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 |
| Birth and death categories |
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| Works category |
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 becomes the capital of Nunavut.
- January 2 - At 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 - An Amtrak train en route from Washington, DC to Boston 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 Anthony Salerno 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 - 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 CIA Director.
- January 31 - The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation.
February
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- 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 US 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 4 - President 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 - A cross-channel ferry capsizes outside the harbor off Zeebrugge, Belgium - 180 drown.
- March 7 - U2's The Joshua Tree album is released.
- March 19 - Televangelist Jim Bakker, head of PTL Ministries, resigns after admitting an affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn.
April
- April 7 - Harold Washington is re-elected Mayor of Chicago.
- April 13 - Portugal and the China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999.
- 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".
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 Party presidential nomination, amid allegations of an extra-marital affair with Donna Rice.
- 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 24 - Indianapolis 500: Al Unser wins for a fourth time, the second driver to do so, after A.J. Foyt in 1977.
- 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 (but is released on Wednesday, 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 - 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 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 Klaus Barbie to life in prison.
- July 11 - Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke's government is re-elected for a third term.
- 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.
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 9 - Nine 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 (four-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 (suicide by hanging).
- August 19 - The Order of the Garter is opened to women.
- August 19 - Hungerford Massacre: Michael Ryan kills 16 with an assault rifle before committing suicide.
September
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- 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.
October
- 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 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 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.
- November 29 - Korean Air Flight 858 is blown up over the Andaman Sea, killing 115 crew and passengers (North Korean agents are suspected to be responsible for the act).
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 - 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 US Supreme Court.
- December 7 - Delaware, the 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 Palestinian Intifada begins in the Israeli-occupied 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
- December 9 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
- December 9 - General Rahimuddin Khan retires from the Pakistan Army, as well as the cabinet of the country's military dictatorship.
- 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 29 - Prozac® makes its debut in the United States.
Environmental change
- Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite, is found in the U.S.
Unknown dates
- 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)
- Scream Bloody Gore by Death is released, a landmark in extreme music.
Births
January
- January 11 - David Allen, American Actor/Comedian/Writer
- January 14 - Kristin Cavallari, cast member of MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County
- January 15 - Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
- January 21 - Ian Garvey, Pokémon League Champion
February
- February 2 - Martin Spanjers, American actor
- February 24 - Daniel Reilly, British entrepreneur
- February 24 - Mayuko Iwasa, Japanese entertainer and model
March
- March 13 - Marco Andretti, IRL driver
- March 16 - Tiiu Kuik, Estonian model
- March 26 - YUI, Japanese musician
April
- April 9 - Jesse McCartney, American pop singer.
- 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 19 - Courtland Mead, American actor
- April 19 - Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
May
- May 1 - Shahar Pe'er, Israeli Tennis Player
- May 2 - Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
- May 4 - Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish football player
- May 5 - Ian Michael Smith, American child actor
- May 6 - Moon Geun Young, Korean actress
- May 7 - Asami Konno, Japanese singer
- 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 17 - Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer
- June 24 - Lionel Messi, Argentine soccer player
July
- July 6 - Matt O'Leary, American actor
- July 24 - Mara Wilson, American actress
- July 25 - Nathan Lawrence, American actor
- July 25 - Michael Welch, American actor
August
- August 7 - Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
- August 8 - Katie Leung, Scottish actress
- August 25 - Liu Yifei, Chinese actress
- August 25 - Blake Lively, American actress
September
- September 2 - Spencer Smith, American musician
- 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
- October 3 - Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006
- October 16 - Zac Efron, American actor
- October 29 - Makoto Ogawa, Japanese singer
November
- November 3 - Gemma Ward, Australian Model
- November 30 - Dougie Poynter, English musician (McFly)
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 11 - Natalia Gordienko, Moldovan popstar
- December 18 - Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
- December 26 - Adam Walker, British Flautist
- December 28 - Thomas Dekker American Actor
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 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 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 11 - Clara Peller, American actress (b. 1902)
- August 16 - Nick Vanos, Basketball Player (b. 1963)
- 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 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 - Harry Holtzman, American Abstract Artist (b. 1912)
- 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)
- December 17 - Linda Wong, Pornstar (b.1951)
Fiction
On November 7, events in the Doctor Who episode Father's Day take place, and on November 20 the event Energise is scheduled.
Michael Warren is elected mayor of Raccoon City in the video game Resident Evil.
In the television series, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, NASA launches the last of America's deep-space probes, the Space Shuttle Ranger 3, which is piloted by Captain William "Buck" Rogers.
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
- Johan Galtung, Chipko movement, Hans-Peter Dürr / Global Challenges Network, Institute for Food and Development Policy / Frances Moore-Lappé and Mordechai Vanunu
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1987.