| January 1 | Aruba becomes independent from neighbor island Curaeao |
| January 1 | Barbra Striesand and Jon Peters relationship breaks up |
| January 1 | International Peace Year begins |
| January 1 | Iowa's All-American running back, Ronnie Harmon, fumbles the ball 4 times in his last game at the Rose Bowl |
| January 1 | New York City transit fare rises from 90 cents to $1.00 |
| January 1 | Oklahoma wins Orange Bowl for college football championship |
| January 1 | Spain and Portugal are 11th and 12th to join European Economic Community |
| January 2 | 191.66 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange |
| January 2 | New York Islander, Mike Bossy, scores his 500th goal |
| January 4 | David Boon's second Test century, 131 vs. India at Adelaide |
| January 4 | NCAA basketball's David Robinson blocks a record 14 shots |
| January 6 | British Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine resigns |
| January 6 | Impala Platinum fires 20,000 black mine workers in Johannesburg |
| January 6 | Last day in Test cricket for Bob Holland |
| January 6 | STS-61-C scrubbed at T-31sec because of liquid oxygen valve problem |
| January 7 | Netherlands Bank issues 250 guilder notes |
| January 7 | STS-61-C mission scrubbed at T -9m because of weather problems |
| January 7 | U.S. president Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya |
| January 8 | Willie McCovey is 16th elected to Hall of Fame in his 1st year |
| January 9 | New York Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Pittsburgh Penguins |
| January 10 | Palau signs Compact of Free Association with U.S. |
| January 10 | STS-61-C mission scrubbed T -9m because of bad weather at Kennedy |
| January 11 | 1st black lt Governor since reconstruction sworn in (Douglas Wilder of Va) |
| January 12 | 24th space shuttle (61-C) mission-Columbia 7-launched |
| January 12 | Chicago Blackhawks Denis Savard scores at 4 seconds of 3rd period |
| January 13 | NCCA institutes eligibility requirements based on college exams |
| January 13 | South Yemen President Ali Nasser Mohammed's bodyguard shoots opponents |
| January 14 | Constitution of Guatemala takes effect |
| January 14 | Vinicio Cerezo becomes only 2nd freely elected president of Guatemala since CIA-sponsored coup in 1954 |
| January 15 | Living Seas opens at Epcot |
| January 16 | Police arrested 3 IRA-terrorists in Amsterdam |
| January 17 | Tim Witherspoon beats Tony Tubbs in 15 for heavyweight boxing title |
| January 18 | 24th Space Shuttle (61-C) Mission-Columbia 7-returns to Earth |
| January 18 | AIDS charity record "That's What Friends are For," hits #1 |
| January 18 | New York Lotto pays $30.5 million to one winner (#s are 19-20-27-34-41-46) |
| January 19 | Cerebral Palsy telethon |
| January 19 | Israeli premier Simon Peres visits Netherlands |
| January 19 | Spain recognizes Israel |
| January 20 | 1st federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| January 20 | Chunnel announced (railroad tunnel under Canal) |
| January 20 | Military coup in Lesotho under general-major Lekhanya and premier Leabua Jonathan |
| January 21 | 100 participate in Nude Olympics race in 38 degrees F (3 degrees C), Indiana |
| January 21 | Allison J Brown, 17, of Oklahoma, crowned 4th Miss Teen USA |
| January 21 | Bomb attack in East-Beirut, 27 killed |
| January 22 | Ghorbanifar 1st suggests diversion of cash to contras, says North |
| January 23 | 1st induction of Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame (Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Domino, Everly Bros, B Holly, J L Lewis and Elvis Presley) |
| January 23 | Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB |
| January 23 | "Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood" opens at Ritz Theater New York City for 13 performances |
| January 24 | 43th Golden Globes: Whoopi Goldberg, Color Purple win |
| January 24 | New York Islander Mike Bossy scores his 1,000th point |
| January 24 | South Yemen Premier Haydar Bakr al-Attas becomes interim-president |
| January 24 | Voyager 2 makes 1st fly-by of Uranus (81,593 km), finds new moons |
| January 25 | General Tito Okello's government flees Kampala Uganda |
| January 26 | Hein Vergeer becomes European skating champ |
| January 26 | Superbowl XX: Chicago Bears beat New England Patriots, 46-10 in New Orleans Superbowl MVP: Richard Dent, Chicago, DE |
| January 26 | Val Skinner wins LPGA Mazda Golf Classic |
| January 26 | Yoweri Museveni's rebel army conquerors Kampala Uganda |
| January 27 | 13th American Music Award: Whitney Houston, Huey Lewis and C Gayle |
| January 28 | Angolan Unity Leader Jonas Savimbi visits Washington, D.C. |
| January 28 | Space Shuttle Challenger 10 explodes 73 sec after liftoff |
| January 28 | "Uptown... It's Hot!" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City for 24 performances |
| January 29 | 193.8 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange |
| January 29 | Yoweri Museveni sworn in as president of Uganda |
| January 31 | Mary Lund of Minn, is 1st female recipient of an artificial heart |
| February 1 | KHJ-AM in Los Angeles, California changes call letters to KRTH |
| February 1 | Singer Diana Ross marries Norwegian businessman Arne Naess in Switzerland |
| February 2 | Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic |
| February 2 | Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India |
| February 2 | "Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood" closes at Ritz New York City after 13 performances |
| February 2 | NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 28-24 |
| February 2 | Oscar Arias Sanchez elected president of Costa Rica |
| February 3 | President Reagan announces formation of Commission on Challenger Accident |
| February 4 | 38th NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 4-3 (OT) at Hartford |
| February 4 | Israeli fighters intercept Libyan passenger plane |
| February 5 | Corazon Aquino and Ferdinand Marcos appear on "Nightline" |
| February 6 | New Jersey Devil Peter McNab becomes 42nd NHLer to score 350 goals |
| February 7 | Haiti's President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier flees to France Henri Namphy becomes leader of Haiti |
| February 7 | Philippine Corazon Aquino defeats incumbent dictator Ferdinand Marcos but fraudulent returns gave the election to Marcos |
| February 7 | U.S. Female Figure Skating championship won by Debi Thomas |
| February 8 | 5' 7" Spud Webb of Atlanta Hawks wins NBA Slam Dunk Competition |
| February 8 | U.S. Male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano |
| February 9 | 36th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 139-132 at Dallas |
| February 9 | Halley's Comet reaches 30th perihelion (closest approach to Sun) |
| February 9 | Haydar Bakr al-Attas appointed president of South Yemen |
| February 9 | Marvin Johnson wins record 3rd time, light heavyweight boxing title |
| February 9 | Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Classic |
| February 9 | Tomb of Tutanchamon's treasurer Maya found in Egypt |
| February 9 | West German team swims world record 4x200 m freestyle (7:05.17) |
| February 10 | "John Lennon: Live in New York City" album is released |
| February 11 | Activist Anatoly Scharansky released by U.S.S.R., leaves country |
| February 11 | Australia beat India 2-0 to win the World Series Cup |
| February 11 | Iran begins Fajr-8 offensive against Iraq |
| February 12 | 1st-class cricket debut of Curtly Ambrose, Leeward Is vs. Guyana |
| February 15 | 44,180 largest NBA crowd to date - Philadelphia at Detroit |
| February 15 | Ferdinand Marcos wins rigged Philippines presidential election |
| February 16 | French air force bombs Ouadi Doum airport in Chad |
| February 16 | Hein Vergeer becomes world champion skater |
| February 16 | Karlstad skates world record 10 km (14:12.14) |
| February 16 | Mario Soares (Socialist) elected Portugal's 1st civilian president |
| February 16 | "Uptown... It's Hot!" closes at Lunt-Fontanne New York City after 24 performances |
| February 17 | 1st Francophone Summit convenes at Versailles |
| February 17 | Howard Stern radio show returns to New York City morning radio on WXRK 92.3 FM |
| February 17 | Johnson and Johnson announces it no longer sell capsule drugs |
| February 17 | Libyan bombers attack N'djamena Airport in Chad |
| February 18 | San Antonio's Alvin Robertson scores NBA 2nd quadruple double-20 pts, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals against Phoenix |
| February 19 | Jordanian King Hussein severs ties with PLO |
| February 19 | U.S. Senate ratifies UN's anti-genocide convention 37 years later |
| February 19 | U.S.S.R. launches Mir space station into Earth orbit |
| February 20 | Los Angeles Dodger Orel Hershiser is 1st to win a $1M salary by arbitration |
| February 20 | Mike Tyson sexually harasses a woman in Albany, New York |
| February 21 | AIDS patient Ryan White returns to classes at Western Middle School |
| February 21 | Tennis star Jimmy Connors fined $20,000 and suspended for 10 weeks |
| February 23 | Despite losing, Red Sox Wade Boggs gets largest arbitration ($1.35M) |
| February 23 | Mary Beth Zimmerman wins LPGA Standard Register/Samaritan Golf Classic |
| February 23 | Nelli Fiere-Cooman runs world record 60 m indoor (7.00 sec) |
| February 24 | Texas Air buys Eastern Airlines for $676 million |
| February 24 | Voyager 2, 1st Uranus flyby |
| February 25 | 28th Grammy Awards: We Are the World, Sade, Phil Collins wins |
| February 25 | Corazon Aquino becomes president of Philippines, Marcos flees |
| February 25 | Iran conquerors Iraq peninsula Fao |
| February 25 | Thousands of Egyptian military police riot, destroy 2 luxury hotel |
| February 26 | Evert van Benthem wins 14th Frisian 11-Cities skating race (6:55:16) |
| February 28 | European Economic Community sign "Special Act" for Europe free trade |
| February 28 | Peter Uberroth suspended 7 baseball players for 1 year, after they admitted in Curtis Strong's trial in September, they used drugs |
| March 2 | 1st million-dollar purse for a handicap race won at Santa Anita |
| March 2 | Mary Beth Zimmerman wins Uniden LPGA Golf Invitational |
| March 2 | Protesters try to stop Land Rover motor company being sold to U.S. |
| March 4 | Border completes twin Test tons (140 and 114*) vs. New Zealand |
| March 5 | "Today" tabloid launched (Britain's 1st national color newspaper) |
| March 6 | Ken Ludwig's "Lend me a Tenor," premieres in London |
| March 6 | U.S.S.R.'s Vega 1 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,889 km |
| March 7 | South Africa emergency crisis in Brabant and Limburg ends |
| March 7 | Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 136th assist |
| March 8 | 4 French TV crew members are abducted in Beirut Lebanon |
| March 8 | Japanese probe Suisei passes Halley's Comet at 109,800 km |
| March 8 | Martina Navratilova is 1st tennis player to earn $10 million |
| March 9 | 16th Easter Seal Telethon raises $30,100,000 |
| March 9 | Juli Inkster wins LPGA Women's Kemper Golf Open |
| March 9 | NASA announces searchers found remains of Challenger astronauts |
| March 9 | Soviet probe Vega 2 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,030 km |
| March 10 | Ernie Lombardi, NL MVP in 1938, and Bobby Doerr, elected to Hall of Fame |
| March 11 | 1 million days since traditional foundation of Rome, 4/21/753 BC |
| March 11 | 12th People's Choice Awards |
| March 11 | 187.27 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange |
| March 11 | Islander Mike Bossy, 1st NHLer to score 50 goals in 9 straight seasons |
| March 11 | Japanese probe Sakigake flies by Halley's Comet at 6.8 million km |
| March 11 | NFL adopts instant replay rule |
| March 12 | 210.25 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange |
| March 12 | Susan Butcher wins 1,158 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race |
| March 13 | Soyuz T-15 carries 2 cosmonauts to Soviet space station Mir |
| March 14 | European Space Agency's Giotto flies by Halley's Comet (605 km) |
| March 15 | Funeral services held for Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme |
| March 16 | Chris Johnson wins LPGA GNA/Glendale Federal Golf Classic |
| March 17 | Haemers gang robs gold transport in Belgium of 35 million BF |
| March 18 | Exciting draw in final gives NSW the Sheffield Shield over Qld |
| March 18 | Treasury Department announces plans to alter paper money |
| March 20 | 228 KPH gust of wind strikes Cairngorm (U.K. record) |
| March 20 | Jacques Chirac forms French government |
| March 21 | 199.22 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange |
| March 21 | Kania skates ladies world record 500 m (39.52 sec) and 3 km (4:18.02) |
| March 21 | Pittsburgh Associates buy Pittsburgh Pirates for $218 million |
| March 22 | Ehrig skates ladies world record 5 km (7:20.99) |
| March 22 | HBO launches boxing's heavyweight-title-unification-tournament |
| March 22 | Heart's "These Dreams," single goes #1 |
| March 22 | Ice Pairs Championship at Geneva won by Gordeeva and Grinkov (URS) |
| March 22 | Kania skates ladies world record 1500m (1:59.30) |
| March 22 | Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Geneva won by Debi Thomas (USA) |
| March 22 | Trevor Berbick beats Pinklon Thomas in 15 for heavyweight boxing title |
| March 23 | 6th Golden Raspberry Awards: Rambo: First Blood Part II wins |
| March 23 | Heavyweight Trevor Berbick KOs Pinklon Thomas |
| March 23 | Penny Pulz wins LPGA Circle K Tucson Golf Open |
| March 24 | 58th Academy Awards - "Out of Africa," William Hurt and G Page win |
| March 24 | NASA publishes "Strategy for Safely Returning the Space Shuttle to Flight Status" |
| March 24 | Suriname army Captain Etienne Boerenveen arrested for cocaine smuggling |
| March 24 | U.S. and Libya clash in Gulf of Sidra |
| March 25 | Kurt Browning (Canada) becomes 1st skater to land a quadruple jump |
| March 25 | Men's Figure Skating Championship in Geneva won by Brian Boitano (USA) |
| March 25 | Supreme Court rules Air Force could ban wearing of yarmulkes |
| March 26 | Geffen records signs Guns and Roses |
| March 27 | Disney-MGM Studio Tour ground breaking |
| March 28 | Extremist Sikhs kill 13 hindus in Ludhiana India |
| March 28 | John N. McMahon, ends term as deputy director of CIA |
| March 29 | Beatle records officially go on sale in Russia |
| March 30 | 5th NCAA Women Basketball Championship: Texas beats Southern California 97-81 |
| March 30 | "Tango Argentino" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City after 198 performances |
| March 31 | 167 die when Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashes |
| March 31 | 48th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats Duke 72-69 |
| March 31 | English Hampton Court palace destroyed by fire, 1 dead |
| April 1 | Delhi beat Haryana by innings and 141 to win Ranji Trophy |
| April 1 | U.S. submarine Nathaniel Green runs aground in Irish Sea |
| April 1 | World oil prices dip below $10 a barrel |
| April 2 | 4 U.S. passengers killed by bomb at TWA counter Athens Airport Greece |
| April 2 | George Corley Wallace (Gov-D-Ala) announces retirement plans |
| April 2 | NCAA adopts 3-point basketball rule (19 feet 9 inch distance) |
| April 3 | U.S. national debt hits $2,000,000,000,000 |
| April 4 | Wayne Gretzky sets NHL record with 213th point of season |
| April 5 | Record for a throw-and-return boomerang toss is set (121m) |
| April 5 | U.S. soldier and Turkish woman killed in West Berlin disco bombing |
| April 6 | 15th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Pat Bradley |
| April 6 | Soccer ball juggled non-stop for 14:14 hours |
| April 7 | Wrestlemania II at 3 locations, Hulk Hogan beats King Kong Bundy |
| April 8 | Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel, California |
| April 9 | "Dallas" announces it will revive killed Bobby Ewing character |
| April 10 | Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan |
| April 10 | "Big Deal" opens at Broadway Theater New York City for 70 performances |
| April 10 | U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site |
| April 11 | A Canadain 1921 50 cent piece auctioned in New York City for $22,000 |
| April 11 | Dodge Morgan sailed solo nonstop around world in 150 days |
| April 11 | Halley's Comet makes closest approach to Earth this trip, 63 M km |
| April 11 | KXA-AM in Seattle, Washington changes call letters to KRPM |
| April 12 | 20,000 mine workers protest closing of Hasselt Belgium mines |
| April 13 | 50th Golf Masters Championship: Jack Nicklaus wins, shooting a 279 |
| April 13 | Boston Celtics end season with a 40-1 home win record |
| April 13 | Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Kyocera Inamori Golf Classic |
| April 13 | Pope John Paul II met Rome's Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff at Rome synagogue |
| April 13 | Spanish Grand Prix decided by 0.014 of a second |
| April 14 | 21st Academy of Country Music Awards: G Strait, Alabama, R McEntire |
| April 14 | Desmond Tutu elected Anglican archbishop of Capetown |
| April 14 | Double-decker ferry sinks in stormy weather in Bangladesh killing 200 |
| April 14 | U.S. aircraft attacks 5 terrorist locations in Libya |
| April 15 | U.S. air raids Libya, responding to La Belle disco, Berlin bombing |
| April 15 | Viv Richards century off 56 balls vs. England in Antigua Test Cricket |
| April 16 | To dispel rumors he's dead, Moammar Gadhafi appears on TV |
| April 16 | West Indies complete 5-0 demolition of England |
| April 17 | IBM produces 1st megabit-chip |
| April 17 | Netherlands and Scilly Islands sign peace treaty (war of 1651) |
| April 17 | Pulitzer prize awarded to Larry McMurtry for "Lonesome Dove" |
| April 18 | Robert M. Gates, becomes deputy director of CIA |
| April 18 | Titan rocket explodes seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB |
| April 19 | Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes in 15 for heavyweight boxing title |
| April 20 | "Jerry's Girls" closes at St. James Theater New York City after 139 performances |
| April 20 | Michael Johnson sets NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game |
| April 20 | U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site |
| April 20 | Vladimir Horowitz performs in his Russian homeland |
| April 21 | 15th Boston Women's Marathon won by I Kristiansen of Norway in 2:24:55 |
| April 21 | 90th Boston Marathon won by Rob de Castella of Australia in 2:07:51 |
| April 21 | Bob Hering sets Formula One power boat record (165.338 mph, Ariz) |
| April 21 | Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault on TV and finds nothing |
| April 22 | U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site |
| April 23 | Grand Floridian Beach Resort groundbreaking |
| April 23 | Madrid-Nelli Cooman runs world record 60m indoor (7 sec) |
| April 25 | ETA bomb attacks Madrid killing 5 |
| April 26 | Actor/body builder Arnold Schwarzenegger weds newscaster Maria Shriver |
| April 26 | Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Marshall Holman |
| April 26 | France performs nuclear test |
| April 26 | Game between Angels and Twins delayed for 9 minutes by strong winds |
| April 26 | Worst nuclear disaster, 4th reactor at Chernobyl U.S.S.R. explodes, 31 die |
| April 27 | Captain Midnight (John R. MacDougall) interrupts HBO |
| April 27 | Pat Bradley wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic |
| April 27 | "Sweet Charity" opens at Minskoff Theater New York City for 368 performances |
| April 28 | Chernobyl, U.S.S.R. site of world's worst nuclear power plant disaster |
| April 29 | 800,000 books destroyed by fire in Los Angeles Central Library |
| April 29 | Boston Red Sox Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners |
| April 30 | Ashrita Furman peformed 8,341 somersaults over 12 miles |
| April 30 | Mariners strike out 16 times, set record of 36 in 2 consecutive games |
| May 1 | Bill Elliott sets stock car speed record of 212.229 mph |
| May 1 | Tass reports Chernobyl nuclear power plant mishap |
| May 1 | Will Stegers expedition reaches North Pole |
| May 2 | Dynamo Kiev wins 26th Europe Cup II |
| May 2 | Transportation Expo 86 opens in Vancouver |
| May 3 | 112th Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker aboard Ferdinand wins in 2:02.8 |
| May 3 | Air Lanka crashes, killing 22 |
| May 3 | Cubs 3rd baseman Ron Cey hits his 300th and 301st home run |
| May 3 | NASA launches Goes-G, it failed to achieve orbit |
| May 3 | New York Yankee Don Mattingly is 6th to hit 3 sacrifice flies in a game |
| May 4 | President Babrak Karmal resigns as party leader of Afghanistan |
| May 5 | Hall of Fame and Museum announced to be built in Cleveland |
| May 6 | Berlin: Real Madrid wins 15th UEFA Cup |
| May 6 | Donald E. Pelotte becomes 1st native American bishop |
| May 6 | France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island |
| May 7 | Bucharest wins 31st Europe Cup I |
| May 7 | Phillies outfielder Garry Maddox, retires |
| May 10 | "Rock Me Amadeus," by Falco hit #1 on U.K. pop chart |
| May 10 | Tommy Lee, drummer of Motley Crue, marries Heather Locklear |
| May 11 | Muffin Spencer-Devlin wins LPGA United Virginia Bank Golf Classic |
| May 12 | Bicycle is pedaled 65 mph |
| May 12 | Fred Markham (U.S.), unpaced and unaided by wind, is 1st to pedal 65 mph on a level course, Big Sand Flat, California |
| May 12 | President Reagan appoints Dr. James C Fletcher NASA Administrator |
| May 14 | Institute for War documents publishes Anne Franks complete diary |
| May 14 | Reggie Jackson hit his 537th home run passing Mickey Mantle into 6th place |
| May 15 | Argentine ex-president Galtieri sentenced to 12 years |
| May 16 | Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) comes back from dead on Dallas |
| May 16 | Joaquin Balaguers PRSC wins Dominican Rep parliamentary election |
| May 16 | South African President P W Botha sends Coetsee to visit Mandela |
| May 16 | "Top Gun," premieres |
| May 17 | 112th Preakness: Alex Solis aboard Snow Chief wins in 1:54.8 |
| May 17 | "Chicken Song" by Spitting Image hit #1 on the U.K. pop chart |
| May 18 | Becky Pearson wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Golf Classic |
| May 18 | Chung Kwung Ying did 2,750 "atomic" hand-stand push-ups |
| May 18 | Chung Kwung Ying did 2,750 atomic hand-stand push-ups |
| May 18 | David Goch finishes swimming 55,682 miles in a 25-yd pool |
| May 18 | "Singin' in the Rain" closes at Gershwin Theater New York City after 367 performances |
| May 18 | South African army occupies Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia |
| May 19 | Anti-apartheid activist Helene Pastoors sentenced to 10 years in South Africa |
| May 20 | Christy Fichtner, 23, (Texas), crowned 35th Miss USA |
| May 20 | Flintstones 25th Anniversary Celebration airs on CBS-tv |
| May 21 | Atlanta Brave Rafael Ramirez hits 4 doubles in a game |
| May 21 | U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site |
| May 22 | Cher called David Letterman an asshole on Late Night on NBC |
| May 23 | U.S. and West Europeans veto heavier sanctions against South Africa |
| May 24 | Country Singer Garth Brooks marries Sandy |
| May 24 | Margaret Thatcher becomes 1st British Prime Minister to visit Israel |
| May 24 | Reginald Huffstetler trode water for 985 hours |
| May 24 | Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Calgary Flames, 4 games to 1 |
| May 25 | 30,000,000 watch "Live Aid," a massive benefit concert |
| May 25 | 95-year-old woman scores a hole-in-one in Florida |
| May 25 | Ferry boat Shamia sinks on Maghna River Bangladesh, 600 killed |
| May 25 | Hands Across America - 6 million people hold hands from California to New York |
| May 25 | Kansas City Royal George Brett gets his 2,000th hit |
| May 25 | Laurie Rinker wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic |
| May 25 | Virgilio Barco elected president of Colombia |
| May 27 | France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island |
| May 27 | Norway Showcase groundbreaking |
| May 27 | President Reagan orderes 2 Poseidon-class submarines be dismantled |
| May 28 | Democratic Labor Party wins parliamentary election in Barbados |
| May 28 | White Sox Joe Cowley sets record striking out 1st 7 Rangers he faces |
| May 29 | 59th National Spelling Bee: Jon Pennington wins spelling odontalgia |
| May 30 | Ariane-2 (ESA) launched |
| May 30 | Bobby Rahal is 1st to avg over 170 mph in Indianapolis 500 |
| May 30 | France performs nuclear test |
| June 1 | 32nd LPGA Championship won by Pat Bradley |
| June 1 | 40th Tony Awards: I'm Not Rappaport and Mystery of Edwin Drood win |
| June 2 | New York City transit system issues a new brass with steel bullseye token |
| June 2 | Regular TV coverage of U.S. Senate sessions begins |
| June 3 | Battles in Beirut; 53 killed |
| June 4 | Jonathan Pollard, spy for Israel, pleads guilty in U.S. court |
| June 5 | San Diego Padre Steve Garvey ejected for 1st time |
| June 6 | Jurgen Schull sets world discus record, 74.07 m |
| June 6 | Kathy Ormsby, a 21-year-old member of North Carolina State track team jumps off a bridge permanently paralyzing herself |
| June 7 | 118th Belmont: Chris McCarron aboard Danzig Connect wins in 2:29.8 |
| June 7 | 56th French Womens Tennis: Chris Evert beats M Navratilova (26 63 63) |
| June 7 | Air Supply guitarist Graham Russell weds Jodi Varble |
| June 7 | Madonna's "Live to Tell," single goes #1 |
| June 7 | Pirates draft 3rd baseman Jeff King #1 |
| June 8 | 40th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Hous Rockets, 4 games to 2 |
| June 8 | 56th French Mens Tennis: Ivan Lendl beats Mikael Pernfors (63 62 64) |
| June 8 | Alleged Nazi Kurt Waldheim elected President of Austria |
| June 8 | "Big Deal" closes at Broadway Theater New York City after 70 performances |
| June 8 | Juli Inkster wins LPGA McDonald's Golf Championship |
| June 8 | Longest 9 inning AL game (4h16m), Baltimore Orioles beat Yankees 18-9 |
| June 9 | 20th Music City News Country Awards: Statler Brothers and Loretta Lynn |
| June 9 | Angel Don Sutton (298 wins) beats White Sox Tom Seaver (306 wins) 3-0 |
| June 9 | Dow Jones-index hits record 45.71 points |
| June 9 | Rogers Comm report on Challenger disaster blames Morton Thiokol |
| June 10 | A. Bartlett Giamatti becomes president of baseball's NL |
| June 11 | Amnesty International megaconcert |
| June 11 | "Blacke's Magic," last airs on NBC-TV |
| June 12 | P. W. Botha declares South African national emergency |
| June 13 | President Reagan criticizes South African state of emergency |
| June 13 | Steve Garvey 1st ejection from a game, after Atlanta's triple-play |
| June 15 | 86th U.S. Golf Open: Ray Floyd shoots a 279 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club New York |
| June 15 | Juli Inkster wins LPGA Lady Keystone Golf Open |
| June 15 | Pravda announces high-level Chernobyl staff fired for stupidity |
| June 15 | Raymond Floyd wins U.S. Open golf tournament |
| June 16 | 1 day general strike in South Africa |
| June 17 | Chief Justice Warren Earl Burger resigns Antonin Scalia nominated |
| June 18 | 52 die in plane and helicopter collision over Grand Canyon |
| June 18 | De Havilland Twin Otter and Bell 206 helicopter collide, kills 25 |
| June 18 | Don Sutton becomes 19th pitcher to win 300 games |
| June 18 | Heike Friedrich swims female world record 200m freestyle (1:57.55) |
| June 18 | Papua New Guinea score 9-455 in 60 overs vs. Gibraltar, ICC Trophy |
| June 19 | Argentina beats West Germany 3-2 in soccer's 13th World Cup |
| June 20 | Doctors at Bethesda Naval remove 2 small benign polyps from Reagan's colon |
| June 20 | Jim Fregosi replaces Tony LaRussa as White Sox manager |
| June 21 | Bo Jackson, Heisman Trophy winner, singns with Kansas City Royals |
| June 21 | Heike Drechsler of East Germany long jumps 7.45 m (women's record) |
| June 21 | "Living on Video" by Trans-X peaks at #61 |
| June 21 | President Reagan gives speech defending his judicial appointments |
| June 21 | "Vienna Calling" by Falco peaks at #18 |
| June 22 | Judy Dickinson wins LPGA Rochester Golf International |
| June 22 | Spain's premier Gonzalez' Socialist Party wins elections |
| June 23 | Pedro Morales swims world record 100m butterfly (52.84) |
| June 23 | Tip O'Neill, Representative-D-Massachusetts, refuses to let Reagan address House |
| June 24 | Guy Hunt elected 1st Republican governor of Alabama in 112 years |
| June 24 | U.S. Senate approves tax reform |
| June 25 | Former Belgium premier Vanden Boeynants sentenced for fraud |
| June 25 | Phillies give Steve Carlton, 41, his unconditional release |
| June 26 | South African journalist Zwelakhe Sisulu arrested |
| June 27 | Anne White shocks Wimbledon by wearing only a body stocking |
| June 27 | In referendum, Irish uphold ban on divorce |
| June 27 | Robby Thompson (SF) sets record, caught stealing 4 times in 1 game |
| June 27 | San Francisco Giant Robby Thompson is caught stealing record 4 times |
| June 27 | U.S. informs New Zealand it will not defend it against attack |
| June 27 | World Court rules U.S. aid to Nicaraguan contras illegal |
| June 28 | Kenneth and Nellie Pike challenge Alabama Dem runoff win by AG C Graddick |
| June 29 | Argentina becomes world champion soccer team (3-2 against W-Germany) |
| June 29 | Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Mayflower Golf Classic |
| June 29 | Sparky Anderson is 1st to win 600 games as manager in both leagues |
| June 30 | Georgia sodomy law upheld by Supreme Court (5-4) |
| July 2 | After 14 wins, Roger Clemens suffer his 1st loss of year |
| July 2 | General strike against Pinochet regime in Chile |
| July 2 | Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in 2 rulings |
| July 3 | Kuwait's National Assembly (Majlis al Umma) dissolves |
| July 3 | President Reagan presided over relighting of renovated Statue of Liberty |
| July 5 | 93rd Wimbledon Womens Tennis: M Navratilova beats H Mandlikova (76 63) |
| July 5 | Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway sets 10K woman's record (30:13.74) |
| July 5 | Nancy Reagan cuts red, white and blue ribbon; reopens Statue of Liberty |
| July 5 | Statue of Liberty is reopened after it is refurbished |
| July 6 | 100th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Boris Becker beats Ivan Lendl (64 63 75) |
| July 6 | Amy Alcott wins LPGA Mazda Hall of Fame Golf Championship |
| July 6 | Bob Horner becomes 11th player to hit 4 home runs in a game |
| July 6 | Ex-minister Arturo Tolentino failed coup in Philippines |
| July 6 | Premier Nakasones Liberal Democr Party wins Japan's election |
| July 7 | IBM-PC DOS Version 3.2 (updated) released |
| July 7 | It is reported Boy George is being treated for heroin addiction |
| July 7 | Jordan government shuts al-Fatah offices |
| July 7 | Supreme Court struck down Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction law |
| July 7 | U.S. actress Deborah Hunter marries actor Michael Tylo |
| July 8 | Farthest thrown object-an "Aerobie" flying ring, 383 m (1,257') |
| July 8 | NASA establishes Safety, Reliability Maintain and Quality Assurance |
| July 8 | Zimbabwe beats Netherlands by 25 runs to win ICC Trophy |
| July 9 | Atlanta's Dale Murphy doesn't play ending consecutive streak at 740 |
| July 9 | Padres trade pitcher Tim Stoddard to Yankees for pitcher Ed Whitson |
| July 11 | Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway runs 10,000 m in world record 30:13.74 |
| July 11 | Maricica Puica of Romania runs 2,000 m in 5:28.69 (record for women) |
| July 11 | Mary Beth Whitehead christens surrogate Baby M, Sara |
| July 14 | 10 killed and 60 injured at ETA-bomb attack in Madrid |
| July 14 | 2nd government of Lubbers sworn in |
| July 14 | 41st U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship won by Jane Geddes |
| July 14 | Motley Crue's Vince Neil begins 30 day sentence for vehicular homicide |
| July 14 | NASA's plan to implement recommendations of Rogers commission |
| July 14 | Paul McCartney releases "Press" |
| July 14 | Richard W. Miller became 1st FBI agent convicted of espionage |
| July 14 | Shalamar's Howard Hewett acquitted in Miami of drug charges |
| July 15 | 57th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-2 at Astrodome, Houston |
| July 15 | All star MVP: Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox |
| July 17 | Emmy 13th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 7th time |
| July 18 | 115th British Golf Open: Greg Norman shoots a 280 at Turnberry Scotld |
| July 18 | Royals announce manager Dick Howser, 50, has a brain tumor |
| July 18 | Videotapes released showing Titanic's sunken remains |
| July 19 | Caroline Kennedy (28) marries Edwin Schlossberg (41) |
| July 19 | Indian pitcher Phil Niekro wins his 307th game tying him with |
| July 19 | Tim Witherspoon KOs Frank Bruno in 11 for heavyweight boxing title |
| July 20 | Jane Geddes wins LPGA Boston Five Golf Classic |
| July 21 | Barbara Palacios Teyde, 22, of Venezuela, crowned 35th Miss Universe |
| July 22 | House of Representatives impeaches Judge Harry E. Claiborne on tax evasion |
| July 23 | Britain's Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson |
| July 23 | King Hassan II meets with Israeli premier Simon Peres |
| July 24 | San Francisco Federal jury convicts Navy radioman Jerry Whitworth of espionage |
| July 25 | Sikhs extremist kill 16 hindus in Muhktsar India |
| July 26 | Lebanese kidnappers released Reverend Lawrence Martin Jenco |
| July 27 | 14th du Maurier Golf Classic: Pat Bradley |
| July 27 | 24th Tennis Fed Cup: USA beats Czechoslovakia in Prague, Czechoslovakia (3-0) |
| July 27 | Greg Lemond is 1st American to win Tour de France |
| July 28 | Bomb attack in East Beirut, 25 killed |
| July 28 | NASA releases transcript from doomed Challenger, pilot Michael Smith could be heard saying, "Uh-oh!" as spacecraft disintegrated |
| July 29 | Bomb attack in West-Beirut, 30 killed |
| July 29 | Dennis Amiss scores his 100th 100, Warwickshire vs. Lancashire |
| July 29 | New York jury rules NFL violated antitrust laws, awards USFL $1 in damages |
| August 1 | Bert Blyleven becomes 10th pitcher to strike out 3,000 |
| August 1 | Cleveland sets AL attendance record for twi-night doubleheader, 65,934 |
| August 1 | Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia release from hospital after 3 week coma |
| August 1 | Tennis ace John McEnroe marries actress Tatum O'Neal |
| August 2 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee (U.S.) sets record for heptathlon (7161 pts) |
| August 3 | Amy Alcott wins LPGA National Golf Pro-Am |
| August 3 | Willie McCovey, Bobby Doerr, and Ernie Lombardi inducted in Hall of Fame |
| August 4 | OPEC lowers oil production 20% |
| August 5 | Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway sets 5k woman's record (14:37.33) |
| August 5 | It's revealed Andrew Wyeth had, secretly created 240 drawings and paintings of his neighbor Helga Testorf, in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania |
| August 5 | Steve Carlton is 2nd to pitch 4,000 strikeout |
| August 5 | U.S. Senate votes for SDI-project, Star Wars |
| August 6 | Orioles, Dwyer and Sheets, and Rangers, Harrah, hit record 3 grand slams |
| August 6 | Phil Katz releases PKARC version 1.0, for IBM |
| August 7 | Daniel Buettner, Bret Anderson, Martin Engel and Anne Knabe begin cycling journey of 15,266 miles from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Argentina |
| August 7 | "Honky Tonk Nights" opens at Biltmore Theater New York City for 4 performances |
| August 8 | Record 3 grandslams in a game-(Harrah-Tex, Sheets and Dwyer-Orioles) |
| August 9 | "Honky Tonk Nights" closes at Biltmore Theater New York City after 4 performances |
| August 10 | Betsy King wins LPGA Henredon Golf Classic |
| August 10 | Billy Martin Day, his uniform number 1 retired |
| August 10 | Marquis Theater opens at 1535 Broadway New York City |
| August 10 | "Me and My Girl" opens at Marquis Theater New York City for 1420 performances |
| August 10 | Pitcher Bob Forsch grand slams to lead Cards to a 5-4 win over Pirates |
| August 11 | 68th PGA Championship: Bob Tway shoots a 276 at Inverness Club Toledo |
| August 12 | Don Baylor gets hits by a pitch for a record 25th time in a season |
| August 12 | Red Sox pitcher Tim Lollar gets a pinch-hit single |
| August 13 | KRE-AM in Berkeley, California changes call letters to KBLX (now KBFN) |
| August 14 | Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto arrested |
| August 14 | Phillies and Pirates play a 6 game series in 4 days |
| August 15 | President Reagan decides to support a replacement for Challenger |
| August 16 | Madonna's "True Blue," album goes #1 for 5 weeks and her single |
| August 16 | "Papa Don't Preach," goes #1 for 2 weeks |
| August 16 | Sudan rebels shoot a Fokker's F-27 down, 57 killed |
| August 17 | Bronze pig statue unveiled at Seattle's Pike Place Market |
| August 17 | Cindy Mackey wins LPGA MasterCard International Golf Pro-Am |
| August 17 | Pat Bradley wins LPGA Nestle World Golf Championship |
| August 17 | Red Sox trade shortstop Rey Quinones and pitcher Mike Trujillo to Mariners for shortstop Spike Owen and outfielder Dave Henderson |
| August 17 | Rioting at DMC concert, 40 injured |
| August 18 | Crockett's Tavern opens in Fort Wilderness |
| August 18 | Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on WYSP 94.1 FM |
| August 18 | Jim Kelly signs with NFL Buffalo Bills ($75 million for 5 years) |
| August 18 | John Tesh's 1st appearance on Entertainment Tonight |
| August 18 | WYSP-FM Philadelphia begins simulcasting Howard Stern Show |
| August 19 | Car bomb kills 20 in Tehran, Iran |
| August 20 | Mail carrier Patrick Sherrill, Edmond Ok, shot 14 fellow workers dead |
| August 20 | Phils Don Carmen perfect game bid is broken in 9th |
| August 21 | Ian Botham takes world-record 356th Test Cricket wkt (v New Zealand, The Oval) |
| August 21 | Lake Nios Volcano in Cameroon kills 1,746 |
| August 21 | "Rags" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City for 4 performances |
| August 21 | Red Sox Spike Owens scores 6 runs in a 24-5 rout of Cleveland Indians |
| August 21 | Surinames Ronnie Brunswijks Jungle commandos kill 2 government officials |
| August 21 | Volcanic eruption in Cameroon releases poison gas, killing 2,000 |
| August 21 | With 2 outs in 6th inning, Red Sox score 11 runs |
| August 22 | NASA announces tests designed to verify ignition pressure dynamics |
| August 23 | "Rags" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City after 4 performances |
| August 24 | Juli Inkster wins Atlantic City LPGA Golf Classic |
| August 25 | A's Mark McGwire hits his 1st major league home run |
| August 26 | Rosa Mota wins Stuttgart female marathon (2:28:38) |
| August 27 | Emmy News and Documentaries Award presentation |
| August 28 | Bolivia president Victor Paz Estensoro calls state of siege |
| August 28 | Largest wrestling crowd in Canada (69,300) at Toronto Stadium |
| August 28 | Tina Turner's star unveiled in Hollywood |
| August 28 | U.S. Navy officer Jerry A Whitworth sentenced to 365 years for spying |
| August 29 | Heike Drechsler of E Germany ties world women's 200 m mark (21.71s) |
| August 29 | Morocco king Hassan II signs unity treaty with Libya |
| August 30 | Gelindo Bordin wins Stuttgart marathon (2:10:54) |
| August 30 | Soviet authorities arrested Nicholas Daniloff (U.S. News World Report) |
| August 31 | Russian cargo ship crashes into cruise ship Admiral Nakhimov; 398 die |
| September 1 | Betsy King wins LPGA Rail Charity Golf Classic |
| September 1 | Jerry Lewis' 21st Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $34,096,733 |
| September 1 | Paul McCartney releases "Press to Play" album |
| September 1 | Texas Rangers O McDowell and Porter are 7th to hit consecutive pinch home runs |
| September 2 | Cathy Evelyn Smith sentenced to 3 years for death of John Belushi |
| September 3 | Alan Ayckbourn's "Woman in Mind," premieres in London |
| September 3 | Astros and Cubs use a record 53 players in an 18 inning game |
| September 4 | 189.42 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange |
| September 4 | Claude Brochu becomes CEO of Montreal Expos |
| September 5 | 3rd MTV Awards: Whitney Houston wins |
| September 5 | Karachi Pakistan army storms hijacked U.S. B-747, 19 killed |
| September 5 | MTV Music Awards - Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" wins |
| September 5 | NASA awards study contracts to 5 aerospace firms |
| September 5 | NASA launches DOD-1 |
| September 6 | 300 invitees pay $5,000 to hear Barbra Striesand's benefit concert |
| September 6 | Attack on synagogue in Istanbul, 23 killed |
| September 6 | Jozef Pribilinec speed walking world record time (15,447k) |
| September 6 | Michael Spinks TKOs Steffen Tangstad in 4 for heavyweight boxing title |
| September 6 | U.S.S.R. charges correspondent Nicholas Daniloff with spying |
| September 7 | 100th U.S. Womens Tennis: M Navratilova beats Helena Sukova (63 62) |
| September 7 | 106th U.S. Mens Tennis: Ivan Lendl beats Miloslav Mecir (64 62 60) |
| September 7 | Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship |
| September 7 | Cleveland Browns becomes 1st team in NFL history to have a play reviewed by instant replay, Chicago 41, Browns 31 |
| September 7 | Desmond Tutu becomes Anglican archbishop of Capetown |
| September 7 | Failed assassination attempt on Chilean dictator Pinochet, 5 killed |
| September 7 | Ivan Lendl defeats Miloslav Mecir for U.S. Tennis open title |
| September 8 | Westinghouse sells Muzak |
| September 9 | New York City jury indicts Gennadly Zakharov (Soviet United Nations employee) of spying |
| September 10 | Bryan O'Connor named chairman of Space Flight Safety Panel |
| September 11 | Dow Jones Industrial Avg suffered biggest 1-day decline ever, plummeting 86.61 points to 1,792.89. 237.57 million shares traded |
| September 11 | President Mubarak receives Israeli premier Peres |
| September 11 | U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site |
| September 12 | 240.49 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange |
| September 12 | Twins fire manager Ray Miller and replace him with coach Tom Kelly |
| September 12 | U.S. professor Joseph Cicippio is kidnapped and held hostage in Beirut |
| September 13 | Bert Blyleven gives up a record 44 home runs in a season |
| September 13 | Kellye Cash (Tenn), 21, crowned 60th Miss America 1987 |
| September 14 | Bo Jackson's 1st home run - a 475-foot blast (longest at Royal Stadium) |
| September 14 | Bomb attack in Paris, 2 killed |
| September 14 | Bomb explosion on airport Kimpo at Seoul, 5 killed |
| September 14 | Judy Dickinson wins LPGA SAFECO Golf Classic |
| September 14 | Saskatchewan and Hamilton play 1st CFL regular-season overtime game |
| September 15 | 1st broadcast of "LA Law" on NBC-TV |
| September 15 | Bomb attack in Paris, 1 dead |
| September 16 | Fire in Kinross gold mine, Transvaal South Africa, 177 killed |
| September 17 | Bomb attack in Paris, 6 killed |
| September 17 | Marina Stepanova of U.S.S.R. sets 400m hurdle woman's record (52.94) |
| September 17 | Mets clinch NL East Championship |
| September 17 | U.S. Senate confirms William Rehnquist as 16th chief justice |
| September 18 | David Boon's 3rd Test cricket century, 122 vs. India at Madras |
| September 19 | "Captain EO" with Michael Jackson premieres |
| September 19 | Chicago White Sox Joe Crowley no-hits California Angels, 7-1 |
| September 19 | Dean Jones scores 210 vs. India at Madras |
| September 19 | Federal health officials announce AZT will be available to AIDS patients |
| September 20 | Wichita State Shockers blow a 35-3 lead; lose 36-35 to Morehead State |
| September 21 | 38th Emmy Awards: Golden Girls, Cagney and Lacey and Michael J Fox win |
| September 21 | Miami Dan Marino passes for 6 touchdowns vs New York Jets (51-45) |
| September 21 | New Orleans Saints Mel Gray returns kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown |
| September 21 | New York Jets beat Miami Dolphins 51-45 in OT; record 884 passing yards |
| September 21 | Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Konica San Jose Golf Classic |
| September 21 | San Diego Padre Jimmy Jones pitchs 1-hitter in his major league debut |
| September 22 | 35 countries signs disarmament accord in Stockholm |
| September 22 | India vs. Australia Test Cricket at Madras finishes in a tie |
| September 22 | Los Angeles Dodger Fernando Valenzuela is 1st Mexican to win 20 games |
| September 23 | Astro Jim Deshaies strikes out 1st 8 Dodger of game (ends with 10) |
| September 23 | Congress selects the rose as U.S. national flower |
| September 25 | Antonin Scalia appointed to Supreme Court |
| September 25 | Houston Astro Mike Scott no-hits San Francisco Giants, 2-0 |
| September 26 | Bobby (Patrick Duffy) returns to Dallas, his death is attributed to his wife Pam's bad dream (erases all of last season) |
| September 26 | RUN-DMC is 1st rap group to hit top 10 (Raisin' Hell) |
| September 26 | William Hubbs Rehnquist, sworn in as Chief Justice of Supreme Court |
| September 27 | Senate joins House of Representatives voting for sweeping tax reforms |
| September 28 | Cleveland Browns' Gerald McNeil sets the team record for the longest punt return with an 84-yard run (and TD), Browns 24, Detroit 21 |
| September 28 | Record 23,000 start in a marathon (Mexico City) |
| September 28 | Tight end Brian Foster of RI catches NCAA record 18 passes for 327 yards |
| September 29 | "Airwolf," TV Adventure; moves to USA |
| September 29 | Cubs Greg Maddux defeats Phillies Mike Maddux (1st rookie brothers) |
| September 29 | "Designing Women," TV Comedy, debuts on CBS |
| September 29 | Indians Jay Bell is 10th to hit a home run on 1st major league pitch he sees |
| September 29 | Mary Lou Retton retires as a gymnast |
| September 29 | U.S.S.R. releases U.S. journalist Nicholas Daniloff confined on spy charges |
| September 30 | U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site |
| September 30 | U.S. releases soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov |
| October 1 | President Carter's presidential library dedicated in Atlanta |
| October 2 | Failed assassination attempt on India premier Rajiv Gandhi |
| October 2 | Mike Scott is 3rd NL pitcher to strike out 300 in a season (306) |
| October 2 | New York Met Dwight Gooden is 1st to strike out 200 or more in 1st 3 seasons |
| October 2 | Sikhs attempt to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi |
| October 3 | Baltimore loses assuring Orioles of their 1st last-place finish |
| October 3 | Soviet Yankee-class sub sinks off NC, 3 die |
| October 4 | New York Yankee Dave Righetti saves doubleheader for then record 46 saves |
| October 4 | Queen Beatrice installs dam at Oosterschelde |
| October 4 | Rachel Oliver (Mass), 20, crowned 19th Miss Black America |
| October 5 | London Sunday Times reports Israel is stocking nuclear arms |
| October 6 | Russian nuclear sub sinks in Atlantic Ocean |
| October 7 | 1st edition British newspaper "Independent" begins publishing |
| October 8 | Mike Scott ties playoff record of 14 strikeouts, beats Mets 1-0 |
| October 8 | RUN DMC calls for a day of peace among LA street gangs |
| October 9 | Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo, became 12th NHLer to score 500 goals |
| October 9 | "Phantom of the Opera" premeires in London |
| October 9 | Senate convicted U.S. District Judge Harry E Claiborne making him 5th federal official to be removed from office through impeachment |
| October 10 | 7.5 Earthquake strikes San Salvador, El Salvador |
| October 10 | Israel Prime Minister Shimon Peres resigns |
| October 11 | Reagan and Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Iceland |
| October 12 | California Angels within 1 pitch of pennant victory lose to Red Sox |
| October 13 | 20th Country Music Association Award: |
| October 13 | 25th NY, NL appearance in World Series (Mets vs A's) |
| October 13 | IOC announces baseball will become a medal sport in 1992 |
| October 14 | Concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel wins Nobel Peace Prize |
| October 14 | IOC decides to stagger Winter and Summer Olympic schedule |
| October 14 | Tim Kides of West New York, New Jersey performs 25,000 leg raises in 11:57:15 |
| October 15 | Longest post season game, Mets beat Astros 7-6 in 16 and win NL pennant |
| October 16 | Armand Hammer returns to U.S. with Jewish refusenik David Goldfarb |
| October 16 | Marie Osmond marries Brian Blosil |
| October 16 | "Raggedy Ann" opens at Nederlander Theater New York City for 5 performances |
| October 16 | U.S. government closes down due to budget problems |
| October 16 | U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site |
| October 17 | U.S. Senate approved immigration bill prohibiting hiring of illegal aliens and offered amnesty to illegals who entered prior to 1982 |
| October 17 | Yitzak Rabin forms Israeli government |
| October 19 | Allan Border scores the 10,000th run in Tests (v India, Bombay) |
| October 19 | "Flamenco Puro" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City for 40 performances |
| October 19 | "Raggedy Ann" closes at Nederlander Theater New York City after 5 performances |
| October 19 | U.S.S.R. expels 5 U.S. diplomats |
| October 20 | Tupolev-134 crashes in Southern Africa |
| October 21 | 1st-class cricket debut of Andy Flower, ZCU Presidents XI vs. Young WI |
| October 21 | Hugh Whitemore's "Breaking the Code," premieres in London |
| October 21 | IBM re-forms in South Africa |
| October 21 | Republic of Marshall Islands signs Compact of Free Association with US |
| October 21 | U.S. writer Edward A. Tracy kidnap in Beirut |
| October 22 | "Into the Light" opens at Neil Simon Theater New York City for 6 performances |
| October 24 | Dodgers' Bill Russell, 38, announces his retirement |
| October 24 | Great Britain drops diplomatic relations with Syria |
| October 25 | International Red Cross ousted from South Africa |
| October 25 | Michael Sergio Parachutes into Shea Stadium during game 6 of WS |
| October 25 | Trailing 5-3 with 2 out and no one on in bottom of 10th, New York rallies to win Game 6 of the World Series, 6-5, Bill Buckner misplays a ball |
| October 26 | "Into the Light" closes at Neil Simon Theater New York City after 6 performances |
| October 27 | New York Mets beat Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3 in 83rd World Series |
| October 27 | Paul McCartney release "Pretty Little Head" |
| October 28 | KOB-AM in Albuquerque New Mexico changes call letters to KKOB |
| October 28 | KOB-TV in Albuquerque NM's final transmission |
| October 29 | Kirk Muller scores New Jersey Devil record 6 point, beat Penguins, 8-6 |
| October 29 | Padres pitcher LaMarr Hoyt is arrested at US-Mexico border for drugs |
| October 29 | West Indies all out for 53 vs. Pakistan (Abdul Qadir 6-16) |
| October 30 | Discovery moves to OPF where more than 200 modification are made |
| November 1 | Fire in Sandoz-factory Basel, 30 tons of chemicals in the Rhine |
| November 1 | Horse Racing Breeders' Cup Champs: Brave Raj, Capote, Lady's Secret, Last Tycoon, Manila, Skywalker, Smile at Santa Anita |
| November 2 | 16th New York City Women's Marathon won by Grete Waitz in 2:28:06 |
| November 2 | 17th New York City Marathon won by Gianni Poli in 2:11:06 |
| November 2 | Ayako Okamoto wins Nichirei Ladies Cup US-Japan Team Golf Championship |
| November 3 | Federated States of Micronesia signs Compact of Free Association with US |
| November 3 | Joaquim Chissano elected president Mozambique |
| November 3 | John Lennon releases "Menlove Avenue" album |
| November 3 | Lebanese magazine Ash Shirra reveals secret U.S. arms sales to Iran |
| November 3 | Northern Mariana Islands becomes a Commonwealth associated with US |
| November 6 | Houston's Mike Scott (18-10) wins NL Cy Young |
| November 6 | Reagan signs landmark immigration reform bill |
| November 6 | Reverend Donald Wildmon begins a campaign against Howard Stern |
| November 8 | "Song and Dance" closes at Royale Theater New York City after 474 performances |
| November 9 | Ai-Yu Tu wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic |
| November 9 | Pakistan all out for 77 vs. West Indies at Lahore |
| November 10 | Bangladesh Constitution restored |
| November 11 | Houston's Astro Mike Scott (18-10) wins NL Cy Young Award |
| November 11 | Suriname government proclaims gold purification |
| November 12 | France performs nuclear test |
| November 12 | Roger Clemens wins AL Cy Young Award unanimously |
| November 13 | Giselle Jeanne-Marie LaRonde of Trinidad, 23, crowned 36th Miss World |
| November 13 | NASA launches space vehicle S-199 |
| November 13 | U.S. president Reagan confesses weapon sales to Iran |
| November 14 | Doubleday Publishing sells New York Mets to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon |
| November 14 | FCC issues Notice Of Apparent Liability to WYSP Philadelphia |
| November 14 | SEC imposes a record $100 million penalty against Ivan Boesky |
| November 15 | 2nd time Saturday Night Live uses a time delay (Sam Knison hosts) |
| November 17 | "Oh Coward!" opens at Helen Hayes Theater New York City for 56 performances |
| November 18 | Roger Clemens wins AL MVP |
| November 19 | Phillies 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt wins NL MVP |
| November 19 | Tina Howe's "Coastal Disturbances," premieres in New York City |
| November 20 | Afghanistan President Babrak Karmal flees |
| November 20 | UN's WHO announces 1st global effort to combat AIDS |
| November 21 | Central African Republic adopts constitution |
| November 21 | Suriname army leader Desi Bouterse massacres Moiwana village |
| November 22 | Mike Tyson KOs Trevor Berbick in 2 for heavyweight WBC boxing title |
| November 22 | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton, became 13th NHLer to score 500 goals |
| November 24 | Cards reliever Todd Worrell wins NL Rookie of Year |
| November 24 | "Smile" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City for 48 performances |
| November 24 | Wrestler John Tatum charged with possession of marijuana |
| November 25 | A's Jose Canseco wins AL Rookie of Year |
| November 25 | Iran-Contra affair erupts, President Reagan reveals secret arm deal |
| November 25 | Oliver North's sect, Fawn Hill, smuggles documents out of his office |
| November 28 | Hilbert van der Duim skates 1 hour world record 39.4928 km |
| November 28 | NBC's Ahmad Rashad marriage proposal is accepted by Phylicia Ayers-Allen during halftime of Det Lions-New York Jets football game |
| November 28 | Reagan administration exceeds SALT II arms limitations for 1st time |
| November 30 | 74th CFL Grey Cup: Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeats Edmonton Eskimos, 39-15 |
| November 30 | "Flamenco Puro" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City after 40 performances |
| November 30 | Ivan Lendl is 1st tennis player to earn over $10 million, lifetime |
| December 1 | Musee d'orsay opens in Paris |
| December 1 | Paul McCartney releases "Only Love Remains" |
| December 2 | Dow-Jones index hits record 1955.57 |
| December 3 | Sri Lanka all out 55 vs. WI in one-dayer Walsh 5-1 in 4 3 overs |
| December 4 | NASA launches Fltsatcom-7 |
| December 4 | Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound," premieres in New York City |
| December 6 | 52nd Heisman Trophy Award: Vinny Testaverde, Miami Florida (quarterback) |
| December 6 | France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island |
| December 7 | Juli Inkster/Tom Purtzer wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic |
| December 7 | President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees Haiti |
| December 8 | House Dems select majority leader Jim Wright as 48th speaker |
| December 10 | Atlanta Hawk Dominique Wilkins scores 57 points vs Chicago Bulls |
| December 10 | France performs nuclear test |
| December 10 | Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel accepts 1986 Nobel Peace Prize |
| December 11 | A Bartlett Giamatti becomes president of baseball's National League |
| December 11 | South Africa censors press |
| December 12 | David Boon's fourth Test century, 103 vs. England at Adelaide |
| December 12 | James "Bone Crusher" Smith TKO's WBA champ Tim Witherspoon in MSG |
| December 12 | Russian Tupolev-134 crashes in East Berlin, 70 killed |
| December 12 | South African journalist Zwelakhe Sisulu arrested |
| December 14 | Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, took off from Edwards AFB, California on 1st non-stop, non-refueled flight around world |
| December 15 | 150 killed during race riot in Karachi |
| December 15 | Carnegie Hall reopens after a $50 million facelift |
| December 15 | CIA director William Casey suffers a cerebral seizure |
| December 17 | Mrs Davina Thompson makse medical history by having the 1st heart, lung and liver transplant (Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England) |
| December 17 | U.S. Congress forms Irangate committee |
| December 18 | Mr Gates, serves as acting director of CIA |
| December 19 | Jack Morris agrees to salary arbitration with former team Tigers and accuses owners of collusion against free agency |
| December 19 | Michael Sergio, who parachuted into Shea Stadium during game 6 of the World Series, sentenced to 100 hours of community service and fined $500 |
| December 19 | U.S.S.R. frees dissident Andrei Sakharov from internal exile |
| December 20 | White teenagers beat blacks in Howard Beach, New York |
| December 21 | 75th Davis Cup: Australia beats Sweden in Melbourne (3-2) |
| December 21 | Amy Alcott/Bob Charles wins LPGA Mazda Golf Championship |
| December 22 | India score 7-676 vs. Sri Lanka at Kanpur in Cricket |
| December 23 | Rutan and Yeager make 1st around-the-world flight without refueling |
| December 24 | French hostage Aurel Cornea, held in Lebanon for 9 months, released |
| December 24 | Iran offensive against Iraqi islands of Shatt al-Arab |
| December 26 | Captured Iraqi Airways Boeing-737 in Saudi Arabia, about 60 killed |
| December 26 | Doug Jarvis, 31, sets NHL record of 916 consecutive games |
| December 26 | TV soap "Search for Tomorrow" ends 35 year run |
| December 27 | 10th Soap Opera Digest Poll Awards - Young and Restless wins |
| December 27 | "Les Miserables" opens at Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. |
| December 28 | Pat Davis, ranked 412th among world tennis competitors wins Davis Cup |
| December 31 | Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 97 |
| December 31 | Russian TU-144 flies for 1st time faster than sound |
| December 31 | WIS-AM in Columbia South Carolina changes call letters to WVOC (now WOMG) |
