1985

1985 was a year of significant developments in technology, entertainment, and politics. Technology took some steps forward to lay the foundation for some things that are with us today. For instance, the Domain Name System for the Internet is created. This was a huge step forward, as the Internet would become popularized only about a decade after this point.

1985

Later in the year, Microsoft released “Windows 1.0” (in November of 1985). Steve Jobs also resigned from Apple in September of 1985, but would return to the company in 1997 after helping get Pixar off the ground from Lucasfilm’s computer graphics division. Jobs would remain CEO of Apple until 2011.

This is also a year that was very important for today’s gamers. In September of 1985, Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The following month, Nintendo released the NES for the US market. Once this release was made, it created a new hobby for an entire generation.

In the entertainment field, Madonna launched her first concert tour, dubbed “The Virgin Tour” in New York City. The immensely popular film Back to the Future made its premier in July, launching a franchise starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. In November of 1985, the famous comic strip Calvin and Hobbes made its debut.

In a notable side development in archaeology, the wreckage of the infamous British passenger liner RMS Titanic was found after sinking in the North Atlantic in 1912.

There was also a major political development revolving around the Cold War. In March of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the head of the Soviet Union. This is significant because Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union. He acted in his capacity as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Discover how the world looked like in 1985

Looking for 1985 Calendar ? Here it is: January 1985, February 1985, March 1985, April 1985, May 1985, June 1985, July 1985, August 1985, September 1985, October 1985, November 1985, December 1985

Your place in the Universe on 1985

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Oscar

Oscar Winners

All Academy Awards Prize winners of the 58th edition of the Oscar ceremony


Best picture

Out of Africa

Out of Africa

Out of Africa

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Starring: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen

Country: United States of America

Best director

Sydney Pollack

Out of Africa

Out of Africa

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Starring: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen

Country: United States of America

Best actor

William Hurt

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Directed by: Hector Babenco

Starring: William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sônia Braga, José Lewgoy

Best actress

Geraldine Page

The Trip to Bountiful

The Trip to Bountiful

Directed by: Peter Masterson

Starring: Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford

Best supporting actor

Don Ameche

Cocoon

Cocoon

Directed by: Ron Howard

Starring: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy

Country: United States of America

Best supporting actress

Anjelica Huston

Prizzi's Honor

Prizzi's Honor

Directed by: John Huston

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Loggia, John Randolph

world population

Time Person of the Year

Who was the person of the year of 1985?


Deng Xiaoping
As Paramount Leader of China, Deng was acknowledged for "sweeping economic reforms that have challenged Marxist orthodoxies".

Books

Which were the most popular books released in 1985 ?
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The Hunt For Red October by Tom Clancy

The Hunt For Red October

By:

This is the bestseller that launched Tom Clancy’s remarkable career. This is a military thriller that gripped readers with its action and was so precise, it was even rumored that the author wrote it.

Smart Women, Foolish Choices by Connell Cowan and Melvyn Kinder

Smart Women, Foolish Choices

By:

Smart Women Make Foolish Choices

If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon

If Tomorrow Comes

By:

Tracy Whitney, a lovely and idealistic woman is sentenced to a 15-year term in an escape-proof penitentiary. She fights back with brilliant ingenuity to defeat the untouchable crime lords that put her there.

A Passion For Excellence by Tom Peters and Nancy Austin

A Passion For Excellence

By:

For people who are looking to make a difference in their careers, A Passion for Excellence is the most important, inspiring and career-transforming book that has ever been published.

A Light In The Attic by Shel Silverstein

A Light In The Attic

By:

While I was thinking here last night, Some Whatifs crawled into my ear. They danced and partied all night. And sang the same old Whatif song: What if I fail that test?

Have a look at the old UK newspapers from 1985 and get them!

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The Times

Do you remember those beautiful old magazines?

Browse your magazine from 1985
life magazines
Nobel Prize

Nobel Prizes

All Nobel Prize winners of 1985


Peace Prize

  • International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

Literature

  • Claude Simon

Physics

  • Klaus von Klitzing

Economic Sciences

  • Franco Modigliani

Chemistry

  • Herbert A. Hauptman
  • Jerome Karle

Physiology or Medicine

  • Michael Stuart Brown
  • Joseph L. Goldstein
vinyl songs

Music charts

Which were the top hits of 1985?


Top #1 songs in the USA

  • - Crazy For You
  • - Careless Whisper
  • - Can't Fight This Feelingyoutube
  • - I Want To Know What Love Is
  • - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
  • - Money For Nothing
  • - We Are The World
  • - Power Of Love
  • - Everytime You Go Awayyoutube
  • - Separate Lives

Top #1 songs in the UK

  • - Easy Lover
  • - Frankie
  • - Do They Know It's Christmas?
  • - I Want To Know What Love Is
  • - Move Closer
  • - I Know Him So Well
  • - 19
  • - I Got You Babe
  • - There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
  • - The Power Of Love

Movies

Which were the most popular Movies released in those months?
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The Day the Universe Changed

The Day the Universe Changed

Release year: 1985

Starring: James Burke

Back to the Future

Back to the Future

Release year: 1985

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover

Country: United States of America

Ran

Ran

Release year: 1985

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû

Country: United States of America

Come and See

Come and See

Release year: 1985

Directed by: Elem Klimov

Starring: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas

Country: United States of America

Rocky Road

Rocky Road

Release year: 1985

Directed by: Brian K. Roberts

1985 Chinese Zodiac and Horoscope

According to the Chinese Zodiac and Astrology 1985 is the year of the Ox

chinese zodiac sign

Popular names

Which were the top popular names given to babies born in 1985 in the USA ?

world population

World Population

Demographic statistics of the year 1985


Population statistics

  • Total population: 4.9 billion (4,870,921,740 to be precise!)
  • Urban population: 2.0 billion, that is 41.0% of the total population of 1985 lives in cities
  • Yearly change: +87.1 million, corresponding to a percentage increase of +1.82%
  • Average density: 33.0 persons per km2
history

Historical Events

Which were the important events of 1985?


Events

  • 01 Jan 1985 International Youth Year begins
  • 02 Jan 1985 Australia beats West Indies by innings at Sydney Cricket Ground, Bob Holland 10 match wickets.
  • 03 Jan 1985 Azharuddin scores 110 in first Test innings.
  • 05 Jan 1985 Discovery moves to launch pad for STS 51-C mission
  • 07 Jan 1985 King & I opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 191 performances
  • 10 Jan 1985 Daniel Ortega Saavedra inaugurated as President of Nicaragua.
  • 13 Jan 1985 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises US$17,100,000.
  • 14 Jan 1985 Sixteen indicted by US for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees.
  • 15 Jan 1985 Civil rights activist Tancredo Neves elected President
  • 16 Jan 1985 Playboy announces end of stapling centerfolds
  • 17 Jan 1985 Azharuddin scores second Test century in second Test (versus England).
  • 18 Jan 1985 US renounces jurisdiction of World Court despite previous promise.
  • 19 Jan 1985 Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen peaked at #9
  • 20 Jan 1985 Cold front strikes US, at least 40 die (-27 degrees F (-33 degrees C) in Chicago, Illinois).
  • 21 Jan 1985 -34 degrees F (-37 degrees C), Mount Mitchell, North Carolina (state record).
  • 22 Jan 1985 Cold wave damages 90 percent of Florida's citrus crop.
  • 24 Jan 1985 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 is launched.
  • 25 Jan 1985 Black & Blue, premieres in Paris
  • 26 Jan 1985 42th Golden Globes: Amadeus wins.
  • 27 Jan 1985 Doug Henning & His World... closes at Lunt-Fontanne New York after 60 performances
  • 28 Jan 1985 12th American Music Award
  • 29 Jan 1985 Pop stars in LA record We Are The World
  • 31 Jan 1985 South African President PW Botha offers to free Nelson Mandela if he denounces violence.
  • 01 Feb 1985 -61 degrees F (-52 degrees C), Maybell, Colorado (state record).
  • 02 Feb 1985 US male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano.
  • 03 Feb 1985 Joanne Carner win LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic.
  • 04 Feb 1985 Naval exercises canceled when US refuses to tell New Zealand of nuclear weapons.
  • 05 Feb 1985 Australia cancels its involvement in U.S.-led MX missile tests.
  • 07 Feb 1985 "New York, New York" becomes the official anthem of New York City, New York.
  • 08 Feb 1985 Opposition leader Kim Dae Jung returns to South-Korea.
  • 09 Feb 1985 U.S. drug agent Enrique Camarena is kidnapped and murdered in Mexico (his body is discovered March 5).
  • 10 Feb 1985 Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-E mission
  • 11 Feb 1985 Jordan King Hussein and PLO leader Arafat sign accord
  • 12 Feb 1985 37th NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 6-4 at Calgary.
  • 13 Feb 1985 Dow Jones closes at 1297.92 (record high) after topping 1300 earlier
  • 14 Feb 1985 Hostage CNN reporter Jeremy Levin is released in Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 15 Feb 1985 STS 51-E vehicle moves to launch pad
  • 16 Feb 1985 New Jersey Devils score their fastest hat trick in 42 seconds
  • 17 Feb 1985 1st class postage rises from 20 cents to 22 cents
  • 19 Feb 1985 150 killed when a Spanish jetliner crashed approaching Bilbao, Spain
  • 20 Feb 1985 Minolta releases the Maxxum 7000, world's first autofocus single-lens reflex camera.
  • 21 Feb 1985 Largest NBA crowd to date: 44,970 (Atlanta Hawks at Detroit Pistons).
  • 23 Feb 1985 US Senate confirms Edwin Meese III as Attorney General.
  • 24 Feb 1985 Yul Brynner reprised his role in The King & I
  • 26 Feb 1985 27th Grammy Awards: "What's Love Got to Do With It", Cyndi Lauper win.
  • 27 Feb 1985 Farmers converge in Washington to demand economic relief.
  • 28 Feb 1985 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.
  • 01 Mar 1985 Liza Minnelli enters Betty Ford Drug Center
  • 02 Mar 1985 US approves screening test for AIDS.
  • 03 Mar 1985 Moonlighting with Cybill Shepard and Bruce Willis, premieres
  • 04 Mar 1985 STS 51-E vehicle rolls back to Vandenberg AFB; mission cancelled
  • 05 Mar 1985 New York Islanders' Mike Bossy is first to score 50 goals in eight straight seasons.
  • 06 Mar 1985 Yul Brynner appears in his 4,500th performance of The King and I.
  • 07 Mar 1985 IBM-PC DOS Version 3.1 (update) released
  • 08 Mar 1985 Ice Dance Championship at Tokyo won by Bestemianova and Bukin (URS)
  • 09 Mar 1985 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Tokyo won by Katarina Witt (GDR)
  • 10 Mar 1985 Dallas Mavericks' coach Dick Motta is fourth NBA coach to win 700 games.
  • 11 Mar 1985 Mikhail S Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.
  • 12 Mar 1985 Larry Bird scores Boston Celtics' record 60 points.
  • 13 Mar 1985 Funeral services held for Konstantin Chernenko (Moscow)
  • 14 Mar 1985 Michael Secrest (US) completes 24-hr ride of 516 miles, 427 yards
  • 15 Mar 1985 Larry Holmes TKOs David Bey in ten rounds for heavyweight boxing title.
  • 16 Mar 1985 Denny McLain, pitcher, convicted of racketeering, sentenced to 25 years.
  • 17 Mar 1985 Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the ''Night Stalker'', commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles, California murder spree.
  • 18 Mar 1985 Commissioner Peter Ueberroth reinstates Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle
  • 19 Mar 1985 Spin Magazine begins publishing
  • 20 Mar 1985 Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
  • 21 Mar 1985 Bloodbath at Langa (Uitenhage) South Africa, 19 killed.
  • 22 Mar 1985 NASA launches Intelsat VA.
  • 23 Mar 1985 Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-D mission
  • 24 Mar 1985 5th Golden Raspberry Awards: Bolero wins
  • 25 Mar 1985 57th Academy Awards - Amadeus, F Murray Abraham and Sally Field win
  • 27 Mar 1985 Billy Dee Williams receives a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • 28 Mar 1985 STS 51-D vehicle moves to launch pad
  • 29 Mar 1985 Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 126th assist.
  • 31 Mar 1985 15th Easter Seal Telethon raises US$27,400,000.
  • 02 Apr 1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
  • 03 Apr 1985 French government adopts equal electoral system.
  • 04 Apr 1985 Tulane University cancels its basketball season amidst scandal.
  • 06 Apr 1985 Atlantis (OV-104) rollout at Palmdale
  • 07 Apr 1985 New Jersey Generals' Hershel Walker runs for USFL record 233 yards.
  • 08 Apr 1985 Leader of the Pack opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 120 performances
  • 10 Apr 1985 Caps 4-Isles 3 (OT) - Patrick Division Semifinals - Caps hold 1-0 lead
  • 11 Apr 1985 Caps 2-Isles 1 (OT) - Patrick Division Semifinals - Caps hold 2-0 lead
  • 12 Apr 1985 16th Shuttle Mission (51D) - Discovery 4 launched with Senator Jake Garn
  • 13 Apr 1985 TASS denounced US boycott of Moscow Olympics
  • 14 Apr 1985 Take Me Along! opens / closes at Martin Beck Theater, New York City
  • 15 Apr 1985 Challenger moves to launch pad for 51-B missing
  • 16 Apr 1985 Grind opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 79 performances
  • 18 Apr 1985 Flyers 3-Isles 0 - Patrick Division Finals - Flyers hold 1-0 lead
  • 19 Apr 1985 16th Space Shuttle Mission (51-D) - Discovery 4 returns to Earth
  • 20 Apr 1985 Karyn Marshall of New York City, New York lifts 303 pounds in a clean-and-jerk lift.
  • 21 Apr 1985 Flyers 5-Isles 2 - Patrick Division Finals - Flyers hold 2-0 lead
  • 23 Apr 1985 Flyers 5-Isles 3 - Patrick Division Finals - Flyers hold 3-0 lead
  • 24 Apr 1985 Pulitzer prize awarded to Carolyn Lizer for Yin
  • 25 Apr 1985 Flyers 2-Isles 6 - Patrick Division Finals - Flyers hold 3-1 lead
  • 28 Apr 1985 Billy Martin named New York Yankees' manager for fourth time.
  • 29 Apr 1985 17th space shuttle mission (51-B) - Challenger 7 launched
  • 30 Apr 1985 Last edition of Brink Daily Mail / Sunday Express in South Africa
  • 01 May 1985 US President Ronald Reagan ends embargo against Nicaragua.
  • 02 May 1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
  • 03 May 1985 Date of $5 million check in View to a Kill
  • 04 May 1985 111th Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr on Spend A Buck wins 2:00.2.
  • 05 May 1985 U.S. President Ronald Reagan joins German Chancellor Helmut Kohl for a controversial funeral service at a cemetery in Bitburg, Germany, which includes the graves of 59 elite S.S. troops from World War II.
  • 06 May 1985 17th Space Shuttle Mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 lands at Edwards Air Force Base.
  • 08 May 1985 20th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alabama and Judds win.
  • 09 May 1985 Edmond O'Brien, American actor (Sam Benedict, Johnny Midnight), dies at age 69 of Alzheimer's disease (born 1915).
  • 10 May 1985 Challenger transports back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
  • 11 May 1985 40 die and 150 injured in fire at Bradford City football ground
  • 12 May 1985 Amy Eilberg is ordained in New York as 1st woman Conservative rabbi
  • 13 May 1985 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayor Wilson Goode orders police to storm the radical group MOVE's headquarters to end a stand-off. The police drop an explosive device into the headquarters, killing 11 MOVE members and destroying the homes of 61 city residents in the resulting fire.
  • 15 May 1985 Everton wins 25th Europe Cup II at Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  • 16 May 1985 Pope John Paul II arrives in Belgium
  • 17 May 1985 Les Anderson catches record 97-pound 4-ounce Chinook Salmon, off Alaska.
  • 18 May 1985 One Night In Bangkok by Murray Head hits #3
  • 19 May 1985 Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Golf Classic.
  • 20 May 1985 1150 Lebanese / Palestinian prisoners exchanged for 3 Israelis
  • 22 May 1985 US sailor Michael L Walker arrested for spying for USSR.
  • 24 May 1985 View to a Kill premieres in US
  • 25 May 1985 Cyclone ravages Bangladesh; 11,000 killed
  • 26 May 1985 Danny Sullivan wins Indianapolis 500 by 24 seconds following a spin.
  • 27 May 1985 Britain agrees to return Hong Kong to China in 1997.
  • 28 May 1985 Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-G
  • 29 May 1985 Juventus wins 30th Europe Cup 1 in Brussels, 39 die in riot
  • 31 May 1985 Tornados in Penn, Ohio, New York and Canada kill 88 and injured more than 1,000
  • 01 Jun 1985 Weird Al Yankovic released his Dare To Be Stupid LP
  • 02 Jun 1985 31st LPGA Championship won by Nancy Lopez
  • 03 Jun 1985 Brewers draft B J Surhoff #1
  • 04 Jun 1985 STS 51-G vehicle moves to launch pad
  • 06 Jun 1985 55th French Womens Tennis: Chris Evert beats Navratilova (63 67 75)
  • 08 Jun 1985 117th Belmont: Eddie Maple aboard Creme Fraiche wins in 2:27
  • 09 Jun 1985 39th NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Boston Celtics, 4 games to 2
  • 10 Jun 1985 19th Music City News Country Awards: Statler Brothers, B Mandrell
  • 11 Jun 1985 Russian space probe Vega 1 lands on Venus
  • 13 Jun 1985 In Auburn, Washington, police defuse a Unabomber bomb sent to Boeing.
  • 14 Jun 1985 Michael Nesmith In Television Parts premieres on NBC-TV
  • 15 Jun 1985 Pinklon Thomas KOs Mike Weaver in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
  • 16 Jun 1985 85th US Golf Open: Andy North shoots a 279 at Oakland Hills Country Club - Michigan
  • 17 Jun 1985 18th Space Shuttle Mission (51-G) - Discovery 5 launched
  • 18 Jun 1985 Boston Red Sox Fred Lynn gets 10 RBIs
  • 19 Jun 1985 Reggie Jackson hits his 513th home run to move into 10th place.
  • 21 Jun 1985 American, Brazilian and West German forensic pathologists confirm skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were Nazi Dr Josef Mengele
  • 22 Jun 1985 Grind closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 79 performances
  • 23 Jun 1985 Alice Miller wins LPGA Mayflower Golf Classic
  • 24 Jun 1985 18th Space Shuttle Mission (51-G) - Discovery 5 - returns to Earth. Payload Specialist Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud completes being the first Arab and first Muslim in space.
  • 25 Jun 1985 Fireworks factory near Hallett, Oklahoma explodes (21 die).
  • 26 Jun 1985 Walt Disney World Resort Monorail Gold catches fire on the EPCOT beam around 9:00pm due to friction from a flat tire.
  • 27 Jun 1985 1st hotel strike in New York
  • 28 Jun 1985 Discovery ferried back to Kennedy Space Center via Bergstrom AFB, Texas
  • 29 Jun 1985 STS 51-F vehicle moves to launch pad
  • 30 Jun 1985 King & I closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 191 performances
  • 01 Jul 1985 The Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons enters into force.
  • 02 Jul 1985 Andrei Gromyko is appointed the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
  • 03 Jul 1985 CBS announces a 21 percent stock buy-back to thwart Ted Turner's takeover.
  • 05 Jul 1985 Premier Mugabe wins Zimbabwe elections
  • 07 Jul 1985 92nd Wimbledon Womens Tennis: M Navratilova beats C Evert (46 63 62)
  • 08 Jul 1985 99th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Boris Becker beats K Curren (63 67 76 64)
  • 09 Jul 1985 The Liberty-Ellis Island Commemorative Coin Act and Silver Bullion Coin Act of 1985 become law, authorizing a one-ounce 0.999 fine silver bullion coin.
  • 10 Jul 1985 Coca-Cola Co announces it will resume selling old formula Coke
  • 11 Jul 1985 Refurbished Columbia moves overland from Palmdale to Dryden
  • 12 Jul 1985 STS 51-F launch scrubbed at T -3s because of main engine shutdown
  • 13 Jul 1985 Live Aid concert raises over $70 million for African famine relief
  • 14 Jul 1985 Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Offutt AFB, Neb
  • 15 Jul 1985 Deborah Carthy-Deu, of Puerto Rico, crowned 34th Miss Universe
  • 16 Jul 1985 56th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-1 at Humphrey Metrodome, Minnesota
  • 19 Jul 1985 Christa McAuliffe chosen 1st school teacher to fly space shuttle
  • 20 Jul 1985 Divers find wreck of Spanish galleon Atocha
  • 21 Jul 1985 Leader of the Pack closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 120 performances
  • 23 Jul 1985 Commodore International introduces the Amiga 1000 computer. It features a Motorola 68000 processor, custom color graphics and stereo sound processors, a multitasking, windowing operating system, 256 kB RAM, and 880 kB 3.5-inch disk drive. Price is US$1300.
  • 24 Jul 1985 Gandhi signs peace contract with Sikh leader Harchand Singh Longowai.
  • 25 Jul 1985 Spokeswoman for Rock Hudson confirmed he had AIDS
  • 28 Jul 1985 13th du Maurier Golf Classic: Pat Bradley
  • 29 Jul 1985 19th Space Shuttle Mission (51-F) - Challenger 8-launched
  • 30 Jul 1985 Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-I mission
  • 31 Jul 1985 Liberia recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
  • 01 Aug 1985 15.4 cm rainfall at Cheyenne, Wyoming (state record)
  • 02 Aug 1985 Delta Lockheed L-1011 crashes at Dallas-Ft Worth Airport, 137 die
  • 03 Aug 1985 Train crash at Flaujac, France: 35 killed
  • 04 Aug 1985 Dreamgirls closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 1522 performances
  • 05 Aug 1985 Establishment of a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is announced
  • 06 Aug 1985 19th space shuttle mission (51-F), Challenger 8, lands at Edwards AFB
  • 07 Aug 1985 Barbra Streisand records Broadway Album
  • 10 Aug 1985 Uno Lindstron of Sweden juggles a soccer ball 13.11 miles.
  • 11 Aug 1985 Tap Dance Kid closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 669 performances
  • 12 Aug 1985 7th Emmy Sports Award presentation
  • 15 Aug 1985 Anti-apartheid lawyer Bulelani Ngcuka marries in South Africa
  • 16 Aug 1985 Madonna weds Sean Penn on her 27th birthday
  • 17 Aug 1985 1,400 meatpackers walk off the job at a Geo A Hormel and Co plant
  • 18 Aug 1985 Muffin Spencer-Devlin wins MasterCard International Pro-Am Golf Tourn
  • 20 Aug 1985 Libya throws out 1000s Tunisian / Egyptian gas workers
  • 21 Aug 1985 New York Lotto pays $41 million to three winner (#s are 14-17-22-23-30-47)
  • 22 Aug 1985 30th Walker Cup: US wins 13-11
  • 23 Aug 1985 South African attorney / UDF leader Dulah Omar arrested
  • 24 Aug 1985 STS 51-I mission scrubbed at T -5m because of bad weather
  • 25 Aug 1985 Met Dwight Goodin becomes youngest pitcher to win 20 games (20y 9m 9d)
  • 26 Aug 1985 French government claims no knowledge of assault on Rainbow Warrior
  • 27 Aug 1985 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I) - Discovery 6 - launched.
  • 29 Aug 1985 Atlantis moves to launch pad for 51-J mission
  • 31 Aug 1985 Prakas sets trotting mile record of 1:53.4 at Du Quoin, Illinois
  • 01 Sep 1985 Cyclist Joop Zoetemelk becomes world champion
  • 02 Sep 1985 Betsy King wins LPGA Rail Charity Golf Classic
  • 03 Sep 1985 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I) - Discovery 6-returns to Earth
  • 04 Sep 1985 Igor Paklin of the USSR sets a new high jump world record at 2.41 metres.
  • 06 Sep 1985 Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a Douglas DC-9, crashes just after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing 31.
  • 07 Sep 1985 99th US Womens Tennis: Hana Mandlikova beats M Navratilova (76 16 76)
  • 08 Sep 1985 105th US Mens Tennis: Ivan Lendl beats John McEnroe (76 63 64)
  • 09 Sep 1985 President Reagan orders sanctions against South Africa
  • 11 Sep 1985 Flyby of Comet Giacobini-Zinner
  • 13 Sep 1985 2nd MTV Awards: Bruce Springsteen
  • 14 Sep 1985 Susan Akin (Miss), 21, crowned 59th Miss America 1986
  • 15 Sep 1985 Joanne Carner wins LPGA SAFECO Golf Classic
  • 16 Sep 1985 Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs resigns as chairman of Apple Computer.
  • 17 Sep 1985 Soyuz T-14 carries three cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station.
  • 18 Sep 1985 Song & Dance opens at Royale Theater NYC for 474 performances
  • 19 Sep 1985 Allied Chemical (Allied Corp.) changes its company name to Allied-Signal Incorp.
  • 20 Sep 1985 Curtis Strong is convicted for selling cocaine to pro baseball players
  • 21 Sep 1985 Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
  • 22 Sep 1985 37th Emmy Awards: Cagney and Lacey, Cosby Show and Tyne Daly win
  • 23 Sep 1985 Italian crime reporter Giancarlo Siani is killed by Camorra.
  • 24 Sep 1985 Apollo Computer Inc lays off 300 employees
  • 25 Sep 1985 Palestinian terrorists kill 3 Israeli sailors at Lanaca Cyprus
  • 26 Sep 1985 Tunisia drops diplomatic relations with Libya
  • 27 Sep 1985 Hurricane Gloria's 130 MPH wind hits the Atlantic coast of the USA.
  • 28 Sep 1985 Every Step Of The Way by John Waite peaks at #25
  • 29 Sep 1985 Alfred Hitchcock Presents, returns to NBC-TV
  • 30 Sep 1985 Howard Stern gets fired from WNBC AM (NY)
  • 01 Oct 1985 Israeli air raid on PLO-headquarter at Tunis, 68 killed
  • 02 Oct 1985 Russian party leader Gorbatsjov visits Paris
  • 03 Oct 1985 21st Shuttle Mission (51J) - Atlantis 1-all-military flight launched
  • 04 Oct 1985 Henry G Perry completes 157-day, 14,021 mile bicycle tour of Australia.
  • 06 Oct 1985 PC Keith Blakelock is murdered as riots erupt in the Broadwater Farm suburb of London.
  • 07 Oct 1985 21st Space Shuttle Mission (51-J) - Atlantis 1 lands at Edwards AFB
  • 08 Oct 1985 Rembrandt & Hitler or Me premieres in Amsterdam
  • 09 Oct 1985 Tango Argentino opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 198 performances
  • 10 Oct 1985 Sudan adopts interim constitution
  • 11 Oct 1985 US intercepts Egyptian Boeing with Achille Lauro terrorists
  • 12 Oct 1985 Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61A mission
  • 13 Oct 1985 Sunday in the Park with George closes at Booth NYC after 604 performances
  • 14 Oct 1985 19th Country Music Association Award: Ricky Skaggs wins
  • 15 Oct 1985 Nobel prize for economics awarded to Franco Modigliani
  • 16 Oct 1985 Challenger vehicle moves to launch pad for STS 61A mission
  • 17 Oct 1985 French Author Claude Simon won the Nobel Prize in literature
  • 18 Oct 1985 Nintendo releases the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States, in New York City. Special displays are set up in department, toy, and electronics stores. The NES comes with the Robotic Operating Buddy and the Zapper light gun. Price is US$125. Seventeen game cartridges are available with the launch of the game system.
  • 19 Oct 1985 The first Blockbuster Video store opens in Dallas, Texas.
  • 22 Oct 1985 Bret Saberhagen gives Kansas City Royals their 1st World Series win
  • 25 Oct 1985 Angels announce that they will not offer Rod Carew a new contract
  • 26 Oct 1985 On a poor call in 6th game, umpire Don Deckinger starts a string of events costing Saint Louis Cardinals the 82nd World Series.
  • 27 Oct 1985 16th NYC Marathon won by Orlando Pizzolato in 2:11:34
  • 28 Oct 1985 Ravi Ratnayeke takes 8-83 for Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan
  • 29 Oct 1985 Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced the winner of the first multi-party election in Liberia.
  • 30 Oct 1985 22nd Space Shuttle Mission (61-A) - Challenger 9-launched
  • 01 Nov 1985 Netherlands decides definative sites for cruise missiles
  • 03 Nov 1985 Jan Stephenson wins LPGA Nichirei Cup Team Match Golf Tournament
  • 05 Nov 1985 News opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 4 performances
  • 06 Nov 1985 22nd Space Shuttle Mission (61A) -Challenger 9- lands at Edwards AFB
  • 08 Nov 1985 Atlantis moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61-B mission
  • 09 Nov 1985 News closes at Helen Hayes Theater NYC after 4 performances
  • 10 Nov 1985 Jane Blalock wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic
  • 11 Nov 1985 1st AIDS theme TV movie - An Early Frost
  • 12 Nov 1985 Secretary in Ann Arbor Michigan wounded by package bomb
  • 13 Nov 1985 Dwight Gooden, youngest 20-game winner in Major League Baseball, wins Cy Young award.
  • 14 Nov 1985 Brewers release 39-year-old pitcher Rollie Fingers
  • 15 Nov 1985 In separate events, mail bombs kill two people in Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • 17 Nov 1985 Howard Stern begins broadcasting on 92.3 WXRK FM, New York
  • 18 Nov 1985 Dwight Gooden (NL) and Bret Saberhagen (AL) win Cy Young
  • 19 Nov 1985 President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for 1st time
  • 20 Nov 1985 New York Yankees' Don Mattingly named American League Most Valuable Player.
  • 21 Nov 1985 United States Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations. He is subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
  • 22 Nov 1985 Columbia moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 61-C
  • 23 Nov 1985 58 die as Egyptian commandos storm hijack Egyptair jet in Malta
  • 24 Nov 1985 73rd CFL Grey Cup: BC Lions defeats Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 37-24
  • 25 Nov 1985 White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen, is named AL Rookie of Year
  • 26 Nov 1985 23rd Space Shuttle Mission (61-B) - Atlantis 2 is launched
  • 27 Nov 1985 Cards Vince Coleman wins NL Rookie of Year
  • 28 Nov 1985 6th Belgium government of Martens forms
  • 29 Nov 1985 Ibero-American States Organization for Education, Science and Culture (Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación la Ciencia y la Cultura) (OEI) created.
  • 01 Dec 1985 STS 61-C vehicle moves to launch pad
  • 02 Dec 1985 Mystery of Edwin Drood opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 608 performances
  • 03 Dec 1985 23rd Shuttle Mission (61-B) - Atlantis 2 lands at Edwards AFB
  • 04 Dec 1985 Les Miserables opens at Palace Theatre, London
  • 05 Dec 1985 Dow Jones Industrial Average rises above the 1500 level for first time.
  • 06 Dec 1985 United Kingdom joins US Strategic Defence Initiative project.
  • 07 Dec 1985 51st Heisman Trophy Award: Bo Jackson, Auburn (RB).
  • 08 Dec 1985 Laurie Rinker / Larry Rinker wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
  • 09 Dec 1985 Jerry Rice begins NFL streak of 100+ consecutive game receptions
  • 10 Dec 1985 Bill to balance the US federal budget passed by Congress.
  • 11 Dec 1985 Computer store owner in Sacramento California killed by package bomb
  • 12 Dec 1985 248 US soldiers and 8 crew members die in Arrow Air charter crash
  • 13 Dec 1985 Test debut of Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh and Bruce Reid (vs. India)
  • 14 Dec 1985 US Foreign Minister George Shultz arrives in West Berlin
  • 15 Dec 1985 Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielson wed
  • 16 Dec 1985 Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-L mission
  • 17 Dec 1985 US President Ronald Reagan signs the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-185) directing Treasury to issue 0.9167 fine gold bullion coins: $50 (one ounce), $25 (half ounce), $10 (quarter ounce), $5 (tenth ounce). The gold is to be acquired from natural deposits in the US or territory or possession when possible, and when not, from the US reserves. Profits from sales would be used to pay down the national debt.
  • 19 Dec 1985 Wind in the Willows opens at Nederlander Theater NYC for 4 performances
  • 20 Dec 1985 Denis Potvin passes Bobby Orr as NHL defenseman scorer (916 points).
  • 21 Dec 1985 Alice Miller / Don January wins LPGA Mazda Golf Championship
  • 22 Dec 1985 Wind in the Willows closes at Nederlander Theater NYC after 4 performances
  • 24 Dec 1985 Right wing extremist David Lewis Rice murders civil rights attorney Charles Goldmark as well as Goldmark's wife and two children in Seattle, Washington.
  • 27 Dec 1985 Terrorists kill 20 andwound 110 attacking El Al at Rome andVienna airports, President Reagan blames Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi
  • 28 Dec 1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
  • 30 Dec 1985 IBM-PC DOS Version 3.2 released