News and Events of 1987
World Events
World Statistics
Population: 5.018 billion
population by decade
Nobel Peace Prize:
Oscar Arias Sánchez (Costa Rica)
More World Statistics...
- William Buckley, American hostage in Lebanon, reported slain (Jan. 20).
- Iraqi missiles kill 37 in attack on US frigate Stark in Persian Gulf (May 17); Iraqi president Hussein apologizes (May 18).
- Prime Minister Thatcher wins rare third term in Britain (June 11).
- Klaus Barbie, 73, Gestapo wartime chief in Lyon, sentenced to life by French court for war crimes (July 4).
U.S. Events
U.S. Statistics
President: Ronald W. Reagan
Vice President: George Bush
Population: 242,288,918
Life expectancy: 74.9 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 55.5
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 49.4
More U.S. Statistics...
Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $4,692.30 billion
Federal spending: $1003.91 billion
Federal debt: $2346.1 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $26,061
Consumer Price Index: 113.6
Unemployment: 6.2%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.22
Sports
Super Bowl
NY Giants d. Denver (39-20)
World Series
Minnesota d. St. Louis Cardinals (4-3)
NBA Championship
LA Lakers d. Boston (4-2)
Stanley Cup
Edmonton d. Philadelphia (4-3)
Wimbledon
Women: Martina Navratilova d. S. Graf (7-5 6-3)
Men: Pat Cash d. I. Lendl (7-6 6-2 7-5)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Alysheba
NCAA Basketball Championship
Indiana d. Syracuse (74-73)
NCAA Football Champions
Miami-FL (12-0-0)
Entertainment
Entertainment Awards
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: A Summons to Memphis, Peter Taylor
Music: The Flight Into Egypt, John Harbison
Drama: Fences, August Wilson
Oscars awarded in 1987
Academy Award, Best Picture: Platoon, Arnold Kopelson, producer (Orion)
Nobel Prize for Literature: Joseph Brodsky (US)
Grammys awarded in 1987
Record of the Year: "Higher Love," Steve Winwood
Album of the Year: Graceland, Paul Simon (Warner Bros.)
Song of the Year: "That's What Friends Are For," Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, songwriters
Miss America: Kellye Cash (TN)
More Entertainment Awards...
Events
- Though African, Latin American and other genres of international music have been around for centuries, a group of small, London-based labels coin the term "world music," which helps record sellers find rack space for the eclectic music.
- thirtysomething debuts on ABC and departs from typical dramas, featuring analytical, self-absorbed baby-boomer characters.
Movies
- Moonstruck, Wall Street, The Last Emperor, Fatal Attraction
Books
Science
Nobel Prizes in Science
Chemistry: Donald J. Cram, Charles J. Pedersen (both US), and Jean-Marie Lehn (France), for wide-ranging research that has included the creation of artificial molecules that can mimic vital chemical reactions of the processes of life
Physics: K. Alex Müller (Switzerland) and J. Georg Bednorz (Germany), for their discovery of high-temperature superconductors
Physiology or Medicine: Susumu Tonegawa (Japan), for his discoveries of how the body can suddenly marshal its immunological defenses against millions of different disease agents that it has never encountered before
- Prozac released for use in US by Eli Lilly & Company. Background: Health & Nutrition
- AZT wins FDA approval for use in the treatment of AIDS.
- An international treaty signed in Montreal calls for a 50% reduction in the use of CFCs by the year 2000 (Sept. 16). Background: environmentalism
- Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand make the first transatlantic hot-air balloon flight. 2,790 miles from Sugarloaf Mountain, Maine, to Ireland Virgin Atlantic Flyer (July 2–4). Background: Famous Firsts in Aviation
Deaths
William Casey (CIA)
Andy Warhol
Rudolf Hess
John Huston
James Baldwin
