1983 in the United States

Incumbents

Federal government

• President: Ronald Reagan
• Vice President: George H. W. Bush
• Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Tip O'Neill
• Senate Majority Leader: Howard Baker
• Congress: 97th, 98th

  Governors

Lieutenant governors

Events

January

• January 1 - The New Jersey Transit Police Department is created in the state of New Jersey.
• January 2 - The musical Annie is performed for the last time after 2,377 shows at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway, New York City.
• January 3 - Kilauea begins slowly erupting on the Big Island of Hawaii. On December 5, 2018, after 90 days of inactivity from the volcano, the eruption that started in 1983 was declared to be over.
• January 19 - Apple Inc. releases the Apple Lisa personal computer.
• January 26 - Lotus 1-2-3 is released for IBM-PC compatible computers.
• January 30 - The Washington Redskins defeat the Miami Dolphins by a score of 27-17 in Super Bowl XVII.

  February

• February 18 - Wah Mee massacre: 13 people are killed in an attempted robbery in Seattle, Washington.
• February 23
• *The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intention to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
• *Failure of automatic shut-down at Salem Nuclear Power Plant, New Jersey, USA.
• February 24 - A special commission of the Congress of the United States releases a report critical of the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.
• February 28 - The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, setting a new record for most-watched television broadcast in American history.

  March

• March 3 - Musician/TV host Peter Ivers is fatally bludgeoned by an intruder in his Los Angeles apartment. The perpetrator is never identified.
• March 8 - IBM releases the IBM PC XT.
• March 9 - Anne Burford resigns as head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency amid scandal.
• March 23 - Strategic Defense Initiative: U.S. President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles. The media dub this plan "Star Wars".
• March 25
• *Michael Jackson performs the dance move that will forever be known as the "moonwalk" at Motown 25.
• *Rob Lowe's film The Outsiders debuts.

  April

• April 18 - The April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut kills 63 people.
• April 25 - Manchester, Maine schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov, after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.

  May

• May 2 - The 6.2 Coalinga earthquake shakes central California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII, causing 94 injuries and $10 million in losses.
• May 17 - Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
• May 22–31 - In the 1983 NBA Finals the championship round of the 1982–83 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 4–0. This is the last NBA Championship Series completed before June 1. Finals MVP – Moses Malone.
• May 25 - National Missing Children's Day is proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan, exactly four years after Etan Patz's disappearance.
• May 27 – Benton fireworks disaster
• May 28 - The 9th G7 summit begins at Williamsburg, Virginia.

  June

• June 13 - Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the solar system.
• June 18 - STS-7: Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space, on the Space Shuttle Challenger.

  July

• July 7 - Samantha Smith flies to the Soviet Union.
• July 25 - World's first dedicated hospital ward for HIV/AIDS patients opens at San Francisco General Hospital.

  August

• August 1 - America West Airlines begins operations out of Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.
• August 18 - Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 and causing over US$3.8 billion in damage.
• August 24 - The Old Philadelphia Arena is destroyed by arson.
• August 30 - STS-8: Space Shuttle Challenger carries Guion S. Bluford, the first African-American astronaut, into space.

  September

• September 1 - Cold War: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald.
• September 5 - Tom Brokaw becomes lead anchor for NBC Nightly News.
• September 17 - Vanessa Lynn Williams becomes the first African-American to be crowned Miss America, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

  October

• October 4 - Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph, driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
• October 16 - World Series: The Baltimore Orioles defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5–0 in Game 5, to win the series 4 games to 1 for their 3rd World Championship.
• October 23 - Simultaneous suicide truck-bombings destroy both the French and the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen, 58 French paratroopers and 6 Lebanese civilians.
• October 25
• *United States troops invade Grenada at the behest of Eugenia Charles of Dominica, a member of the Organization of American States.
• *Microsoft Word is first released.
• October 28 - The 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake shook central Idaho with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, causing two deaths, three injuries, and $12.5 million in losses.

  November

• November 2 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: At the White House Rose Garden, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating a federal holiday on the third Monday of every January to honor American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. It is first observed in 1986.
• November 3 - The Reverend Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy for the 1984 Democratic Party presidential nomination.
• November 10
• * The anticancer drug etoposide is approved by the FDA, leading to a curative treatment regime in the field of combination chemotherapy of testicular carcinoma.
• * Star 80 released - a film about the true story of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider on August 14, 1980.
• November 11 - Ronald Reagan becomes the first U.S. President to address the Diet, Japan's national legislature.
• November 13 - The first United States cruise missiles arrive at Greenham Common Airbase in England amid protests from peace campaigners.
• November 14 - The immunosuppressant cyclosporine is approved by the FDA, leading to a revolution in the field of transplantation.
• November 16 - A jury in Gretna, Louisiana acquits Ginny Foat of the murder of Argentine businessman Moses Chaiyo.

  December

• December 2 - Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time. It becomes the most often repeated and famous music video of all time, increasing his own popularity and record sales of the album "Thriller".
• December 4 - Lt. Bobby Goodman of the United States Navy is shot down over Lebanon and captured by the Syrians.
• 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 24 - Miles City, Montana sets the record for the highest mean sea level pressure in the contiguous US with a reading of 31.42 inHg.
• December 27 - A propane explosion in Buffalo, New York kills 5 firefighters and 2 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 since being shot down over the country during a reconnaissance mission.
• December 31 - Apple Macintosh advertisement is released.

  Undated

• McDonald's introduces the McNugget.
• The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is launched.
• The economy begins a robust recovery following the early 1980s recession.
• Flashdance and Return of the Jedi are box-office hits.
• Kellogg's introduces Crispix cereal.
• Kary Mullis discovers polymerase chain reaction while working for Cetus.
• Chrysler starts production on the first minivans: the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager.
• The Cabbage Patch Kids dolls make their national debut, their popularity leads to the Cabbage Patch riots.

  Ongoing

• Cold War

  Sport

• May 14 - Portland Winter Hawks become the First American team to win the Memorial Cup by defeating the Oshawa Generals 8 to 3. The Final game is played at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon

  Births

• January 2 - Kate Bosworth, actress
• January 4 - Spencer Chamberlain, singer-songwriter
• January 5 - Sean Dockery, basketball player
• January 6 - Adam Burish, ice hockey player
• January 7
• * Natalie Gulbis, golfer
• * Robert Ri'chard, actor
• January 8 - Chris Masters, wrestler and actor
• January 17 - Rickey D'Shon Collins, actor
• January 27 - Deon Anderson, American football player
• February 1 - Andrew VanWyngarden, singer-songwriter and guitarist
• February 3 - Hillary Scott, pornographic actress
• February 6 - Michael Robinson, former American football player
• February 27 - Kate Mara, actress
• March 7 - Taylor Tankersley, baseball player
• March 9 - Clint Dempsey, soccer player
• March 10 - Carrie Underwood, country singer
• April 4 - Amanda Righetti, actress
• April 10
• * Jamie Chung, actress
• * Ryan Merriman, actor
• April 23 - Carl Higbie, Navy SEAL, author, and political commentator
• April 24 - Will Champlin, singer-songwriter
• May 9 - Tyler Lumsden, baseball player
• May 12 - Brett Wiesner, soccer player
• May 23 - Josh Pace, basketball player
• June 5 - Bill Bray, baseball player
• June 6 - Kellen Clemens, American football player
• June 7
• * Ryan Bader, mixed martial artist
• * Mark Lowe, baseball player
• * Pierre Pierce, basketball player
• June 15 - Derek Anderson, American football player
• June 19 - Jason Capizzi, American football player
• June 20 - Darren Sproles, American football player
• June 21 - Edward Snowden, government whistleblower
• June 30 - Cole Swindell, singer
• July 2 - Michelle Branch, Singer/Songwriter
• July 21 - Kellen Winslow II, American football player
• August 14 - Mila Kunis, actress
• August 16 - Colt Brennan, American football player
• August 24 - Brett Gardner, baseball player
• September 25 - Donald Glover, actor and singer/songwriter
• October 9 - Spencer Grammer, actress
• November 17
• * Ryan Bradley, American figure skater
• * Ryan Braun, American baseball player
• * Nick Markakis, American baseball player
• * Patrick McHale, American animator
• * Christopher Paolini, American author
• * Rocsi, American television personality
• November 24 - DJ Skee, American DJ and producer
• November 28 - Tyler Glenn, American singer/songwriter
• November 30 - Nicholas Kole, American figure skater
• December 2
• * Action Bronson, American rapper, chef and television presenter
• * Jana Kramer, American actress
• * Aaron Rodgers, American football player
• December 10 - Patrick Flueger, American actor
• December 17 - John Cholish, American mixed martial artist
• December 20 - Josh Sussman, American actor
• date unknown
• *Ashley Austin Morris, actress
• *Brook Roberts, television personality and former beauty pageant winner

  Deaths

• February 4 - Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer
• March 18 - Catherine Marshall, author
• April 15 - John Engstead, photographer and journalist
• June 30 - Leonard B. Jordan, United States Senator from Idaho from 1962 till 1973.
• July 1 - Buckminster Fuller, architect
• August 27 - Bobby Griffith
• September 1
• * Henry M. Jackson, United States Senator from Washington from 1953 till 1983.
• * Larry McDonald, United States Representative from Georgia from 1975 till 1983.
• October 23 - Jessica Savitch, news journalist