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In 1980, the world population was approximately 4,447,606,236 people[†]
1980John Buck, American baseball player[†]
Johnathan Richard Buck is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida/Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He went to high school in Taylorsville, Utah.
1980Serdar Kulbilge, Turkish footballer[†]
Serdar Kulbilge is a Turkish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
1980Michelle Kwan, American figure skater[†]
Michelle Wingshan Kwan is a retired American competitive figure skater and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time world champion and a nine-time U.S. champion. She is tied with Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record.
1980Dore Schary, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1905)[†]
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed one feature film, Act One, the film biography of his friend, playwright and theatre director Moss Hart. He became head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and replaced Louis B. Mayer as president of the studio in 1951.
1980Institution of sharia law in Iran.[†]
Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology sharīʿah refers to immutable, intangible divine law; contrary to fiqh, which refers to its interpretations by Islamic scholars. Sharia, or fiqh as traditionally known, has always been used alongside customary law from the very beginning in Islamic history; it has been elaborated and developed over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists – reflecting the tendencies of different schools – and integrated and with various economic, penal and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers; and implemented for centuries by judges in the courts until recent times, when secularism was widely adopted in Islamic societies.
1980During the Lebanese Civil War, 83 Tiger militants are killed during what will be known as the Safra massacre.[†]
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
By his own account, and according to many of his peers, Paul Sarnoff is all of the following: a leading figure in the world of commodities research, a master of rhetoric, a prolific author, a gold ...
IN a remarkable switch from last year's sentiments, the players in the big leagues disagree with more than half the people's choices for the starting lineups in the 51st All-Star Game, which will be played tomorrow night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
There is a ghostly presence in the house of American letters--a whole extended family of big and little, committed and part-time ghosts.
TOKYO, July 6--After a striking victory by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the recent elections, the business community here expects the strengthened conservative party to reduce Japan's overwhelming dependence on deficit financing in the 1981 national budget.
For the fourth time in the last month and the second time on the weekend, the Mets were staring at the possibility of a .500 record yesterday. And for the fourth time, they blinked.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 6--The 40 employees laid off this spring by the Gilmore Steel Corporation in Portland, Ore., may not share the feelings of goodwill most Americans have for Canada these days. Canada's high price for natural gas cost them their jobs.
As the first corporate reports for the second quarter begin to trickle in, it appears that the forecasts of sharply depressed earnings may have been overstated.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 6--With crisp and accurate passing--sometimes short, sometimes long--the Cosmos defeated the Portland Timbers, 4-1, at Giants Stadium tonight before a crowd of 41,260.
SALVADOR, Brazil, July 6--Pope John Paul II said today that Latin America's wealth must be divided more equitably and that the people had to decide now whether this change would be peaceful or violent.
IDSTEIN, West Germany--Only 38 companies in the world make electric drills, and 28 of them are based in West Germany. Still, when Black Decker, the American power tool manufacturer, came to Germany in the late 1950's.
WASHINGTON, July 6--American imports of crude oil dropped 25 percent in the four weeks ended June 30, pointing to "very substantial progress" in conserving fuel, Energy Secretary Charles W. Duncan said today.
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:
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.