Do You Remember?
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1980 January3rd - Alfred Hitchcock is knighted 7th - Indira Gandhi's Congress Party wins elections in India 24th - A brewery strike reportedly caused a "beer drought" in British Columbia. February
3rd - Larry Holmes TKOs Lorenzo Holmes in 6 for heavyweight boxing title. 12th - Birth of Christina Ricci, actress 19th - AC/DC singer Bon Scott dies of acute alcohol poisoning in London, England. 22nd - Afghanistan declares martial law. March
4th - Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. 21st - On the season finale of the soap opera Dallas, the infamous character J.R. Ewing is shot by an unseen assailant leading to the catchphrase "Who Shot JR?" 27th - Mount St. Helens, dormant for 123 years, erupted with ash and steam. 31st - Jesse Owens of 1936 Berlin Olympics fame, dies in Arizona at 66. April
6th - Post-It Notes were introduced 7th - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions, following the taking of American hostages on November 4, 1979. 25th - Crash of a Dan-Air Boeing 727 in Tenerife killing all 146 occupants and marking the worst air disaster involving a British-registered aircraft in terms of loss of life. 29th - Alfred Hitchcock (b.1899) died in Los Angeles. May
5th - In Britain,the SAS storm the terrorist-occupied Iranian Embassy at Knightsbridge in London. Four gunmen are killed in the attack and all 19 hostages are rescued. 10th - FA Cup Final: West Ham United 1 Arsenal 0 21st - The Empire Strikes Back premieres June
1st - CNN begins broadcasting 6th - Bjorn Bjorg beats John McEnroe for Wimbeldon title. 22nd - West Germany beats Belgium 2-1 to win Euro 80. July
10th - Alexandra Palace in London is destroyed by fire. 16th - Former California Governor and actor Ronald Reagan is nominated for U.S. President 19th - Opening of the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow - boycotted by more than 40 nations in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 24th - Peter Sellers dies at 54. August
3rd - Olympic games close at Moscow. 19th - Saudi Arabian Lockhead Tristar crashes on landing at Riyadh, 301 die. 24th - Kermit the Frog named "chairman" of UNICEF's 1980 campaign 28th - Ethiopia denies it has invaded Somalia, the tanks just got lost because they wouldn't stop to ask for directions. September
2nd - John Arlott, BBC radio commentator, best known for descriptive cricket commentaries, retires after 35 years of broadcasting. 5th - World's longest tunnel, St. Gotthard in Swiss Alps, opens. 17th - Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asuncion, Paraguay. 22nd - Iraq invades Iran in an attempt to control the Shatt al-Arab waterway October
2nd Larry Holmes TKOs Muhammad Ali in 11 for heavyweight boxing title. 9th - 1st consumer use of home banking by computer. 17th - In Rome, the first ever meeting between a British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Pope during a State Visit to the Vatican. 23rd - Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin resigns, due to illness. 30th - El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice. November
4th - Libya invades Chad. 5th - Former Hollywood movie star Ronald Reagan is elected the 40th President of the United States of America. 11th - Steve McQueen, film actor, died in Juarez, Mexico, at age 50. 21st - An estimated 83 million TV viewers tuned in to the CBS prime-time soap opera Dallas to find out who shot J.R. 22nd - Actress Mae West died in Hollywood at age 87. 23rd - A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people. December
4th - Two months after death of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin breaks up. 8th - John Lennon shot dead. 16th - Harland "Colonel" Sanders founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, dies at 90. 18th - Birth of Christina Aguilera in Staten Island, NY. 1981 January
1st - Greece becomes the 10th country to join the European Economic Community. 2nd - "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe, murderer of 13 women, was arrested on a traffic violation. 12th - Dynasty, starring Joan Collins, premieres on ABC-TV. 21st - The first DeLorean DMC-12 automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. 22nd - The Times was sold to Rupert Murdoch. February
1st - Aussie cheat Trevor Chappell bowls underarm to Brian McKechnie (NZ), World Series Cricket Final MCG. 9th - Bill Haley (b.1925), vocalist (Rock Around Clock), died of heart attack. 14th - A fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland in the early hours killed 48 and injured 214. 24th - In Britain, Prince Charles announces his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer. March
2nd - Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWDC in Washington DC. 6th - After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time. 11th - Chilean President Augusto Pinochet is sworn in for another 8-year term. 18th - The Volcano Mt. Etna erupts in Sicily. 20th - Britain re-introduces the £50 note (it had been withdrawn in 1943). 29th - The running of the first London marathon - with around 7,000 entrants. 30th - American President Ronald Reagan is wounded in an assassination attempt outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington. April
3rd - Mobs of youths go on the rampage in Brixton, South London throwing petrol bombs and looting shops. 12th - First flight of the American Space Shuttle. 30th - New York City celebrates the Empire State Building's 50th anniversary. May
11th - Bob Marley (born 1945), Jamaican reggae artist, died of brain cancer in Miami. 13th - Pope John Paul II survives an assassination attempt outside St Peter's Church in Rome. 14th - Tottenham Hotspur win the 100th FA Cup 3-2 over Manchester City in a replay at Wembley stadium. 22nd - In Britain, murderer Peter Sutcliffe - nicknamed the Yorkshire Ripper - is found guilty of killing 13 women and the attempted murder of 7 others. He is sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in jail. 25th - Daredevil Daniel Goodwin, wearing a "Spiderman" costume, scaled the outside of Chicago’s Sears Tower in seven and a-half hours. June
3rd - Shergar wins the Epsom Derby in England by a record 10 lengths. 5th - The US Federal Centers for Disease Control published the first report of a mysterious outbreak of a sometimes fatal pneumonia among gay men. The first reports of the AIDS virus. 12th - Raiders Of The Lost Ark starring Harrison Ford premiered. 22nd - John McEnroe exhibits a disgraceful act of misbehavior at Wimbeldon, making the phrase "You cannot be serious" famous. July
2nd - Ayatollah Khomeini declares Iran at war with U.S. 3rd - The Toxteth riots start after a mob save a youth from being arrested. 22nd - Mehmet Ali Agca is jailed for life for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. 29th - In Britain, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales marries Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London. August
1st - MTV premieres at 12:01 AM. 2nd - Australia set 151 to win, are all out for 121, Botham 5-11 in 14 overs. 19th - Two Libyan SU-22s were shot down by two U.S. Navy F-14 fighters in the Gulf of Sidra. 20th - Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Michael Devine dies in Belfast, N. Ireland 27th - Moira Stuart was appointed the BBC's first black woman newsreader. September
8th - The first episode of the classic BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses was broadcast. 16th - In Britain, the Liberal Party Assembly votes for an electoral pact with the new Social Democratic Party. 28th - The first episode of cult cartoon Danger Mouse was broadcast, voiced by David Jason and Terry Scott 30th - Seoul, South Korea is selected to host 1988 Summer Olympics. October
8th - 1st broadcast of Cagney and Lacey on ABC-TV 10th - A Provisional IRA bomb at Chelsea Barracks in London kills a woman pensioner. 15th - The heavy metal band Metallica forms. 28th - The Fall Guy premieres on ABC November
1st - Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom. 8th - Joe Cole, English footballer, born 18th - IBM Introduced the IBM PC. 30th - In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe. December
2nd - Britney Spears, American singer is born. 7th - Spain becomes a member of NATO. 11th - Muhammad Ali's 61st and last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick. 25th - Canadian oil tanker Hudson Transport catches fire in Saint Lawrence Waterway. 28th - The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia. 1982 January
4th - The Golden Gate Bridge is closed for the third time by a fierce storm. 7th - Fame premieres on NBC TV. 10th - The lowest ever United Kingdom temperature of -27.2°C is recorded at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. 12th - Mark Thatcher, the son of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara Desert during the Paris-Dakar Rally. He is spotted by a search plane several days later and rescued. February
2nd - Late Night with David Letterman premieres on NBC. 18th - Mexico devalued the peso by 30 percent to fight an economic slide. 19th - The DeLorean Car factory in Belfast is put into receivership. 23rd - In a consultative referendum, Greenland, which became a member of the European Community as part of Denmark, opted for withdrawal from the Community. March
5th - John Belushi was found dead of a drug overdose at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Strip 10th - Syzygy: all 9 planets align on the same side of the Sun. 19th - The Falklands War approaches: Argentines land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war. April
2nd - Argentina invades the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic 17th - By Proclamation of the Queen of Canada on Parliament Hill, Canada patriates its constitution, granting full political independence from the United Kingdom; included is the country's first entrenched bill of rights. 18th - Zimbabwe capital Salisbury is renamed Harare. 30th - Birth of Kirsten Dunst, actress. May
4th - Falklands War: HMS Sheffield is hit by an Exocet missile, and burns out of control; 20 sailors are killed. The ship sank on May 10. 8th - French-Canadian racing driver Gilles Villeneuve is killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. 26th - Aston Villa win the European Cup beating Bayern Munich 1-0 after a 69th minute goal by Peter Withe in Rotterdam 31st - Falklands War: The Battle of Stanley is fought. June
6th - The 1982 Lebanon War begins. 11th - The movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released in the US and became the highest grossing film to date. 13th - The 1982 FIFA World Cup is opened in Spain. 14th - Falklands War: Surrender of Argentinian troops by General Menendez to the British Task Force in Port Stanley. 21st - Prince William is born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, West London. 25th - Porn star John Holmes acquitted on murder charges. July
1st - In NYC, Sun Myung Moon weds 2,075 Unification Church couples at Madison Square Garden. 6th - Lunar Eclipse, an Umbral duration 236min and total duration 106min, the longest of the 20th century. 9th - In London, an intruder in Buckingham Palace, Micheal Fagan, breaks into the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II and asks her for a cigarette while sitting on the end of her bed. The incident reveals a serious flaw in Palace security. 11th - Italy win football's World Cup - beating West Germany 3-1 in the final. 23rd - The International Whaling Commission votes for a total ban on commercial whaling from 1985. August
11th - The Krays are let of of prison for their mothers funeral. 14th - Iran "Ramadan-offensive" in Iraq. 16th - 5th Anniversary of Elvis's death 28th - LeAnn Rimes, country pop singer, was born. 30th - Andy Roddick, American tennis player born. September
5th - Eddie Hill sets propeller-driven boat water speed record of 229 mph. 13th - 50 die in a Spantax Airlines DC-10 on takeoff from Malaga, Spain 21st - The new Ford Sierra was launched to replace the Ford Cortina, Britain's best selling car for 9 years. 29th - The first episode of Cheers was broadcast in the US. October
1st - Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101). 8th - All labour organizations in Poland, including Solidarity, were banned. 11th - The Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII of England that sank in 1545, is raised. 27th - China announces its population at 1 billion people plus. 30th - Paul Weller announced the breakup of The Jam. November
1st - In Britain, a new terrestrial television channel, Channel Four begins transmitting its first programme - the word game Countdown. 13th - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans. 20th - Drew Barrymore at age 7 hosts Saturday Night Live. 30th - US sub Thomas Edison collides with US Navy destroyer in the South China Sea. December
1st - Thriller album by Michael Jackson is released, becoming the biggest selling album of all time in entertainment history. 6th - An IRA bomb kills 16 and injures a further 60 at the Droppin Well disco, in Ballykelly. 15th - Spain reopens border with Gibraltar. 29th - Bob Marley postage stamp issued in Jamaica. 31st - In Poland Martial Law was suspended. It was terminated on July 22, 1983. 1983 January
1st - TCP/IP became the standard for Internet protocol. 7th - Australia regain the Ashes with a 2-1 series win vs England. 10th - Fraggle Rock, a Jim Henson production, debuts on HBO. 16th - In Australia, brush fires sweep through the states of Victoria and South Australia. 19th - The Nazi war criminal, Klaus Barbie, who was head of the Gestapo in Lyons, France during the Second World War, is arrested in Bolivia. 23th - The A-Team debuts on NBC 31st - In Britain, it becomes compulsory to wear a seat belt in a car if you are driving or sitting in the front seat. February
7th - Iran opens an invasion in the southeast of Iraq. 8th - The Derby winning racehorse Shergar is kidnapped from a stable in County Kildare, Ireland. The kidnappers demand a ransom which is never paid and Shergar was never found. 10th - In England, police launch a mass murder investigation after discovering the remains of 16 people in drains, in London. Later in 1983, Dennis Andrew Nilsen was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crimes. 19th - A freight train crashes into a stalled passenger train near Empalme, Mexico resulting in more than 70 deaths. 28th - In America, 77 percent of the television viewing audience watch the last episode of TV show M.A.S.H. March
5th - Bob Hawke is elected Prime Minister of Australia. 20th - Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, arrive in Australia for a month-long visit. 25th - Michael Jackson performs the 'Moonwalk' for the first time in public. 31st - A 5.4 earthquake hit the region of Popoyan, Colombia. It killed about 250 people and left some 1,500 injured. April
1st - Tens of thousands of anti-nuke demonstrators linked arms in 14-mile human chain spanning three defense installations in rural England, including the Greenham Common U.S. Air Base. 7th - Space Shuttle Challenger astronauts Story Musgrave and Donald H. Peterson perform the first space shuttle spacewalk. 11th - The film Gandhi, directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, wins eight Oscars. 18th - The U.S Embassy is bombed in Beirut, killing 63 people. 21st - One pound coin introduced in United Kingdom. 25th - The Pioneer 10 spacecraft crossed Pluto's orbit, speeding on its endless voyage through the Milky Way. May
11th - Aberdeen FC wins the European Cup Winners Cup - beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the final played in Gothenburg, Sweden. 16th - London police begin wheel-clamping illegally parked vehicles. 20th - In one of the most severe terrorist attacks ever in South Africa, a car bomb explodes outside the Pretoria headquarters of the national air force, killing 18 persons and injuring 200 others. The African National Congress (ANC) claims responsibility. 25th - The movie Return of the Jedi grosses a record $6,219,629 on its opening day. June
2nd - A toilet caught fire on an Air Canada DC-9 and 23 died. 5th - A soviet cruise ship hits a bridge over the Volga River, killing more than 100 people. 9th - In Britain, the Conservative Party, headed by Mrs Margaret Thatcher, win their second consecutive general election. 18th - American Sally Ride becomes the first woman US astronaut in space with the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. 25th - India wins the Prudential cricket world cup 1983. July
3rd - John McEnroe regains men's singles title at Wimbledon. 11th - A Boeing 737 slams into a mountain while trying to land in Cuenca, Ecuador. All 119 aboard lose their lives. 15th - The Nintendo Entertainment System goes on sale in Japan. 29th - David Niven (b.1910), actor, died in Switzerland. August
1st - New Zealand score their 1st Test Cricket match victory in England 6th - Supertanker Castillo de Bellvar crashes in South Africa. 12th - General Manuel A Noriega becomes commander of Panamanian army. 16th - Paul Simon Weds Carrie Fisher. 25th - The US and USSR signed a $10 billion grain pact. September
1st - The USSR shoots down a South Korean airliner killing all 269 passengers and crew on board. 6th - Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova requests political asylum in New York 16th - Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes a U.S. citizen. 19th - St. Kitts and Nevis declare independence from U.K. 26th - Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov averts a worldwide nuclear war. October
2nd - Neil Kinnock is elected leader of the British Labour Party. 23rd - Suicide terrorist truck bomb kills 243 U.S. personnel in Beirut. 25th - Microsoft Word is first released. 27th - Pope John Paul II visits his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca in prison to forgive him. November
4th - Dennis Nilsen, serial killer, was sentenced in England to life imprisonment. He had killed at least 15 men over a 5 year period 11th - President Reagan became first US President to address Japan's legislature. 23rd - This day's episode of Sesame Street confronts the sensitive issue of death when Big Bird learns to grasp the concept as it relates to his late friend, Mr. Hooper. 27th - A Colombian Boeing 747 crashes near Madrid, Spain killing 181 of the 192 on board. December
5th - 12 killed by a car bomb which shatters a 9-story building in west Beirut. 7th - Two Spanish passenger planes collide on the foggy runway at a Madrid airport killing 90. 10th - Military rule ends and democracy is restored in Argentina. 17th - An IRA car bomb kills six Christmas shoppers and injures scores of others outside the Harrods store in Knightsbridge, London. 31st - Brunei gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1984 January
1st - Riot in Tunis kills over 100. 6th - Last day of Test cricket for Chappell, Marsh and Lillee 16th - Paul and Linda McCartney arrested in Barbados for possession of cannabis. 23rd - In America, "Hulkamania" is born when Hulk Hogan defeats The Iron Sheik to win the World Wrestling Federation Championship. 27th - Pop star Michael Jackson's scalp is seriously burned by pyrotechnics during filming of a Pepsi television commercial. February
8th - The 1984 Winter Olympics open in Sarajevo. 11th - Space Shuttle Challenger makes the first shuttle landing at the Kennedy Space Center 15th - 500,000 Iranian soldiers move into Iraq. 25th - In Cubatao, Sao Paulo, Brazil, an explosion from a gasoline leak in a pipeline burned a nearby shantytown with more than 500 deaths. March
12th - Start of the nation-wide British miners' strike. 17th - Iraq used tabun against Iran. This was the first use ever of a nerve agent in a conventional battle. 24th - 5 students attend detention at Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois. Among them is a Princess, a criminal, a basket case, an athlete and a brain. April
4th - Winston Smith in Orwell's "1984" begins his secret diary. 5th - Arthur Travers "Bomber" Harris (b.1892), marshal of British RAF, died. 11th - Chinese troops invade Vietnam. 15th - British comedian Tommy Cooper suffers a massive heart attack while live on TV. 24th - Rock group Wings disbands. May
7th - A $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who charged they had suffered injury from exposure to the defoliant. 13th - Johan Cruyffs last competitive match. 14th - The one dollar coin is introduced in Australia. 23rd - Anderlecht wins 13th UEFA Cup in London. 31st - Viv Richards hits 189 (170 balls) vs England, ODI cricket record. June
4th - Bruce Springsteen releases "Born in the USA". 18th - Major clash between about 5,000 police and a similar number of miners at Orgreave, South Yorkshire, during the 1984-1985 miners' strike. Incident later known as the Battle of Orgreave. 22nd - Richard Branson led the inaugural flight of his Virgin Airlines from London to Newark, NJ. 27th - France beats Spain 2-0 to win Euro 84. July
9th - In Britain, lightning sets fire to York Minister, the 700 year old building suffering severe damage. 12th - Madonna's "Like a Virgin" video premiered on MTV and became an instant hit. 18th - On a Wednesday in America, a gunman massacres 20 people at a MacDonalds' restaurant in California - blaming it on the fact that 'I don't like Mondays'. 19th - First female to captain a 747 across the Atlantic. 28th - The 1984 Summer Olympics are opened in Los Angeles, California. August
3rd - Bomb attack on Madras airport,India. 32 killed. 7th - Britain's Tessa Sanderson won a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympic games in the javelin competition, the first British gold for a throwing event. 21st - Half a million people in Manila demonstrate against the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. 30th - Just hours after being injured in a practice jump, 23 year old stunt rider Eddie Kidd completed a successful no-hands jump over 9 coaches in Haringay, North London. September
6th - Today Show begins live remote telecasts from Moscow 15th - HRH Prince Henry(Harry) of Wales was born 19th - Britain and China completed a draft agreement on transferring Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule by 1997. 27th - Avril Lavigne born. 28th - 1st floodlit ODI outside of Australia (India vs. Aust, New Delhi) October
12th - The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) attempts to assassinate the British Cabinet in the Brighton hotel bombing. 16th - Desmond Tutu, black Anglican Archbishop in South Africa, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of non-violent struggle for racial equality. 29th - The New York City Marathon was marred by its first fatality when a French runner who collapsed and died. 31st - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. November
3rd - 3,000 die in 3 day anti-Sikh riot in India. 6th - President Ronald Reagan was re-elected. Reagan beat Mondale in the landslide of 1984 with 97.6% of the Electoral College and over 58% of the popular vote. 18th - The Soviets helped deliver U.S. wheat during the Ethiopian famine. 20th - McDonald's made its 50 billionth hamburger. 25th - Thirty-six of Britain and Ireland's top pop musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio to form Band Aid, and record the song "Do They Know It's Christmas", in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. December
3rd - More than 3,000 people die in India after a chemical spillage from a factory at Bhopal. 10th - First "planet" outside our solar system discovered. 22nd - Four black youths board an express train in The Bronx borough of New York City. They attempt to rob Bernhard Goetz, who shoots them. 31st - Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash. 1985 January
4th - Sir Brian Horrocks, British general of Operation Market Garden, dies. 7th - Lewis Hamilton, British Formula 1 Driver born. 17th - British Telecom announces it is going to phase out its famous red telephone boxes. 23rd - Britains House of Lords debate first televised. 28th - In Hollywood, California, the charity single "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa. February
14th - Hanoi troops surrounded the main Khmer Rouge base at Phnom Malai, Cambodia. 19th - EastEnders is first shown on British TV. 28th - The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day. March
6th - Mike Tyson makes his professional debut in Albany, New York, a match which he wins by a first round knockout. 11th - Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and de facto leader of the Soviet Union. 21st - Sir Michael Redgrave actor/writer dies at 77 of Parkinson's disease. 23rd - Billy Joel weds supermodel Christie Brinkley. 28th - International Cometary Explorer measures solar wind ahead of Halley's Comet. April
1st - David Lee Roth left Van Halen to pursue a solo career. 7th - Wham! became the first Western act to play in China. 12th - A bombing in Madrid, Spain, killed 18 and injured 82. Shia Muslim extremists claimed responsibility. 23rd - Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. (The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.) 28th - In the UK, the World Snooker Championship Final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis draws BBC2's highest ever rating of 18.5 million viewers. May
11th - At least 50 people are killed as a wooden stand at Bradford City Football Club in England catches fire during a match. 14th - The first McDonald's restaurant became the first fast-food business museum. It is located in Des Plaines, Illinois. 18th - FA CUP Final, Manchester United 1 Everton 0 26th - Explosions destroys two tankers off of Gibraltar, 30die. 29th - 39 football fans are killed and at least another 400 injured when a wall collapses during crowd violence at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels only minutes before the start of the European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus. June
2nd - UEFA announce an indefinite ban on English football clubs from taking part in any of the European competitions after hooliganism by Liverpool fans when travelling abroad. 6th - Authorities in Brazil exhumed a body later identified as the remains of Dr. Josef Mengele, the notorious "Angel of Death" of the Nazi Holocaust near Sao Paolo, Brazil. 10th - Coca Cola announces they'd bring back their 99-year-old formula. 19th - In El Salvador 4 off-duty US Marines and 9 others were killed at sidewalk restaurants in the Zona Rosa section of San Salvador. 27th - Route 66 is officially decommissioned. July
2nd - Andrei Gromyko becomes President of the Soviet Union. 10th - The Greenpeace campaign ship, Rainbow Warrior, sinks off Auckland in New Zealand after two explosions inside the hull. 13th - Two simultaneous 'Live Aid' concerts - in London, England and Philadelphia, USA raise more than £50m for the victims of famine in Africa. 24th - Commodore launches the Amiga personal computer at the Lincoln Center in New York. August
2nd - 137 people were killed when a jumbo jet crashed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The Delta jet was attempting to land at the time of the crash. 4th - In Hiroshima, tens of thousands mark the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city 12th - A Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain killing 520 people 16th - Madonna weds Sean Penn on her 27th Birthday 25th - American singer Michael Jackson pays $25 million for the rights to a catalogue of music which includes copyright of more than 5,000 songs, including many by the British group, The Beatles. September
1st - U.S. - French expedition locates wreckage of Titanic off Newfoundland 3rd - England regain Cricket Ashes by beating Australia at The Oval 13th - The World Heath Organisation (WHO) declares Aids to be a world epidemic. 19th - Thousands are killed and many more made homeless when an earthquake devastates large areas of Mexico City. 20th - Walt Disney World receives its 200-millionth guest 28th - There was a race riot in the London area of Brixton. October
2nd - Rock Hudson and George Savalas, actors, die at 58. 19 - The first Blockbuster Video store opens in Dallas, Texas. 24 - Wayne Rooney, English footballer is born 25 - Marty McFly travels back in time in Back to the Future. November
6th - Exploratory well at Ranger, Texas, explodes spilling 6.3 m gallons of oil 13th - Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupts, killing an estimated 23,000 people, including 21,000 killed by lahars in the town of Armero, Colombia. 15th - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Prime Minister Garret Fitzgerald sign the Anglo-Irish Agreement in Dublin. 19th - In Geneva, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time. 20th - Microsoft Corporation releases the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0. December
12th - 248 US soldiers and 8 crew members die in Arrow Air DC-8 charter crash 15th - Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielson wed. 16th - Paul Castellano Organized-crime chief, shot dead at a New York NY restaurant. 27th - Dian Fossey US naturalist (Gorillas in Mist), found dead in Rwanda 1986 January
1st - Spain and Portugal enter the European Community 6th - In Johannesburg, South Africa, Impala Platinum fired 20,000 black mine workers. 16th - Police arrested three IRA-terrorists in Amsterdam. 19th - The first PC virus, Brain, starts to spread. 20th - The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel. 28th - Challenger Space Shuttle explodes 73 seconds after launch. February
5th - Prince released the song "Kiss." 9th - Comet Halley reaches its perihelion, the closest point to the Sun, during its second visit to the solar system in the 20th Century. 20th - The Soviet space station, Mir is launched. 28th - The Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme and his wife Lisbeth are murdered in Stockholm. March
5th - "Today" tabloid launched (Britain's first national color newspaper). 10th - The first advert for a sanitary towel is broadcast on British television, on Channel 4. 11th - One million days since traditional foundation of Rome, 4/21/753 18th - Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson. 20th - Jacques Chirac become Prime Minister of French government. 25th - Walt Disney World welcomes the 500 millionth guest to enter a Disney park, Don McGrath. April
1st - World oil prices dip below $10 a barrel. 5th - A West Berlin discotheque, a known hangout for United States soldiers, is bombed, killing 3 and injuring 230; Libya is held responsible. 8th - American actor Clint Eastwood is elected Mayor of Carmel in California. 20th - The Atlas Star, a double-decker ferry, sank in stormy weather in Bangladesh. 500 passengers were feared drowned. 24th - Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson (b.6/19/1896), the Duchess of Windsor, for whom King Edward VIII gave up the British throne, died in Paris at age 89. 26th - An accident at the Soviet nuclear power station at Chernobyl leads to a massive radiation leak in the area. May
3rd - In Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers bombed an Airlanka plane at Colombo airport and killed 16 people. 6th - Berlin: Real Madrid wins the 15th UEFA Cup.10Tommy Lee of Motley Crue marries actress Heather Locklear. 16th - Bobby Ewing is revealed to be alive and showering in his ex-wife Pam's bathroom in the season finale of Dallas; in the September 26 season premiere, it was shown that the entire 1985–86 season was a dream of hers the night after they agreed to remarry. 17th - "The Chicken Song" by Spitting Image hit No.1 on the United Kingdom pop chart. 25th - Hands Across America: At least 5,000,000 people form a human chain from New York City to Long Beach, California. 31st - The 1986 FIFA World Cup begins in Mexico. June
8th - Former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is elected president of Austria. 11th - Paramount Pictures releases the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off to theaters in the USA. 18th - 52 die in plane/helicopter collision over Grand Canyon. 22nd - The 'Hand of God' football match. England are beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Mexico. Both Argentine goals are scored by Diego Maradona - the first with the deliberate use of his hand which went unseen by the referee. 23th - Brighton bomber Patrick Magee, found guilty of planting the bomb at the Grand Hotel, Brighton during the Conservative Party Conference in 1983, is jailed for a minimum of 35 years. 29th - Argetina win football's World Cup - beating West Germany 3-2 in the final in Mexico City. July
5th - Martina Navratilova wins the Women's Singles title at Wimbledon for the 7th time. 7th - Australian drug smugglers Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers executed in Malaysia. 22nd - In Britain, MPs vote to abolish corporal punishment in state schools. 23rd - Queen Elizabeth II's son, Prince Andrew, marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminister Abbey in London. August
1st - Tennis ace John McEnroe marries actress Tatum O'Nea 6th - Timothy Dalton became the fourth actor to be named "James Bond." 18th - Bon Jovi released their "Slippery When Wet" album. 24th - Bob Geldof marries Paula Yates 31st - Russian cargo ship crashes into cruise ship Admiral Nakhimov; 398 die. September
4th - Madness announced they were splitting up. 7th - Bishop Desmond Tutu is appointed Archbishop of Cape Town. The first black man to become the head of South Africa's Anglicans. 15th - 1st broadcast of "LA Law" on NBC-TV 22nd - ALF premieres on NBC. 27th - A tour bus carrying heavy metal band Metallica crashes in Sweden, killing their bassist, Cliff Burton. October
3rd - The Soviet nuclear submarine K-219 suffered an explosion and fire in a missile tube northeast of Bermuda; the vessel sank three days later. 7th - British newspaper "The Independent" begins publishing 10th - An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people. 27th - Reforms transformed the closed shop London stock exchange. New ways of trading shares came into effect and the day became remembered as the "Big Bang." 28th - The Statue of Liberty turned 100 years old. November
8th - Former Soviet official Vyacheslav M. Molotov (96), whose name became attached to the incendiary bottle bomb known as a "Molotov Cocktail" died.. 13th - U.S. president Reagan confesses weapon sales to Iran 22nd - 20 year old American boxer Mike Tyson becomes the youngest ever world heavyweight champion defeating Trevor Berbick in Las Vegas 29th - Cary Grant, British actor dies December
12th - Russian Tupolev-134 crashes in East Berlin, 70 killed. James "Bone Crusher" Smith TKO's WBA champion Tim Witherspoon at Madison Square Garden. 21st - 500,000 Chinese students gathered in Shanghai's People's Square calling for democratic reforms, including freedom of the press. 25th - 30.15 million tune in to watch "Dirty" Dennis Watts hand wife Angie her divorce papers in EastEnders 29th - Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan dies at the age of 92. 1987 January
3rd - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 5th - U.S. President Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery, causing speculation about his physical fitness to continue in office. 12th - Britain's Prince Edward resigns from his Royal Marines training. 20th - British negotiator Terry Waite disappears while attempting to win freedom for Western hostages held in Lebanon. February
4th - Liberace dies at 67. 11th - British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange. 18th - The executives of the Girl Scout movement decided to change the color of the scout uniform from the traditional Girl Scout green to the newer Girl Scout blue. 19th - Reagan lifts trade boycott against Poland. March
5th - 6.8 earthquake hits Ecuador, kills 100. 6th - The Herald of Free Enterprise ferry capsizes while leaving Zeebrugge Harbour killing 193 passengers. 24th - French Premier Jacques Chirac signed a contract with Walt Disney Productions for the creation of a Disneyland amusement park, the first in Europe. 30th - The picture 'Sunflowers', painted by Vincent van Gogh is sold at auction by Christie's for £24,750,000. April
5th - Fox Broadcasting Co. made its prime-time TV debut by airing the premiere episodes of "Married ... With Children" 10th - President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev delivered speeches on nuclear arms, with the president challenging the Soviets to join the United States in working harder for arms reductions, and Gorbachev proposing talks on short-range weapons. 13th - Portugal signed an agreement to return Macau to China in 1999. 21st - In Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers exploded a car bomb at the Colombo central bus stand and 113 people were killed. May
5th - Disneyland debuts "Disney Dollars". 9th - All 183 people aboard a Polish jetliner were killed when the plane, bound for New York, crashed and burned in Warsaw after the pilot attempted an emergency return. 13th - Ajax wins 27th European Cup Winners Cup 28th - A 19 year old West German, Mathias Rust, surprises the Soviet authorities by flying a light plane undetected from Helsinki to Moscow and landing safely in Red Square. June
6th - President Reagan met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. 11th - Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office as her Conservatives held onto a reduced majority in Parliament. 14th - "The A-Team" last aired on NBC-TV after 4 years 22th - Fred Astaire, whose elegance and fancy footwork graced more than 30 films, died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 88. 30th - Canada introduced a one dollar coin that was soon nicknamed the Loonie. July
1st - The Single European Act is passed by the European Union. 5th - Pat Cash of Australia defeated Ivan Lendl in straight sets to win the Wimbledon men's singles final. 9th - 1 million South Koreans demonstrate against Chun Doo Hwan regime 15th - Taiwan ended 37 years of martial law. 27th - Australian singer Kylie Minogue releases her first hit, a remake of Little Eva's The Locomotion. August
3rd - Def Leppard released their album "Hysteria." 17th - The former Nazi leader and Deputy Fuhrer Rudolph Hess commits suicide in Spandau Prison aged 93. 19th - In England, gun crazy Michael Ryan shoots dead 16 people in the Berkshire town of Hungerford before turning a gun on himself. 30th - Ben Johnson of Canada runs 100 m in world record 9.83 sec September
8th - Microsoft shipped its first CD ROM application, MS Bookshelf. 14th - The world's largest newspaper, today's edition of the New York Sunday Time, consisted of 1612 pages and weighed 12lb 23rd - Terry Venables was sacked as manager of Barcelona after they suffered their worst season's start in 20 years. 28th - The first episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' was premiered on US TV October
6th - Microsoft unveils the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software for Microsoft Windows 2.0, the first major application for Windows 14th - 18-month-old Jessica McClure falls down an abandoned well in Midland, Texas; her nationally televised rescue takes 58 hours. 19th - Black Monday, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, amid frenzied selling, plunged 508 points, 22.6%, its biggest-ever one-day decline. 22nd - The First Volume of the Gutenberg Bible is sold in New York for 3.26 million pounds making it the most expensive printed book to be sold at auction. November
8th - In Northern Ireland, 11 people are killed by an IRA bomb which explodes shortly before a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen. 15th - 28 of 82 aboard Continental Airlines DC-9, die in crash in Denver. 16th - Lisa Bonet marries Lenny Kravitz. 21st - Actress Demi Moore marries actor Bruce Willis 28th - South African Airways Boeing 747 crashes into Indian Ocean, 159 die. 29th - Korean Air Flight 858 is blown up over the Andaman Sea, killing 115 crew and passengers December
1st - Construction of the Channel Tunnel is initiated. 8th - US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty in Washington DC. Its the first nuclear arms reduction agreement either country has signed. 22nd - Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx overdoses from Heroin. 29th - Prozac makes its debut in the United States. 31st - One second was added to the year to compensate for precession of earth's axis. Robert Mugabe was sworn in as Zimbabwe's first executive president. 1988 January
3th - Margaret Thatcher becomes longest-serving British Prime Minister this century. 23rd - Charles Glenn King (b.1896), biochemist, died. He and a team of students isolated vitamin C in 1932. 29th - Spectrum Holobyte introduces the Tetris computer game in the US. February
5th - In Britain, as part of Comic Relief, the first 'Red Nose Day' is launched 7th - Heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson marries actress Robin Givens. 23rd - Chicago gives Cubs baseball team right to install lights and play up to 18 night games. 26th - The Soviet Union's hockey team clinched the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. March
6th - Operation Flavius: The Special Air Services fatally shoot 3 Irish Republican Army members in Gibraltar. 11th - The pound note ceases to be legal tender, replaced by the pound coin. 16th - The Halabja poison gas attack is carried out by Iraqi government forces. 19th - Two British soldiers in civilian clothes blunder into an IRA funeral in Northern Ireland and are kicked and beaten to death by IRA thugs. April
4th - The British TV soap opera 'Crossroads' finally comes to an end after 24 years with the transmission of the last of its 4,510 episodes. 10th - The Great Seto Bridge opens to traffic in Japan. 11th - The Last Emperor (directed by Bernardo Bertolucci) wins 9 Oscars. 15th - Kenneth Williams dies at 61.19Sonny Bono was inaugurated as the Mayor of Palm Springs, CA. 29th - McDonald's announced it would open its first restaurants in Moscow. May
5th - The first live television broadcast is made from the summit of Mount Everest by Japanese TV. 6th - Graeme Hick scores 405 for Worcestershire vs Somerset 35 fours 11 sixes. 8th - Science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein died in Carmel, Calif., at age 80. 14th - Wimbledon wins the FA Cup after beating Liverpool 1-0 at Wembley. 15th - The first of an estimated 120,000 Soviet troops begin leaving Afghanistan after eight years of occupation. 29th - President Reagan began his first visit to the Soviet Union as he arrived in Moscow for a superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. June
3rd - "Big" premieres in U.S. 6th - Queen Elizabeth II strips champion jockey Lester Piggott of his OBE after he is jailed for tax evasion. 11th - Wembley Stadium hosts a concert featuring stars from the fields of music, comedy and film, in celebration of the 70th birthday of imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela. 25th - The Netherlands defeats the Soviet Union 2-0 to win Euro 88. 27th - Fifty-seven people were killed in a train collision in Paris. July
2nd - 95th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Steffi Graf beats Navratilova 3rd - American warship USS Vincennes, patrolling in the Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war, mistakes an Iranian civil airliner for a bomber and shoots it down - killing all 290 people on board. 6th - 167 men die in explosion on board the Piper Alpha oil rig in the North Sea. 14th - WYHY radio offers $1M to anyone who can prove Elvis is still alive 31st - Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Malaysia. August
2nd - Attacks by IRA (Irish Republican Army) on security forces in North Ireland 7th - Paul Gascoinge signs for Spurs for £2m13Gunning down of British soldier in Ostend, Belgium, by IRA 19th - Iran-Iraq begin a cease-fire in their 8-year-old war 20th - 6.5 earthquake strikes India/Nepal, 1,000s killed 25th - Heavy fire destroys historic center of Lisbon 30th - Tennis star Chris Everett weds skier Andy Mills September
11th - An estimated 50 million people in 128 countries took part in the Race Against Time, the world's biggest sporting event to raise money to combat diseases which kill 15 million children each year. 13th - 9 hard/software manufacturers announce EISA computer bus in New York 17th - The 24th Olympic Games opened in Seoul, South Korea. 23rd - The first episode of Clive Andersen's 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' was broadcast in the US. 27th - Lab tests reportedly show Shroud of Turin not Christ's burial cloth October
2nd - The Summer Olympic Games concluded in Seoul, South Korea. 8th - Fire in Seattle's Space Needle causes evacuation, $2,000 damage 18th - Roseanne premieres 22nd - Hurricane Joan hit Nicaragua and killed 148 people. 30th - Ayrton Senna clinches his first World Championship with a phenomenal drive in the Japanese Grand Prix November
1st - Actor Jeff Goldblum and actress Geena Davis wed in Las Vegas. 8th - The US held elections and Republican VP George Bush defeated Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. 15th - In the Soviet Union, the unmanned Shuttle Buran is launched by an Energia rocket on its maiden orbital spaceflight 17th - Benazir Bhutto is elected Prime Minister of Pakistan - the woman leader of a Muslim state. December
1st - 596 dead after cyclone hits Bangladesh, half a million homeless. 5th - Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite 8th - As many as 100,000 are thought to have been killed by an earthquake in Armenia measuring 6.0 to 8.0 on the Richter scale. 11th - SES Astra SA, a subsidiary of SES Global, launched a communications satellite, made by GE Astrospace. Sky Television, later BSkyB (1990), became its 1st customer when it bought 4 transponders in 1989. 12th - Train crash at Clapham Junction, just outside London, kills 35 people and injures another 100. 21st - Terrorists blow up a Pan-Am jumbo jet carrying more than 270 passengers and crew as it flies over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. All on board are killed as well as 11 people in the town when the plane crashes. 1989 January
4th - Two Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are engaged and shot down by two US Navy F-14 Tomcats. 8th - In England, a British Midland 737 crashes into an embankment alongside the M1 motorway near Kegworth, killing 47 people. 13th - "Friday the 13th" virus strikes hundreds of IBM computers in Britain. 20th - George H. W. Bush succeeds Ronald Reagan as the 41st President of the United States of America. 24th - Serial killer Theodore Bundy is executed in Florida's electric chair. February
2nd - Satellite television service Sky Television plc is launched in Europe.5Kareem Abdul-Jabar becomes first NBA player to score 38,000 points. 8th - In the Azores 144 people were killed when an American-chartered Boeing 707 filled with Italian tourists slammed into fog-covered Santa Maria mountain. 14th - Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa against British author Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses. 20th - In England, the IRA explodes two bombs at the army barracks in Tern Hill, Shropshire. March
9th - Soviet Union officially submits to jurisdiction of the World Court. 18th - In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Great Pyramid of Giza. 24th - In Alaska's Prince William Sound the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of oil after running aground. 23rd - Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce that they have achieved cold fusion at the University of Utah. 26 - First free elections in USSR: 190 M votes cast; Boris Yeltsin wins. April
1st - The Poll tax is introduced in Scotland.141,100,000,000th Chinese person born. 15th - Britain's worst football disaster at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield when 95 football fans are crushed to death shortly after the start of the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. 21st - Students from Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and Nanjing begin protesting in Tiananmen Square. 27th - Hurricane in Bangladesh, kills 500 May
8th - Slobodan Milosevic was elected president of Serbia. 10th - FC Barcelona wins 29th European Cup Winners Cup 13th - Approx 2,000 students begin hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, China 30th - British singer Cliff Richard releases his 100th single record. June
3rd - An explosion of gas from a leaking pipeline, engulfs two passenger trains on the Trans-Siberian railway - 575 are killed another 600 injured. 4th - An estimated 2,000 die in Tiananmen Square in Peking when Chinese troops open fire on unarmed student protestors who had occupied the area for several days. 6th - Funeral of Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini. 13th - The wreck of the German World War II battleship Bismarck, which sank in 1941, is found on the floor of the Atlantic ocean approximately 600 miles west of the French port of Brest. 15th - Ronald Reagan is knighted by Queen Elizabeth. 26th - Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson marry for 2nd time July
4th - 14 year old actress Drew Barrymore, attempts suicide. 10th - Mel Blanc, voice of cartoon characters (Bugs Bunny), dies at 81 11th - Sir Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor and director, dies at 82 17th - 1st Test flight of U.S. stealth-bomber 30th - General Jaruzelski is forced to step down after eight years as leader of the Communist Party in Poland. August
2nd - Trade restrictions between Britain and Argentina are lifted for the first time since the Falklands War. 8th - U.S. space shuttle Columbia launched on a secret mission 9th - 112 people were killed when a train fell into the San Rafael River in Mexico. The incident was caused by a bridge that collapsed. 14th - President Pieter W Botha of South Africa, resigns 23rd - Two million indigenous people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, then still occupied by the communist Soviet Union, join hands to demand freedom and independence, forming an uninterrupted 600 km human chain called the Baltic Way. 31st - Buckingham Palace announces the seperation of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. September
1st - In Britain, the Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher, begins the privatisation of the public water authorities. 6th - Thanks to a computer error, 40,000 people in Paris receive letters charging them with murder, extortion and organised prostitution. Each should have been sent notification of a traffic offence. 10th - Against the wishes of the East German Government, Hungary opens its western border allowing thousands of East German citizens to leave the country. 21st - The Bangles broke up. 22nd - An IRA bomb attack kills 10 soldiers at the Royal Marine School of Music at Deal in Kent. Twelve other bandsman are injured. 'Baywatch' made its debut on US TV. 30th - Senegambia separates back into Gambia and Senegal October
5th - Dalai Lama wins Nobel Prize. 6th - Actress Bette Davis (81) died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. 17th - An earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, kills more than 270 people in San Francisco. 19th - In Britain, the 'Guildford Four' have their convictions quashed after wrongly serving 14 years in prison for the IRA bombings at Guildford and Woolwich. 26th - The Globe Theatre opened for the first time in 350 years. November
1st - East Germany reopened its border with Czechoslovakia, prompting tens of thousands of refugees to flee to the West. 4th - Typhoon Gay hit India. It claimed 69 lives there and destroyed or damaged some 20,000 homes. 10th - Following the East German Government's decision to allow free access between East and West Germany, bulldozers begin demolishing the 28 year old Berlin Wall. 18th - In the UK charts New Kids On The Block go to number 1 with "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" 21st - The proceedings of Britain's House of Commons were televised live for the first time. 24th - Tendulkar scores a Test Cricket fifty age 16 years 214 days, a record. 28th - With other Communist regimes falling all around it and with growing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announces they will give up their monopoly on political power December
1st - The end of 70 years of hostility between USSR and the Vatican when Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev meets Pope John Paul II in Rome. 3rd - In Malta Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev announce the official end to the Cold War. 16th - Band Aid II - Do They Know It's Christmas? goes to no.1 in the UK charts. 17th - The first full length episode of The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", premieres on FOX. 20th - The United States invades Panama in an attempt to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega. 25th - Deposed Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena are executed in Romania. 31st - The world mourns the end of the greatest ever decade.
