It also saw the wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York to Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey, and the Queen becoming the first British monarch to visit the People's Republic of China.
Bus deregulation begans in Sheffield and across the UK in October, and four million people applied for shares in British Gas.
On television, Neighbours launched on BBC1, a year after starting in Australia, and game show Catchphrase began on ITV hosted by Roy Walker.
GCSE courses replaced O Levels and the Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh.
In Sheffield, Jessica Ennis-Hill, later to become Olympic heptathlete, was born on January 28.
It was a year of royal visits from the Queen, Princess Anne and Princess Diana.
And workers at Sheffield Forgemasters head back to work after a 16-week strike.