In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev, 48, became president of the U.S.S.R. after Soviet Leader Chernenko, 73, died. President Reagan began his Presidency in January and later agreed to abide by the unratified Salt II Agreement, an agreement for nuclear arms reductions which was negotiated under the Carter Administration.
In July, a Greenpeace ship was bombed and sunk by French foreign service agents to prevent interference with a planned nuclear bomb tests on a French Polynesian atoll. The year was marked by two significant natural disasters: 10,000 people died in an 8.1 Richter scale earthquake in Mexico City and 25,000 died in mudflows created by the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia. In the Middle East, Palestinian terrorists seized the cruise ship Achille Lauro, killing wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer. Two Iraqi Exocet missiles struck the USS Stark. The Israeli Air Force bombed the PLO Headquarters near Tunis in October. In December, twenty were killed In Arab terrorist attacks at the Vienna and Rome Airports. The "Live Aid" rock concert in London and Philadelphia raised over $600 million dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia.
In this year, the well-known actors Yul Brynner, Orson Welles, and Rock Hudson passed away, as well as the singer/actor Ricky Nelson, who died in a plane crash. Madonna had two songs in the top 10 - "Like a Virgin" and "Crazy for You" from her first album. Sylvester Stallone starred in the popular second Rambo movie, "Rambo First Blood, Part II" and Michael J. Fox took us "Back to the Future."
Famous Births
- Mar. 04: Whitney Port - The Hills
- Mar. 26: Keira Knightley - Pirates of the Caribbean
- Apr. 01: Josh Zuckerman - House M.D.
- May 02: Lily Allen - Musician
- May 10: Odette Yustman - Transformers
- May 28: Colbie Caillat - Musician
- Jun. 30: Michael Phelps - Olympic Champion
- Dec. 10: Raven Symone - The Cosby Show
- Dec. 27: Paul Stastny - Colorado Avalanche
Famous Deaths
- Mar. 15: Eddie Shore - Boston Bruins
- Jul. 03: Frank Selke - Frm Montreal Canadiens GM
- Oct. 10: Orson Welles - Director
- Dec. 14: Roger Maris - New York Yankees
- Dec. 31: Ricky Nelson - Musician
Chart Toppers
- Jan. 05: Madonna - Like a Virgin
- Feb. 02: Foreigner - I want to know what love is
- Feb. 16: Wham - Careless Whisper
- Mar. 09: REO Speedwagon - Can't Fight This Feeling
- Mar. 30: Phil Collins - One More Night
- Apr. 13: USA for Africa - We Are The World
- May 11: Madonna - Crazy for you
- May 18: Simple Minds - Don't You
- May 25: Wham! - Everything She Wants
- Jun. 08: Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
- Jun. 22: Bryan Adams - Heaven
- Jul. 06: Phil Collins - Sussudio
- Jul. 13: Duran Duran - A View to a Kill
- Jul. 27: Paul Young - Everytime You Go Away
- Aug. 03: Tears for Fears - Shout
- Aug. 24: Huey Lewis and the News - The Power of Love
- Sep. 07: John Parr - St. Elmo's Fire
- Sep. 21: Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
- Oct. 12: Ready For The World - Oh Sheila
- Oct. 19: A-Ha - Take on Me
- Oct. 26: Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love for You
- Nov. 02: Stevie Wonder - Part-Time Lover
- Nov. 09: Jan Hammer - Miami Vice Theme
- Nov. 16: Starship - We Built This City
- Nov. 30: Phil Collins - Separate Lives
- Dec. 07: Mr. Mister - Broken Wings
- Dec. 21: Lionel Richie - Say You Say Me Billboard: Historical Billboard Charts
Top Grossing Films
58th Academy Awards
- Presented on: March 24, 1986
- Best Picture: Out of Africa
- Lead Actor: William Hurt in Kiss of the Spider Woman
- Lead Actress: Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful
- Best Director: Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa
- Best Documentary: Broken Rainbow directed by Maria Florio and Victoria MuddRopesofSilicon: Complete Oscar winners list
Championship Teams
Top Athletes
Nobel Laureates
- Chemistry: Herbet Hauptman, Jerome Kerle
- Economics: Franco Modigliani
- Literature: Claude Simon
- Medicine: Michael S. Brown, Joseph Goldstein
- Peace: Int'n Physicians for the prevention of Nuclear War
- Physics: Klaus von Klitzing NoblePrize.org: 1985 Noble Winners
January 1985
- January 28: The song "We are the world" written by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson was recorded to raise famine-relief funds for Africa.
March 1985
- March 11: Mikhail Gorbachev was chosen to succeed the late Soviet Union President Konstantin Chernenko.
May 1985
- May 11: The Bradford City football stadium caught fire killing 52 people and injuring scores.
June 1985
- June 23: Air India flight 182 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland killing all 329 people aboard.
September 1985
- September 1: The Ship Titanic was discovered 600KM off the coast of Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, 4km deep in the Atlantic Ocean
- September 13: Super Mario Bros. is released on the Nintendo Entertainment System
- September 19: Mexico City losses over 6,000 people after a series of earthquakes rattle the city.
October 1985
- October 7: Armed Hijackers capture an Italian cruise ship while it was at port in Alexandria, Egypt. They demanded Israel release Palestinian prisoners.
November 19 1985
December 1985
- December 10: Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, kills his first victim with a mail delivered bomb.
