Millennials, here’s the biggest Virginia news story from the year you were born

Whether it was 1981, 1996, or somewhere in between, millennials can discover the top Virginia news story from the year they were born. 

From gubernatorial elections to catastrophic natural disasters, Virginia has experienced significant news events that have shaped its history. For millennials born between 1981 and 1996, here’s a look at the most impactful Virginia story from each birth year.

1981

Charles S. “Chuck” Robb, son-in-law of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, was elected governor of Virginia in a significant win for Democrats. Robb defeated Republican Marshall Coleman with 53.5% of the vote, leading a Democratic sweep of statewide offices.

A moderate Democrat, Robb helped revitalize his party’s fortunes in Virginia after years of Republican dominance. His election ushered in three consecutive Democratic governorships. During his tenure, Robb appointed a record number of women and minorities to state positions, including John Charles Thomas, the state’s first African American Supreme Court justice.

1982

In what many consider the most shocking upset in college basketball history, the Chaminade Silverswords defeated the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers 77-72 on Dec. 23, 1982, in Hawaii.

The unbeaten and No. 1 Virginia team, led by 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson, had already beaten Georgetown with Patrick Ewing and defeated Houston with Hakeem Olajuwon in Japan. The Cavaliers had scheduled what was intended to be an easy victory over Chaminade during a stop in Hawaii on their way home.

Chaminade, an NAIA school with fewer than 900 students, had a part-time coach who also worked as a junior high school counselor. The half-empty arena witnessed history as the undersized Silverswords toppled the mighty Cavaliers in what became known as college basketball’s greatest David versus Goliath moment.

1983

On Halloween 1983, arson ignited what would become one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. The Rhinehart tire fire in Frederick County burned over 5 million tires, creating a 4,500-foot-tall plume of smoke visible in four states.

The fire at the Rhinehart tire reuse and disposal facility burned for nine months, finally extinguishing itself in July 1984. It produced nearly 700,000 gallons of oil and significant air pollution while threatening contamination of nearby streams feeding into the Potomac River.

Cleanup efforts took more than 20 years and cost $12 million. At the time, the fire was 10 times larger than any previous tire fire in the United States.

1984

On May 31, 1984, six death row inmates orchestrated one of the boldest prison escapes in U.S. history from the supposedly escape-proof Mecklenburg Correctional Center.

Led by the infamous Briley brothers of Richmond, who were convicted of a murder spree that left 11 people dead, the inmates meticulously studied guard procedures before executing their plan. After overpowering officers and gaining access to the control room, they changed into guard uniforms and pretended to be officers to lure other staff members.

It took nearly three weeks to recapture all six escapees, with Central Virginia in a state of fear during the manhunt. The escape had significant ramifications for Virginia’s correctional system.

1985

What is still considered one of the worst natural disasters in Southwest Virginia’s history struck in early November 1985. Hurricane Juan made landfall in Florida before stalling and dumping massive amounts of rain across the region.

On Nov. 4, the Roanoke airport recorded 4.25 inches of rain in just three hours. Already saturated soil from previous storms caused the Roanoke River to spike seven feet in a single hour, eventually reaching an all-time record crest of 23.55 feet—over 13 feet above flood stage.

The catastrophic flooding killed 62 people and damaged more than 3,000 homes and businesses. Downtown Roanoke’s Market Square was submerged under approximately four feet of water.

1986

On July 1, 1986, Jessie Rattley was sworn in as mayor of Newport News, becoming the city’s first female mayor and first Black mayor. The ceremony was attended by then-Lieutenant Governor Douglas Wilder.

Before her historic election as mayor, Rattley had already broken barriers as the city’s first Black council member 16 years earlier. She had also served as president of the National League of Cities in 1979, becoming the first Black person and first woman to hold that position.

Rattley was a passionate educator who founded the Peninsula Business College, which helped hundreds of Black Virginians secure jobs during a time of workforce inequality. She was a civil rights pioneer who even served as an unofficial advisor to President Jimmy Carter on urban affairs.

1987

An early-season nor’easter surprised the region on Veterans Day 1987, dumping 11.5 inches of snow at National Airport—a record for November. The storm’s unusual timing in the first half of November created particularly treacherous conditions, as many trees still had leaves and fallen foliage had not yet been cleared.

The heaviest snow band fell east of Washington, D.C., with some suburbs in Prince George’s County receiving 14 inches. The combination of heavy snow and fallen leaves created exceptionally hazardous travel conditions throughout the region.

1988

On December 16, 1988, 16-year-old Nicholas Elliot walked into Atlantic Shores Christian School in Virginia Beach with a semi-automatic handgun hidden in his backpack. By mid-morning, a 41-year-old teacher had been shot dead, and another teacher had been struck by two nine-millimeter bullets but survived.

Two other teachers narrowly escaped being shot. One fled in a zigzag pattern through the school yard as Nicholas fired repeatedly. Another teacher tackled Nicholas, likely saving the lives of students who were praying in a classroom.

The shooting received limited national coverage but highlighted growing concerns about gun violence in educational settings.

1989

In one of the tightest elections in Virginia history, Democrat Doug Wilder defeated Republican Marshall Coleman to become the first Black governor in United States history. The race was extremely close, with Wilder winning by just 50.1% to Coleman’s 49.8%—a margin of approximately 6,000 votes.

Both candidates invested heavily in television advertising during the contentious campaign. Wilder’s historic victory represented a significant milestone in American politics.

1990

After nearly two centuries of operation, the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond closed its doors. The prison, originally proposed by Thomas Jefferson, had been designed by Benjamin Latrobe, who later served as the architect for the U.S. Capitol.

Throughout its history, the penitentiary gained notoriety for poor conditions. In 1919, the State Board of Charities and Corrections called it a “torture chamber.” In 1968, it was compared to “a Dachau on Spring Street,” and by 1990, the ACLU had labeled it “the most shameful prison in America” following an inspection that revealed filthy, roach-infested facilities with frequent plumbing failures.

Jefferson had envisioned the prison as a place of discipline and reform rather than vengeance, but the facility’s conditions often fell far short of these ideals during its long history. It was demolished the following year. 

1991

A mild earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale rattled central Virginia early in the morning of Feb. 1, 1991. The tremor, centered in rural Goochland County between Gum Springs and the James River, shook residents awake around 2 a.m.

The quake was felt across a 100-mile radius from Richmond to Staunton. Residents reported walls shaking, horses galloping in panic, and merchandise falling from store shelves. The earthquake was followed by three minor aftershocks that registered below two on the Richter scale.

Though there was minimal damage and no injuries reported, the proximity to Virginia Power’s North Anna nuclear plant raised concerns from critics. Company officials stated the plant was designed to withstand much larger seismic events and did not conduct an inspection.

1992

On the evening of Aug. 12, 1992, Amtrak’s southbound Colonial train derailed near Newport News, injuring approximately 80 people. The FBI investigated evidence of sabotage, determining that a switch had been tampered with.

Investigators found that the lock securing the switch box had been broken. The engineer reported seeing a misaligned switch moments after passing a green signal, suggesting the saboteur had tripped the switch just before the train’s arrival.

1993

On Aug. 6, 1993, an unprecedented outbreak of 18 tornadoes touched down across southern Virginia in a single day. Before this event, Virginia averaged only six tornadoes per year.

The most devastating tornado first touched down in Petersburg around 1:30 p.m., quickly growing to F4 strength as it moved through the historic district. The tornado destroyed numerous brick buildings before crossing into Colonial Heights, where it severely damaged a strip mall and nearly destroyed a Walmart. Three women were killed at the Walmart location.

As the tornado moved through Prince George County, it struck a sand and gravel company, killing an employee when the building’s second floor collapsed. In total, the outbreak resulted in four deaths, 256 injuries, and $52.5 million in damages.

1994

Just before midnight on June 30, 1994, Virginia Beach detectives responded to what was then the worst crime scene in the city’s history. Inside a bar, they found four people—the owner, two employees, and a patron—shot to death in a robbery with the cash register emptied.

However, this crime held the grim distinction for only three weeks. On July 22, detectives discovered four more bodies in a Seaboard Road house, where a 16-year-old boy was accused of robbing and shooting four family members, including his bedridden grandmother.

These back-to-back quadruple homicides contributed to Virginia Beach setting a record of 36 murders that year, surpassing the previous high of 29 in 1991.

1995

Between June 25 and 27, 1995, excessive rainfall and flash flooding across western Virginia resulted in three fatalities and millions of dollars in damage. Two particular mesoscale convective systems on June 27 were primarily responsible for the severe flooding.

The second system, known as the “Madison storm,” developed over Madison County and remained quasi-stationary along the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains for nearly eight hours, producing over 600mm of rain. The heavy downpours inundated the Rapidan River’s watershed throughout the morning and early afternoon, causing record flooding.

1996

The last time Richmond received a Blizzard Warning was during the massive storm from January 6 to 8, 1996. The event dropped a foot of snow at Richmond International Airport, with even higher accumulations in western Henrico County.

The blizzard closed state and federal government offices for two days, while schools remained closed much longer—Chesterfield County schools paused for a full nine days. Some parts of the Shenandoah Valley received over three feet of snow.

The storm resulted in 18 fatalities across Virginia and has become a notable event, marking the most snow received in the Richmond area in the last 30 years. However, historical records show that ten previous storms have had greater snowfall totals.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Related: Notable Weather Events From The Year You Were Born

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