What was going on when I was born?

The convertible, relic of the wind-in-the-hair era of driving, seemed consigned to the scrap heap of automotive history along with rumble seats and running boards when the last Cadillac Eldorado soft top rolled off the assembly line in 1976. But Detroit is moving to revive the production of convertibles, at least in a limited fashion. Although Government safety rules were often blamed for the convertible's demise, auto makers say the real culprits were airconditioning, sun roofs and high-speed freeways. Early advertisements for convertibles said they were ''built for the lass whose face is brown with the sun,'' but modern drivers seemed to prefer the cold comfort of climate control to the glamour of top-down motoring.

The resumption Wednesday of the antitrust trial against the American Telephone and Telegraph Company represents an unfavorable turn of events for the huge company, many industry analysts say. They argue that if the trial runs its course, perhaps a year or two, it could put off for that long a solution to the question of ground rules by which Bell must operate in new businesses in the telecommunications industry, such as information processing. If the consent decree settlement sought with the Justice Department had been along the lines widely reported, it could have resulted in significantly wider operating rights for Bell and on favorable terms. Such a settlement, it seemed, was nearly at hand between the Justice Department and A.T.& T. before talks broke down last week, setting the stage for resuming the historic antitrust trial.

Though he was often identified with doctrinaire positions on foreign policy as a candidate, Ronald Reagan as President has assembled a largely nonideological team of managers and career Government officials to direct foreign and defense policy in his Administration. Drawn from large corporations, blue-chip law firms, universities, the military and the upper ranks of the Federal bureaucracy, the newly appointed policy makers, with some notable exceptions, appear to represent the mainstream of the Republican Party. The relatively moderate cast of the Reagan team has produced irritation among many of the President's more conservative supporters. Led by Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina, they have complained bitterly about Mr. Reagan's failure to staff his Administration with strong conservatives. An Emphasis on Management Others have faulted Mr. Reagan for failing to name long-range conceptual thinkers to key policy jobs. They argue that his Administration may suffer from a preponderance of officials experienced in carrying out but not in designing foreign policy.

Rallying on goals by Don Maloney and Mike Allison, the Rangers fought to a 4-4 tie with the Montreal Canadiens last night at Madison Square Garden. ''They came out and played one heck of a third period,'' said Coach Craig Patrick. The game resembled a Stanley Cup playoff as it brought out the best in the Rangers, who are less talented than the Canadiens. The Rangers applied hard work and aggressive play to offset Montreal's blazing speed, gifted stick-handling and all-round finesse.

New York City will be committed to as much as $2 billion in tax abatements and exemptions over the next 20 years under one of the more important tax-incentive programs for developers, according to an analysis by the office of the City Council President. The program permits owners to claim tax abatements and exemptions over a period up to 20 years for rehabilitating multifamily housing or converting nonresidential buildings to residential use. Enacted in 1955 to provide inducements to landlords to rehabilitate cold water flats, the program is scheduled to run until 1984. However, some of its opponents will begin trying to amend it this week.

''If you come to the conclusion that we have launched the aggression, then you must fight us.

BOSTON HE played in the league four years and his identity level was only a few points higher than the double zero he wears on his uniform. Robert Parish was known, if at all, as the college player whose scoring records were purged from national ranking because of a dispute over his admission tests. He was known, if at all, as a 7-foot player who didn't always hustle, and didn't often talk. ''I guess that's because people didn't get to know me,'' says Parish, whose shot-blocking, rebounding and all-round play have helped the Boston Celtics - surprised earlier this season by Dave Cowens's retirement - win 52 of 67 games. Parish, who came to the Celtics from the Golden State Warriors last June, is still a mystery to most fans in ramshackle Boston Garden. The fans still read stories that the big man from Shreveport, La., has no nickname, yet it takes only a few minutes in the Celtic clubhouse to learn that Parish is called ''The Chief'' - not a bad title at all. His erect posture and impassive face conjure up the image of a proud African or native American chieftain.

Atlantic Richfield's plans to sell The Observer, one of Britain's oldest newspapers, to Lonrho Ltd., with its stormy chief executive, has unleashed a roiling controversy. Neither the staff nor the 12 members of the board of directors of the money-losing Sunday newspaper were warned of the sale, and they are now very angry. Two members of the board - David Astor, who had been editor of the paper for 27 years, and Lord Goodman, a representative of the Observer Trust that sold the paper to the Atlantic Richfield Company four years ago - are particularly offended by the lack of consultation.

After 40 hours of observation conducted over three years, astronomers have identified a galaxy estimated to be 10 billion light-years away. Previously the most distant galaxy was estimated to be eight billion light-years away. The newest discovery was made with a computerized image tube that processes light collected by the 120-inch reflector of the Lick Observatory, which is operated by the University of California. At the same time similar methods also disclosed three other galaxies at comparable distances.

Refugees from the fighting in El Salvador are streaming into the United States in ever-greater numbers, in many cases having sold all they own to finance the difficult, expensive and illegal journey from their Central American homeland. But they are being sent home again nearly as fast as they are captured, to what many of them fear may be mistreatment or death. Lawyers working in behalf of the Salvadorans say that, in an effort to keep them from clogging the overloaded immigration system, the Immigration and Naturalization Service sometimes does not tell the refugees that they have the right to have a deportation hearing or to seek political asylum, or it intimidates them into forgoing these procedures. One Mexican immigration official in Tijuana said last month that some of the Salvadorans apprehended in this country had simply been sent back across the border by American officers. Response of Immigration Service A spokesman for the United States immigration service, Verne Jervis, said that this practice would be illegal but denied that it was going on. Mr. Jervis said that while there ''might be some violations'' by local offices of the service, he was unaware of widespread trampling on the Salvadorans' rights.

International Postponement of a scheduled arms talk with the Soviet Union that would deal with questions of compliance with previous strategic arms limitation agreements is being considered by the Administration. Officials said that the regularly scheduled session of the Standing Consultative Commision on March 25 would probably be delayed for a month or two to allow the United States time to work out its future policies on strategic arms issues and to fill key staff positions. (Page A1, Col. 4.) Moderates in the Administration are directing the President's foreign and defense policies, though he was often identified with doctrinaire positions as a candidate. This has upset Republican conservatives, like Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina. With some notable exceptions, the newly appointed policy makers appear to represent the mainstream of the Republican Party. (A1:5.)

An article on the Style page on Jan. 16 incorrectly identified a child-care center directed by Meryl Glass. It is the University of California, San Francisco Child Care/Study Center.