Ronald Reagan challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to 'tear down this wall'.
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher won elections for a record third term.
New Zealand becomes a nuclear-free zone.
Mathias Rust lands on the Red Square in Moscow.
Vincent van Gogh's famous painting 'Sunflowers' was sold for an incredible $39.7 million, the most ever paid for a painting.
The first Soul Train Music Awards took place in Santa Monica, California, US.
193 people die when a ferry capsizes in the North Sea.
The first trial against John Demjanjuk begins in Jerusalem.
After years of court battles, Michael Donald's family was awarded $7 million.
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.
Reinhold Messner became the first person to scale all Eight-Thousanders.
British Newspaper 'The Independent' was first published.
The American neo-noir mystery film 'Blue Velvet' premiered in Toronto, Canada.
Limnic eruption in Lake Nyos in Cameroon kills about 1700 people.
Richard Branson breaks the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing by boat.
The 1980s U.S. intervention in Nicaragua is declared illegal.
Diego Maradona coins the phrase 'Hand of God'.
The Hands Across America charity event was held.
The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation published Anne Frank's complete diary.
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.
The world's longest war ends without a single shot having been fired.
The United States launches retaliatory air strikes against Libya.
The heaviest hailstones ever recorded hit Bangladesh.
Clint Eastwood was elected as Mayor of Carmel, California.
A bomb kills 3 people at the La Belle in West Berlin.
The Gay Rights Anti-Discrimination Bill was passed in New York City, US.
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 People Power Revolution begins in the Philippines.
The USSR launched the Mir core module, the first module of the new space station.
Haiti's president, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, flees the country, ending 28 years of family rule.
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.
NASA's Columbia Space Shuttle completed mission STS-61-C when it landed at the Edwards Air Force Base.
Pope John Paul II established World Youth Day, an event for young Christians around the world.
Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupts in Colombia, burying more than 23,000.
Members of the Colombian guerrilla group M19, or the April 19 movement, stormed Colombia's Palace of Justice and held all 25 of the country's Supreme Court justices and hundreds of other civilians hostage.
NASA's Challenger Space Shuttle launched for its final successful mission, STS-61-A.
Hurricane Gloria finally dissipated after ripping through North Eastern US since September 16.
The Mexico City earthquake claimed the lives of up to 45,000 people.
