This is a list of important events the occured during 1986. Exact dates are listed when known.

• January 28, the Challenger explodes.
• Worst nuclear disaster ever in Chernobyl, USSR, April.
• In Nyos, Cameroon, a cloud of carbon dioxide rumbled out of the nearby lake Nyos on August 21 and killed approximently 1,700 people.
• Bill Buckner lets World Series squirt through his legs. The Mets win in 7 games.
• US vs Lybia's Col. Khadafi
• Argentina wins Soccer World Cup in Mexico
• Fox Network starts in America
• June 19th, Len Bias, a first round pick by the Celtics, died of a cocaine overdose.
• Mandatory recycling programs started in Rhode Island.
• Iran Contra Scandal (Who can forget Ollie North?) is reported in November in a Lebanese magazine.
• Vice President George Bush's broccoli incident, tons of the stuff is delivered to the White House.
• Return of Haley's Comet
• Hands Across America, May 25, 1986
• Statue of Liberty celebrates the 100th Anniversary and gets a face lift in the process.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger marries Maria Shriver.
• Kurt Waldheim's Nazi past is revealed as he runs for president of Austria, and he still wins despite having been a staff officer responsible for deporting thousands of Greek Jews to the concentration camps.
• "A.M. Chicago" changes its name to the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and goes national September 8th.
• Turner Broadcasting begins to colorize black and white classics.
• Miami Hurricanes' Quarterback Vinny Testaverde wins the Heisman Trophy
• John McCarthy, a British journalist was kidnapped by Islamic Jihad. Remained in captivity for a staggering 5.5 years.
• America celebrates national holiday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day for the first time.
• Not only did the Red Sox went to the World Series (They lost in 7 to the Mets) ,the Boston Celtics won the 1986 NBA Championship, and New England went to the the Super Bowl but lost to the Chicago Bears 46-10.
• Supermodel Gia, after years of heroin addiction, dies of AIDS. She is the first woman to sucumb to the AIDS virus in the US.
• Election of Corazon Aquino ends corrupt Marcos regime in the Philippines. "Win or lose, we go shopping after the election." - Imelda Marcos