The year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) of the Gregorian Calendar began and ended on a Wednesday. During 1986, a number of significant developments occurred in the area of space technology and discovery., marking the waning of the Space Race between the US and the USSR. The Challenger space shuttle tragically exploded after takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center, in late January.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_2506000/2506161.stm Meanwhile, space probes from Japan and Russia flew past Halley's Comet, later in the year.
1986 will be forever associated with the explosion at the Soviet Union's Chernobyl nuclear power station, which alarmed the world on April 26th, and caused the permanent evacuation of areas of nearby Belarus and Ukraine. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.htmlThe Chernobyl incident also raised fears and concerns about the safety and practicality of nuclear power along with other sources of alternative energy. In the United Kingdom, mad cow disease was identified in 1980; the disease caused many deaths over the next few years and, subsequently, major reforms in farming practices were enacted.http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs113/en/
In terms of domestic and international political developments, American President Ronald Reagan froze Libyan assets in the United States early in January, while U.S. planes attacked Libyan "terrorist centers" on April 14.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/15/newsid_3975000/3975455.stm In November, a secret U. S. initiative to sell arms to Iran and divert these funds to Nicaragua was revealed, an event termed the Iran Contra Affair. The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed abortion rights and the Senate Judiciary Committee approved William H. Rehnquist as Chief Justice of US Supreme Court.
For sports developments, Argentina triumphed over Germany In the final game of the World Cup for soccer while in the Baseball World Series, the New York Mets defeated the Boston Red Sox.http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1986/wc86index.html In 1986, Super Bowl XX was won by the Chicago Bears against the New England Patriots. Jack Nicklaus became the oldest Masters winner, at the age of 46, and won his last major golf championship.
In the development of science and technology, the Internet Mail Access Protocol was defined. opening up the way for E-Mail. Also, the Human Genome Project. was initiated in 1986.http://www.piercelaw.edu/risk/vol5/spring/cookdeeg.htm
Famous Births
Famous Deaths
- Feb. 24: Tommy Douglas - Canadian Politician
- Feb. 27: Jacques Plante - Montreal Canadiens
- Mar. 09: Brittany Snow - Gossip Girl
- Mar. 30: James Cagney - Gangster actor
- Dec. 29: Andrei Tarkovsky - Russian Filmmaker
Chart Toppers
- Jan. 04: Lionel Richie - Say You, Say Me
- Jan. 18: Dionne and Friends - That's What Friends Are For
- Feb. 15: Whitney Houston - How Will I Know
- Mar. 01: Mr. Mister - Kyrie
- Mar. 15: Starship - Sara
- Mar. 22: Heart - These Dreams
- Mar. 29: Falco - Rock Me Amedeus
- Apr. 19: Prince - Kiss
- May 03: Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love
- May 10: Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
- May 17: Whitney Houston - Greatest Love of All
- Jun. 07: Madonna - Live to Tell
- Jun. 14: Patti LaBelle - On My Own
- Jul. 05: Billy Ocean - There'll Be Sad Songs
- Jul. 12: Simply Red - Holding back the Years
- Jul. 19: Genesis - Invisible Touch
- Jul. 26: Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
- Aug. 02: Peter Cetera - Glory of Love
- Aug. 16: Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
- Aug. 30: Steve Winwood - Higher Love
- Sep. 06: Bananarama - Venus
- Sep. 13: Berlin - Take my Breath Away
- Sep. 20: Huey Lewis and the News - Stuck with You
- Oct. 11: Janet Jackson - When I Think of You
- Oct. 25: Cyndi Lauper - True Colors
- Nov. 08: Boston - Amanda
- Nov. 22: Human League - Human
- Nov. 29: Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name
- Dec. 06: Peter Cetera - The Next Time I Fall
- Dec. 13: Bruce Hornsby - The Way It Is
- Dec. 20: The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian Billboard: Historical Billboard Charts
Top Grossing Films
59th Academy Awards
- March 30, 1987
- Best Picture: Platoon
- Lead Actor: Paul Newman in The Color of Money
- Lead Actress: M.Matlin in Children of a Lesser God
- Best Director: Oliver Stone for Platoon
- Best Documentary: (tie): Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got and Down and Out in AmericaRopesofSilicon: Complete Oscar winners list
Championship Teams
Top Athletes
Nobel Laureates
April 21 1986
April 21: Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone's vault on live TV, he found nothing.
April 26 1986
April 26: An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Soviet Union contaminating many areas with radiation and caused thousands to permanently evacuate areas of Ukraine and Belarus.
April 1986
July 1986
- July 23: Britain's Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London.
September 1986
- September 7: Two years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Desmond Tutu became the first black Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
- September 26: William Rehnquist is sworn in as the 16th Chief Justice of The U.S. Supreme Court. Antonin Scalia joined as an associate justice.
October 1986
- October 5: The Iran Contra Scandal unravels as Eugene Hasenfus's plane was shot down in Nicaragua, Hasenfus confessed that he was shipping military supplies for the CIA into Nicaragua for use by the Contras.
- October 11: United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Iceland to speak about Arms Control and Human Rights.
- October 26: During Game Six of the World Series, Boston Red Sox first basemen Bill Buckner lets a routine ground ball roll through his legs, the Red Sox would eventually lose in Game 7 to the New York Mets.
November 1986
- November 2: American David Jacobsen is freed after being held hostage for 17 months by Muslim fundamentalists in Beirut, Lebanon.
References
Fast Facts
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Began On
Wednesday
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UN Designation
International Year of Peace
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Gregorian Calendar
MCMLXXXVI
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Ended on
Wednesday
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Nobel Chemistry Prize
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Nobel Economics Prize
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Nobel Literature Prize
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Nobel Peace Prize
