Also Within This Year in History:
1986
1986 was a year of tragedy, with the explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger, killing all seven crew members, and the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, killing two instantly and many thousands over time. But it also had brighter moments: Hands Across America united 5 million people from coast to coast, Oprah Winfrey debuted her iconic talk show, Halley’s Comet made a triumphant return after 76 years and the Voyager completed the first around-the-world flight without refueling.
On January 12,1986, astronaut and physicist Franklin Chang‑Diaz becomes the first Hispanic American to fly in space on the Space Shuttle Columbia, which orbited Earth 96 times, deployed the SATCOM…
On January 13, 1986, NCAA schools vote to adopt Proposition 48, a controversial regulation that mandates minimum high school grades and scores on standardized college entrance exames for student‑athletes to participate…
On January 26, 1986, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Chicago Bears score a Super Bowl record number of points to defeat the New England Patriots, 46‑10, and win their first…
At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary…
On February 8, 1986, Spud Webb, who at 5’7” was one of the shortest players in the history of professional basketball, wins the NBA slam dunk contest, beating his Atlanta…
On February 28, 1986, Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth suspends 11 players. including some of the sport’s biggest names, for their involvement with illegal drugs. The suspensions are the…
Georgia O’Keeffe, the artist who gained worldwide fame for her austere minimalist paintings of the American southwest, dies in Santa Fe at the age of 98. Born in Sun Prairie,…
On April 14, 1986, the United States launches air strikes against Libya in retaliation for the Libyan sponsorship of terrorism against American troops and citizens. The raid, which began shortly…
On April 20, 1986, the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scores 63 points in an NBA playoff game against the Boston Celtics, setting a post‑season scoring record. Despite Jordan’s achievement, the…
The polio vaccine by Jonas Salk begins human testing, Captain John Smith lands in Jamestown, Lucy from I Love Lucy dies, and the Treasury unveils a new $50 bill in…
On April 26, 1986, the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union. Thirty‑two people died and dozens more suffered radiation…
Almost a decade after meeting at a celebrity tennis tournament, television news reporter Maria Shriver marries movie actor and former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger on April 26, 1986. Politically, it seemed…
On May 27, 1986, the U.S. Patent Office grants a patent to African American inventor Lonnie Johnson for his toy design simply titled ”Squirt Gun.” After a few name changes…
Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top‑secret U.S. military intelligence information to Israel. The former Navy intelligence analyst sold enough classified documents to fill a medium‑sized room. Pollard…
On July 7, 1986, former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter spend a hot summer day in Chicago, celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary while building a home in…
Johnny Cash’s 50‑year country music career reaches a low point on July 15, 1986, when Columbia Records drops him from its roster after more than a quarter‑century of history‑making partnership,…
On July 18, 1986, new close‑up videotapes of the sunken ocean liner Titanic are released to the public. Taken on the first manned expedition to the wreck, the videotapes are…
On August 8, 1986, actor, writer and director Spike Lee’s first feature‑length movie, She’s Gotta Have It, opens in theaters around the United States. Made on a shoestring budget, She’s…
In a This Day in History video, host Russ Mitchell takes us through the history of August 16th. On this day in 1829, Chang and Eng Bunker, a pair of…
An eruption of lethal gas from Lake Nyos in Cameroon kills nearly 2,000 people and wipes out four villages on August 21, 1986. Carbon dioxide, though ubiquitous in Earth’s atmosphere,…
