1985 Newspaper Headlines
Learn about the year’s most fascinating events through authentic 1985 newspaper articles, chronicling events as they happened. First hand accounts of 1985 headlines are an insightful way to learn about history, and the effect that it had in shaping modern society as we know it today. It was during this year that a “Live Aid” concert raised over $50 million for famine in Africa.
The first blood test to identify the AIDS virus was approved in the U.S., Windows 1.0 was released, and South Africa ended its ban on interracial marriage. All of these events and more are covered in original 1985 newspapers. Historical newspapers are a fabulous gift idea for anyone interested in history, or with a particular connection to any given year in history.
January 20, 1985
President Ronald Reagan is privately sworn in for a second term in office. He is publicly sworn in the following day.
January 28, 1985Â
The charity single “We Are The World” is recorded by USA for Africa. Following on from the very successful “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” record by band Aid in the UK two months before, the single was recorded to raise money to combat the ongoing famine in Ethiopia. The single featured artists such as Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper and Diana Ross.
February 10, 1985
Nelson Mandela rejects an offer of freedom from the South African government.
February 14, 1985Â
21 year old Whitney Houston releases her debut album Whitney Houston.Â
March 6, 1985Â
Mike Tyson makes his professional debut in New York, winning his match by a first-round knockout.
March 8, 1985Â
A car bomb planted in Beirut by CIA mercenaries attempts to kill Islamic cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah and kills more than eighty people, injuring 200.
April 15, 1985
South Africa ends its ban on interracial marriages.
April 23, 1985Â
Coca Cola releases ‘New Coke’, with a different recipe to the original. The negative response to the new recipe meant the original formula appeared back on the market less than three months later.
June 17, 1985Â
The Discovery Channel is launched in the United States by John Hendricks.
June 27, 1985Â
U.S. Route 66 is officially decommissioned.
July 3, 1985Â
Back to the Future opens in U.S. theaters, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1985 in the United States and the first film in the successful franchise.
July 4, 1985
Ruth Lawrence achieves a first in mathematics at Oxford University at just thirteen-years-old. She therefore becomes the youngest British person ever to earn a first-class degree and the youngest known graduate of Oxford University.
July 13, 1985
“Live Aid” pop concerts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and London raise over $50 million for famine relief in Ethiopia. Rock band Queen performed at Wembley Stadium in London for over 20 minutes, and their performance was recreated in the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody.
August 6 1985
In Hiroshima, tens of thousands mark the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
September 1, 1985
A joint American-French expedition locates the wreck of the RMS Titanic.
September 19, 1985
An earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale strikes Mexico City. More than 9,000 people are killed, 30,000 injured, and 95,000 left homeless.
October 1, 1985
The Israeli air force bombs the Palestine Liberation Organisation Headquarters near Tunis.
October 18, 1985
The Nintendo Entertainment System is released in American shops.
November 19, 1985
In Geneva, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time to attempt to end the Cold War.
November 20, 1985
Microsoft Corporation releases the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0.
November 26, 1985Â
President Ronald Reagan sells the rights to his autobiography to Random House for a record $3 million.
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