1980 - Ronald Reagan becomes president, Republicans gain control of Senate.

1981 - The first U.S. space shuttle, "Columbia," makes inaugural flight.

1982 - England drives invading Argentines from Falkland Islands.

1983 - Two-year drought causes massive famine in Ethiopia.

1984 - AIDS virus is discovered.

1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of the U.S.S.R.

1986 - Phillipine President Ferdinand Marcos flees in the wake of election rigging allegations.

1987 - Bill Gates becomes the computer industry's first billionaire.

1988 - An earthquake in Armenia kills 80,000.

1989 - The Exxon Valdez spills eleven million gallons of oil in Alaska.

1990 - Nelson Mandela freed from South African prison.

{and I'm done, the laptop battery is about dead :)... to the cheers of others wanting to post here :D)

1991 - Channel Tunnel – The ‘Chunnel’ completed linking England and France by road and rail under the English Channel.

{I'll keep going until it dies on me :p)

1992 - The "World Wide Web" started up for home use.

1993 - Coup against Russian leader Boris Yeltsin fails in Moscow.

1994 - Long-time CIA officer Aldrich Ames and his wife were charged with espionage