THE YEAR 1982

Cost of Living

Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average ― 1046
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve ― 11.50%
Average Cost of new house ― $82,200
Average Income per year $21,050
Average Monthly Rent ― $320
Cost of a gallon of Gas ― 91 cents
New Car Average price ― $7,983
US Postage Stamp ― 20 cents
Tomatoes Lb ― 39 cents
Loaf White Sliced bread ― 50 cents
Satellite Receiver ― $245.95
GMC 1500 Pickup ― $5,400
Sony 19 inch Color TV ― $499


Events of 1981

AT&T is ordered to break up
1. The break-up of the AT&T monopoly was ordered during January of 1982.
2. The US government’s deal with the AT&T Corporation stated that AT&T would give up control of the Bell System (colloquially called Ma Bell) that had owned most of the telephone services in the United States and Canada since the 1940s.
3. The agreement came as the result of an anti-trust case brought against the company in 1974 by the US Department of Justice.
4. The break-up of the Bell System officially became effective two years later in 1984 when it was split into seven different independent Regional Bell operating Companies, informally known as “Baby Bells." 

Proclamation of the Constitution Act ― Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau signed the Proclamation of the Constitution Act in Canada during April. The Canada Act, as it was also known, finalized the patriation process that had been ongoing in Canada for years, resulting in the establishment of full sovereignty and independence of the nation. The proclamation also included the Canadian Carter of Rights and Freedoms which outlined 34 basic rights that would be guaranteed in the country.

Argentina invades the Falkland Islands / Maldives on March 19th , and the UK sends the Royal Navy, RAF and the Army and retakes possession of the Falkland Islands during the conflict Argentine Exocet missile sinks HMS Sheffield on May 4th and the Nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. Argentina surrenders on June 14th


More News and Key Events From 1982

• Wave of Terrorist attacks in France by Carlos the Jackal
• All time record lows in dozens of cities throughout the Midwestern United States.
• Israeli forces invade Lebanon
• Thousands of palestinian refugees in refugee camps in West Beirut murdered by Lebanese militia
• Israeli returns Sinai to Egypt
• The largest cash robbery in History occurs in New York when $9,800,000 is stolen from an armored car
• The First Issue of USA Today is published
• Disney Futuristic Park EPCOT ( Experimental Community Of Tomorrow )is opened
• The Provisional IRA continues it's bombing campaign in London and Mainland Britain
• Laker Airways the first of the low cost airlines operating out of the UK Folds
• Around 700,000 demonstrators gathered in New York City's Central Park protesting the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
• Michael Fagan Brakes Into The Queens Bedroom in Buckingham Palace
• The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling
• Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide kill 7 in ChicagoSeptember 29th
• The Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII of England is raised in the Solenton October 11th and taken to Portsmouth Dockyard where it is preserved and on show to the public
• Channel 4 is launched in UK
• Lech Walesa, leader of the outlawed Solidarity movement is released after 11 months in jail
• Yassar Arafat elected the President of the Palestinian National Council
• Doctors performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart designed by Robert Jarvik
• Severe recession begins in the United States.
• The world's largest oil rig ( The Ocean Ranger ) sinks in the north Atlantic
• The Serial killer Clifford Robert Olson is covicted and given 11 concurrent life sentences for the murder of 11 children in Canada
• Italy Wins 1982 World Cup in Spain
• Leonid Brezhnev the General Secretary of the Communist Party dies of a heart attack while in office.
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC is dedicated
• Gates connecting Gibraltar are opened after 13 years to allow pedestrian access to and from SpainEarthquake and a volcanic eruption at El Chichon in southern Mexico kills thousands

Popular Culture

Sports

NFC ― San Francisco 49ers

AFC ― Cincinnati Bengals

Super Bowl ― San Francisco defeats Cincinnati in SB XVI (1981 season)

NCAA Football ―Clemson University

MLB ― St. Louis Cardinals

NCAA Baseball ― Miami of Florida

NBA ― Los Angeles Lakers

NCAA Basketball ― North Carolina

NHL ― New York Islanders

NCAA Hockey ― University of North Dakota

Golf

Masters Tournament – Craigs Stadler

U.S. Open – Tom Watson

British Open – Tom Watson

PGA Championship – Raymond Floyd

LPGA Championship – Jan Stephenson

U.S. Women's Open – Jan Anderson

Popular Films

• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• Rocky III,
• On Golden Pond
• Porky's
• An Officer and a Gentleman
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Poltergeist
• Annie
• Chariots of Fire
• Gandhi

Popular Musicians and Songs

• Human League with " Don't You Want Me "
• Bucks Fizz
• The Jam
• Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder with " Ebony and Ivory "
• Olivia Newton-John
• Vangelis
• Steve Miller band With " Abracadabra "
• Survivor with " Eye of The Tiger "
• Chicago with " Hard to Say I'm Sorry "
• Lionel Richie

Popular TV Programs

• Magnum, P.I.
• The Other Arf (UK)
• Dynasty
• Falcon Crest
• Hill Street Blues
• Only Fools and Horses (UK)
• Knight Rider

Born This Year

Andy Roddick ― August 30th
LeAnn Rimes ― August 28th
Kelly Clarkson ― April 24th


Technology

• First CD player sold in Japan
• The Weather Channel airs on cable television for the first time.
• The Soviet Spaceship Vanera 13 lands on Venus and sends back color Photographs
• 20 million Elm Trees die in the UK through Dutch Elm Disease
• The First Commercial use of Genetic Engineering is Launched when human insulin produced by bacteria is marketed
• Times man of The Year is THE COMPUTER

From thepeoplehistory and  Wikipedia