1987
| 1987 by topic |
| Subject: Archaeology – Architecture – Art – Aviation – Comics – Film – Home video – Literature (Poetry) – Meteorology – Music (Country, Metal) – Rail transport – Radio – Science – Sports – Television – Video gaming |
| Countries: Australia – Canada – People's Republic of China – Ecuador – France – Germany – Greece – India – Ireland – Israel – Italy – Japan – Luxembourg – Malaysia – Mexico – New Zealand – Norway – Pakistan – Philippines – Singapore – South Africa– Soviet Union – UK – USA – Zimbabwe |
| Leaders: Sovereign states – State leaders – Religious leaders – Law |
| Categories: Births – Deaths – Works – Introductions – Establishments – Disestablishments – Awards |
|
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year that started on a Thursday, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
Events of 1987
January
- January 4 – 1987 Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts collides with Conrail engines at Chase, Maryland, killing 16.
- January 5 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery, causing speculation about his physical fitness to continue in office.
- January 8 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 2,000 for the first time, gaining 8.30 to close at 2,002.25.
- January 13 – New York mafiosi Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno and Carmine Peruccia are sentenced to 100 years in prison for racketeering.
- January 16 – León Febres Cordero, president of Ecuador, is kidnapped by followers of imprisoned General Frank Vargas, who successfully demand his release.
- January 20 – Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, is kidnapped in Beirut (released November 1991).
- January 22 – Pennsylvania Treasurer Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself with a revolver during a televised press conference after being found guilty on charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering.
- January 29 – William J. Casey ends his term as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
- January 31 – The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation.
February
March
- March 2 – American Motors Corporation is acquired by the Chrysler Corporation
- March 4 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran-Contra Affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had 'deteriorated' into an arms-for-hostages deal.
- March 6 – Zeebrugge Disaster: A cross-channel ferry capsizes outside the harbor off Zeebrugge, Belgium; 180 drown.
- March 9 – The Irish rock band U2 releases their studio album The Joshua Tree.
- March 18 – Woodstock of physics: The marathon session of the American Physical Society’s meeting features 51 presentations concerning the science of high-temperature superconductors.
- March 19 – In Charlotte, North Carolina, televangelist Jim Bakker, head of PTL Ministries, resigns after admitting an affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn.
- March 24 Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and French Prime Minister and future President of France, Jacques Chirac, sign the agreement to construct the 4,800 acre Euro Disney Resort (now called Disneyland Paris) and to develop the Val d'Europe area of the new town Marne-la-Vallée in Paris, France.
April
May
June
- June 3 – Trade unionists in Vanuatu found the Vanuatu Labour Party.
- June 8 – The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act is passed, the first of its kind in the world.
- June 11 – United Kingdom general election, 1987: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wins for the third time with a landslide majority.
- June 12 – During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
- June 17 – With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
- June 19 – Teddy Seymour is officially designated the first black man to sail around the world, when he completes his solo sailing circumnavigation in Frederiksted, St. Croix, of the United States Virgin Islands.
- June 19 – Edwards v. Aguillard: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution is taught is unconstitutional.
- June 27 – A commercial HS 748 (Philippine Airlines Flight 206) crashes near Baguio City, Philippines, killing 50.
- June 28 – An accidental explosion at Hohenfels Training Area in West Germany kills 3 U.S. troopers.
- June 29 – South Korean president Roh Tae-Woo makes a speech promising a wide program of nationwide reforms, the result of June Democracy Movement.
- June 30 – Canada introduces a one dollar coin, nicknamed the "Loonie".
July
- July 1 – The Single European Act is passed by the European Community.
- July 1 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan nominates former Solicitor General Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. The nomination is later rejected by the Senate, the first and only nominee rejection to date.
- July 3 – In the Soviet Union, Vladimir Nikolayev is sentenced to death for cannibalism.
- July 3 – Greater Manchester Police recover the body of 16-year-old Pauline Reade from Saddleworth Moor, after her killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley helped them in their search, almost exactly 24 years since Pauline was last seen alive.
- July 4 – A court in Lyon sentences former Gestapo boss Klaus Barbie to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.
- July 11 – Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke's government is re-elected for a third term.
- July 11 – World population reaches five billion people with a child born in Zagreb, Croatia, according to the United Nations.[1]
- July 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time, at 2,510.04.
- July 22 – Palestinian cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali is shot in London; he dies August 28.
- July 25 – The East Lancashire Railway, a heritage railway in the North West of England, is opened between Bury and Ramsbottom.
- July 31 – Four hundred Iranian pilgrims are killed in clashes with Saudi Arabian security forces in Mecca.
- July 31 – Docklands Light Railway in London, the first driverless railway in Great Britain, is formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
- July 31 – An F4-rated tornado devastates eastern Edmonton, Alberta. Hardest hit are an industrial park and a trailer park. 27 people are killed and hundreds injured, with hundreds more left homeless and jobless.
August
- August 2 – Viswanathan Anand becomes the first Asian to win The World Junior Chess Championship.
- August 4 – The World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission, publishes its report, Our Common Future.
- August 4 – The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues.
- August 7 – The Colombian frigate Caldas enters Venezuelan waters near the Los Monjes Archipelago, sparking the Caldas frigate crisis between both nations.
- August 9 – Hoddle Street Massacre: Julian Knight, 19, goes on a shooting rampage in Melbourne, killing seven people and injuring 19 before surrendering to police.
- August 14 – All the children held at Kia Lama, a rural property on Lake Eildon, Australia, run by the Santiniketan Park Association, are released after a police raid.
- August 16 – Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (a McDonnell Douglas MD-82) crashes on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan just West of Detroit killing all but one (4-year old Cecelia Cichan) of the 156 people on-board.
- August 16 – The followers of the Harmonic Convergence claim it was observed around the world.
- August 17 – Rudolf Hess is found dead in his cell in Spandau Prison. Hess, 93, is believed to have committed suicide by hanging himself with an electrical flex. He was the last remaining prisoner at the complex, which is soon demolished.
- August 19 – ABC News' chief Middle East correspondent Charles Glass escapes his Hezbollah kidnappers in Beirut, Lebanon, after 62 days in captivity.
- August 19 – Order of the Garter is opened to women.
September
Performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Index during Black Monday
October
- October 3 – The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement is reached but still requires ratification. This agreement would be a precursor to NAFTA.
- October 11 – The first National Coming Out Day is held in celebration of the second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
- October 14–16 – The United States is caught up in a drama that unfolds on television as a young child, Jessica McClure, falls down a well in Midland, Texas, and is later rescued.
- October 15–16 – Great Storm of 1987: Hurricane-force winds hit much of South England, killing 23 people.
- October 19 – Black Monday: Stock market levels fall sharply on Wall Street and around the world.
- October 19 – U.S. warships destroy 2 Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf
- October 19 – Two commuter trains collide head-on on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia; 102 are killed.
- October 22 – The pilot of a British Aerospace BAE Harrier GR5 registered ZD325 accidentally ejects his aircraft. The jet continues to fly until it runs out of fuel and crashes into the Irish Sea.[2]
- October 23 – Champion English jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for three years after being convicted of tax evasion.
- October 23 – On a vote of 58–42, the United States Senate rejects President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
- October 26 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average goes down 156.83 points.
November
December
- December 1 – NASA announces the names of 4 companies awarded contracts to help build Space Station Freedom: Boeing Aerospace, General Electric's Astro-Space Division, McDonnell Douglas, and the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell.
- December 1 – Construction of the Channel Tunnel is initiated.
- December 1 – Queensland: Following a week of turmoil from his National Party of Australia colleagues, Joh Bjelke-Petersen resigns as Premier of Queensland. He is replaced by Mike Ahern, the only premier never to contest an election as premier.
- December 2 – Hustler Magazine v. Falwell is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- December 7 – Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-supervisor on the flight, then shoots both pilots and himself.
- December 8 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
- December 8 – Queen Street massacre: In Melbourne, Australia, 22-year-old Frank Vitkovic kills 8 and injures another 5 in a Post Office building before committing suicide by jumping from the eleventh floor.
- December 8 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
- December 8 – Alianza Lima air disaster: A Peruvian Navy Fokker F27 crashes near Ventanilla, Peru, killing 43.
- December 9 – General Rahimuddin Khan retires from the Pakistan Army, along with the cabinet of the country's military dictatorship.
- December 9 – Microsoft releases Windows 2.0.
- December 17 – Gustáv Husák resigns as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
- December 18 – Square Co., Ltd. releases Final Fantasy in Japan for the Famicom.
- December 18 – The Perl programming language is created by Larry Wall.
- December 20 – In history's worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry MV Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
- December 21 – Turgut Özal, of ANAP forms the new government of Turkey (46th government).
- December 29 – Prozac makes its debut in the United States.
- December 30 – Pope John Paul II issues the encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social Concern).
Undated
- The Pendolino train makes its debut in Italy.
- Tinker Hatfield designed the Nike Air Max.
- Shoko Asahara founds the Aum Shinrikyo cult.
- Thomas Knoll and John Knoll develop the first version of Photoshop.
- Maglite introduces the 2AAA Mini Maglite battery, targeted for medical and industrial applications.
- Barry Minkow's ZZZZ Best fraud unravels.
- A squirrel closes down the New York Stock Exchange when it burrows through a telephone line.
Ongoing
Fictional
The following are references to year 1987 in fiction:
-
- 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?), debut album by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, later known as The KLF.
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- 13 Going on 30 (2004): The scenes where Jenna is thirteen take place on May 26, 1987.
- American Psycho (2000): According to director Mary Harron on the DVD commentary, the film is set around the end of 1987. Patrick Bateman is seen reading Zagat's Survey of this year as well.
- Fargo (1996): The film takes place in Minnesota, 1987
- Adventureland (2009): The film takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, summer 1987
- Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009): The film takes place in Harlem, New York in 1987.
- Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004): There is a picture of a fat White Goodman with the caption "White Goodman - 1987" on it.
-
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979): NASA launches the last of America's deep-space probes, the Space Shuttle Ranger 3, which is piloted by Captain William "Buck" Rogers.
- Set in 1987: the Doctor Who episode "Father's Day", 2005 takes place on November 7.
- Space: 1999 episode "The Rules of Luton" we learn that a world war, likely World War III, began sometime in 1987. It was described as 'The war to end all wars'.
-
- Resident Evil: Michael Warren is elected mayor of Raccoon City.
- Shenmue (1999) – Story continues into 1987.
- Shenmue II (2001): The game is set in 1987
- Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is set in this year (as claimed by the newspaper, after beating a boss).
- Syphon Filter 3: Three levels take place in and around Kabul, Afghanistan during this year amidst the Soviet occupation, with Gabe Logan and Lian Xing pitted against Afghan rebels and Soviet troops.
Environmental change
- Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite, is found in the U.S.
Mathematical interest
- This was the last year until 2013 with four distinct digits.
Births
January
- January 1 – Meryl Davis, American figure skater
- Xiah, Korean singer (TVXQ)
- January 2 – Loui Batley, British actress
- Lauren Storm, American actress
- January 5 – Kristin Cavallari, American reality television star
- January 6 – Zhang Lin, Chinese swimmer
- January 8 – Saori Gotō, Japanese voice actress
- January 9 – Mao Inoue, Japanese actress
- Lucas Leiva, Brazilian football player
- January 10 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
- January 12 – Naya Rivera, American actress
- January 13 – Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
- January 15 – Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
- Kelly Kelly American professional wrestler
- Michael Seater, Canadian actor
- Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian long-distance runner
- January 16 – Kaavya Viswanathan, Indian-American author
- January 19 – Jordan Brauninger, American figure skater
- January 24 – Luis Suarez, Uruguayan football player
- January 26 – Sebastian Giovinco, Italian football player
- Jarryd Roughead, Australian rules footballer
- January 27 – Hannah Teter, American snowboarder
- Zuleidy Spanish adult pornographic actress
- January 28 – Chelsea Brummet, American actress
- January 30 – Lance Franklin, Australian rules footballer
February
- February 1 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian-American football player
- February 2 – Gerard Pique, Barcelona and Spanish footballer
- Martin Spanjers, American actor
- February 7 – Kerli Kõiv, Estonian singer
- February 8 – Kathrin Freudelsperger, Austrian figure skater
- February 10 – Choi Siwon, Korean actor and singer (Super Junior)
- February 12 – Miuna Saito, Japanese idol (Country musume)
- February 16 – Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (d. 2008)
- Theresa Goh, Singaporean Paralympic swimmer
- Yuu Kashii, Japanese actress
- February 17 – Arisa Takada, Japanese volleyball player
- Matteo Zanni, Italian figure skater
- February 19 – Anna Cappellini, Italian figure skater
- February 21 – Ashley Greene, American actress
- February 22 – Han Hyo-joo, Korean actress
- February 23 – Tsukasa Umesaki, Japanese football player
- February 24 – Mayuko Iwasa, Japanese entertainer and model
- Daniel Reilly, British entrepreneur
- February 25 – Andrew Poje, Canadian figure skater
- February 26 – Julia Bond, American pornographic actress
March
- March 1 – Kesha, American singer
- March 2 – Geoffry Varner, American figure skater
- March 6 – Kevin-Prince Boateng, German and Ghanaian footballer
- March 6 – Hannah Taylor-Gordon, British actress
- March 7 – Hatem Ben Arfa, Tunisian-French footballer
- March 9 – Bow Wow, American rapper
- Tochiōzan Yūichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler
- March 12 – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
- March 13 – Marco Andretti, IRL driver
- March 14 – Aravane Rezaï, Iranian-French tennis player
- March 16 – Tiiu Kuik, Estonian model
- March 20 – Emilia Attias, Argentina model
- Joao Alves de Assis Silva, Brazilian soccer player
- March 25 – Jason Castro, American singer
- Nobunari Oda, Japanese figure skater
- March 26 – YUI, Japanese singer-songwriter
- March 27 – Zaraah Abrahams, British actress
April
- April 1 – Ding Junhui, Chinese snooker player
- April 3 – Jay Bruce, American baseball player
- April 4 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
- April 6 – Bartolomej Kuru, Austrian footballer
- April 7 – Choi Siwon, Korean singer and actor, member of Super Junior
- April 8 – Royston Drenthe, Real Madrid footballer
- April 9 – Jesse McCartney, American singer and actor
- Jazmine Sullivan, American singer and songwriter
- April 10 – Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
- April 11 – Joss Stone, English musician
- April 12 – Brendon Urie, American musician
- April 13 – Jiafeng Chen, Chinese violinist
- April 16 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer
- April 17 – Mylène Brodeur, Canadian figure skater
- April 19 – Joe Hart, English under 21 footballer
- April 22 – Mikel John Obi, Nigerian footballer
- April 23 – Emily Fox, American cupstacking champion
- April 26 – Jessica Rose, American internet celebrity and actress
- April 27 – Ciara Janson British actress
- William Moseley, English actor
- Anne Suzuki Japanese actress
- Emma Taylor-Isherwood, Canadian actress
- April 29 – Joanna Maranhão, Brazilian swimmer
May
- May 1 – Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player
- May 2 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
- Lu Lan, Chinese badminton player
- May 4 – Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish football player
- Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
- May 5 – Samantha Cope, American actress
- Ian Michael Smith, American actor
- May 6 – Moon Geun Young, Korean actress
- May 7 – Akihiro Hayashi, Japanese football player
- Asami Konno, Japanese singer
- May 10 – Eileen April Boylan, American actress
- May 12 – Darren Randolph, Irish football goalkeeper
- May 13 – Rola Chen, Chinese gravure idol
- Hunter Parrish, American actor
- May 14 – Francois Steyn, South African rugby player
- May 15 – Jennylyn Mercado, Filipina actress and singer
- May 16 – Viktor Pfeifer, Austrian figure skater
- May 18 – Hideya Okamoto, Japanese football player
- May 20 – Mike Havenaar, Dutch-Japanese football player
- Julian Wright, American basketball player
- May 21 – Morgan Matthews, American figure skater
- Masato Morishige, Japanese football player
- May 22 – Novak Đoković, Serbian tennis player
- May 23 – Allie Hann-McCurdy, Canadian figure skater
- May 24 – Damir Kedzo, Croatian singer
- May 25 – Michael Leib, American actor
- May 30 – Brianna Taylor American singer, TV-show contestant
- May 31 – Curtis Williams, American actor
June
- June 2 – Seiya Fujita, Japanese football player
- June 3 – Lalaine, American actress and singer
- Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
- June 5 – Charlie Clements,English Actor
- Cathy Reed, American figure skater
- June 6 – Kyle Falconer, Scottish musician
- June 9 – Rheagan Wallace, American actress
- June 10 – Lyssa Chapman, American bounty hunter
- Amobi Okoye, Nigerian-born American football player
- June 12 – Ryu Deok-hwan, South Korean actor
- Kristian Rand, Estonian figure skater
- June 14 – Andrew Cogliano, Canadian hockey player
- June 16 – Kelly Blatz, American actor and singer
- June 17 – Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer
- June 19 – Rashard Mendenhall, American football player
- Kim Ryeowook, Korean singer (Super Junior)
- Aoi Teshima, Japanese singer and voice actress
- Dale Thomas, Australian rules footballer
- June 22 – Joseph Dempsie, British actor
- Jon Nuss, American figure skater
- Lee Min Ho, South Korean actor and model
- June 24 – Lionel Messi, Argentine football player
- June 25 – Alissa Czisny, American figure skater
- Hayami Kishimoto, Japanese singer
- Lil' Wil, American rapper
- June 26 – Samir Nasri, French footballer
- June 29 – Yasuka Saitou, Japanese actor
July
- July 1 – Yoga Lin, Taiwanese singer
- Camilla Pistorello, Italian figure skater
- July 2 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model (d. 2008)
- July 3 – Chris Hunter, American actor
- July 6 – Kate Nash, British singer/songwriter
- Matt O'Leary, American actor
- July 11 – Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer (NEWS)
- July 17 – Jeremih, American singer
- July 19 – Junya Koga, Japanese swimmer
- July 24 – Merve Sevi, Turkish actress
- Mara Wilson, American actress
- July 25 – Nathan Lawrence, American actor
- Michael Welch, American actor
- July 26 – Miriam McDonald, Canadian actress
- Fredy Montero, Colobian soccer player
- July 27 – Marek Hamsik, Slovakian football player
- July 29 – Génesis Rodríguez, American actress
- July 31 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
August
- August 4 – Philip Younghusband, British-Filipino footballer
- August 5 – Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress
- Stephanie, American singer
- Xenia Tchoumitcheva, Swiss model
- August 6 – Matt Di Angelo English actor
- Aditya Narayan, Bollywood actor and singer
- August 7 – Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
- August 8 – Pierre Boulanger, French actor
- Katie Leung, Scottish actress
- August 10 – Jim Bakkum, Dutch singer and actor
- August 14 – Tim Tebow, American football quarterback
- August 16 – Josimar Rodrigues Souza Roberto, Brazilian football player
- August 18 – Mika Boorem, American actress
- David Richardson, British figure skater
- August 19 – Marlon Knauer, German singer
- August 20 – Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast
- August 21 – Kim Kibum, Korean actor and singer (Super Junior)
- August 25 – Stacey Farber, Canadian actress
- Blake Lively, American actress
- Justin Upton, professional baseball player
- Liu Yifei, Chinese actress
- August 27 – Darren McFadden, American football player
- August 29 – Risa Shimamoto, Japanese gravure idol
- August 30 – Johanna Braddy, American actress
September
- September 2 – Scott Moir, Canadian figure skater
- September 3 – Chris Fountain, British actor
- September 5 – Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi, Prince of Monaco
- September 6 – Ramiele Malubay, American singer
- September 7 – Evan Rachel Wood, American actress and singer
- September 8 – Yuika Motokariya, Japanese actress
- September 9 – Clayton Snyder, American actor
- September 10 – Nana Tanimura, Japanese singer
- September 11 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
- Tyler Hoechlin, American actor
- Susianna Kentikian, German-Armenian boxer
- September 13 – Simon Walton, English footballer
- September 16 – Anthony Padilla, American comedian and co-founder of Smosh
- September 18 – Yasuhito Morishima, Japanese football player
- Marie Wada, Japanese volleyball player
- September 19 – Danielle Panabaker, American actress
- September 20 – Sarah Natochenny, American model and actress
- September 21 – Twins Ashley Paris and Courtney Paris, American basketball players
- September 22 – Tom Felton, English actor
- Nanae Takizawa, Japanese volleyball player
- September 24 – Matthew Connolly, English footballer
- Chris Holder, Australian speedway rider
- September 25 – Ami Tokito, Japanese singer and actress
- September 26 – Whitney Thompson, Winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10
- September 27 – Vanessa James, Canadian-French figure skater
- September 28 – Hilary Duff, American actress and singer
- Chloë Hanslip, British violinist
October
- October 1 – Hiroki Aiba, Japanese actor
- October 3 – Kaci, American singer and actress
- October 4 – Eri Murakawa, Japanese actress
- Atomu Tanaka, Japanese football player
- October 5 – Brandan Wright, American basketball player
- October 8 – Dustin Breeding, American singer
- Aya Hirano, Japanese voice actress and singer
- October 9 – Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006
- October 10 – Stefan Bailey, English footballer
- October 12 – Noemi Batki, Italian diver
- Besian Idrizaj, Austrian football player
- October 13 – Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi, Georgean sumo wrestler
- October 17 – Bea Alonzo, Filipina actress
- October 18 – Zac Efron, American actor
- Freja Beha Erichsen, Danish model
- October 24 – Charlie White, American figure skater
- October 27 – Thelma Aoyama, Japanese singer
- Yi Jianlian, Chinese basketball player (year of birth disputed)
- Brittany Vise, American figure skater
- October 29 – Jessica Dubé, Canadian figure skater
- Makoto Ogawa, Japanese singer
November
- November 3 – Felix Schütz, German ice hockey player
- Gemma Ward, Australian model
- November 5 – Kevin Jonas, American singer/songwriter
- November 6 – Ana Ivanović, Serbian tennis player
- November 8 – Samantha Droke, American actress
- November 11 – Chanelle Hayes, 2007 UK Big Brother contestant
- Yuya Tegoshi, Japanese singer (NEWS, Tegomass)
- November 17 – Kat DeLuna, American singer
- November 24 – Megan Mullins, American singer
- November 25 – Dolla, American rapper (d. 2009)
- November 30 – Ian Hecox, American comedian and co-founder of Smosh
- Christel Khalil, American actress
- Dougie Poynter, English musician (McFly)
December
- December 2 – Teairra Marí, American singer
- December 3 – Michael Angarano, American actor
- December 4 – Orlando Brown, American actor, singer, and comedian
- December 6 – Jack DeSena, American actor
- December 7 – Aaron Carter, American singer and actor
- December 8 – Susanne Riesch, German alpine skier
- December 10 – Gonzalo Higuain, Real Madrid footballer
- December 11 – Natalia Gordienko, Moldovan popstar
- December 12 – Lao Lishi, Chinese diver
- Kate Todd, Canadian actress
- December 15 – Yosuke Kashiwagi, Japanese football player
- December 16 – Hallee Hirsh, American actress
- December 18 – Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
- Ayaka, Japanese singer
- Fernando Jara, Panamanian-born American jockey
- December 19 – Karim Benzema, French footballer
- Aaron Renfree, British singer
- December 20 – Michihiro Yasuda, Japanese football player
- December 21 – Valerie Concepcion, Filipino actress
- Edward Speleers, British actor
- December 23 – Lauren Drummond, English actress
- Alexandra Zaretski, Israeli figure skater
- December 26 – Adam Walker, British flautist
- December 28 – Taylor Ball, American actor
- Thomas Dekker, American actor
- Thomas Paulson, British figure skater
- Hannah Tointon, British actress
- December 31 – Seydou Doumbia, Ivorian football player
Deaths
January
- January 9 – Arthur Lake, American actor (b. 1905)
- January 14 – Douglas Sirk, German-born film director (b. 1897)
- January 15 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- January 21 – Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
- January 22 – Budd Dwyer, American politician (b. 1939)
- January 27 – Allan V. Cox, American geologist (b. 1926)
- January 27 – Norman McLaren, Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
- January 31 – Yves Allégret, French film director (b. 1905)
February
- February 2 – Alistair MacLean, British writer (heart attack) (b. 1922)
- February 3 – Donald Aronow, Creator of the Cigarette Boat (Assassinated) (b. 1927)
- February 4 – Liberace, American pianist (b. 1919)
- February 5 – William Collier, American actor (b. 1902)
- February 10 – Robert O'Brien, racing driver (b. 1908)
- February 14 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian composer (b. 1904)
- February 22 – David Susskind, American producer and host (b. 1920)
- February 22 – Andy Warhol, American artist, director, writer (b. 1928)
- February 22 – Glenway Wescott, American novelist (b. 1901)
- February 24 – Jim Connors, American radio personality (b. 1940)
- February 25 – James Coco, American actor (b. 1930)
- February 27 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (b. 1921)
- February 28 – Stephen Tennant, British aristocrat and playboy (b. 1906)
March
Maria von Trapp
- March 2 – Randolph Scott, American actor (b. 1898)
- March 3 – Danny Kaye, American singer, actor, and comedian (b. 1918)
- March 7 – Waldo Salt, American screenwriter (b. 1914)
- March 11 – Woody Hayes, football coach at Ohio State (b. 1913)
- March 13 – Gerald Moore, English pianist (b. 1899)
- March 19 – Louis-Victor de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- March 21 – Dean Paul Martin, American actor (b. 1951)
- March 21 – Robert Preston, American actor (b. 1918)
- March 22 – Joan Shawlee, American actress (b. 1926)
- March 26 – Walter Abel, American actor (b. 1898)
- March 26 – Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
- March 28 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian singer (b. 1905)
- March 28 – Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
April
Erskine Caldwell
- April 1 – Henri Cochet, French tennis champion (b. 1901)
- April 2 – Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer (b. 1917)
- April 2 – Trevor Hockey, Welsh footballer (b. 1943)
- April 3 – Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- April 4 – C. L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)
- April 11 – Erskine Caldwell, American writer (b. 1903)
- April 11 – Kent Taylor, American actor (b. 1907)
- April 15 – Masatoshi Nakayama, Japanese Karate Master (b. 1913)
- April 17 – Carlton Barrett, Jamaican reggae drummer (b. 1950)
- April 17 – Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1924)
- April 19 – Milt Kahl, Animator for the Disney Studio (b. 1909)
- April 19 – Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (b. 1908)
- April 26 – John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
- April 28 – Ben Linder, American engineer (murdered) (b. 1959)
May
- May 3 – Dalida, French singer (b. 1933)
- May 4 – Paul Butterfield, American musician (b. 1942)
- May 4 – Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
- May 6 – William J. Casey, American Central Intelligence Agency director (b. 1913)
- May 7 – Colin Blakely, Irish actor (b. 1930)
- May 14 – Rita Hayworth, American actress (b. 1918)
- May 17 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- May 19 – James Tiptree, Jr, American author (b. 1915)
- May 21 – Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (b. 1930)
- May 24 – Hermione Gingold, English actress (b. 1897)
- May 27 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
June
- June 2 – Sammy Kaye, American bandleader and songwriter (b. 1910)
- June 2 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
- June 3 – Will Sampson, American actor (b. 1933)
- June 6 – Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor (b. 1922)
- June 9 – Madge Kennedy, American actress (b. 1891)
- June 10 – Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (suicide) (b. 1943)
- June 11 – Ralph Guldahl, American golf champion (b. 1911)
- June 13 – Vera Caspary, American screenwriter, novelist, playwright (b. 1899)
- June 13 – Geraldine Page, American actor (b. 1924)
- June 19 – Teresa Cormack, New Zealand murder victim (b. 1981)
- June 22 – Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
- June 22 – John Hewitt, Northern Irish poet (b. 1907)
- June 22 – Joseph Meyer, American songwriter (b. 1894)
- June 24 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and comedian (b. 1916)
July
- July 2 – Michael Bennett, American theater director and choreographer (b. 1943)
- July 3 – Viola Dana, American actress (b. 1897)
- July 10 – John Hammond, American record producer (b. 1910)
- July 17 – Kristjan Palusalu, Estonian wrestler (b. 1908)
- July 17 – Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
- July 20 – Richard Egan, American actor (b. 1921)
- July 22 – Jack Lescoulie, American actor (b. 1917)
- July 26 – Hugh Wheeler, English playwright and librettist (b. 1912)
- July 28 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, former Premier of New South Wales (b. 1909)
- July 31 – Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b. 1905)
August
September
- September 3 – Rusty Wescoatt, American actor (b. 1911)
- September 4 – Bill Bowes, British cricketer (b. 1908)
- September 4 – Richard Marquand, Welsh film director (b. 1937)
- September 11 – Lorne Greene, Canadian actor (b. 1915)
- September 11 – Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1944)
- September 12 – John Qualen, Canadian actor (b. 1899)
- September 13 – Mervyn LeRoy, American film producer and director (b. 1900)
- September 16 – Howard Moss, American poet, dramatist, and critic (b. 1922)
- September 17 – Harry Locke, British character actor (b. 1913)
- September 21 – Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
- September 22 – Dan Rowan, American comedian (b. 1922)
- September 23 – Bob Fosse, American theater choreographer and director (b. 1927)
- September 25 – Mary Astor, American actress (b. 1906)
- September 25 – Harry Holtzman, American abstract artist (b. 1912)
- September 25 – Emlyn Williams, British actor (b. 1905)
- September 29 – Henry Ford II, president of Ford Motor Company (b. 1917)
- September 30 – Herbert Sobel, US Army officer, made famous by Band of Brothers (b. 1912)
October
- October 2 – Madeleine Carroll, British actress (b. 1906)
- October 2 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1915)
- October 3 – Jean Anouilh, French dramatist (b. 1910)
- October 3 – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (b. 1947)
- October 8 – Spencer Gordon Bennett, American film producer (b. 1893)
- October 9 – Clare Booth Luce, American playwright (b. 1903)
- October 9 – William P. Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1892)
- October 12 – Alf Landon, American politician (b. 1887)
- October 12 – Fahri Korutürk, Turkish diplomat, 6th President of Turkey (b. 1903)
- October 13 – Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- October 13 – Kishore Kumar, Indian playback singer (b. 1929)
- October 19 – Jacqueline du Pré, British cellist (b. 1945)
- October 19 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (b. 1909)
- October 20 – Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (b. 1903)
- October 22 – Lino Ventura, Italian actor (b. 1919)
- October 28 – André Masson, French artist (b. 1896)
- October 29 – Woody Herman, American jazz musician (b. 1913)
- October 31 – Joseph Campbell, American author on mythology (b. 1904)
November
December
Joop den Uyl
- December 1 – Punch Imlach, Canadian NHL coach (b. 1918)
- December 2 – Luis Federico Leloir, French-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- December 2 – Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (b. 1914)
- December 4 – Rouben Mamoulian, Armenian-American film director (b. 1898)
- December 10 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born violinist (b. 1901)
- December 17 – Linda Wong, porn star (b. 1951)
- December 21 – Ralph Nelson, American actor (b. 1916)
- December 21 – Robert Paige, American actor (b. 1911)
- December 22 – Alice Terry, American actress (b. 1899)
- December 24 – Joop den Uyl, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 until 1977 (b. 1919)
- December 27 – Priscilla Dean, American actress (b. 1896)
- December 29 – Patrick Bissell, American dancer (b. 1957)
Ship events
- Solo sailing circumnavigation completions: On June 19, 1987, Teddy Seymour became officially designated the first black man to sail around the world solo (finishing in Frederiksted, St. Croix, of the United States Virgin Islands).
- List of ship launches in 1987
- List of ship commissionings in 1987
- List of ship decommissionings in 1987
- List of shipwrecks in 1987
Nobel Prizes
Right Livelihood Award
- Johan Galtung, Chipko movement, Hans-Peter Dürr / Global Challenges Network, Institute for Food and Development Policy / Frances Moore-Lappé and Mordechai Vanunu
Templeton Prize
- Rev. Professor Stanley L. Jaki
References
