"Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll": MTV Goes on the Air
On August 1, 1981, MTV signed on at 12:01 a.m. with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll" — and the first video ever aired was the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star."
Tagged: 1980s
The Night Prince William Sound Turned Black
Just after midnight on March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude into Alaska's pristine waters.
Chernobyl: The Night Reactor 4 Exploded
On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 at Chernobyl exploded during a safety test, triggering the worst nuclear disaster in history.
When a Mountain Blew Its Top: The 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption
On May 18, 1980, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake triggered the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the most disastrous volcanic event in U.S. history, killing 57 people.