1982 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 1982, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 1982.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 1982 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 1982 in Britain too.
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1982
It was The Big Snow; the worst winter for 50 years. The lowest ever UK temperature of −27.2 oC is recorded at Braemar, in Scotland.
The longest lunar eclipse in the 20th Century occurred, lasting 106 minutes.
The UK Inland Telegram service closed after well over 100 years. Less than 3 million telegrams had been sent the previous year.
Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace and entered Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom. It was reported that she sat up and offered him a cup of tea, but Fagan denied this.
Elvis Presley's home, Graceland, was opened to the public.
The Smiths were formed in Manchester.
Pope John Paul II visited the UK and met the Queen.
The BBC Weather Centre stopped converting temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit.
TIME Magazine gave Man of the Year to 'the computer'.
ABBA made their last ever public performance on British TV.
Pac-Man won two 'game of the year' awards, having become a huge success. [NB: this wasn't the release; it was released a while before.]
Prince William was born in June of this year in London. Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and an Taoiseach's office became embroiled in a row over whether or not to send of message of congratulations.
1982 Launches
The first recorded digital emoticons were used by Scott Fahlman to distinguish between jokes and facts. ☺ ☻ ☹
Electronic Arts – EA Games – was founded. Their first game was Archon, a chess-like strategy and action game featuring fighting fantasy figures.
The Commodore 64 home-use computer was released. It went on to sell 20 million units.
The Sony CPD-101 was the first commercially available CD player. It had a tray that popped out and a display with a track number and playing time.
The first commercial compact disk (CD) was produced in this year too.
Schindler's List was published.
Roald Dahl's BFG was published.
The Ford Sierra and Vauxhall (Opel) Nova were launched.
Surround Sound was introduced for home use by Dolby.
Michael Jackson's Thriller album was released in this year. Up to 110 million copies were sold.
Ciabatta bread was invented by a baker in Italy.
Cats opened in Broadway. The soundtrack was a massive success.
Coca-Cola unveiled a new product called "Diet Coke".
Ferrero Rocher was launched.
Viennetta ice cream was introduced.
The PC game Microsoft Flight Simulator was launched.
1982 in Film
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Tootsie, Annie, Rocky III and An Officer and a Gentleman.
1982 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): The Gentle Touch, The Benny Hill Show Family Fortunes, London Night Out and Play Your Cards Right.
Brookside and Countdown formed part of the opening night for Channel 4.
BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo, Cheers, Family Ties, The Young Ones, Wogan and Knight Rider aired for the first time.
American shows Cagney & Lacey and Dynasty aired on British TV for the first time.
The Eurovision Song Contest came from Harrogate in Yorkshire, presented by Jan Leeming.
1982 in Ireland
Charles Haughey replaced Garret FitzGerald as an Taoiseach for this year only. Charlie Creevy was expelled from Fianna Fáil for citicising him.
Dublin's Grafton Street was formally pedestrianised. It gave way to a debate about busking, which was illegal at the time.
Corporal punishment was banned in Irish schools. A leaflet was issued to teachers telling them to treat pupils with "kindness combined with firmness", while avoiding "ridicule and sarcasm".
The Rolling Stones played at Slane Castle.
Ireland's first crematorium was opened at Glasnevin.
20,000 people attended a protest in Dublin against the increase in PRSI.
While these facts about 1982 have been checked against third-party sources (and have been used on air before!), they are provided in good faith to inspire your research and no guarantee is made about their accuracy or their uniqueness. You can use the facts however you wish: most people just take a couple of points they remember and talk around then.
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