World Events in 1986

This is a list of events that occurred around the world during 1986. Some caused big changes in world thought, some jog our memories of a different time, and some just make you go hmmmm....

January - March

  • January 19 - The first PC virus, Brain, starts to spread.
  • January 20 - The first federal Martin Luther King Day, honoring Martin Luther King Jr., is observed.
  • January 24 - L. Ron Hubbard dies, American writer and founder of Scientology (b. 1911).
  • January 26 - The Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX beating New England Patriots 46-10.
  • January 28 - The spaceshuttle Challenger explodes. All seven astronauts onboard die.
  • February 25 - Election of Corazon Aquino ends corrupt Marcos regime in the Philippines. "Win or lose, we go shopping after the election." - Imelda Marcos.
  • February 27 - Nicole Linkletter born, America's Next Top Model winner, cycle 5.
  • March 30 - James Cagney dies, American actor (b. 1899).

April - June

  • April 5 - 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing: The West Berlin discotheque, a known hangout for United States soldiers, is bombed, killing 3 and injuring 230; Libya is held responsible.
  • April 17 - The Hindawi Affair begins when an Irishwoman is found unknowingly carrying explosives onto an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv.
  • April 17 - John McCarthy, a British journalist was kidnapped by Islamic Jihad. Remained in captivity for a staggering 5.5 years.
  • April 21 - Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's secret vault on The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault, discovering only a bottle of moonshine.
  • April 26 - Worst nuclear disaster ever in Chernobyl, USSR.
  • April 27 - "Captain Midnight" interrupts HBO satellite feed.
  • May 2 - The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada opens.
  • May 25 - Hands Across America: At least 5,000,000 people form a human chain from New York City to Long Beach, California, to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness.
  • June 8 - The Boston Celtics won the 1986 NBA Championship beating the Houston Rockets 114-97 (4-2).
  • June 13 - Benny Goodman dies, American jazz musician (b. 1909).
  • June 13 - Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen born, American actresses and entrepreneurs.
  • June 13 - Kaynor Tech Class of 1986 Senior Prom.
  • June 19th - Len Bias, a first round pick by the Celtics, died of a cocaine overdose.
  • June 29 - Argentina defeats West Germany 3-2 to win the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

July - September

  • July 2 - Lindsay Lohan born, American actress and singer.
  • July 5 - The Statue of Liberty is reopened to the public after an extensive refurbishing.
  • July 14- Spongebob Squarepants born, Fictional TV character.
  • July 23 - In London, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
  • August 6 - In Louisville, Kentucky, William Schroeder, the second person to receive an artificial heart, dies after 620 days.
  • August 19 - Two weeks after it was stolen, the Picasso painting Weeping Woman is found in a locker at the Spencer Street Station in Melbourne, Australia.
  • August 20 - In Edmond, Oklahoma, United States Postal Service employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers before committing suicide.
  • August 21 - In Nyos, Cameroon, a cloud of carbon dioxide rumbled out of the nearby lake Nyos and killed approximently 1,700 people.
  • September 7 - Desmond Tutu becomes the first black Anglican Church bishop in South Africa.
  • September 8 - "A.M. Chicago" changes its name to the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and goes national.
  • September 27 - British pop group Five Star top the charts with their million plus selling album Silk And Steel, which later went on to yield a record total of seven single releases (which was bettered by Michael Jackson's eighth single release from Bad in 1989).
  • September 27 - A tour bus carrying heavy metal band Metallica crashes in Sweden, killing their bassist, Cliff Burton.

October - December

  • October 9 - British actor/singer Michael Crawford is made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen, as well as receiving his second Olivier Award (Best Actor in a Musical) for The Phantom of the Opera.
  • October 9 - News Corporation complete their take over the Metromedia group of companies, launching Fox Broadcasting Company.
  • October 14 - Eliezer Wiesel wins the Nobel Peace Prize, a Romania-born American novelist, political activist, and Holocaust survivor of Hungarian Jewish descent.
  • October 27 - The New York Mets win the Major League Baseball World Series, beating the Boston Red Sox in 7 games.
  • October 28 - The centennial of the Statue of Liberty's dedication is celebrated in New York Harbor.
  • November 3 - Iran Contra Scandal is reported in a Lebanese magazine.
  • November 18 - Supermodel Gia, after years of heroin addiction, dies of AIDS. She is the first woman to sucumb to the AIDS virus in the US.
  • November 22 - Scatman Crothers dies, American actor, musician (b. 1910).
  • November 22 - Mike Tyson wins his first world boxing title by defeating Trevor Berbick in Las Vegas.
  • November 29 - Cary Grant dies, British actor (b. 1904).
  • December 20 - Three African Americans are assaulted by a group of white teens in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York. One of the victims, Michael Griffith, is run over and killed by a motorist while attempting to flee the attackers.

Undated/Multi-dated Events and Things of Interest

  • Return of Halley's Comet - The ill-fated spaceshuttle Challenger was to be one of two NASA missions to study the comet from a low-Earth orbit.
  • Turner Broadcasting begins to colorize black and white classics.

25th Year Reunion CANCELLED!

DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:
November 26th, 2010 (Saturday Night)
7pm to 12:00am
Manor Inn, Plantsville, CT
1636 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike,
Plantsville, CT 06479
Phone: 860-628-9877

Follow Us Online

Kaynor Class of 1986 has a Facebook Fanpage. You will find all of the latest announcements on the fanpage for upcoming reunions as well as pictures from past events. The Class of 1986 yearbook can also be found there.