WHAT ALL HAPPENED MARCH TO MAY 1983
Find out what all happened March to May 1983

The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request. (17. May 1983)

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

The Church Street bombing in the South African capital Pretoria. The bombing killed 19 and wounded 217. (20. May 1983)

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

Aberdeen F.C. defeat Real Madrid 2-1 to win the European Cup Winners' Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden. (11. May 1983)

Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. (17. May 1983)

A suicide bomber destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people. (18. April 1983)

The Hitler diaries are revealed as a hoax after examination by experts. (6. May 1983)

Bertha Wilson is appointed the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada. (4. March 1983)

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. (25. April 1983)

Compact Discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan. (2. March 1983)

Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis is awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. (1. May 1983)

In Ireland, the government launches a crackdown, with the leading Dublin pirate Radio Nova being put off the air. (18. May 1983)

The first United States Football League game is played. (6. March 1983)

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

The German magazine Der Stern claims that the "Hitler Diaries" had been found in wreckage in East Germany; the diaries are subsequently revealed to be forgeries. (22. April 1983)

Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last wooden radio tower in Germany. (16. March 1983)

Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles. (23. March 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)

Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon. (11. March 1983)