Year by year · 20th century

1984

1984 in world history: 15 events, 6 deaths and 4 works. 197 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 1 January

    Brunei becomes fully independent from Britain

    The oil-rich sultanate of Brunei ended nearly a century as a British protectorate and became a sovereign state under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. It joined ASEAN within the week.

  2. 10 January

    United States and the Holy See establish full diplomatic relations

    President Reagan's administration and the Vatican agreed to exchange ambassadors, ending a gap in formal relations since 1867. The move reflected close cooperation with Pope John Paul II during the Cold War.

    United States

  3. 24 January

    Apple Macintosh goes on sale

    Apple's Macintosh brought the mouse and graphical interface to an affordable personal computer. Launched with a famous television advert, it shaped the design of computers for decades.

  4. 7 February

    Bruce McCandless makes the first untethered spacewalk

    Using a nitrogen-jet backpack, the Manned Maneuvering Unit, McCandless flew about 100 metres from the shuttle Challenger. The photograph of him alone above Earth became famous.

  5. 6 June

    Alexey Pajitnov completes the first version of Tetris

    Working at a Soviet Academy of Sciences computing centre in Moscow, Pajitnov finished his falling-block puzzle game. It became one of the best-selling video games in history.

    Moscow

  6. 25 July

    Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to walk in space

    Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya spent three and a half hours outside the Salyut 7 space station. She tested a hand-held tool for cutting and welding metal in space.

  7. 31 October

    Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her bodyguards

    Two Sikh bodyguards shot Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in her Delhi garden, months after she ordered the army into the Golden Temple at Amritsar. Anti-Sikh violence that followed killed about 3,000 people.

    Golden TempleAmritsar

  8. 3 December

    Toxic gas leaks from a pesticide plant in Bhopal

    Methyl isocyanate escaped from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal overnight, killing thousands within days. Total deaths are estimated in the range of 15,000 or more, and hundreds of thousands suffered lasting harm.

  9. Event

    Operation Blue Star

    Operation Blue Star was the Indian Army's assault in June 1984 on the Golden Temple complex at Amritsar, the holiest shrine of Sikhism, to remove the armed Sikh militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers.

  10. Treaty

    Sino-British Joint Declaration

    The Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed in Beijing on 19 December 1984 by Margaret Thatcher and Zhao Ziyang.

ProfileState194 states with a known seat in 1984Open the atlas at 1984 →

In the profiles

  • Brunei SultanateBrunei becomes fully independent under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
  • Republic of IndiaOperation Blue Star; Indira Gandhi assassinated; the Bhopal gas disaster
  • SikhismThe Indian army’s Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple, followed by the assassination of Indira Gandhi and anti-Sikh violence
  • Republic of ParaguayThe Itaipú dam, shared with Brazil, begins generating power

Wars and longer events

Died in 1984 6

Works 4

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1984. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1984
MLA
“1984.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1984. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1984.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1984.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1984’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1984 (Accessed: ).