On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Sidelined in Detroit? Production is more than 60 percent above last year and profits for 1983 seem headed for a record, but these are nervous days in Detroit. The auto industry is beginning to question the durability of its recovery. After stabilizing at an annual rate of about 7 million units for the past four months, new-car sales in the first half of November suddenly slipped, to 6.6 million.
Bo Jackson, Auburn's sophomore halfback who has been named to some all-America teams this season, showed again today why he was selected. Jackson had touchdown runs of 69 and 71 yards to lead Auburn to a 23-20 victory over Alabama. His second long scoring run, at 12 minutes 57 seconds of the third period, provided the winning points as Auburn overcame a 20-16 deficit before about 75,000 fans at Legion Field. He finished with 256 yards.
AssassinationSets Off MoreBeirut TensionAn assassination in Beirut last week reminded all the players in the Lebanese drama of the tenuousness of the cease-fire that had calmed the factional fighting since Sept. 26. Visits to Washington by Lebanese President Amin Gemayel and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir stressed the ''genuine sense of urgency'' about the situation and the need for political solutions. An unknown gunman entered the West Beirut home of a prominent Druse, Sheik Halim Takieddin, head of the Supreme Druse Religious Court, and murdered him. Druse leader Walid Jumblat, who spends most of his time in Damascus since he narrowly escaped assassination a year ago, vowed vengeance and Beirut, under dusk-to-dawn curfew, tensed for more fighting. The cease- fire had begun to break down before the assassination as Druse and Lebanese Army artillery traded rounds and the airport once again had to be closed. Another member of the French peacekeeping force - the 77th - died, the victim of an ambush that appeared also to be an act of revenge, this time for the French shelling Nov. 17 of Moslem Shiite positions. An Israeli soldier died and four were wounded in an ambush in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh, and Israeli planes retaliated against Syrian-backed Moslem groups in the Shuf. The Israeli command claimed ''accurate hits'' on the bases of ''several terrorist organizations.'' French jets were also in the air, locating artillery batteries threatening French positions.
PROHIBITION, one of the most divisive issues in the nation's history, ended 50 years ago tomorrow - Dec. 5, 1933 - when the 18th Amendment, which had banned alcoholic beverages for almost 14 years, was repealed. According to a Federal report, New Jersey was the ''wettest'' state in the nation during those 14 years. Among the factors that made it so were: - A Democrat who pledged to ''make New Jersey as wet as the Atlantic Ocean'' was elected Governor in 1919. - The average tenure of a Prohibition administrator in the state was less than nine months. In the first nine years, 11 left in disgust or disgrace.
First Avenue, which already has a large stock of new apartments, is getting 396 more. Construction will begin soon on two high-rise condominiums on the avenue, both to be completed in the spring of 1985.
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of November 30, 1983, covering December 4, 1983.
Lionel Richie
Quiet Riot
The Police
Michael Jackson
Billy Joel
1983Jimmy Bartel, Australian footballer[†]
James Ross Bartel is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A utility, 1.87 m tall and weighing 89 kilograms (196 lb), Bartel contributed as a midfielder, forward, and defender.
1983Chinx, American rapper (died 2015)[†]
Lionel Du Fon Pickens, professionally known as Chinx, was an American rapper. He was a member of The Rockaway Riot Squad alongside fellow slain rapper Stack Bundles. Chinx later joined French Montana's Coke Boys Records, gaining recognition for his appearances on the Coke Boys mixtapes and the Cocaine Riot mixtape series. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in Jamaica, Queens on May 17, 2015. Two men have since been arrested in the case.
1983US Navy aircraft from USS John F. Kennedy and USS Independence attack Syrian missile sites in Lebanon in response to an F-14 being fired on by an SA-7. One A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair are shot down. One American pilot is killed, one is rescued, and one is captured.[†]
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, one undergoing trials, two new carriers under construction, and six other carriers planned as of 2024. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 299 deployable combat vessels and about 4,012 operational aircraft as of 18 July 2023. The U.S. Navy is one of six armed forces of the United States and one of eight uniformed services of the United States.
In 1983, the world population was approximately 4,697,327,573 people[†]