At A Glance

21 May 1986 at a glance

Day of the week
21 May 1986 was a Wednesday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston.
Top Film of 1986
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1986 was Top Gun.
Bestselling Novel of 1986
“It” by Stephen King was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1986.
Top-Rated TV Show
“The Cosby Show” (NBC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1986–87 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 21 May is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 21 May 1986 fell in the Year of the Tiger.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 21 May 1986 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 21 May

  • 1981 The Italian government releases the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
  • 1981 Transamerica Corporation agrees to sell United Artists to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $380 million after the box office failure of the 1980 film Heaven's Gate.
  • 1988 Margaret Thatcher holds her controversial Sermon on the Mound before the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
  • 1991 Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.
  • 1992 After 30 seasons Johnny Carson hosts his penultimate episode and last featuring guests (Robin Williams and Bette Midler) of The Tonight Show.

Famous people born on May 21

  • Josh Allen, American football player (born 1996)
  • Mr. T, American actor and wrestler (born 1952)
  • The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (1972–1997)
  • Karen Khachanov, Russian tennis player (born 1996)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1986 in the United States

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

  • January 12 – STS-61-C: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang Díaz.
  • January 20 – The first federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring Martin Luther King Jr., is observed.
  • February 25 – People Power Revolution: President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines goes into exile in Hawaii after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president, first as an interim president. Salvador Laurel becomes her vice president.

Life in the US in 1986

President

Ronald Reagan

Gas (per gallon)

$0.86

Loaf of Bread

$0.66

Average House

$88,000

Weekly Wage

$346

Or

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →