Facts and Events That Happened in This Year
Mark Messier was suspended for ten games for starting a fight with Jamie Macoun and breaking his cheekbone.
The Rutan Voyager became the first plane to fly around the world without stopping for fuel.
American mafia hitman Richard Kuklinski was arrested at a roadblock.
Argentina won West Germany at the FIFA World Cup Final held in Mexico City.
The crew aboard Japan Airlines Flight 1628 sighted three potential UFOs above Alaska.
A leak at a chemical factory in Basel, Switzerland, caused the Rhine to turn red.
Jankenteam's Alex Kidd in Miracle World was released in Japan for the Sega Master System.
The Statue of Liberty celebrated its 100th birthday.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'Phantom of the Opera' was premiered in London with stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman.
British Newspaper 'The Independent' was first published.
The drama TV show 'L.A. Law' premiered on NBC.
The American neo-noir mystery film 'Blue Velvet' premiered in Toronto, Canada.
The Oprah Winfrey Show aired for the first time.
The Hands Across America charity event was held.
Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise, premiered.
The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation published Anne Frank's complete diary.
In the Los Angeles Public Library, a fire broke out, destroying 400,000 books.
Pripyat and surrounding areas were evacuated due to the Chernobyl disaster.
The Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine exploded, killing 31 people and spreading contamination across Western Europe.
Clint Eastwood was elected as Mayor of Carmel, California.
The Gay Rights Anti-Discrimination Bill was passed in New York City, US.
The NFL started using the instant replay rule where video is analyzed to review what had just happened in a game.
The world's richest tennis player, Martina Navratilova, became the first to make $10 million.
US Air Force divers located the Challenger Space Shuttle's crew cabin at the bottom of the ocean.
The Soviet Union's Vega 1 Space Probe began sending back images of Halley's Comet.
Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, was shot at point-blank range on the busiest road in Sweden.
Corazon Aquino was elected as the first female president of the Philippines.
The USSR launched the Mir core module, the first module of the new space station.
Actor Yul Brynner starred in an anti-smoking ad campaign while dying of smoking-related lung cancer.
Halley's Comet was last seen from Earth. It only orbits the Earth once every 75 to 76 years.
Mother Teresa and The Pope met in Calcutta, where they both fed the sick.
Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members.
NASA's Voyager 2 came into close contact with Uranus and captured many images that uncovered 11 new moons.
Charity song 'That's What Friends Are For' hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
NASA's Columbia Space Shuttle completed mission STS-61-C when it landed at the Edwards Air Force Base.
