1986

January 28, STS-51-L: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates 73 seconds after launch, killing the crew of 7 astronauts including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

Worst nuclear disaster ever in Chernobyl, USSR, April.

In Nyos, Cameroon, a cloud of carbon dioxide rumbled out of the nearby lake Nyos on August 21 and killed approximently 1,700 people.

Bill Buckner lets World Series squirt through his legs. The Mets win in 7 games.

Fox Network starts in America

June 19th, Len Bias, a first round pick by the Celtics, died of a cocaine overdose.

Iran Contra Scandal (Who can forget Ollie North?) is reported in November in a Lebanese magazine.

Return of Haley's Comet

Hands Across America, May 25, 1986

Statue of Liberty celebrates the 100th Anniversary and gets a face lift in the process.

Miami Hurricanes' Quarterback Vinny Testaverde wins the Heisman Trophy

America celebrates national holiday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day for the first time.

Not only did the Red Sox went to the World Series (They lost in 7 to the Mets) ,the Boston Celtics won the 1986 NBA Championship, and New England went to the the Super Bowl but lost to the Chicago Bears 46-10.

Supermodel Gia, after years of heroin addiction, dies of AIDS. She is the first woman to sucumb to the AIDS virus in the US.

Election of Corazon Aquino ends corrupt Marcos regime in the Philippines. "Win or lose, we go shopping after the election." - Imelda Marcos

The first PC virus, Brain, starts to spread.

The Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX.

Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's secret vault on The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault, discovering only a bottle of moonshine.

"Captain Midnight" interrupts HBO satellite feed.

Deaths:
Donna Reed, American actress (b. 1921)
L. Ron Hubbard, American writer and founder of Scientology (b. 1911)

Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger:
Greg Jarvis (b. 1944)
Christa McAuliffe (b. 1948)
Ronald McNair (b. 1950)
Ellison Onizuka (b. 1946)
Judith Resnik (b. 1949)
Francis R. Scobee (b. 1939)
Michael J. Smith (b. 1945)

James Cagney, American actor (b. 1899)
Benny Goodman, American jazz musician (b. 1909)
Ted Knight, American actor (b. 1923)
Scatman Crothers, American actor, musician (b. 1910)
Cary Grant, British actor (b. 1904)
Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor (b. 1917)