1987
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
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Template:C20YearInTopicX Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). Template:C20YearTOCawards
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 - 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.
- January 4 - Chase, Maryland rail wreck: An Amtrak train en route from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts collides with Conrail engines, killing 16.
- January 5 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery, causing speculation about his physical fitness to continue in office.
- January 8 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 2,000 for the first time, gaining 8.30 to close at 2,002.25.
- January 13 - New York mafiosi Fat Tony and Carmine Peruccia are sentenced to 100 years in prison for racketeering.
- January 16 - Leon Cordero, president of Ecuador, is kidnapped by followers of imprisoned General Frank Vargas, who successfully demand his release.
- January 20 - Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, is kidnapped in Beirut (released November 1991).
- January 22 - Budd Dwyer, Treasurer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, shoots and kills himself at a press conference after being found guilty on charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering.
- January 24 - In Lebanon, gunmen kidnap Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh.
- January 25 - The New York Giants defeat the Denver Broncos, 39-20, in Super Bowl XXI to win the NFL Championship for the first time since 1956.
- January 29 - William J. Casey ends his term as CIA Director.
- January 31 - The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation.
February
- February 9 - Brownsville, Texas was deluged with seven inches of rain in just two hours, and flooding in some parts of the city was worse than that caused by Hurricane Beulah in 1967.
- February 11 - British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- February 11 - The new Constitution of the Philippines goes into effect.
- February 11 - The United States military detonates an atomic weapon at the Nevada Test Site.
- February 12 - A Unabomber bomb explodes in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- February 20 - A second Unabomber bomb explodes at the Salt Lake City computer store; the owner is injured.
- February 23 - Supernova 1987A is observed (the first "naked-eye" supernova since 1604).
- February 26 - Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes U.S. President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his National Security staff.
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 6 - Zeebrugge Disaster - A cross-channel ferry capsizes outside the harbor off Zeebrugge, Belgium - 180 drown.
- March 18 - Woodstock of physics, the marathon session of the American Physical Society’s meeting featuring 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 29 - WrestleMania III is held at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, setting the North American indoor attendance record at 93,173.
- March 29 - Australian Football League expansion team, the West Coast Eagles, play their first ever match (not including pre-season). They defeat the Richmond Tigers 20.13 (133) to 16.23 (119).
April
- April 7 - Harold Washington is re-elected Mayor of Chicago.
- April 13 - Portugal and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999.
- April 19 - The first appearance of The Simpsons on The Tracy Ullman Show.
- April 20 - Professional cyclist and reigning Tour de France winner Greg LeMond is accidentally shot while turkey hunting.
- April 27 - The United States Department of Justice declares incumbent Austrian president Kurt Waldheim an "undesirable alien".
- April 30 - NASCAR driver Bill Elliott sets all time fastest lap at Talladega Motor Speedway. 211 mph (340 km/h)
May
- May 5 - The Assemblies of God defrocks James Bakker.
- May 8 - U.S. Senator Gary Hart drops out of the running for the Democratic presidential nomination, amid allegations of an extra-marital affair with Donna Rice.
- May 9 - A Soviet-made Il-62 airliner, operated by LOT Polish Airlines crashed near the Kabacki forest in Poland, killing all 183 people on board.
- May 11 - The first heart-lung transplant takes place in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 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 17 - Iran-Iraq War: The USS Stark (FFG-31), while patrolling the Persian Gulf, is struck by two Exocet missiles from an Iraqi F-1 Mirage fighter, killing 37 sailors and injuring 21 other crew members.
- May 20 - Tennessee court rules that WWF can not promote Harley Race as the King of Wrestling in Tennessee upholding Jerry Lawler's claim.
- May 24 - Indianapolis 500: Al Unser wins for a fourth time, the second driver to do so, after A.J. Foyt in 1977.
- May 26 - Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Iron Sheik are arrested together in car for possession of Marijuana. Many feel this is the beginning of the end for pro wrestling trying to hide the fact that it is scripted entertainment and not real sport, as Duggan and Sheik were portrayed as hated rivals.
- May 28 - West German pilot Mathias Rust, 19, evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained (but is released August 3, 1988).
June
- June 10 - During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
- June 11 - United Kingdom general election, 1987: Margaret Thatcher is elected as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the third time.
- June 16 - SDF-1 received its first caller at 300 bit/s
- June 17 - With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
- June 19 - Teddy Seymour became officially designated the first black man to sail around the world when he completed his solo sailing circumnavigation in Frederiksted, St. Croix, of the United States Virgin Islands.
- June 19 - In the case of Edwards v. Aguillard, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution was taught was unconstitutional.
- June 28 - An accidental explosion at Hohenfels Training Area in West Germany kills 3 U.S. troopers.
July
- July 1 - The Single European Act is passed by the European Union.
- July 1 - The first ever Edgefest festival takes place at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario.
- July 1 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan nominates former Solicitor General Robert Bork, a controversial conservative judge and legal scholar, to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- July 3 - In the Soviet Union, Vladimir Nikolayev is sentenced to death for cannibalism.
- July 3 - Greater Manchester Police recover the body of 16-year-old Pauline Reade from Saddleworth Moor after her killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley helped them in their search - almost exactly 24 years since Pauline was last seen alive.
- July 4 - A court in Lyon sentences former Gestapo boss Klaus Barbie to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.
- July 11 - Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke's government is re-elected for a third term.
- July 11 - World population reached 5 billion people, according to the United Nations.
- July 17 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time, at 2,510.04.
- July 22 - Palestinian cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali is shot in London; he dies August 28.
- July 27- Australian singer Kylie Minogue releases her first hit, a remake of Little Eva's The Locomotion.
- July 31 - Four hundred Iranian pilgrims are killed in clashes with Saudi Arabian security forces in Mecca.
- July 31 - Docklands Light Railway, the first driverless railway in Great Britain, is formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II
- July 31 - A F4-rated tornado devastates eastern Edmonton, Alberta. Hardest hit were an industrial park and a trailer park. 27 people are killed and hundreds injured. Hundreds more are left homeless and jobless.
August
- August 4 - The World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission, publishes its report, Our Common Future.
- August 4 - The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues.
- August 7 - Colombian frigate Caldas enters Venezuelan waters near the Los Monjes archipelago, sparking the Caldas frigate crisis between both nations.
- August 9 - Nine people die and 17 are injured when 19-year-old Julian Knight goes on a shooting rampage in Melbourne.
- August 16 - Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (a McDonnell Douglas MD-82) crashes on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan just West of Detroit killing all but 1 (4-year old Cecelia Cichan) of the 156 people on-board (among them Nick Vanos, a center for the Phoenix Suns).
- August 17 - The Harmonic Convergence is 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 expected to be demolished.
- August 19 - ABC News Chief Middle East Corresponden Charles Glass escapes his Hizballah kidnappers in Beirut, Lebanon, after sixty-two days in captivity.
- August 19 - In London, The Order of the Garter is opened to women.
- August 19 - Hungerford Massacre: Michael Ryan kills 16 with an assault rifle before committing suicide.
- August 22 - The Legend of Zelda released for the NES in North America.
September
- September 2 - In Moscow, the trial of 19-year-old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May 1987, begins.
- September 7-September 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 Marion 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 was held in celebration of the second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
- October 14-October 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-October 16 - Great Storm of 1987: hurricane force winds hit much of the South of 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 Persian Gulf
- October 22 - GTAG's Zidane was born.
- October 23 - Champion English jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for 3 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 U.S. Supreme Court.
- October 25 - The Minnesota Twins shock the baseball world by winning the World Series, when they only won 85 games in the regular season, only winning 29 (.358 WP) on the road.
November
- November 8 - Enniskillen bombing: Eleven people killed by an Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb at a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen.
- November 17 - Gulf of Alaska Tsunami.
- November 18 - The King's Cross fire on the London Underground kills 31.
- November 18 - Iran-Contra affair: U.S. Senate and House panels release reports charging President Ronald Reagan with 'ultimate responsibility' for the affair.
- November 25 - Category 5 Typhoon Nina smashes the Philippines with 165 mph (266 km/h) winds and devastating storm surge, causing destruction and 1,036 deaths.
- November 29 - Korean Air Flight 858 is blown up over the Andaman Sea, killing 115 crew and passengers (North Korean agents are suspected).
December
- December 1 - NASA announces the names of 4 companies who were awarded contracts to help build Space Station Freedom: Boeing Aerospace, General Electric's Astro-Space Division, McDonnell Douglas, and the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell.
- December 1 - Construction of the Channel Tunnel is initiated.
- December 1 - Queensland: Following a week of turmoil from his National Party of Australia colleagues, Joh Bjelke-Petersen resigns as Premier of Queensland. He is replaced by Mike Ahern, the only premier never to contest an election as premier.
- December 2 - Hustler Magazine v. Falwell is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- December 7 - PSA Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-supervisor on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
- December 8 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
- December 8 - Queen Street Massacre in Melbourne, Australia: 22-year-old Frank Vitkovic kills 8 and injures another 5 in an Australia Post office building in Queen Street, before committing suicide by jumping from the 11th floor.
- December 8 - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
- December 8 - Alianza Lima air disaster: A Peruvian Navy Fokker F27 crashes near Ventanilla, Peru, killing 43.
- December 9 - General Rahimuddin Khan retires from the Pakistan Army, as well as the cabinet of the country's military dictatorship.
- December 17 - Czechoslovakian leader Gustáv Husák resigns as General Secretary of the Communist Party.
- December 18 - Square Co., Ltd. releases Final Fantasy in Japan for the Famicom.
- December 18 - The Perl programming language was created by Larry Wall.
- December 21 - The ferry Doña Paz collides with the oil tanker Vector I - 1,500 confirmed deaths (reportedly closer to 4,000 due to unregistered passengers).
- December 29 - Prozac makes its debut in the United States.
- December 30- Pope John Paul II issues encyclical on Social Concern.
Undated
- Pendolino train in Italy.
- Shoko Asahara founds Aum Shinrikyo.
- Thomas Knoll and John Knoll develop the first version of Photoshop.
- Maglite introduces 2AAA Mini Maglite targeted for medical and industrial applications.
- Barry Minkow's ZZZZ Best fraud unravels.
Ongoing
Fictional
The following are references to year 1987 in fiction:
- Music:
- 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?) by The JAMs (1987)
- 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
- 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.
- Computer/video games:
- Resident Evil: Michael Warren is elected mayor of Raccoon City.
- 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.
- Police Quest is released by Sierra On-Line
Environmental change
- Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite, is found in the U.S.
Births
January-February
- January 2 - Loui Batley, British actress
- January 2 - Lauren Storm, American actress
- January 5 - Kristin Cavallari, American reality television star
- January 11 - David Allen, American actor/comedian/writer
- January 13 - Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
- January 15 - Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
- January 15 - Michael Seater, Canadian actor
- January 16 - Kaavya Viswanathan, Indian-American "author"
- January 27 - Hannah Teter, American professional snowboarder
- January 28 - Chelsea Brummet, American actress
- February 2 - Martin Spanjers, American actor
- February 21 - Ellen Page, Canadian actress
- February 24 - Daniel Reilly, British entrepreneur
- February 24 - Mayuko Iwasa, Japanese entertainer and model
- February 26 - Julia Bond, American pornographic actress
March-April
- March 6 - Hannah Taylor-Gordon, British actress
- March 9 - Bow Wow, American rapper
- March 13 - Marco Andretti, IRL driver
- March 14 - Aravane Rezaï, Iranian-French tennis player
- March 16 - Tiiu Kuik, Estonian model
- March 20 - Emilia Attias, Argentina model
- March 26 - Yui, Japanese musician and singer
- April 4 - Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
- April 8 - Royston Drenthe, Real Madrid footballer
- April 9 - Jesse McCartney, American singer and actor
- April 10 - Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
- April 11 - Joss Stone, English musician
- April 12 - Brendon Urie, American musician
- April 13 - Jiafeng Chen, Chinese violinist
- April 16 - Aaron Lennon, English footballer
- April 19 - Courtland Mead, American actor
- April 19 - Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
- April 22 - Mikel John Obi, Nigerian footballer
- April 23 - Emily Fox, American cupstacking champion
- April 26 - Jessica Rose, American internet celebrity and actress
- April 27 - William Moseley, English actor
- April 27 - Emma Taylor-Isherwood, Canadian actress
May-June
- May 1 - Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player
- May 1 - Noah Reid, Canadian actor
- May 2 - Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
- May 4 - Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish football player
- May 5 - Samantha Cope, American actress
- May 5 - Ian Michael Smith, American actor
- May 6 - Moon Geun Young, Korean actress
- May 7 - Asami Konno, Japanese singer
- May 10 - Eileen April Boylan, American actress
- May 14 - Francois Steyn, South African rugby player
- May 15 - Andrew Murray, Scottish tennis player
- May 15 - Jennylyn Mercado, Filipino actress and singer
- May 21 - Ashlie Brillault, American actress
- May 22 - Novak Đoković , Serbian tennis player
- June 3 - Lalaine, American actress and singer
- June 3 - Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
- June 6 - Kyle Falconer, Scottish musician
- June 9 - Rheagan Wallace, American actress
- June 10 - Amobi Okoye, Nigerian-born American football player
- June 17 - Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer
- June 21 - Kim Ryeowook, Korean singer, member of Super Junior
- June 22 - Joseph Dempsie, British actor
- June 24 - Lionel Messi, Argentine soccer player
- June 25 - Hayami Kishimoto, Japanese singer
- June 29 - Yasuka Saitou, Japanese actor
July-August
- July 3 - Chris Hunter, American actor
- July 6 - Matt O'Leary, American actor
- July 6 - Kate Nash, British singer/songwriter
- July 24 - Mara Wilson, American actress
- July 25 - Nathan Lawrence, American actor
- July 25 - Michael Welch, American actor
- July 26 - Miriam McDonald, Canadian actress
- August 4 - Philip Younghusband, British-Filipino footballer
- August 5 - Stephanie Edwards, American singer
- August 7 - Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
- August 8 - Katie Leung, Scottish actress
- August 10 - Jim Bakkum, Dutch singer and actor
- August 18 - Mika Boorem, American actress
- August 21 - Kim Kibum, Korean singer, member of Super Junior
- August 25 - Liu Yifei, Chinese actress
- August 25 - Blake Lively, American actress
- August 25 - Stacey Farber, Canadian actress
- August 25 - Justin Upton, professional baseball player
- August 27 - Darren McFadden, American football player
- August 29 - Risa Shimamoto, Japanese gravure idol
September-October
- September 2 - Spencer Smith, American musician
- September 3 - Chris Fountain, British actor
- September 7 - Evan Rachel Wood, American actress and singer
- September 9 - Clayton Snyder, American actor
- September 11 - Tyler Hoechlin, American actor
- September 16 - Anthony Padilla, American comedian and co-founder of Smosh
- September 17 - Ray Friesen, American cartoonist and founder of Don't Eat Any Bugs Productions
- September 19 - Danielle Panabaker, American actress
- September 21 - Ashley Paris, American basketball player
- September 21 - Courtney Paris, American basketball player
- September 22 - Tom Felton, English actor
- September 28 - Hilary Duff, American actress and singer
- October 3 - Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006
- October 3 - Kaci, American singer and actress
- October 8 - Aya Hirano, Japanese voice actress and singer
- October 8 - Dustin Breeding, American singer
- October 12 - Noemi Batki, Italian diver
- October 18 - Zac Efron, American actor
- October 29 - Makoto Ogawa, Japanese singer
November-December
- November 3 - Gemma Ward, Australian model
- November 5 - Kevin Jonas, American singer/songwriter
- November 11 - Chanelle Hayes, 2007 UK Big Brother contestant
- November 17 - Kat DeLuna, American singer
- November 30 - Christel Khalil, American actress
- November 30 - Dougie Poynter, English musician (McFly)
- November 30 - Ian Hecox, American comedian and co-founder of Smosh
- December 2 - Teairra Marí, American singer
- December 3 - Michael Angarano, American actor
- December 4 - Orlando Brown, American actor, singer, and comedian
- December 6 - Jack DeSena, American actor
- December 7 - Aaron Carter, American singer and actor
- December 10 - Gonzalo Higuain, Real Madrid footballer
- December 11 - Natalia Gordienko, Moldovan popstar
- December 16 - Hallee Hirsh, American actress
- December 18 - Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
- December 18 - Fernando Jara, Panamanian-born American jockey
- December 19 - Aaron Renfree, British singer
- December 21 - Edward Speleers, British actor
- December 26 - Adam Walker, British flautist
- December 28 - Taylor Ball, American actor
- December 28 - Thomas Dekker, American actor
- December 28 - Hannah Tointon, British actress
Deaths
January - March
- January 15 - Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- January 21 - Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
- January 27 - Allan V. Cox, American geologist (b. 1926)
- February 2 - Alistair MacLean, British writer (heart attack) (b. 1922)
- February 3 - Donald Aronow, Creator of the Cigarette Boat (Assassinated) (b. 1927)
- February 4 - Liberace, American pianist (b. 1919)
- February 10 - Robert O'Brien, racing driver (b. 1908)
- February 14 - Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky, Russian composer (b. 1904)
- February 22 - Andy Warhol, American artist, director, writer (b. 1928)
- March 2 - Randolph Scott, American actor (b. 1898)
- March 3 - Danny Kaye, American singer, actor, and comedian (b. 1918)
- March 11 - Woody Hayes, football coach at Ohio State (b. 1913)
- March 13 - Gerald Moore, English pianist (b. 1899)
- March 19 - Louis-Victor de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- March 21 - Dean Paul Martin, American actor (b. 1951)
- March 21 - Robert Preston, American actor (b. 1918)
- March 26 - Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
- March 28 - Maria von Trapp, Austrian singer (b. 1905)
- March 28 - Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
April - June
- 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 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 26 - John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
- April 28 - Ben Linder, American engineer (murdered) (b. 1959)
- May 3 - Dalida, French singer (b. 1933)
- May 4 - Paul Butterfield, American musician (b. 1942)
- May 6 - William J. Casey, American Central Intelligence Agency director (b. 1913)
- May 14 - Rita Hayworth, American actress (b. 1918)
- May 17 - Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- May 19 - James Tiptree, Jr, American author (b. 1915)
- May 27 - John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- June 2 - Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
- June 6 - Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor (b. 1922)
- June 10 - Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (suicide) (b. 1943)
- June 13 - Geraldine Page, American actor (b. 1924)
- June 19 - Teresa Cormack, New Zealand murder victim (b. 1981)
- June 22 - Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
- June 22 - John Harold Hewitt, Northern Irish poet (b. 1907)
- June 24 - Jackie Gleason, American actor and comedian (b. 1916)
July - September
- July 10 - John Hammond, American record producer (b. 1910)
- July 17 - Kristjan Palusalu, Estonian wrestler (b. 1908)
- July 17 - Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
- July 22 - Jack Lescoulie, American actor (b. 1917)
- August 11 - Clara Peller, American actress (b. 1902)
- August 16 - Nick Vanos, American basketball player (b. 1963)
- August 17 - Rudolf Hess, Nazi official (b. 1894)
- August 26 - Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- August 28 - John Huston, American actor (b. 1906)
- August 29 - Lee Marvin, American actor (b. 1924)
- September 4 - Bill Bowes, British cricketer (b. 1908)
- September 11 - Lorne Greene, Canadian actor (b. 1915)
- September 11 - Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1944)
- 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 23 - Bob Fosse, American theater choreographer and director (b. 1927)
- September 25 - Mary Astor, Academy Award-winning American actress (b. 1906)
- September 25 - Harry Holtzman, American abstract artist (b. 1912)
- September 29 - Henry Ford II, president of Ford Motor Company (b. 1917)
October - December
- October 2 - Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1915)
- October 3 - Jean Anouilh, French dramatist (b. 1910)
- October 3 - Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (b. 1947)
- October 9 - William Parry Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1892)
- October 13 - Walter Brattain, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- October 19 - Jacqueline du Pré, British cellist (b. 1945)
- October 20 - Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (b. 1903)
- October 22 - Lino Ventura, Italian actor (b. 1919)
- October 28 - André Masson, French artist (b. 1896)
- October 29 - Woody Herman, American jazz musician (b. 1913)
- October 31 - Joseph Campbell, American author on mythology (b. 1904)
- November 1 - René Lévesque, Canadian politician and premier of Quebec (b. 1922)
- November 2 - Colletta Allgaier, American manager of singing group The Allgaiers (b. 1915)
November 16 - Zubir Said, Singaporean composer who composed Singapore's national anthem (b. 1907)
- November 25 - Zohar Argov, Israeli singer (b. 1955)
- November 30 - James Baldwin, American writer (b. 1924)
- December 1 - Punch Imlach, Canadian NHL coach (b. 1918)
- December 2 - Luis Federico Leloir, French-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- December 2 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (b. 1914)
- December 10 - Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born violinist (b. 1901)
- December 17 - Linda Wong, porn star (b. 1951
Unknown dates
- (none)
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
- Physics - J. Georg Bednorz, Karl Alexander Müller
- Chemistry - Donald J Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen
- Medicine - Susumu Tonegawa
- Literature - Joseph Brodsky
- Peace - Oscar Arias Sanchez
- Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel - Robert Solow
Right Livelihood Award
- Johan Galtung, Chipko movement, Hans-Peter Dürr / Global Challenges Network, Institute for Food and Development Policy / Frances Moore-Lappé and Mordechai Vanunu
Templeton Prize
See also
- 20th century
- 1987 an episode of the animated television series Robot Chicken
Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1987.