- August 30
- In Romania, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs. Two people killed, 558 injured, and about 55,000 homes damaged, leaving more than 12,500 people homeless in the Kishinev-Kagul area, USSR. [53]
- August 31
- Aeroméxico Flight 498, a Douglas DC-9, collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 on both aircraft and 15 on the ground. [1] [84]
- Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collides with merchant vessel Pyotr Vasev in the Black Sea and sinks almost immediately, killing 398. [1] [84]
- The cargo ship Khian Sea departs from the docks of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, carrying 14,000 tons of toxic waste. (It will wander the seas for the next 16 months trying to find a place to dump its cargo.) [84]
- September 3
- Price of gold passes US$400 per ounce in London. [684.18]
- September 5
- Pan Am Flight 73, with 358 people on board, is hijacked at Karachi International Airport by four armed men of the Abu Nidal organization. [84]
- September 6
- In Istanbul, two Abu Nidal terrorists kill 22 and wound six inside the Neve Shalom synagogue during Sabbath services. [84]
- USSR charges correspondent Nicholas Daniloff with spying. [1]
- September 7
- Desmond Tutu becomes Anglican Church bishop in South Africa. [1] [84]
- Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet survives an assassination attempt by the FPMR; five of his bodyguards are killed. [84]
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- September 9
- At the Palladium in Manhattan, New York, Compaq Computer introduces the Compaq Deskpro 386, the first 80386-based personal computer offered by a major computer manufacturer. The Model 40 features a 16 MHz Intel 80386 and 40 MB hard drive, for US$6449. The Model 130 has a 130 MB hard drive, for US$8799. [4]
- New York City jury indicts Gennadly Zakharov (Soviet United Nations employee) of spying. [1]
- September 11
- Dow Jones Industrial Average suffers biggest one-day decline ever, plummeting 86.61 points to 1,792.89. 237.57 million shares traded. [1]
- September 12
- The 3-D film Captain Eo, starring Michael Jackson, opens in the Magic Eye Theater in EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World. It cost over US$17 million to produce, making it the most costly movie to date, at about US$1 million per minute. Lucasfilm provided more than 150 special effects for the 17-minute movie. [6]
- US professor Joseph Cicippio is kidnapped and held hostage in Beirut, Lebanon. [1]
- September 13
- In Southern Greece, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurs. At least twenty people killed, about 300 injured, 2,500 homeless and 1,500 buildings damaged or destroyed. [53] [84]
- September 18
- Motorola announces the Motorola 68030 microprocessor. It incorporates about 300,000 transistors. [4]
- September 19
- US Federal health officals announce AZT will be available to AIDS patients. [1]
- September 29
- USSR releases US journalist Nicholas Daniloff confined on spy charges. [1]
- September 30
- US releases Soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov. [1]
- October 2
- Sikhs attempt to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. [1]
- October 3
- Soviet Yankee-class submarine sinks off North Carolina, three die. [1]
- October 5
- London Sunday Times reports Israel is stocking nuclear arms. [1]
- October 9
- News Corporation completes its acquisition of the Metromedia group of companies, thereby launching Fox Broadcasting Company. [84]
- October 10
- In El Salvador, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurs. At least 1,000 people killed, 10,000 injured, 200,000 homeless and severe damage and landslides in the San Salvador area. Felt strongly in parts of Guatemala and Honduras. [1] [53] [84]
- Israel Prime Minister Shimon Peres resigns. [1]
- October 11
- US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe (the talks break down in failure). [1] [84]
- October 12
- The Golden Horseshoe Revue show closes in Disneyland. It is the longest running show in history, at nearly 50,000 performances. [6]
- Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China. [84]
- October 14
- Concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel wins Nobel Peace Prize. [1]
- October 16
- Armand Hammer returns to US with Jewish refusenik David Goldfarb. [1]
- October 17
- US Senate approves immigration bill prohibiting hiring of illegal aliens and offering amnesty to illegals who entered prior to 1982. [1]
- October 19
- USSR expels five American diplomats. [1]
- Mozambican president Samora Machel's plane crashes in South Africa. [84]
- October 20
- In the Kermadec Islands region, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake occurs. [53]
- October 21
- The Compact of Free Association between the USA and the Marshall Islands becomes effective. [1005.45] [1367.827]
- October 25
- International Red Cross ousted from South Africa. [1]
- October 26
- Bus deregulation goes into effect in the United Kingdom, except Greater London and Northern Ireland. [84]
- October 27
- International World Day of Prayer is held in Assisi, Italy. [84]
- "Big Bang" in the London Stock Exchange abolishes fixed commission charges, paving the way for electronic trading. [84]
- November 1
- Joh Bjelke-Petersen wins election as Premier of Queensland, Australia, with 38.6 percent of the vote. [84]
- November 3
- The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been selling weapons to Iran in secret in order to secure the release of 7 American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon. [1] [84]
- The Compact of Free Association between the USA and the Federated States of Micronesia takes effect. [1005.45] [1367.967]
- President Machel killed in air crash in Mozambique. [1]
- November 6
- A British International Helicopters Boeing 234LR Chinook crashes 2.5 miles east of Sumburgh Airport killing 45 people. This is the deadliest civilian helicopter crash on record. [84]
- November 10
- River Rhine (Germany) polluted by chemical spill. [1]
- November 11
- Sperry Rand and Burroughs merge to form Unisys, becoming the world's second largest computer company. [84]
- November 13
- US violates Iran arms boycott. [1]
- November 14
- In Taiwan, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurs. Fifteen people killed, 44 injured. [53]
- November 20
- United Nations's World Health Organization announces first global effort to combat AIDS. [1]
- November 21
- US National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start shredding documents implicating them in selling weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. [84]
- November 25
- U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. [84] [865.22]
- November 26
- U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces that former Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft will serve as members of the Special Review Board looking into the Iran-Contra arms scandal (they became known as the Tower Commission). Reagan denies involvement in the scandal. [84] (November 25 [1])
- November 28
- Reagan administration exceeds SALT II arms limitations for first time. [1]
- December 1
- Musée d'orsay opens in Paris, France. [1]
- December 6
- France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island. [1]
- December 7
- President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees Haïti. [1]
- In Bulgaria, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurs. [53]
- December 10
- France performs nuclear test. [1]
- Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel accepts 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. [1]
- December 11
- South Africa censors press. [1]
- December 12
- Russian Tupolev-134 crashes in East Berlin, 70 killed. [1]
- December 14
- Voyager experimental aircraft, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, California on first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world. [1] [84]
- December 15
- 150 killed during race riot in Karachi, Pakistan. [1]
- December 17
- Mrs Davina Thompson makes medical history by having the first heart, lung, and liver transplant (Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England). [1]
- US Congress forms "Irangate" committee. [1]
- December 19
- Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov is permitted to return to Moscow after years of internal exile. [1] [84]
- December 22
- British Liberal Party Member of Parliament David Penhaligon, 42, is killed in a car crash near Truro in Cornwall, England. [84]
- December 23
- Voyager airplane completes the first nonstop circumnavigation of the earth by air without refueling in 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds. [1] [84]
- December 24
- French hostage Aurel Cornea, held in Lebanon for 9 months, released. [1]
- Iran offensive against Iraqi islands of Shatt al-Arab. [1]
- December 26
- Hijackers take over an Iraqi Airways Boeing 737 with 91 people on board during a flight from Baghdad to Amman. It lands in Arar, Saudi Arabia where it explodes, killing 62 people. [1]
- December 30
- US begins military exercises in Honduras. [1]
- December 31
- Fire at 22-story Dupont Hotel Plaza in San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA; 1000 guests in building, 95+ die. Second worst hotel fire in US history. The fire started at same time as three explosions were heard, which occurred 10 minutes after workers voted to strike at midnight. [84] [876.16]
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