The first five news events I actually remember (and my corresponding ages) were:

1. June 1, 1979: the Sonics win the NBA title. Age: 5 years.
2. May 19, 1980: Mount St. Helens erupts. Age: 6 years.
3. Fall 1980: the Iran hostage crisis grinds to the end of its first year. Age: 6 years 2 months.
4. November 4, 1980: Ronald Reagan is elected president. Age: 6 years 6 months.
5. December 8, 1980: John Lennon is shot. Age: 6 years 7 months.

A few things strike me about my list: first of all, that the first two items are local. They say all politics is local: are all current events local to a kindergartner? If it didn’t happen to me, it’s too abstract to count?

It’s also interesting to me what isn’t on the list: the 1979 oil crisis, Jonestown, Afghanistan, the Olympics. Not everything that touches grown-up life touches children, and in some cases, adults may be sheltering the kids from disturbing events and images. I have no memory of the 1978 policy change by the LDS Church that allowed black Mormons to be ordained to the priesthood–was I just too young to have the memory stick with me, or did adults around me downplay the news to shield me from the adult (and embarrassing, to progressively-minded Mormons) issues involved?

It also looks like there’s a tipping point at which either (a) previously oblivious kids start noticing everything about the outside world, or (b) those memories start sticking for later use in life. If I’d continued the list into spring 1981, it would have been dense with events: Space Shuttle Columbia’s first flight, Reagan getting shot, Charles and Diana’s wedding, the release of Raiders, etc. (Although, if we’re counting movie releases as news events, the drive-in re-release of Star Wars in summer 1979 would have taken the second spot on my list.)

What are the earliest news events you remember? (No fair saying “No, it’s no good. It was a long time ago.”)