•  Humble ISD History

    1980s Major Events of the Decade 

    1980

    • Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington state.
    • The popular video arcade game "Pac-Man" is released.
    • The United States boycotts the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

    1981

    • The cable network MTV (Music Television) is launched. 
    • The AIDS virus is identified in the United States by scientists. 
    • Sandra Day O'Connor is nominated as the first female Supreme Court Justice by President Reagan.

    1982

    • "The Computer" is named Time Magazine's Man of the Year. 
    • Japan begins selling the first CD players. 
    • Late Rock n' Roll star Elvis Presley's home "Graceland" is opened to the public as an attraction.

    1983

    • Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
    • Motorola introduces the first mobile phones to the United States in 1983.
    • Microsoft releases "Word" their word processing program.

    1984

    • India's Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, is assassinated.
    • Band Aid records "Do They Know It's Christmas?" a charity single to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
    • TMTV begins the "Video Music Awards" or VMAs.

    1985

    • In what many consider one of the worst marketing moves, Coca-Cola introduced "New Coke" and were forced to return to the old formula only months later due to backlash.
    • The first version of Microsoft Windows is released.
    • The wreck of the Titanic was discovered.

    1986

    • The Chernobyl nuclear reactor explodes in the USSR.
    • The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster takes place when the space shuttle disintegrates after being launched, killing all on board.
    • Mad Cow Disease (BSE - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) is identified in Britain for the first time.

    1987

    • Disposable contact lenses are first sold.
    • "The Simpsons" make their debut on the Tracy Ullman Show.
    • The Fox television network begins operations.

    1988

    • George H.W. Bush is elected as the U.S. President after defeating Michael Dukakis.
    • Two years after the Challenger Disaster, NASA's Space Shuttle program resumes.
    • The Iran-Iraq war ends.

    1989

    • The Berlin Wall is torn down at the end of the Cold War.
    • The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spills 240,000 barrels of oil in the Prince William Sound in Alaska.
    • The Nintendo Game Boy portable video game system is released.