WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO DECEMBER 1986
Find out what all happened May to December 1986

Gennady Kolbin replaces Dinmukhamed Konayev as First Secretary of the Kazakh Communist Party, prompting the Jeltoqsan protests which began the next day. (16. December 1986)

Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range. (21. August 1986)

Iran-Contra Affair: National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the sale of weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. (21. November 1986)

Gen. Augusto Pinochet, president of Chile, escapes attempted assassination. (7. September 1986)

The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain. (16. May 1986)

Mike Tyson defeats Trevor Berbick to become youngest Heavyweight champion in boxing history. (22. November 1986)

In Lebanon, pro-Irankidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991). (21. October 1986)

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway. (29. October 1986)

Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing on an El Al flight at Heathrow. After the verdict, the United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, claiming that Hindawi is helped by Syrian officials. (24. October 1986)

Iran-Contra scandal: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission. (26. November 1986)

Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed details of Israel's covert nuclear program to British media, is kidnapped in Rome, Italy by the Israeli Mossad. (30. September 1986)

The Chernobyl Disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster (2. May 1986)

Iran-Contra Affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been secretly selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon. (3. November 1986)

Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros sets the major-league record by striking out the first eight batters of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (23. September 1986)

The Parliament of New Zealand passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand. (9. July 1986)

Reinhold Messner becomes the first person to summit all 14 Eight-thousanders. (16. October 1986)

Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France. (6. July 1986)

The King Fahd Causeway is officially opened in the Persian Gulf. (25. November 1986)

An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people. (10. October 1986)

NBC debuts the current well-known peacock as seen in the NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration. (12. May 1986)