WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO DECEMBER 1980
Find out what all happened May to December 1980

Lech Wałęsa leads strikes at the Gdańsk, Poland shipyards. (14. August 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)

Lake Peigneur drains into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe had been drilled into the Diamond Crystal Salt Mine, causing water to flow down into the mine, eroding the edges of the hole. (20. November 1980)

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

John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, US. (26. August 1980)

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

At the Oktoberfest terror attack in Munich 13 people died and 211 were injured. (26. September 1980)

As part of the Holy See – United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican (17. October 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)

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)

Princess Caroline of Monaco divorces Philippe Junot. (9. October 1980)

Azaria Chamberlain disappears, at Ayers Rock, Northern Territory, probably taken by a dingo, leading to what was then the most publicized trial in Australian history. (17. August 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)

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

Iran–Iraq War: Operation Morvarid – The bulk of the Iraqi Navy is destroyed by the Iranian Navy in the Persian Gulf. (Commemorated in Iran as Navy Day.) (28. November 1980)

The Montevideo Treaty, establishing the Latin American Integration Association, is signed. (12. August 1980)

The St. Gotthard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.224 km) stretching from Göschenen to Airolo. (5. September 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)

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