Information Please: 1983

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Year by Year: 1900-2008	View a 1983 calendar

World Events

World Statistics

Population: 4.690 billion
population by decade

Nobel Peace Prize:
Lech Walesa (Poland)

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Pope John Paul II signs new Roman Catholic code incorporating changes brought about by Second Vatican Council (Jan. 25).
Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., 50, political rival of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in Manila (Aug. 21).
South Korean Boeing 747 jetliner bound for Seoul apparently strays into Soviet airspace and is shot down by a Soviet SU-15 fighter after it had tracked the airliner for two hours; all 269 aboard are killed. (Aug. 30).
Terrorist explosion kills 237 US Marines in Beirut (Oct. 23).
US invades Grenada (Oct. 25).

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U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: Ronald W. Reagan
Vice President: George Bush
Population: 233,791,994
Life expectancy: 74.6 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 51.8
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 46.4

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Second space shuttle, Challenger, makes successful maiden voyage, which includes the first US space walk in nine years (April 4).
US Supreme Court declares many local abortion restrictions unconstitutional (June 15).
Sally K. Ride, 32, first US woman astronaut in space as a crew member aboard space shuttle Challenger (June 18).
US admits shielding former Nazi Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie, 69, the "butcher of Lyon," wanted in France for war crimes (Aug. 15).

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Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars):   $3,514.50 billion
Federal spending:   $808.38 billion
Federal debt:   $1371.7 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars):  $20,885
Consumer Price Index:   99.6
Unemployment:   9.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.20

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Sports

Sports Links

Pro Football Summary

Pro Basketball Summary

Pro Baseball Summary

Super Bowl

Washington d. Miami (27-17)

World Series

Baltimore d. Philadelphia Phillies (4-1)

NBA Championship

Philadelphia 76ers d. LA Lakers (4-0)

Stanley Cup

NY Islanders d. Edmonton (4-0)

Wimbledon

Women: Martina Navratilova d. A. Jaeger (6-0 6-3)
Men: John McEnroe d. C. Lewis (6-2 6-2 6-2)

Kentucky Derby Champion

Sunny's Halo

NCAA Basketball Championship

N.C. State d. Houston (54-52)

NCAA Football Champions

Miami-FL (11-1-0)

Entertainment

Entertainment Awards

Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Music: Three Movements for Orchestra, Ellen T. Zwilich
Drama: 'Night, Mother, Marsha Norman

Oscars awarded in 1983
Academy Award, Best Picture: Gandhi, Richard Attenborough, producer (Columbia)

Nobel Prize for Literature: William Golding (UK)

1983 Emmy Awards

1983 Tony Awards

Grammys awarded in 1983
Record of the Year: "Rosanna," Toto
Album of the Year: Toto IV, Toto (Columbia)
Song of the Year: "Always on My Mind," Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, songwriters

Miss America: Debra Maffett (CA)

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Events

With the introduction of noise-free compact discs, the vinyl record begins a steep decline.
Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy wins the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and Tony Award for best play, marking the acceptance of gay theater.
Singer Karen Carpenter dies of complications from anorexia nervosa at age 32.
More than 125 million viewers tune in to the last episode of M*A*S*H.

Movies

The Big Chill, Terms of Endearment, Fanny & Alexander, The Right Stuff

Books

J.M. Coetzee, Life & Times of Michael K
William Kennedy, Ironweed

Theater

Torch Song Trilogy

Science

Nobel Prizes in Science

Chemistry: Henry Taube (US), for research on how electrons transfer between molecules in chemical reactions

Physics: Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar and William A. Fowler (both US), for complementary research on processes involved in the evolution of stars

Physiology or Medicine: Barbara McClintock (US), for her discovery of mobile genes in the chromosomes of a plant that change the future generations of plants they produce

"Crack" cocaine is developed in the Bahamas, and soon appears in the United States. Background: Nationwide Trends in Drug Abuse
The FCC authorizes Motorola to begin testing cellular phone service in Chicago.
The El Niño phenomenon disrupts global weather patterns. Background: What's Wrong With Our Weather?

Deaths

Year by Year: 1900-2008

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