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Historical Context for November 24, 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

1980Kabir Ali, English cricketer[†]

Kabir Ali is an English former cricketer. A right-arm seam bowler and useful lower-order right-handed batsman, he played one Test match for England in 2003, while also earning 14 ODI caps between 2003 and 2006.

1980Brandon Hunter, American basketball player (died 2023)[†]

Brandon Hunter was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

1980Beth Phoenix, American wrestler[†]

Elizabeth Copeland, better known as Beth Phoenix, is an American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she is a former WWE Divas Champion and a three-time WWE Women's Champion.

1980Branko Radivojevič, Slovak ice hockey player[†]

Branko Radivojevič is a Slovak former professional ice hockey forward who began and finished his career playing for HK Dukla Trenčín of the Slovak Extraliga (Slovak). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild. His father Matija, a Bosnian Serb, came to Czechoslovakia during the 1970s as a contractor of a Yugoslavian company. His son, Luka, is also a hockey player who is considered to be one of the top prospects for the 2025 NHL entry draft.

Notable Deaths

1980Herbert Agar, American journalist and historian (born 1897)[†]

Herbert Sebastian Agar was an American journalist and historian, and an editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

1980George Raft, American actor and dancer (born 1901)[†]

George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in Quick Millions (1931) with Spencer Tracy, Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni, Each Dawn I Die (1939) with James Cagney, Invisible Stripes (1939) with Humphrey Bogart, and Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon; and as a dancer in Bolero (1934) with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in They Drive by Night (1940) with Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Bogart.

1980Molly Reilly, Canadian aviator (born 1922)[†]

Moretta Fenton Beall "Molly" Reilly became the first female Canadian pilot to reach the rank of captain, the first female Canadian corporate pilot, and the first woman to fly to the Arctic professionally. Her modifications to the Beechcraft Duke were used to improve the aircraft. Over the course of her career, Reilly logged over 10,000 flight hours as a pilot-in-command — without a single accident. She is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame.

1980Henrietta Hill Swope, American astronomer and academic (born 1902)[†]

Henrietta Hill Swope was an American astronomer who studied variable stars. In particular, she measured the period-luminosity relation for Cepheid stars, which are bright variable stars whose periods of variability relate directly to their intrinsic luminosities. Their measured periods can therefore be related to their distances and used to measure the size of the Milky Way and distances to other galaxies.

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Headlines from November 24, 1980

Yeo Ending Stint At Chicago City Hall; A Time of Municipal Strife Yeo Completing Stint at Chicago City Hall Cumulative Deficits Found

By Winston Williams Special To the New York Times

CHICAGO, Nov. 23--On LaSalle Street, this city's financial and political center, he has become known as "Fast Eddie." But Edwin H. Yeo 3d, a plump, serious-looking man who in half a dozen years has held top posts at the United States Treasury, two large banks and Chicago's City Hall, has decided to take a breather.

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Aid for Troubled Housing Projects Voted as Legislature Ends Session; $172 Million in Appropriations Legislature Ends Special Session; Aid to Housing Projects Is Voted Funds for Rural Housing Some Pay Increases Delayed A Raise for Chief Judge Banking Measure Approved No Action Taken on Oil Tax

By Ari L. Goldman Special To the New York Times

ALBANY, Nov. 23--The members of the New York State Legislature left here early this morning after completing action on aiding troubled Mitchell-Lama housing projects, a move that one Bronx legislator hailed as "the beginning of the rebirth of Co-op City."

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KEY REAGAN ADVISER URGES PROMPT CUTS IN FEDERAL SPENDING; $620 BILLION LIMIT IS SOUGHT But Weinberger's Proposal Meets Opposition From Rep. Kemp, Who Fears Political Loss $620 Billion Spending Target Dispute Called 'Friendly Debate' Reagan Adviser Urges Prompt Cut in Federal Spending 'Familiar With His Thinking' 'A Great Deal of Unity' Bush Arrives for Meeting

By Judith Miller Special To the New York Times

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 23--Caspar W. Weinberger, a senior economic adviser to President-elect Ronald Reagan, called today for prompt and "severe" reductions in Federal spending as new indications emerged that there was disagreement within Mr. Reagan's economic team over how large the cuts should be and how fast they should be made.

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Ex-Owner Says Mob Took Over Chemicals Firm; He Reports Illegal Storage of Toxic Waste in Jersey Danger From Fumes Cited A Warning From Partners Ex-Partner Says Mob Took Control And Stored Toxic Wastes Illegally

By Selwyn Raab

A former part owner of a toxic-waste disposal company has told New York State investigators that an organized crime group took control of his company, and then illegally stored toxic wastes in his warehouse in Elizabeth, N.J., for a $7 million profit.

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Fire Adds To Doubts On MGM

By Unknown Author

MGM Grand Hotels Inc. appears to face an uncertain financial outlook following the fire at its Las Vegas hotelcasino, one of its two large gambling operations.

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49ers Harass Simms, 12 to 0; 49ers Harass Simms With 10 Sacks and Stifle Giant Offense, 12-0 Carson Injured Again Simms Trapped for Safety Sacks Stall Giant Efforts Perkins Cites Overconfidence Giants-49ers Summary Scoring Giants' Notes Giants Statistics

By Malcolm Moran Special To the New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 23--A football team took a Giant step backward today. The Giants did not take that step by themselves--they were pushed, forcefully and often, by the San Francisco...

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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.