World Events · 1987
Cold War Thaw and Financial Shocks
In 1987, superpower diplomacy reached historic heights with major nuclear reduction treaties while economic panic rippled across global stock markets. From pro-democracy uprisings in Asia to escalating turmoil in the Middle East, a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape heralded the dawn of a new era.
- December 8, 1987 | Washington, D.C.
INF Treaty Signed
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a historic treaty eliminating an entire class of land-based nuclear missiles.
- October 19, 1987 | Global Finance
Black Monday Crash
Stock markets around the world collapse as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 22.6% in a single day, triggering global economic panic.
- June 12, 1987 | West Berlin
Reagan's Berlin Wall Speech
Standing near the Brandenburg Gate, U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously challenges Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to 'tear down this wall.'
- December 9, 1987 | Middle East
First Intifada Begins
A Palestinian uprising erupts in the Gaza Strip and West Bank against Israeli military occupation, initiating years of protests and violence.
- June 1987 | South Korea
June Democratic Struggle
Massive pro-democracy demonstrations across South Korea force the ruling military regime to agree to direct presidential elections and civil liberties.
- May–July 1987 | Washington, D.C.
Iran-Contra Hearings
Televised U.S. congressional hearings uncover covert arms sales to Iran intended to illegally fund anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
- March 6, 1987 | English Channel
Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster
The British car ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes off the coast of Belgium due to open bow doors, resulting in 193 deaths.
- February 23, 1987 | Astronomy
Supernova 1987A Discovered
Astronomers discover a bright supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, offering science its closest observed stellar explosion in nearly 400 years.
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