What Happened in December 1982

Historical Events

  • Dec 1 Dentist Barney B Clark gets 1st artificial heart
  • Dec 1 Miguel de la Madrid inaugurated as President of Mexico
  • Dec 2 1st permanent artificial heart successfully implanted (U of Utah) in retired dentist Barney Clark; lived 112 days with Jarvic-7 heart
  • Dec 2 American track and field record holder Steve Scott sets record for fastest round of golf played on a regulation course; posts a 95, completing 18 holes in 29:33.05s at Miller Golf Club in Anaheim, California; he used only two clubs, and ran between holes

Frances

Dec 3 "Frances", film depicting life of actress Frances Farmer and starring Jessica Lange, first released in the US

  • Dec 3 35.7 cm rainfall at Big Fork, Arkansas (state record)
  • Dec 3 77°F highest December temperature ever recorded in Cleveland, Ohio

Leonard vs. Benitez

Dec 3 After losing his world welterweight boxing titles to Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns wins WBC Super Welterweight crown in a majority points decision over Wilfred Benitez at Superdome, New Orleans

  • Dec 4 48th Heisman Trophy Award: Herschel Walker, Georgia (RB)
  • Dec 4 China adopts its constitution
  • Dec 4 Police and racist demonstrators clash in Antwerp
  • Dec 5 15th NAACP Image Awards: "An Officer and a Gentleman" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
  • Dec 5 Dutch judoka Ingrid Berghmans retains judo's world championship
  • Dec 5 Mel Gray ends NFL streak of 121 consecutive game receptions
  • Dec 5 NFL Cleveland Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 33 pass completions
  • Dec 5 Seattle Univ Baptist Ch declares sanctuary for Cen Am refugees
  • Dec 5 Senior PGA Championship, PGA National GC: Don January wins his lone Champions Tour major title by 1 stroke over Julius Boros
  • Dec 5 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • Dec 6 Droppin Well bombing: 11 British soldiers and 6 civilians are killed by an Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) time bomb at the Droppin’ Well Bar in Ballykelly, County Londonderry
  • Dec 7 Dos Erres massacre in Guatemala during country's civil war, 171 people killed led by Santos López Alonzo
  • Dec 7 In Texas, Charles Brooks, Jr. becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the US.
  • Dec 7 Suriname army under Desi Bouterse fires on radio station building
  • Dec 8 "Herman Van Veen: All of Him" opens at Ambassador. NYC; runs for 6 performances

Sophie's Choice

Dec 8 "Sophie's Choice", directed by Alan J. Pakula and based on William Styton's 1979 novel of the same name, starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, is released (Academy Awards Best Actress 1983)

Márquez's Nobel Prize

Dec 8 Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez receives the Nobel Prize for Literature

  • Dec 8 Norman Mayer holds Washington Monument hostage, demanding an end to nuclear weapons. Is killed by police after 10 hrs (he had no explosives)
  • Dec 8 Suriname army leader Desi Bouterse orders the murders 15 opponents to his military regime
  • Dec 9 World Boxing Council first to reduce the length of championship fights from 15 to 12 rounds, and allows referees to order standing 8-count for fighters in trouble
  • Dec 10 CDC report on a transfusion recipient who developed AIDS symptoms

Doakes vs. Weaver

Dec 10 Heavyweight Michael Doakes KOs Mike Weaver in 1:03 in Las Vegas

  • Dec 10 Soyuz T-5 returns to Earth, 211 days after take-off
  • Dec 12 "Herman Van Veen: All of Him" closes at Ambassador NYC after 6 performances
  • Dec 12 $9,800,000 in cash stolen from money transport car in NYC

Evert-Lloyd's First Title

Dec 12 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Chris Evert-Lloyd wins her first Australian title; beats Martina Navratilova 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

  • Dec 12 The "Snowplow Game": when a snowstorm holds a New England vs Miami game scoreless, Mark Henderson, a convict on work release, on Patriots coach Ron Meyer order, clears the path for John Smith's attempt, which wins the game for the Patriots, 3-0
  • Dec 13 Australian Open Men's Tennis: South African Johan Kriek wins 2nd straight Australian title; repeats previous year's win over American Steve Denton 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
  • Dec 13 Earthquake hits Northern Yemen; 2,000 die

Dionne Scores 500

Dec 14 LA Kings' Marcel Dionne becomes 9th NHLer to score 500 goals

Parcells Coaches NY Giants

Dec 15 Bill Parcells becomes 12th head coach of NY Giants

  • Dec 15 Sao Tome & Principe constitution approved
  • Dec 15 Spain reopens border with Gibraltar
  • Dec 15 Teamsters president Roy Williams and 4 others convicted of bribery
  • Dec 16 The Federal Reserve announces that the operating capacity of factories has gone down to 67.8%.
  • Dec 18 Flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 20 seconds
  • Dec 22 William Mastrosimone's play "Extremities" premieres in NYC
  • Dec 23 The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.
  • Dec 24 Chaminade, with a student body of only 850 students, beats #1 ranked Virginia 77-72 in a Honolulu holiday basketball classic

Nazar, Khan Put Pakistan on Top

Dec 25 Mudassar Nazar scores 119 in Pakistan's 2nd innings of 452 before Imran Khan takes 6 wickets in 2nd Test against India in Karachi; Pakistan will win by an innings and 86 runs

  • Dec 26 TIME's Man of the Year is a computer
  • Dec 26 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • Dec 27 Pakistani bowler Imran Khan's 8-60 to brings about innings victory v India at Karachi
  • Dec 28 Ballon d'Or: Juventus striker Paolo Rossi is named best European football player; beats Bordeaux midfielder Alain Giresse and Juventus' Polish midfielder Zbigniew Boniek

Sports History

Dec 29 American college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant ends his career with University of Alabama (323 wins)

Bob Marley Stamp

Dec 29 Jamaican Post issues commemorative postage stamp featuring reggae singer Bob Marley

  • Dec 30 Anthony Shaffer's "Whodunnit" premieres in NYC
  • Dec 30 England defeat Australia by three runs at cricket MCG
  • Dec 30 US Assay Office in New York City, NY closes
  • Dec 31 CBS Mystery Theater final episode on radio after 8 years
  • Dec 31 NBC radio cancels almost all of its network daily features
  • Dec 31 TV soap "Doctors" ends 19 year run
1982 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Dec 1 Rizwan "Riz" Ahmed, British-Pakistani actor (The Night Of), rapper (Swet Shop Boys) and activist, born in Wembley, London
  • Dec 2 Pizon [Michael Scala], Italian-American rapper and producer, born in Queens, New York
  • Dec 3 Jaycee Chan, American-born Hong Kong singer and actor, born in Los Angeles, California
  • Dec 3 Michael Essien, Ghanaian football player considered one of the world's best midfielders (58 caps; Chelsea, Lyon), born in Accra, Ghana
  • Dec 4 Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese auto racer (FIA World Endurance C'ship 2017, 18-19, 19-20 runner-up), born in Velp, Netherlands
  • Dec 4 Waldo Ponce, Chilean soccer defender (42 caps; Universidad de Chile), born in Los Andes, Chile
  • Dec 5 Keri Hilson, American singer and songwriter (The Way I Are), born in Decatur, Georgia
  • Dec 5 Trai Essex, American football player, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana
  • Dec 6 Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist and Tour de France winner (2007, 09), born in Pinto, Madrid, Spain
  • Dec 6 Robbie Gould, American football player (San Francisco 49ers), born in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania
  • Dec 6 Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer (played for Zimbabwe in the 2003 Cricket World Cup), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
  • Dec 8 Chrisette Michele [Payne], American R&B and soul singer-songwriter ("Be OK"; "Epiphany"), born in Central Islip, New York,
  • Dec 8 Dee Dee Trotter, American athlete, born in California, United States
  • Dec 8 Halil Altintop, German-born Turkish football player (identical twin brother of Hamit Altintop), born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
  • Dec 8 Hamit Altintop, German-born Turkish football player (identical twin brother of Halil Altintop), born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Nicki Minaj (41 years old)

Dec 8 Trinidadian-American rapper and singer (Super Bass, Starships), born in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

  • Dec 8 Noelle Pikus-Pace, American skeleton racer, born in Provo, Utah
  • Dec 9 Nathalie De Vos, Belgian athlete, born in Ghent, Belgium
  • Dec 9 Tamilla Abassova, Russian cyclist, born in Moscow, Russia
  • Dec 9 Vincent Accardi, American rock guitarist (Brand New), born in Wantagh, New York
  • Dec 10 Matt Stutzman, American archer (WR longest accurate shot in archery - despite having no arms), born in Kansas City, Kansas
  • Dec 10 Shilpa Anand, Indian film and television actress
  • Dec 10 Tim Deegan, Canadian MuchMusic VJ, born in Oshawa, Ontario
  • Dec 11 Pablo Pérez Companc, Argentine racing driver, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Dec 12 Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player, born in Moscow
  • Dec 13 Anthony Callea, Australian singer and songwriter, born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • Dec 13 Dominik Werling, German footballer, born in Ludwigshafen, Germany
  • Dec 13 Ricky Nolasco, American baseball player, born in Corona, California
  • Dec 13 Tuka Rocha, Brazilian racing driver, born in São Paulo, Brazil
  • Dec 14 Anthony Way, English singer and actor, born in London
  • Dec 14 Christine Chiu, Taiwanese-American businesswoman and philanthropist (Bling Empire), born in Taiwan
  • Dec 14 Josh Fields, American baseball player, born in Ada, Oklahoma
  • Dec 14 Steve Sidwell, English footballer, born in Wandsworth, England

Charlie Cox (41 years old)

Dec 15 English actor (Daredevil, The Theory of Everything, Boardwalk Empire), born in London

  • Dec 16 Antrel Rolle, National Football League defensive back
  • Dec 16 Garnon Davies, Welsh actor
  • Dec 17 Craig Kielburger, Canadian labour activist
  • Dec 17 Josh Barfield, American baseball player
  • Dec 17 Onur Ozsu, Turkish music artist, born in Izmir
  • Dec 17 Ryan Moats, National Football League runningback
  • Dec 17 Stephane Lasme, Gabonese basketball player
  • Dec 18 Dave Luetkenhoelter, American Christian-rock bassist (Kutless, 2005-13), born in Medford, Oregon
  • Dec 19 Mo Williams, American basketball point guard (NBA C'ship 2016, NBA All-Star 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers) and coach (Alabama State), born in Jackson, Mississippi
  • Dec 19 Tero Pitkämäki, Finnish athlete (World C'ship gold javelin 2007; Olympic bronze 2008), born in Ilmajoki, Finland
  • Dec 20 David Cook, American singer and American Idol winner, born in Houston, Texas
  • Dec 20 David Wright, American baseball player (New York Mets), born in Norfolk, Virginia
  • Dec 20 Kasper Klausen, Danish footballer, born in Denmark
  • Dec 20 Mohammed Asif, Pakistani cricket player, born in Sheikhupura, Pakistan
  • Dec 21 Erica America Hayden, American journalist and radio personality, born in Long Island, New York
  • Dec 21 Iljo Keisse, Belgian cyclist, born in Ghent, Belgium
  • Dec 21 Mike Gansey, American basketball player, born in Olmsted Falls, Ohio
  • Dec 21 Philip Humber, American baseball player, born in Nacogdoches, Texas
  • Dec 24 Aiba Masaki, Japanese singer and actor, born in Chiba, Japan
  • Dec 24 Robert Schwartzman, American actor and musician, born in Los Angeles, California
  • Dec 25 Shawn Andrews, American football offensive lineman (Pro Bowl 2006, 07; First-team All-Pro 2006; Philadelphia Eagles), born in Littleton, Massachusetts
  • Dec 25 Shystie [Chanel Cali], British rapper-songwriter, born in London Borough of Hackney, United Kingdom
  • Dec 26 Kenneth Darby, American National Football League player, born in Huntsville, Alabama
  • Dec 26 Oguri Shun, Japanese actor and model, born in Tokyo, Japan
  • Dec 27 James Mead, American Christian rock guitarist (Kutless), born in Danbury, Connecticut
  • Dec 27 Terji Skibenæs, Faroese folk-metal guitarist, (Týr, 2001-18), born in Skipanes, Faroe Islands
  • Dec 28 Cedric Benson, American football player, born in Midland, Texas
  • Dec 28 François Gourmet, Belgian decathlete, born in Libramont-Chevigny, Belgium
  • Dec 28 Kevin Pereira, American television host, born in Rochester, Michigan

Alison Brie (41 years old)

Dec 29 American actress (Community, GLOW), born in Los Angeles, California

  • Dec 29 Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Québécois singer, born in Québec, Canada
  • Dec 30 Dathan Ritzenhein, American runner
  • Dec 30 Dawan Landry, American football player
  • Dec 30 Kristin Kreuk, Canadian actress
  • Dec 30 Wesley Schultz, American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter (The Lumineers - "Submarines"), born in Ramsey, New Jersey
  • Dec 31 Craig Gordon, Scottish soccer goalkeeper (70 caps; Hearts, Sunderland, Celtic; SFWA Footballer of the Year 2006, 15, 22), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
Born in 1982

Famous Weddings

Jackie Chan

Dec 1 Martial artist Jackie Chan (28) weds actress Lin Feng-jiao (29) in Los Angeles

Phil Hartman

Dec 18 Actor Phil Hartman (34) weds real estate agent Lisa Strain


Famous Divorces

Ted Kennedy

Dec 6 US Senator Ted Kennedy divorces Joan Kennedy after 34 years of marriage

William Hurt

Dec 9 American actors Mary-Beth & William Hurt divorce, after 10 years of marriage


Famous Deaths

  • Dec 1 Dorothy James, American composer, dies on her 81st birthday
  • Dec 1 Hugh Plaxton, Canadian ice hockey left wing (Olympic gold 1928; Montreal Maroons) and politician (House of Commons of Canada 1935-40), dies at 78
  • Dec 2 David Blue [Cohen], American folk musician, dies of a heart attack while jogging in Greenwich Village at 41
  • Dec 2 Giovanni Ferrari, Italian soccer midfielder (44 caps; US Alessandria, Juventus, Internazionale) and manager (Italy 1958–59, 1960–62), dies at 74
  • Dec 2 Isador Goodman, South African-Australian composer, dies at 73
  • Dec 2 Marty Feldman, English comedian (Young Frankenstein), dies of a heart attack at 49
  • Dec 3 Dutch Meyer, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (National C'ship 1935, 38; TCU), dies at 84
  • Dec 7 Bertus de Harder, Dutch soccer player, 1937-57 (Bordeaux), and manager (1957-64), dies at 62
  • Dec 7 Charlie Brooks Jr, convicted murderer became 1st US prisoner to be executed by lethal injection, at a prison in Huntsville, Texas
  • Dec 7 George Kistiakowsky, Ukrainian-American chemist who helped develop the first atomic bomb (Manhattan Project) but later opposed nuclear weapons, dies at 82
  • Dec 7 William "Will" Lee, American actor (They Live by Night, Melody Lane), dies from a heart attack at 74
  • Dec 8 André Kamperveen, Suriname footballer, politician, administrator, and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military at 58
  • Dec 8 Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist and communist advocate, murdered by the military at 31
  • Dec 8 Cyrill Daal, Suriname worker's union leader, and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
  • Dec 8 Frank Wijngaarde, Suriname journalist and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
  • Dec 8 Gerard Leckie, Suriname scholar and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military at 39
  • Dec 8 Harald Riedewald, Suriname attorney and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
  • Dec 8 John Baboeram, Suriname lawyer and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
  • Dec 8 Jozef Slagveer, Suriname journalist, and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
  • Dec 8 Kenneth Goncalves, Suriname deacon and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
  • Dec 8 Leslie Rahman, Suriname journalist, and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military
  • Dec 8 Marty Robbins, American country singer (Devil Woman; I Walk Alone), dies of complications following cardiac surgery at 57
  • Dec 8 Surendre Rambocus, Suriname army lieutenant, and pro-democracy advocate murdered by the military at 29
  • Dec 9 Fritz Usinger, German writer (Song Against Death), dies at 87
  • Dec 9 Joey Forman, American actor (Sid Caesar Show, Joey Bishop Show), dies at 53
  • Dec 9 Leon Jaworski, American Watergate scandal special prosecutor, dies at 77
  • Dec 9 Paul Godwin, Polish-Dutch violinist, dies at 80
  • Dec 9 Roger Danneels, Flemish accordionist, Hammond organ player, and bandleader, dies at 55
  • Dec 10 Freeman Gosden, American radio and television writer and actor (The Amos 'n' Andy Show; Calvin and the Colonel), dies at 83
  • Dec 10 Roy Webb, American film score composer (films of Val Lewton), dies at 94
  • Dec 13 Jack Badcock, Australian cricketer (7 Tests, 1 century but inconsistent), dies at 68
  • Dec 16 Colin Chapman, English engineer and automobile manufacturer, founder of Lotus Cars, dies at 54
  • Dec 17 Homer S. Ferguson, American politician (b. 1889)
  • Dec 17 Leonid Kogan, Soviet Russian violinist (Lenin Prize, 1952), dies of a heart attack at 58
  • Dec 17 Philipp Jarnach, French pianist, composer, and music educator (Hamburg Music Academy, 1949-70), dies at 90
  • Dec 18 Bernard Malivoire, French rower (Olympic gold coxed pair 1952), dies at 44
  • Dec 18 Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German Combat pilot and highest-decorated German soldier of WWII, dies at 66
  • Dec 18 Ray Emery, New Zealand cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 2 wickets, BB 2/52; Auckland, Canterbury), dies at 67
  • Dec 18 Tibor de Machula, Hungarian-Dutch cellist, dies at 70
  • Dec 19 Dwight Macdonald, American social critic (b. 1906)

Frederick Terman (1900-1982)

Dec 19 American professor of engineering at Stanford University known as the "father of Silicon Valley", dies at 82

  • Dec 19 Jean-Jacques Grunenwald, French organist and composer, dies at 71
  • Dec 19 Lawrance Collingwood, English composer, dies at 95
  • Dec 20 Artur Rubinstein, Polish-American concert pianist, dies in Geneva at 95
  • Dec 20 Milan Ristić, Serbian composer, dies at 76
  • Dec 23 Jack Webb, American screenwriter, director and actor (Dragnet, Sunset Boulevard), dies of a heart attack at 62
  • Dec 23 Norman Dinerstein, American composer, dies of a heart attack at 45
  • Dec 24 Louis Aragon, French poet and writer (Les Lettres françaises, Pour un réalisme socialiste), dies at 85
  • Dec 27 John Leonard Swigert Jr., American astronaut (Apollo 13), dies of cancer at 51
  • Dec 28 Frederick Douglass Hall, American composer, dies at 84
  • Dec 29 Sol C Siegel, American film producer (A Letter To Three Wives, High Society, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), dies of a heart attack at 79
  • Dec 30 Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter, primarily of "pin-up girls", dies at 86
  • Dec 31 Kurt Otto Friedrichs, German-American mathematician, and educator (Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences), dies at 82