WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO NOVEMBER 1983
Find out what all happened January to November 1983

Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T Inc.) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois. (13. October 1983)

The first democratic elections in Argentina after seven years of military rule are held. (30. October 1983)

A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills at least 104 people and injures thousands. Many people go missing and thousands of buildings are destroyed. (26. May 1983)

Martial law in Poland is officially revoked. (22. July 1983)

A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros. (12. September 1983)

Sikorsky S-61 disaster: a helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities. (16. July 1983)

Gulf Air Flight 771 is bombed, killing all 117 people on board. (23. September 1983)

Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa becomes the first African boxing world heavyweight champion. (23. September 1983)

Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space (STS-6). (4. April 1983)

First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier. (20. May 1983)

Maze Prison escape: 38 republican prisoners, armed with 6 handguns, hijack a prison meals lorry and smash their way out of the Maze prison. It is the largest prison escape since WWII and in British history. (25. September 1983)

Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit. (25. April 1983)

After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane's doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place. (2. June 1983)

The USSR vetoes a United Nations Security Council Resolution deploring the Soviet shooting down of a Korean civilian jetliner on September 1. (12. September 1983)

13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. (23. July 1983)

During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first space shuttle spacewalk. (7. April 1983)

Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada, is overthrown and later executed in a military coup d'état led by Bernard Coard. (14. October 1983)

Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. is assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport). (21. August 1983)

Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America. (17. September 1983)

Two correctional officers are killed by inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The incident inspires the Supermax model of prisons. (22. October 1983)