Editing 1980 (section)

=== April ===
{{Main|April 1980}}
* [[April 1]] – The [[Southern African Development Coordination Conference]] (SADCC) is formed in Lusaka, Zambia.
* [[April 2]] – The [[1980 St. Pauls riot|St Pauls riot]] breaks out in [[Bristol]].
* [[April 7]] – The United States severs diplomatic relations with [[Iran]] and imposes economic sanctions, following the taking of American hostages on November 4, 1979.
* [[April 10]] – In [[Lisbon]], Portugal, the governments of Spain and the United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between [[Gibraltar]] and Spain (closed since [[1969]]) in [[1985]].
* [[April 12]]
** [[1980 Liberian coup d'état]]: [[Samuel K. Doe]] overthrows the government of [[Liberia]] in a violent ''[[coup d'état]]'', executing President [[William Tolbert]] and ending over 130 years of [[democracy|democratic]] [[presidential succession]] in that country.
** [[Terry Fox]] begins his [[Marathon of Hope]], a plan to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research, setting off from [[St. John's, Newfoundland]] and running westward.
* [[April 14]] – [[Iron Maiden]]'s debut self-titled album ''[[Iron Maiden (album)|Iron Maiden]]'' is released in the U.K.
* [[April 18]] – [[Zimbabwe]] gains [[de jure]] independence from the United Kingdom with [[Robert Mugabe]] as its first Prime Minister.
* [[April 24]]–[[April 25|25]] – [[Operation Eagle Claw]], a commando mission in [[Iran]] to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bowden|first=Mark|title=The Desert One Debacle|date=May 2006|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/05/the-desert-one-debacle/304803/2/|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=20 September 2013}}</ref>
* [[April 25]] – [[Dan-Air Flight 1008]] crashes in [[Tenerife]], killing all 146 occupants; at the time it was the worst air disaster involving a British-registered aircraft in terms of loss of life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fc6940f0b61346000943/8-1981_G-BDAN.pdf|title=Report No.8/1981 Report on the accident to Boeing 727, G-BDAN on Tenerife, Canary Islands, 25 April 1980|date=July 1981|publisher=[[Air Accidents Investigation Branch]]|access-date=2019-06-25}}</ref>
* [[April 26]] – [[Louise and Charmian Faulkner disappearance|Louise and Charmian Faulkner]] disappear from outside their flat in [[St Kilda, Victoria]], Australia.
* [[April 27]] – The [[Dominican embassy siege]] in [[Colombia]] ends with all remaining hostages released after the guerrillas are allowed to escape to [[Cuba]].
* [[April 30]]
** [[Iranian Embassy siege]]: Six Iranian-born terrorists take over the Iranian embassy in London, England. [[Special Air Service|SAS]] retakes the Embassy on May 5; one terrorist survives.
** Queen [[Juliana of the Netherlands]] abdicates and her daughter [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|Beatrix]] accedes to the throne.<ref>{{cite book|title=Who's who in European Institutions and Organizations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SsNgAAAAIAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Who's Who, the International Red Series Verlag GmbH|page=44}}</ref>