- January 7
- Saturn Corporation is founded as a "Different Kind of Car Company." [85]
- January 13
- Cerebral Palsy telethon raises US$17,100,000. [1]
- January 14
- Sixteen indicted by US for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees. [1]
- January 18
- US renounces jurisdiction of World Court despite previous promise. [1]
- January 19
- Four die in a car and train crash in Buda, Illinois. [1]
- January 20
- Cold front strikes US, at least 40 die (-27 degrees F (-33 degrees C) in Chicago, Illinois). [1]
- U.S. President Ronald Reagan is privately sworn in for a second term in office (publicly sworn in January 21). [85]
- January 21
- -19 degrees F (-28 degrees C), Caesar's Head, South Carolina (state record). [1]
- -34 degrees F (-37 degrees C), Mount Mitchell, North Carolina (state record). [1]
- January 22
- -30 degrees F (-34 degrees C), Mountain Lake Bio Station, Virginia (state record). [1]
- Cold wave damages 90 percent of Florida's citrus crop. [1]
- Kelly Hu, age 16, of Hawaii, crowned third Miss Teen USA. [1]
- January 24
- 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 is launched. [1]
- January 26
- 42th Golden Globes: Amadeus wins. [1]
- January 28
- In Hollywood, California, the charity single "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa. [85]
- February 1
- -61 degrees F (-52 degrees C), Maybell, Colorado (state record). [1]
- -69 degrees F (-56 degrees C), Peter's Sink, Utah (state record). [1]
- February 4
- Naval exercises canceled when US refuses to tell New Zealand of nuclear weapons. [1]
- February 5
- Australia cancels its involvement in U.S.-led MX missile tests. [85]
- February 7
- "New York, New York" becomes the official anthem of New York City, New York. [1] [85]
- February 9
- U.S. drug agent Enrique Camarena is kidnapped and murdered in Mexico (his body is discovered March 5). [85]
- February 10
- -61 degrees F (-52 degrees C), Maybell Colorado (state record). [1]
- February 14
- Hostage CNN reporter Jeremy Levin is released in Beirut, Lebanon. [1] [85]
- February 19
- Canned and bottled Cherry Coke introduced by Coca-Cola. [1]
- Disney's Mickey Mouse character welcomed in China. [1]
- William Schroeder is first artificial heart patient to leave hospital. He spends 15 minutes outside Humana Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. [1] [5] [85]
- February 23
- US Senate confirms Edwin Meese III as Attorney General. [1]
- February 26
- 27th Grammy Awards: "What's Love Got to Do With It", Cyndi Lauper win. [1]
- February 27
- Farmers converge in Washington to demand economic relief. [1]
- March 1
- Pentagon accepts theory that atomic war would cause a nuclear winter. [1]
- March 2
- US approves screening test for AIDS. [1]
- March 4
- Virtual ban on leaded gas in USA ordered by EPA. [1]
- The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS, used since then to screen all blood donations in the United States. [85]
- March 6
- Mexican authorities find body of US drug agent Enrique C Salaazar. [1]
- Yul Brynner appears in his 4,500th performance of The King and I. [1]
- March 14
- 11th People's Choice Awards: Bill Cosby wins four awards. [1]
- March 16
- Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage by Islamic militants in Beirut, Lebanon. (He is eventually released on December 4, 1991.) [1] [85] [129]
- March 18
- Capital Cities Communications Inc acquires ABC TV. [1]
- March 19
- US Senate votes 55-45, to authorize production of the MX missile. [1]
- March 22
- NASA launches Intelsat VA. [1]
- March 23
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- March 24
- Golden Raspberry Awards presented to parody Oscar Awards (Bolero wins). [1]
- March 25
- The 57th Academy Awards ceremony is held in Los Angeles, California. Amadeus wins Best Picture, F Murray Abraham wins Best Actor, and Sally Field wins Best Actress. [1] [85]
- March 27
- Billy Dee Williams receives a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. [1]
- March 31
- 15th Easter Seal Telethon raises US$27,400,000. [1]
- April 2
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- April 6
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- April 8
- Amdahl releases UTS/V, first mainframe Unix operating system. [1]
- India files suit against Union Carbide over Bhopal disaster. [1]
- April 12
- 16th Shuttle Mission (51D)-Discovery 4 launched-with Senator Jake Garn. [1]
- April 23
- Coca-Cola changes its secret flavor formula and releases New Coke. (The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.) [1] [85]
- April 25
- Roger Miller's musical Big River, premieres at Eugene O'Neill Theater New York City for 1005 performances. [1]
- April 29
- 17th space shuttle mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 launched. [1]
- May 1
- US President Ronald Reagan ends embargo against Nicaragua. [1]
- May 2
- Microsoft introduces the Excel spreadsheet program for the Macintosh. Despite Lotus Development releasing Jazz four months before Excel ships, Excel quickly dominates the market, increasing sales of the Macintosh just as VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3 had done for their platforms earlier. [4]
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- May 6
- 17th Space Shuttle Mission (51-B)-Challenger 7 lands at Edwards Air Force Base. [1]
- May 8
- 20th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alabama and Judds win. [1]
- May 11
- The FBI brings charges against the suspected heads of the five Mafia families in New York City. [85]
- May 13
- Laura Elena Martinez-Herring, age 21 of Texas, crowned 34th Miss USA. [1]
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayor Wilson Goode orders police to storm the radical group MOVE's headquarters to end a stand-off. The police drop an explosive device into the headquarters, killing 11 MOVE members and destroying the homes of 61 city residents in the resulting fire. [1] [85]
- May 15
- An explosive device sent by the Unabomber injures John Hauser at University of California in Berkeley. [85]
- May 17
- Les Anderson catches record 97-pound 4-ounce Chinook Salmon, off Alaska. [1]
- May 20
- FBI arrests John A Walker Jr, convicted of spying for USSR. [1]
- US begins broadcasts to Cuba on Radio Marti. [1]
- May 22
- US sailor Michael L Walker arrested for spying for USSR. [1]
- May 23
- Thomas Patrick Cavanagh is sentenced to life in prison for attempting to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union. [85]
- May 27
- Inaugural bands parade for US President Ronald Reagan. [1]
- May 31
- 41 Tornados in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and Ontario, Canada kill 41 and injure more than 1,000. [1] [85]
- June 4
- US Supreme Court strikes down Alabama "moment of silence" law. [1]
- June 9
- American Thomas Sutherland is kidnapped and held hostage in Lebanon. [1]
- June 10
- Coca-Cola announces they would bring back their 99-year-old formula. [1]
- June 13
- In Auburn, Washington, police defuse a Unabomber bomb sent to Boeing. [85]
- June 17
- John Hendricks launches the Discovery Channel in the United States. [85]
- June 24
- 18th Space Shuttle Mission (51-G) - Discovery 5 - returns to Earth. Payload Specialist Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud completes being the first Arab and first Muslim in space. [1] [5] [85]
- June 25
- Fireworks factory near Hallett, Oklahoma explodes (21 die). [1]
- June 26
- Walt Disney World Resort Monorail Gold catches fire on the EPCOT beam around 9:00pm due to friction from a flat tire. [85]
- In Hartford, Connecticut, USA a 1,500-pound slab of ice, six feet long and eight inches thick, falls from the sky flattening a picket fence, shaking the ground with the impact. [521]
- June 27
- Route 66 in the USA is officially decommissioned. [85]
- July 3
- CBS announces a 21 percent stock buy-back to thwart Ted Turner's takeover. [1]
- July 9
- The Liberty-Ellis Island Commemorative Coin Act and Silver Bullion Coin Act of 1985 become law, authorizing a one-ounce 0.999 fine silver bullion coin. [474.215]
- July 13
- U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush serves as Acting President for eight hours, while President Ronald W. Reagan undergoes colon cancer surgery. [85]
- Live Aid rock concert is staged in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney. Over £50 million is raised for famine relief in Ethiopia. [1] [85]
- July 16
- F-86 Sabre sets world aircraft speed record of 1152 kph (716 mph). [1]
- July 19
- U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush announces that New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe will become the first schoolteacher to ride aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. [1] [85]
- July 20
- Walt Disney World welcomes its 200-millionth guest, Virgil Waytes, Jr. [6]
- July 23
- Commodore International introduces the Amiga 1000 computer. It features a Motorola 68000 processor, custom color graphics and stereo sound processors, a multitasking, windowing operating system, 256 kB RAM, and 880 kB 3.5-inch disk drive. Price is US$1300. [4] (July 24 [85])
- July 29
- 19th Space Shuttle Mission (51-F)-Challenger 8-launched. [1]
- August 2
- Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashes near Dallas, Texas, killing 137 people. [85]
- August 10
- Michael Jackson buys ATV Music (every Beatles song) for US$47.5 million. [1]
- August 22
- Microsoft and IBM sign a joint-development agreement to work together on future operating systems and environments. [4]
- August 25
- Disneyland welcomes three-year old Brooks Arthur Charles Burr as the park's 250-millionth visitor. [6]
- August 27
- 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I) - Discovery 6 - launched. [1]
- August 31
- Night Stalker suspect that terrorized South California captured in East Los Angeles. [1]
- September 1
- US-French expedition locates wreckage of RMS Titanic off Newfoundland, Canada. [1] [85] [117.44]
- September 6
- Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a Douglas DC-9, crashes just after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing 31. [85]
- September 8
- USA Weekend's first issue, appears in 255 newspapers. [1]
- Seven die in a car and train crash in San Jose, California. [1]
- September 9
- US President Ronald Reagan issues Executive Order 12532, effective October 11, establishing trade and other sanctions agsinst South Africa, including an import ban on Kruggerand gold coins. The order also directs Treasury Department to conduct feasibility study on issuing gold bullion coins, and seek legislative authority to proceed. [474.204] [494.5] [684.24]
- September 16
- Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs resigns as chairman of Apple Computer. [4]
- September 19
- Allied Chemical (Allied Corp.) changes its company name to Allied-Signal Incorp. [228]
- September 22
- Rock and country musicians participate in FarmAid in Champaign, Illinois. [1]
- Plaza Accord is signed by five nations. [85]
- Death of Axel Springer, founder of Alex Springer Verlag publisher, in West Berlin, Germany. [37]
- September 27
- Hurricane Gloria's 130 MPH wind hits the Atlantic coast of the USA. [1]
- September 29
- First of five cyanide-laced Tylenol victims dies. [1]
- October 1
- Nintendo releases the Super Mario Bros. video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. (Total worldwide sales: 40.24 million.) [9]
- October 4
- The Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, USA. [85]
- October 8
- Hijackers of Achille Lauro throw Leon Klinghoffer off the ship, killing him. [1]
- October 10
- US fighter jets force Egyptian plane carrying hijackers of Italian ship Achille Lauro to land in Italy; gunmen are placed in custody. [1]
- October 11
- US President Ronald Reagan bans importation of South African Krugerrand gold coins. [1] [538.34]
- October 15
- Shelley Taylor of Australia makes fastest swim ever around Manhattan Island: 6:12:29. [1]
- US space shuttle Columbia carries Spacelab into orbit. [1]
- October 16
- Intel introduces the 16 MHz 80386 processor. With a 32-bit data bus, it can directly address four gigabytes of memory. Processor speed is three to four million instructions per second. Intel spent $100 million developing the processor. [1] [4]
- October 18
- Nintendo releases the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States, in New York City. Special displays are set up in department, toy, and electronics stores. The NES comes with the Robotic Operating Buddy and the Zapper light gun. Price is US$125. Seventeen game cartridges are available with the launch of the game system. (Total sales over the product's lifetime reach 36 million.) [9] [85]
- October 19
- The first Blockbuster Video store opens in Dallas, Texas. [5]
- November 6
- Exploratory well at Ranger, Texas, explodes spilling 6.3 million gallons of oil. [1]
- November 15
- In separate events, mail bombs kill two people in Salt Lake City, Utah. [85]
- November 18
- Space shuttle Enterprise (OV-101) flies from Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, DC, is and turned over to the Smithsonian Institution. [1]
- Comic strip Calvin and Hobbes debuts in 35 newspapers. [85]
- November 19
- In Geneva, Switzerland, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time. [1] [85]
- November 20
- Microsoft ships Microsoft Windows for the IBM PC, for US$100. It is delivered two years after the initial announcement of the product. [4]
- November 23
- Retired US Central Intelligence Agency analyst Larry Wu-tai Chin is arrested for spying for China. [1]
- November 26
- 23rd Space Shuttle Mission (61-B)-Atlantis 2-is launched. [1]
- U.S. President Ronald Reagan sells the rights to his autobiography to Random House for a record US$3 million. [85]
- December 1
- The Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable car models are released for sale to the US public. [85]
- December 4
- US President Ronald Reagan appoints Vice Admiral John Poindexter as security adviser. [1]
- December 6
- United Kingdom joins US Strategic Defence Initiative project. [1]
- December 7
- US space shuttle Atlantis returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly Air Force Base. [1]
- December 10
- Bill to balance the US federal budget passed by Congress. [1]
- December 11
- Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,500 for first time (1,511.70). [1]
- General Electric acquires RCA Corp and its subsidiary, NBC. [1]
- December 12
- Arrow Air Flight 1285, a Douglas DC-8, crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, killing 256, 248 of whom were U.S. servicemen returning to Fort Campbell, Kentucky from overseeing a peacekeeping force in Sinai. [1] [85]
- December 16
- In New York City, Mafia bosses Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead in front of Spark's Steak House, making hit organizer John Gotti the leader of the powerful Gambino organized crime family. [1] [85]
- December 17
- US President Ronald Reagan signs the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-185) directing Treasury to issue 0.9167 fine gold bullion coins: $50 (one ounce), $25 (half ounce), $10 (quarter ounce), $5 (tenth ounce). The gold is to be acquired from natural deposits in the US or territory or possession when possible, and when not, from the US reserves. Profits from sales would be used to pay down the national debt. [474.205] [494.5] [684.20]
- December 20
- Position of American Poet Laureate established (Robert Warren is first). [1]
- December 21
- ARCO Anchorage runs aground near Port Angeles, Washington. [1]
- December 28
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
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