Chronology year 1987

5 min read

The Single European Act comes into force, which deepens the integration of the European bloc.
Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Mikhail Gorbachev announces the policies of glasnost (transparency) and perestroika (restructuring) in the USSR.
NASA releases report acknowledging management failures that led to the Challenger disaster in 1986.
The film Platoon, by Oliver Stone, wins the Golden Globe for Best Film.
General strike in Argentina against the economic policy of the Alfonsín government.
Hostage crisis in Lebanon intensifies, with new kidnappings of Westerners.

The Philippines approves a new democratic constitution, consolidating the government of Corazon Aquino.
The USSR launches the main module of the Mir space station.
Les Misérables opens on Broadway, in New York.
Death of artist Andy Warhol, on February 22, in New York, during gallbladder surgery.
Supernova 1987A becomes visible to the naked eye in the Southern Hemisphere — the first supernova visible to the naked eye since 1604.
The UN warns of the growth of the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.
Earthquake in Ecuador kills more than 1,000 people and seriously damages the trans-Andean oil pipeline.
First heart transplant performed in India.

President Reagan publicly admits mistakes in the Iran-Contra affair.
Sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry leaving the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium: 193 people die.
The FDA approves AZT (zidovudine) as the first antiretroviral treatment for AIDS.
The Simpsons debuts as sketches on The Tracey Ullman Show.
Ayrton Senna wins the Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Beginning of the accident with Cesium-137 in Goiânia, Brazil — one of the biggest radiological accidents in history.

Death of Italian writer and chemist Primo Levi, in Turin, on April 11.
Portugal and China sign an agreement on the future transfer of Macau to Chinese sovereignty in 1999.
Death of French-Egyptian singer Dalida, in Paris, on April 3.
Microsoft launches Excel for Windows.
Environmental protests on Earth Day gain a global scale.
The US bombs bases in Libya in retaliation for terrorist activities — note: the bombing took place in April 1986.

The US Congress begins televised hearings into the Iran-Contra scandal.
Military coup in Fiji overthrows the elected government.
Young German pilot Mathias Rust lands a single-engine plane on Red Square in Moscow on May 28, exposing flaws in Soviet air defense.
The USSR successfully launches the Energia rocket, the most powerful ever built by the Soviet Union.
Fire in the King's Cross subway, in London, kills 31 people — note: this fire occurred in November 1987.
Ronald Reagan visits West Berlin.

Reagan delivers his famous speech in front of the Berlin Wall: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Margaret Thatcher is re-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the third consecutive term.
The film Predator, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, premieres in the USA.
Mike Tyson unifies the heavyweight titles by defeating Tony Tucker.
The Cure releases the album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.
Pope John Paul II visits Chile and Argentina.

The world population reaches 5 billion inhabitants, according to the UN.
Taiwan revokes martial law imposed in 1949, after 38 years.
The UN approves a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq War.
Michael Jackson releases the single I Just Can't Stop Loving You, the first taken from the album Bad.
Ayrton Senna wins the Formula 1 German Grand Prix.
Brazil wins the 1987 Copa América, held in Argentina.

USA and Canada sign bilateral free trade agreement (precursor to NAFTA).
Death of Rudolf Hess, the last prisoner of Spandau, aged 93, on August 17th.
Michael Jackson releases the album Bad, which produces five number 1 singles in the USA.
The film Dirty Dancing premieres in the USA with great public success.
High-speed train (TGV) accident in France kills 56 people.
Toxic gas (carbon dioxide) from Lake Nyos, in Cameroon, kills more than 1,700 people — note: this event occurred in August 1986.
The anime Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo, premieres in Japanese cinemas.

The accident with Cesium-137 in Goiânia is discovered by Brazilian authorities — the radioactive material had been removed from an abandoned radiotherapy device.
The Simpsons debuts as an independent series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show — note: the autonomous series premiered in December 1989.
The series Beauty and the Beast debuts on American television.
Mike Tyson knocks out Tyrell Biggs and retains the unified heavyweight title.
The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer is signed by 46 countries.
Death of jazz musician Jaco Pastorius, bassist for Weather Report.

Black Monday: the New York Stock Exchange suffers its biggest drop in a single day — 22.6% — on October 19.
Baby Jessica McClure falls into a well in Texas and is rescued alive after 58 hours — an operation broadcast live on TV.
The film Good Morning, Vietnam, with Robin Williams, premieres in the USA.
Magnitude 6.0 earthquake hits Southern California.
The USSR launches a new module for the Mir space station.
Microsoft releases Windows 2.0.
The film Fatal Attraction leads the American box office.

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali takes power in Tunisia in a white coup, deposing president Habib Bourguiba.
Attack on Korean Air Flight 858: bomb explodes on board, killing 115 people.
Floods in Bangladesh kill more than 2,000 people.
Ayrton Senna wins the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
Fire at King's Cross tube station in London kills 31 people on November 18.
Microsoft launches Windows 2.0 in the USA.
South African Airways Flight 295 crashes into the Indian Ocean, killing 159 people.
Van Gogh's painting Sunflowers sells for £24.75 million at auction — a world record at the time.

USA and USSR sign the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces), eliminating an entire category of nuclear weapons.
Sinking of the Doña Paz ferry in the Philippines, after collision with an oil tanker: more than 4,300 people die — the biggest maritime disaster in peacetime in history.
Beginning of the First Palestinian Intifada, in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank.
Death of Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, in Paris, on December 29, 1986 — note: Tarkovsky died in December 1986.
The first Nokia cell phone (Mobira Cityman 900) is commercially launched.
Good Morning, Vietnam, with Robin Williams, premieres on a wide circuit in the USA.