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Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar).
Events of 1983
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
- July 1 - A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea, crashes into the Fouta Djall Mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.
- July 1 - The High Court of Australia blocks construction of the Franklin Dam in Tasmania.
- July 7 - Samantha Smith flies to the Soviet Union (see April 25).
- July 15 - The Nintendo Entertainment System goes on sale in Japan
- July 16 - Sikorsky S-61 disaster: a helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.
- July 20 - The government of Poland announces end of martial law and amnesty for political prisoners.
- July 21 - The lowest temperature on earth was recorded in Vostok Station, Antarctica with −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
- July 22 - Australian Dick Smith completes his solo circumnavigation in a helicopter.
- July 23 - Gimli Glider: Out of fuel, Air Canada Flight 143 glides in to land in Gimli, Manitoba.
- July 23 - The Black July, a communal riot occurs in Sri Lanka. These anti Sri Lankan Tamil riots leaves over 1,000 Tamils massacred and millions of dollars worth of their property destroyed. This pogrom is the beginning of a deadly Sri Lankan civil war in Sri Lanka.
- July 23 - Heavy massive rain and mudslide occurred at western Shimane prefecture, Japan, 117 killed.
- July 28 - New South Wales premier Neville Wran is exonerated by the Street Royal Commission, over claims raised by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) programme Four Corners, that he attempted to influence the NSW magistracy.
August
- August 1 - America West Airlines begins operations out of Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.
- August 4 - Thomas Sankara becomes President in Upper Volta.
- August 16 - The Bill first airs as Woodentop.
- August 18 - Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 and causing over US$3.8 billion (2005 dollars) in damage.
- August 18 - Five people are killed and 18 others injured when a road train is deliberately driven into a motel at Ayers Rock (Uluru), NT (The driver, Douglas Edward Crabbe, is convicted in March 1984).
- August 21 - Benigno Aquino, Jr., Philippines opposition leader, is assassinated in Manila just as he returns from exile.
- August 24 - The Old Philadelphia Arena is destroyed by arson.
- August 26 - Heavy rain triggers flooding at Bilbao and surrounding areas, killing 45 people and causing millions in damages.
- August 30 - STS-8: Space Shuttle Challenger carries Guion S. Bluford, the first African-American astronaut, into space.
September
October
- October 2 - Neil Kinnock is elected leader of the British Labour Party.
- October 4 - Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph, driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
- October 7 - A plan to abolish the Greater London Council is announced.
- October 9 - The Rangoon bombing kills South Korea's Foreign Minister, Lee Bum Suk, and 21 others.
- October 12 - Japan's former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from Lockheed, and sentenced to 4 years in jail.
- October 16 - The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the World Series, 5-0, to win the series 4 games to 1 for their 3rd World Championship.
- October 19 - Maurice Bishop, the Prime Minister of Grenada, and 40 others are executed in a military coup.
- October 21 - At the 17th General Conference on Weights and Measures, the metre is defined in terms of the speed of light as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
- October 22 - In Bonn, West Germany, people demonstrate for nuclear disarmament.
- October 23 - Simultaneous suicide truck-bombings destroy both the French and the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, killing 241 US servicemen, 58 French paratroopers and 6 Lebanese civilians.
- October 23 - The game show "GO!" premieres on NBC.
- October 24 - Arthur Hutchinson kills 3 members of the Laitner family and rapes their daughter in the Sheffield suburb of Dore.
- October 25 - United States troops invade Grenada at the behest of Eugenia Charles of Dominica, a member of the Organization of American States.
- October 25 - Microsoft Word is first released.
- October 27 - Pope John Paul II visits his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca in prison to forgive him.
- October 30 - The first democratic elections in Argentina after 7 years of military rule are held.
November
Georgia results in several dead and wounded.
December
- December 2 - Michael Jackson's world famous music video for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time. It will become the most often repeated and famous music video of all time and increase his own popularity and the record sales of the album "Thriller".
- December 5 - ICIMOD established and inaugurated with its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.
- December 7 - Two Spanish passenger planes collide on the foggy runway at a Madrid airport killing 90.
- December 9 - The Australian Dollar is floated, by Federal treasurer Paul Keating. Under the old flexible peg system, the Reserve Bank bought and sold all Australian dollars and cleared the market at the end of the day. This initiative is taken by the government of Bob Hawke.
- December 10 - Military rule ends and democracy is restored in Argentina.
- December 11 - Grêmio (Brazil) becomes the new soccer world champion, after beating Hamburger SV (Germany) by 2-1.
- December 13 - The Denver Nuggets and the visiting Detroit Pistons combine for an NBA record 370 points, with Detroit winning in triple overtime, 186-184.
- December 17 - A discotheque fire in Madrid, Spain, kills 83 people.
- December 17 - A Provisional IRA car bomb kills 6 Christmas shoppers and injures 90 outside Harrods in London.
- December 27 - A propane explosion in Buffalo, New York kills five firefighters and two civilians.
- December 29 - The Reverend Jesse Jackson travels to Syria to secure the release of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman, who has been in Syrian captivity after being shot down over the country on a reconnaissance mission.
- December 31 - Brunei gains independence from the United Kingdom.
- December 31 - Two bombs explode in France. One on the Paris train kills 3 and injures 19. The other at Marseille station kills 2 and injures 34.
Undated
Ongoing
Births
January-March
- January 1 - Emi Kobayashi, Japanese gravure idol
- January 1 - Jasmine Dustin, American actress and model
- January 2 - Kate Bosworth, American actress
- January 4 - Spencer Chamberlain, American musician
- January 7 - Natalie Gulbis, American golfer
- January 8 - Chris Masters, American wrestler
- January 8 - Chen Xiexia, Chinese weightlifter
- January 9 - Gala Évora, Spanish Actress
- January 10 - Li Nina, Chinese aerial free-style skier
- January 13 - William Hung, Chinese-American musician
- January 13 - Ronny Turiaf, French basketball player
- January 16 - Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
- January 17 - Andrea Lowell, American model
- January 17 - Johannes Herber, German basketball player
- January 18 - Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
- January 19 - Hikaru Utada, Japanese singer and songwriter
- January 20 - Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican baseball player
- January 20 - Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and DJ
- January 21 - Moritz Volz, German footballer
- January 22 - Shaun Cody, American football player
- January 24 - Scott Speed, American Formula One driver
- January 25 - Andrée Watters, Canadian singer
- January 31 - James Sutton, British actor
- February 2 - Carolina Klüft, Swedish athlete competing in heptathlon, long jump and pentathlon.
- February 3 - Hillary Scott, American pornographic actress
- February 6 - Sreesanth, Indian cricketer
- February 7 - Elin Grindemyr, Swedish model
- February 8 - Jim Verraros, American singer
- February 8 - Atiba Hutchinson, Canadian footballer
- February 15 - Alan Didak, Australian footballer
- February 15 - Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player
- February 16 - Agyness Deyn, English supermodel
- February 18 - Juelz Santana, American rapper
- February 18 - Jason Maxiell, American basketball player
- February 19 - Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
- February 19 - Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
- February 22 - Penny Flame, American pornographic actress
- February 23 - Mirco Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
- February 23 - Mido, Egyptian footballer
- February 23 - Emily Blunt, English actress
- February 27 - Devin Harris, American basketball player
- March 4 - Max Vergara Poeti, Colombian writer
- March 9 - Mayte Perroni, Mexican singer and actress
- March 9 - Clint Dempsey, American soccer player
- March 10 - Carrie Underwood, American singer
- March 10 - Reena Virk, Canadian murder victim (d. 1997)
- March 14 - Bakhtiyar Artayev, Kazakh boxer
- March 14 - Taylor Hanson, American musician
- March 17 - Christian and Joseph Cousins, American twin actors
- March 21 - Bruno Langley, British actor
- March 27 - Shawntinice Polk, American basketball player (d. 2005)
- March 30 - Zach Gowen, American wrestler
- March 30 - Hebe Tian, member of the Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
April-June
- April 1 - Sean Taylor, American football player (d. 2007)
- April 2 - Yung Joc, American rapper
- April 4 - Doug Lynch, Canadian ice hockey player
- April 10 - Ryan Merriman, American actor
- April 13 - Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
- April 15 - Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
- April 16 - Marié Digby, American singer
- April 17 - Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- April 19 - Joe Mauer, Major League Baseball catcher
- April 19 - Zach Duke, Major League Baseball pitcher
- April 19 - Curtis Thigpen, Major League Baseball infielder
- April 19 - Alberto Callaspo, Major League Baseball infielder
- April 20 - Miranda Kerr, Australian Victoria's Secret Angel and model
- April 21 - Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer
- April 22 - Matt Jones, American football player
- April 23 - Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakian tennis player
- April 24 - Taio Cruz, British R&B singer
- April 26 - Jake Wall, Australian model
- April 29 - Jay Cutler, American football player
- April 29 - Yuriko Shiratori, Gravure idol, Japanese actress
- May 3 - Myriam Fares, Lebanese singer
- May 4 - Raquel Zimmermann, Brazilian supermodel
- May 9 - Ryuhei Matsuda, Japanese actor
- May 11 - Matt Leinart, American football player
- May 11 - Holly Valance, Australian actress and singer
- May 13 - Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast and F.C Barcelona footballer
- May 13 - Aza Bataeva, Chechen singer
- May 13 - Natalie Cassidy, British actress
- May 14 - Amber Tamblyn, American actress
- May 14 - Anahi, Mexican singer and actress
- May 16 - Nancy Ajram, Lebanese singer
- May 17 - Channing Frye, American basketball player
- May 18 - Vince Young, American football player
- May 19 - Eve Angel, Hungarian model
- May 19 - Jessica Fox, British actress
- May 23 - Heidi Range, British singer (Sugababes)
- May 27 - Bobby Convey, American soccer player
- May 28 - Toby Hemingway, British/ American actor
- May 30 - Jennifer Ellison, British actress
- May 31 - David Hernandez, American singer
- June 2 - Brooke White, American singer
- June 6 - Joe Rokocoko, New Zealand rugby player
- June 6 - Gemma Bissix, British actress
- June 6 - Gianna Michaels, American pornstar
- June 8 - Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
- June 8 - Mamoru Miyano, Japanese seiyuu
- June 10 - Leelee Sobieski, American actress
- June 12 - Bryan Habana, South African rugby union player
- June 13 - Jason Spezza, Canadian hockey player
- June 15 - Julia Fischer, German violinist
- June 15 - Derek Anderson, American football player
- June 17 - Lee Ryan, British singer
- June 17 - Connie Fisher, British actress
- June 18 - Billy Slater, Australian Rugby League player
- June 19 - Mark Selby, British snooker player
- June 20 - Cherrie Ying, Hong Kong actress
- June 24 - Alexander Beyer, German actor
- June 24 - John Lloyd Cruz, Filipino Actor
- June 27 - Evan Taubenfeld, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter
- June 30 - Cheryl Cole, British singer (Girls Aloud)
July-September
- July 1 - Leeteuk, Korean singer, member of Super Junior
- July 1 - Marit Larsen, Norwegian musician (M2M)
- July 2 - Michelle Branch, American singer (The Wreckers)
- July 4 - Ben Jorgensen, American singer, guitarist, member of Armor For Sleep
- July 5 - Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
- July 6 - Gregory Smith, Canadian-born American actor
- July 10 - Kim Heechul, Korean singer, member of Super Junior
- July 11 - Marie Eleonor Serneholt, Swedish singer (A*Teens)
- July 11 - Kellie Shirley, British actress.
- July 12 - Megumi Kawamura, Japanese model
- July 13 - Liu Xiang, Chinese athlete
- July 16 - Zhang Xiangxiang, Chinese weightlifter
- July 18 - Aaron Gillespie, drummer (Underoath)
- July 21 - Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer and composer
- July 21 - Kellen Winslow II, American football player
- July 23 - Bec Cartwright, Australian actress
- July 23 - Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
- July 24 - Paul Coverdale, English cricketer
- July 30 - Sean Dillon, Irish footballer
- August 5 - Sam Stacey, British model
- August 7 - Tina O'Brien, Coronation Street actress
- August 7 - Christian Chávez, Mexican singer and actor
- August 8 - Guy Burnet, British actor
- August 10 - Mathieu Roy, Canadian professional ice hockey player
- August 12 - Martina Warren, British model
- August 13 - Ales Hemsky, Czechoslovakian professional ice hockey player
- August 14 - Mila Kunis, Ukrainian-American actress
- August 16 - Nikos Zisis, Greek basketball player
- August 17 - Dustin Pedroia, American baseball player
- August 18 - Danny!, American record producer/recording artist
- August 18 - Mika, Lebanese-British singer
- August 19 - Tammin Sursok, Australian actress
- August 21 - Chantelle Houghton, British reality TV star
- August 23 - Nicol David, Malaysian squash player
- August 23 - James Collins, British Footballer
- August 24 - Christopher Parker, British actor
- August 27 - Wilson Chen, Taiwanese actor
- August 28 - Lasith Malinga, Sri Lankan cricketer
- August 28 - Luke McAlister, New Zealand Rugby Union player
- August 28 - Alfonso Herrera, Mexican singer and actor
- August 30 - Jun Matsumoto, Japanese singer and actor
- August 30 - Jonne Aaron, Finnish musician
- September 1 - José Antonio Reyes, Spanish football player
- September 3 - Valdas Vasylius, Lithuanian basketball player
- September 11 -
