Some of these historic headlines were exciting, others were depressing, but they were all newsworthy.

We dug into Pennsylvania history to gather some of the biggest state headlines between 1981 and 1996—the years that span the Millennial generation. What happened the year you were born?

1981: First reported case of AIDS in Philadelphia

The first reported case of what would later be called AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was diagnosed in Philadelphia in September 1981, just a few months after New York City reported that gay men were facing an outbreak of a strange and debilitating disease. For the next decade, the epidemic would tear through the country, especially the gay community, until breakthrough treatment was released in the 1990s. The Philadelphia AIDS Oral History Project, organized by the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, collects the stories of people affected and the groups that supported them in the early years of the crisis.

1982: The first emoticon is posted in Pittsburgh

This wasn’t a news headline when it happened in 1982, but given the ubiquity of emoticons today, it would have warranted it! Scott Fahlman, a computer science professor at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, first used a smiley 🙂 and a frowning face 🙁 on a university message board on Sept. 19, 1982. Emoticons soon caught on—first across the university, and then around the world.

1983: Philadelphia 76ers win the NBA Championship

In May 1983, the Philadelphia 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers to claim the 1983 NBA national championship. The 1983 title remains the Sixers’ most recent championship win.

1984: Federal government approves $42 million Centralia relocation package

In 1962, an underground fire in an abandoned mine began burning in the Pennsylvania town of Centralia. By the 1980s, residents were reporting health problems due to carbon monoxide from the fire, and a local child fell—and was saved—from a deadly sinkhole that opened in a backyard. Finally, in 1984, the federal government passed legislation offering buyouts to help Centralia residents move, which most accepted. The robust relocation effort hastened the city’s abandonment, and Centralia soon became a symbol of environmental disaster. Meanwhile, the mine fire is expected to continue burning for hundreds of years.

1985: Police bomb MOVE house in Philadelphia

In a shocking incident, the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb on a home occupied by the radical activist group MOVE, killing six activists and five of their children. The bombing took place in a residential neighborhood and led to a fire that destroyed more than 60 homes in the predominantly Black community. In 2020, the Philadelphia City Council formally apologized for the “immeasurable and enduring harm” the bombing caused.

1986: Pittsburgh flexes its labor muscles

In 1986, more than 40,000 building trades workers marched in Pittsburgh to protest the hiring of non-union labor to renovate the former Pennsylvania Railroad Station. The year also saw the beginning of a six-month strike of U.S. Steel workers. It was the longest work stoppage to ever disrupt the steel industry, which was already in decline.

1987: Pennsylvania state treasurer shocks the state on live TV

A day before he was to be sentenced for a bribery scandal, Pennsylvania State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer called a press conference at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, during which he read a prepared statement declaring his innocence. He concluded his speech by taking his own life, fatally shooting himself in front of reporters and news cameras. The horrific incident shocked both the state and the country, and spurred questions about the role and responsibility of the media when covering tragic events.

1988: Oil spill occurs in the Monongahela River 

In 1988, an oil storage tank owned by Ashland Oil failed and spilled more than a million gallons of oil into southwestern Pennsylvania’s Monongahela River. The incident, which occurred roughly 25 miles south of Pittsburgh, left thousands of Pittsburgh residents without water and one million people in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania with contaminated water. The oil spill also claimed the lives of thousands of water birds, fish, and other animals.

1989: JFK Stadium, famous for 1985 Live Aid concert, is officially condemned

Music history was made at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia when Live Aid held its U.S.-based concert there in 1985, featuring major acts such as The Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Run-DMC, and Tina Turner. Live Aid, which hosted roughly 90,000 fans in Philly, raised millions in famine aid for Ethiopia and launched a trend of benefit concerts for different causes. By 1989, JFK Stadium had deteriorated to the point of being deemed unsafe and condemned; it was officially demolished in 1992.

1990: Landmark Pennsylvania anti-abortion law goes into effect

In 1990, an anti-abortion law signed by Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey Sr., which the American Civil Liberties Union called “the most dangerous abortion bill in the country,” went into effect—it would quickly be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court. The resulting case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, affirmed the right to an abortion in 1992, but ruled that states could regulate abortions as long as they didn’t create an “undue burden” for those looking to receive one. The decision would set precedent for abortion rights for decades—until the Supreme Court struck down both it and Roe v. Wade in 2022.

1991: Senator John Heinz dies in a plane crash

United States senator from Pennsylvania, John Heinz, died in a plane crash in 1991 at the age of 52. Heinz had been a U.S. senator since 1977. His legacy has been cemented by several Pennsylvania institutions that bear his name, including Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, and the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Philadelphia.

1992: The Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups 

In 1991, the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League. In 1992, the team—again led by team captain Mario Lemieux—overcame a 1-4 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in a row.

1993: Storm of the Century hits Pennsylvania

In 1993, a blizzard known as the “Storm of the Century” struck parts of Pennsylvania and the eastern United States. In the commonwealth, thundersnow was reported during the blizzard, and some communities saw snow totals of over 40 inches. At least 38 Pennsylvanians died due to the historic storm.

1994: NAFTA takes effect

The North American Free Trade Agreement, signed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, went into effect on January 1, 1994. The treaty, which established free trade between Mexico, the U.S., and Canada, resulted in increased Pennsylvania exports to Mexico and Canada, but also led to substantial job losses across the state, particularly in manufacturing. One study posited that between 1993 and 2002, trade with Mexico and Canada cost Pennsylvania more than 38,000 jobs. 

1995: Philadelphia police misconduct scandal shocks the country, does not shock North Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Police Department had already been considered to have a “history of favoritism, corruption, and brutality,” per a task force that studied the department after the 1985 MOVE bombing, but the department’s 1995 scandal was one of its worst. In 1995, six officers from the 39th district—known as the “dirty-ninth” district among residents of the North Philly neighborhood—pleaded guilty to corruption charges that included planting evidence, robbery, lying under oath, and conducting illegal searches. Due to the case against the officers, hundreds of convictions were overturned, and more than 100 individuals were released from prison.

1996: Flooding leads to Harrisburg bridge collapse

Just three years after the 1993 Storm of the Century, Pennsylvania faced another severe winter storm in 1996. Snowmelt from the storm, combined with additional rains, flooded the Susquehanna River. Ice floes along the swollen river slammed into Harrisburg’s Walnut Street Bridge, destroying a portion of the truss bridge’s western span and causing it to collapse. The western span was not restored, but the eastern span, which connects downtown Harrisburg to City Island, is one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world.