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Darcy Press is a publisher of books, both Fiction and Non-fiction, featuring the history of the twentieth century. Please look at the rest of the website by clicking the Home tab above. Below is Mr Darcy's own timeline of his selection of events that interest him and is not intended to be completely comprehensive. He offers it here for information and for others to enjoy.   1900s  |  1910s  |  1920s  |  1930s  |  1940s  |  1950s  |  1960s  |  1970s  |  1980s  |  1990s   1980 Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of the new state of Zimbabwe, the former Rhodesia 4 Mar 27 Mar North Sea oil platform Alexander Kielland, used as an accommodation unit, capsizes killing 100 Dr Canaan Banana becomes the first President of Zimbabwe 11 Apr 25 Apr American attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages ends in disaster as a helicopter hits a tanker in the desert and catches fire Three gunmen seize 20 hostages at the Iranian Embassy 30 Apr 5 May SAS storms the Iranian Embassy in London rescuing the hostages The World Health Organisation claims that Smallpox has been wiped out 8 May 16 May UK inflation rises to 21.8% Mount St Helens, a long dormant volcano in the North-West USA, erupts killing eight people 19 May 12 Jun Famine breaks out in East Africa causing a massive refugee problem as people move to search for food Brezhnev opens to 22nd Olympic games in Moscow. Britons attend despite calls for a boycott over the Afghan invasion 19 Jul 30 Aug Striking Polish workers led by Lech Walesa wrest concessions from the Communist Government after two months of struggle Polish workers form a Trade Union calling it 'Solidarity' with Lech Walesa as its leader 22 Sep 24 Sep The simmering border war between Iraq and Iran flares up as Iraq attacks the Iranian oil installations British Leyland launches the Mini Metro 8 Oct 11 Oct Two big earthquakes destroy most of the Algerian city of El Asnam killing at least 20,000 people Ronald Regan defeats Jimmy Carter to become American President 4 Nov 8 Dec John Lennon, the ex-Beatle, is shot dead outside his home in New York Dr Frederick Sanger is awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on unravelling the structure of DNA, his 2nd Nobel Prize 10 Dec 1981 Greece joins the European Economic Community 1 Jan 21 Jan The US hostages taken by students in the Embassy in Teheran are released after 444 days and flown to Algiers General Jaruzelski takes over as Polish Prime Minister to try to bring an end to the unrest in the country 9 Feb 23 Feb Tejero de Molina attempts a coup in Spain but it is suppressed after King Carlos orders the armed forces to take all necessary measures President Regan is shot and wounded in an assassination attempt 30 Mar 4 Apr Riots in Brixton, South London, as hundreds of youths, black and white turn it into a battleground Space Shuttle Columbia lands after its 3 day maiden flight 14 Apr 29 Apr Peter Sutcliffe admits to the thirteen 'Yorkshire Ripper' killings Riots in Belfast follow the death of hunger-striker Bobby Sands 5 May 10 May Francois Mitterrand is elected President of France Pope John Paul II is shot by a Turkish gunman, but survives after a 5 hour operation 13 May 10 Jul Riots in nine British cities as youths go on the rampage, most seriously in the Toxteth area of Liverpool Charles, Prince of Wales, marries Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral watched by millions on television 29 Jul 7 Aug A million Solidarity members go on strike in Poland to protest at the food and economic crises Anwar Sadat is assassinated in Egypt and is replaced by Hosni Mubarak 6 Oct 15 Dec General Jaruselski declares Martial Law in Poland arresting 14,000 trade union activists The eight strong crew of the Penlee lifeboat in Cornwall die trying to save the crew of the Union Star which had gone on to the rocks 20 Dec 1982 Unemployment in Britain passes 3 million 26 Jan 19 Mar Argentinean scrap metal dealer lands on the Island of South Georgia and raises the Argentinean flag Iranians gain ground in heavy fighting in the Iran Iraq war 28 Mar 2 Apr Argentineans invade and capture the Falkland Islands which they call the Malvinas Task force sets sail from the UK for the Falklands 5 Apr 25 Apr British Marines retake South Georgia Israel returns the Sinai to Egypt 25 Apr 2 May Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by a British submarine with hundreds killed British troops go ashore in St Carlos Bay in the Falklands 21 May 6 Jun Israel invades the Lebanon after its ambassador in London is shot by Palestinian gunmen Argentineans surrender to British forces in the Falklands 14 Jun 21 Jun A son, William, is born to Prince Charles and Princess Diana IRA bombs explode in Hyde Park killing two Guardsmen 20 Jul 31 Aug Israelis drive the Palestine Liberation Organisation out of Beirut Princess Grace of Monaco dies in a car crash 15 Sep 18 Sep Lebanese Christian militia begin a bloody massacre in the refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila in West Beirut Communist controlled Polish parliament outlaws the Solidarity trade union 8 Oct 11 Oct Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose which sank in 1545 is raised from the Solent mud President Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union dies and is succeeded by Yuri Andropov 10 Nov 12 Dec More than 20,000 women clasp hands encircling the Greenham Common airbase in protest at the planned siting of Cruise Missiles there 1983 Iranian forces cross the border into Iraq 7 Feb 23 Mar President Regan proposes 'Star Wars' defences CND supporters form a human chain protesting by joining the nuclear sites of Greenham, Aldermaston, and Burghfield 1 Apr 19 Apr Suicide car bomb destroys the US embassy in Beirut killing more than 40 Socialist Mario Soares becomes Portuguese Prime Minister after his Party becomes the largest in Parliament 25 Apr 6 May 'Hitler Diaries' are declared a fake Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives win the British General Election by a landslide 10 Jun 24 Jun Sally Ride becomes the first American woman to return from space after the space shuttle Challenger lands safely Benigno Aquino the Philippine opposition leader is shot dead as he steps off a plane in Manila 21 Aug 6 Sep Russians shoot down a Korean airliner, that had stayed off course, accusing it of spying Two suicide attacks kill 299 in the headquarters of the French and American peace keeping forces in Beirut 23 Oct 27 Oct American Marines invade Grenada after armed forces depose the Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and seize power Three Hundred arrested in protest at the House of Commons as Cruise Missiles arrive in Britain 15 Nov 18 Nov Janet Walton, in Liverpool, gives birth to sextuplets who all survive In Britain's biggest robbery £25 million worth of gold bars is stolen from the Brinks-Mat warehouse at Heathrow 26 Nov 10 Dec Danuta Walesa accepts the Nobel Peace Prize for her husband Lech who is prevented from attending 1984 Soviet leader Yuri Andropov dies from kidney disease and is replaced by 72 year old Konstantin Chernenko 13 Feb 12 Mar A nationwide miners strike begins in Britain over pay deals and pit closures The main women's protest camp at Greenham Common is cleared by Bailiffs and 300 police 4 Apr 17 Apr WPC Yvonne Fletcher is shot outside the Libyan Embassy during a demonstration – Britain breaks off diplomatic relations with Libya The virus that causes AIDS is discovered 23 Apr 8 May The Thames Flood Barrier in London is officially opened Striking miners and police battle at the Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkshire 29 May 6 Jun Indian troops storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikh shrine, which had been taken over by extremist militants A bolt of lightning set York Minster ablaze destroying the South Transept 9 Jul 28 Jul The 23rd Olympic Games opens in Los Angeles despite a boycott by the Soviet Union and most of Eastern Europe 900,000 Filipinos march in Manila protesting at the government of President Marcos on the anniversary of the gunning down of the opposition leader 21 Aug 26 Sep Agreement is reached between Britain and China that Hong Kong will revert to China in 1997 but keep its separate system IRA bomb gashes a hole on the Grand Hotel Brighton where the Tory leaders are staying for their conference. Three are killed but Mrs Thatcher is unhurt 12 Oct 30 Oct Solidarity priest Father Jerzy Popieluszko is found beaten to death after his kidnapping 11 days ago in Central Poland Mrs Indira Gandhi is shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards 31 Oct 6 Nov President Regan is re-elected by a landslide Miner's strike crumbling as the men trickle back to work 20 Nov 10 Dec Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa is given the Nobel Peace Prize A leak from a chemical factory's storage tank kills at least 2,000 people in Bhopal in central India 10 Dec 1985 Electronics inventor Sir Clive Sinclair unveils his C5 battery powered tricycle 10 Jan 5 Feb Terry Waite, the Archbishop of Canterbury's special representative wins the freedom of 4 Britons held hostage by the Libyans The Pound falls to its lowest value ever reaching $1.0765 22 Feb 3 Mar The Miners vote to end the strike Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the Soviet leader after the death of Konstantin Chernenko 11 Mar 1 May 10,000 Solidarity supporters clash with police in Gdansk during a May Day march 40 soccer fans die as fire sweeps through the main stand at Bradford City football ground 11 May 29 May British football hooligans go on the rampage in the Heysel stadium in Brussels leaving 41 Italian and Belgian supporters dead Live Aid, promoted by Bob Geldof, raises £40 million from rock concerts to aid the famine stricken areas of Africa 7 Jul 10 Jul Greenpeace's ship Rainbow Warrior is damaged in Auckland harbour by French special forces killing a Portuguese photographer Thousands die in devastating earthquake in Mexico city 19 Aug 7 Oct Arab terrorists hijack the Italian Cruise liner the Achille Lauro President Regan and Premier Gorbachev start talks in Geneva 19 Nov 31 Dec Compact discs finally start to take off in a big way 2 years after their launch 1986 A Channel Tunnel between Britain and France is finally given the go-ahead 20 Jan 28 Jan The American Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after take-off killing all 7 on board Corazon Aquino, widow of the murdered opposition leader, forces President Marcos to flee the Philippines 25 Feb 28 Feb Olaf Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in the street in Stockholm by a lone gunman A bomb explodes on a TWA plane in flight from Rome to Athens killing 4 2 Apr 15 Apr US launches air strikes against Libya in retaliation for 'acts of terrorism' An accident at a Russian nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, sets it on fire and causes the release of large amounts of radiation 26 Apr 27 Aug Police shoot 8 in the black township of Soweto, by Johannesburg and cause a riot where 12 more die President Regan's insistence on the 'Star Wars' defence system wrecks his arms control talks in Reykjavik with Premier Gorbachev 13 Oct 2 Nov US hostage David Jacobsen is freed in Beirut after 18 months due to the efforts of Terry Waite the Archbishop of Canterbury's special representative Britain's Cabinet Secretary Sir Robert Armstrong apologises to an Australian court for being 'economical with the truth' 28 Nov 12 Dec Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager pilot the superlight aircraft Voyager round the world on one tank of fuel in nine days , 3minutes and 44 seconds 1987 Terry Waite, the Archbishop of Canterbury's special representative, disappears in Beirut and is suspected to have been kidnapped 21 Jan 6 Mar Car Ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes outside Zeebrugge because the bow doors were left open. Up to 200 die Iraqi Exocet missiles hit the American frigate Stark in the Gulf killing 28 18 May 12 Jun Mrs Thatcher's Conservatives are elected for a third term in Britain John Poindexter and Oliver North are investigated by Congress in the 'Irangate' affair for diverting money from arms sales to Iran to the Nicaraguan Contras 17 Jul 30 Jul Rioting in Mecca when Iranian zealots disrupt the Hajj. Many pilgrims die Mathias Rust is sentenced to 4 years in a Russian labour camp for flying a light plane into Red Square, Moscow 4 Sep 16 Oct Violent storm lashes England uprooting thousands of trees and leaving £300 million of damage and 17 dead London stock exchange crashes as 10% is wiped off the values in one day 19 Oct 8 Nov Eleven people are killed and 63 injured by an IRA bomb at a Remembrance Parade in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland Flash fire in the Underground tunnels at King's Cross station in London, 30 killed 19 Nov 8 Dec President Regan and Premier Gorbachev sign a treaty to cut the size of their Nuclear arsenals 1988 The Soviet Union begins its programme of economic restructuring (perestroika) initiated by Premier Mikhail Gorbachev 1 Jan 6 Mar 3 unarmed IRA members shot dead in Gibraltar by the SAS Poison gas attack is carried out by Iraqi forces in the Kurdish town of Halabja 16 Mar 23 Apr Kanellos Kanellopoulos flies a pedal powered aircraft from Crete to Santorini recreating the mythical flight of Daedalus Soviet army begins withdrawal from Afghanistan 15 May 3 Jul Iran Air flight 665 is accidentally shot down by missiles launched from USS Vincennes Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea destroyed by gas explosions and fires killing 167 people 6 Jul 20 Aug Iran Iraq war ends after losses of around a million lives 300,000 people demonstrate for independence in Estonia 11 Sep 17 Sep Olympic games is held in Seoul, South Korea Ban on broadcasting the voices of members of Sinn Fein and other proscribed Northern Ireland organisations 19 Oct 8 Nov George HW Bush beats Michael Dukakis to become US President Benazir Bhutto is elected Prime minister of Pakistan 16 Nov 7 Dec Earthquake in Armenia kills nearly 25000 people leaving 400,000 homeless Three trains collide in Clapham, South London, killing 35 people 12 Dec 21 Dec Pan Am Flight 103 explodes 31,000 ft over Lockerbie, Scotland, due to a terrorist bomb. 270 people killed 1989 A British Midland 737 crashes on the approach to the East Midlands airport , killing 44 8 Jan 15 Feb Soviets complete withdrawal from Afghanistan Exxon Valdez tanker spills 240,000 barrels of oil in Prince William Sound , Alaska 24 Mar 7 Apr Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea, killing 41 Soviet Troops clash with demonstrators in Tbilisi, Georgia, killing 19 9 Apr 2 May Hungarians start dismantling their boarder fence with Austria Students take over Tiananmen Square in the centre of Beijing demonstrating for democracy and freedom 4 May 7 May Gorbachev visits China but is kept away from Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square massacre as the Chinese authorities clear the square of demonstrating students 4 Jun 14 Jul France celebrates 200 years since the revolution Tadeusz Mazowiecki forms the first non-communist government in Poland 19 Aug 23 Aug Hungary removes the border restrictions with Austria Hungary opens its western borders to citizens of the German Democratic Republic and they start to flood to West Germany 10 Sep 18 Oct Eric Honecker, the communist leader of the German Democratic Republic is forced to step down Hungarian communists admit the Opposition into Parliament 23 Oct 7 Nov The communist government of the German Democratic Republic resigns Gunter Schabovski, spokesman for the East German Government announces that visas for the West can now be obtained, people rush to the Berlin Wall forcing the guards to open the barriers 9 Nov 10 Nov Bulgarian Communist party changes its leader and becomes the Socialist Party Stirrings in Czechoslovakia bringing a severe reaction from the police 17 Nov 24 Nov Appearance of Alexander Dubcek in Wenceslas Square in Prague Czech government announces that it will give up its monopoly on power 28 Nov 21 Dec Uprising in Timisoara Romania in support of clergyman Laslo Tokes and Ceausescu gives unwise speech. Crowd starts chanting Tanks enter Bucharest – fighting in the streets 23 Dec 25 Dec Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu and his wife captured and hanged as the fighting stops Playwright Vaclev Havel is elected non-communist President of Czechoslovakia 29 Dec   1900s  |  1910s  |  1920s  |  1930s  |  1940s  |  1950s  |  1960s  |  1970s  |  1980s  |  1990s