Best Evidence
Lifton published Best Evidence, arguing that discrepancies between Dallas treatment records and the Bethesda autopsy supported his theory that Kennedy's body and medical evidence had been altered.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1980 in United States of America — Page 2
Explore 90 historical events and records for United States of America in 1980.
Historical records for United States of America in 1980
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 90 unique records.
90Unique records
2 of 3Page
32Named events on this page
26Named people on this page
6Places on this page
Other events (month unknown)
Borderline
Stars in, "Borderline"
Boycott
Cancels Americas participation in the Moscow Olympic Games. A US-led boycott reduces the number of participating nations to 80, the lowest number since 1956
Boycott
Carter ordered the US Secretary of State for Commerce to ban all exports to Russia of any goods or technology used for the games. Carter asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move the summer games to a different location, the IOC rejects the request.
Boycott
To reinforce the boycott, Carter promises to revoke the passports of any US athletes that still plan to attend the games. Carter warns international politicians that in retaliation to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US will withdraw from the Moscow Olympic games.
Breakup
Eagles effectively break apart after years of touring pressure, lawsuits and internal tension.
Bronco Billy
Clint Eastwood directs and plays the title role in Bronco Billy alongside Locke, Scatman Crothers, and Sam Bottoms
Bronco Billy
Clint Eastwood directs and plays the title role in Bronco Billy alongside Locke, Scatman Crothers, and Sam Bottoms
Coal Miners Daughter
Earns his first Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of country singer Loretta Lynns husband, Doolittle "Mooney" Lynn, in the popular Coal Miners Daughter
Commonwealth
Guam votes in a referendum to become part of a commonwealth with the USA
Congo
Publication of "Congo".
Conspiracy
Summers book "Conspiracy" wins the Crime Writers Associations Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction in 1980. Publishes "Conspiracy"
Crimes of the Heart Opening
Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart opened off Broadway, examining three sisters' responses to family trauma and Southern expectations.
Discovery of Dark Matter
Rubin found that most galaxies must contain about six times as much dark as visible mass thus, by 1980 the apparent need for "dark matter" was widely recognized as a major unsolved problem in astronomy
Discovery of Dark Matter
Rubin worked with a new spectrograph to measure the velocity curve of edge-on spiral galaxies with greater accuracy with results published in 1980
Election
Winner of the Democrat Party nomination but defeated by Reagan in the elections. Defeated by Ronald Reagan by 489 to 149 electoral votes
Election
Clinton is defeated in his bid for a 2nd term by Republican challenger Frank D. White, he joked, he was the youngest ex-governor in the nations history
Election
Ted Kennedys only attempt, in the 1980 US presidential election, resulted in a primary campaign loss to incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter
Emmy Award Soap Actor
Richard Mulligan received the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance on Soap.
Fort Apache the Bronx
Stars in "Fort Apache the Bronx"
Forty-Metre Interferometer
Whitcomb and Ronald Drever develop the Caltech forty-metre interferometer as a testbed for optical, suspension and control systems required by a future full-scale observatory.
Gold Dagger
Summers book "Conspiracy" wins the Crime Writers Associations Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction in 1980
Government
Guam votes in a referendum to become part of a commonwealth with the USA
Health Film
Robert Altman directed Health in 1980, a political and public-health satire set around a Florida health convention.
Heavens Gate
Directs Heavens Gate, the film is several times over budget; the result IS a financial disaster that nearly bankrupts the studio
Hungry Heart
Releases Hungry Heart, giving him his first United States top ten single.
Inflation
Guth presents inflation as an early exponential expansion of the universe
Inflation
Guth proposes inflation, using relativistic field theory to address early universe problems
international diplomatic response is severe, ranging from stern warnings to a
The international diplomatic response is severe, ranging from stern warnings to a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
Invasion of Afghanistan
The international diplomatic response is severe, ranging from stern warnings to a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
Long-Baseline Detector Study
Weiss leads a technical and cost study for a several-kilometre gravitational-wave interferometer, showing that a long-baseline observatory is technically feasible.
Moscow Olympics
Leads American pressure for a boycott of the Moscow Olympics.
New York, Raging Bull
Directs, New York, Raging Bull
Popeye Film
Robert Altman directed Popeye in 1980, a live-action musical comedy adapting the comic-strip sailor Popeye.
President of United States of America
Loses the Republican nomination to Reagan, later becomes Vice President
Referendum
Guam votes in a referendum to become part of a commonwealth with the USA
Rotation of Galaxies
Rubin found that most galaxies must contain about six times as much dark as visible mass thus, by 1980 the apparent need for "dark matter" was widely recognized as a major unsolved problem in astronomy
Rotation of Galaxies
Rubin worked with a new spectrograph to measure the velocity curve of edge-on spiral galaxies with greater accuracy with results published in 1980
Secretary of State
Appointed Secretary of State
Senator
Appointed to the United States Senate by the Governor of Maine, Joseph Brennan
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.