Timeline January 1986

Events in January 1986 31

• 1911 – 1986 L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) Died 24 January 1986, aged 74 American author who founded the Church of Scientology in 1954 after publishing the book Dianetics. He spent his final years in seclusion in California, continuing to direct the organization from hiding. His movement remains controversial and influential decades after his death.
• 1914 – 1986 Lilli Palmer (1914-1986) German actress who fled the Nazis, worked in Britain and Hollywood, and later wrote bestselling memoirs.
• 1921 – 1986 Donna Reed (1921-1986) American actress, Mary Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life and star of The Donna Reed Show.
• 1921 – 1986 Gordon MacRae (1921-1986) American baritone and actor, Curly in Oklahoma! and Billy Bigelow in Carousel.
• 1948 – 1986 Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986) Died 28 January 1986, aged 37 American teacher selected for NASA's Teacher in Space Project, killed when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after launch. Her presence on the mission had drawn intense public and school interest ahead of the flight. Her death became one of the defining images of the US space program's risks.
• 1986 1986: Alain Prost McLaren Prost won his second consecutive title after Nigel Mansell suffered a dramatic tyre blowout at the final race in Adelaide while leading the championship.
• 1986 Accession to the EEC Joining Europe Portugal officially joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union).
• 1986 Dollywood Opens Opened Dollywood, a theme park in the Great Smoky Mountains near her childhood home in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The park would grow into a major economic engine for the region and eventually attract over three million visitors per year.
• 1986 I, Tina and Break Every Rule Published her autobiography I, Tina, which detailed the abuse she suffered during her marriage to Ike Turner. Released the album Break Every Rule and embarked on a record-breaking world tour.
• 1986 Inverted Region Confirmed The 'inverted region' predicted by Marcus theory 30 years earlier was finally confirmed experimentally by John R. Miller and colleagues, vindicating one of the most daring predictions in theoretical chemistry.
• 1986 – 1991 Living in Europe Left Japan for Italy and Greece, running marathons and writing in solitude. Completed Dance Dance Dance and South of the Border, West of the Sun abroad. He began running seriously during this period, eventually completing over 30 marathons and an ultramarathon.
• 1986 Return to Germany Returned to Germany for the first time, a pivotal journey in reconciling her conflicted feelings about her homeland. She described herself as 'a writer, a woman, a lover, a swimmer, a parent, a German-born American.'
• 1986 That's What Friends Are For Won a Grammy for Song of the Year for That's What Friends Are For, performed by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder as an AIDS charity single.
• 1986 The Singing Detective Starred as Philip Marlow in Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective, a BBC television serial widely regarded as one of the greatest TV dramas ever made.
• 1986 Donna Reed dies in Beverly Hills Donna Reed dies aged 64.
• 1986 First Martin Luther King Jr. Day New US federal holiday honors the civil rights leader The United States observed its first federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., three years after Congress passed the enabling legislation. The holiday falls on the third Monday of January near King's birthday. Some states initially resisted observing it, and a few did not adopt it fully for over a decade.
• 1986 Buddy Holly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class One of the first ten inductees.
• 1986 Chuck Berry inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class Among the very first inductees, introduced by Keith Richards.
• 1986 Elvis Presley inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Elvis is among the first class of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• 1986 Fats Domino inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class One of the first ten inductees.
• 1986 James Brown inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class One of the first ten inductees.
• 1986 Jerry Lee Lewis inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class One of the first ten inductees.
• 1986 Little Richard inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class One of the first ten inductees.
• 1986 Ray Charles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class One of the first ten inductees.
• 1986 Robert Johnson inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Early influence Among the first early influences inducted.
• 1986 Sam Cooke inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame First class One of the first ten inductees.
• 1986 Gordon MacRae dies in Lincoln Gordon MacRae dies aged 64.
• 1986 Voyager 2 flies by Uranus First close-up spacecraft encounter with the planet NASA's Voyager 2 probe made its closest approach to Uranus, returning the first detailed images of the planet, its rings and moons. The flyby discovered ten previously unknown moons and revealed Uranus's unusually tilted magnetic field. It remains the only spacecraft to have visited the planet.
• 1986 Lilli Palmer dies in Los Angeles Lilli Palmer dies aged 71.
• 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster Shuttle breaks apart 73 seconds after launch The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated shortly after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven crew members including teacher Christa McAuliffe. A failed O-ring seal on a solid rocket booster was found responsible. The disaster halted the US shuttle program for nearly three years.
• 1986 National Resistance Army takes power in Uganda Yoweri Museveni becomes president after guerrilla war Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army captured the capital Kampala, ending years of civil conflict following the fall of Milton Obote. Museveni was sworn in as president, promising a return to stability after a decade of upheaval. He would go on to lead Uganda for decades afterward.