Between 1975 and 1981, Belizean leaders stated their case for self-determination at a meeting of the heads of Commonwealth of Nations governments, the conference of ministers of the Nonaligned Movement, and at meetings of the United Nations (UN).
Belize officially gains independence Read more
MS-DOS was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s and the early 1990s.
IBM releases Microsoft’s MS-DOS Read more
The massive reserve, covering more than 5 million acres of rainforest, is a central piece of Brazil’s Amazon conservation efforts and has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Brazil creates Jaú National Park, one of the largest forest reserves in South America Read more
In the 1980s, Solidarity was a broad anti-bureaucratic social movement, using methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers’ rights and social change in Poland.
17,000 workers go on strike in Poland, marking the beginning of the Solidarity movement Read more
Vigdís ran for president to prove that women were able to lead political campaigns, and she did not expect to win. Despite this, Vigdís won the election on 29 June 1980. The vote was split between four candidates, and she prevailed with 33.6% of the vote. Having served as president of Iceland for 16 years, she is the longest-serving elected female head of state in history.
The WHO launched an intensified plan to eradicate smallpox in 1967. Widespread immunization and surveillance were conducted around the world for several years. The last known natural case was in Somalia in 1977.
Smallpox becomes first infectious human disease to be fully eradicated Read more
