| 1984 Indira Ghandi Murdered While walking home from her office, Indira Gandhi was killed by two of her bodyguards. Her assassins were Sikh extremists retaliating for the raid she ordered on their shrine in Amritsar, which had resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 Sikh separatists. Hindu rioting after the assassination killed more than 2,000 Sikhs. |
| 1984 UK and China Agree on Hong Kong Great Britain and the People's Republic of China agreed on terms for the return of Hong Kong to China when the 99-year lease to portions of Hong Kong was to expire in 1997. Under the agreement, Hong Kong was to maintain its capitalist system after its return to Chinese control. |
| 1984 Poison Gas Escapes Union Carbide plant Gas escaped from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. The gas, which was methyl isocyanate (used in the manufacture of insecticides) killed 2,000 people; and 200, 000 suffered long term harm. |
| 1984 300 Die, When the Indian Army Attacks Sikh Temple The Indian Army attacked the Golden Temple, one of the holiest Sikh shrines. The Army claimed it was an arms depot. Three hundred died in the attack. |
| 1984 Moderates Win Election in El Savador Free elections held in El Salvador brought Jose Napoleon Duarte to power as President. Duarte was considered a moderate. He won 54% of the vote. His chief rival was Roberto d' Aubuisoon, leader of the right-wing party. Duarte became the first civilian leader in El Salvador in 49 years. |
| 1984 AIDS Breaks Out French scientists reported isolating the virus that caused Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In 1984, 7,000 cases of AIDS had been reported in the United States; 3,300 of its victims were dead by the end of the year. |
| 1985 Gorbechav Becomes Soviet Leader On March 11, 1985, after the death of Secretary General Cherenenko, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was named the new leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev represented a younger generation of Soviet leaders, and began a series of reforms aimed at invigorating the communist system in the Soviet Union, while at the same time improving relations with the West. The changes he began soon developed a momentum of their own. |
| 1985 Nimeiri Ousted in the Sudan General Nimeiri was ousted in the Sudan after serving as head of government since 1969. Nimeiri fought to suppress a rebellion in the non-Muslim south. He imposed Islamic law, but lost almost all support. In April, a military revolt, led by Defense Minister Abdel Raham Siwar el-Dahab, removed Nimeiri from power. |
| 1985 Rainbow Warrior Sunk The Rainbow Warrior, owned by Greenpeace, was sunk in the Auckland harbor. The ship was preparing to protest French nuclear tests. The French government admitted blowing up the ship. The French defense minister was forced to resign. |
| 1985 Achille Lauro Seized Palestinian terrorists seized the cruise ship the Achille Lauro. The terrorists killed an American tourist, Leon Klinghoffer, and threw his body off the ship. The terrorists agreed to surrender to Egyptian authorities that promised them safe passage. When they were flown out of Egypt, the US intercepted the plane and forced it to land in Italy, where they were put on trial. |
| 1985 TWA Flight 847 Hijacked A TWA Boeing 727 was hijacked by two Shi'ite terrorist; 153 people were held hostage. Women, children and the elderly were released. One American hostage was killed, and his body thrown out of the plane. The remaining passengers were held in various parts of Beirut. After Israel released 31 of its Shi'ite prisoners, the hostages were released |
| 1985 US Becomes Debtor Nation For the first time since 1914, the United States owed more money to foreigners than it was owed. |
| 1985 Reagan Tax Reform President Reagan unveiled a new tax program that would simplify tax laws and lower America's tax rates. The new laws would lower the maximum personal income tax rate of 35.5 and would decrease the number of rates from 11 to 3. It also lowered corporate rates. |
| 1985 Columbian Terrorists execute 100- Including 11 judges Colombian terrorists of the M-19 group stormed the Palace of Justice in Bogotá. There they held two dozen Justices, as well as over a hundred other hostages. When the army stormed the building, the M-19 killed all the hostages. |
