Major Events
- Jan 28 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all 7 crew members, including Christa McAuliffe who was to be the first teacher in space
- Apr 26 World's worst nuclear disaster: 4th reactor at Chernobyl nuclear power station in USSR explodes, 31 die, radioactive contamination reaches much of Western Europe
- Sep 19 US Federal health officials announce AZT will be available to AIDS patients
- Oct 11 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland
- Oct 27 British government deregulates financial markets in a "Big Bang", enhancing London's status as a financial capital while increasing income inequality
- Nov 20 World Health Organization announces first global effort to combat AIDS
- Nov 25 Iran-Contra affair erupts, President Reagan reveals secret arms deal
- Dec 17 Davina Thompson makes medical history by having the 1st heart, lung and liver transplant at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England
- More 1986 Events
1986 in Film & TV
- May 16 "Top Gun", directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise premieres
- Sep 8 "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is first broadcast nationally
- Oct 9 Stage musical "Phantom of the Opera" premieres in London, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman; runs for 13,629 performances
1986 in Music
- Jan 23 Inaugural class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Chuck Berry; James Brown; Ray Charles; Sam Cooke; Fats Domino; The Everly Brothers; Buddy Holly; Jerry Lee Lewis; Elvis Presley; Little Richard; Robert Johnson; Jimmie Rodgers; Jimmy Yancey; Alan Freed; John Hammond; and Sam Phillips
- Jun 6 "Storms of Life" debut album by Randy Travis is released (Billboard Album of the Year, 1987)
- Nov 15 Beastie Boys release their debut album "Licensed to Ill" - 1st No. 1 rap album on Billboard charts
1986 in Sport
- Jun 7 French Open Women's Tennis: Chris Evert beats Martina Navratilova 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 for her 18th and final Grand Slam title and record 7th French singles crown
- Aug 21 Ian Botham takes world-record 356th Test Cricket wkt (v NZ, The Oval)
Did You Know?
Hands Across America - 6.5 million people hold hands from California to NY
More People Born in 1986
More 1986 Deaths
Articles About 1986
USS Challenger Explodes
The Space Shuttle Challenger moments after it exploded above Cape Canveral on January 28, 1986January 28Pripyat: Nuclear Wasteland
'I Love You Pripyat, Forgive Me!' scrawled on the walls of a Pripyat clinic during its hasty evacuation after the Chernobyl disasterApril 26How Paula Yates Discovered Her Real Father
Controversial television presenter Paula Yates married pop star Bob Geldof on this day. Fate decided she would not remain happy ever afterAugust 31Reagan and Gorbachev
US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet at the Reykjavik Summit in IcelandOctober 11'Splendid Achievement' becomes the 'Road To Hell'
London's orbital road, the M25 was hailed as a splendid achievement by PM Margaret Thatcher when she opened it on this day. But it soon developed another nickname...October 29
Famous Weddings in 1986
- Jan 3 British golfer Nick Faldo (28) weds manager's secretary Gill Bennett; divorce in 1995
- Feb 1 American pop snger Diana Ross weds Norwegian businessman Arne Naess in Switzerland
- Mar 1 American entertainer and restaurateur Sonny Bono (46) weds (his fourth and final time) American businesswoman Mary Whitaker (24), until his death in 1998
Famous Divorces in 1986
- Mar 7 Actor Johhny Depp and Lori Depp divorce after 2 years of marriage
More 1986 Weddings