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PabloDraw

PabloDraw

PabloDraw is a text editor for Windows, designed for creating ANSI and ASCII art, similar to that of its DOS-based predecessors; ACiDDraw (1994) and TheDraw (1986). A notable feature of PabloDraw is its integrated multi-user editing support, making it the first groupware ANSI/ASCII editor in existence. This allows artists from around the world with an internet connection to cooperatively draw (and chat) together creating what are referred to as "joints", or jointly created productions, and has radically changed the way these artists collaborate together in this form. This editor is capable of handling most standard text mode formats such as ANSI, ASCII and Binary (.BIN). Additionally it supports different aspect ratios such as the 80×25 and 80×50 (25 and 50-line text graphics modes, respectively) and emulates the Amiga Topaz font for artists who prefer to draw using that specific extended character set.

Trivia


- PabloDraw was named after the 20th century artist Pablo Picasso.
- The original coder of PabloDraw was not Eto. In fact, it was Minus of the artscene group Mistigris. The leader of Mistigris, Cthulu, asked Eto to "clean up" the application source code. Instead, Eto re-wrote the DOS version of PabloDraw entirely from scratch in April of 1997 and has since ported it to Windows where development continues to this day.
- If you look closely, the legacy DOS version of PabloDraw sports the name "iDraw" in a few locations. This is because PabloDraw, for just one version, was released with the ANSI group iCE Advertisements. Eto had already quit iCE by the time this release took place and the name was quickly changed back to PabloDraw.
- Three different artscene groups have participated in the distribution of the software application: Mistigris (PabloDraw for DOS), iCE (iDraw for DOS), and ACiD (PabloDraw for Windows).

See also


- Collaborative software

External link


- [http://pablo.etoxn.ca/PabloDraw.aspx PabloDraw] Category:ASCII art Category:Artscene Category:DOS software Category:SourceForge projects Category:Windows software

Text editor

]] A text editor is a piece of computer software for editing plain text. It is distinguished from a word processor in that it does not manage document formatting or other features commonly used in desktop publishing. Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code. Some text editors are small and simple, while others offer a broad and complex range of functionality. For example, Unix and Unix-like operating systems have the vi editor (or a variant), but many also include the Emacs editor to edit text as well. Microsoft Windows systems come with the very simple Notepad, though many people (especially programmers) use a more complete program. Under Apple Macintosh's classic Mac OS, there was the native SimpleText, which was replaced or supplemented by WorldText. Some editors, such as TextEdit and WordStar, have dual operating modes, allowing them to be either a text editor or a word processor.

History

Before text editors existed, computer text was punched into Hollerith cards with keypunch machines. The text was carried as a physical box of these thin cardboard cards, and read into a card-reader. The first text editors were line editors oriented on typewriter style terminals and they did not provide a window or screen-oriented display. They usually had very short commands (typewriters were not very reliable) that reproduced the current line. Among them were command to print a selected section(s) of the file on the typewriter (or printer) in case of necessity. An "edit cursor", an imaginary insertion point, can be moved by special commands that operated with line numbers of specific text strings (context). Later the context strings were extended to regular expressions. To see the changes the file needed to be printed of the printer. These "line-based text editors" were considered revolutionary improvements over keypunch machines. In cases typewriter-based terminals were not available they were adapted to keypunch equipment. In this case the user needed to punch the commands into the separate deck of cards and feed them into the computer in order to edit the file. When computer terminals with video screens became inexpensive, screen-based text editors became common. One of the earliest "full screen" editors is vi, which is still a standard editor for Unix and Linux operating systems. The productivity of editing using these editors (compared to the line-based editors) motivated many of the early purchases of video terminals.

Types of text editors

Text editors geared for professional computer users place no limit on the size of the file being opened. In particular, they start quickly even when editing large files, and can edit files that are too large to fit the computer's main memory. Simpler text editors often just read files in an array in RAM. On larger files, this is slow, and very large files often do not fit. The ability to read and write very large files is needed by many professional computer users. For example, system administrators may need to read long log files. Programmers may need to change large source code, or examine naturally large texts, such as an entire dictionary placed in a single file. Some text editors include specialized computer languages to customize the editor (programmable editors). For example, EMACS can be customized by programming in Lisp. These usually permit the editor to simulate the keystroke combinations and features of other editors, so that users don't have to learn the native command combinations. Other important class of programmable editors uses REXX as its scriping language. They permit entering both commands and REXX statements directly in the command line at the bottom of the screen (can be hidden and activated by a keystroke). This class of editors is usually called "orthodox editors" and most of represenatatives of this class are derivatives of Xedit, IBM's editor for VM/CMS. Among them we can note THE(high quality open source editor), Kedit, Slickedit, X2, Uni-edit and Sedit. Some vi derivatives like VIM also support folding as well as macro language and has a command line at the bottom for entering the commands. They can be considered as another branch of orthodox editors family. Many text editors for software developers include source code syntax highlighting and automatic completion to make programs easier to read and write. Programming editors often permit one to select the name of a subprogram or variable, and then jump to its definition and back. Often an auxiliary utility, like ctags is used to locate the definitions. Some editors include special features and extra functions, for instance,
- Source code editors
- Folding editors. This subclass includes so-called "orthodox editors" that are derivatives of Xedit. The specialized version of folding is usually called outlining (see below).
- IDEs
- HTML editors
- Outliners. Folding can generally be considered as a generalized outlining. are packages with text editors included, usually with extra functionality.

See also


- Editor war
- List of text editors
- Comparison of text editors
- Collaborative real-time editor

External links


- [http://TextEditors.org The text editor wiki]
- [http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=63 Text Editors at sourceforge.net]
- [http://www.softpanorama.org/Editors/index.shtml Orthodox Editors as a Special Class of Advanced Editors] Discusses Xedit and its clones with an emphasis of folding capabilities and programmability.
- Category:Technical communication tools ko:문서 편집기 ms:Penyunting teks ja:テキストエディタ

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows refers to a series of operating environments and operating systems created by Microsoft for use on personal computers and servers.

Background

Microsoft first introducted an operating environment named Windows in 1985, as an add-on to MS-DOS. This was in response to Apple Computer's then-new computer system, the Apple Macintosh, which used a graphical user interface (GUI). Microsoft Windows eventually came to dominate the world personal computer market with market analysts like IDC estimating that Windows has around 90% of the client operating system market. [http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;940707233;fp;2;fpid;1] All recent versions of Windows are fully-fledged operating systems. Windows is proprietary closed source software: Microsoft Corporation owns the software's copyright and controls its distribution. Windows was developed for IBM PC-compatible computers (these were based on Intel x86 architecture), and today, almost all versions of Windows are made for this hardware-platform (although Windows NT was written as a cross-platform system for Intel and MIPS processors, and later appeared on the PowerPC and DEC Alpha architectures). The popularity of Windows made Intel CPUs more popular and vice versa. In fact, the term Wintel became used to describe PC-compatible computers running a version of Windows.

Microsoft Windows versions

The term Windows is used as a collective term for several generations of operating system products which can be classified into the following categories: ; 16-bit operating environments : The early versions of Windows were just graphical user interfaces or desktops, mostly because they used the underlying MS-DOS for file system services and all operating processes. Soon, 16-bit Windows versions would have their own executable file format and provide their own device drivers (graphics, printer, mouse, keyboard and sound). Unlike DOS, the Windows environment allowed all users to execute multiple graphical applications at the same time (cooperative multitasking). Finally, they implemented a software segment-based virtual memory scheme which allowed the GUI to run applications larger than available memory: code segments and resources are swapped in and thrown away when useless or memory becomes scarce and data segments move in memory when a given application has relinquished processor control. Examples include Windows 1.0 (1985) and Windows 2.0 (1987) and its close relative Windows/286. ; Hybrid 16/32-bit operating environments : Windows/386 introduced a 32-bit protected mode kernel and virtual machine monitor. For the duration of a Windows session, it provided a device virtualization for the disk controller, video card, keyboard, mouse, timer and interrupt controller. The user-visible consequence was that it became possible to preemptively multitask multiple MS-DOS environments in separate windows (graphical applications required switching the window to full screen mode). Windows applications were still multi-tasked cooperatively inside a real-mode environment. Windows 3.0 (1990) and Windows 3.1 (1992) perfected the design, notably thanks to virtual memory and loadable virtual device drivers (VxDs) which allowed them to share arbitrary devices between multitasked DOS windows. Most important, Windows applications could now run in 16-bit protected mode (when Windows was running in Standard or 386 Enhanced Mode), which gave them access to several megabytes of memory and removed the obligation to participate in the software virtual memory scheme. They still ran inside the same address space, where the segmented memory provided a degree of protection, and multi-tasked cooperatively. For Windows 3.0 Microsoft also rewrote critical operations from C into assembly, making this release faster and less memory-hungry than its predecessors. ; Hybrid 16/32-bit operating system : With the introduction of 32-Bit File Access in Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows could finally stop relying on DOS for file management. Leveraging this, Windows 95 introduced Long File Names, reducing the 8.3 DOS to the role of a boot loader. MS-DOS was now bundled with Windows; this notably made it (partially) aware of long file names when its utilities were run from within Windows, but angered the competition. The most important novelty was the possibility of running 32-bit multi-threaded preemptively multitasked graphical programs. There were three releases of Windows 95 (the first in 1995, then subsequent bug-fix versions in 1996 and 1997, only released to OEMs, which added extra features such as FAT32 support). Microsoft's next OS was Windows 98; there were two versions of this (the first in 1998 and the second, named "Windows 98 Second Edition", in 1999). In 2000, Microsoft released Windows Me (Me standing for Millennium Edition), which used the same core as Windows 98 but adopted the visual appearance of Windows 2000, as well as a new feature called System Restore, allowing the user to set the computer's settings back to an earlier date. It was not a very well received implementation, and many user problems occurred. ME was considered a stopgap to the day both product lines would be seamlessly merged. Microsoft left little time for Windows Me to become popular before announcing their next version of Windows which would be called XP. ; 32-bit operating systems : Originally designed and marketed for higher-reliability business use with no DOS heritage. The first release was Windows NT 3.1 (1993, numbered "3.1" to match the Windows version and to one-up OS/2 2.1, IBM's flagship OS codeveloped by Microsoft and Windows NT's main competitor at the time), which was followed by NT 3.5 (1994), NT 3.51 (1995), and NT 4.0 (1996); the latter implemented the Windows 95 user interface. Microsoft then moved to combine their consumer and business operating systems. Their first attempt, Windows 2000, failed to meet their goals, and was released as a business system. The home consumer edition of Windows 2000, codenamed "Windows Neptune", ceased development and Microsoft released Windows Me in its place. Eventually "Neptune" was merged into their new project, Whistler, which later became Windows XP. Since then, a new business system, Windows Server 2003, has expanded the top end of the range, and the forthcoming Windows Vista will complete it. Windows CE, Microsoft's offering in the mobile and embedded markets, is also a true 32-bit operating system. ; 64-bit operating systems : The newest category, are designed for AMD's AMD64 CPU architecture, Intel's Intel Architecture 64-bit, and EM64T. The 64-bit Windows family comprises Windows XP Itanium edition, Professional x64 Edition, and Windows Server 2003; Windows XP Professional and Server 2003 x64 editions were released on April 25, 2005. Itanium editions already came out in 2002. Early indications are that Windows Vista, the projected successor to Windows XP, will be released in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. See also: List of Microsoft Windows versions.

Microsoft Windows history

The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released in 1985, lacked a degree of functionality and achieved little popularity. Windows 1.0 did not provide a complete operating system; rather, it extended MS-DOS. Microsoft Windows version 2.0 was released in 1987 and was slightly more popular than its predecessor. Microsoft Windows version 3.0, released in 1990, was the first version to achieve broad commercial success. It featured improvements to the user interface and to multitasking capabilities. In 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95, which made further changes to the user interface. In 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, a version that used the kernel from Microsoft Windows NT. With Windows XP, Microsoft merged the consumer-oriented Windows 3.1 line with the more commercially-oriented Windows NT line of products.

Interface

kernel The most obvious feature of the more recent Windows versions (since Windows 95 and NT 4.0) besides the window, is the desktop, which holds various icons, or graphical objects that the user can double-click to open. Windows has produced a significant change in the way people interact with computers; it is possible to perform most common tasks, some quite complex, with very little computer knowledge. Another quite significant feature of Windows since Windows 95 is the Start Button and Start Menu, which gives users access to installed programs and many of the other features of the operating system. It is attached to the taskbar (blue in the picture on the right). Windows XP introduced a new visual style dubbed "Luna", which updated the classic Windows style (a plain grey box look) with a more graphical appearance. The new style features bold colors and a larger titlebar and start button, which some people have labelled immature or childish. Users can still elect to use the old Windows 9x/2000 visual style. There is a view that modern operating systems need to cater to the vastly increased user base with a lower average computer skill level and the increased power and complexity of modern computer systems. However, some users accuse the Windows interface of isolating the user from too much of the inner workings of the computer, making it more difficult to control, configure and troubleshoot some system features. Windows also comes with features to help the disabled through its accessibility options. Under Windows XP, these features include the Narrator, Magnifier and contrast display mode. However, these are not suitable for everyone. Other customized builds of other operating systems may provide the needed features.

Popularity

Microsoft Windows is installed on the majority of personal computers. A July 2005 poll of Network Computing magazine readers found that 87% of their organisations used Microsoft's desktop operating systems. [http://www.networkcomputing.com/showitem.jhtml?articleID=165701950&pgno=8#2] It achieved enormous market penetration due to the domination of MS-DOS in the early days of PC compatible computers (IBM-PC clones). It is also the primary platform for Microsoft Office and many computer games. Microsoft's operating system has also benefited from not being tied to the success of one hardware manufacturer, and from Microsoft's willingness to license the operating system to manufacturers. For example, this is in contrast with Apple Computer, which does not license Mac OS X to other manufacturers, as well as Sun, which did not license Solaris before it was made free and open-source. In the past, companies who wanted to be in the computer business had to create their own operating system (such as the Amiga) or choose another OS; even an exclusive license with one vendor was significantly cheaper than developing and supporting a new operating system and software base. Due to Microsoft's exclusive licensing agreements with many computer vendors, Windows today comes pre-installed on most computers as a bundled OEM version, making it the default or only choice for much of the market. Most consumers do not delete Windows and install another operating system. For some consumers, Windows is the only valid option as their computing environment or is mandated by their workplace; additionally, the unfamiliarity with most other operating systems limits the desire to switch to other operating systems. Further, a growing part of the computer market lacks the technical knowledge needed to install an operating system. Finally, the large software base of programs available for the Windows family of operating systems has become the single largest self-perpetuating reason for the popularity of Windows. In recent years, many companies have started up with the sole intention of releasing Windows software; the fact that there is already a large customer base in place is reason enough for such companies to only spend resources on Windows software development. In turn, the fact that many companies are supporting Windows exclusively is reason for many customers to choose Windows.

Security

OEM Security has been a major weakness of Windows for many years. Due to the widespread usage of Windows on desktops, many crackers (also known as Black Hat hackers) have targeted Windows rather than the lesser used operating systems such as Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD. Additionally most modern operating systems were designed for security in a multi-user and/or networked environment and have a relatively small number of security issues. Windows was originally designed for ease-of-use on a single-user PC without a network connection, and did not have security features built in from the outset. Combined with occasionally flawed code (such as buffer overflows), Windows is a continous target of worms and virus writers. In June 2005, Bruce Schneier's Counterpane Internet Security reported that it had seen over 1,000 new viruses and worms in the previous six months. Microsoft publicly admitted their ongoing security problems shortly after the turn of the century and now claims to regard security as their number one priority. As a result, Service Pack 2 for Windows XP greatly increases the security. Microsoft releases security patches through its Windows Update service approximately once a month, although critical updates are made available at shorter intervals. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, updates can be automatically downloaded and installed if the user selects to do so. A study conducted by Kevin Mitnick and marketing communications firm, Avantgarde, found that an unprotected and unpatched Windows XP system lasted only 4 minutes on the Internet before it was compromised. [http://www.avantgarde.com/ttln113004.html] The AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance Online Safety Study of October 2004 determined that 80% of Windows users were infected by at least one spyware/adware product. [http://www.staysafeonline.info/pdf/safety_study_v04.pdf] Much documentation is available describing how to increase the security of Microsoft Windows products. Typical suggestions include deploying Microsoft Windows behind a hardware or software firewall, running anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and installing patches as they become available through Windows Update.

Windows emulation software

Emulation allows the use of some Windows applications without using Microsoft Windows. These include:
- WINE – an almost complete free software / open source software implementation of the Windows API, allowing one to run some Windows applications on x86 Unix-based platforms, including Linux.
- Cedega (formerly known as WineX) – TransGaming Technologies' proprietary fork of WINE, which is designed specifically for running games written for Microsoft Windows under Linux.
- ReactOS – open source operating system, aimed to be compatible with Windows NT apps and drivers.
- Freedows and Alliance OS – a very ambitious project, and a subsequent spinoff, that tried to clone Windows but withered away.
- Project David – ambitious and controversial project to fully emulate Windows programs to run on other OSs.
- CrossOver Office – another WINE spin-off that allows Windows programs to run on other OSs.
- Captive NTFS – a software "wrapper" for fuller, more-compatible open-source implementations of the Windows NTFS file system.
- ndiswrapper – a driver wrapper designed to let Linux/IA32 use Windows drivers for wireless networking hardware.
- E/OS – a virtual machine emulation system that strives for making it possible to run any program designed for any operating system without the need to actually install any other operating system.

See also


- Architecture of Windows 2000
- Blue Screen of Death
- Comparison of operating systems
- Hardware
  - Hardware abstraction layer
  - KMixer
  - VGASAVE
  - Windows Driver Model
  - WinHEC
- History of Microsoft Windows
- List of operating systems
- Microsoft Anti-Virus for Windows
- Microsoft Visual Studio
- Volume Shadow Copy Service
- Windows Blackcomb – next generation server platform
- Windows Explorer
- Windows Genuine Advantage
- Windows Media
- Windows vs. Linux

External links

Official


- [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.mspx Microsoft's Official Windows Website]
- [http://www.windows.com Official Promotional Website (Windows.com)]
- [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/WinHistoryProGraphic.mspx Windows history time line from Microsoft]

Tips and documentation


- [http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/multiboot1.html How to run multiple versions of Windows on one PC]
- [http://www.tech-recipes.com/windows.html Tech-Recipes Windows Guide] - Listing of almost 500 Windows Tutorials
- [http://wiki.havenite.net/index.php?title=The_Windows_Documentation_Project The Windows Documentation Project (wiki)]
- [http://www.aeroxp.net "AeroXperience"] – Windows Vista Information and Customization
- [http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/securing-windows.html Securing Microsoft Windows (for Home and Small Business Users)]
- [http://wiki.dehumanizer.com/index.php/Windows_tips Windows tips] (security, stability, etc.) (wiki)
- [http://www.sarc.com/ Symantec Anti-Virus Research Center] – excellent informational security resource, and Symantec are makers of Norton Anti-Virus (3rd party software sold separately)
- [http://www.dotwhat.net/ dotwhat? - File Extension Listing] – a huge listing of file extensions and the programs that use them
- [http://www.bredel.homepage.t-online.de/Windows/Windows-English/windows-english.html Windows] – tips and tricks for Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP
- [http://markhobley.yi.org/windows/supportscript/index.html Windows Support Script]
- [http://markhobley.yi.org:8000/WinHome The Windows Wiki]

Reviews and evaluation


- [http://www.winsupersite.com/default.asp Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows] – an exhaustive evaluation of Microsoft's products and technologies
- [http://www.avantgarde.com/xxxxttln.pdf "Time to Live on the Network"] – a security study by Kevin Mitnick and AvantGarde (PDF)
- [http://www.actsofvolition.com/archives/2001/december/windowsxprough Windows XP: rough around the edges] – an UI review of Windows XP
- [http://www.frankmahler.de/mshame/ Frank Mahler's Interface Hall Of Shame]
- [http://www.staysafeonline.info/pdf/safety_study_v04.pdf AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance Online Safety Study (October 2004)] (PDF)
- [http://www.pixelcentric.net/x-shame/ Interface Hall of Shame] – an analysis of user interfaces with a focus on Windows

Other


- [http://www.levenez.com/windows/ Windows history] – a Windows history time line graph by Éric Lévénez
- [http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/guidebook/interfaces/windows GUIdebook: Windows Gallery] – a website dedicated to preserving and showcasing graphical user interfaces
- [http://www.download.com/ Download.com] – application programs for download, for Windows operating systems
- [http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1868435,00.asp Windows 20th Birthday] Category:Operating systems Category:Windowing systems Category:Microsoft Windows zh-min-nan:Microsoft Windows ko:마이크로소프트 윈도우즈 ms:Microsoft Windows ja:Microsoft Windows simple:Microsoft Windows th:ไมโครซอฟท์วินโดวส์



1994

1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family.

Events

January


- January 1 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
- January 1 - Zapatista Army of National Liberation begins war in Chiapas, Mexico
- January 1 - Bantustans join South Africa
- January 6 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an assailant under orders from figure skating rival Tonya Harding.
- January 8 - Valeri Polyakov began his 437.7 day orbit, eventually setting the world record for days spent in orbit.
- January 11 - Irish government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Fein
- January 14 - U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords which stop the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles to targets and also provide for the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal in Ukraine.
- January 17 - 1994 Northridge Earthquake, magnitude 6.7, hits the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles at 4:31 am.
- January 20 - In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet to attend The Citadel but soon drops out.
- January 26 - A man fires two blank shots at Charles, Prince of Wales in Sydney, Australia.
- January 28 - The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
- January 31 - German luxury car manufacturer BMW announces the purchase of Rover from British Aerospace

February


- February 1 - In Portland, Oregon, Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. He accepts a plea bargain admitting to racketeering charges in exchange for testimony against Harding.
- February 3 - William J. Perry was sworn in as the 19th Secretary of Defense of United States
- February 5 - Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers
- February 6 - Serb mortar shell kills 68 civilians and wounds about 200 in a Sarajevo marketplace
- February 9 - Peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina announced (so called Vance-Owen peace plan)
- February 12 - Edvard Munch's painting, "The Scream," is stolen in Oslo. It is recovered on May 7
- February 22 - Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged with spying for the Soviet Union by the United States Department of Justice. Ames would later be convicted to life imprisonment and his wife would receive 5 years in prison
- February 24 - In Gloucester, local police begins excavations at 25 Cromwell Street the home of Frederick West suspected of multiple murders. On February 28, he and his wife are arrested
- February 25 - Kahanist Baruch Goldstein opens fire inside the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank. He kills 29 Muslims before worshippers beat him to death
- February 27 - Australian Federal Sports & Environment Minister Ros Kelly resigns over "The Sports Rorts Affair", where it was alleged that she apportioned money for community sporting projects in a pork barreling fashion.
- February 28 - US F-16 pilots shoot down four Serbian fighter aircraft over Bosnia for violation of the Operation Deny Flight and its no-fly zone

March


- March 1 - A lone terrorist kills Ari Halberstam on an attack on 14 Jewish students on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. [http://www.arihalberstam.com]
- March 1 - South Africa cedes Walvis Bay to Namibia.
- March 1 - Mary Ellen Withrow begins term of office as Treasurer of the United States, serving under President Bill Clinton.
- March 4 - Four terrorists are convicted for their roles in the World Trade Center bombing which killed six and injured more than a thousand.
- March 6 - Referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against possible reunification with Romania.
- March 7 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.
- March 12 - A photo by Marmaduke Wetherell, previously touted as 'proof' of the Loch Ness monster, is confirmed to be a hoax.
- March 12 - The Church of England ordains its first female priests.
- March 16 - In Portland, Oregon Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for trying to cover-up an attack on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. She is fined $100,000 and banned from the sport.
- March 23 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated. Mario Aburto Martinez is arrested for the crime and confesses on the same day.
- March 27 - A tornado outbreak occurs in Southeastern United States. One tornado hits the United Methodist Church in Piedmont, Alabama killing 22. This outbreak is the biggest tornado event of 1994.
- March 28 - In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg killing 18.
- March 31 - The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull (see Human evolution).

April


- April 6 - Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and president of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira died when a missile shoots down their jet near Kigali, Rwanda. This is taken as a pretext to begin the Rwandan Genocide
- April 7 - The Rwandan Genocide begins in Kigali, Rwanda.
- April 8 - Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, is found dead in Seattle, Washington. He had committed suicide three days earlier.
- April 16 - Voters in Finland decide to join the European Union in a referendum.
- April 20 - Paul Touvier is found guilty of ordering the execution of 7 Jews when he was serving in the Vichy France Milice
- April 21 - Red Cross estimates that hundreds of thousands of Tutsi have been killed in Rwanda
- April 22 - Former American President Richard Nixon dies.
- April 25 - End of term for Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuff Izzudin Shah Ghafarullahu-lahu as 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- April 26 - Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan becomes the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- April 26 - South Africa holds its first fully multiracial elections.
- April 30 - Formula One driver Roland Ratzenberger of Austria, age 32, dies in a high-speed, single-car crash in the practise session for the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy

May


- May 1 - Formula One driver Ayrton Senna of Brazil, age 34, is killed in a high-speed, single-car accident during the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy
- May 6 - The Channel Tunnel, which took 15,000 workers over seven years to complete, opens between England and France. Passengers can now travel between the two countries in 35 minutes.
- May 9 - Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president
- May 10 - Illinois executes serial killer John Wayne Gacy by lethal injection for the murder of 33 young men and boys
- May 10 - An annular eclipse of the sun is visible across much of North America.
- May 10 - Punk rock band Weezer releases their eponymous debut that goes on to sell more than 3 million copies.
- May 12 - Hockey becomes Canada's official winter sport.
- May 31- Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have dinner at the Granita restaurant in Islington and allegedly make a deal on who will become the leader of the Labour Party, and ultimately, the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

June


- June - Iraq disarmament crisis: UN weapons inspectors Ritter and Smidovitch learn, through Israeli intelligence reports, that Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein's son, is the key player in efforts by the Iraqi government to hide the country's alleged illegal weapons
- June 6-8 - Ceasefire negotiations for the Yugoslav War begin in Geneva - they agree to one-month cessation of hostilities (which does not last more than a few days)
- June 12 - Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are murdered outside her home in Los Angeles, California. O. J. Simpson is later acquitted of the killings, but is held liable in a civil suit.
- June 14 - Hacker Kevin Poulsen pleads guilty to seven counts of mail fraud, wire and computer fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
- June 14 - The New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 15 - As of 2004 the third highest grossing animated film of all-time, The Lion King, opens in theatres nationwide.
- June 15 - Israel and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations
- June 17 - NFL star OJ Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings flee from police in his white Ford Bronco. The low speed chase, which unfolds live on television, ends up at Simpson's mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, where he then surrendered to police.

July


- July - The planet Jupiter is hit by twenty one large fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 over the course of six days.
- July 2 - Assassination of Colombian soccer player Andrés Escobar in Bogotá
- July 7 - Aden is occupied by troops from North Yemen.
- July 17 - Brazil defeats Italy 3-2 on penalties to win the Football World Cup 1994, after the game ended 0-0 after extra time.
- July 18 - In Buenos Aires, an explosion destroys a building housing several Jewish organizations killing ninety six and injuring many more. On 9 November 2005 Alberto Nisman Arentino prosecutor identified Hezbollah militant Ibrahim Berro responsible.
- July 25 - Israel and Jordan sign the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace which formally ends the state of war that has existed between the nations since 1948.
- July 25 - Phone Numbers through Australia start changing to eight digits (Mona Vale, Sydney 1st to change)

August


- August - 'Wollemia nobilis', a "fossil tree" discovered by bushwalker David Noble only 150 km from the largest city in Australia.
- August 1 - Fire destroys Norwich Central Library in the UK, including most of its historical records
- August 12 - Woodstock '94 begins. It is the 25 year anniversary of woodstock in 1969.
- August 14 - End of Woodstock '94.
- August 31 - the Irish Republican Army announces a "complete cessation of military operations" from midnight.

September


- September 3 - Cold War: Russia and the People's Republic of China agree to de-target their nuclear weapons against each other.
- September 4 - Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan opens. All international services are transferred from Itami to Kansai.
- September 5 - New South Wales State MP for Cabramatta John Newman is shot outside his home (Australia's first political assassination since 1977)
- September 8 - A Boeing 737 carrying USAir Flight 427 with 132 people on board, crashes on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport. There are no survivors
- September 13 - President Bill Clinton signs the Assault Weapons Ban, which bans the use of these weapons for a period of 10 years.
- September 28 - The car ferry MS Estonia sinks in Baltic Sea, killing 852.
- September 28 - Jose Francisco Ruiz Massier, Mexican politician, assassinated on the orders of the president's brother
- September-October - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq threatens to stop cooperating with UNSCOM inspectors and begins to once again deploy troops near its border with Kuwait. In response, the U.S. begins to deploy troops to Kuwait.

October


- October 5 - UNESCO inaugurates World Teachers’ Day to celebrate and commemorate the signing of the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers on October 5, 1966.
- October 8 - Iraq disarmament crisis: President of the UN Security Council says that Iraq must withdraw its troops from the Kuwait border and immediately cooperate with weapons inspectors
- October 12 - NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere either October 13 or October 14)
- October 15 - After three years of exile in the US, Haiti's president Aristide returns to his country.
- October 15 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Following threats by the U.N. Security Council and the U.S., Iraq withdraws troops from its border with Kuwait.
- October 26 - Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty.
- October 29 - Francisco Martin Duran fires over two dozen shots at the White House (Duran was later convicted of trying to kill US President Bill Clinton).
- October 31 - An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 64 passengers.
- October 31 - HRH The Duke of Edinburgh attends a ceremony in Israel where his late mother, HSH Princess Alice of Battenberg is honoured as "Righteous among the Nations" for sheltering Jewish families from the Nazis in Athens, during World War II.

November


- November 4 - Sydney's third runway opens ensuring protests about noise levels.
- November 5 - A letter by former US President Ronald Reagan is released that announces he has Alzheimer's disease
- November 8 - Georgia Representative Newt Gingrich leads the United States Republican Party in taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in midterm congressional elections, the first time in 40 years the Republicans secured control of both houses of U.S. Congress.
- November 13 - Voters in Sweden decide to join the European Union in a referendum.
- November 13 - The first passengers travel through the Channel Tunnel.
- November 16 - Federal judge issues a temporary restraining order that prohibits the State of California from implementing Proposition 187, that would have denied most public services to illegal aliens.
- November 20 - The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war (in 1995 localized fighting resumed).
- November 25 - Sony founder Akio Morita announces he will be stepping down as the company's CEO
- November 28 - Voters in Norway reject European Union membership (see Norwegian EU referendum, 1994)
- November 28 - In Portage, Wisconsin, USA, convicted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is clubbed to death by another inmate in the Columbia Correctional Institute gymnasium.
- November 29 - Two-year murder trial of 14 south Vietnamese accused of murder of 24 north Vietnamese ends in Hong Kong - all defendants are acquitted.
- November 30 - Famous hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur survives five bullets in an apparent robbery attempt outside a New York music studio.

December


- December 2 - Australian government agrees to pay reparations to indigenous Australians who were displaced during the nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s and 1960s.
- December 11 - Boris Yeltsin orders troops into Chechnya.
- December 11 - A small bomb explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing a Japanese businessman. The bombing was a field test done by Ramzi Yousef to test explosives that would have been used in Project Bojinka, a terrorist attack plan that would be exposed after an apartment fire.
- December 19 - A planned exchange rate correction of the Mexican Peso to the US Dollar, becomes a massive financial meltdown in Mexico, unleashing the 'Tequila' effect on global financial markets. This will prompt a US$ 50,000 million 'bailout' by the Clinton administration.
- December 19 - The Whitewater Scandal investigation begins.
- December 19 - Civil unions between homosexuals are made legal in Sweden.
- December 26 - French anti-terrorist police storms a hijacked jet at Marseille and kill four Islamist terrorists.
- December 29 - Robert Schumann becomes the youngest person to visit the south pole.

Births


- January 30 - Dylan Cash, American actor
- February 23 - Dakota Fanning, American actress
- May 4 - Alexander Gould, American voice actor
- August 9 - Forrest Landis, American actor

Deaths

January


- January 1 - Arthur Espie Porritt, New Zealand politician and athlete (b. 1900)
- January 5 - Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (b. 1912)
- January 9 - Johnny Temple, baseball player (b. 1927)
- January 15 - Harry Nilsson, American musician (b. 1941)
- January 17 - Helen Stephens, American runner (b. 1918)
- January 22 - Telly Savalas, American actor (b. 1924)
- January 23 - Brian Redhead, British journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
- January 25 - Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician (b. 1909)
- January 27 - Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1914)
- January 30 - Pierre Boulle, French author (b. 1912)

February-April


- February 6 - Jack Kirby, American comic book writer and illustrator (b. 1917)
- February 7 - Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer (b. 1913)
- February 9 - Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1934)
- February 11 - Sorrell Booke, American actor (b. 1930)
- February 11 - William Conrad, American actor (b. 1920)
- February 11 - Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (b. 1946)
- February 14 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer (executed) (b. 1936)
- February 17 - Randy Shilts, American author and activist (b. 1951)
- February 22 - Papa John Creech, American fiddler
- February 24 - Jean Sablon, French singer (b. 1906)
- February 24 - Dinah Shore, American actress, singer (b. 1916)
- February 25 - Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass killer (b. 1956)
- February 25 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b. 1914)
- February 26 - Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
- March 4 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
- March 22 - Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (b. 1899)
- March 23 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (b. 1950)
- March 28 - Eugene Ionesco, Romanian-born playwright (b. 1909)
- April 1 - Léon Degrelle, Belgian Nazi (b. 1906)
- April 2 - Betty Furness, American actress, author, and consumer advocate (b. 1916)
- April 5 - Kurt Cobain, American musician (Nirvana) (suicide) (b. 1967)
- April 7 - Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic professional football player and politician (b. 1923)
- April 7 - Golo Mann, German historian (b. 1909)
- April 10 - Sam B. Hall, American politician (b. 1924)
- April 16 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1914)
- April 17 - Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1913)
- April 22 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (b. 1913)
- April 30 - Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)

May-October


- May 1 - Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960)
- May 7- Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
- May 8 - George Peppard, American actor (b. 1928)
- May 10 - John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (executed) (b. 1942)
- May 12 - John Smith, Scottish politician (b. 1938)
- May 15 - Gilbert Roland, Mexican-born actor (b. 1905)
- May 19 - Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
- May 21 - Johan Hendrik Weidner, Belgian World War II resistance fighter (b. 1912)
- May 29 - Erich Honecker, leader of East Germany (b. 1912)
- June 9 - Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- June 12 - Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe
- June 15 - Kristen Pfaff, rock bassist (Hole) (b. 1967)
- June 29 - Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor (b. 1908)
- July 8 - Kim Il Sung, President of North Korea (b. 1912)
- July 11 - Gary Kildall, American computer inventor (b. 1942)
- July 14 - César Tovar, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1940)
- July 29 - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- August 13 - Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- August 18 - Richard Laurence Millington Synge, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
- August 19 - Linus Pauling, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Peace (b. 1901)
- September 6 - Nicky Hopkins, British musician (b. 1944)
- September 11 - Jessica Tandy, English actress (b. 1909)
- September 12 - Boris Yegorov, cosmonaut (b. 1937)
- September 30 - Andre Michael Lwoff, French microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1902)
- October 7 - Niels Kaj Jerne, English immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911)
- October 14 - Emil Gilels, Russian pianist (b. 1916)
- October 19 - Martha Raye, American actress (b. 1916)
- October 20 - Burt Lancaster, American actor (b. 1913)
- October 21 - Benoît Régent, French actor (b. 1953)

November-December


- November 12 - Wilma Rudolph, American athlete (b. 1940)
- November 13 - Motoo Kimura, Japanese population geneticist (b. 1924)
- November 14 - Tom Villard, American actor (b. 1953)
- November 16 - Doris Speed, English actress (b. 1899)
- November 16 - Dino Valente, American musician (b. 1943)
- November 28 - Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (murdered) (b. 1960)
- December 12 - Stuart Roosa, astronaut (b. 1933)
- December 23 - Sebastian Shaw (actor), English actor (b. 1905)
- December 24 - John Boswell, American historian (b. 1947)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Bertram N. Brockhouse, Clifford Glenwood Shull
- Chemistry - George Andrew Olah
- Medicine - Alfred G. Gilman, Martin Rodbell
- Literature - Kenzaburo Oe
- Peace - Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin
- Economics - Reinhard Selten, John Forbes Nash, John Harsanyi

Fields Medalists


- Efim Isakovich Zelmanov, Pierre-Louis Lions, Jean Bourgain, Jean-Christophe Yoccoz

Templeton Prize


- Michael Novak

Right Livelihood Award


- Astrid Lindgren, SERVOL (Service Volunteered for All), Dr. H. Sudarshan / VGKK (Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra) and Ken Saro-Wiwa / MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
- zh-min-nan:1994 nî als:1994 ko:1994년 ms:1994 ja:1994年 simple:1994 th:พ.ศ. 2537

1986

1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January

Gregorian calendar
- January 1 - Spain and Portugal enter the European Community
- January 1 - Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles.
- January 9 - After losing a patent battle with Polaroid, Kodak leaves the instant camera business.
- January 12 - Space shuttle Columbia is launched with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
- January 20 - The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.
- January 20 - The first federal Martin Luther King Day, honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
- January 24 - Voyager 2 space probe makes first encounter with Uranus
- January 28 - Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates 73 seconds after launch, killing its crew of six astronauts and a schoolteacher.
- January 29 - Yoweri Kaguta Museveni became President of the Republic of Uganda after leading a successful five-year liberation struggle.

February


- February 7 - 28 years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.
- February 9 - Mohinder Amarnath becomes the first batsman dismissed for handling the ball in one-day international cricket.
- February 9 - Comet Halley reaches its perihelion, the closest point to the Earth, during its second visit to the solar system in the 20th century.
- February 11 - Human Rights activist Anatoly Shcharansky is released by the USSR and leaves the country.
- February 16 - The Soviet liner Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand
- February 19 - The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station
- February 19 - After waiting 37 years, the United States Senate approves a treaty outlawing genocide
- February 25 - EDSA Revolution: President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines goes into exile to USA after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president, first as in interim president.
- February 25 - Egyptian military police, protesting bad salaries, enter four luxury hotels near the pyramids, set fire to them and loot them
- February 27 - The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis
- February 28 - Swedish prime minister Olof Palme is shot dead on his way home from the cinema.

March


- March 8 - Japanese spacecraft Suisei flies by Halley's Comet, studying its UV hydrogen corona and solar wind.
- March 9 - United States Navy divers find the largely intact but heavily-damaged crew compartment of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The bodies of all seven astronauts were still inside.
- March 27 - A car bomb explodes at Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, killing 1 police officer.
- March 31 - A fire devastates Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, England.

April

England
- April 2 - A bomb explodes on a TWA flight from Rome to Athens - 4 dead
- April 5 - In the terroristic La Belle discotheque bombing the West-Berlin discotheque, a known hangout for U.S. soldiers, was bombed, killing 3 and injuring 230 people. Libya is held responsible.
- April 13 -- Pope John Paul II officially visits the Synagogue of Rome — the first time a modern Pope had visited a synagogue.
- April 14 - 2.2 lb (1 kg) hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92.
- April 15 - At least 100 people died after USA planes bombed targets in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Benghazi region as part of Operation El Dorado Canyon
- April 17 - British journalist John McCarthy kidnapped in Beirut (released in August 1991) - three others are found dead, Revolutionary Cells claims responsibility in retaliation for the US bombing of Libya.
- April 17 - Treaty signed, ending Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly.
- April 26 - In Ukraine, one of the reactors at the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) nuclear plant explodes creating the world's worst nuclear disaster. 31 are killed directly by the incident, many thousands more were exposed to significant amounts of radioactive material, vast territories in Ukraine and Belarus rendered uninhabitable.
- April 27 - "Captain Midnight" interrupts HBO satellite feed

May-July


- May 2 - The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada opens.
- May 7 - Steaua Bucharest wins the European Champions Cup in Sevilla
- May 25 - Hands Across America
- May 26 - The European Community adopts the European flag.
- June 4 - Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
- June 8 - Former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is elected president of Austria.
- June 9 - The Rogers Commission releases its report on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
- June 17 - The The Legend of Zelda is release for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
- June 29 - Argentina defeat West Germany 3-2 to win the Football World Cup 1986
- June 22 - Pirate radio Euro Weekend begins to broadcast
- July 5 - The Statue of Liberty is reopened to the public after an extensive refurbishing
- July 23 - In London, Prince Andrew, Duke of York marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey.
- July 30 - Estate agent Suzy Lamplugh vanishes after a meeting in London

August-September


- August 6 - A low pressure system moving from South Australia and redeveloping off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimetres of rain in a day on Sydney.
- August 18 - Australian Democrats leader Don Chipp retires from federal parliment and is succeded by Janine Haines, becoming the first woman to lead a political party in Australia
- August 19 - Picasso painting Weeping Woman is found in a locker at the Spencer Street Station in Melbourne, Australia. It had been stolen from the Victoria National Gallery two weeks earlier
- August 20 - In Edmond, Oklahoma, United States Postal Service employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers before committing suicide.
- August 21 - The Lake Nyos tragedy occurs, killing nearly 2000 people.
- August 31 - The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov collides with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev in the Black Sea and sinks almost immediately, killing 398.
- August 31 - An Aeroméxico Douglas DC-9 collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 on both aircraft and 15 on the ground.
- August 31 - Cargo ship Khian Sea departs from the docks of Philadephia, Pennsylvania, carrying 14,000 tons of toxic waste. It will wander the seas for the next 16 months trying to find a place to dump its cargo
- September 5 - Pan Am Flight 73 with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport.
- September 6 - In Istanbul, two Arab terrorists from Abu Nidal's terror organization kill 22 and wound six inside the Neve Shalom synagogue during Sabbath services.
- September 7 - Desmond Tutu becomes the first black to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa.

October


- October 1 - President Ronald Reagan signs the Goldwater-Nichols Act into law, making official the largest reorganization of the United States Department of Defense since the Air Force was made a separate branch of service in 1947.
- October 9 - United States District Court Judge Harry E. Claiborne becomes the fifth federal official to be removed from office through impeachment.
- October 10 - An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people.
- October 11 - Cold War: Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík, Iceland, in an effort to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe (the talks break down in failure).
- October 26 - Bus deregulation in the United Kingdom, except Greater London and Northern Ireland.
- October 27 - The New York Mets win the Major League Baseball World Series, beating the Boston Red Sox in seven games.
- October 28 - The centennial of the Statue of Liberty's dedication is celebrated in New York Harbor.
- October 28 - Jeremy Bamber is found guilty of the murder of his parents, sister and twin nephews and is given five life sentences.

November


- November 1 - Queensland, Australia: Joh Bjelke-Petersen wins his final election as Premier of Queensland with 38.6% of the vote. He resigns on December 1 1987 following revelations of his involvement corruption released in the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
- November 3 - Iran-Contra Affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been selling weapons to Iran in secret in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.
- November 9 - Romania: Ellection of Patriarch