Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the 1984–1985 miners' strike, a major event in the history of the British labour movement.
Joining the NUM at the age of nineteen in 1957, Scargill became one of its leading activists in the late 1960s. He led an unofficial strike in 1969, and played a key organising role during the strikes of 1972 and 1974, the latter of which played a part in the downfall of Edward Heath's Conservative government.
A decade later, Scargill led the NUM through the 1984–1985 miners' strike. It turned into a fierce confrontation with the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in which the miners' union was defeated. A former Labour Party member, he is now the party leader of the Socialist Labour Party (SLP), which he founded in 1996.
1985Mar, 3
Arthur Scargill declares that the National Union of Mineworkers' national executive voted to end the longest-running industrial dispute in Great Britain without any peace deal over pit closures.
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Events on 1985
- 10Jan
Daniel Ortega
Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government. - 13May
Philadelphia
Police release a bomb on MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents. - 25May
Tropical cyclone
Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people. - 6Jun
Auschwitz concentration camp
The grave of "Wolfgang Gerhard" is opened in Embu, Brazil; the exhumed remains are later proven to be those of Josef Mengele, Auschwitz's "Angel of Death"; Mengele is thought to have drowned while swimming in February 1979. - 13Sep
Super Mario
Super Mario Bros. is released in Japan for the NES, which starts the Super Mario series of platforming games.