- August 16
- John De Lorean is acquitted of all eight charges of possessing and distributing cocaine. [1] [114]
- Largest harness racing purse (US$2,161,000 - Nihilator wins US$1,080,500). [1]
- August 18
- Triangle Oil Corp, above-ground storage tank at Jacksonville Florida, spills 2.5 million gallons of oil burned after lightning sparked a fire. [1]
- August 21
- Half a million people in Manila demonstrate against the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. [114]
- August 22
- In Tomiya, Japan, two buildings are hit by falling meteorites. [521]
- Republican convention in Dallas, Texas, renominates President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush. [1] [114]
- August 27
- In Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurs. One hundred twenty-three people injured and 405 buildings damaged in the Tarutung area. Felt at Kuala Lumpur and Pinang, Malaysia. [53]
- September 2
- Seven people are shot and killed and 12 wounded in the Milperra massacre, a shootout between the rival motorcycle gangs Bandidos and Comancheros in Sydney. [114]
- September 3
- 28-year-old Chicago resident wins US$40 million in Illinois Lottery Lotto state lottery. [1] [86.41,102]
- September 4
- The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, led by Brian Mulroney, wins 211 seats in the House of Commons, forming the largest majority government in Canadian history. [40.66] [114]
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- The Nicaraguan general elections are held, Sandinista Front is the winner. [114]
- September 5
- Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment. [114]
- September 13
- In Honshu, Japan, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurs. At least 24 people killed and severe damage and landslides in the Otaki area. [53]
- September 17
- Brian Mulroney sworn in as Canada's 18th Prime Minister succeeding John Turner. [1]
- September 18
- Off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs. [53]
- In Turkey, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurs. Three people killed, 38 injured, and 75,000 houses destroyed or damaged in the Olur-Senkaya area. [53]
- Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of Atlantic. [1] [5]
- September 20
- Hezbollah car-bombs the U.S. embassy annex in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 22 people. [1] [114]
- September 22
- Disney's board of directors meets to vote on filling executive positions. They vote unanimously to hire Michael Eisner as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Ray Watson, and Frank Wells as President and Chief Operating Officer. Eisner's contract gives him US$750,000 per year, US$750,000 signing bonus, annual bonus two percent above company net growth of nine percent, and over two million share options at US$14.359 each. Wells' contract gives him US$400,000 per year, US$250,000 signing bonus, annual bonus equal to fifty percent of Eisner's, and options on 460,000 shares. [6]
- September 26
- The United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China sign the initial agreement to return Hong Kong to China in 1997. [1] [114]
- US President Ronald Reagan vetoes sanctions against South Africa. [1]
- September 30
- A brillian fireball is seen crossing the sky over Toodyay and Pinjarrua on coast of Western Australia, with two loud bangs heard over Perth. A black stone meteorite the size of a large potato falls into the sand by a couple on the beach at Binningup. [521] [523.26]
- October 2
- Three cosmonauts return after a record 237 days in orbit. [1]
- October 4
- Tim Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer become the first Australians to reach summit of Mount Everest. [114]
- US government closes down due to budget problems. [1]
- October 5
- 13th Space Shuttle Mission (41-G) - Challenger 6 - launched. Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space. [1] [5] [114]
- October 12
- The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonates a bomb at the Tory party conference at the Brighton Grand Hotel. Five people are killed. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is unhurt. [1] [114] [1382.40]
- October 16
- Desmond Tutu, black Anglican Bishop, wins the Nobel Peace Prize. [1]
- October 18
- In Turkey, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurs. Three people killed, 35 injured, and 75,000 homes damaged in the Erzurum-Senkaya area. [53]
- October 19
- Polish secret police arrest Jerzy Popieluszko, a Catholic priest who supports the Solidarity movement. (His dead body is found in a reservoir on October 30.) [114]
- October 24
- Eleven members of the Colombo crime family arrested. [1]
- Intelsat 5 re-enters Earth's atmosphere five months after it failed. [1]
- October 25
- The last execution in Turkey takes place. [114]
- October 26
- "Baby Fae" gets baboon heart transplant, lives 21 days. [1]
- October 31
- Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her two Sikh security guards. Riots soon break out in New Delhi, and some 2,700 Sikhs are killed. [1] [114]
- Puerto Rican tanker San Francisco explodes spilling two million gallons of oil as the ship catches fire. [1]
- November 4
- Nicaragua holds first free elections in 56 years; Sandinistas win 63 percent. [1]
- November 6
- U.S. presidential election: Ronald Reagan defeats Walter F. Mondale with 59 percent of the popular vote, the highest since Richard Nixon's 61 percent victory in 1972. Reagan carries 49 states in the electoral college; Mondale wins only his home state of Minnesota by a mere 3,761 vote margin, and the District of Columbia. [1] [114]
- November 12
- Space shuttle astronauts snare a satellite; first space salvage. [1]
- November 14
- Zamboanga City mayor Cesar Climaco, a prominent critic of the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, is assassinated in his home city (born 1916). [114]
- November 15
- Baby Fae, who received a baboon's heart, dies at California medical center. [1]
- November 19
- A series of explosions at the PEMEX Petroleum Storage Facility at San Juan Ixhuatepec, in Mexico City, ignites a major fire and kills about 500 people. [114]
- November 20
- SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) is founded. [5]
- November 25
- An East Rail train derails between Sheung Shui and Fanling stations, Hong Kong. [114]
- Thirty-six of Britain and Ireland's top pop musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio to form Band Aid, and record the song "Do They Know It's Christmas", in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. [114]
- William Schroeder becomes second to receive Jarvik-7 artificial heart. [1]
- November 27
- Percy Norris, deputy high commissioner of India, shot dead. [1]
- November 28
- Over 250 years after their deaths, William Penn and his wife Hannah Callowhill Penn are made Honorary Citizens of the United States. [114]
- November 29
- Band Aid release the song "Do They Know It's Christmas". [114]
- November 30
- The Tamil Tigers begin the purge of the Sinhalese from North and East Sri Lanka; 127 are killed. [114]
- December 1
- Controlled Impact Demonstration: NASA crashes remote controlled Boeing 720. [114]
- France performs nuclear test. [1]
- December 2
- Bob Hawke's government is re-elected in Australia with a reduced majority. [114]
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- December 3
- A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, kills more than 2,000 people outright and injures 15,000 to 22,000 others (some 6,000 of whom later die from their injuries). [1] [114]
- British Telecom is privatised. [114]
- Oldest groom - Harry Stevens, 103, weds Thelma Lucas, 83, in Wisconsin, USA. [1]
- December 4
- Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane and kill four passengers. [1] [114]
- December 5
- In Cuneo, Italy, a bright daytime fireball is reported, resulting in a strong explosion, breaking windows. [521]
- French colonies kill ten Kanaken in New Caledonia. [1]
- December 6
- Hijackers aboard Kuwaiti jetliner kill second hostage. [1]
- December 8
- Europe and 64 developing countries sign Lomé III treaty. [1]
- December 9
- Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- Iranian commandos end six-day capture of Kuwaiti plane. [1]
- December 10
- First planet outside our solar system is discovered. [1]
- South African Bishop Desmond Tutu receives his Nobel Peace Prize. [1]
- In Claxton, Georgia, USA a mailbox is destroyed by a meteorite fall. [521]
- December 11
- Mauretania military coup under Colonel Maawiya Ould Sid'ahmed Taya. [1]
- December 13
- Artificial heart recipient William Schroeder suffers first stroke. [1]
- December 15
- USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley's Comet. [1]
- December 19
- People's Republic of China Premier Zhao Ziyang and Margaret Thatcher sign Hong Kong Treaty for the return of Hong Kong in 1997. [1] [114]
- People's Republic of China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor. [1]
- Fire at the Wilberg Mine in central Utah kills 27 people. [1]
- December 20
- 33 unknown keyboard (piano) works of Johann Sebastion Bach are found in the Yale library. [1]
- December 21
- USSR launches Vega 2 for fly-by of Halley's Comet. [1]
- December 22
- Four youths board an express train in The Bronx borough of New York City. They attempt to rob Bernhard Goetz, who shoots them. The event starts a national debate about urban crime. [1] [114]
- In Malta, Prime Minister Dom Mintoff resigns. [114]
- December 24
- Palace coup in Mauritania. [1]
- December 26
- Belgian princess Astrid marries arch duke Otto L van Austrian-Este. [1]
- December 28
- A Soviet cruise missile plunges into Inarinjärvi lake in Finnish Lapland. (Finnish authorities announce the fact in public on January 3, 1985.) [114]
- Creosote bush determined to be 11,700 years old. [1]
- USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. [1]
- December 29
- Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi claims victory in parliamentary elections. [1]
- December 30
- In the India-Bangladesh border region, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurs. Twenty people killed, about 100 injured, 10,000 homeless and extensive damage in southern Assam, India. [53]
- December 31
- Rajiv Gandhi takes office as India's 6th Prime Minister, succeeding his mom, Indira. [1] [114]
- US leaves UNESCO. [1]
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