* 1980 – Matthew Carey, American actor

* 1980 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper

* 1980 – Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish ski racer

* 1980 – Samuel Doe takes control of Liberia in a coup d ' état, ending over 130 years of minority Americo-Liberian rule over the country.

* 1980 – Terry Fox begins his " Marathon of Hope " at St. John's, Newfoundland.

* 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer-songwriter ( Westlife )

* 1980 – Erik Mongrain, Canadian composer and guitarist

* 1980 – Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

* 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer

* 1980 – Luis Scola, Argentinean basketball player

* 1912 – Gloria Guinness, Mexican writer and editor ( d. 1980 )

* 1980 – Neha Dhupia, Indian model and actress

* 1980 – Kyle Lowder, American actor

* 1907 – László Heller, Hungarian engineer ( d. 1980 )

* 1980 – Danny Collins, Welsh footballer

* 1980 – Monique Ganderton, Canadian actress and stunt-woman

* 1980 – András Horváth, Hungarian footballer

* 1980 – Charles McCarthy, American mixed martial artist

* 1980 – Wilber Pan, American-Taiwanese singer, producer, and actor

* 1980 – Seneca Wallace, American football player

* 1896 – Erich Hückel, German physicist ( d. 1980 )

* 1896 – Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist ( d. 1980 )

* 1980 – Texas Battle, American actor

* 1980 – Nuria Cabanillas, Canadian-Spanish gymnast

* 1980 – Charlie David, Canadian actor

* 1913 – Robert Hayden, American poet ( d. 1980 )

* The first technical design study of a self-replicating interstellar probe was published in a 1980 paper by Robert Freitas

He received accolades for his portrayal of Sydney Carton in a made for television version of A Tale of Two Cities ( 1980 ), co-starred with Dennis Hopper in The Osterman Weekend ( 1983 ), which was based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name, and co-starred with Goldie Hawn in Protocol ( 1984 ).

* Robert L. Forward, Dragon's Egg ( 1980 )

* 1980 – Robert Gallery, American football player

* Robert S. Boynton-Chemistry and technology of lime and limestone-Wiley ( 1980 )-578 pages-ISBN 0471027715

This has been thought to make it suitable for human – computer communication, which led Robert A. Heinlein to mention the language in his science fiction novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress ( 1966 ), and as a fully-fledged computer language in The Number of the Beast ( 1980 ).

In 1980, before the finds from the Mary Rose, Robert E. Kaiser published a paper stating that there were five known surviving longbows:

Scorsese is hailed as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers of all time, directing landmark films such as Mean Streets ( 1973 ), Taxi Driver ( 1976 ), Raging Bull ( 1980 ), and Goodfellas ( 1990 ) – all of which he collaborated on with actor and close friend Robert De Niro.

This idea of the infinite, of the unreal, of the innocence dying ..." — Robert Smith 2003 ( about the Peake character that inspired the early Cure song The Drowning Man in 1980 )

Subsequently, the Lancaster House talks were held and Robert Mugabe was elected leader of an independent Zimbabwe at the inaugural 1980 election.

* In one of Robert A. Heinlein's last novels, The Number of the Beast ( 1980 ), the heroes flee Earth in a car capable of flight in six dimensions and find several alternate versions of Mars, one which had been colonised by the British and another which is an improbable combination of Burroughs ' fabulous Barsoom with the home planet of the vicious Martians whose invasion of Earth was described by Wells.

* 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister.

In October 1980, Kim Il-sung and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe signed an agreement for an exchange of soldiers.

* 1910 – Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher ( d. 1980 )

Robert and Virginia Heinlein in Tahiti, 1980.

New elections were held in 1980, and Zimbabwe gained recognized independence in April 1980, with Robert Mugabe as prime minister.

Robert Kronemeyer in 1980 published Overcoming Homosexuality, while research psychologist Elizabeth Moberly in 1983 published Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic.

* 1980 – Robert Hoffman, American actor

* Robert McIntyre ( 1958 – 1980 )

A classic theoretical study of replicators in space is the 1980 NASA study of autotrophic clanking replicators, edited by Robert Freitas.

* Advanced Automation for Space Missions, a 1980 NASA study edited by Robert Freitas

The plot of The Magnificent Seven directly inspired the 1980 sci-fi film, Battle Beyond the Stars, which included actor Robert Vaughn as one of the seven mercenaries hired to save a farming planet from alien marauders.