1987

history

1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year that started on a Thursday, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.

Events of 1987

January

  • January 1 – Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories, changes its name to Iqaluit. In 1999, it becomes the capital of Nunavut.
  • January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
  • January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

February

March

  • March 2 – American Motors Corporation is acquired by the Chrysler Corporation
  • March 4 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran-Contra Affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had 'deteriorated' into an arms-for-hostages deal.
  • March 6Zeebrugge Disaster: A cross-channel ferry capsizes outside the harbor off Zeebrugge, Belgium; 180 drown.
  • March 9 – The Irish rock band U2 releases their studio album The Joshua Tree.
  • March 18 – Woodstock of physics: The marathon session of the American Physical Society’s meeting features 51 presentations concerning the science of high-temperature superconductors.
  • March 19 – In Charlotte, North Carolina, televangelist Jim Bakker, head of PTL Ministries, resigns after admitting an affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn.
  • March 24 Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and French President Jacques Chirac sign the agreement to construct the 4,800 acre Euro Disney Resort (now called Disneyland Paris) and to develop the Val d'Europe area of the new town Marne-la-VallĂ©e in Paris, France.

April

May

  • May 5 – The Assemblies of God defrocks Jim Bakker.
  • May 8 – U.S. Senator Gary Hart drops out of the running for the Democratic presidential nomination, amid allegations of an extramarital affair with Donna Rice.
  • May 9 – A Soviet-made Il-62 airliner, operated by LOT Polish Airlines, crashes near the Kabacki forest in Poland, killing all 183 people on board.
  • May 11 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II
  • May 14 – Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka executes a bloodless coup in Fiji.
  • May 16 – St. Mirren wins the Scottish Cup beating Dundee United 1–0.
  • May 17 – U.S.S. Stark was hit by two Iraqi owned Exocet AM39 air-to-surface missiles killing 37 sailors.
  • May 21 – Andrew Wyeth, with his "Helga Pictures," became the first living American painter to have a one-man show of his work in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
  • May 28 – Nineteen year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained (released on August 3, 1988).

June

July

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August

  • August 16 – The followers of the Harmonic Convergence claim it was observed around the world.
  • August 17 – Rudolf Hess is found dead in his cell in Spandau Prison. Hess, 93, is believed to have committed suicide by hanging himself with an electrical flex. He was the last remaining prisoner at the complex, which is soon demolished.

  • August 19 – ABC News' chief Middle East correspondent Charles Glass escapes his Hezbollah kidnappers in Beirut, Lebanon, after 62 days in captivity.
  • August 19 – Order of the Garter is opened to women.
  • August 19 – Hungerford massacre: Michael Ryan kills 16 with an assault rifle before committing suicide.

September

  • September 2 – In Moscow, the trial begins for 19-year-old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May.
  • September 7–21 – The world's first conference on artificial life is held at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • September 17 – At a small rally in Harlem, televangelist Pat Robertson announces his candidacy for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination.

October

  • October 10 – The Reverend Jesse Jackson launches his second campaign for U.S. President.
  • October 11 – The first National Coming Out Day is held in celebration of the second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
  • October 14–16 – The United States is caught up in a drama that unfolds on television as a young child, Jessica McClure, falls down a well in Midland, Texas, and is later rescued.
  • October 15–16 – Great Storm of 1987: Hurricane-force winds hit much of South England, killing 23 people.
  • October 19 – Black Monday: Stock market levels fall sharply on Wall Street and around the world.
  • October 19 – U.S. warships destroy 2 Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf
  • October 19 – Two commuter trains collide head-on on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia; 102 are killed.
  • October 23 – Champion English jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for three years after being convicted of tax evasion.
  • October 23 – On a vote of 58–42, the United States Senate rejects President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
  • October 25 – 1987 World Series: The Minnesota Twins win despite having the worst regular season win–loss ratio for a winner, a record they hold until 2006.
  • October 26 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average goes down 156.83 points.

November

, November 28 - South African Airways Flight 295 crashes into the Indian ocean off Mauritius due to a fire in the cargo hold, the 159 passengers and crew perish.
  • November 29 – Korean Air Flight 858 is blown up over the Andaman Sea, killing 115 crew and passengers (North Korean agents are suspected).

December

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Undated

  • The Pendolino train makes its debut in Italy.
  • Tinker Hatfield designed the Nike Air Max.
  • Shoko Asahara founds the Aum Shinrikyo cult.
  • Thomas Knoll and John Knoll develop the first version of Photoshop.
  • Maglite introduces the 2AAA Mini Maglite battery, targeted for medical and industrial applications.
  • The University of Kuvempu is established.
  • Barry Minkow's ZZZZ Best fraud unravels.
  • The pilot of a British Aerospace BAE Harrier GR5 registered ZD325 accidentally ejects his aircraft. The jet continues to fly until it runs out of fuel and crashes into the Irish Sea.
  • A squirrel closes down the New York Stock Exchange when it burrows through a telephone line.

Ongoing

  • Cold War.
  • LRA.

Fictional

The following are references to year 1987 in fiction:

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  • Music:
:* 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?), debut album by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, later known as The KLF.

  • Film:
:* 13 Going on 30 (2004): The scenes where Jenna is thirteen take place on May 26, 1987. :* American Psycho (2000): According to director Mary Harron on the DVD commentary, the film is set around the end of 1987. Patrick Bateman is seen reading Zagat's Survey of this year as well. :* Fargo (1996): The film takes place in Minnesota, 1987 :* Adventureland (2009): The film takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, summer 1987 :* Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009): The film takes place in Harlem, New York in 1987. :* (2004): There is a picture of a fat White Goodman with the caption "White Goodman - 1987" on it.
  • Television:
:* Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979): NASA launches the last of America's deep-space probes, the Space Shuttle Ranger 3, which is piloted by Captain William "Buck" Rogers. :* Set in 1987: the Doctor Who episode "Father's Day," 2005 takes place on November 7. :* episode "The Rules of Luton" we learn that a world war, likely World War III, began sometime in 1987. It was described as 'The war to end all wars'.

  • Computer/video games:
, :* Resident Evil: Michael Warren is elected mayor of Raccoon City. :* Shenmue (1999) – Story continues into 1987. :* Shenmue II (2001): The game is set in 1987 :* Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is set in this year (as claimed by the newspaper, after beating a boss). :* Syphon Filter 3: Three levels take place in and around Kabul, Afghanistan during this year amidst the Soviet occupation, with Gabe Logan and Lian Xing pitted against Afghan rebels and Soviet troops.

Environmental change

Mathematical interest

  • This was the last year until 2013 with four distinct digits.

Births

January

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February

March

April

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May

June

July

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August

  • August 4 – Philip Younghusband, British-Filipino footballer
  • August 5Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress
    • Stephanie, American singer
    • Xenia Tchoumitcheva, Swiss model
  • August 6 – Matt Di Angelo English actor
  • August 7 – Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
  • August 8 – Pierre Boulanger, French actor
    • Katie Leung, Scottish actress
  • August 10Jim Bakkum, Dutch singer and actor
  • August 14 – Tim Tebow, American football quarterback
  • August 16 – Josimar Rodrigues Souza Roberto, Brazilian football player
  • August 18Mika Boorem, American actress
    • David Richardson, British figure skater
  • August 19 – Marlon Knauer, German singer
  • August 20 – Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast
  • August 21 – Kim Kibum, Korean actor and singer (Super Junior)
  • August 25 – Stacey Farber, Canadian actress
    • Blake Lively, American actress
    • Justin Upton, professional baseball player
    • Liu Yifei, Chinese actress
  • August 27Darren McFadden, American football player
  • August 29 – Risa Shimamoto, Japanese gravure idol
  • August 30 – Johanna Braddy, American actress

September

October===

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November

December

Deaths

January–March

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April–June

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  • April 1 – Henri Cochet, French tennis champion (b. 1901)
  • April 2 – Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer (b. 1917)
  • April 2 – Trevor Hockey, Welsh footballer (b. 1943)
  • April 3 – Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
  • April 4 – C. L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)
  • April 11 – Erskine Caldwell, American writer (b. 1903)
  • April 11 – Kent Taylor, American actor (b. 1907)
  • April 15 – Masatoshi Nakayama, Japanese Karate Master (b. 1913)
  • April 17 – Carlton Barrett, Jamaican reggae drummer (b. 1950)
  • April 17 – Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1924)
  • April 19 – Milt Kahl, Animator for the Disney Studio (b. 1909)
  • April 19 – Hugh Brannum,American actor and radio (b. 1910)
  • April 19 – Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (b. 1908)
  • April 26 – John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
  • April 28 – Ben Linder, American engineer (murdered) (b. 1959)
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July–September

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  • September 3 – Rusty Wescoatt, American actor (b. 1911)
  • September 4 – Bill Bowes, British cricketer (b. 1908)
  • September 4 – Richard Marquand, Welsh film director (b. 1937)
  • September 11 – Lorne Greene, Canadian actor (b. 1915)
  • September 11 – Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1944)
  • September 12 – John Qualen, Canadian actor (b. 1899)
  • September 13 – Mervyn LeRoy, American film producer and director (b. 1900)
  • September 16 – Howard Moss, American poet, dramatist, and critic (b. 1922)
  • September 17 – Harry Locke, British character actor (b. 1913)
  • September 21 – Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
  • September 22 – Dan Rowan, American comedian (b. 1922)
  • September 23 – Bob Fosse, American theater choreographer and director (b. 1927)
  • September 25 – Mary Astor, American actress (b. 1906)
  • September 25 – Harry Holtzman, American abstract artist (b. 1912)
  • September 25 – Emlyn Williams, British actor (b. 1905)
  • September 29 – Henry Ford II, president of Ford Motor Company (b. 1917)
  • September 30 – Herbert Sobel, US Army officer, made famous by Band of Brothers

October–December

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  • November 1 – RenĂ© LĂ©vesque, Canadian politician and premier of Quebec (b. 1922)
  • November 5 – Eamonn Andrews, Television and Radio Presenter (b. 1922)
  • November 5 – Georges Franju, French filmmaker (b. 1912)
  • November 7 – Arne Borg, Swedish Olympic swimmer (b. 1901)
  • November 16 – Zubir Said, Singaporean composer who composed Singapore's national anthem (b. 1907)
  • November 21 – Ivan Jandl, Czech actor (b. 1937)
  • November 25 – Zohar Argov, Israeli singer (b. 1955)
  • November 30 – James Baldwin, American writer (b. 1924)
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Ship events

  • Solo sailing circumnavigation completions: On June 19, 1987, Teddy Seymour became officially designated the first black man to sail around the world solo (finishing in Frederiksted, St. Croix, of the United States Virgin Islands).
  • List of ship launches in 1987
  • List of ship commissionings in 1987
  • List of ship decommissionings in 1987
  • List of shipwrecks in 1987

Nobel Prizes

Right Livelihood Award

Templeton Prize

References


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