101 Best 1983 Trivia Questions and Answers

Here is 101 trivia questions and answers based on various categories for the year 1983 is quite a fun task! I’ll break it down into several categories to keep it interesting. Here we go:

Pop Culture (Music, Movies, TV, etc.)

1. Q: Which artist released the hit song “Billie Jean” in 1983?
A: Michael Jackson

2. Q: What 1983 film starred Tom Cruise as a fighter pilot?
A: Top Gun

3. Q: Which popular TV series featured a team of alien detectives known as “Mork and Mindy”?
A: Mork and Mindy

4. Q: In 1983, what was the name of the first music video aired on MTV?
A: Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles

5. Q: Who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1983?
A: Shirley MacLaine for Terms of Endearment

6. Q: Which sitcom debuted in 1983 and starred Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable?
A: The Cosby Show

7. Q: What film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1983?
A: Terms of Endearment

8. Q: In 1983, which British rock band released the album Synchronicity?
A: The Police

9. Q: What hit song by the band Culture Club was released in 1983?
A: “Karma Chameleon”

10. Q: What was the title of Michael Jackson’s 1983 album that contained the hit song “Thriller”?
A: Thriller

Politics and World Events

11. Q: Who was the President of the United States in 1983?
A: Ronald Reagan

12. Q: Which country did the United States invade in 1983, citing the protection of American citizens as a reason?
A: Grenada

13. Q: In 1983, which US president announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)?
A: Ronald Reagan

14. Q: Which Middle Eastern leader was targeted by a US airstrike in 1983, marking a significant event in the Lebanon conflict?
A: Muammar Gaddafi

15. Q: Which country did the Soviet Union invade in 1983, leading to widespread international condemnation?
A: Afghanistan

16. Q: Which prominent world leader was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1983?
A: Margaret Thatcher

17. Q: The bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut took place in which year?
A: 1983

18. Q: Which military conflict was ongoing in Lebanon during 1983?
A: The Lebanese Civil War

19. Q: Which significant cold war event took place in 1983 involving a downed Korean airliner?
A: The Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Flight 007.

20. Q: What was the name of the military operation carried out by the US in Grenada in 1983?
A: Operation Urgent Fury

Sports 1983 Trivia Questions and Answers

21. Q: Who won the 1983 NBA Championship?
A: The Philadelphia 76ers

22. Q: Which athlete won the 1983 Heisman Trophy in college football?
A: Mike Rozier

23. Q: In 1983, who became the first woman to win the Wimbledon singles title in tennis?
A: Martina Navratilova

24. Q: What team won the 1983 World Series in baseball?
A: The Baltimore Orioles

25. Q: Who won the 1983 US Open golf tournament?
A: Larry Nelson

26. Q: In 1983, who broke the world record in the 100-meter dash at the World Championships?
A: Calvin Smith

27. Q: Who was the MVP of the 1983 NBA Finals?
A: Moses Malone

28. Q: What year did the U.S. host the first Women’s World Cup in soccer?
A: 1983

29. Q: Who was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1983?
A: Don Nelson

30. Q: Which NFL team won Super Bowl XVII in 1983?
A: Washington Redskins

Technology 1983 Trivia Questions and Answers

31. Q: Which computer company introduced the first IBM personal computer (PC) in 1983?
A: IBM

32. Q: What video game console was released by Nintendo in 1983 in Japan?
A: The Nintendo Famicom (NES in the U.S.)

33. Q: Which company introduced the first mobile phone in 1983?
A: Motorola

34. Q: What technology was introduced in 1983 that allowed phones to send and receive faxes?
A: Fax machines

35. Q: What was the name of the first major computer virus that began affecting PC systems in 1983?
A: The Brain Virus

36. Q: Which word processor became extremely popular in 1983, leading to the rise of the personal computing era?
A: Microsoft Word

37. Q: In 1983, which company released the first portable CD player?
A: Sony

38. Q: Which internet protocol was developed and first introduced in 1983?
A: TCP/IP

39. Q: Which video game company released the arcade game Dragon’s Lair in 1983?
A: Cinematronics

40. Q: Which operating system was introduced by Microsoft in 1983?
A: MS-DOS 3.0

History 1983 Trivia Questions and Answers

41. Q: What major event in Berlin occurred in 1983 involving a famous wall?
A: The Berlin Wall was still in place during 1983.

42. Q: Who became the first female Prime Minister of Israel in 1983?
A: Golda Meir (Note: She was the 4th, but her influence was significant)

43. Q: Which prominent political figure died in 1983, contributing to a major shift in global politics?
A: Leonid Brezhnev

44. Q: What country became the first to recognize the independence of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1983?
A: United States

45. Q: What famous treaty involving arms control was signed by the U.S. and Soviet Union in 1983?
A: The INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty)

46. Q: Which country was under martial law in 1983 after a military coup?
A: Poland

47. Q: In 1983, which African country saw a major rebellion led by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam?
A: Ethiopia

48. Q: What event marked the biggest in the military history of Argentina in 1983?
A: The end of the Falklands War

49. Q: Which country hosted the 1983 Winter Olympics?
A: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

50. Q: What major arms treaty was agreed upon by President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1983?
A: The INF Treaty

Literature 1983 Trivia Questions and Answers

51. Q: Which famous author published the novel The Right Stuff in 1983?
A: Tom Wolfe

52. Q: What bestselling Stephen King novel was published in 1983?
A: Christine

53. Q: What book written by Alice Walker, about African American women’s struggles, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983?
A: The Color Purple

54. Q: In 1983, which famous author published The Dark Knight Returns?
A: Frank Miller

55. Q: Who wrote The Day After Tomorrow, a novel about the catastrophic consequences of climate change, in 1983?
A: Whitley Strieber

56. Q: Which 1983 science fiction novel was later adapted into a film starring Jeff Bridges?
A: Tron by William C. Dietz

57. Q: What novel by William Peter Blatty was made into a horror film in 1983?
A: Legion

58. Q: Which author released The Talisman in 1983, co-written with Peter Straub?
A: Stephen King

59. Q: What bestselling novel by James A. Michener was released in 1983?
A: The Covenant

60. Q: Which well-known author, famous for his spy thrillers, released The Cardinal of the Kremlin in 1983?
A: Tom Clancy

Science and Nature

61. Q: What was the name of NASA’s space shuttle that was launched for the first time in 1983?
A: Challenger

62. Q: Which American scientist invented the laser printer, which was introduced in 1983?
A: Gary Starkweather

63. Q: In 1983, which major medical breakthrough was made regarding the treatment of HIV/AIDS?
A: The discovery of the HIV virus as the cause of AIDS.

64. Q: Which famous physicist’s work on black holes was published posthumously in 1983?
A: Stephen Hawking

65. Q: What natural disaster occurred in Mexico in 1983, causing widespread devastation?
A: The 1983 Mexican earthquake

66. Q: What new species of dinosaur, Parasaurolophus, was named in 1983?
A: Parasaurolophus

67. Q: Which space mission took place in 1983, studying the Sun using the “Solar Maximum Mission” satellite?
A: Solar Maximum Mission (SMM)

68. Q: What breakthrough in genetics occurred in 1983 involving the cloning of a gene?
A: The first cloning of the human insulin gene

69. Q: In 1983, which group of researchers discovered the importance of a protein called “interleukin-2” in the immune response?
A: The researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

70. Q: Which American space scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1983 for his discovery of the depletion of the ozone layer?
A: Mario Molina (along with Frank Sherwood Rowland and Joseph Farman)

Food and Drink

71. Q: Which popular snack brand introduced Dunkaroos in 1983?
A: General Mills

72. Q: In 1983, what soft drink company introduced the “Diet Coke” brand, marking a new trend in low-calorie sodas?
A: Coca-Cola

73. Q: Which fast food chain introduced the “McNugget” in 1983?
A: McDonald’s

74. Q: What famous beer company released the popular product Michelob Light in 1983?
A: Anheuser-Busch

75. Q: Which candy company introduced Sour Patch Kids in 1983?
A: Mondelez International (formerly known as Kraft Foods)

76. Q: What flavored ice cream did Baskin-Robbins introduce in 1983?
A: “Cappuccino Crunch”

77. Q: Which fruit-flavored drink was first introduced by General Foods in 1983, gaining significant popularity?
A: Kool-Aid (though originally introduced earlier, it had a major marketing push in 1983)

78. Q: In 1983, which company introduced a “Breakfast Burrito” to its menu?
A: Taco Bell

79. Q: What new item did Pizza Hut add to its menu in 1983?
A: The Stuffed Crust Pizza

80. Q: Which coffee chain introduced Iced Coffee in 1983, a now widely popular beverage?
A: Starbucks

Geography and World Capitals

81. Q: Which European country joined the European Union in 1983?
A: Greece

82. Q: What is the capital of Japan, which saw major development during the early 1980s?
A: Tokyo

83. Q: Which African country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1983?
A: Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia)

84. Q: In 1983, which city hosted the first World’s Fair in over a decade?
A: New Orleans, Louisiana (Expo ’83)

85. Q: Which Middle Eastern country was devastated by war in the early 1980s and faced tensions with neighboring countries?
A: Lebanon

86. Q: Which African country gained independence from France in 1983, becoming the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria?
A: The Republic of Guinea-Bissau

87. Q: What was the capital of the Soviet Union in 1983?
A: Moscow

88. Q: What is the capital of Spain, which was the site of major political and cultural events in 1983?
A: Madrid

89. Q: Which country’s capital is Stockholm, which hosted the Nobel Prize ceremonies in 1983?
A: Sweden

90. Q: Which city hosted the 1983 World Youth Day, a Catholic event attended by thousands?
A: Rome, Italy

Famous People

91. Q: Which famous American actress passed away in 1983 due to cancer, remembered for her roles in Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden?
A: Natalie Wood

92. Q: Which professional boxer was defeated by Larry Holmes in a bout that was highly anticipated in 1983?
A: Tim Witherspoon

93. Q: Who became the first woman to serve as the head of the Harvard Law Review in 1983?
A: Elena Kagan

94. Q: What famous singer and actress released the album Let’s Dance in 1983, becoming a global icon?
A: David Bowie

95. Q: Which American astronaut became the first African-American woman to travel into space in 1983?
A: Dr. Mae Jemison

96. Q: Which famous American actor starred in the movie Scarface in 1983, becoming an icon for gangster films?
A: Al Pacino

97. Q: Which comedian, known for his satire, became the host of The Late Show in 1983?
A: David Letterman

98. Q: Which legendary British author, known for works like The Hobbit, passed away in 1983?
A: J.R.R. Tolkien

99. Q: What famous American director, known for E.T. and Jurassic Park, had his blockbuster *Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom released in 1983?
A: Steven Spielberg

100. Q: Who won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play “Torch Song Trilogy”?
A: Harvey Fierstein

101. Q: Which famous French fashion designer died in 1983, known for his contributions to haute couture and luxury fashion?
A: Yves Saint Laurent