1987
| Centuries: | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |
| Decades: | 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s |
| Years: | 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 |
| 1987 by topic |
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| Lists of leaders |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1987.
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January
- January 1 - Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories, changes its name to Iqaluit. In 1999, it will become the capital of Nunavut.
- January 3 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- January 4 - An Amtrak train en route from Washington, DC to Boston collides with Conrail engines killing 16.
- January 5 - US President Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery causing worries about his health.
- 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 Anthony Salerno and Carmine Peruccia are sentenced for 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 - R. 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 29 - William J. Casey ends his term as a director of CIA
- January 31 - The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation.
February
- February 11 - British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- February 11 - Constitution of the Philippines goes into effect.
- February 11 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- February 12 - Unabomber bomb explodes in Salt Lake City, Utah
- February 20 - Second Unabomber bomb explodes at the Salt Lake City computer store - owner injured
- February 23 - Supernova 1987A is observed, the first "naked-eye" supernova since 1604.
- February 26 - Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
March
- March 4 - President Reagan addressed the American nation on the Iran-Contra Affair, acknowledging his overtures to Iran had “deteriorated” into an arms-for-hostages deal.
- March 6 - A cross-channel ferry capsizes outside the harbor off Zeebrugge, Belgium - 180 drown
- March 29 - WrestleMania III, an event held by the World Wrestling Federation, takes place at the Pontiac Silverdome in, Pontiac, Michigan. The event is the largest indoor gathering in US history, with an official attendance of 93,173. In the main event, Hulk Hogan successfully defended the World Wrestling Federation Championship, defeating Andre the Giant.
April
- April 13 - Portugal and China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999.
- April 27 - U.S. Department of Justice declares incumbent Austrian president Kurt Waldheim an "undesirable alien"
May
- May 5 - Assemblies of God defrocks Jim Bakker
- May 8 - Gary Hart drops out of the running for the Democratic Party nomination in the 1988 U.S. presidential election, amid allegations of an extra-marital affair with Donna Rice
- May 11 - The first heart-lung transplant takes place (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 on the island of 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 24 - Indianapolis 500: Al Unser wins for a fourth time, the second driver to do so, after A.J. Foyt in 1977.
- May 28 - 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defense and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained and was later released on Wednesday, August 3, 1988.
June
- The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues
- June 11 - 1987 election: Margaret Thatcher is elected as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the third time
- June 17 - With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
July
- July 1 - The Single European Act was passed by the European Union
- July 3 - In Soviet Union, Vladimir Nikolayev is sentenced to death for cannibalism
- July 4 - Court in Lyons sentences Klaus Barbie to life in prison
- July 11 - Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke's government is re-elected for a 3rd term
- July 17 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time at 2510.04.
- July 22 - Palestine cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali is fatally shot in London. He dies August 28
- July 27- Australian singer Kylie Minogue was released her first hit a remake of Little Eva's The Loco-Motion in Australia
- July 31 - 400 Iranian pilgrims die in clashes with Saudi Arabian security forces in Mecca
August
- August 9- 9 people die and 17 are injured when 19-year-old Julian Knight goes on a shooting rampage in Melbourne.
- August 16 - A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashes on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport killing all but one of the 156 people on-board (sole survivor was four-year old Cecelia Cichan). The crew forgot to properly set the plane's flaps
- August 17 - The Harmonic Convergence is observed.
- August 17 - Rudolf Hess is found dead in his cell in Spandau Prison (suicide by hanging).
- August 19 - Order of the Garter opened to women
- August 19 - Hungerford Massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Robert Ryan kills 16 with an assault rifle and then commits suicide
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 5 - University of Akureyri founded
- September 7-September 21 - World's first conference on artificial life, Los Alamos National Laboratory
October
- Wednesday-Friday, October 14-October 16 - The US is caught up in a drama that unfolds on television as a young child, Jessica McClure, falls down a well and is later rescued.
- October 15-16 - 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 22 - John Coolidge Adams's opera Nixon in China debuts at the Houston Grand Opera in Houston, Texas.
- 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.
November
- November 8 - Enniskillen bombing: Eleven people killed by an PIRA bomb at a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen.
- November 18 - King's Cross fire on the London Underground kills 31.
- November 25 - Category 5 Typhoon Nina smashes the Philippines with 165 mph winds and devastating storm surge, causing destruction and 1,036 deaths.
December
- December 1 - NASA announces the names of four 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 - Channel Tunnel construction 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 US Supreme Court
- December 7 - Delaware, first state admitted to the Union, celebrates its bicentennial.
- 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 - First Intifada begins.
- 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 12 - Pennsylvania celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- December 17 - Czechoslovakian leader Gustáv Husák resigns as General Secretary of the Communist Party.
- December 18 - New Jersey celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- December 18 - Square Co., Ltd. releases Final Fantasy in Japan for the Famicom.
- 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 24 - Japanese legendary rock band BOØWY declare their breakup at Shibuya Kokaido.
- December 29 - Prozac® makes its debut in the United States.
Environmental change
- Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite, is found in the U.S.
Unknown dates
- The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues
- Pendolino train in Italy
- Shoko Asahara founds Aum Shinrikyo
- Barry Minkow's ZZZZ Best fraud unravels
- World Population reaches five billion (5,000,000,000)
Births
January
- January 14 - Kristin Cavalleri, cast member of MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County
February
- February 2 - Martin Spanjers, American actor
- February 24 - Daniel Reilly, British entrepreneur
- February 24 - Mayuko Iwasa, Japanese entertainer and model
March
April
- April 10 - Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
- April 11 - Joss Stone, English musician
- April 12 - Brendon Urie, American musician
- April 19 - Courtland Mead, American actor
- April 19 - Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
May
- May 2 - Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
- May 4 - Francesc Fabregas, Spanish football player
- May 6 - Moon Geun Young, Korean actress
- May 15 - Andrew Murray, Scottish tennis player
- May 15 - Jennylyn Mercado, Filipino actress and singer
- May 21 - Ashlie Brillault, American actress
June
- June 3 - Lalaine, American actress
- June 3 - Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
- June 16 - Diana DeGarmo, American singer
- June 24 - Lionel Messi, Argentinian soccer player
July
- July 9 - Jon Gourley, South African furniture craftsman
- July 20 - Nicolas Dansereau, Canadian professional wrestler
- July 24 - Mara Wilson, American actress
- July 25 - Michael Welch, American actor
August
- August 7 - Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
- August 25 - Blake Lively, American actress
September
- September 7 - Evan Rachel Wood, American actress and singer
- September 19 - Danielle Panabaker, American actress
- September 22 - Tom Felton, English actor
- September 28 - Hilary Duff, American actress and singer
October
November
December
- December 2 - Teairra Mari, American singer
- December 4 - Orlando Brown, American actor, singer, and comedian
- December 7 - Aaron Carter, American singer and actor
- December 18 - Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
Deaths
- 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 4 - Liberace, American pianist (b. 1919)
- 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 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 2 - Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer (b. 1917)
- April 3 - Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- April 4 - C. L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)
- April 26 - John Ernest Silkin, British poliician (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 - Andres Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
- June 6 - Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor (b. 1922)
- June 10 - Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (suicide) (b. 1943)
- June 22 - Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
- June 22 - John Hewitt, Northern Irish poet (b. 1907)
- June 24 - Jackie Gleason, American actor and comedian (b. 1916)
- 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)
- August 17 - Rudolf Hess, Nazi official (b. 1894)
- August 26 - Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 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 21 - Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
- September 23 - Bob Fosse, American theater choreographer and director (b. 1927)
- 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 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)
- 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)
Fiction
On November 7, Events in the Doctor Who episode Father's Day take place, and on November 20 the event Energise is scheduled.
Nobel prizes
- Physics - J. Georg Bednorz, K. Alexander Müller
- Chemistry - Donald J Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen
- Medicine - Susumu Tonegawa
- Literature - Joseph Brodsky
- Peace - Oscar Arias Sanchez