At A Glance

17 May 1986 at a glance

Day of the week
17 May 1986 was a Saturday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “The Chicken Song” by Spitting Image.
Top Film of 1986
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1986 was Top Gun.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 May 1986 fell in the Year of the Tiger.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 May 1986 was First Quarter.

On this day: 17 May

  • 1980 General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
  • 1983 The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds [1.9 kt]), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request.
  • 1983 Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
  • 1984 Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
  • 1990 The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.

Famous people born on 17 May

  • Josh Homme, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1973)
  • Bill Paxton, American actor and director (1955–2017)
  • Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (1936–2010)
  • Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host (1956–2022)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1986 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1986 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 12 January – The game show Catchphrase begins on ITV hosted by Roy Walker along with the computer generated character Mr. Chips. It concludes in 2002, but is revived in 2013.
  • 17 February – The UK signs the Single European Act.
  • 28 April – The first phase of the MetroCentre, Europe's largest indoor shopping centre, in Gateshead, is opened. The remainder of the centre is set to open this autumn.
More events of 1986 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1986

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

70p

Loaf of Bread

47p

Average House

£35,328

Weekly Wage

£190.00

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Theo James16 December 1984Actor & musicianView their day →Pac22 August 1986WrestlerView their day →Robert Pattinson13 May 1986Actor & film producerView their day →Andrew Garfield20 August 1983ActorView their day →Charlie Hunnam10 April 1980ActorView their day →Juno Temple21 July 1989ActressView their day →Rebecca Hall3 May 1982Actress & filmmakerView their day →Lewis Hamilton7 January 1985Racing driverView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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