On this day

December 19, 1980

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

Historical Context for December 19, 1980

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

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 17, 1980, covering December 19, 1980.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits by Kenny Rogers

    Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits

    Kenny Rogers

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    10
  2. 2
    Album cover for Guilty by Barbra Streisand

    Guilty

    Barbra Streisand

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    11
  3. 3
    Album cover for Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder

    Hotter Than July

    Stevie Wonder

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    6
  4. 4
    Album cover for Back In Black by AC/DC

    Back In Black

    AC/DC

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    18
  5. 5
    Album cover for Crimes Of Passion by Pat Benatar

    Crimes Of Passion

    Pat Benatar

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    18
  6. 6
    Album cover for Eagles Live by Eagles

    Eagles Live

    Eagles

    Last week
    7
    Peak
    6
    Weeks
    4
  7. 7
    Album cover for The River by Bruce Springsteen

    The River

    Bruce Springsteen

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    8
  8. 8
    Album cover for Zenyatta Mondatta by The Police

    Zenyatta Mondatta

    The Police

    Last week
    8
    Peak
    8
    Weeks
    9
  9. 9
    Album cover for The Game by Queen

    The Game

    Queen

    Last week
    9
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    23
  10. 10
    Album cover for The Jazz Singer (Soundtrack) by Neil Diamond

    The Jazz Singer (Soundtrack)

    Neil Diamond

    Last week
    11
    Peak
    10
    Weeks
    4

Notable Births

Jake Gyllenhaal

1980Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor and producer[†]

Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He began acting as a child, making his debut in City Slickers (1991), followed by roles in his father's films A Dangerous Woman (1993) and Homegrown (1998). His breakthrough roles were as Homer Hickam in the biopic October Sky (1999) and a troubled teenager in the thriller Donnie Darko (2001). Gyllenhaal expanded to big-budget films with a starring role in the 2004 disaster film The Day After Tomorrow.

Marla Sokoloff

1980Marla Sokoloff, American actress and musician[†]

Marla Sokoloff is an American actress. She is known for playing Gia Mahan on Full House and Fuller House, Cokie Mason in The Babysitters Club movie, and Lucy Hatcher on the legal drama series The Practice. She also appeared as Joey's sister Dina on Friends and as the nanny Claire on Desperate Housewives. She has starred in the films True Crime (1996), The Climb (1999), Whatever It Takes (2000), Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Sugar & Spice (2001), The Tollbooth (2004), Love on the Side (2006), Play the Game (2009), and The Merry Gentlemen (2024).

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Headlines from December 19, 1980

Israeli Payment to Close the Book On '67 Attack on U.S. Navy Vessel; Israel Accepts Responsibility Book Is Closed on '67 Israeli Attack

By Bernard Gwertzman Special To the New York Times

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18--The United States and Israel announced today that they had finally closed the book on one of the most divisive issues between the two countries: the Israeli air and sea attack on the American intelligence ship Liberty in 1967 that resulted in the death of 34 Navy officers and men.

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7 ULSTER PRISONERS END HUNGER STRIKE WITH 2 NEAR DEATH; Abandonment of Seven-Week Fast Is a Victory for Mrs. Thatcher --'Delighted,' She Says Tension Rises in Province Inmate in a Coma 7 ULSTER PRISONERS END HUNGER STRIKE Strikers Issue Statement Special Status Sought Protestants Abandon Strike

By William Borders Special To the New York Times

LONDON, Dec. 18--Seven Irish prisoners tonight called off a hunger strike that they had been conducting in a Belfast prison for seven and a half weeks.

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