1983

January – June

• January 3 – Kilauea on the island of Hawaii begins erupting.
• February 16 – The Ash Wednesday bushfires hit Victoria and South Australia.
• February 28 – The TV Show, M*A*S*H ends with 125 million people watching the last show.
• April 3 – In Mexico, the 2nd festival of the popular Juguemos a Cantar series begins, it ends five weeks later on May 1.
• April 4 – The Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on its maiden voyage: STS-6.
• April 11 – Spain's Seve Ballesteros won the 47th PGA Masters Tournament
• April 13 – Minnesota's largest retailer Target Corporation expands into California, opening 11 stores.^[1]
• April 18
  • The 1983 United States embassy bombing in Beirut kills 63 people.
  • Channel broadcasting is founded by the Disney Channel.
• April 22 – A reactor shut-down due to failure of fuel rods occurs at Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, Russia.
• April 25 – Cold War: Manchester, Maine, U.S., schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov, after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
• May 1 – Jack Catain Jr., an American businessman, marries his third and final wife, Phyllis Sherwood, an American performer, singer and actress who is the widow of Bobby Sherwood, an actor, in Los Angeles, California.
• May 6 – The fake Hitler Diaries are published by Stern magazine.
• May 26 – An earthquake and tsunami hits Honshu, Japan, killing 104 people.
• June 9 – In the UK, Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party scores a landslide election victory over Michael Foot's Labour Party.
• June 18 – Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.

July – December

• July 1 – A North Korean Ilyushin II-62 jet crashes in Guinea-Bissau.
• August 4 – Thomas Sankara takes control in Upper Volta, which he renames Burkina Faso exactly a year later.
• August 21 – Filipino opposition leader Benigno Aquino is assassinated.
• September 1 – Korean Airlines Flight 007 is shot down by the Soviet Union, after it passed over Sakhalin Island, as it had come off-course. All 269 people on board are killed.
• September 19 – St. Kitts and Nevis becomes an independent nation.
• September 27 – The GNU Project is announced publicly on net.unix wizards and net.usoftnewsgroups.
• October 19 – Grenadan prime minister Maurice Bishop, and 40 other people are assassinated in a coup.
• November 11 – Ronald Reagan addressed the Japanese Diet (national legislature).
• November 25- The Great Man Called Suman Was Born.....In Kolkata, Westbengal, India.
• December 10 – Military rule ends in Argentina.
• December 31 – Brunei becomes independent.

Culture

• Compact discs are introduced; vinyl records begin a dramatic decline in sales.
• "Crack" cocaine is first developed.
• Phish forms
• Billie Jean King retires from tennis

January – June

• January 2 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
• January 16 – Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
• January 17 – Yelle, French singer and songwriter
• January 21 – Maryse Ouellet, Canadian professional wrestler
• February 3 – Gabriel Sargissian, Armenian chess Grandmaster
• February 23 – Emily Blunt, English actress
• February 25 – Eduardo da Silva, Brazilian-Croatian footballer
• March 9 – Clint Dempsey, American footballer
• April 1 – Franck Ribéry, French footballer
• April 14 – James McFadden, Scottish footballer
• April 18 - Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player
• April 23 – Taio Cruz, English singer
• May 11 – Matt Leinart, American football player
• May 11 – Holly Valance, Australian actress and singer
• June 8 – Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
• June 19 – Mark Selby, English snooker player
• June 30 – Cheryl Cole, English singer (Girls Aloud)

July – December

• July 5 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
• August 6 – Robin van Persie, Dutch footballer
• August 14 – Mila Kunis, Russian-American actress
• August 18 – Mika, Lebanese-English singer
• August 18 – Kris Boyd, Scottish footballer
• September 14 – Amy Winehouse, English singer
• September 26 – Ricardo Quaresma, Portuguese footballer
• October 14 – Lin Dan, Chinese badminton player
• October 17 – Ivan Saenko, Russian footballer
• October 21 – Zainab al-Khawaja, Bahraini activist
• November 11 – Philipp Lahm, German footballer
• December 9 – Dariusz Dudka, Polish footballer
• December 15 – Ronnie Radke, American singer
• December 31 – Sayaka Ichii, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

January

• January 18 – Arturo Umberto Illia, 34th President of Argentina (b. 1900)
• January 20 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
• January 24 – George Cukor, American film director and producer (b. 1899)
• January 28 – Frank Forde, Australian politician (b. 1890)
• January 28 – Billy Fury, English singer (b. 1940)

February

• February 4 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (b. 1950)
• February 12 – Eubie Blake, American musician (b. 1887)
• February 25 – Tennessee Williams, American writer (b. 1911)

March

• March 3 – Hergé, Belgian comics writer (b. 1907)
• March 18 – Umberto II of Italy (b. 1904)

April

• April 4 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1899)
• April 15 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch resistance fighter (b. 1892)
• April 25 – Saloma, Malaysian actress and singer, wife of P. Ramlee (b. 1935)
• April 30 – Muddy Waters, American musician (b. 1915)

May

• May 2 - Pridi Banomyong, Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1900)
• May 5 – Anton Buttigieg, 2nd President of Malta (b. 1912)
• May 22 – Idris of Libya (b. 1890)
• May 31 – Jack Dempsey, American heavyweight boxer (b. 1895)

June

July

• July 1 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect (b. 1895)
• July 29 – David Niven, English actor (b. 1910)
• July 29 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (b. 1900)

August

• August 17 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (b. 1896)
• August 21 – Benigno Aquino Jr., Filipino politician (b. 1932)

September

• September 1 – Larry McDonald, American politician (b. 1935)
• September 25 – Leopold III of Belgium (b. 1901)

October

• October 19 – Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1944)

November

December

• December 13 – Leora Dana, American actress (b. 1923)
• December 25 – Joan Miró, Spanish artist (b. 1893)
• December 28 – Dennis Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (b. 1944)

• National Lampoon's Vacation
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
• Tootsie
• Trading Places
• WarGames
• Superman III
• Flashdance
• Staying Alive
• Octopussy
• Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr
• 48 Hrs.
• Risky Business, starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay
• The Verdict
• Jaws 3-D
• Never Say Never Again
• The Outsiders

• "99 Luftballons" (99 Red Balloons) – Nena
• "1999" – Prince
• "2000 Miles" – The Pretenders
• "Add It Up" – Violent Femmes
• "Africa" – Toto
• "All Night Long (All Night)" – Lionel Richie
• "All Time High" – Rita Coolidge
• "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" – Naked Eyes
• "Another State Of Mind" – Social Distortion
• "Australiana" – Austen Tayshus #1 (a)
• "Baby, Come to Me" – Patti Austin with James Ingram
• "Baby Jane" – Rod Stewart
• "Bad Boys" – Wham!
• "Bad Day" – Carmel
• "Beat It" – Michael Jackson
• "Billie Jean" – Michael Jackson
• "Blind Vision" – Blancmange
• "Blister in the Sun" – Violent Femmes
• "Bloodstone" – Judas Priest
• "Blue Monday" – New Order
• "Blue World" – The Moody Blues
• "Bop Girl – Pat Wilson #1 (a)
• "Boxerbeat" – JoBoxers
• "Breaking Us In Two" – Joe Jackson
• "Buffalo Soldier" – Bob Marley and the Wailers
• "Buried Treasure" – Kenny Rogers
• "Burning Down the House" – Talking Heads
• "Calling Your Name" – Marilyn
• "Candy Girl" – New Edition
• "Can't Get Used To Losing You" – The Beat
• "Chance" – Big Country
• "Change" – Tears for Fears
• "China Girl" – David Bowie
• "Chinese Cafe" – Joni Mitchell
• "Church of the Poison Mind" – Culture Club
• "Club Tropicana" – Wham!
• "Come Back And Stay" – Paul Young
• "Cruel Summer" – Bananarama
• "Cry Me a River" – Mari Wilson
• "Dark Is The Night" – Shakatak
• "Dear Prudence" – Siouxsie and the Banshees
• "Did You Have To Love Me Like You Do?" – The Coconuts
• "Dirty Laundry" – Don Henley
• "Don't Cry" – Asia
• "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away" – Phil Collins
• "Don't Talk To Me About Love" – Altered Images
• "Double Dutch" – Malcolm McLaren
• "Down Under" – Men at Work
• "Drop The Pilot" – Joan Armatrading
• "Electric Avenue" – Eddy Grant
• "Every Breath You Take" – The Police
• "Everyday I Write The Book" – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
• "Everything Counts" – Depeche Mode
• "Family Man" – Hall & Oates
• "Femme" – Dalida
• "Fields of Fire (400 Miles)" – Big Country
• "Flashdance... What a Feeling" – Irene Cara
• "Garden Party" – Marillion
• "Gimme All Your Lovin'" – ZZ Top
• "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" – Cyndi Lauper
• "Give It Up" – KC and the Sunshine Band
• "Gloria" – Laura Branigan
• "Gold" – Spandau Ballet
• "He Knows You Know" – Marillion
• "Heartache Avenue" – The Maisonettes
• "Hold Me Now" – Thompson Twins
• "Hungry Like the Wolf" – Duran Duran
• "I Cannot Believe It's True" – Phil Collins
• "I Don't Care Anymore" – Phil Collins
• "I Don't Remember(Live)" – Peter Gabriel
• "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" – Elton John
• "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" – Culture Club
• "I'm Still Standing" – Elton John
• "In a Big Country" – Big Country
• "In the Neighborhood" – Tom Waits
• "I.O.U." – Freeez
• "Is There Something I Should Know?" – Duran Duran
• "Islands in the Stream" – Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
• "It Don't Matter To Me" – Phil Collins
• "It's Raining Men" – The Weather Girls
• "Johnny B. Goode" – Peter Tosh
• "Jump (For My Love)" – The Pointer Sisters
• "Karma Chameleon" – Culture Club
• "Keep Feeling (Fascination)" – The Human League
• "Kiss The Bride" – Elton John
• "Le restaurant italien" – Dalida
• "Les p'tits mots" – Dalida
• "Let's Dance" – David Bowie
• "Let's Stay Together" – Tina Turner
• "Little Red Corvette" – Prince
• "Long Hot Summer" – The Style Council
• "Love Blonde" – Kim Wilde
• "Love is a Battlefield" – Pat Benatar
• "Love Is A Stranger" – Eurythmics
• "Love On Your Side" – Thompson Twins
• "Love Town" – Booker Newberry III
• "Mama" – Genesis
• "Many Rivers To Cross" – UB40
• "Marguerita Time" – Status Quo
• "Market Square Heroes" – Marillion
• "Modern Love" – David Bowie
• "Moonlight Shadow" – Mike Oldfield
• "Mourir sur scène" – Dalida
• "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" – Bananarama
• "New Frontier" – Donald Fagen
• "New Song" – Howard Jones
• "New Year's Day" – U2
• "Nobody's Diary" – Yazoo
• "Oblivious" – Aztec Camera
• "One On One" – Hall & Oates
• "Only For Love" – Limahl
• "Only You" – The Flying Pickets
• "Ooh To Be Ah" – Kajagoogoo
• "Our Lips Are Sealed" – Fun Boy Three
• "Owner of a Lonely Heart" – Yes
• "Photograph" – Def Leppard
• "Pills and Soap" – The Imposter
• "Radio Free Europe" – R.E.M.
• "Reckless" – Australian Crawl #1
• "Red Red Wine" – UB40
• Relax – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• "Right By Your Side" – Eurythmics
• "Rio" – Duran Duran
• "Rip It Up" – Orange Juice
• "Rock And Roll Is King" – Electric Light Orchestra
• "Rockit" – Herbie Hancock
• "Rosanna" – Toto
• "Save a Prayer" – Duran Duran
• "Say, Say, Say" – Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney
• "Screaming for Vengeance" – Judas Priest
• "Send Me An Angel" – Real Life
• "Sharp Dressed Man" – ZZ Top
• "She Works Hard For The Money" – Donna Summer
• "Shiny Shiny" – Haysi Fantazee
• "Shipbuilding" – Robert Wyatt
• "Sign Of The Times" – The Belle Stars
• "Soul Inside" – Soft Cell
• "Speak Like A Child" – The Style Council
• "Steppin' Out" – Joe Jackson
• "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" – Eurythmics
• "Synchronicity 2" – The Police
• "Tell Her About It" – Billy Joel
• "Talking In Your Sleep" – The Romantics
• "Temptation" – Heaven 17
• "Tender Is The Night" – Jackson Browne
• "That's All" – Genesis
• "The Big Apple" – Kajagoogoo
• "The Celtic Soul Brothers" – Dexy's Midnight Runners
• "The Chinese Way" – Level 42
• "The Cutter" – Echo and the Bunnymen
• "The First Picture Of You" – The Lotus Eaters
• "The Love Cats" – The Cure
• "The Safety Dance" – Men Without Hats
• "The Shape You're In" – Eric Clapton
• "The Story Of The Blues" – Wah!
• "The Sun Goes Down(Living It Up)" – Level 42
• "The Walk" – The Cure
• "They Don't Know" – Tracey Ullman
• "This Is The Day" – The The
• "Thriller" – Michael Jackson
• "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" – Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
• "Too Shy" – Kajagoogoo
• "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – Bonnie Tyler
• "True" – Spandau Ballet
• "True Love Ways" – Cliff Richard
• "Tunnel Of Love" – Fun Boy Three
• "Twisting By The Pool" – Dire Straits
• "Under Attack" – ABBA
• "Undercover of the Night" – The Rolling Stones
• "Union Of The Snake" – Duran Duran
• "Up Where We Belong" – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
• "Uptown Girl" – Billy Joel
• "Vintage'77(EP)" – The Heartbreakers
• "Vision In Blue" – Ultravox
• "A Volar"- Menudo
• "Walk Out To Winter" – Aztec Camera
• "Walkin' The Line" – Brass Construction
• "Watching You Watching Me" – David Grant
• "We Are Detective" – Thompson Twins
• "We've Got Tonight" Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
• "What Is Love?" – Howard Jones
• "What Kinda Boy You're Lookin' For(Girl)" – Hot Chocolate
• "Wherever I Lay My Hat(That's My Home)" – Paul Young
• "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" – Grandmaster and Melle Mel
• "Who's That Girl?" – Eurythmics
• "Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning?" – Phil Collins
• "Wings of a Dove" – Madness
• "Wrapped Around Your Finger" – The Police
• "You Can't Hurry Love" – Phil Collins

• The Anubis Gates – Tim Powers
• Changes – Danielle Steel
• Christine – Stephen King
• Cold Heaven – Anita Brian Moore
• The Colour of Magic – Terry Pratchett
• The Dark Green Tunnel – Allan W. Eckert
• Hollywood Wives – Jackie Collins
• Icebreaker – John Gardner
• Ironweed – William Kennedy
• The Last Warrior Queen – Mary Mackey
• Life and Times of Michael K – J. M. Coetzee
• The Little Drummer Girl – John le Carré
• The Lonesome Gods – Louis L'Amour
• The Loser – Thomas Bernhard
• The Mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Odyssey: A Daring Transatlantic Journey – Susan Oliver
• On Wings of Eagles – Ken Follett
• Pet Sematary – Stephen King
• Phantoms – Dean R. Koontz
• The Piano Teacher – Elfriede Jelinek
• Poland – James A. Michener
• Resistance and Persecution in Passau from 1933 to 1939 – Anna Rosmus
• The Robots of Dawn – Isaac Asimov
• Scandal – A. N. Wilson
• Shame – Salman Rushdie
• A Time for Judas – Morley Callaghan
• White Gold Wielder: Book Three of the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant – Stephen R. Donaldson
• Winter's Tale – Mark Helprin
• Worstward Ho – Samuel Beckett