Year 1985: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1985. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, retail prices, entertainment trivia, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. In 1985, Ronald Reagan was the president of the United States, and George H. W. Bush was the nation’s vice president.
2. On January 1, New York became the first state to require that all front-seat auto occupants wear seat belts.
3. On January 1, Michael Harrison made Britain’s first mobile phone call on the newly launched Vodafone network.
4. On January 3, Mitch McConnell began serving his first term as senator of Kentucky. A Republican, McConnell served as majority whip (2003–07) and minority leader (2007–15) and then became the Senate’s majority leader in 2015.
5. From January 18 to 22, extremely low temperatures affected every state east of the Rockies, “with three new state record lows established: -34° at Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina; -19° at Caesar's Head, South Carolina; and -30° at Mountain Lake, Virginia.”
6. On January 20, President Reagan's inauguration parade for his second term was canceled with wind chills in Washington, D.C., colder than -10°F.
7. On January 29, Oxford University’s governing assembly refused to grant Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s prime minister, an honorary degree.
8. On February 7, New York City Mayor Ed Koch announced that the song “New York, New York” would become the Big Apple's official anthem.
9. On February 17, the USPS raised the price of a first-class stamp to 22 cents.
10. On March 4, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set new limits on the permissible amount of lead used in gasoline.
11. On March 15, the dot-com revolution began when Symbolics.com became the first Internet domain name to be registered. Wired.com reveals that “In those early days, even before AOL, the internet was a noncommercial medium that only eggheads and propellerheads used. It was more of a military and academic tool than today's vast playground.”
12. On March 18, Capital Cities Communications, Inc. agreed to purchase ABC for $3.5 billion, which was the first ownership transfer of a television network.
13. On May 27, Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China in 1997, “in return for terms guaranteeing a 50-year extension of its capitalist system.” History.com explains that Hong Kong—a small peninsula and group of islands jutting out from China’s Kwangtung province—was leased by China to Great Britain in 1898 for 99 years.”
14. On May 31, nearly 100 people died when 41 tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, Canada.
15. On May 31, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that they were taking emergency action to ban the recreational drug ecstasy. The official ban of Ecstasy, formally known as MDBA, would take place on July 1.
16. In June, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) decommissioned the historic Route 66. History.com reports that “Measuring some 2,200 miles in its heyday, Route 66 stretched from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, passing through eight states.”
17. On June 10, Coca-Cola announced that it was changing its century-old secret formula.
18. On July 11, following 79 days of “massive consumer outcry,” Coca-Cola agreed to start selling old Coke again.
19. On July 13, “Live Aid” concerts in both London and Philadelphia raised $70 million for the “devastating strife and starvation occurring in Africa, particularly Ethiopia, and brought worldwide attention to the issue.”
20. On August 10, the King of Pop Michael Jackson bought ATV Music, the Beatles’ publishing company, for $47.5 million.
21. On August 21, three lucky ticket holders won $13.7 apiece in the New York Lottery.
22. On September 20, Walt Disney World received its 200-millionth guest.
23. On September 22, the Plaza Accord was signed by the finance ministers of the G5 nations—the United States, the United Kingdom, West Germany, France, and Japan.
24. On September 30, Howard Stern was fired from WNBC (AM) in New York City. On November 17, he began broadcasting his radio talk show from WXRK (FM) in New York.
25. On October 2, President Reagan banned imports of South African Krugerrands into the U.S. (The restriction took effect on October 11.)
26. On November 20, Microsoft Windows 1.0 was released.
27. On December 9, Phoenix received three inches of snow.
28. On December 10, Congress passed a bill to balance the federal budget.
29. On December 11, the Dow closed above 1,500 for the first time.
30. On December 11, General Electric purchased RCA and its subsidiary NBC.
31. In 1985, popular baby names were Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, Jessica, Ashley, Jennifer, and Amanda.
32. The average life expectancy at birth in the United States was 74.7 years.
33. The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $525,000.
34. Popular Halloween costumes included Hulk Hogan, Elvira, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan.
35. Favorite holiday gifts were Care Bears, Teddy Ruxpin Talking Bears, Pound Puppies, the Wheel of Fortune game, and the Super Mario Bros. video game.
36. Fashion trends in 1985 included shoulder pads, mini skirts, leg warmers, large earrings, fingerless gloves, parachute pants, Members Only jackets, stirrup pants, and oversized tops.
37. Sharlene Wells (Utah) won the Miss America crown.
38. Laura Martinez-Herring (Texas) became Miss USA.
39. Top-grossing Broadway shows were Cats, La Cage aux Folles, The King and I, A Chorus Line, Biloxi Blues, Singin’ in the Rain, Dreamgirls, Sunday in the Park with George, The Tap Dance Kid, and Brighton Beach Memoirs.
40. At the 57th Academy Awards, which honored the best films of 1984, Amadeus won an Oscar for Best Picture, Milos Forman (Amadeus) won an Oscar for Best Director, F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Sally Field (Places in the Heart) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
41. At the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards, The Cosby Show (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Cagney & Lacey (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
42. Peter Ueberroth, the Commissioner of Baseball from 1984 to 1989, was Time magazine’s “Man of the Year.”
43. The IRS reported that there were over 400,000 American millionaires and 13 billionaires.
44. Perrier introduced Perrier with “a twist of lemon,” its first new product in over 125 years.
45. Cherry Coke was also launched.
46. The first McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Iowa, also became the first fast food museum.
47. The wreckage of the British luxury liner Titanic was discovered by oceanographer Robert Ballard 73 years after it sank.
48. Strawberry Fields, a 2½-acre garden in New York City's Central Park, was dedicated to John Lennon.
49. On January 3, opera soprano Leontyne Price made her farewell operatic appearance in a televised performance of Verdi’s Aida. Price was the first Black international opera star.
50. On July 3, the honey bee became the official state insect of Missouri.

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor