Stories from 1983
Browse a timeline of top world events from 1983. Or, use Proust to tell your life story and share personal
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January 3, 1983
Time magazine named the computer as the 'machine of the year' for its annual 'Person of the Year' issue. The computer was the first non-human to be chosen for the cover.
February 25, 1983
Television show M*A*S*H broadcast its final episode after airing for eleven seasons.
April 25, 1983
After receiving a letter asking if he wanted to prevent nuclear war, Soviet leader Yuri Andropov personally invited American fifth grader Samantha Smith to tour his country as a publicity stunt. She accepted and her family visited the Soviet Union three months later.
June 18, 1983
Sally K. Ride made history as the first American female astronaut to travel to space when she went up on the space shuttle Challenger.
August 5, 1983
Underwear-clad Tom Cruise slid into stardom with the release of Risky Business.
August 18, 1983
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TX
Hurricane Alicia slammed the Texas Gulf Coast, setting off tornadoes and generating $2.6 billion in damage, a record for hurricane damage in Texas.
September 17, 1983
Vanessa Williams was crowned as Miss America, the first African-American to win the title in the pageant's 63-year history.
December 1, 1983
Coleco sold over 3 million Cabbage Patch Kid dolls; the vinyl head and soft-bodied doll claimed the cover of Time magazine.
December 9, 1983
Al Pacino played Miami crime boss Tony Montana in Scarface.
