20th-Century History in the 1980s Quiz

Answer: Iran and Iraq

The Iran-Iraq started on 22nd September 1980 when Iraq invaded Iran. The war was fought for almost eight years, ending on 20th August 1988. The cause of the war the result of political and territorial dispute between the two countries. Iraq wanted to gain control of the Iranian border region of Khuzestan. The region was a rich-oil production field.

Answer: Anwar Sadat

Yitzhak Rabin, the two-term Israeli prime minister from 1974 to 1997 and from 1992 till 1995 when he was assassinated. Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was killed by the Islamic Jihad in October 1981 during an annual victory parade to celebrate taking back part of Sinai Peninsula from Israel. President Reagan and John Paul II both survived the assassination attempts.

Answer: South America

The Falkland War was fought from 2nd April to 14th June in 1982. The Argentinian army occupied the islands on April 2nd followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. The British despatched a naval force to engage the Argentine Navy on 5th April. The war ended 74 days later with a British victory and the return of the islands to British control.

Answer: South Korea

Korean Airline Flight KAL007 was scheduled to fly from New York to Seoul via Anchorage. The Boeing 747 aircraft deviated for its planned route and flew into the Soviet prohibited flight zone. The Soviet Air Force mistook the commercial aircraft as the American aerial reconnaissance mission. All 269 crew and passengers were killed in the accident.

Answer: India

Indira Gandhi, the third Indian prime minister and daughter of the first Indian prime minister, Pandit Nehru, was killed by her own bodyguards at her residence in New Delhi. Her Sikh bodyguards resented the military action (Operation Blue Star) carried out in June 1984 against the Holy Golden Temple of Amritsar in Punjab.

Answer: Ethiopia

The Live Aid concert was to raise relief funds for Ethiopia, which suffered a famine from 1983 to 1985. The concert was held on 13th July 1985 at Wembley Station in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. On the same day, concerts for the same relief fund were held in a few other countries.

It was estimated that about 1.9 billion people in 150 nations watched the live broadcast, which was about 40% of the world population at that time.

Answer: Philippines

Ferdinand Marcos was the Filipino president from 1965 to 1986. Martial law was implemented from 1972 to 1986. In 1983, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at Manila International Airport after his return from the USA after a long period of exile. Towards the end of his rule, the country suffered extreme poverty and mass unemployment due to the debt crisis.

In February 1986, a snap election led to the People Power Revolution ousting Marcos from power. Corazon Aquino was declared as the new president. Marcos died in September 1989 living in exile in Hawaii.

Answer: Rugby World Cup

The first Rugby World Cup for men (rugby union) was jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 1987. New Zealand defeated France in the final match to win the Webb Ellis Cup. Sixteen nations qualified for the tournament. South Africa could not compete as it was under an international boycott due to apartheid.

Answer: 9

The Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, implemented "open-door policy" reforms to rebuild the country. He adopted a more friendly approach to the USA and Western Europe. The complete withdrawal of Soviet troops was completed on 15th February 1989 from Afghanistan after nine years of conflict.

Answer: United States invasion of Grenada

United States troops invaded Panama on 20th December 1989 to depose its dictator Manuel Noriega. The invasion ended on 31st January 1990. The Tiananmen Square protests started on 15th April and ended on 4th June when the Chinese government declared martial law and troops were sent to the square to end the protests.

The fall of the Berlin Wall occurred on 9th November signalling the end of the Cold War. Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were put on a short trial and were executed on 25th December.