On this day

February 12, 1980

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from February 12, 1980

Car Makers in Plea on Imports; Car Makers' Import Plea

By Reginald Stuart Special To the New York Times

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 11--Top executives of the Big Three domestic auto makers, waging a major campaign to curb the sale of foreign-made cars in the United States, are arguing their case before the National Automobile Dealers Association convention here.

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of February 6, 1980, covering February 12, 1980.

  1. 1
    Album cover for The Wall by Pink Floyd

    The Wall

    Pink Floyd

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    9
  2. 2
    Album cover for Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

    Damn The Torpedoes

    Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    14
  3. 3
    Album cover for The Long Run by Eagles

    The Long Run

    Eagles

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    17
  4. 4
    Album cover for Off The Wall by Michael Jackson

    Off The Wall

    Michael Jackson

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    24
  5. 5
    Album cover for Kenny by Kenny Rogers

    Kenny

    Kenny Rogers

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    20

Notable Births

Juan Carlos Ferrero

1980Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player[†]

Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a Spanish former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Ferrero won 16 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including the 2003 French Open and four Masters events. He was also runner-up at the 2002 French Open and 2003 US Open. He was nicknamed "el Mosquito" for his speed and slender physical build. Ferrero retired from the sport in 2012.

Sarah Lancaster

1980Sarah Lancaster, American actress[†]

Sarah Lancaster is an American actress and director. She is known for her long-running roles as Rachel Meyers in the series Saved by the Bell: The New Class and Ellie Bartowski in the comedy-spy series Chuck, as well as playing Chloe Grefe in Lovers Lane, Madison Kellner on Everwood, and Marjorie in TV series What About Brian.

Gucci Mane

1980Gucci Mane, American rapper[†]

Radric Delantic Davis, known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream audiences during the 2000s. His debut studio album, Trap House (2005) was released by the independent label Big Cat Records and entered the Billboard 200; it was followed by Hard to Kill (2006), which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its second single, "Freaky Gurl". That same year, he released his third album, Trap-A-Thon before signing with Atlantic Records to release his fourth album, Back to the Trap House (2007).

Christina Ricci

1980Christina Ricci, American actress and producer[†]

Christina Ricci is an American actress known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge. Ricci works mostly in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box-office hits. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Notable Deaths

Muriel Rukeyser

1980Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and activist (born 1913)[†]

Muriel Rukeyser was an American poet, essayist, biographer, novelist, screenwriter and political activist. She wrote across genres and forms, addressing issues related to racial, gender and class justice, war and war crimes, Jewish culture and diaspora, American history, politics, and culture. Kenneth Rexroth said that she was the greatest poet of her "exact generation," Anne Sexton famously described her as "mother of us all", while Adrienne Rich wrote that she was “our twentieth-century Coleridge; our Neruda."

Historical Context for February 12, 1980

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