1985 News and Interesting Tidbits From History


White Supremacy South Africa
The Afrikaners in South Africa owned 87% of the fertile land, beaches, and mines, leaving the black population with 15% of worthless land. Pieter Botha, South African president and white supremacist, led his fellow Afrikaners to commit numerous murders and atrocities against blacks in that country. President Both refused to talk with Desmond Tutu, Nobel Prize winner and peace activist.





University Costs Increase Faster Than Inflation
University costs for American students have gone up by 7% annually which is more than the inflation rate. The average college costs are $9,659 for those who stay in residence. However, Bennington College in Vermont is the most expensive costing $17,210.







Live Aid Concert
Following reports from Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid and the Red Cross who believe 10 million people are facing starvation in Ethiopia.

In July 1985 "Live Aid" a world wide concert organised by Bob Geldorf which included the Whos Who of Pop Music raised more than £70 million and helped increase public awareness to the plight of Ethiopia








Sinclair C5
Following the launch of the Sinclair C5 electric tricycle with a maximum speed of 15mph ( cost £399 ) on roads in England by Sir Clive Sinclair ( also created the most popular British made computer the Sinclair Spectrum ). Fears over safety because the vehicle is so low to the ground and other drivers can not see it and a top speed of 15MPH, many fear the number of accidents will be very high.








Stonehenge Festival
500 Hippy travellers clash with police on their way to the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge in Wiltshire for an illegal festival, the police set up a roadblock seven miles from Stonehenge. The day is known as "The Battle of the Beanfield" and was the first major test of an English Heritage ban on midsummer festivals at Stonehenge.







Boris Becker Wins Wimbledon
Boris Becker wins the mens Wimbledon championships breaking multiple records in the process.

1. The youngest ever player to win the mens title at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

2. The first German ever to win the mens title.

3. The first unseeded player to ever win the championship.







Terry Anderson Kidnapped
Terry Anderson the Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press is is kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon, by Islamic militants








Valley Parade Football Stadium Fire
A fire at a Bradford's Valley Parade football stadium in England killed more than 50 people some caused through panic and the ensuing stampede.








Heysel Stadium Disaster
Minutes before the start of the European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus at Heysel Stadium in Brussels , Crowd Violence Erupts which causes a wall to collapse killing 39 football fans and injuring at least another 400.
As a result of the disaster European football's governing body bans English clubs from playing in Europe indefinitely.








President Reagan and Soviet Leader Gorbachev Meet
President Reagan and Soviet Leader Gorbachev meet for the first time in Switzerland and had scheduled a 15-minute private meeting. It had gone on for longer than expected-one hour. Also on this Day: A Group of Prominent Women Write to Gorbachev A total of 34 women presented Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev with a letter regarding nuclear disarmament. They were pushing for a ban on nuclear weapons tests.







Lebanon Car Bomb
A car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon leaves 175 injured and 45 people dead, the target of the bomb was thought to be a fundamentalist Shia Muslim cleric, Sheikh Muhammad Husain Fadlallah .








Organ Donation
As the benefits of organ transplants have become known governments including The US and around the world run campaigns to increase awareness of Organ Donation hoping to make the donation of organs as widespread as the giving of blood.








Coca-Cola Company Introduces New Coke
The Coca-Cola Company announced it has changed its formula for Coke and will known as New Coke ( less than 6 months later they returned to the original formula ).








Richard Ramirez
Richard Ramirez, the infamous Night Stalker, starts his killing spree when he kills two women in separate attacks in Los Angeles.








MOVE Philadelphia
Philadelphia Police Department drop a bomb containing C-4 and Tovex from a helicopter onto MOVE's residence part of a row of tenements on Osage Avenue, the explosion started an uncontrolled fire and as a result, 53 houses burned and 240 people were left homeless.



John Africa, six other adults and four children, who were living in the MOVE Cult Home died in the resulting fire.



Police were attempting to enforce outstanding arrest warrants for four members of the group by blowing up tactical bunkers constructed by MOVE on the roof and had evacuated people from their Osage Avenue homes in order to prepare for an operation against MOVE.



MOVE was a mostly black group whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a 'back-to-nature' lifestyle and preached against technology.








Les Misérables opens in the West End
Les Misérables opens in the West End and on October 8, 2006, the show celebrated its 21st anniversary becoming the longest-running West End musical in history and is still running (though it has changed venues).








Terrorist Attack Rome and Vienna Airports
A double terrorist attack at Rome and Vienna airports by gunmen on waiting passengers has left more than 100 people injured and reports of 15 fatalities.








Dian Fossey Murdered
The American Zoologist Dian Fossey, who had studied mountain gorillas in Rwanda, was found hacked to death at a research station in Rwanda.








Ireland Allows Contraceptives
Ireland a predominantly Catholic country after much debate allows contraceptives to be sold.








British Miners Strike Ends
Miners' leaders vote to end the longest running industrial dispute in Britain History without a peace deal over proposed pit closures.








Mafia Boss Shot
Paul Castellano the head of the Gambino crime family, then one of New York's largest Mafia families, is shot to death outside Sparks Steak House in Manhattan on the orders of John J. Gotti.








The Unabomber
The Unabomber kills his first victim, Hugh Scrutton who is killed in his computer store in Sacramento, California, by a mail package that explodes in his hands. The Unabomber had detonated his first bomb in May 1978 on the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois

His Main Targets were Universities which is how he got the name of Unibomber








Supreme Court Ruling Sabbath Law Invalid
The Supreme Court invalidated a Connecticut law stating that workers had the right not to work on their chosen religious day off. This was done in an effort to make sure that the government remains neutral regarding the subject of religion.








Hole In Ozone Layer
British Scientists discover a hole in the earths Ozone Layer








Achille Lauro HiJack
Four Palestinian terrorists members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), the terrorist wing of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) board the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in order to hijack the luxury liner and it's passengers.








Rioting England
Rioting continues at the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, North London after the death of a local resident Cynthia Jarrett who died of heart failure when policemen burst into her home during a raid. For the first time in the UK shots have been fired during a riot . Looting and a number of arson attacks on local businesses with the violence continuing throughout the night between hundreds of black and white youths and 500 police with riot shields, helmets and truncheons. One Policeman was killed during a knifing incident and one officer has been shot and is seriously wounded.

In London and Liverpool gangs of black youths are continuing to fight with local police forces and rioting in areas where racial tension is at it's worst. The youths are making gasoline bombs which they are then using to firebomb shops in these areas.











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