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.

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

Oscar Winners

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

Best picture

Out of Africa

Best director

Sydney Pollack

Best actor

William Hurt

Best actress

Geraldine Page

Best supporting actor

Don Ameche

Best supporting actress

Anjelica Huston

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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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

Music charts

Which were the top hits of 1985?

Top #1 songs in the USA

Madonna - Crazy For You
Wham! - Careless Whisper
REO Speedwagon - Can't Fight This Feeling
Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Dire Straits - Money For Nothing
USA for Africa - We Are The World
Huey Lewis & The News - Power Of Love
Paul Young - Everytime You Go Away
Phil Collins - Separate Lives

Top #1 songs in the UK

Philip Bailey With Phil Collins - Easy Lover
Sister Sledge - Frankie
Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?
Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
Phyllis Nelson - Move Closer
Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson - I Know Him So Well
Paul Hardcastle - 19
UB40 featuring Chrissie Hynde - I Got You Babe
Eurythmics - There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
Jennifer Rush - The Power Of Love

Movies

Which were the most popular Movies released in those months?
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Popular names

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

Top #10 male names

Top #10 female names

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

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

1985

Your place in the Universe on 1985

Find out more about your Moon Sign

Oscar Winners

Best picture

Out of Africa

Out of Africa

Best director

Sydney Pollack

Out of Africa

Best actor

William Hurt

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Best actress

Geraldine Page

The Trip to Bountiful

Best supporting actor

Don Ameche

Cocoon

Best supporting actress

Anjelica Huston

Prizzi's Honor

Time Person of the Year

Books

The Hunt For Red October

Smart Women, Foolish Choices

If Tomorrow Comes

A Passion For Excellence

A Light In The Attic

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

Do you remember those beautiful old magazines?

Nobel Prizes

Peace Prize

Literature

Physics

Economic Sciences

Chemistry

Physiology or Medicine

Music charts

Top #1 songs in the USA

Top #1 songs in the UK

Movies

The Day the Universe Changed

Back to the Future

Ran

Come and See

Rocky Road

1985 Chinese Zodiac and Horoscope

Popular names

Top #10 male names

Top #10 female names

World Population

Population statistics

Historical Events

Events