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Historical Context for February 29, 1980

In 1980, the world population was approximately 4,447,606,236 people[†]

In 1980, the average yearly tuition was $738 for public universities and $3,225 for private universities. Today, these costs have risen to $9,750 and $35,248 respectively[†]

Notable Births

1980Çağdaş Atan, Turkish footballer and coach[†]

Çağdaş Atan is a Turkish football manager and a former player who played as a central defender. He is the manager of İstanbul Başakşehir of the Süper Lig. He began his career at Altay and Marmaris before playing for clubs like Denizlispor, Beşiktaş, and Trabzonspor. He also had a brief stint with Germany's Energie Cottbus. Atan joined Basel in 2009, winning domestic titles and playing in European competitions. He later played for Turkish clubs like Mersin İdman Yurdu, Akhisarspor, Gaziantep BB, and Manisaspor before retiring in 2015.

1980Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey player[†]

Simon Gagné is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent the first ten seasons of his NHL career with the Flyers (1999–2010), followed by one season with Tampa Bay (2010–11) and two with Los Angeles (2011–13), winning the Stanley Cup in 2012, before returning to Philadelphia via trade for the end of the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season. After not playing in 2013–14, Gagné signed with Boston, briefly playing for them before retiring in 2015.

1980Rubén Plaza, Spanish cyclist[†]

Rubén Plaza Molina is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2019 for the Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme, Benfica, Liberty Seguros, Movistar Team, Lampre–Merida, Orica–Scott and Israel Cycling Academy teams. During his career, he recorded a top 5 overall placing in the 2005 Vuelta a España, and won three Grand Tour stages.

1980Clinton Toopi, New Zealand rugby league player[†]

Clinton James Te-Whata Toopi is a New Zealand former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the New Zealand Warriors and the Gold Coast Titans, and in the Super League for the Leeds Rhinos. Clinton began coaching the Helensvale Hornets in 2021 and guided them to victory in the 2022 Gold Coast A Grade Competition.

1980Taylor Twellman, American soccer player and sportscaster[†]

Taylor Timothy Twellman is an American former soccer player who played professionally from 1999 to 2010. He now works in the media as a soccer television commentator for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

1980Peter Scanavino, American actor (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)[†]

Peter Muller Scanavino is an American actor. He stars as ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. in the long-running NBC crime/legal drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Notable Deaths

1980Yigal Allon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (born 1918)[†]

Yigal Allon was an Israeli military leader and politician. He was a commander of the Palmach and a general in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He was also a leader of the Ahdut HaAvoda and Israeli Labor parties. He served briefly as acting Prime Minister of Israel between the death of Levi Eshkol and the appointment of Golda Meir in 1969. Allon was the first non-European-born Israeli to serve as Prime Minister of Israel. He was a government minister from the third Knesset to the ninth inclusive.

1980Gil Elvgren, American painter and illustrator (born 1914)[†]

Gillette Alexander Elvgren was an American painter of pin-up models, advertising and illustration. Best known for his pin-up paintings for Brown & Bigelow, Elvgren studied at the American Academy of Art. He was strongly influenced by the early "pretty girl" illustrators, such as Charles Dana Gibson, Andrew Loomis, and Howard Chandler Christy. Other influences included the Brandywine School founded by Howard Pyle.

Historical Events

1980Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal.[†]

Gordon Howe was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seasons were spent with the Detroit Red Wings. Nicknamed "Mr. Hockey", Howe is often considered the most complete player ever to play the game and one of the greatest of all time. At his retirement, his 801 goals, 1,049 assists, and 1,850 total points were all NHL records that stood until they were broken by Wayne Gretzky, who himself has been a major champion of Howe's legacy. A 23-time NHL All-Star, he shares the NHL record for seasons played with Chris Chelios, and his all-time NHL games played record of 1,767 was only surpassed in 2021 by Patrick Marleau. In 2017, Howe was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players".

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Headlines from February 29, 1980

Most '79 Cars Fail U.S. Safety Test At 5 M.P.H. above Required Rate; Safety Rating System MOST '79 AUTOS LAG IN TESTS FOR SAFETY Safety Factors Measured

By Special to The New York Times

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 The Department of Transportation said today that all the 1979 foreign cars and most domestic cars subjected to 35-mile-an-hour crash tests had failed to provide protection to occupants even though that was only five miles an hour over the speed specified in the minimum safety standards.

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PANEL PRESSES IRAN ON SEEING HOSTAGES; But There Is Confusion on Timing and on Conditions for a Visit PANEL PRESSES IRAN ON SEEING HOSTAGES Crowd Chants 'Down With Carter' Commission Visits Shah's Palace U.S. Aides Voice Guarded Hope

By Unknown Author

TEHERAN, Iran, Feb. 28 The United Nations commission on the regime of the deposed Shah pressed today for permission to see the 50 American hostages and expressed the hope that a meeting would be arranged soon. There was considerable confusion during the day over whether any progress had been made.

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CONGRESS UNIT ASKS $25 BILLION TAX CUT AND SPENDING CURBS; A MOVE TO COUNTER INFLATION Administration Said to Prepare Its Own Plan Economic Panel Stresses Aid to Business Series of Proposals 'Giving People Hope' Panel Backs $25 Billion Tax Cut Emphasis for Fiscal Year 1980

By Steven Rattner Special To the New York Times

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 The Joint Economic Committee of Congress today unanimously recommended a combined tax cut and spending reduction that it said would cut inflation and raise productivity and investment.

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I was wondering if anything interesting on the news was going on when I was born, and decided to create this website for fun. The purpose is to show people what was going on when they were born. With this website I've found out that it was a pretty slow news day on my birthday, but I bet it would feel cool to know a historical event happened on your birthday.

The data used in this project is provided by the New York Times API. They have by far the best API I was able to find, with articles dating back to the 1950s. There weren't any other major newspapers that had an API with close to as much data. The closest was the Guardian API, but theirs only went back to the 1990s. I decided to only use articles from the New York Times because their API was by far the best. This tool works if you have a birthday after the 1950s or so.

Some important dates in history I'd recommend looking up on this website are:

  • 9/11/2001: The September 11 Attacks happened on this day, the news articles from this date provide great context to the tragedy our nation suffered and the immediate response from the American people. The headlines capture the shock, confusion, and unity that emerged in the aftermath of this devastating event.
  • 7/20/1969: The historic Apollo 11 moon landing, when humans first set foot on another celestial body. The articles from this date showcase humanity's greatest achievement in space exploration and the culmination of the space race.
  • 11/9/1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the beginning of the end of the Cold War. The coverage provides fascinating insights into this pivotal moment in world history and the emotions of people as decades of division came to an end.
  • 1/20/2009: Barack Obama's inauguration as the first African American President of the United States, a watershed moment in American history that represented a major milestone in the ongoing journey toward racial equality.
  • 8/15/1969: The Woodstock Music Festival began, marking a defining moment in American counterculture and music history. The coverage captures the spirit of the era and the unprecedented gathering of young people.

These historical events are just a few examples of the fascinating moments in history you can explore through this tool. Whether you're interested in your own birthday, significant historical dates, or just curious about what was making headlines on any given day, this website offers a unique window into the past through the lens of contemporary news coverage.

You can read more on our blog.