charged with Satanic ritual abuse of the school-
children; the charges are later determined to be
completely unfounded and are dropped. (Jul.
18) James Oliver Huberty sprays a McDonald’s
restaurant in San Ysidro, California, with gunfire,
killing twenty-one people before he is shot and
killed. (Dec. 22) While riding in a New York City
subway car, Bernhard Goetz shoots four African
American youths who try to steal from him.1985
International events:(Mar. 11) Mikhail Gorbachev
becomes the general secretary of the Soviet Com-
munist Party and de facto leader of the Soviet
Union. (Mar. 16) Associated Press reporter Terry
Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut; he is eventu-
ally released on December 4, 1991. (Oct. 7) The
cruise shipAchille Laurois hijacked in the Medi-
terranean Sea by four Palestinian terrorists; one
passenger, American Leon Klinghoffer, is killed.
Government and politics:(Jan. 20) President Ron-
ald Reagan is privately sworn in for a second term
in office. (May 5) President Reagan joins German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl for a controversial fu-
neral service at a cemetery in Bitburg, Germany,
which contains the graves of fifty-nine men who
served in the S.S. during World War II. (Nov. 19)
President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gor-
bachev meet for the first time in Geneva, Switzer-
land.
Military and war:(Feb. 16) Israel begins withdraw-
ing troops from Lebanon.
Society:(May) Tipper Gore, the wife of then-Sena-
tor Albert Gore, and Susan Baker, wife of then-
Treasury Secretary James Baker, among others,
organize the Parents Music Resource Center
(PMRC) to educate parents about lyrics that are
“sexually explicit, excessively violent, or glorify
the use of drugs and alcohol”; the group eventu-
ally persuades the Recording Industry Associa-
tion of America (RIAA) voluntarily to place warn-
ing stickers on recordings it deems indecent or
inappropriate for minors. (Jun. 4) The Supreme
Court, ruling inWallace v. Jaffree, strikes down an
Alabama law that allowed public school teachers
to hold a one-minute period of silence for “medi-
tation or voluntary prayer” each day. (Sept. 30)
“Shock jock” Howard Stern is fired from radio sta-
tion WNBC-AM in New York City for his comedy
sketch “Bestiality Dial-a-Date.”
Business and economics:(Apr. 23) Coca-Cola
changes its formula and introduces New Coke;
the new product receives an overwhelmingly neg-
ative response, and within three months the com-
pany puts its original formula back on the market.
(Oct. 18) The Nintendo home entertainment sys-
tem, an eight-bit video game counsel, is intro-
duced to the North American market.
Transportation and communications:(Jan. 7) Sat-
urn Corporation, a subsidiary of General Motors,
is founded in response to the American popular-
ity of Japanese cars. (Jun. 17) The Discovery
Channel, which provides documentary-like pro-
gramming about science, history, and other top-
ics, airs on cable television. (Dec. 1) Ford begins
selling its Taurus model, which in the mid-1990’s
will become the best-selling car in the United
States.
Science and technology:(Nov. 20) Microsoft Corpo-
ration releases Windows 1.0, the first version of
its Windows software program. (Sept. 1) A joint
American-French expedition locates the wreck of
theTitanic.
Environment and health:(Feb. 19) William J.
Schroeder becomes the first artificial heart pa-
tient to leave the hospital. (Mar. 4) The FDA ap-
proves a blood test for AIDS, which has been used
since then to screen all blood donations in the
United States. (Oct. 2) Actor Rock Hudson dies,
the first major public figure to die of AIDS.
Arts and literature:The Accidental TouristbyAnne Ty-
ler, The Mammoth Huntersby Jean Auel, andLake
Wobegon Daysby Garrison Keillor are published.
(Mar. 28)Biloxi Blues, a new comedy by Neil Si-
mon, opens on Broadway; the play will win 1985
Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Featured Actor in
a Play (Barry Miller), and Best Direction of a Play
(Gene Saks). (Nov. 26) President Reagan sells the
rights to his autobiography to Random House for
a record three million dollars.
Popular culture:Back to the Futureis the year’s top-
grossing film. (Jan. 28) USA for Africa, a group of
musicians who include Michael Jackson, Stevie
Wonder, Lionel Richie, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson,
Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, and Paul Simon,
record “We Are the World” to raise money for
Ethiopian famine victims. (Jul. 13) Live Aid con-
certs in Philadelphia and London raise millions
of dollars for Ethiopian famine relief.
Sports:(Mar. 6) Boxer Mike Tyson makes his pro-1150 Time Line The Eighties in America