1986 World History
 Corazon Aquino (1933– ) Embassy of the Philippines  William Rehnquist (1924–2005) Archive Photos  Yoweri Museveni (1944– ) Archive Photos |
- 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).
