- January 11
- Honduras adopts constitution. [1]
- Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara during the Paris-Dakar rally. He is rescued January 14. [116]
- In Luzon, Philippine Islands, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurs. [53]
- January 12
- In Honduras, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurs. [53]
- January 13
- Shortly after takeoff in a snowstorm, with heavy ice on wings, Air Florida Flight 90 Boeing 737 crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 74 of 79 on board, and 4 in cars on the bridge. [1] [116] [759.58]
- January 18
- In the Aegean Sea, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs. Felt strongly throughout Greece, also felt in Bulgaria, southeastern Italy, southeastern Yugoslavia and western Turkey. [53]
- January 20
- Piet Dankert elected chairman of European Parliament. [1]
- Honduras constitution goes into effect. [1]
- January 26
- Mauno Koivisto is elected President of Finland. [1] [116]
- Unemployment in the United Kingdom increases by 129,918 to 3,070,621, a post-war record. [116]
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- January 27
- Roberto S Cordova installed as President of Honduras. [1]
- The Garret Fitzgerald government of the Republic of Ireland is defeated 82-81 on its budget; Fitzgerald announces his resignation. [116]
- January 28
- Wally Boag gives his last performance at the Golden Horseshoe Revue at Disneyland. He performed in the show almost continuously since its opening in 1955, putting him in the Guiness Book of Records for the most number of performances of a show, about 40,000. [6]
- In Padua, Italy, U.S. Brigadier General James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades. [1] [116]
- January 30
- Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called "Elk Cloner." [5]
- January 31
- Ten Arabian oryx (extinct except in zoos) released in Oman. [1]
- February 1
- Senegal and Gambia form loose confederation (Senegambia). [1] [116]
- February 2
- Government troops and Muslim-fundamentalists battle in Hamah, Syria. [1] [116]
- February 3
- Syrian president Hafez al-Assad orders the army to purge the city of Harran of the Muslim Brotherhood. [116]
- February 5
- London-based Laker Airways collapses owing £270 million (US$351 million). [1] [116]
- Suriname President Chin A Sen resigns and flees to Netherlands. [1]
- February 7
- Luis A Monge elected President of Costa Rica. [1]
- February 9
- Japan Airlines Flight 350 crashes in Tokyo Bay due to thrust reversal on approach to Tokyo International Airport, killing 24 people among the 174 people on board. [116]
- February 15
- The oil platform Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, killing all 84 rig workers aboard. [116] [902.54]
- February 16
- Agatha Barbara elected as first female President of Malta. [1]
- February 18
- The Republic of Ireland general election gives a boost to Fianna Fáil. [116]
- February 19
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- The DeLorean Car factory in Belfast is put into receivership. [116]
- Hanneke Jelgersma (Jagersma?) installed as Netherlands' first Communist mayor. [1]
- February 24
- In South Africa, 22 National Party Members of Parliament led by Andries Treurnicht vote for no confidence in P. W. Botha. [116]
- February 25
- The European Court of Human Rights rules that teachers who cane, belt or tawse children against the wishes of their parents are in breach of the Human Rights Convention. [116]
- February 27
- France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island. [1]
- March 1
- Five die as ski lift malfunctions a Lúz-Ardiden in Pyrenees. [1]
- March 2
- Terror group "The Illuminated Path" frees 260 prisoners in Peru. [1]
- March 3
- Queen Elizabeth II opens the Barbican Centre in London, England. [116]
- March 5
- Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on planet Venus, sends back data. [1] [5]
- March 9
- Charles Haughey becomes Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland. [116]
- March 10
- Syzygy: all nine planets align on the same side of the Sun. [1] [116]
- The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports, alleging Libyan support of terrorist groups. [1] [116]
- March 11
- Failed military coup under Rambocus/Hawker in Suriname. [1]
- March 13
- Wilfred Hawker, Suriname Sergeant-Major, executed. [1]
- March 15
- Nicaragua suspends their citizens' rights for 30 days. [1]
- March 17
- Four Dutch TV crew members shot dead in El Salvador: Hans ter Laag (sound technician), Jan Kuiper (news editor (IKON)), Joop Willemsen (cameraman), Koos Koster (newscaster (IKON)). [1]
- March 18
- An Argentinean scrap metal dealer raises the Argentinean flag in South Georgia. [116]
- March 19
- Argentines land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war. [116]
- 50 Argentine troops land on the Falkland Islands and hoist the flag of Argentina. [1571.123]
- March 20
- France performs nuclear test. [1]
- Reverend A Treurnicht forms Conservative Party of South Africa. [1]
- March 21
- In Hokkaido, Japan region, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs. [53]
- March 22
- Iran offensive against Iraq. [1]
- March 23
- Guatemala military coup under General Rios Montt, President Romeo Lucas flees. [1]
- March 24
- US submarine Jacksonville collides with a Turkish freighter near Virginia. [1]
- March 28
- José Napoleón Duartes' christian-democrats win elections in El Salvador. [1]
- Near the coast of Peru, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurs. Three people killed and extensive damage at Lunahuana. [53]
- March 29
- Royal Assent in London to the Canada Act 1982 sets the stage for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. [116]
- March 31
- Arkas tanker at Montz, Louisiana, spills 1.47 million gallons of oil. [1]
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