What happened in 1983

“Every Breath You Take”

The Police · 8 weeks at #1 in 1983

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1. Jan 1ManeaterDaryl Hall John Oates2 wks
2. Jan 15Down UnderMen At Work4 wks
3. Feb 5AfricaToto1 wk
4. Feb 19Baby, Come To MePatti Austin A Duet With James Ingram2 wks
5. Mar 5Billie JeanMichael Jackson7 wks
6. Apr 23Come On EileenDexys Midnight Runners1 wk
7. Apr 30Beat ItMichael Jackson3 wks
8. May 21Let's DanceDavid Bowie1 wk
9. May 28Flashdance...What A FeelingIrene Cara6 wks
10. Jul 9Every Breath You TakeThe Police8 wks
11. Sep 3Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)Eurythmics1 wk
12. Sep 10ManiacMichael Sembello2 wks
13. Sep 24Tell Her About ItBilly Joel1 wk
14. Oct 1Total Eclipse Of The HeartBonnie Tyler4 wks
15. Oct 29Islands In The StreamKenny Rogers Duet With Dolly Parton2 wks
16. Nov 12All Night Long (All Night)Lionel Richie4 wks
17. Dec 10Say Say SayPaul McCartney And Michael Jackson4 wks

Dates are the first chart week at #1 in 1983; weeks count only those in 1983.Find the #1 song on your birthday →

1. Jan 18Thirty years after his death, the International Olympic Committee presented commemorative medals to the family of American athlete Jim Thorpe, who had been stripped of his gold medals for playing semi-professional baseball before the 1912 Summer Olympics.
2. Jan 27The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
3. Mar 8Cold War: In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, U.S. president Ronald Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".
4. Apr 25Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
5. Jun 13Pioneer 10 passed the orbit of Neptune, becoming the first man-made object to leave the proximity of the major planets of the Solar System.
6. Jun 18Aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman and third one overall in space.
7. Jul 7After writing a letter to Soviet premier Yuri Andropov, American schoolgirl Samantha Smith visited the Soviet Union as Andropov's personal guest, becoming known as "America's Youngest Ambassador".
8. Jul 27American musician Madonna released her self-titled debut album, which set the standard for the genre of dance-pop for decades.
9. Aug 18Hurricane Alicia made landfall near Galveston, Texas, causing $3 billion in damage and 21 fatalities.
10. Sep 6The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, stating that its operatives did not know that it was a civilian aircraft when it reportedly violated Soviet airspace.
11. Sep 12The USSR vetoes a United Nations Security Council Resolution deploring the Soviet destruction of Korean Air Lines Flight 007.
12. Sep 19Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence.
13. Nov 2U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
14. Nov 5The Byford Dolphin diving bell accident kills five and leaves one severely injured.

Event summaries from Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Each links to its article.

• U.S. President

  Ronald Reagan

• UK Prime Minister

  Margaret Thatcher

• Prime Minister of Canada

  Pierre Trudeau

• President of France

  François Mitterrand

• German Chancellor

  Helmut Kohl

• Prime Minister of Japan

  Yasuhiro Nakasone

• Soviet leader

  Yuri Andropov

Everyone who held the office at some point in 1983, from Wikidata.

A selection of the best-documented titles on Wikidata, by first release year; not a box-office ranking.

• Kate BosworthAmerican actress · Jan 2
• Anthony CarriganAmerican actor · Jan 2
• Hannibal BuressAmerican comedian and actor · Feb 4
• Justin VerlanderAmerican baseball player · Feb 20
• Iliza ShlesingerAmerican stand-up comedian, actress and television host · Feb 22
• Kate MaraAmerican actress · Feb 27
• Carrie UnderwoodAmerican singer-songwriter · Mar 10
• Sean TaylorAmerican football player (died 2007) · Apr 1
• Eric AndréAmerican comedian · Apr 4
• Jamie ChungAmerican actress · Apr 10

From Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0.