Ronald Reagan, 73, takes oath for second term as 40th president (Jan. 20). General Westmoreland settles libel action against CBS (Feb. 18). Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher addresses Congress, endorsing Reagan's policies (Feb. 20).Gorbachev, 54 (March 11). Two Shi'ite Muslim gunmen capture TWA airliner with 133 aboard, 104 of them Americans (June 14); 39 remaining hostages freed in Beirut (June 30). Supreme Court, 5–4, bars public school teachers from parochial schools (July 1). Arthur James Walker, 50, retired naval officer, convicted by federal judge of participating in Soviet spy ring operated by his brother, John Walker (Aug. 9).P.L.O. terrorists hijack Achille Lauro, Italian cruise ship, with 80 passengers, plus crew (Oct. 7); American, Leon Klinghoffer, killed (Oct. 8); Italian government toppled by political crisis over hijacking (Oct. 16). John A. Walker and son, Michael I. Walker, 22, sentenced in Navy espionage case (Oct. 28). Reagan and Gorbachev meet at summit (Nov. 19);(Nov. 21). Terrorists seize Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner after takeoff from Athens (Nov. 23); 59 dead as Egyptian forces storm plane on Malta (Nov. 24). U.S. budget-balancing bill enacted USSR leader Chernenko dies at 73 and is replaced by Mikhail agree to step up arms control talks and renew cultural contacts (Dec. 12).

1986

Spain and Portugal join European Economic Community (Jan. 1). President freezes Libyan assets in U.S. (Jan. 8). Supreme Court bars racial bias in trial jury selection (Jan. 14). Voyager 2 spacecraft reports secrets of Uranus (Jan. 26). Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboard (Jan. 28). Haiti president Jean-Claude Duvalier flees to France (Feb. 7). President Marcos flees Philippines after ruling 20 years, as newly elected Corazon Aquino succeeds him - (Feb. 26). Prime Minister Olof Palme of Sweden shot dead (Feb. 28). Austrian president Kurt Waldheim's service as Nazi army officer revealed (March 3). Union Carbide agrees to settlement with victims of Bhopal gas leak in India (March 22). Halley's comet yields information on return visit (April 10). U.S. planes attack Libyan “terrorist centers” (April 14). Desmond Tutu elected archbishop in South Africa (April 14). Major nuclear accident at Soviet Union's Chernobyl power station alarms world (April 26 et seq.). Ex-Navy analyst, Jonathan Jay Pollard, 31, guilty as spy for Israel (June 4). Supreme Court reaffirms abortion rights (June 11). World Court rules U.S. broke international law in mining Nicaraguan waters (June 27). Supreme Court voids automatic provisions of budget-balancing law (July 7). Jerry A. Whitworth, ex-Navy radioman, convicted as spy (July 24); he is also part of Walker family spy ring. Muslim captors release Rev. Lawrence Martin Jenco (July 26). Senate Judiciary Committee approves William H. Rehnquist as chief justice of U.S. (Aug. 14). House votes arms appropriations bill rejecting administration's “star wars” policy (Aug. 15). Three Lutheran church groups in U.S. set to merge (Aug. 29). Congress overrides Reagan veto of stiff sanctions against South Africa (Sept. 29 and Oct. 2). Congress approves immigration bill barring hiring of illegal aliens, with amnesty provision (Oct. 17). Reagan signs $11.7-billion budget reduction measure (Oct. 21). He approves sweeping revision of U.S. tax code (Oct. 22). Democrats triumph in elections, gaining eight seats to win Senate majority (Nov. 4). Secret initiative to send arms to Iran revealed (Nov. 6 et seq.); Reagan denies exchanging arms for hostages and halts arms sales (Nov. 19); diversion of funds from arms sales to Nicaraguan Contras revealed (Nov. 25).

• Ronald Reagan, 73, takes oath for second term as 40th President (Jan. 20).
  
• General Westmoreland settles libel action against CBS (Feb. 18).
  
• US Supreme Court, 5–4, bars public school teachers from parochial schools (July 1).
  
• Arthur James Walker, 50, retired naval officer, convicted by federal judge of participating in Soviet spy ring operated by his brother, John Walker (Aug. 9).
  
• US budget-balancing bill enacted (Dec. 12).
• FOX, the fourth televison network begins, proving that competition improves the quality of any product.
  
• Halley's Comet appears, after an 86 year wait, much dimmer than expected.
  
• Operah Winfrey changes the name of her show "A.M. Chicago", and gets nationwide syndication, along with more than a little success.
• Patrick Henry Sherrill becomes the first USPS employee to go "postal", killing 14 of his co-workers in Oklahoma, although many purists insist that 1970's serial killer David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, a postal employee, was the first.
• The Super Mario Brothers appear, compliments of Nintendo.
• Turner Broadcasting begins adding color to black and white classic films. The controversy continues today.
• Hands Across America takes place on May 25th. It would have worked too, many people thought, if not for that infamous couple in Nebraska.
• US Supreme Court bars racial bias in trial jury selection (Jan. 14).
  
• Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboard (Jan. 28).
  
• US Supreme Court reaffirms abortion rights (June 11).
  
• Senate Judiciary Committee approves William H. Rehnquist as Chief Justice of US Supreme Court(Aug. 14).
  
• House votes arms appropriations bill rejecting Administration's "star wars" policy (Aug. 15).
  
• Secret initiative to send arms to Iran revealed (Nov. 6 et seq.); Reagan denies exchanging arms for hostages and halts arms sales (Nov. 19); diversion of funds from arms sales to Nicaraguan Contras revealed (Nov. 25).
  

Events

• Rock Hudson dies of AIDS at age 59. He's the first major star to fall victim to the disease.
  
• Madonna launches her first road show, the Virgin Tour.
  
• Dozens of top-name musicians and bands perform at the Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London. The shows benefit African famine victims.
  
• With the availability of relatively inexpensive laser printers and computers, tools for desktop publishing begin to be commonly used.
• Barry Diller, head of News Corp., creates Fox, the fourth television network. Fox offers 10 hours of prime-time programming a week.
  
• The Television Bureau of Advertising announces that the average American household watches television for more than seven hours a day.
  
• The Oprah Winfrey Show hits national television.
  
• The Academic American Encyclopedia is available on CD-ROM. It is the first reference work published in this medium.
  
• Nintendo video games introduced in U.S.
  

Movies

• 1985 -Kiss of the Spider Woman, Out of Africa, Prizzi's Honor, The Color Purple
• 1986- Platoon, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Color of Money, The Mission
  
  

Books

• Robert Bly, Loving a Woman in Two Worlds
  
• Keri Hulme, The Bone People
  
• Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove
• Kingsley Amis, The Old Devils
  
• Alice Munro, The Progress of Love
  
• Peter Taylor, A Summer to Memphis
  

• British scientists report the opening of an enormous hole in the earth's ozone layer over Antarctica. Background: Environment & Nature
  
• Researchers at IBM develop the scanning tunneling microscope, which can visualize images on an atomic scale.
  
• Coca-Cola attempts to change its 99-year-old forumla in an effort to attract younger drinkers. "New" Coke is poorly received, and the company soon reintroduces the original, "Classic" beverage.
  
• K. Alex Müller (Switzerland) and J. Georg Bednorz (Germany) discover superconductivity in a ceramic material at -397ºF, a higher temperature than ever before.
  
• Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager make the first nonstop flight around the world without refueling. The Voyager flew around the world (24,986 miles) from Edwards AFB, California, returning in 216 hours, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds (Dec. 14–23). Background: Famous Firsts in Aviation
  
• The first genetically-engineered vaccine, for hepatitis B, gains FDA approval. Background: Health & Nutrition
  
• The Voyager 2 probe passes Uranus in January, returning images and data on its moon, rings, atmosphere, interior, and magnetic field. Background: US Unstaffed Planetary and Lunar Programs
  
• Halley's comet yields information on return visit (April 10).