February 25 - The European Court of Human Rights ruled that teachers who caned, belted or tawsed children against the wishes of their parents were in breach of the Human Rights Convention.
April 6 - A blizzard unprecedented in size for April dumps 1-2 feet of snow on the northeastern U.S., closing schools and businesses, snarling traffic, and canceling several major league baseball games.
May 25 - Falklands War: the merchant navy ship ''Atlantic Conveyor'' is sunk by an Argentine Exocet missile, killing 12 and depriving British forces of the helicopters intended to be used in the later stages of the conflict.
May 30 - Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and the first nation to enter the alliance since West Germany's admission in 1955.
May 30 - Indianapolis 500: In what Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson and Speedway public address announcer Tom Carnegie later call the greatest moment in the track's history, 1973 winner Gordon Johncock wins his second race over 1979 winner Rick Mears by 0.16 seconds, the closest finish to that date, after Mears draws alongside Johncock with a lap remaining, after erasing a seemingly insurmountable advantage of more than 11 seconds in the final 10 laps.
May 30 - Cal Ripken starts the first game of what will eventually become his record-breaking consecutive games played streak of 2,632.
June 6 - The 1982 Lebanon War begins: Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon in their "Operation Peace for the Galilee," eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
June 24 - British Airways Flight 9 suffers a temporary four-engine flameout and damage to the exterior of the plane, after flying through the otherwise undetected ash plume from Indonesia's Galunggung.
June 25 - The Institute for Puerto Rican Policy is founded in New York City to research and advocate for Puerto Rican and Latino community issues. In 2006, it changes it name to the National Institute for Latino Policy.
July 16 - In New York City, The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $25,000 for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
September 26 - Thermals take Australian parachutist Rich Collins up to 2,800 meters during a jump; he almost blacks out due to lack of oxygen. He releases his main parachute to fall to lower altitude and lands by his reserve parachute.
November 3 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average surges 43.41 points, or 4.25%, to close at 1,065.49, its first all-time high in more than nine years. It last hit a record on January 11, 1973 when the average closed at 1,051.70. The points gain was the biggest ever up to that point.
November 20 - University of California, Berkeley executes "The Play" in a college football game against Stanford. Completing a wacky 57-yard kickoff return that includes five laterals, Kevin Moen runs through Stanford band members who had prematurely come onto the field. His touchdown stands and California wins 25-20.