & TV

1982 in Music

  • Mar 26 Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder release the single "Ebony & Ivory" in the UK
  • Jul 24 Single "Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor from "Rocky III" soundtrack starts 6-week run at #1 on US charts (Grammy for Best Rock Performance)
  • Jul 27 Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's musical "Little Shop of Horrors" opens Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in NYC
  • Oct 1 Marvin Gaye releases his last studio album "Midnight Love" featuring single "Sexual Healing"
  • Oct 7 Musical "Cats" opens at Winter Garden Theater on Broadway, NYC; runs for nearly 18 years before closing on September 10, 2000, wins 7 Tony and 1 Grammy Award
  • Nov 30 "Thriller", 6th studio album by Michael Jackson is released (Grammy Award Album of the Year 1984, best-selling album of all time, Billboard Album of the Year 1983)

1982 in Sport

  • Jan 2 "The Epic in Miami", in 85 degree heat (Fahrenheit), the San Diego Chargers defeat the Miami Dolphins 41-38 in overtime in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game, a game that set numerous playoff scoring records
  • Jan 10 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys, 28-27; "The Catch" - iconic moment in NFL history - Dwight Clark makes fingertip catch for a TD from Joe Montana with 58" remaining; SF goes on to win Super Bowl
  • Feb 12 Wayne Gretzky scores 153rd point of season, breaking NHL record
  • Sep 21 NFL players begin a 57 day strike
  • Nov 12 Zaheer Abbas gets his 100th 100 in Test Cricket for Pakistan v India, goes to 215
  • Nov 13 WBA lightweight champion Ray Mancini beats South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim by TKO in 14th round in Las Vegas; Kim collapses, falls into a coma and dies 4 days later; as a result, WBC shortens title bouts to 12 rounds; WBA & WBO follow in 1988, and IBF in 1989
  • Dec 24 Chaminade, with a student body of only 850 students, beats #1 ranked Virginia 77-72 in a Honolulu holiday basketball classic

Did You Know?

1st permanent artificial heart successfully implanted (U of Utah) in retired dentist Barney Clark; lived 112 days with Jarvic-7 heart

December 2, 1982


More People Born in 1982

Fun Fact About 1982

Heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne allegedly bites the head off a bat on stage in Des Moines, Iowa

January 20, 1982


More 1982 Deaths

Famous Weddings in 1982

  • Jan 8 American figure skater Dorothy Hamill (25) weds singer and actor Dean Paul Martin (30); divorce in 1983
  • Jan 28 Actor Danny Devito (37) weds actress Rhea Perlman (33)
  • Mar 19 American race car driver Al Unser Jr (19) weds Shelley Leonard (23) at Valley View Bible Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona; divorce in 1999

Famous Divorces in 1982


More 1982 Weddings