Year by year · 20th century

1986

1986 in world history: 17 events, 1 birth, 13 deaths, 1 work and 1 state founded. 198 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 28 January

    Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after launch

    Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after lift-off, killing its seven crew, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. A faulty seal in a booster rocket was to blame, and shuttle flights stopped for 32 months.

  2. 20 February

    Soviet Union launches the core of the Mir space station

    Mir's first module was launched from Baikonur. Expanded over ten years, the station hosted crews from many nations and was continuously occupied for almost a decade before its re-entry in 2001.

    Soviet Union

  3. 25 February

    People Power Revolution forces Marcos from the Philippines

    After days of peaceful mass protest, Ferdinand Marcos fled Manila for Hawaii and Corazon Aquino was sworn in as president. His two decades of rule had included years of martial law.

    PhilippinesManila

  4. 26 April

    Reactor explodes at the Chernobyl nuclear plant

    A safety test went wrong at reactor No. 4 in Soviet Ukraine, causing an explosion and fire that spread radioactive fallout across Europe. Over 100,000 people were evacuated.

    Ukraine

  5. Event

    Đổi Mới

    Đổi Mới ('renovation') is the programme of economic reform adopted by the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1986.

  6. Event

    Moiwana massacre

    The Moiwana massacre was the killing of at least 39 inhabitants of the Ndyuka Maroon village of Moiwana in eastern Suriname, most of them women and children, by soldiers of the National Army on 29 November 1986, during the interior war against the Jungle…

  7. Event

    Chernobyl disaster

    The Chernobyl disaster was the explosion and fire at reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian SSR on 26 April 1986, the worst accident in the history of nuclear power.

  8. Event

    Waldheim affair

    The Waldheim affair was a controversy over the wartime past of Kurt Waldheim, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, during his successful campaign for the Austrian presidency in 1986.

  9. Event

    Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam

    The Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam met in Hanoi from 15 to 18 December 1986 and elected Nguyen Van Linh as general secretary.

  10. Event

    Australia Act 1986

    The Australia Act 1986 comprises matching laws of the Australian and British parliaments that took effect on 3 March 1986.

ProfileState195 states with a known seat in 1986Open the atlas at 1986 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1986 1

Died in 1986 13

Works 1

States founded 1

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1986. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1986
MLA
“1986.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1986. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1986.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1986.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1986’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1986 (Accessed: ).