1986. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History

Reference > The Encyclopedia of World History

VII. The Contemporary Period, 1945–2000 > A. General and Comparative Dimensions > 2. International Relations > b. New Global Relationships > 1986

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The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.


1986

Wole Soyinka, Nigerian playwright and poet, received the Nobel Prize for literature.	1

Jan

The U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after it was launched. All seven persons aboard were killed, including S. Christa McAuliffe, a schoolteacher who was the first private citizen to fly on a shuttle.	2

Feb

The Dalai Lama, exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, met with Pope John Paul II in India. The U.S. Senate ratified the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 37 years after it had been submitted by President Truman.	3

Mar

The Giotto spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency sent back data about the nucleus of Halley's Comet.	4

April

U.S. warplanes bombed Libya in retaliation for terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens. The CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT in the Soviet Union (Ukraine) experienced a major accident. Severely high levels of radioactivity were detected throughout northern and eastern Europe.	5

May

The annual economic summit of the leaders of the G-7 countries was held in Tokyo.	6

June

The UN General Assembly approved a Program of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development. It was the first time that such action had been taken for a specific region.	7

July

The leader of the Turkish republic in northern Cyprus rejected UN efforts to unseal the border that divided the island.	8

Sept

Summit meeting of the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations in Zimbabwe. It issued a call for selective sanctions against South Africa.	9

Sept.–Oct

The U.S. Congress overrode a veto by President Reagan, legislating strict U.S. economic sanctions against South Africa.	10

Oct

World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, Italy, was attended by leaders of 12 different religious traditions.	11


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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