1987 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 - Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. 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 New York collides with CONRAIL engines killing 16. January 5 - US President Ronald Wilson Reagan undergoes prostate surgery causing worries about his health. January 20 - Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, is kidnapped in Beirut (released November 1991) January 22 - In Pennsylvania, R. Budd Dwyer, Treasurer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shoots 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 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 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. May 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 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 will later be released on Wednesday, August 3, 1988. August-September August 4 - The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues 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 planes flaps August 17 - The Harmonic Convergence is observed. August 17 - Rudolf Hess is found hanging in his cell in Spandau Prison August 19 - Order of the Garter opened to women August 19 - Hungerford Massacre: In the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills 16 with an assault rifle and then commits suicide August 28 - Michael Jackson releases Bad, his follow-up to 1982's Thriller 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. Monday-Monday, September 7-September 21 - World's first conference on artificial life, Los Alamos National Laboratory September 28 - Star Trek: The Next Generation premieres on syndicated television with the double-length episode "Encounter at Farpoint" 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 - Hurricane force winds cause extensive damage in southern England. October 19 - Black Monday: stock market falls sharply around the world. October 23 - British jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for 3 years for tax evasion October 30 - The NEC PC Engine is released in Japan. December December 1 - NASA announces the names of four companies who were awarded contracts to help build the International Space Station: Boeing Aerospace, General Electric's Astro-Space Division, McDonnell Douglas, and the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell December 1 - Channel Tunnel digging commences Monday, December 7, 1987 - Delaware celebrates its bicentennial statehood. Saturday, December 12, 1987 - Pennsylvania celebrates its bicentennial statehood. Friday, December 18, 1987 - New Jersey celebrates its bicentennial statehood. December 8 - first Intifada begins December 20 - Dona Paz collides with Vector I - 749 confirmed deaths (probably closer to 3,000 due to unregistered passengers) December 29 - Prozac® makes its debut in the US unknown dates Pendolino train in Italy Shoko Asahara founds Aum Shinrikyo Barry Minkow's ZZZZ Best fraud unravels Year in Topic 1987 in film Friday, February 6, 1987 - Black Widow Friday, March 6, 1987 - Lethal Weapon starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover Saturday, May 16, 1987 - Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold Wednesday, May 20, 1987 - Beverly Hills Cop 2 starring Eddie Murphy Friday, June 12, 1987 - Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday, June 26, 1987 - Dragnet Friday, July 17, 1987 - Jaws 4: The Revenge Friday, November 13, 1987 - The Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger The Untouchables 1987 in literature 1987 in music 1987 in science 1987 in sports 1987 in television CBS becomes the last American network to cease a chime intonation at the beginning of telecasts; satellite feeds have made the tones obsolete (their job was to signal to the affiliates to start airing the network feed in sync with everyone else). Sunday, April 5, 1987 - Married... with Children premieres on the FOX television network. Births March 9 - Bow Wow, rap musician, actor March 9 - Pikku G, Finnish rap musician April 11 - Joss Stone, musician April 19 - Maria Sharapova, tennis player May 21 - Ashlie Brillault, actress (Lizzie McGuire) June 3 - Lalaine, actress (Lizzie McGuire) September 22 - Tom Felton, actor (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) September 28 - Hilary Duff, actress, singer (Lizzie McGuire, Agent Cody Banks) December 7 - Aaron Carter, singer Deaths January 15 - Ray Bolger, actor, singer, dancer February 2 - Alistair MacLean, British thriller writer, heart attack February 4 - Liberace February 22 - Andy Warhol, artist, director, writer March 2 - Randolph Scott, actor March 3 - Danny Kaye, actor, singer, comedian March 19 - Louis-Victor de Broglie, physicist and winner 1929 of the Nobel Prize in Physics March 21 - Robert Preston and Dean Paul Martin, actors March 26 - Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902) March 28 - Maria von Trapp, singer April 2 - Buddy Rich, drummer April 4 - C. L. Moore, science fiction writer April 28 - Ben Linder, American engineer murdered in Nicaragua May 3 - Dalida, French singer May 6 - William Casey, controversial director of the CIA May 11 - Peter Tosh, musician May 14 - Rita Hayworth, actress May 19 - James Tiptree, Jr, science fiction author June 6 - Fulton Mackay, actor June 22 - Fred Astaire, actor July 10 - John Hammond, record producer (b. 1910) August 17 - Rudolf Hess, Hitler's second-in-command, commits suicide in Spandau Prison September 23 - Bob Fosse, theater choreographer and director October 3 - Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist October 19 - Jacqueline Du Pré, English Cellist October 20 - Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician October 28 - André Masson, French artist October 29 - Woody Herman, jazz musician (b. 1913) October 31 - Joseph Campbell, author and expert on mythology December 10 - Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian violinist (b. 1901) 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 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 ast:1987 Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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