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Shot and wounded by John Hinckley -
The Center for Disease Control publishes the first official report of men infected with what will be known later as the AIDS
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Prince Charles and Diana Spencer marry. -
While on a Cold War mission to find two wrecked nuclear submarines, U.S. oceanographer Robert Ballard and colleagues find the wreckage of the "Titanic," a luxury liner which sank in 1912.
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On the way for its 9th mission to space, the shuttle Challenger explodes over Cape Canaveral, killing all seven astronauts aboard, including the civilian social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe. -
The deadliest nuclear power plant accident to date occurred outside the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl, scattering radioactive material across Europe.
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Nikolaus "Klaus" Barbie, a former Nazi official, was found guilty of crimes against humanity by a French court on July 4, 1987. -
Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland killing all 259 on-board and 11 people on the ground, the result of a terrorist bombing attributed to Libyans.
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Students march through Beijing to Tienanmen Square calling for a more democratic government.
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The Berlin Wall falls, after an announcement by the East German government that the border checkpoints were open. The impromptu celebration was televised around the world.