What happened in 1986

“That's What Friends Are For”

Dionne & Friends Featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight And Stevie Wonder · 4 weeks at #1 in 1986

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1. Jan 4Say You, Say MeLionel Richie2 wks
2. Jan 18That's What Friends Are ForDionne & Friends Featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight And Stevie Wonder4 wks
3. Feb 15How Will I KnowWhitney Houston2 wks
4. Mar 1KyrieMr. Mister2 wks
5. Mar 15SaraStarship1 wk
6. Mar 22These DreamsHeart1 wk
7. Mar 29Rock Me AmadeusFalco3 wks
8. Apr 19KissPrince And The Revolution2 wks
9. May 3Addicted To LoveRobert Palmer1 wk
10. May 10West End GirlsPet Shop Boys1 wk
11. May 17Greatest Love Of AllWhitney Houston3 wks
12. Jun 7Live To TellMadonna1 wk
13. Jun 14On My OwnPatti LaBelle & Michael McDonald3 wks
14. Jul 5There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)Billy Ocean1 wk
15. Jul 12Holding Back The YearsSimply Red1 wk
16. Jul 19Invisible TouchGenesis1 wk
17. Jul 26SledgehammerPeter Gabriel1 wk
18. Aug 2Glory Of Love (Theme From "The Karate Kid Part II")Peter Cetera2 wks
19. Aug 16Papa Don't PreachMadonna2 wks
20. Aug 30Higher LoveSteve Winwood1 wk
21. Sep 6VenusBananarama1 wk
22. Sep 13Take My Breath Away (Love Theme From "Top Gun")Berlin1 wk
23. Sep 20Stuck With YouHuey Lewis & The News3 wks
24. Oct 11When I Think Of YouJanet Jackson2 wks
25. Oct 25True ColorsCyndi Lauper2 wks
26. Nov 8AmandaBoston2 wks
27. Nov 22HumanThe Human League1 wk
28. Nov 29You Give Love A Bad NameBon Jovi1 wk
29. Dec 6The Next Time I FallPeter Cetera With Amy Grant1 wk
30. Dec 13The Way It IsBruce Hornsby & The Range1 wk
31. Dec 20Walk Like An EgyptianThe Bangles2 wks

Dates are the first chart week at #1 in 1986; weeks count only those in 1986.Find the #1 song on your birthday →

1. Jan 11The Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Australia, opened as the largest prestressed-concrete, single-box bridge in the world.
2. Jan 12Space Shuttle program: Congressman and future NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist.
3. Jan 20In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
4. Jan 24The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.
5. Jan 28The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into its tenth mission (video featured), killing all seven crew members.
6. Feb 3Steve Jobs purchased Pixar from Lucasfilm and launched it as an independent computer-animation studio.
7. Feb 9Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
8. Feb 25Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were ousted from power by the non-violent People Power Revolution, with Corazon Aquino succeeding as president.
9. Apr 11FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida, between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan are killed, while five other agents are wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
10. Aug 6A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
11. Aug 31Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground.
12. Oct 9Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) launches as the fourth US television network.
13. Nov 21National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the Iran–Contra affair.
14. Dec 31Three disgruntled employees set fire to the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing more than 90 people and injuring 140 others, making it the second-deadliest hotel fire in American history.

Event summaries from Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Each links to its article.

• U.S. President

  Ronald Reagan

• UK Prime Minister

  Margaret Thatcher

• Prime Minister of Canada

  Brian Mulroney

• President of France

  François Mitterrand

• German Chancellor

  Helmut Kohl

• Prime Minister of Japan

  Yasuhiro Nakasone

• Soviet leader

  Mikhail Gorbachev

Everyone who held the office at some point in 1986, from Wikidata.

A selection of the best-documented titles on Wikidata, by first release year; not a box-office ranking.

• Marcus FreemanAmerican football coach · Jan 10
• Matt RiddleAmerican mixed martial artist and wrestler · Jan 14
• Jessy SchramAmerican actress and model · Jan 15
• Mischa BartonEnglish-American actress · Jan 24
• Sean McVayAmerican football coach · Jan 24
• Lauren ConradAmerican fashion designer and author · Feb 1
• Kevin GatesAmerican rapper, singer, and entrepreneur · Feb 5
• Rajon RondoAmerican basketball player · Feb 22
• Jerod MayoAmerican football player and coach · Feb 23
• Justin BerfieldAmerican actor, writer, and producer · Feb 25

From Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0.