WHAT ALL HAPPENED APRIL TO JULY 1980
Find out what all happened April to July 1980

The Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia wins the Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the event at Olympic level. (24. July 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)

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)

Institution of sharia in Iran. (7. July 1980)

Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege. (5. May 1980)

1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage. (18. May 1980)

A massive storm tears through western Wisconsin, causing US$160 million in damage. (15. July 1980)

Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis. (24. April 1980)

Terry Fox begins his "Marathon of Hope" at St. John's, Newfoundland. (12. April 1980)

In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada. (20. May 1980)

Israel's Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law (30. July 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)

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

The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela. (10. June 1980)

Gwangju Massacre: students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for 'democratic reforms'. (18. May 1980)

Vanuatu gains independence. (30. July 1980)

Climax of Berber Spring in Algeria as hundreds of Berber political activists are arrested. (20. April 1980)

The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak. Seven tornadoes hit Grand Island, Nebraska, which take five lives, 357 single-family homes, 33 mobile homes, 85 apartments, 49 businesses and cause $300 million in damages all told, according to statistics compiled on the deadly storm by the National Weather Service and the American Red Cross. (3. June 1980)

Iran adopts a new "holy" flag after the Islamic Revolution. (29. July 1980)

The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture. (9. April 1980)