tional Whaling Commission decides to end com-
mercial whaling by 1985-1986.
Transportation and communications:(May 2) The
Weather Channel debuts on American cable tele-
vision. (Sept. 15) The first issue ofUSA Today,ana-
tional newspaper published by the Gannett Com-
pany, goes on sale.
Science and technology:(Sept. 19) Scott Fahlman, a
computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University,
posts the first emoticons—symbols for smiley faces
designed to distinguish serious posts from jokes.
(Oct. 1) Sony sells its first consumer compact disc
(CD) player. (Dec. 26) The computer is named
Timemagazine’s Man of the Year, the first time
that the award is given to a nonhuman.
Environment and health:(Sept. 29-Oct. 1) Seven
people in the Chicago area die after ingesting
Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide.
(Dec. 2) In an operation at the University of Utah,
Barney Clark, a sixty-one-year-old retired dentist,
becomes the first person to receive a permanent
artificial heart. (Dec. 3) A final soil sample taken
from the site of Times Beach, Missouri, is found
to contain three hundred times the safe level of
dioxin. (Dec. 23) The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) recommends the evacuation of
Times Beach because of its high levels of dioxin
contamination.
Arts and literature:(Apr.) John Updike’s novelRab-
bit Is Rich, Charles Fuller’sA Soldier’s Play, and Syl-
via Plath’sThe Collected Poemsare awarded Pulitzer
Prizes. (Oct.) Gabriel García Márquez receives
the Nobel Prize in Literature. (Oct. 7)Cats,amu-
sical play based onOld Possum’s Book of Practical
Catsand other poems by T. S. Eliot, opens on
Broadway, where it will eventually run for a record
7,485 performances.
Popular culture:The filmE.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
tops the box office, with $310 million worth of
ticket sales.The New York Timesdeclares Grand-
master Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Mes-
sage” to be “the most powerful pop record of the
year.” By the end of the year, twenty-two million
copies of the board game Trivial Pursuit will be
sold in the United States. (Jan. 20) Ozzy Os-
bourne bites the head off of a live bat that is
thrown at him while he is performing. (Feb. 1)
Late Night with David Letterman, a comedy and talk
show, premieres on NBC. (Dec. 1) Michael Jack-
son’sThrilleris released and will eventually sell
twenty million copies, making it the second big-
gest-selling album in entertainment history.
Sports:(Feb. 24) Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton
Oilers scores his seventy-seventh goal of the Na-
tional Hockey League (NHL) season, breaking
the previous record of seventy-six. He will go on
to score ninety-two goals that season, which re-
mains the record. (May 8) French-Canadian rac-
ing driver Gilles Villeneuve is killed during quali-
fying runs for the Belgian Grand Prix. (May 30)
In what Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian
Donald Davidson and public address announcer
Tom Carnegie later call the greatest moment in
the track’s history, Gordon Johncock wins his sec-
ond Indianapolis 500 race over Rick Mears by
0.16 second, the closest finish to that date. (May
30) Cal Ripken, Jr., of the Baltimore Orioles plays
the first of what will become his record-breaking
streak of 2,632 consecutive baseball games.
Crime:(Jan. 6) “Freeway Killer” William Bonin, who
along with several accomplices may have mur-
dered as many as thirty-six people, is convicted of
fourteen murders in California. (Mar. 16) Claus
von Bülow is found guilty of the attempted mur-
der of his wife, socialite Sunny von Bülow. (Jul.
16) The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is sentenced
to eighteen months in prison and fined $25,000
for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.1983
International events:(Mar. 5) Bob Hawke is elected
prime minister of Australia. (May 17) Lebanon,
Israel, and the United States sign an agreement
on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. (Jun. 9) Con-
servative Margaret Thatcher wins another term as
prime minister of the United Kingdom with 42
percent of the popular vote. (Jul. 20) The govern-
ment of Poland announces the end of martial law
and grants amnesty to political prisoners.
Government and politics:(Feb. 13) President Rea-
gan proclaims 1983 “The Year of the Bible.” (Feb.
24) A special commission of Congress releases a
report criticizing Japanese American internment
during World War II. (Mar. 8) President Reagan
calls the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” (Apr. 12)
Harold Washington is the first African Ameri-
can to be elected mayor of Chicago. (Nov. 3) The
Reverend Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy
for the 1984 Democratic Party presidential nomi-
nation.The Eighties in America Time Line 1147