This Year in History:
1985
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
The hard‑boiled, often gruesome black comedy Blood Simple, the debut offering from the Minnesota‑born brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, has its national release on January 18, 1985. The film told…
For the first time since joining the World Court in 1946, the United States walks out of a case. The case that caused the dramatic walkout concerned U.S. paramilitary activities…
On this day in 1985, Don DeLillo wins the American Book Award for his breakthrough novel, White Noise. Although DeLillo had been publishing novels since 1971, his books had received…
The special instruction Quincy Jones sent out to the several dozen pop stars invited to participate in the recording of “We Are the World” was this: “Check your egos at…
In his State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan defines some of the key concepts of his foreign policy, establishing what comes to be known as the “Reagan Doctrine.”…
On February 8, 1985, Sir William Lyons, the founder of the British luxury automaker Jaguar, dies at the age of 84 in Warwickshire, England. Lyons was born in Blackpool, England,…
In a highly controversial vote on February 20, 1985, the Irish government defies the powerful Catholic Church and approves the sale of contraceptives. Up until 1979, Irish law prohibited the…
The controversial Prince‑penned song “Sugar Walls” reaches #9 on the Billboard charts. To be fair, this same feat might have been achieved by Elvis Presley had the Dance chart existed during…
On March 9, 1985, the first‑ever Adopt‑a‑Highway sign is erected on Texas’s Highway 69. The highway was adopted by the Tyler Civitan Club, which committed to picking up trash along…
Capping his rapid rise through the Communist Party hierarchy, Mikhail Gorbachev is selected as the new general secretary of the Soviet Union, following the death of Konstantin Chernenko the day…
In Beirut, Lebanon, Islamic militants kidnap American journalist Terry Anderson and take him to the southern suburbs of the war‑torn city, where other Western hostages are being held in scattered…
On this day in 1985, in one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history, the Villanova Wildcats beat the Georgetown Hoyas, 66‑64, to win the NCAA Men’s Division I…
On April 1, 1985, in one of the most shocking upsets in college basketball history, Villanova beats heavily favored, Patrick Ewing‑led Georgetown, 66‑64, to win the NCAA basketball title. The…
On April 23, 1985, The Coca‑Cola Company announces that it is changing the formula of its signature soft drink for the first time in 99 years. The short‑lived, sweeter New…
On this day in 1985, President Ronald Reagan angers Jewish leaders and Holocaust survivors by visiting the Bitburg war cemetery in Germany. Then‑German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who suggested the visit,…
Fifty‑six people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced…
On May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police begin evacuating people from their Osage Avenue homes in order to prepare for an operation against MOVE, a Black separatist group that had assembled…
In the scientific journal Nature on May 16, 1985, three scientists from the British Antarctic Survey announce their detection of abnormally low levels of ozone over the South Pole. Their…
On June 2, 1985, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) bans English football (soccer) clubs from competing in Europe. The ban followed the death of 39 football fans, most…
Leonard Lake is arrested near San Francisco, California, ending one of the rare cases of serial killers working together. Lake and Charles Ng were responsible for a series of particularly…
