1982

William Bonin is convicted of being the Freeway Killer.

AT&T agrees to divest itself into 22 subdivisions.

Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78. On the same day, a Washington Metro train derails to the north, killing 3 (the system's first, and worst, fatal accident).

The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 in Super Bowl XVI at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

The DeLorean Car factory in Belfast is put into receivership.

Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scores his 77th goal of the National Hockey League season, breaking the previous record of 76. He would go on to score 92 goals that season, which remains the record.

In Atlanta, Georgia, Wayne Williams is convicted of murdering 2 children, and given 2 consecutive life terms.

A ground breaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, DC.

The Weather Channel (United States) airs on cable television for the first time.

A Unabomber bomb explodes in the computer science department at Vanderbilt University; secretary Janet Smith is injured.

Indianapolis 500: In what Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson and Speedway public address announcer Tom Carnegie later call the greatest moment in the track's history, 1973 winner Gordon Johncock wins his second race over 1979 winner Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds, the closest finish to that date, after Mears draws alongside Johncock with a lap remaining, after erasing a seemingly insurmountable advantage of more than 11 seconds in the final 10 laps.

Cal Ripken starts the first game of what will eventually become his record-breaking consecutive games played streak of 2,632.

President Reagan becomes the first American chief executive to address a joint session of the British Parliament.

Lunar Eclipse - Umbral duration 236min and total duration 106min, the longest of the 20th century

The Tylenol scare is sparked when 7 people in the Chicago area die after ingesting capsules laced with potassium cyanide.

The Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World opens to the public for the first time.

Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).

University of California, Berkeley executes "The Play" in a college football game against Stanford. Completing a wacky 57-yard kickoff return that includes five laterals, Kevin Moen runs through Stanford band members who had prematurely come onto the field. His touchdown stands and California wins 25-20.

Thriller album by Michael Jackson is released, becoming the biggest selling album of all time in entertainment history.

At the University of Utah, 61-year-old retired dentist Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart (he will live for 112 days with the device).

The first U.S. execution by lethal injection is carried out in Texas.

Liposuction is introduced.

Time Magazine's Man of the Year is given for the first time to a non-human, the computer.

Deaths:
John Belushi, American actor (b. 1949)
Randy Rhoads, American guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne (plane crash) (b. 1956)
Satchel Paige, baseball player (b. 1906)
Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)
Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (b. 1915)
Grace Patricia Kelly, American actress and Princess of Monaco (b. 1929)
Will Lee, American actor who played Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street (b. 1908)