The Year 1986 From The People History

What Events Happened in 1986

• US bombs Libya in protest at Libyan sponsorship of terrorist organizations involved in the bomb exploded in the crowded La Belle disco in Berlin, Germany.

• Breakthrough in US - USSR Arms Talks between Reagan and Gorbachev leads to commitment to disarm thus ending a long period of instability caused by the Cold War

• Spain and Portugal join the EEC

• John McCarthy, a British TV journalist, is kidnapped in the capital of Lebanon, Beirut.

• Soviet Nuclear reactor at Chernobyl Explodeson April 26th causing release of radioactive material across much of Europe

• British newspapers move to Wapping , East London in an attempt to break print union stranglehold over the newspaper industry

• M25 circling London is completed

• Gorbachev steps up reform programme in Russia introducing Perestroika ( restructuring ) and Glasnost ( openness )

• Comet Halley reaches the closest point to the Earth, during its second visit to the solar system in the 20th century.

• Approximately Seven million Americans join hands in "Hands Across America"

• Violence continues to escalate in Northern Ireland during the Orangemen Parades in Dumcree and Portadown with more innocents killed during the troubles.

• Pan Am Flight 73 with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport by four armed men

• Bomb Explodes on TWA Jet over Greece blowing hole in aircraft sucking 4 passengers out

• Earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people.

• Iran-Contra Affair President Ronald Reagan's administration sold arms to Iran, an avowed enemy. At the time, Americans were being held hostage in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a militant Shi'a organization loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini.

• The London Stock Exchange is deregulated allowing computerized share dealing ( The Big Bang )

• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease first identified Following an epidemic of BSE in Britain, 157 people (as of 2004) acquired and died of a disease with similar neurological symptoms subsequently called vCJD, or (new) variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

• Mike Tyson becomes the youngest Heavyweight Champion in history

• South African troops launch multiple raids on Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana

• 175 Gold Miners Die in Kinross mine in the Eastern Transvaal, South Africa

• The South African government censors reporters and the news media from reporting unrest throughout the country.

• Richard Branson on the 72 ft powerboat Virgin Challenger II breaks the world record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic

• Smoking is banned on all public transport including trains, planes, busses and coaches

• Lethal gas from the volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, West Africa kills 1,500

• Swedish Prime Minister Murdered

• A full survey is carried out of Loch Ness hoping to find proof that Nessie exists.( No Proof Found )

• The experimental airplane Voyager, completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight

• The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, is laid to rest alongside her husband King Edward VIII

• A mass uprising by Palestinians against Israeli military occupation, begins in Jabalia refugee camp and spread to Gaza

• A british newspaper reveals information that Israel has Secret Nuclear Weapons including 100 nuclear war heads.

• Micronesia Gains Independence From the United States

• US introduces sweeping tax reform legislation

• Argentina Wins 1986 World Cup in Mexico

Technology

• The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.
• Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after launch, killing all on board
• The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station
• IBM unveils the PC Convertible, the first laptop computer.
• British Surgeons perform the worlds first triple transplant ( Heart, Lung and Liver )
• Internet Mail Access Protocol defined for e-mail transfer
• The 386 series of microprocessor introduced by Intel.
• Human Genome Project launched with the object to understand the human genome and therefore provide the continuing progress of medicine, It was announced in 2000 to be completed by Bill Clinton and Tony Blair

Popular Culture 1986

• first ten musicians are inducted into Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame

Popular Films

• Top Gun
• Crocodile Dundee
• Platoon
• The Karate Kid, Part II
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Aliens
• Ruthless People
• The Color of Money
• The Money Pit

Check out our Television Programmes From The 80s whenever possible we have included a trailer to jog your memory. Series trailers and more information are found on the decade they started.

Popular Musicians

• Billy Joel
• Robert Palmer
• Lionel Richie
• Van Halen
• The Police
• Debbie Harry
• Simply Red
• Whitney Houston with " the greatest love of all "
• The Pretenders
• Genesis
• The Bangles with " Walk Like and Egyption "
• Chris de Burgh
• Madonna with " Papa Don't Preach "
• Prince
• Culture Club
• Bruce Springsteen
• Pet Shop Boys

Popular TV Programmes

• Magnum, P.I.
• Dynasty
• Falcon Crest
• Hill Street Blues
• Cagney and Lacey
• Cheers
• Fame
• Family Ties
• Remington Steele
• The A-Team
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (UK)
• Highway to Heaven
• Murder, She Wrote
• The Bill (UK)
• The Cosby Show
• EastEnders
• Growing Pains
• Neighbours
• Only Fools and Horses (UK)
• The Twilight Zone