WHAT ALL HAPPENED FEBRUARY TO JUNE 1980
Find out what all happened February to June 1980

An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area. (13. May 1980)

The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup which is initiated by the bombing of the police station from an army ship off the coast of the nation's capital, Paramaribo (25. February 1980)

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran. (4. February 1980)

Italian Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 mysteriously explodes in mid air while in route from Bologna to Palermo, killing all 81 on board. Also known in Italy as the Ustica disaster (27. June 1980)

In Florida, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 1,400-ft. section of the southbound span collapse. 35 people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 150 ft. into the water and die. (9. May 1980)

Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations. (26. February 1980)

Namco releases the highly influential arcade game Pac-Man. (22. May 1980)

At Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, 50 people were killed by an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket on its launch pad during a fueling operation. (18. March 1980)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages. (23. February 1980)

In Norco, California, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase. (9. May 1980)

Samuel Doe takes control of Liberia in a coup d'état, ending over 130 years of minority Americo-Liberian rule over the country. (12. April 1980)

General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations. (17. May 1980)

In Poland, a plane crashes during final approach near Warsaw, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team. (14. March 1980)

The United States Olympic Hockey team completes their Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal. (24. February 1980)

The eradication of smallpox is endorsed by the World Health Organization. (8. May 1980)

Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum. (28. February 1980)

Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. (30. April 1980)

Silver Thursday: A steep fall in silver prices, resulting from the Hunt Brothers attempting to corner the market in silver, led to panic on commodity and futures exchanges. (27. March 1980)

The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. (3. March 1980)

US President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan. (21. March 1980)