• The murder of John Lennon continues to resonate with fans 30 years later.Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  From tragedies to triumphs, the 1980s was a decade filled with momentous events that shaped the United States and the world for years to come. Many people fondly remember the music and fashion of the Eighties, which changed popular culture, but the decade also witnessed political events with far-reaching consequences and significance on a global scale.
  
  

Murder and Mayhem

• High-profile deaths and assassination attempts rocked the country in the early 1980's, beginning with the murder of John Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980. The pop music world mourned its loss and conspiracy theories abounded after Mark David Chapman shot and killed the singer, writer and former Beatle in front of his New York City apartment.
  
  John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981. Hinckley shot both Reagan and James Brady, White House press secretary, in Washington. Reagan made a full recovery and experienced a surge in popularity, while Brady remained partly paralyzed and went on to help persuade Congress to pass the "Brady Bill" which established mandatory background checks and five-day waiting periods for would-be gun buyers.
  
  Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish citizen, attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981. The pope was blessing crowds in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City when he was shot four times. He made a full recovery, but the bulletproof "Popemobile" still used by popes was born of this incident.
  
  

Video Killed Radio Star

• They may not have killed radio, but music videos, a new creative art form, were shown on MTV and made an indelible mark on popular culture in the United States in the Eighties. MTV premiered at one minute after midnight on August 1, 1981, and turned the music world upside down. The cable television channel also quickly became a leading source for both pop culture and entertainment news. The first video aired was "Video Killed the Radio Star," by the Buggles. MTV introduced the concept of video jockeys, or "VJs," and helped propel the careers of popular and influential performers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson.
  
  

Fall of the Wall

• The fall of the Berlin Wall was the culmination of several events that occurred during the Eighties to set the stage for big changes in communist countries. In 1984, the Soviet Union got a new leader, Mikail Gorbachev, whose policy of "perestroika," or openness, and other attempts to better integrate the USSR into the world community ultimately led to the breakup of the Soviet Union into Russia and other independent republics, and prompted an upheaval of the status quo in other communist countries.
  
  In 1989, communist Poland founded its first free labor union, Hungary opened its doors to Austria, and East Germany got new leadership. The new government lifted travel restrictions and opened the border at the Berlin Wall. On Nov. 9, 1989, the world watched as the Berlin Wall, a long-enduring symbol of the Cold War, fell.
  
  The wall was built in 1961 as a means of preventing East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. Shortly after the wall was kocked down by exultant Germans, East Germany's Communist leader was removed, the cabinet resigned and democratic elections were held. On Oct. 3, 1990, East Germany and West Germany reunited as one country, Germany, for the first time since World War II.