- Ronald Reagan was president of the US
- On a Challenger mission, two astronauts became the first humans to fly free of a spacecraft
- An Union Carbide insecticide plant in Bhopal, India seeped toxic gas killing over 2,000
- The Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles Summer Olympics
- "Where's the Beef?" commercial campaign for Wendy's aired for the first time
- The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to use a computer mouse and GUI interface, was introduced by Apple
- Ethiopian famine begun
- Mandy Moore and Avril Lavigne were born
- Detroit Tigers won the World Series
- Los Angeles Raiders won Superbowl XVIII
- Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup
- Ghost Busters, Beverly Hills Cop, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, and The Karate Kid were top grossing films
- "When Doves Cry" by Prince and the Revolution spent the most time at the top of US charts
- Michael Jackson's hair catched fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial
- The Cosby Show, Punky Brewster, and Who's the Boss? premiered
