24 Legendary News Events From the ’80s and ’90s
The 2020s have already been delivering era-defining news stories. However, it’s possible we’re suffering from recency bias.
It’s entirely possible that past eras, specifically the 1980s and 1990s, are more chaotic than we remember. Let’s take a trip back to these two decades and review some of the most headline-dominating events Americans couldn’t stop talking about.
1. The Lewinsky Affair Brings Tabloid News to the White House (Late 1990s)
The Monica Lewinsky scandal had everything that scandal-loving headline hawks love: A president, a 21-year-old intern, allegations of infidelity, a high-profile First Lady thrust into the spotlight (not for the first time), allegations of perjury, taped admissions of the tryst, and the famed “blue dress.”
A party-loving president’s raucous (and, some might say, reckless) ways finally caught up to him in scandalous fashion.
2. The Challenger Disaster Shocks a Nation (January 28, 1986)
The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger was a collective national tragedy aired live on broadcast television.
Defective seals on the shuttle caused the explosion, and NASA temporarily halted its missions as the American public tried to make sense of the fatal accident.
3. The Mariel Boatlift Catches U.S. Off-Guard (April-October, 1980)
We are content to ignore our neighbors until their business comes knocking on our door. That was the case with the Mariel boatlift, when Americans could not ignore the extent of suffering, chaos, and Machiavellian policy that gripped its Caribbean neighbor, Cuba.
For a brief period, dictator Fidel Castro opened the Mariel port west of Havana, allowing approximately 125,000 refugees to escape to the United States. Some portion of those who arrived on America’s southern shores had been imprisoned or in asylums in Cuba, making the Mariel boatlift a highly controversial purge.
4. The AIDS Epidemic (1980s)
The roots of the AIDS epidemic lie in 1981, but the crisis would be front-page news throughout much of the decade. This has proven to be one of the most unmitigated public health failures in American history. One former cancer drug promoted by authorities to treat AIDS, azidothymidine (AZT), showed the potential for life-threatening toxicity.
The public felt justifiably outraged at the lack of answers regarding the illness, including who was most likely to get it and what treatments were available for those who did.
5. Columbine (April 20, 1999)
While most would not use the word “legendary” to speak of this high-profile event that would spark a disturbing trend, Columbine was undoubtedly infamous. 13 victims at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, lost their lives at the hands of two armed, deranged teenagers.
The event revealed that the kids were not alright and sparked a wave of copycat events that continue today.
6. Failed Extraction of Hostages in Iran Prolongs a Crisis (April 24, 1980)
The Iran hostage crisis was the great shame of the Carter administration. After failing to negotiate the release of 52 American hostages held by rogue students in Tehran, the administration approved a military extraction mission. The mission failed when three of eight deployed helicopters failed.
The mission was scuttled, and the hostage crisis would continue for 270 days longer.
7. U.S. Forces Forcefully Remove Manuel Noriega from Power (January 4, 1990)
When it became clear that former CIA spy turned Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega had outlived his usefulness, he did not leave his post quietly. It took a land, sea, and air campaign by thousands of American forces to arrest and deport the former general.
Panama City became a war zone as many Americans watched aghast at the shocking invasion of the territorially valuable South American nation.
8. Chernobyl Melts Down (April 25-26, 1986)
An event masterfully dramatized in HBO’s epic Chernobyl, the real-world nuclear disaster was truly of epic proportions. A miscalculation by the massive power plant’s operators triggered a chain reaction explosion.
Chernobyl remains the most catastrophic nuclear disaster to date and has much of the general public believing that nuclear power is less safe than other energy-producing alternatives.
9. Ozzy Bites the Bat (January 20, 1982)
Ozzy Osbourne has always been known for his rebellious ways, and nothing screams “rebel” like biting the head off a live bat. During his lengthy tour, Osbourne created a tradition of tossing chunks of raw meat into the crowd in exchange for whatever the crowd chose to throw back.
On January 20th in Des Moines, Iowa, one fan threw back a bat. Ozzy claims to have thought it was a rubber bat, but it was, in fact, a live bat — one of the most disease-ridden animals on the planet. Osbourne went to the hospital, took a regimen of rabies shots, and lived on in infamy as the bat-biting rocker.
10. O.J. Simpson Acquitted (October 3, 1995)
Arguably the most headline-worthy crime saga in American history, the O.J. Simpson trial came to a shocking close on October 3, 1995.
To this day, the “not guilty” verdict is not enough to convince most Americans of O.J.’s innocence, though plenty of alternate theories about the crime exist.
11. 1980 Olympic Boycott (1980)
Jimmy Carter’s tenure as president was marked by chaos, and the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow is just one example of the constant unease. The United States and 65 other nations declined to participate, citing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.
Unlike athletes in some other boycotting nations, American competitors were told they would lose their passports if they chose to compete as individuals.
12. Charges Finally Stick To the Teflon Don (June 23, 1992)
After successfully eluding criminal sanctions for years, flashy Mafia boss John Gotti was convicted of several serious criminal offenses and sentenced to life in prison.
The head of the Gambino crime family had become a media sensation due to his braggadocio, luxurious lifestyle, and Machiavellian rise to power. The high life came crashing down on June 23, 1992, when the feds finally got their man.
13. ’92 LA Riots (April 29-May 4, 1992)
Following the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers on charges related to the police chase and assault of Rodney King, LA melted down. Droves of rioters took to the streets, beating up civilians, looting stores, and channeling their anger in the least productive ways imaginable.
The riots eventually ended after thousands of National Guardsmen retook the streets of South Central Los Angeles, but not before mass property destruction, injuries, and fatalities occurred.
14. ABSCAM Exposes Political Corruption (February 20, 1980)
The FBI investigation known as “ABSCAM” was one of the first televised sting operations. The American public learned that their elected officials were not above taking a hefty bribe, even when the bribe came from federal agents posing as Middle Eastern sheiks. Money and politics have always gone hand in hand.
ABSCAM left no doubt that the American voters’ interests often come second to the almighty dollar.
15. Reagan Survives the Hit (March 30, 1981)
By the time John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to take down President Ronald Reagan in the early months of 1981, political assassination had seemingly become an American norm. Fortunately, Reagan survived the hit and proceeded to help end the Cold War.
One story that did not make many headlines is Hinckley’s family connection to the Bush family. This was notable because George H.W. Bush was Reagan’s Vice President, fueling theories that there may have been more to the hit than a tried and true “unhinged madman” narrative.
16. NAFTA Ships American Manufacturing Abroad (December 8, 1993)
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has forever reshaped American industry. Many blame NAFTA for fueling the export of American manufacturing to nations where labor is far cheaper.
Though Americans were promised cheaper goods, critics have asked: At what cost?
17. Exxon Valdez Disaster (March 24, 1989)
Exxon Shipping’s oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, struck Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The ship’s hole suffered catastrophic damages, and approximately 11 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil spilled into the water.
To the dismay of onlookers, a massive, unconfined oil slick covered about 1,300 miles of once-pristine coastline.
18. TWA Flight 800 Explodes (July 17, 1996)
In a catastrophe eerily reminiscent of the Challenger explosion, TWA Flight 800 exploded only minutes after departing from New York’s Kennedy Airport. Initially considered a possible extremist attack, experts later attributed the aircraft’s combustion to a mechanical failure.
The tragic loss of 230 passengers rightfully earned the attention and hearts of Americans for quite some time.
19. The Computer Wins Time’s Man of the Year (December 26, 1982)
We can fondly recall the personal computer winning Time Magazine’s 1982 Man of the Year award and say, “How quaint.”
Pretty soon, artificial intelligence might be awarding itself the AI Magazine Machine of the Year award, so perhaps we should have heeded Time’s 1982 proclamation as the warning that it was.
20. The Soviet Union Topples (December 31, 1991)
After years of planned economics, saber-rattling towards the West (and vice versa), and last-ditch attempts to hold the Union together with strongmen, the Soviet Union finally fell on December 31, 1991. Fifteen independent nations emerged, and the ensuring pillage of the former Soviet Union’s remaining assets has become the stuff of legend.
If we are to believe the headlines, the Russian empire has since picked itself up and become a formidable force once again.
21. South Africa Repeals Apartheid (June 17, 1991)
Legalized racial segregation came to a formal end in South Africa in the early 90s. Thanks to a series of legislative moves that eroded the legal basis for differing rights among different ethnic groups, apartheid would be no more in the nation of South Africa.
This would pave the way for the election of Nelson Mandela as president in 1994.
22. Oklahoma City Attack (April 19, 1995)
The attack on Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building remains one of the most tragic, unexpected events in modern American history. 168 victims lost their lives, and Americans were introduced to the sort of collective trauma that would become all too familiar in the coming decades.
To this day, unanswered questions about the details and logistics of the attack remain, but we are still waiting to receive answers.
23. Voyager I Reaches Saturn (November 12, 1980)
If you’re inclined to believe in space, NASA’s Voyager I’s trip by Saturn on November 12, 1980, is probably a big deal to you.
Americans in 1980 were in awe of the progress of space travel, conceiving their dreams of perhaps owning a star-front villa of their own on Saturn’s outermost ring.
24. The Euro Becomes a Currency (1999)
Depending on how you feel about the ongoing unification of Europe into a continent with common laws, values, and currency, you may look back fondly or despondently at the introduction of the Euro currency in 1999.
In either case, there is no denying that the minting of this enduring currency was a massive historical event.
