At A Glance

23 May 1985 at a glance

Day of the week
23 May 1985 was a Thursday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “19” by Paul Hardcastle.
Top Film of 1985
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1985 was Back to the Future.
Star sign
The star sign for 23 May is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 23 May 1985 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 23 May 1985 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 23 May

  • 1971 The Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest opens, becoming the second-tallest building in the city.
  • 1980 The Shining, the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, is premiered on 10 screens in New York City and Los Angeles on the Memorial Day weekend.
  • 1995 The first version of the Java programming language is released.
  • 1998 The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with roughly 75% voting yes.
  • 2002 The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.

Famous people born on 23 May

  • Alexandra Eala, Filipino tennis player (born 2005)
  • Aaron Donald, American football player (born 1991)
  • Richard Ayoade, British actor, director and writer (born 1977)
  • Brennan Johnson, Welsh footballer (born 2001)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1985 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1985 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 19 February – EastEnders, the BBC One soap opera set in the fictional London Borough of Walford, debuts.
  • 13 May – The Dire Straits album Brothers in Arms is released; it becomes the first compact disc to sell over 1,000,000 copies.
  • 1 June – Battle of the Beanfield, Britain's largest mass arrest and the effective end of Stonehenge Free Festivals.

Life in 1985

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

67p

Loaf of Bread

46p

Average House

£31,103

Weekly Wage

£177.00

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.

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

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