The Berlin wall comes down.
What were the main events in the previous century that shaped the way we live today?
We've looked back over the past 100 years and compiled a list of events, inventions and social changes that may have affected the present and possibly the future.
1980
Voyager I, a NASA probe, explores Saturn.
Sony and Phillips invent the compact disc (CD).
John Lennon of the Beatles shot dead in New York City.
1981
IBM sells its first personal computer. The operating system, MS-DOS, was developed by Bill Gates's Microsoft.
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) begins to be recognized as an epidemic.
1982
The first space shuttle, Columbia, completes its first mission in space.
In West Germany, Helmut Kohl becomes chancellor.
The first successful heart transplant is performed in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1983
Crack cocaine is developed.
1984
Apple Computer, founded by Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs, releases the MAC.
1985
First personal CD disc player is launched in Japan.
1986
The space shuttle Challenger explodes after lift-off.
In the world's worst nuclear accident, the Chernobyl plant in the Ukraine explodes, polluting the environment and causing around 8,000 short-term deaths.